Tag: Ryan Day

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day believes Ohio State should have three Heisman candidates

Ohio State University’s head coach Ryan Day believes his Buckeyes have three Heisman Trophy candidates.

The Ohio State football team is 12-0, and it has been largely been due to the Buckeyes’ first-year head coach Ryan Day. He has figured out how to thrive with one of the most talented teams in the nation.

One of just three teams to enter the conference championship weekend undefeated, the Buckeyes have been dominant, crushing most teams en route to clinching the Big Ten East a week early.

Although Day has constructed most of the team’s quintessential gameplans, they’ve executed them behind three players that could all be considered finalists for the Heisman Trophy.

And Day is drinking his own Kool-Aid, also believing he has three players that deserve to be in New York for the ceremony.

Chase Young, Justin Fields, and J.K. Dobbins are the three. That trio involves one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks, the nation’s best defender and arguably the best running back in college football.

Young, with potentially three games remaining, already has the most sacks in a single season in Ohio State history this season — all while missing two because of a suspension.

As for Dobbins, he’s broken into the university’s top-two in all-time rushing yards while not even seeing the bulk of the second-half carries in what feels like the majority of Ohio State’s games.

Lastly, Fields has been the engine that’s created such a dynamic Ohio State offense.

In his sophomore season, Fields has 37 passing touchdowns and ONE interception. Tack on almost 2,700 passing yards, 470 rushing yards and ten more rushing touchdowns, and Fields has seemingly made every big play when it’s mattered most.

Fields and Dobbins put up four touchdowns each against Michigan. It wasn’t just this past Saturday that they’ve been atop their game, the dynamic duo has been running the Big Ten all season.

Had Ohio State been in more four-quarter games, we could be talking about any of these three as Heisman favorites. Sadly, it seems LSU’s Joe Burrow is running away with the award.

Still, getting at least two from Ohio State to make the trip to New York would be special.

What Ohio State is saying about Michigan before their matchup

Michigan football takes on Ohio State this week in their annual rivalry game. What did OSU head coach Ryan Day say about the Wolverines?

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Michigan’s biggest game of the year is finally upon us, Ohio State. The Wolverines come into this game with nothing to lose as their Big Ten title hopes are gone and the playoff chances slim, while the Buckeyes undefeated season and playoff hopes are on this game. Michigan is going to want to be the only team to give the Buckeyes a loss this year, and if it can help them knock them out of the playoff race as well, that’s just the frosting on the cake.

Before the game happens though, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and his players spoke to the media this week. Day started by talking about Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown and his defense, then later transitioned to coaching with him at Boston College years ago.

“He actually coached against me when I played, then coached my brother at UMass, then we coached together at Boston College, now get an opportunity to coach against each other in a huge rivalry game, which makes it hard,” Day said.” Nothing but respect obviously for his background and what he’s done defensively over the years. One of the best guys in the business.”

Day then spoke about how dominant the rivalry has been for the Buckeyes since the early 2000s and how prepared the Buckeye teams have been for years.

“Again, if you’re working on it all year, then you’re prepared, whether you’ve worked on it the spring, the pre-season, certain periods that you set aside just to work on the team up north,” Day said. ” You talk to guys all the time about what it means, so they understand coming into the game what to expect. It’s always on the schedule that way. We have the countdown in the building. I think everyone understands the importance of it, that’s the first thing.”

“When you’re talking about the game itself, it goes back to the fundamentals: taking care of the football, executing the game plan, giving them a good plan they can execute,” Day said. “Being on the road is a little different than being at home. We have to handle that, being loud, the crowd noise. We’ll handle that today, make sure we pipe in the crowd noise during practice, show composure there. It’s going to come down to winning the one-on-one battles in the end.”

Day brought up defensive end Chase Young and what Michigan might do to try and stop him.

“They’re sound, they do a good job. I think at the end of the day it comes down to players,” Day said. “I don’t think they’re going to do anything that we probably haven’t seen. Maybe they will. But I think at the end of the day it’s going to come down to execution and guys winning their one-on-one battles.”

Day than later transitioned to talking about Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson and why he’s playing his best football of the season right now.

“I don’t really know,” Day said. “I’m not there, so I don’t know the dynamics of what’s going on. It’s hard to tell when you don’t know people. I do see him being more confident. I see a group that feels like they’ve found an identity. They got really good receivers, by the way. Those receivers are talented. Offensive line is giving them time. I don’t know exactly what made them all click, but it seems like it’s going well right now for them.”

The players would speak later and linebacker Tuf Borland would speak about how Michigan lines up scheme-wise and the challenge they face this week.

“Schematically, big bodies, multiple tight ends packages,” Borland said. “They have the ability to run the ball right at you but then they also have playmakers along the perimeter, a quarterback. Just multiple ways they can attack the defense.”

Linebacker Pete Werner spoke about what he learned immediately about the rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State.

“Everything is different,” Werner said. “The big thing that strikes me is the preparation. You have to prepare harder than that team, you have to work harder than that team. That all starts in practice. Preparation, there are just so many things to take into account to win this game. We’ve beaten them with preparation in the past, and that’s what showed in the outcome of the game.”

Werner added in some comments about co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison and linebackers coach Al Washington, both coaching at Michigan last year, how impactful they’ve been, and how much this game means to them.

“Oh yeah,” Werner said. “I can already tell. This is the game they’ve had checked on their calendar since the time they’ve been here. They have something to prove. I’ve learned so much from them. Some of the best coaches I’ve ever been around. I’ve become so much of a better player because of them too. This game is going to mean a lot. We’re going to prepare harder than we ever have and that starts with them.”

Werner then gave praise to Patterson and how dangerous he can be to opposing defenses as he goes up against him this week.

“He’s one of those guys who is kind of tricky,” Werner said. “He’s got a lot of different options, he scrambles very well, throws a great ball and if you’re (caught) lacking around, leave a guy open, he’s going to make a play from it.”

Safety Jordan Fuller brought up the Michigan wide receivers and how much of a challenge they will be for the secondary this week.

“We definitely look forward to it,” Fuller said. “After watching the film and just knowing them from prior years, they’re definitely a very talented group, one of the most talented groups we play all year, so we definitely have our hands full with them. But I’m confident in our group as well. So we’re going to prepare hard and try to get a bead on the kinds of stuff they like to do. But we definitely have our hands full. It should be fun.”

“They have guys that have great hands, that can go up and get the ball but also, when they have the ball in their hands, they can they can make something happen with it,” Fuller said. “They can attack you in every which way. So that’s something you’ve got to be prepared for.”

Michigan takes on Ohio State at noon EST on FOX as they play in the Big House in Ann Arbor, MI.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

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Five reason to be thankful as Ohio State fans

Ohio State fans might be spoiled, but that’s because of the success the Buckeyes have had over the years. Here’s 5 reasons to be thankful.

It’s Thanksgiving and we all have reasons to be thankful… food on the table, family and friends, health, and of course our Ohio State Buckeyes. We thought, on this day of thanks, it would be nice to share five things were thankful for concerning the Scarlet and Gray.

Only five reasons to be thankful? There’s plenty more, but we know you only have so much time before the tryptophan kicks in fast asleep in your La-Z-Boy.

Let’s give thanks.

No. 5 – The Transfer Portal

Let’s give thanks for the transfer portal. Without it, no Justin Fields. That’s not a knock on Tate Martell, but let’s be honest, Fields has been better than anyone could’ve expected.

Maybe Tate Martell could’ve been the guy for the Buckeyes this season. But Justin Fields has shown poise and maturity far beyond his years. His numbers aren’t as gaudy as some other QBs on nationally ranked teams, but he has been one of the best in college football all season long.

And without the transfer portal, Buckeye fans would have had to wait a year or maybe he never even transfers with the old rules of having to sit out a year.

Maybe the portal comes back to bite OSU in the future and we lose a prize recruit, but for now, we give thanks for the transfer portal that brought us Justin Fields.

Now about Joe Burrow … well – there’s that.

Next … the new head man in charge

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WATCH: Ohio State head coach Ryan Day previews Michigan

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day took to the podium Tuesday to preview the annual renewal of The Game against Michigan.

It’s Michigan week folks — as if you needed a reminder.

We’ve already heard from Jim Harbaugh during his weekly press conference on his thoughts going into Ohio State, and Tuesday it was Ryan Day’s turn to step behind the podium.

It’s the same every game week with these weekly press conferences, but it means a little more when you’re previewing That Team Up North. Much like his predecessor, Day respects the opponent, but emphasizes this game over all others, and you can sense it with his demeanor and comments.

In case you missed any of what he had to say, we’ve got the entire press conference thanks to the official Twitter feed of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Click on the below and sit back and listen to Day discuss how Justin Fields’ health is, what it means to be in this game, the challenges of playing an improved Michigan team, and more.

And … as always, we have the full transcript after the audio as well.

Next … Full Ryan Day Michigan preview transcript

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Ryan Day: Michigan ‘will be most talented group we’ve seen by far’

The OSU head coach gives his scouting report on the Wolverines in advance of The Game.

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There’s no battle of words in advance of the 116th edition of The Game on Saturday. If anything, it’s been something of a compliment-off.

On Monday, at his weekly press conference and subsequent media appearances, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh had nothing but nice things to say about Ohio State, effusive in his praise for the job that new head coach Ryan Day and his staff have done.

On Tuesday, in his own weekly press conference, the Buckeyes’ Day returned the favor.

But he went further, breaking down what he’s seen from the Wolverines, starting with offense. Like anyone else who has paid attention to the maize and blue, he’s noted that Michigan’s offensive resurgence started midway through what looked like a blowout in Happy Valley.

Since then, Michigan has rolled. Despite having played and beaten Penn State and Wisconsin — the two teams that the Wolverines have lost to — Day is certain that this upcoming matchup in Ann Arbor will be OSU’s toughest challenge — and it’s not even close.

“I thought since the halftime of the Penn State game, they’ve really played good football,” Day said. “(Michigan QB Shea) Patterson is throwing the ball well. Receivers are good. Collins, Jones, their tight ends are good. Offensive line. Good job against Notre Dame. Good scheme, good coaches.

“They found a rhythm in the second half of the season. Probably our biggest challenge again. As we’ve gone on in the season, we’ve been challenged more and more.

“This will be the most talented group we’ve seen by far.”

So why has Patterson and the offense been so much better in Day’s eyes?

He isn’t entirely sure, but he notes that the offensive talent is coming to fruition, and that Michigan seems to be peaking at the right time.

“I do see (Patterson) being more confident,” Day said. “I see a group that feels like they’ve found an identity. They got really good receivers, by the way. Those receivers are talented. Offensive line is giving them time.

“I don’t know exactly what made them all click, but it seems like it’s going well right now for them.”

Certainly, for the maize and blue faithful, one of the biggest concerns heading into The Game is how the Wolverines defense will hold up against Day’s offense.

Last year, OSU put up unprecedented numbers on what was then the No. 1 defense in the country, taking advantage of (mostly) man coverage and putting the faster skill positions in space. The Buckeyes were close to unstoppable in the second-half offensively, and Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown has been back at the drawing board since the 62-39 shellacking in Columbus.

Day doesn’t anticipate repeat success in that regard. Brown’s made significant changes to the defense this year, mixing in more zone coverages, but doing an excellent job at disguising the looks he’s giving.

The way he sees it, Ohio State has a big challenge on its hands in that regard.

“I’ll say this: nobody gives more looks than Don Brown when it comes to different looks,” Day said. “He takes a lot of pride in that. I know that. Over the years his different teams, they’ll play more zone than man, they’ll play more man than zone. What he does a great job of is he puts his guys in positions to be successful.

“Some of those things last year maybe it seemed like they were still zone. He changes it up. He does a great job. I know he’s going to do another good job this weekend.”

But, we’ve seen this Michigan defense get gashed.

Middle Tennessee averaged over 4 yards-per-play, not great, but not bad against a supposedly stout defense, either. Army and Wisconsin both ran for more than 200 yards in successive weeks.

But since then, the most that the Wolverines have given up on the ground is 129 to Maryland — and the Terrapins couldn’t get an offensive score in that game.

As a matter of fact, since the first three games, Michigan has allowed an average of 67.4 yards rushing per game. The Buckeyes are intent on running the ball with J.K. Dobbins, Master Teague and quarterback Justin Fields, and they’re No. 6 in the country at doing so.

The way Day sees it, Michigan figured out what went wrong early and have since fixed the glitch, so to speak.

“I think they were kind of finding their way early in the season,” Day said. “They found a rhythm now. Again, I think probably since the second half of that Penn State game is when they caught their rhythm. Wisconsin did hit some runs on them early with Taylor.

“But they’re good. They found their way. He’s done a good job of getting the guys in the right positions to be successful.”

Regardless, with big rivalry games, they say throw out the record books. However, Michigan has lost seven straight to Ohio State.

The Buckeyes have only been tested once all season long — last week, at home, against Penn State. Day says this road game in Ann Arbor will certainly be the biggest test that OSU has faced to this point, regardless of where the game is played.

“It’s the most talented we’ll see,” Day said. “I mean, they have the ability to be as good as anybody in the country when they’re playing well. I think they’re playing their best football now. Certainly we’re going to get their best shot on Saturday.”

Michigan and Ohio State are set to kick The Game off at noon EST.

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Jim Harbaugh extensively breaks down what he sees from Ohio State

Appearing on the Inside Michigan Football radio show, the Wolverines head coach went in-depth about what he sees from the Buckeyes.

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Michigan has a daunting challenge ahead of it on Saturday, with an Ohio State team coming in that’s not only beaten the Wolverines seven straight times, but also might be the most complete team in the nation.

The Buckeyes haven’t shown many, if any, weaknesses across the board, and have blown out all but one team, as Penn State kept it close en route to a 28-17 loss in Columbus this past Saturday.

Appearing on his weekly radio show, Inside Michigan Football, with host Jon Jansen, Harbaugh spoke about just how good this OSU team is.

“They’re a really good team, no question about it,” Harbaugh said. “They have one of the top defenses in the country. And offense is one of the top offenses in the country and they have a very potent ground game and also passing game. Really good on the special teams and all different units. A good team.”

From there, Harbaugh moved onto a litany of topics when it came to the Buckeyes, including key players on both sides of the ball.

Chase Young

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges Michigan will face on Saturday is keeping defensive end Chase Young at bay.

Harbaugh and some Wolverines players discussed Young earlier on Monday, but the Michigan head coach elaborated a little more with Jansen on the radio show.

“He’s really athletic,” Harbaugh said. “He’s one of the best pass rushers I’ve seen in the college game in quite some time. Physical in the run. Can take on blocks. Can also shrink the edge. Also athletic enough to get penetration, flow down the line of scrimmage.

“In all those ways, he’s really good.”

Justin Fields

But most of the talk is about how the Wolverines defense — no slouches themselves at No. 4 in the country — will be able to handle Ohio State and the No. 6 offensive attack in the nation.

It all starts with quarterback Justin Fields, the former five-star who was rated nearly as high as Clemson star Trevor Lawrence. Fields started his career at Georgia but transferred to OSU this offseason and has been a difference maker with both his arm and legs for the Buckeyes, with 2,352 yards passing (69% completions), and 33 touchdowns to just one interception. That’s just through the air — he also has 445 yards on 100 carries and 10 more touchdowns on the ground.

Harbaugh noted that the Wolverines will be on high-alert when Fields has the ball in his hands.

“He’s a good dual-threat guy,” Harbaugh said. “He can hurt you in the passing game. He’s got a lot of good receivers and tight ends. Also, if they’re covered, he can pull it down, make the yardage, make the first down. Extend the drives, extend the plays. A very good player.”

J.K. Dobbins

But Fields isn’t alone as the sole offensive playmaker.

While there’s still a bevy of receivers — Chris Olave, K.J. Hill, Binjimen Victor, Austin Mack — there’s the backfield duo of J.K. Dobbins — the junior out of Texas — and Master Teague.

The two have combined for 2,197 yards on the ground, but Dobbins is the bigger threat of the two.

“(He’s an) explosive runner,” Harbaugh said. “Slashing type of runner, but he can be very elusive. And he’s got very good speed. He gets into the open, he can go a long way. Plus, he can make people miss.”

Team speed

Last year, the Wolverines got gashed mostly by what seemed to be superior team speed by the Buckeyes.

But, Harbaugh doesn’t feel like that will be an issue this year.

“Yeah, we’re pretty fast, too,” Harbaugh said. “I’ll just leave it at that, I guess! No question they’re going to tough to beat, but we’ll be tough to beat, too.”

Ryan Day

Harbaugh didn’t have much to say about his counterpart on the other sidelines in head coach Ryan Day, who took over the program after Urban Meyer stepped down at the end of last season.

This will be Day’s first year as the head coach going up against the Wolverines, and Harbaugh praises the job he’s done in Columbus to this point.

“He’s doing a heckuva job,” Harbaugh said. “Him and his entire coaching staff have prepared their team well and are playing really good football.”

Offense

Lastly, given the challenges of an ascending Michigan offense going up against the No. 1 defense in the country, the Wolverines will need to play close to perfect to have a chance to take down Ohio State.

But, if there’s one thing to like about the maize and blue heading into this matchup is that, not only are they not shying away from the challenge, they feel like there’s a lot to prove about their own team — especially on offense.

“We’re not gonna talk schematically at all, but all things are options,” Harbaugh said. “Wanna see our team play good, play good football.

“And like I said earlier, the team is playing good football, the team is confident. The players themselves believe that there’s even more for them. There’s more out there in the running game and the passing game from an offensive standpoint. And our defensive players feel the same way. They’re hungry to do even better.”

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Justin Fields “good” says Ryan Day after injury scare against Penn State

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said that quarterback Justin Fields is “good” after an injury scare late in the 4th quarter vs. Penn State.

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields finally got to feel what it’s like to play four quarters in a college football game. It didn’t look that way early on with Ohio State getting out to a 21-0 lead early in the third quarter, but some mistakes allowed Penn State back in the game.

So, Fields stayed in to finish the deal and lead the Buckeyes to a hard fought and resilient 28-17 win in front of a sold out Ohio Stadium crowd.

It wasn’t without a scare though. That same crowd that was noisy and boisterous all day became as quiet as over 100,000 fans can when Fields went down in a heap after a hard tackle by Penn State late in the game. At the time, the Buckeyes were leading 28-17 and went for it on 4th and five with just 2:17 remaining in the game.

The crowd came to its senses once again with applause when Fields sprung up and jogged a little under his own power. This all after being checked on by the medical staff for a couple of minutes with some pretty astronomical goals still hanging in the balance.

After the game, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day was asked about the injury and how Fields is doing. It should also be noted that the Buckeye signal-caller did come back into the game to take the final knee.

Day said that Fields was “good,” and went on to equate him to a warrior and said he had “a heart of a lion.”

More like ripped the heart of a (Penn State) lion out.

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Ohio State can ill-afford to lose Fields if it has designs of continuing this special journey the team has been on. Not when a trip to Ann Arbor, Indianapolis and beyond is next along the way.

Sorry Michigan fans, it looks like No. 1 will be slinging it around next week in the Big House.

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WATCH: Ryan Day Penn State post game press conference

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media in Columbus to discuss his team’s victory over Penn State. Watch in its entirety here.

Ohio State passed another test by being able to fight through some turnovers and negative plays to beat Penn State 28-17 in the Horseshoe Saturday. It could be argued that it is the first time the Buckeyes have faced adversity all year, and to come out the other end victorious is a great experience for this team.

Ryan Day is one proud football coach. As he does after every game, he met with the media to discuss his team’s performance, talk about what he saw from Penn State, and to field further questions from the throng of press assembled for this titanic matchup.

In case you missed his complete post game comments, you can catch them in the below Twitter video shared by the official Twitter feed of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Click on the below and listen to Day talk about the health of Justin Fields, his team’s resiliency, and even what his favorite celebratory jam in the locker room is.

Oh, and by the way, it is now officially Michigan week.

Ohio State beats Penn State: 5 things we learned

It wasn’t pretty, but Ohio State fought through some weather and turnovers to beat Penn State. Here’s five things we learned.

It may not have gone exactly as Ohio State would have liked, but it’s still a W in the win column. There were some uncharacteristic turnovers, a little rain and wind, and some key penalties that kept Penn State in the game, but in the end the Buckeyes did what they needed to stay undefeated.

With it, Ohio State clinches the outright Big Ten East title and will head to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game for the third straight year. It doesn’t even matter what happens against Michigan next week, at least for all those things to happen.

But more on that later.

Here’s five things we learned about Ohio State in a 28-17 victory over a top ten Penn State team.

It took a lot for Penn State to even be in the game

With all due respect to Penn State, Ohio State was clearly the better and more talented team. It took three turnovers, some uncharacteristic penalties, and almost every single replay review going the way of the Nittany Lions to even keep this thing in shouting distance.

OSU outgained PSU 417 yards to 227, ran all over a Penn State defense that was one of the best in the country, yet this thing was still a game into the fourth quarter. That’s because Justin Fields fumbled twice, J.K. Dobbins dropped it on the turf once, and some bounces and plays went the other way.

Frankly, Ohio State is probably at least three touchdowns better on any other day. But, credit the Nittany Lions for clawing and fighting in this one.

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Next … Penn State fought in this one

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Ohio State vs. Penn State: 5 reasons the Buckeyes win

Ohio State and Penn State are set to square off in a top ten college football matchup in the Big Ten. Here’s why we think the Buckeyes win.

We’ve said this before, but now we really mean it. Everything up until now has been pointing to this very game. It’s No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Penn State and there’s a slew of things on the line. If the Buckeyes win, they clinch the outright Big Ten East title and an all-expenses paid trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.

If Penn State wins, it will most likely get at least a share of the Big Ten East title because it plays a Rutgers team next week that’s still trying to figure out how to play American football. Couple that with owning the head-to-head tiebreaker over OSU, and it would be off to Indy even if the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines a week later.

Both keep a shot at the College Football Playoff alive with a win. Penn State would more or less be eliminated with a loss, and Ohio State would have to have some things break the right way for it to still be out front in the mix.

So who’s going to win this titanic struggle between lions and nuts? Here’s five reasons we believe the Buckeyes will walk out of the ‘Shoe victorious Saturday evening when all the shouting and athletic feats of endeavors end.

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Next … Downright offensive

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