Despite Tegra Tshabola's extensive starting experience, inconsistencies throughout the season and a surge from backup Joshua Padilla have reopened Ohio State's right guard competition.
During his weekly appearance on 97.1 the Fan's Buckeye Roundtable show, Ryan Day said that Ohio State will let the two continue battling it out this week in practice before settling on a starter and a share of reps against Penn State on Saturday. Padilla has consistently rolled with Tshabola the past few games, the former a career-high 26 snaps for the Buckeyes in their last game at Wisconsin.
Speaking of the Nittany Lions, despite their four-game losing streak, interim head coach and several major injuries, Day still views them as a serious threat. He called Penn State "extremely talented top to bottom" and emphasized the need for execution in the Shoe this weekend.
- On Penn State: "Very talented. Extremely talented from top to bottom, one of the more talented teams in the country. ... I thought they played really, really hard at Iowa. ... We're gonna get their best."
- On former Ohio State turned Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' scheme at Penn State: "Jim's always done a good job of putting his guys in the best position to be successful. ... It'll come down to us. ... We've gotta execute at a high level."
- Day wants his players to maintain the routines that have kept them focused throughout the season as they come out of their second bye week. "As you get late in the season, this is where it gets easy to start to fray."
- Some rest was granted during the off week, but Ohio State also wanted to practice enough to keep the team in rhythm. "We were out there practicing, guys need to keep their edge ... but we also need some guys to come on. ... Now it's back to work."
- The approach to practice hasn't changed midway through the season. "We're expecting to put our hard-hat on every day ... there's no shortcuts."
- Day called for Ohio State's fans to bring all the energy they can during the Buckeyes' first home game in nearly a month. "We missed being at home ... can't wait to get back in the Horseshoe. ... We've gotta force them into a silent cadence, off the clap, and gotta be the most hostile atmosphere in the country."
- Day agreed that he "felt the love" as he was out on the recruiting trail, but also called the praise "rat poison" and wants to make sure no one in his program gets complacent. "No question, there's been a lot of buzz."
- On the right guard battle between Tshabola and Padilla: "We spun those guys this week, got them a bunch of reps, but we'll let it continue throughout the week. ... We’re going to try to make sure we put the best guys in the game, especially for a game like this, that give us the best chance to win. But we feel confident with both of them in the game."
- While the pass-oriented attack worked against Wisconsin, Day said the Buckeyes are still looking for balance on offense, but will rely on whatever is best to move the football in a given game.
