COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ryan Day has spent a decent amount of time in his press conferences throughout fall camp so far talking about things that should make Ohio State fans feel pretty good. He smiled. He laughed. He talked up individual players. He discussed the experience Ohio State has at quarterback and center, the options along the offensive line and the rhythm he’s beginning to feel from his team in practice.
There was plenty of positive to take away from what Day said. So, naturally, someone asked him how happy he was with the progress.
“I’m not happy with it,” Day said.
That answer apparently needed some clarification.
“I’m not happy about it at all. Let me change my to I’m pissed off about everybody.”
And there it was.
For all the encouraging things Day had discussed, he wasn’t going to let anyone walk away thinking Ohio State had arrived. That’s an important distinction with the Buckeyes now just a week away from opening the season.
Day knows there are reasons to be encouraged. He knows the team is working. He knows there are pieces in place that give Ohio State a chance to be really good. But he also has 51 new players to work into the program and what he described as a “monster schedule.”
“I think… I think we’re working,” Day said. “I think we have a monster schedule and I think that you know we have 51 new guys so there’s a lot of unknown.”
That’s a pretty significant amount of unknown for a team that won’t have much time to figure things out once the games begin. And Day isn’t going to pretend otherwise.
“I think our guys have the right attitude,” he said. “I think we have a chance to be a smart team, but we’re gonna have to be a disciplined team.”
That last part is where Day’s concern seems to be concentrated right now. Ohio State’s second scrimmage gave him at least one very obvious reason to be unhappy.
“I will say this in the scrimmage, there were too many penalties. Too many penalties.”
Day didn’t bury that observation somewhere in the middle of a long answer. He brought it up himself. Because to him, the penalties aren’t simply a matter of cleaning up the stat sheet. They’re a matter of discipline, and discipline is something Ohio State cannot afford to lack.
“And that’s that’s discipline,” Day said. “And so, um, we cannot beat ourselves early in the season.”
That’s especially true for a team that is going to be tested early and often. Ohio State isn’t walking into a September schedule that allows it to spend a month figuring out what kind of team it has. The Buckeyes are going to have to find out quickly.
Which is why Day’s standard right now isn’t simply whether Ohio State is improving. It’s whether it’s improving quickly enough.
“There’s a lot of areas that we got to improve in fast,” Day said.
Again, that doesn’t mean Day sees nothing positive. Quite the opposite.
He talked about the value of having an experienced quarterback and center who can communicate and get everyone on the same page. He talked about the rhythm he feels at practice. He talked about the potential for this team to be smart.
Those are not the comments of a coach who thinks his team is in trouble. They’re the comments of a coach who thinks his team has a chance to be very good and knows exactly how much work remains between now and that point. Day previously described the fall camp practices as “a race against time.”
“When when you’re out there at practice and you you feel it, there is a good rhythm about it,” Day said.
Then he immediately put a qualifier on it.
“Now, again, what is that going to translate to? I don’t know.”
That’s really the question.
The Buckeyes can have depth. They can have experience at critical positions. They can have a good rhythm in practice. None of it matters much if they aren’t ready when the games start. Day isn’t interested in confusing encouraging signs with being ready.
“But there’s also a lot of things that I’ve seen that are encouraging,” he said. “So, that that’s been good, but we’re nowhere near where we need to be.”
And that’s why the practice environment isn’t getting easier. Ohio State has been cranking up the noise and trying to make practice as difficult as possible, particularly with road environments waiting early in the season. Day plans to keep doing it.
So yes, there are plenty of reasons to like what Ohio State is doing right now. Day clearly sees them.
But if Saturday’s press conference sounded unusually positive at times, it would be a mistake to interpret that as satisfaction The smiles don’t mean Day thinks Ohio State is ready. The praise doesn’t mean the work is finished. And the depth doesn’t mean the Buckeyes have figured everything out.
Day was asked if he was happy with where things stand. He made sure there was no confusion about the answer.
“I’m pissed off about everybody.”
