Ryan Day, Ohio State Obsessed With Maintaining Championship Expectations Amid Quarterback Competition
Ohio State has won four consecutive Big Ten titles and reached the College Football Playoff in each of the last two seasons, and even though the Buckeyes will be breaking in a new starter at quarterback this fall from a group that has yet to throw a college pass, the expectations around Columbus haven’t changed one bit.
“We don’t have a choice,” head coach Ryan Day said during his media availability on Friday afternoon. “I tell the guys all the time that we have to (meet those expectations). That’s the desperation we have to wake up with every day as a coaching staff, as players. I tell the guys all the time I wake up scared that people want what we have.
“The expectation has been set, we know that. It was the same expectation when I was fortunate enough to be (named) the head coach a couple years ago and the expectation hasn’t changed and won’t in 20 years here at Ohio State.
“We’re expected to be the best. With that comes great responsibility. We’ll wake up every day and just grind. I keep using the word ‘obsessed.’ Our players have to become obsessed with maximizing themselves in the weight room, watching film and getting themselves prepared to play against Minnesota.”
With a little more than four months until season opener against the Golden Gophers, there’s still plenty of time for one of the signal-callers – be it redshirt freshmen C.J. Stroud or Jack Miller or true freshman Kyle McCord – to assert themselves as the leader in the quarterback competition. There was little to no separation between the three during spring practice, which means a strong effort in the weight room, film room and offseason conditioning program will only improve their chances.
“They’re tasked with being obsessed with learning the offense, and a lot goes with that,” Day said. “They have to get in the weight room with (strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti). They have to get stronger, they have to get faster, they have to get quicker. We grade our guys in there and we have a champions meeting right before the beginning of preseason camp. If you’re gold, that means that you’re one of the top performers in the weight room. That’s the first thing they have to do.
“But then it’s off the field. It’s studying film, watching film, spending time in the Woody (Hayes Athletic Center). That’s what they have to do. The fluency of the offense. They’re getting there, but they’ve got a long way to go. We’re playing catch up here. We would obviously love to have someone that’s in year two or three, but we don’t have that luxury. We have some young guys and they have work to do.”
Of course, winning the job during fall camp is only half of the battle. It's performing well once they’re named the starter that will be key in order for Ohio State to make it back to the Big Ten Championship Game for the fifth year in a row or back to the national championship, which also happens to be taking place at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium this January.
“I think the idea is to get the guys ready,” Day said. “Across the board, the focus is ‘Who’s the starter?’ Well, you could be the starter, but if you’re not ready to go, that’s not going to last very long, so the race is to get ready to play.
“If we feel like someone has taken that much of a step ahead and they’re ready to play against Minnesota that first week, then we’ll name a starter at that point. If it’s not until the week before, it’s not going to be until the week before. It would be ideal to be able to name someone a little bit sooner than that so that they can get the majority of the reps, but until someone really puts themselves out in front of the other two, we’ll just keep going.
“It’s a long year. It’s a long process. The focus for these guys just has to be, ‘How do I get developed faster? How do I get the most ready to play this season?’ Not trying to win the job because sometimes I think it’s, ‘How do I compare myself to the guy next to me?’ It’s not about that. It’s, ‘How do I get myself ready?’ Because we have to go win some really hard games this season.”
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