Ryan Day didn‘t want to get into specifics about Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate’s injuries on Tuesday, but said both players are “working hard to get back on the field.”
Day said Ohio State will take it day-to-day in determining whether or not they will play this week against Rutgers. Asked if Smith’s injury was aggravated at all by playing against UCLA, Day replied, “Not that I know of.”
Day also talked about Ohio State’s upcoming game and Senior Day against Rutgers, James Peoples’ breakout performance against UCLA and more, which we’ve recapped below.
- Day said Tate and Smith are “in great spirits. The medical staff is working hard. We'll take it day to day and see how they come in each day, but they're working hard to get back on the field.”
- Day thinks it affected Julian Sayin that he didn’t have as many reps with the receivers playing against UCLA with Smith and Tate, but “they'll work hard to continue to build on that.”
- Asked if Tate had suffered a setback since Day said Tate could have played if needed against Purdue, Day said he didn’t want to comment on the specifics of Tate’s injury.
- Day said he knows the Buckeyes are “going to put everything they have into this game” with it being the last home game of the season.
- Day thinks James Peoples is “really starting to show what he can do ... He stayed with it. He hasn’t let anything get in the way and discourage him, which is great. And because of that, he’s starting to play his best football when we need him the most.”
- Day said he wants to keep Ohio State’s right guard rotation to two players even when Joshua Padilla comes back. Tegra Tshabola and Gabe VanSickle rotated at RG for the past two weeks with Padilla out.
- Day said Matt Patricia has built connections with coaches and players this season, which has paid dividends for the Buckeyes and their defense. "He was able to connect with everybody early on," Day said. "That's how you have an impact early on is you build trust. There's only one way to do that, that's spend time with your guys. He's done that."
- Day said the coaches had conversations with juniors who could be NFL draft prospects during the bye weeks to help them prepare for what could be coming, “so they can stay focused on what matters most, and that's playing. But right now, it’s all about football.”
- This year’s team has a “very business-like” approach, Day said. If the Buckeyes can continue that approach through the end of the season, they have a chance to achieve all of their goals.
- Day said the medical staff gives a report to the coaching staff each day on how each injured player is doing. He said communication between players and medical staff is important; Ohio State always listens to the players if they say they don’t think they can play.
- Day says he thinks there’s been great leadership from the team this year, not only from the seniors but also the juniors and even sophomores.
- Day says this year’s team is a “matter-of-fact” team. “There’s not a lot of drama. They know what they need to do. They show up and make the guys around them better.”
- Making the Big Ten Championship Game for the first time since 2020 is a big motivator for Ohio State right now, Day said. “Every Saturday, an opportunity to get to Indianapolis is on the line ... We want to get to Indy. And we haven't got to Indy here. There's nobody on this team that's been to Indy right now. And they know it.”
- Asked about Brandon Inniss’ comment that Day has had “a different look in his eye” since last year’s loss to Michigan, Day said he wouldn’t pinpoint anything he’s done differently since that game but he tries to learn from every game and keep getting better.
- Day said he thought “there was a lot of physicality” in Ohio State’s running game vs. UCLA.
