RYAN DAY "Exciting day for us. ... Certainly a lot of energy and life for us in the Woody today." Day says OSU had a team meeting before the selection, and it was "a shot of adrenaline" to see the Buckeyes get a berth. "The goal was to get in the CFP." Day says there's "precedence for this" when you look at Georgia winning it all last year despite entering the CFP on a loss. Day says "you look into last week, everybody was just dying to have a shot to win this. And now we do." "We have a pretty good plan for this month. We start off really working on fundamentals." Day says the Buckeyes had two practices last week and told players "don't be surprised" if they end up in the CFP on Sunday. Day says the Buckeyes will "use the same plan" in terms of bowl prep as they did against Clemson in 2020. Day says there were "too many explosive plays" given up against Michigan. "There was a lot of looking in the mirror last week." Day says "there were a lot of those great conversations, as hard as they were." On a potential national championship rematch against Michigan: "It would be unbelievable. It would be historic. And to say we haven't thought about that, of course we have. Everybody's thought about that." "However we got here, we're here. And now it's time to go to work." "I don't know how many people are gonna give us a chance in this game. We'll have to see." "We wanted to be playing in the Big Ten Championship Game, so no, it was not a good week. It was an awful week." Day says "this is an opportunity that we didn't have 48 hours ago, and now we do. So what do you want to do with it? ... Yesterday we did not have control. Now we do." On trying to play loose and aggressive moving forward: "We just got to let it all out. ... There'll be no fear of failure." Day says the Michigan loss was a reminder that that's "how you have to play this game." "Certainly a lot of people counted us out, but here we are." Day says "I kind of like being in this role. ... What an unbelievable chance to go do something special." On being the underdog against Georgia and potentially Michigan: "I think we'll see as the month goes on. ... They're a very good team. They're the defending national champion. ... We're gonna have to play our game, we're gonna have to play very good." Day says the Buckeyes "know how they have to play to win this game." Day says "we'll see" whether Jaxon Smith-Njigba returns, but "everyone else we should have" available for the CFP game. Day says the running back position was particularly impacted by injuries during the season: "This allows us to heal some of those." Day says "it will be nice to be at full strength." Day says "it's all kind of happened the way we thought it would." Day says "what an amazing story this could be." "The goal was to be in this situation. Not to lose that game, but to be in the CFP. We're two wins away from winning the national championship." "We have to play better on offense, we have to play better on defense, we have to play better on special teams." On how he would've felt about having the Michigan game in the semifinal: "Wherever they put us, they put us. We gotta win them both anyway." "Being there, we know what it's like. But I think we're dangerous because you see us on all three phases, certainly for portions of the season, playing at a high level." Day says beating Penn State "probably put us in that spot" to earn a CFP bid. Day says the Buckeyes "came out swinging pretty hard" against Michigan, but that giving up explosive plays was the difference. Day says "there was still a lot of good things that still happened." Day says the big runs at the end of The Game "ruined the whole day." On JSN : "The whole thing's unfortunate and certainly nobody wants to play more than Jaxon." Day has said "nothing yet" to Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, but has "unbelievable respect" for him and his program. On what caused the breakdowns against Michigan: "It's a number of things." Day says the coaches have to put the Buckeyes in better situations. "In matchup games like that, it comes to down to two or three plays." "When you look at the CFP, the winning team usually scores 49, 50 points. We're gonna have to play well on offense." Day says "you're gonna have to score points against a team like this, that's for sure." Day says his week after the Michigan game was "awful." Day says he listened to the USC-Utah game on the radio. Day says it was important for the Buckeyes to "keep our edge" and not get into "offseason mode" even though they didn't know for sure they'd be in the CFP. On what bothers Day most about reactions to The Game: "I don't listen to that. Because if you did, it would drive you insane." Day says the Buckeyes have to have a mindset of scoring 49-50 points to win a big game like this. Day says it's "great for the Big Ten" to have two teams in the CFP.
moments like these đź’« pic.twitter.com/KbiD7OfW79— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 11, 2022
'Not a lot of sleep.' With CFP, signing day on tap, OSU coach Ryan Day is going full speed https://t.co/cjbZ6mXOVA— BuckeyeXtra.com (@BuckeyeXtra) December 13, 2022
With most of another top-10 recruiting class signed on Wednesday, Ryan Day opened up about the 2023 cycle during a press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Nineteen prospects inked their National Letters of Intent to officially commit to the Buckeye program by the start of Day's 12:30 p.m. presser, which gave Day plenty to talk about as he addressed members of the media for the first time since time in eight days. Day praised Ohio State's latest signees, touched on some missed opportunities on the recruiting trail, discussed how NIL impacted this year's class and much more. Eleven Warriors took notes on everything Day said Wednesday below: RYAN DAY On how many recruits Ohio State didn't land because of NIL: "That's a good question." Day says the Buckeyes are gonna "keep swinging on this thing." Day says the 19 players that have signed thus far "deserve the recognition right now. ... They're gonna have an unbelievable opportunity here at Ohio State." "These are guys that want to be Buckeyes. They know the opportunity here." Day says "a lot of these guys did it for the right reasons" and signed to Ohio State for the things that "truly matter." On quarterback recruiting: "When is the right time to go on quarterbacks? Is it early in the process? Is it late?" Day says when you get a quarterback late, you get to see what they did in all four years of high school. "It's something that you always look at." Day says "there's a lot of twists and turn along the way, a lot of emotional roller coasters" on the recruiting trail. Day says "there's still a lot going on" with the recruiting class and "there's still a long way until February." On recent decommitments in the program, Day says there was a time when other schools stopped recruiting players after they committed, but that isn't the case anymore. "It's the way things are going ... we just have to adapt." "When things are going well, everybody's with you." Day says when things aren't going well, you find out where people stand. Day says there haven't been a lot of transfers out of the Buckeye program thus far this year and that "I think it's because we have a strong culture here." "I know the program's in a great place" despite the Michigan loss and missing out on a few big-time recruits as of late. On Avery Henry's cancer diagnosis: "Very difficult time for everybody here. Trying to give Avery as much space as we can during this time, but let him know he has a whole team behind him. ... Things like this give you perspective in life." Day says Henry will be in Atlanta with the team for the CFP. Day says Justin Frye did a great job with the offensive line recruiting and thinks Luke Montgomery, Joshua Padilla and Austin Siereveld could all make an impact right away. Day says Montgomery could play "all five positions" on the offensive line, Padilla will start at center and Siereveld will start at guard. Day says Miles Walker brings a lot of potential at the tackle position as well. On the transfer portal: "If it's right for them, if it's right for us," the Buckeyes will try to bring guys in. Day says the Buckeyes "have to decide if we're going to move (Trayanum) over (to RB) full-time or not." On Ohio State's four WR signees, Day says "all four are looking to come in and make an impact." Day says Carnell Tate's recruitment was "quite a process." Day says there were a few "twists and turns" with Noah Rogers' recruitment, but that he was "pretty loyal" throughout. Day says while things have changed on the recruiting trail, "in the end it comes down to relationships. That's it." On college coaches not specifically calling out other teams that might be tampering with players: "It's not a road that certainly I want to go down. I don't think there's any benefit to it." Day says he'll meet with Trayanum to figure out what he wants to do next ahead of the spring as far as his position. Day says Jermaine Mathews did a great job at Ohio State's camps over the summer and had a great season as a senior. Days says "a lot of people were blowing up that phone" before signing day, but he stayed loyal to the Buckeyes. Day says Will Smith Jr. has "absolutely poured it on" over the past year, and that he didn't solely receive a scholarship because of his dad's name. Day says it might have been a "risk" to offer him at first, but "it's a no-brainer now." On NIL: "It's Ohio State. We should be the best in the country and we will." Day says playing quarterback at Ohio State is "not for everybody," but that he's been impressed by the "makeup" possessed by Lincoln Kienholz. Day says the "number one" priority at Ohio State must be the development of the players. "Certainly there's gonna be opportunities with NIL that were never here before. ... But where are you gonna be in three to five years?" Day says Calvin Simpson-Hunt impressed coaches as a senior and has "really grown in a lot of areas" over the past year. "It was great to get" Jelani Thurman at tight end. Day says the Buckeyes haven't addressed all of their roster needs just yet, but that there's still a long way to go before next season. "I haven't seen much in terms of the enforcement" on NIL violation issues. Day says players have "a lot of flexibility right now" in college football, and that "there are a lot of things going on right now that I know are hard for guys to walk away from. ... We're doing everything we can to do the right thing." Day says OSU wants to sign a quarterback every year, and "we're not bringing in anybody to be a backup. ... If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. Lincoln (Kienholz) is really into it and he never flinched." "Some of these high school coaches are very frustrated" by certain schools spending more time on the transfer portal than bringing in high school recruits. Day says with Ohio State being a three-safety defense, it needs more volume in the secondary. Adds that Ohio State will "continue to look at that" beyond Wednesday. On CFP preparation, Day says "I see a team that realizes that not a lot of people give us a chance. ... We know what we're in for, we know what the challenge is."
Ryan Day believes the Buckeyes signed a “great group” of players who “did it for the right reasons.” https://t.co/YOfVuUhHqD— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 22, 2022
This was a much better coached game, and we almost pulled it off. However in light of the performances against TTUN, I'm not off the #FireRyanDay bandwagon yet. If they give Day another year and he beats TTUN, I might come around. But if he loses again, I'm adding Gene Smith to my list.
Ryan Day is not getting fired. To want him fired is an emotional reaction to a couple of difficult losses. I have faith in Ryan Day. Just his 5th year as a head coach. Ryan Day has had a different energy tonight. pic.twitter.com/VLQtqdHX2e— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 1, 2023
Ryan Day delivers impressive game plan for Buckeyes despite tough defeathttps://t.co/oKgH0iKITX— Lettermen Row (@LettermenRow) January 1, 2023
Losses to Michigan. Wanting him fired is not just emotional. It's having standards. He's John Cooper 2.0, and at Ohio State, that's not good enough.
John Cooper 2.0? Far from it. Cooper is 2-10-1 vs Michigan. We are a long way from that. I grew up during the Earle Bruce and John Cooper years. This is not that.
Ryan Day coached his tail off on New Year’s Eve, but it simply wasn't enough. In addition to untimely defensive lapses and mounting injuries, the Buckeyes’ head coach has continued to struggle with Lady Luck. https://t.co/otQ3AGiFr8— Land-Grant Holy Land (@Landgrant33) January 6, 2023