Ohio State head football coach Ryan Day speaks to the media Tuesday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Credit: Sandra Fu | Managing Photo Editor
The wait is almost over.
In just four days, the Buckeyes will try to become back-to-back national champions for the first time in school history.
Head coach Ryan Day described the impact of being able to kick off Ohio State’s season with a highly anticipated clash.
“I think it’s great for college football playing a game like this (on) opening weekend,” Day said. “It’s going to give us a great barometer coming out of the first game.”
Here are three of the biggest takeaways and a special teams position update from Day’s press conference on Tuesday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
No starting right tackle has been named yet
The last piece of the starting offensive lineman puzzle has yet to be announced.
“We’re going to kind of leave that towards the end of the week, and we’ll let the week play out, let these guys compete,” Day said.
Despite the uncertainty at the position, Minnesota transfer Phillip Daniels will get the most reps throughout the week. Rice transfer Ethan Onianwa, who is the other tackle battling for the starting position, will also rotate in.
“Certainly (Daniels) will play a lot, whether we rotate or not, we’ll decide,” Day said. “But he’s had a really good preseason and he’s ready to play.”
The Buckeyes’ offensive line play could play a huge factor against AP preseason All-American sophomore defensive lineman Colin Simmons, who accounted for nine sacks last season.
Expectations of QB1: Just win
Redshirt-freshman quarterback Julian Sayin’s first start proves to be a heavy challenge. Taking on the top-ranked team in the country is no easy task, let alone in a first start under center.
But Day is not putting any expectation on what Sayin needs to do on the field, other than starting the season 1-0.
“What you can’t do in week one is have these crazy expectations other than winning,” Day said. “Take care of the ball, win the game. You need to throw it away? Throw it away.”
Day looks for Sayin to rely on his playmakers around him to help ease the nerves of a first start.
“We’ve got a good group of guys around him. He needs to lean into those players and find a way to win the game.”
Have balance in the air and on the ground
In the Buckeyes’ first matchup, Day stressed the importance of having a steady offense.
“Ultimately, we have to have a balance,” Day said. “If you have a balance, you get a chance to attack teams.”
Ohio State plans to adopt neither an air raid passing attack nor a smashmouth rushing offense; instead, it aims to find a happy medium.
“To say we’re going to play it close to the vest, no we’re not going to do that,” Day said. “To say we’re going to be wide open, chucking it 60 times, no we’re not going to do that.”
“It’ll be somewhere in between, based on what we’re seeing, the success we’re having and then where we are in the game in terms of score.”
Kicker and punter update:
Returning starters kicker Jayden Fielding and punter Joey McGuire will be the starters in their respective positions this season.
