Major Takeaways from Ryan Day Press Conference

Here are a few things we learned from Ohio State's head coach this afternoon.

Author:
Brendan Gulick
Sep 14, 2021 6:04 PM EDT

Roughly 80 percent of the questions Ryan Day answered on Tuesday surrounded commentary and strategy on defensive staff, scheme and personnel. After Saturday's bad showing on that side of the ball against Oregon, Day made it clear he was irritated that he needs to spend time away from game-planning on the offensive side to figure out the defensive issues.

But he did address a few other things along the way on Tuesday that were worth noting:

Josh Proctor Out for the Season

Day first acknowledged on Buckeye Roundtable on 97.1 The Fan on Monday night that his starting safety Josh Proctor would miss the rest of the season with an injury. It's tough news for a position at Ohio State that needs attention. Bryson Shaw saw the majority of the reps at that spot when Proctor came out and Shaw had a pretty tough game. The Buckeyes need to address that position probably more than any other on the field.

Where is Sevyn Banks?

The Buckeyes preseason expectations seemed to include Sevyn Banks and Cameron Brown as the two starting cornerbacks. While Brown returned to action and had a very good game last week after missing the Week 1 game against Minnesota, Sevyn Banks has not yet seen the field.

Ryan Day says Banks is healthy enough to play, but essentially left it at that. Denzel Burke has played well during his first two career games.

Read Andrew Lind's latest story for more on the Banks situation.

Jesse Mirco Off to a Good Start

Ohio State punter Jesse Mirco is much older than most of his teammates. An Australian native and former Rugby player, Mirco has a bit more physical maturity to him than most "freshmen" you'd typically see enrolled on a college football team.

Day pointed out that Mirco had one punt last week that wasn't his best execution, but also acknowledged two balls downed at the one yard line that really helped flip field position. So far, so good from the new Buckeye punter.

Different Problem, Same Outcome

When talking about the defensive struggles, Day acknowledged that last year the Buckeye defense was among that top 10 in the nation at stopping the run. It was the poor performance in the back end of the secondary that proved most costly.

This year, the problem appears to be the opposite. Minnesota and Oregon have run the ball quite effectively against the Buckeyes, but neither team have exactly thrown the ball down Ohio State's throat.

"This loss doesn't sit well at all ... We certainly haven't found an identity on defense yet ... I think a lot of the guys have had very good snaps, but consistency is not there right now."

Linebacking Issues, Playing Lots of Depth

Ohio State has rotated a ton of players in and out defensively so far this season. Inherently, that's not a bad thing. But when your unit isn't producing results, it's fair to wonder if playing so much depth is helping fix that issue.

Especially at linebacker, Ryan Day admitted that the Buckeyes are still trying to figure out their best unit. He said he was hopeful not to be in this position with that group, but it's something he anticipated could happen.

"It's not like I don't think they can do it," he said. "But if they'd been playing at a high level, that wouldn't be a question."

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