COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day spoke with reporters following his radio show on Thursday. He provided updates on his football team and what he expects to see on Saturday. He also answered questions about the problems posed by Saturday’s opponent, Florida Atlantic. Here are the highlights of what he had to say.
+ Which freshmen might play this week? Everybody’s gotta be ready to roll, especially with the new 4-game rule. Harry Miller, the running backs, the linebackers, all have to be ready to roll. Zach Harrison will play for sure.
+ Day plans to stay as aggressive on fourth downs as he has always wanted to be as an offensive coordinator. It depends on the flow of the game. A lot of those decisions have been made before the game. They always want to be aggressive, but they don’t want to force anything.
+ There probably won’t be m any snaps from under center on Saturday or this season.
+ Garrett Wilson will play. He’s a playmaker with good ball skills. He is involved in the return game, but you don’t know how good he’ll be until he does it on Saturday.
+ Demario McCall, KJ Hill, and Garrett Wilson will be the guys rolling in and out at returner. Chris Olave and Jeff Okudah will play gunner, as will other guys. A lot of the special guys teams from last year are back, which is nice.
+ Zach Harrison has had a great approach as a college player, which surprised them when he arrived. His potential is through the roof.
+ If you trust all of your training and preparation, then you can go play with speed and confidence. That’s for the players and the coaches.
+ The tight ends will be utilized similar to how they were last year. They are a strength for us because of their experience. “We’ll need all those guys.”
+ Thayer Munford is really important because he’s the only returning starter and he’s the left tackle.
+ “I’m looking forward to seeing JK run.” He’s also very excited to see the secondary. “We go against them every day and it’s hard to throw against these guys.”
+ Jordan Fuller will start, but Josh Proctor will play.