Ohio State Thoughts: Ryan Day agrees with Nick Saban, O-line adjustments

Ohio State University’s bye week is over and they are preparing for an important game against Nebraska.

For the first time since the loss at Oregon, coach Ryan Day met with the media. Here are four thoughts on the Buckeyes and what Day had to say.

This is the most hands-on day defense has ever seen

There was a different tone in Day’s voice on Tuesday. You could see it on his face and see that he knows something has to change after the loss.

He said several times that he wasn’t happy with anything at the moment.

Ohio State’s defense was the main topic of discussion Tuesday. Day addressed questions about his frustration with the pass rush, the idea of ​​changing things up and even whether defensive coach Larry Johnson and coordinator Jim Knowles were on the same page, which they are, Day said.

A few things stood out to me, including Day agreeing with former Alabama coach and ESPN analyst Nick Saban that Ohio State’s defensive pressure was “antiquated.”

“If it doesn’t work, that’s right. “It’s not working,” Day said. “There are many ways to do this. There are different strategies on how to do this. When you have the results we have now, it doesn’t work and that has to change.”

We’ve been making a big deal all season about Day giving up his playing career. These are the moments where this decision has to pay off for the Buckeyes.

Previously, Day couldn’t spend as much time in defense meetings after a loss because he had to prepare his own offense. This year, however, with Chip Kelly running the offense, he can go where he’s needed most. And that affects the defense.

“I’ve been in there more in the last week than I have in the past,” Day said. “My job is to make sure all three phases happen as they should.”

He spent time in meetings, in position rooms and also trained more often on the field. This is a big boost for Ohio State.

No matter how people feel about Day and his 2-7 record in top-five games, no one can discredit his football brain. He’s smart when it comes to playing football, and his voice should help Knowles’ defense.

If you’re a glass-half-full fan, that’s still a reason to be optimistic about this season. This is still Knowles’ defense, but we’ve never seen an Ohio State team with Day this active. That could be the difference, and Day’s confidence in Knowles and the direction of the defense hasn’t diminished.

While some may point to the 148 points and 1,897 yards given up in the last four top-five contests, everything Day heard about adjustments last week makes him believe the defense is heading in the right direction.
From Tuesday’s Hearing Day conversation, it sounds like the Buckeyes will have a few new looks in their debut against Nebraska.

Saturday will tell us a lot in terms of a possible top-five matchup against Penn State.

After the loss to Oregon, Day said he expected left tackle Josh Simmons to be out for the season and confirmed that on Tuesday, adding that it was a knee injury without elaborating.

Simmons, who was one of Ohio State’s best offensive linemen, is a big loss for the Buckeyes.

Michalski will step in for Simmons. The four-year player is about to make his first career start after playing 44 offensive snaps against the Ducks. He was good in this game, not great, but serviceable. According to TruMedia, he gave up two pressures in 28 pass block snaps.

“He is a veteran who has been in the program and knows what we do. He was ready,” Day said. “Was it perfect? No, but he did some good things. When you compete against Jack (Sawyer), JT (Tuimoloau) and Kenyatta (Jackson) every day, you should be able to compete in those environments with confidence.”

The Buckeyes will continue to rotate players in practice, using left guard Donovan Jackson and right guard Tegra Tshabola as players who could come in if things go poorly for Michalski.

In this case, Ohio State has the flexibility to move Austin Siereveld to one of the guard positions.

Day has talked about this depth several times since the summer.

There were a lot of unknowns on offense heading into the offseason. In fact, after the Cotton Bowl loss to Missouri, it didn’t look like Ohio State had more than two viable offensive players. Instead, there are now at least six, including Simmons and Siereveld.

The hope, however, is that Michalski can increase that number by one.

“Zen needs to take the next step,” Day said. “It’s one thing when you come in to finish a game. Now he has to be the starter.”

I tend to think Michalski will be fine. The good thing about this offensive line is that the right side is showing a lot of progress, especially right tackle Josh Fryar. With Fryar and Tshabola playing well and Jackson standing next to Michalski, Ohio State doesn’t have to rely on him to be everything Simmons was. He needs to move well in space, target defenders in the running game and pick up blitzers in the passing game, but having Jackson and even quarterback Will Howard to help him will give him a boost.

Quinshon Judkins had hand surgery

Simmons wasn’t the only injury that caused the Oregon game.

Tight end Will Kacmarek is out indefinitely, Day said. That means Jelani Thurman and Bennett Christian will be used more often, along with Gee Scott Jr.

However, these were the known injuries.

Day also said that running back Judkins had a minor procedure on his hand but is feeling fine. In fact, Day said he felt better than he even did before the Oregon game.

This is good news for the Buckeyes as they enter the most important phase of their season.

One thing I kept thinking about during the bye week was that even if Howard had gotten out a second earlier at Oregon and given the Buckeyes a chance in the 32-31 loss, Fielding might actually have missed the field goal would have given up on victory.

Howard said after the game and again on Tuesday that the Buckeyes tried to get 15 yards to feel safe from a kick. Ohio State was on the 38-yard line, so 15 yards would have meant about a 43-yard field goal. However, Howard didn’t get that far on his scramble, finding himself just shy of the 29-yard line, which would have been about 47 yards, which was Fielding’s career high last year.

It’s not easy to find a college kicker who can consistently kick 50-yard throws.

To their credit, Ohio State was extremely aggressive in scoring on fourth downs and posted a 75 percent conversion rate. But even if Fielding misses a field goal, Ohio State needs to see what its maximum yardage is in a game.

Kicking in practice and kicking under pressure are two completely different things, and it’s time to find out. I’m not saying to settle for a field goal at Penn State just to test fielding, but when Purdue comes to town and Ohio State is already up 17-0, it’s okay to kick and find out what fielding has to do with the best players lights on.

He has attempted just three kicks this year, the longest of which was 40 yards. It’s not enough, but if it’s anything like last year, he’ll be making more attempts soon.

Last year, 11 of his 20 field goals came in the final six games of the regular season.

(Photo by Ryan Day: Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch / USA Today via Imagn Images)