Jermaine Mathews Jr.'s big plays while playing closer to the football against Illinois have given Ohio State's coaching staff pause.
At his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Ryan Day said Mathews impressed enough out of the nickel position that the defensive staff could look at creative ways to get him involved in similar spots, even after starting nickel Lorenzo Styles Jr. returns.
Day parsed out his thoughts on the firing of James Franklin at Penn State, and said Ohio State will be "all over" evaluating and pursuing flip targets on the recruiting trail. The coach also voiced his displeasure with the new transfer portal window and reviewed what the Buckeyes are doing to address their punting game, among many other topics of conversation.
- On the running game: "Like everything, we're always looking to get better. ... I think the guys are playing physical. There's been some really positive things that we've done this year."
- Day added that he felt the run game was efficient when it needed to be, getting 3 yards on 3rd-and-2, converting goal-to-go situations for touchdowns and the like.
- Day said the team will take a look at its punting unit, but also pointed to the small sample size of punts this year. "We've got him in there once before. We haven't punted a whole bunch. ... The sample size is probably a mixed bag right now. ... I think we have the right guys in the game, we'll take a look at that in terms of the protection and the guys covering. ... I think it's been decent, but we can do better."
- On Wisconsin: "They're well-coached. ... This is a team that has good players and is playing very hard. So we have to have a good week of practice, and you hear me say it all the time, it's about us and our process."
- On Devin Sanchez's performance at cornerback: "Jermaine, first off, did a great job as well. ... I thought Devin graded out well. Obviously, some things to work on." Overall, Day felt Sanchez showed a lot stepping into such a big role in a hostile environment.
- On building depth: "Now more than ever, with the way things are and roster building, it's critical."
- Day again voiced his displeasure with the new Jan. 2 through Jan. 16 transfer portal window. "I think the teams that are playing late into the playoffs are really behind the 8-ball. ... I'm not sure how they expect the teams that are in that situation to replace the players that are leaving in that moment. ... As of now, they've decided to make the rules and we'll have to deal with it."
- Ohio State is competing every day to improve, Day said. "This is the most competitive environment in the world. ... It's ultra-competitive, and so you've got to bring it every day. ... You can't worry about what happened yesterday. ... I think when you're in the season, you're in the ocean, you're kind of getting banged around everywhere, it's hard to see land."
- Day said Illinois' slow substitutions to try and create delay-of-games are something he hopes get addressed.
- While there are different strengths for Ohio State's running backs, Day still doesn't want them only on the field to do one thing in various situations. "I think we all want them to have versatility, because if you just put them in to do specific jobs, you know what happens, right? The defense ... That's the goal with our running backs now. All built differently, but we want them to have versatility."
- There are ways that Ohio State will now look to utilize Jermaine Mathews Jr. close to the ball after the plays he made from the nickel position on Saturday.
- On Joshua Padilla: "He's graded out (a champion). ... As he continues to grade the way he does, he's a center/guard for us. ... It's a strength of ours to have depth, and he gives us that."
- Day feels all the road tests help establish a team identity and he's excited for the challenge of another hostile crowd. "You learn more about your team when you go on the road."
- On potential flip targets coming available in recruiting and where the Buckeyes are at on the trail overall: "All over it. We have a bye week next week, it'll be a busy week in recruiting. ... We're evaluating really heavy right now, this class and how things are going. ... It gives us a great chance to identify who is playing at a high level and who we want to target. ... All those things are coming real fast. So it's something we work every day on. ... Evaluations are as important now as they've ever been."
- On the Franklin firing in general: "To be honest, yeah. ... He did a lot of great things and he had a lot of great games against each other, so yeah, you take time to reflect on it all. ... He'll land on his feet, he's a really good coach. But that's the world we live in."
- On Tywone Malone Jr.: "I think his confidence is as high as it's ever been. He had some great plays, great effort plays. ... He's thriving right now in this defense and you're seeing some bounce in his step. ... He's getting better each week."
- Putting ego aside and taking what a conservative defense is giving you has been key for Ohio State against several opponents that have played them that way, Day said. "If a team is going to challenge us man-to-man and put one safety over the top, you're probably going to see more plays over the top."
- On how he would like to see potential new private equity money spent: "Ross said we can use it for the next class, the whole thing (laughs). ... That's up to Ross. He's been great. ... We always have to be sure that we're making great decisions for the future as well as right now. ... He's been great about communicating what's going on."
