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Game Thread Purdue at tOSU, Sat. Nov. 9th, 12pm ET, FOX

On to Purdue,” Happy With Buckeyes' Ability to Win in the Fourth Quarter But Wants Better Execution Throughout Games​

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While Day was happy with how his team won the game against Penn State in the fourth quarter, he wants to see more precision throughout ballgames to set his team up better. That will be the focus as Ohio State's season marches forward.
  • On how satisfying the Penn State win was: "We're already on to Purdue, but great to see our guys finish out the game the way we did. ... But this win only allows us an opportunity to reach our goals."
  • Day enjoyed how his team answered adversity in the fourth quarter on the road in Beaver Stadium. "When you get to the fourth quarter, the bottom line is, you've got to go win the game. ... To our guys' credit, they handled that the right way the last two weeks. And it doesn't matter what's happened up to that point ... you have to go win the game."
  • On Ohio State's defense against the Nittany Lions: "There were some things coming out of the Oregon game ... we felt like we had to get aligned faster. ... The adjustments have been made, but they need to continue to be made. ... You've got to be on your stuff, you've got to upgrade on a weekly basis, but also it comes down to fundamentals. ... But humility is one week away, and we've got to make sure we show up against Purdue and play great football."
  • The discipline on the offensive line allowed Ohio State to mix up snap counts and throw off the timing of Penn State's defensive line, Day said. "One of the things we really wanted to do was not have any penalties on the offensive line. No false starts, no holding calls, they did that. They stepped up in a big way. ... It helped us throughout the game because they knew we could use multiple cadences."
  • On the physicality Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson showed as blockers: "The running backs both played very well when the ball was not in their hands. ... Then they also ran hard, ran really hard in the fourth quarter. ... That's what we need. That's who we are and that's going to be our identity moving forward. ... Precision will be very, very much at the forefront of what we do."
  • On Purdue: "I know they've played well the last few weeks and have played some good teams really, really tough. ... This is a Big Ten opponent that's coming in here and humility is one week away. ... We saw last week against Nebraska, they came in and played really tough ... we've got to continue to build."
 
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Presser Bullets: Ryan Day Says Ohio State Will Stick With the Same Starting Five As Against Penn State on the Offensive Line, Tyleik Williams Day-to-Day​

Ryan Day​

  • On the left side of Ohio State's offensive line: "Both graded out champions and I thought they played their best down the stretch. ... New challenge this week, that game is behind us."
  • On Kayden McDonald: "K-Mac really stepped up for us and we're hoping that he can continue to give us more and more snaps. ... There was a third-down play where he got a lot of movement on the center and that made a huge difference."
  • Day said that Tyleik Williams is day-to-day.
  • On Eddrick Houston: "I think he's got a very bright future ahead of him, I think he's a very good football player. ... He's gotta keep learning. ... He's got the size, the strength, the toughness to play inside."
  • Houston's been playing defensive tackle for Ohio State after being recruited at defensive end, and Day said it's on the table that that's his position long-term. "You have that speed and quickness and he does have that power to hold the point of attack."
  • Day said the team won't pay any attention to where it's at in the College Football Playoff poll.
  • Day thinks Purdue is a better team than its 1-7 campaign might indicate. "Their record may not say it, but they've been playing really good football."
  • On Howard's ability to protect the football: "It can't happen (the turnovers), we've got to take care of the football. ... We can't fumble the ball inside the 10-yard line, just can't do it. ... He knows that and we're going to keep hammering that home this week."
  • On Hinzman: "We looked at him during the preseason, he was out with illness, he was playing backup center. We felt like, at that time, Tegra (Tshabola) gave us more at right guard. ... So we kept Carson at center. ... In this game, we felt like experience was the right thing to go with ... we're going to continue to go with Carson. We liked what we saw on film."
  • On Jackson: "He wore those guys down and embraced his role, playing in a tough spot. ... He can be a good tackle for us. ... He's showing now that he can play both positions."
  • On why Ohio State felt it should go to Jelani Thurman on 4th-and-1: "Those are not easy decisions, but in that moment, felt like we had run the sneak before. ... They did a nice job sniffing it out, Will kept it alive ... we didn't think it would get to Jelani. He was the last read in the progression. ... I think he can three catches and three drops on one play. ... Has a tremendous amount of talent, he's growing every day, he's maturing every day."
  • Day said Howard does an excellent job of moving on from his mistakes and executing as the game moves forward. "This is something that Will's had. ... That's something that we all try to do."
  • Good snaps are important but Day feels Seth McLaughlin has done a good job with them. "We want very, very accurate snaps. ... But I think he's been very accurate with them. I thought our offensive line, zero false starts, zero holding calls, that was very big in the game."
  • On Chip Kelly's play calling: "I thought he called a good game. I thought he had patience ... and he understood that we needed to establish the run in that game and be physical. ... Those plays, they take a lot of work. ... Meetings, walk-throughs, corrections the next day. ... Then you've gotta get the right coverage."
  • On differences in defensive line structures and stunts: "It's looked the way that we wanted it to look. We almost reengineered the defense. ... What I mean by that is, not scrap everything, but ... how do we put our players in the best position to be successful? How are teams scheming us up? ... We gotta keep building on it though."
  • On how his involvement in defensive meetings helped fix things after the Oregon game: "Being in there and being a little more systematized ... giving a little bit of feedback, not a lot, I don't want to bog them down, a little bit of feedback of what I'm seeing as an offensive coach. ... Making sure they're all on the same page when I leave the room."
  • Day said Jeremiah Smith is a veteran now with how much he's played and the maturity he's shown. "He is off to a great start ... he didn't flinch at all (at Penn State). ... He's not a freshman anymore in my eyes."
  • On the importance of the 4-yard quarterback sneak that opened Ohio State's final drive. "That was it. We're backed up on the 1-yard line and we've gotta bang it out. We've gotta get that first first down. ... It's gotta be who we are now."
  • On Caleb Downs: "He's all over the field, he's had a huge impact on our defense and had some huge tackles in the game, some huge plays in the game."
  • While Austin Siereveld is still "right there" in terms of depth for Ohio State, Tegra Tshabola is still the choice at right guard. "Tegra's our right guard right now."
  • On the validation of the offensive line: "A big step in the right direction. ... It's staying after it, being resilient, and that's what it's going to take."
  • Ohio State is evaluating Zen Michalski's status, but it won't impact the starting five on the offensive line. "Right now we're gonna stick with what we have."
  • On George Fitzpatrick and Ian Moore as offensive tackle depth: "They're ready. They're working hard."
Just sayin': See link for comments from Jim Knowles and Will Howard as well as the entire videos.
 
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Eighteen hours later, Day held another press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. In the 10-minute media session.
  • On Tegra Tshabola: "He's started grading out well, doing his job. He can match up with some of the best guys we play this season. ... The biggest thing for him is consistency. ... We think that he's continually getting better every week. ... We're gonna need him to play his best football in November."
  • On Brandon Inniss: "Brandon is somebody who brings energy every day. ... He just comes out and works every day. He's not selfish. ... He just gets out there and works. ... Brandon is a very good player. We are gonna continue to try and utilize him."
  • On preparation for Purdue coming off an emotional win at Penn State: "There's an energy (at practice), a lot of encouragement, a lot of confidence. ... You can see that building as we go. For our team, there's confidence in the physicality we played with. ... We'll see how this team continues to grow. This is an important week for us to see how we come out of this game and how we're projecting."
  • Day said Ohio State hasn't received the return on investment it desires on special teams. Day said the Buckeyes have poured a lot of time and energy into the unit, but it's yet to be a "plus" in 2024. "Tired of saying one play away or one block away. We got to start doing it on the field. ... It has not been a big plus for us this year. ... Overall, there's been some great play and great effort, but it needs to be a plus for us."
  • Day said Will Kacmarek is "doing great" and "healing quickly" in his recovery from injury. He expects the tight end to return to action in a couple of weeks. "He's doing great. All the reports back from the training room and Coach Mick (Marotti) is that he's a little bit ahead of schedule. That's encouraging. We're excited to hopefully get him back here in a couple of weeks."
  • On TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins' blocking in the passing game and run game: "I get excited to watch them pass block and run block. It's a tone-setter. You can feel it. That's a big part of playing physical. ... Every position has to set the tone early in the game. The more and more these guys are doing, the more confident they're getting."
Just sayin': See link for entire video.
 
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Here’s what Walters said about Ohio State’s talent, as well as its offense and defense this week:


On Ohio State’s coaches, roster​

“They’re team in its entirety is a very, very talented roster. You couple the talented roster with the level of coaching that is at Ohio State — I got a lot of respect for a lot of those guys on the staff there — that’s how you get a team like Ohio State.”
“Obviously, it’s gonna be a big challenge. Looking forward to playing in a venue that’s as historic as Ohio State’s. Looking forward to going to compete against the best. That’s why you play in this conference. That’s why you come to a school like Purdue. It’s to go compete with and give your all against some of the better teams in the country.”

On Ohio State’s offense​

“They are able to be balanced because of the amount of playmakers they have on the field. Their top two running backs are two of the better backs in the country (TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins). Their tight ends are versatile both in the run game and in the pass game. And then the history of the wideouts that they have there sort of speaks for itself. They have as talented a freshman receiver as we’ve seen (Jeremiah Smith).”

On Ohio State’s defense​

“You see a lot of guys on the field that you’re gonna see on Sundays. I think they have depth at a lot of different positions as well, so they stay fresh. They throw a lot of different coverages at you to keep you off-balance. They have two of the better man-cover corners in our league (Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun).”
 
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