Complete Ryan Day Fiesta Bowl arrival press conference transcript
MODERATOR: Well, good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for joining us here at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. We’re really excited. This is the official kick-off of the 2019 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. We’re thrilled to have Ohio State back for its ninth trip to the Fiesta Bowl, the most of any institution in Fiesta Bowl history.
We are joined here by Head Coach Ryan Day and two players. We’ll open up with Coach Day and then the two players. The gentleman to my left, his bio says that sometime around 6:30 he took the whistle from Coach [Urban] Meyer after the Rose Bowl last year and sometime around 6:30 on Saturday night, he’ll lead the Buckeyes out at State Farm Stadium against Clemson in the Semifinal game here. He’s from Manchester, New Hampshire. Has a perfect 16-0 record, including 13-0 this year.
Ladies and gentlemen, Coach Ryan Day.
COACH DAY: Thank you. I want to thank everybody involved with the Fiesta Bowl, one of the most prestigious bowls in all of college football. Very hospitable. It started way back in the spring with my wife and I and then coming to some of the games. Really looking forward to this trip.
Arizona this time of year is beautiful. Looking forward to some nice weather to practice. We gave the guys a couple of days off. They were home with their families. And now it’s back to work and looking forward to a great week.
MODERATOR: The gentleman in the middle is a sophomore from Miamisburg, Ohio. In high school, he was named the No. 1 player in the state of Ohio, which is quite an accomplishment, as an offensive lineman. He’s the anchor of an offense that ranks No. 5 in the nation in total offense and rushing offense, and that’s Josh Myers.
All the way to the left from Pickerington, Ohio, Davon Hamilton, 9 1/2 tackles for loss and five sacks, second on the team behind Chase Young.
Q. Assuming everyone was supposed to come, were they able to? Did everybody make the trip?
COACH DAY: The guys who are within a three-, four-hour radius came with us on the charter. Everybody else we fly from home. I know there’s always a couple things here and there. But as we took off, looked like the majority of the guys will be here today.
Q. Josh and Davon, this is an unusual Sunday. You’ll go out and practice from here. You have been on a plane for a couple hours. What was the mood like on the way in as you get ready for the week ahead?
JOSH MYERS: I think we were excited to get back here. We got time to spend with our families, and now it’s back to business. I’m excited to stretch after that long plane ride.
DAVON HAMILTON: I agree with him. It’s kind of a long plane ride. I’m glad to be back here for the third time for me. We’re really going to enjoy it.
Q. Ryan, your first bowl game as a head coach. I’m wondering, where did your plan come from in terms of this week and bowl prep?
COACH DAY: Very unique. This is a unique time frame in terms of coming off of the Big Ten Championship game, getting ready for this. There’s really no precedence for this one because typically in the past, the plan has always been, phase 1, development of the young guys, get rest for the older guys. And then phase 2 is kind of game plan the week before, go home for a little break, and come back. Phase 3 is at the bowl site.
We really didn’t have time for that. So this was somewhere between getting ready for a bowl game and a bye week. We practiced Friday, Saturday, took Sunday off. Went Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday real hard. Gave them three days off, and now we’re back to work here.
So talked to a lot of people about this. I think it’s a really good plan to keep them fresh and also on top of their game.
Q. Along the same lines, just how comfortable were you with everything you guys got done in Columbus and coming out here, the state of mind you guys are in right now?
COACH DAY: Feel great. I think our guys are going to come back today, refreshed, reenergized. We got a lot of time to game plan. We’ve been working at it the last couple of days, and now we’ve got really six days to get ready for this game, which is great. Whole bunch of time together in the hotel, which is always good, too.
It’s like being on the road for an extended period of time. That’s kind of the way we’re looking at it. Certainly, is a bowl game but it’s a little different. This one you’re playing for a lot more, and I think the guys are going to prepare that way this week.
Q. Coaches like to keep control of their team and want to be around them all the time. Any part of you that debated that approach, letting them go and trusting them? I know you have faith in them a week before a game.
COACH DAY: Well, I think when you look at it, we practiced five of six days and then we gave them three days off. That’s not very unlikely for a bye week. If this was a bye week, that’s typically what we would do anyways. It seems like a long time off. We blink and we are right back together again. It
really wasn’t that long.