COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters Monday following the Buckeyes’ second scrimmage of fall camp, providing updates on the offensive line, wide receiver rotation, backup quarterback competition and several other position groups.
With Ohio State now just over a week away from its first game week ahead of the season opener, Day also offered his overall assessment of the team and where the Buckeyes still need to improve and make decisions. You can find the highlights of what was said below.
Ryan Day
+ Austin Siereveld has been working at guard and working inside and has been getting more comfortable after spending a lot of time at tackle last year. Luke Montgomery, Austin Siereveld and Carson Hinzman inside and Ian Moore and Phillip Daniels are on the outside at tackle. They are with the 1s, but Padilla is getting a lot of reps with the 1s, same with Gabe pVan Sickle. They haven’t made final decisions, but that’s how the 1s are playing as of right now, though it’s not final.
+ Wide receiver Brock Boyd will play, but as to how much, that’s to be determined. He has taken a lot of reps with the 1s. Julian Sayin is comfortable throwing to him, he’s smart, has good control, and can play a lot of different positions. Day expects six players to play there, the four veterans and Chris Henry Jr. and Boyd, but there could be more, especially if players are making an impact on special teams.
+ On the captains and Brandon Inniss being selected as the Block ‘O’ recipient, Day said the way the voting shook out this year was a good representation of who the team voted for. The offensive line “union” took from each other in a way, but it’s a good representation from each group and with 51 new players, this group has integrated them. If there were four players who were at the top, they would have gone with that, but there were seven this year and that fit. There was a pretty strong vote for Inniss receiving the Block ‘O’.
+ On the safeties, Jaylen McClain is the incumbent and is a captain and will be the starter. Earl Little Jr. has done a nice job as well, but other players will roll in there. Based on the package, a number of players will play, and they will also play depth there.
+ On naming a backup quarterback, Day said Luke Fahy and Tavien St. Clair, and all of the quarterbacks will continue to work over the next five days as they get into game week.
+ Classes start on Tuesday, so there will be a change in their routine.
+ On moving Siereveld out of left tackle despite his performance there last year and how the staff manages that personnel decision, Day said they’ve seen that he can play tackle, and is probably an NFL guard who can play tackle as well. Putting Siereveld at left tackle and putting Gabe Van Sickle at guard is an option, but Montgomery, Hinzman and Siereveld inside is “a lot of beef right there,” which has given them a reason to like that grouping. “When they all work together, there’s a high level of chemistry. That has momentum right now.”
+ There have been bright spots across the defensive line but they are always looking for players to step up in a big way. “We feel like we have almost 2-3 deep at those positions.”
+ Kyle Parker is still out and has not resumed practice yet.
+ On bringing players back from NFL rosters, Day said he told himself he would stop saying “this is crazy” when it comes to the state of college football, but Day said to think about being this late into the pre-season and rosters are not locked in… it’s frustrating. His opinion on it is that conferences have to decide when, at a certain point, rosters are locked in. Adding them to the roster provides advantages for certain teams, so Day is having conversations about it, with the conference about it, but if there are teams who have these players, they have to consider it as well because ultimately he has to do what is best for Ohio State, though he does not like it at all. “It’s day to day and we are going to try to adapt. But I think we would all agree, maybe not everybody, at a certain point your roster has to be locked in.” Day expressed when he heard the news about LSU getting a player from the Browns roster, he was in disbelief.
+ On his overall confidence right now, Day said he is not happy at all and even though he is complimentary of certain players and position groups, they have a lot of work to do. “We are working. We have a monster schedule. We have 51 new guys. There’s a lot of unknown. There will be storms along the way.” But Day thinks the team has the right attitude. Importantly, they cannot beat themselves. In the scrimmage, they had too many penalties and that’s discipline. “We’re nowhere where we need to be.”
+ Payton Pierce is a natural leader and he was even in high school, and they knew they were getting that when they recruited him.
+ This year, Hinzman and Sayin have communication and tempo that reminds him of Will Howard and Seth McLaughlin, now that they have played a lot of football. They have a good rhythm to them. As to how that translates on the field, that is to be determined.
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