Presser Bullets: Ryan Day Says Joshua Padilla’s Injury is Not Long-Term As Ohio State Looks for More Consistent Play From Tegra Tshabola, the Right Guard Position Down the Stretch

Following Ohio State's 34-10 win over Purdue, Ryan Day met with the media to discuss the Buckeyes' performance, which he said showed the team's growing maturity but also where it needs to improve down the stretch.

Day provided updates on injuries to Carnell Tate, Phillip Daniels, and Josh Padilla, noting that their absences gave Ohio State's coaches a chance to assess depth at critical positions. He also talked about the Buckeyes' commitment to establishing the run against the Boilermakers, as well as the play of Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith.

• On Carnell Tate not playing against Purdue: “Carnell, we felt like he was gonna be OK to play, but when he went through warmups, he just felt something there, so we just wanted to be really careful. Could he have played? Yeah, probably. But we’re just gonna rest him to make sure.”
• Day said injuries to Tate and Phillip Daniels gave Ohio State an opportunity to see some of the team’s depth players receive increased reps in the game.
• On Ohio State running the ball 43 times against Purdue: “We wanted to run the ball. In order to get the run game going, you have to give it a chance to get going. … For the most part, it was efficient. It wasn’t great. But there were some good hits on there.
• Day credited Purdue head coach Barry Odom for the Boilermakers’ defensive game plan.
• Day called Julian Sayin’s interception “disappointing” because Ohio State had 15 plays to get near the goal line. The following drive, the Buckeyes had 11 plays on a drive resulting in a field goal. “We had a lot of plays there, only three points, that’s not ideal.”
• On his conversation with Sayin after Sayin threw his interception: “I think he probably wants to go in the other direction, the other sideline, when something like that happens. He’s got to learn from those, and he will. He will. He’s a quick learner.”
• Day said Ohio State emphasized establishing the run against Purdue. “You could see the emphasis in this game was to try and get these backs some carries, establish the run and continue to work on that. When Carnell was unavailable, that certainly changed things quickly on some of the things we had.”
• On Jeremiah Smith’s big game: “For Jeremiah to still have the impact he did, not having Carnell on the other side, speaks volumes to what he does and just how impactful he is.”
• On Max Klare’s return to Purdue: “I know it meant a lot to him to play in this game and get a win and play well. I thought he played well in the game.”
• On Josh Padilla’s injury: “We don’t think it will be long-term. We’re hoping to get him back next week. … We’ll continue to look at it next week, but if he’s not back next week, he should be back in two weeks.
• On the right guard position: “It’s kind of one of those things. We’re gonna continue to look at it. I agree with you because I watched it and saw it, but then there were some other things that were good. But we need to grade out a champion here. That’s for everybody. That’s what the expectation is. … We’re gonna make sure, in the end, we got the best guys on the field.”
• On Gabe VanSickle: “He’s got to play. He’s got to play.” Day said VanSickle, Mylan Graham, Ian Moore and Jelani Thurman have “earned the opportunity in practice every day” and need to play through mistakes when they get on the field.
• On Jayden Fielding’s two field goals: “He stepped up. Protection was good. He pounded it. That was great for him. It’s gonna be important for his confidence to know that we’re gonna need those moving forward.”
• On the identity of the 2025 Buckeyes: “Business-like. They’re growing up every day. … They’re edgy. They’re competitive. They’ve bought into the system. They care about each other. I think they have an edge to them.”