Ryan Day and Ohio State Focused on Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Second-year head coach and his Buckeye program are embracing the challenges and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 pandemic.

The world of competitive athletics, at any level, can deliver many forms of adversity and forces participants to adapt on the fly. The difference between success and failure oftentimes comes down to how you transition through these difficult circumstances.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day echoed that notion Thursday afternoon following his team’s opening football practice to begin training camp. The Buckeyes are now preparing for a 2020 season that will be surrounded by ongoing uncertainty related to the sweeping COVID-19 pandemic.

“The message has always been to focus on right now and win the moment,” Day said. “This is the ultimate situation for that because you don’t know what is coming tomorrow. There are so many distractions going on in the world, so we have to make sure we stay locked together on the present. Then we will wake up in the morning and see what comes. Each day arrives with new challenges.”

Due to Ohio State’s first game being moved two days from that initial opening weekend, the Buckeyes were allowed to launch camp earlier than expected. OSU was originally scheduled to begin Friday but action around the Woody Hayes Athletic Center is now in full swing.

“Everything changes on a daily basis so we will continue to adapt,” Day said when asked about his comfort level. “I am comfortable with us starting training camp but, playing a game, not quite yet. The Big Ten has done a great job laying out protocols but there’s obviously more than needs to happen. We are all working hard to put details together so that we can take the field for that first game.”

The Big Ten announced its new/revised conference-only schedule Wednesday morning, consisting of 10 regular-season contests and the annual title game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Ohio State is slated to open on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Illinois in Champaign.

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