Ryan Day: "This is a Very Different Rutgers Team"
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day jumped on the Buckeye Roundtable Show for a segment on Monday night on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus. He shared a few thoughts on the win over Penn State, the bizarre play at the end of the first half and what he sees in Rutgers this year.
What were you most pleased with?
"The energy and physicality we played with was excellent … I thought we played really hard, brought our own energy and got off to a great fast start."
Thoughts on the first play from scrimmage, which was a 62-yard run by Garrett Wilson
"It was really well done, we wanted to get the ball on the perimeter a little bit,. We worked hard on that play, the timing and speed Garrett hit it with was great. Chris Olave did a great job crack blocking the safety, the tight ends blocked great … it really set the tone for the game because we were able to call some inside runs and play action passes off it."
Using 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) on offense
"It's really done some good things for us with some different looks, good versatility, lining up in bigger sets … downhill runs have helped … we can spread out into some drop back passes too. It kept them on their heels with different looks and high tempo."
Comments on controlling the line of scrimmage
"Both sides we did a great job … defensive line created lots of disruption, offensive line was very physical game. It was great to see … we talk about it a lot: being physical and playing with energy and toughness are important, but gotta win the line of scrimmage."
Thoughts on the defensive line play
"It's always an emotional game for Coach Larry Johnson … I was really happy to see the inside guys play well the first two games … we need championship level play there and it's been excellent between Tommy (Togiai) and Haskell (Garrett). We've been able to play some depth too with Taron (Vincent) and Antwan (Jackson) getting healthy, and the defensive ends played great."
Marcus Hooker had a break out game at safety
Referencing the interception at the end of the game ... "He really broke on that ball with confidence … to make that play, in that moment, it iced the game for us … he made a huge play on a national stage and now the country knows who he is. Great for him and it will help his confidence."
Thoughts on Chris Olave
"It's hard to compare him, he’s probably the best I’ve been around … his skillset tracking the balls reminds me of DeShaun Jackson … he blocks so well, he's tough, catches the ball over the middle … he’s come up big in big moments, so he’s clutch too … thinking back to last year's Penn State game and rivalry game, he's been huge ... so yeah, he's probably the best I've been around."
On the end of the first half at Penn State
Day said he did the math and realized they could call their timeouts and get the ball back and perhaps make a run at the end of the first half. But once they didn't pick up a first down, they were content to run out the clock. He said they felt like they had momentum going into the half. They talked about milking the clock, having Fields run around a bit or perhaps punting the ball, but with only two seconds, they thought an extended knee was the right play. He said the whole thing was like a bad dream. He was in the middle of an interview with ABC's Maria Taylor when the refs came over and told them there was one second going back on the clock.
Thoughts on Rutgers
"They're a very different team than last year … they have several transfers and have upgraded talent … they had a big win against Michigan State. Greg (Schiano) is really building something. This won’t be the same team we’ve played the last couple years … we don’t have a year or two’s worth of film to go back upon either with all the new players … you can surprise people on schemes and things like that … we have to prepare and take care of the basics … Greg is a very, very good coach."
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