Full Transcript for BONUS: Ryan Day Breaks Down What's Wrong With The Ohio State Offense

of credit. It's going to 36 00:01:58.140 --> 00:01:59.379 be a big challenge for our defense this week. 37 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:02.829 The quarterback position is always one that draws a lot 38 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:04.810 of attention and never more than when you have a 39 00:02:05.030 --> 00:02:08.509 backup quarterback in there like Luke Fahey, because Julian Sane 40 00:02:08.550 --> 00:02:10.509 is out. And then you have the backup to the backup, 41 00:02:10.569 --> 00:02:12.849 Tavian St. Clair standing on the sideline. And when things 42 00:02:12.889 --> 00:02:15.469 don't go well, everyone sort of starts looking at the 43 00:02:15.509 --> 00:02:17.490 sideline and thinking, well, are they going to bring in 44 00:02:17.530 --> 00:02:20.030 the next guy and see how he does? So what's 45 00:02:20.050 --> 00:02:22.270 the verdict? Are they sticking with Luke Fahey for this weekend? 46 00:02:22.370 --> 00:02:24.710 And did they even think about bringing Tavian St. Clair 47 00:02:24.770 --> 00:02:27.349 into the game at any point last weekend against Oregon? 48 00:02:27.990 --> 00:02:31.639 So I think the first thing to know is like, 49 00:02:31.939 --> 00:02:33.599 we're just going to do whatever we can to win 50 00:02:33.620 --> 00:02:35.000 the game. It gives us the best chance to win 51 00:02:35.020 --> 00:02:36.460 the game. It gives the team the best chance to 52 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:38.560 win it. And when we go through the process of 53 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:42.080 making that decision, it ultimately is my decision. But, you know, 54 00:02:42.139 --> 00:02:44.759 I go through a lot of different channels to make 55 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:46.710 sure that, you know, I'm getting really good feedback on 56 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:49.370 what everybody else is seeing because it's a big decision. 57 00:02:49.430 --> 00:02:54.650 So coaches, both sides of the ball, players, older guys, 58 00:02:54.669 --> 00:02:58.259 you know, guys on offense, receiver, everybody. To find out, 59 00:02:58.500 --> 00:03:01.900 what am I seeing here? Am I missing something? And so, 60 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:04.120 you know, Luke is going to be our quarterback this week. 61 00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:08.039 And Tavian's one snap away. You know, and that mentality 62 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:10.599 has got to continue to be his mentality and continue 63 00:03:10.620 --> 00:03:13.060 to grow. And, you know, if we can continue to 64 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:16.840 improve in practice and build enough trust within practice, and 65 00:03:16.909 --> 00:03:18.430 we feel like he gives us the best chance to win, 66 00:03:18.449 --> 00:03:20.229 we'll make that move. We're not at that point right now. 67 00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:22.960 There were a lot of issues with the team's performance 68 00:03:23.159 --> 00:03:25.520 on Saturday against Oregon, but one of the biggest ones 69 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:27.819 was they went 30 minutes of game time without getting 70 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:30.539 the ball in the hands of their best player, Jeremiah Smith. 71 00:03:30.620 --> 00:03:33.379 Is that something that Ryan Day recognized was happening as 72 00:03:33.430 --> 00:03:33.990 it was happening? 73 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:36.750 You know, I don't think like I had the numbers 74 00:03:36.810 --> 00:03:39.050 in front of me, but you could feel it. And 75 00:03:39.789 --> 00:03:43.030 there was definitely conversation on the headset. There's always conversation, 76 00:03:43.050 --> 00:03:45.210 you know, how do we get the ball to Jeremiah? 77 00:03:46.349 --> 00:03:49.009 You know, there was that point in the second quarter 78 00:03:49.050 --> 00:03:52.909 there where And then into the third quarter where there 79 00:03:52.930 --> 00:03:55.789 was the fake punt, there was the two plays, the interception, 80 00:03:55.810 --> 00:03:57.550 and then the middle eight, which is really where we 81 00:03:57.569 --> 00:04:00.969 broke down, which ate up a lot of time. But yeah, 82 00:04:01.110 --> 00:04:03.629 I mean, and you could feel it. I mean, when 83 00:04:03.650 --> 00:04:06.550 you look at how we design plays and everything, I mean, 84 00:04:06.590 --> 00:04:08.689 he's obviously the first thing we try to make sure 85 00:04:08.710 --> 00:04:11.229 that he's touching the ball. So when that doesn't happen, 86 00:04:11.250 --> 00:04:13.490 now sometimes there are things that are designed and it 87 00:04:13.509 --> 00:04:16.189 just doesn't go that way based on what's happening, but 88 00:04:16.360 --> 00:04:17.629 it's always a priority. 89 00:04:18.660 --> 00:04:20.779 When you have a young quarterback like Luke Fahey and 90 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:23.459 you're trying to get the ball to Jeremiah Smith, obviously 91 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:25.639 you can't just throw it to him. But can there 92 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:28.220 be plays where you tell him, look, Jeremiah Smith is 93 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:31.310 the only guy you're throwing it to here? Or can 94 00:04:31.370 --> 00:04:33.410 it be he's at least the first read on a 95 00:04:33.449 --> 00:04:35.410 bunch of plays? Or is he the only read on 96 00:04:35.449 --> 00:04:35.930 some plays? 97 00:04:36.610 --> 00:04:40.970 Yeah, for sure. There are. And we have those. But 98 00:04:41.670 --> 00:04:45.449 as you can imagine, sometimes there's a mix to it 99 00:04:45.490 --> 00:04:48.980 as well. And there are times where It can't just 100 00:04:49.980 --> 00:04:54.339 go to this person. There are plays like that. We 101 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:56.300 have those plays and you've seen those plays. The last 102 00:04:56.339 --> 00:04:59.389 couple weeks he's certainly had a lot of targets, but 103 00:04:59.430 --> 00:05:01.689 we certainly want to give him more. There's no question. 104 00:05:02.389 --> 00:05:04.930 Teams do a good job of how they defend him. 105 00:05:06.110 --> 00:05:09.370 When those stretches come, it's everything we can to make 106 00:05:09.410

--> 00:05:12.199 sure that he's touching the ball. That being said, we 107 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:14.660 also have to find a rhythm on offense. That's the 108 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:17.129 other part too that I feel like The last couple 109 00:05:17.149 --> 00:05:20.009 of weeks, we have not found a rhythm. It's been clunky. 110 00:05:22.029 --> 00:05:23.730 The ability to make sure that he's touching the ball 111 00:05:23.769 --> 00:05:26.610 and find a rhythm is something that, to me, has 112 00:05:26.649 --> 00:05:27.750 been one of the biggest issues. 113 00:05:27.589 --> 00:05:29.649 We've had on offense. When you're trying to figure out 114 00:05:29.709 --> 00:05:32.250 how to get things back on track on offense, how 115 00:05:32.300 --> 00:05:34.779 much of that just starts with the run game, getting 116 00:05:34.819 --> 00:05:38.759 a good, consistent run game going? How much would that 117 00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:41.759 help get things back on track on offense? 118 00:05:41.819 --> 00:05:43.959 It's a big part of it, that and the protection, 119 00:05:44.019 --> 00:05:49.149 because If you're on schedule on first down, then it 120 00:05:49.189 --> 00:05:51.160 gives you an opportunity to be more balanced going in 121 00:05:51.180 --> 00:05:53.819 and then creating a third down that's manageable. Or be 122 00:05:53.860 --> 00:05:56.839 explosive and shoot the ball down the field. You saw 123 00:05:56.899 --> 00:05:58.720 early in the game, there was just times where we're 124 00:05:58.740 --> 00:06:02.040 second and 11, we're second and 10. A penalty can 125 00:06:02.060 --> 00:06:05.459 get us off schedule. And when that happens, you're completely 126 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:08.129 out of rhythm, especially with a young quarterback. So I 127 00:06:08.149 --> 00:06:09.889 thought the first two drives, we were able to get 128 00:06:09.910 --> 00:06:12.029 back on track, made a couple of nice throws and 129 00:06:12.430 --> 00:06:16.220 got a good rhythm going. But really after that, we didn't. 130 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:19.279 And so we have to find efficient plays that keep 131 00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:23.300 us on schedule so we can keep drives going and 132 00:06:23.319 --> 00:06:26.939 then build on the explosive plays that we've had because 133 00:06:27.139 --> 00:06:30.110 there have been explosives out there, but there's just not 134 00:06:30.129 --> 00:06:33.689 been consistent play in any type of rhythm the last 135 00:06:33.730 --> 00:06:36.889 couple weeks. So that's obviously a major focus for everybody. 136 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:40.129 With the way this season has played out for the 137 00:06:40.170 --> 00:06:44.009 Buckeyes at the quarterback position, having to throw a true 138 00:06:44.110 --> 00:06:47.269 freshman in there with the season on the line, has 139 00:06:47.290 --> 00:06:49.680 that had any impact on how they're going to approach 140 00:06:50.459 --> 00:06:52.000 portal quarterbacks in the future? 141 00:06:53.139

--> 00:06:54.540 You always have to have a plan for if somebody 142 00:06:54.560 --> 00:07:01.370 gets hurt. We did have a plan in place, but yeah, 143 00:07:01.430 --> 00:07:07.319 I think you know, having somebody who's more experienced, um, 144 00:07:07.540 --> 00:07:09.040 you know, would be able to step into, you know, 145 00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:12.019 these roles and, and, um, you know, be a little 146 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:14.620 bit more comfortable. We're working through a lot of growing 147 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:19.819 pains here. Um, and so, yeah, and you, you try to, um, 148 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:24.050 it's a challenge to bring in guys and keep them 149 00:07:24.060 --> 00:07:26.089 in the program when they aren't playing after, you know, 150 00:07:26.110 --> 00:07:28.209 two or three years. I think, you know, for instance, 151 00:07:28.230 --> 00:07:31.720 you know, Lincoln's doing a great job this year. Um, And, 152 00:07:31.740 --> 00:07:33.819 you know, he had developed, you know, over the time here, 153 00:07:33.860 --> 00:07:35.230 hadn't played a whole lot, but it was sort of, 154 00:07:35.959 --> 00:07:38.480 you know, next up. And, you know, he had an 155 00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:40.920 opportunity to go to Louisville and really had a great opportunity. 156 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:44.040 And I think that's the challenge that we're trying to 157 00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:47.360 work through. So is everybody in the country. It's something 158 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:49.480 we have to make sure that, you know, we're prepared for. 159 00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:53.800 And because, you know, again, this is not about Luke 160 00:07:53.819 --> 00:07:56.389 Fahey because Luke Fahey is trying his tail off. And, but, 161 00:07:59.500 --> 00:08:01.779 Like any position, when someone goes down, we have to 162 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:04.209 be able to keep that standard and expectation the same thing, 163 00:08:04.230 --> 00:08:08.750 which it is. We're evaluating all those things. 164 00:08:09.910 --> 00:08:12.949 This is kind of an interesting question on the quarterback position. 165 00:08:13.449 --> 00:08:15.680 How do they figure out what they really need in 166 00:08:15.699 --> 00:08:17.879 the portal? How do they figure out whether they have 167 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:21.009 a future starter in the program when you know, when, 168 00:08:21.050 --> 00:08:22.790 when they need to someone add someone in the portal, 169 00:08:22.829 --> 00:08:25.089 do they, how do they know when it's, they need 170 00:08:25.110 --> 00:08:27.370 to add a starter versus when they just sometimes you 171 00:08:27.410 --> 00:08:29.810 just need an extra guy in that room just in case. 172 00:08:29.870 --> 00:08:33.590 So what's the process there between bringing in a Will 173 00:08:33.629 --> 00:08:35.409 Howard and bringing in a Justin Martin? 174 00:08:36.210 --> 00:08:38.370 Yeah. I mean, that's, that's, that is a challenge. And then, 175 00:08:39.710 --> 00:08:41.669 you know, for a lot of the guys, you know, 176 00:08:42.110 --> 00:08:44.820 when you're trying to identify, you know, transfers coming in, 177 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:47.600 you know, you're not going to usually get, I mean, 178 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:49.259 you try to be creative about this. You know, we 179 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:53.570 all try to be creative. about bringing somebody in who 180 00:08:54.570 --> 00:08:57.269 isn't going to play. They're coming in to be a backup. 181 00:08:57.570 --> 00:09:01.340 So that's a very specific situation. So you have to 182 00:09:01.379 --> 00:09:02.720 try to identify, do you feel like you have a 183 00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:05.519 young guy in the program that's going to be able 184 00:09:05.539 --> 00:09:06.840 to step into that role? Or do you feel like 185 00:09:06.860 --> 00:09:09.100 you need to bring somebody in? And that's the decision 186 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:09.919 we'll have to make every year. 187 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:12.879 You get to this point in the calendar and you 188 00:09:12.899 --> 00:09:15.129 kind of wonder how much you can really do. You 189 00:09:15.169 --> 00:09:17.830 can't install a whole new offense or a whole new defense, 190 00:09:17.870 --> 00:09:20.539 but maybe... Is this just the time to get back 191 00:09:20.580 --> 00:09:23.740 to basics, just to look at the offensive coach and say, hey, 192 00:09:24.220 --> 00:09:26.779 play Jeremiah Smith more, throw him the ball more? Do 193 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:29.580 you need to put guys like Quay Russo, for example, 194 00:09:29.980 --> 00:09:32.120 in the position they were brought in for, rushing the passer, 195 00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:34.720 not dropping into coverage? You could say the same thing 196 00:09:34.759 --> 00:09:38.039 about Kenyatta Jackson. You could say the same thing about 197 00:09:38.070 --> 00:09:40.549 a lot of things. Is it time to just sort 198 00:09:40.590 --> 00:09:43.070 of go back to basics, go back to square one, 199 00:09:43.149 --> 00:09:45.409 and sort of evaluate everything from scratch? 200 00:09:48.090 --> 00:09:48.269 All right. 201 00:09:48.289 --> 00:09:49.889 A little bonus show for you. I hope you guys 202 00:09:49.970 --> 00:09:52.059 enjoyed that one. It has been, man, there's going to 203 00:09:52.100 --> 00:09:55.720 be some fascinating talk all week long in Columbus as 204 00:09:55.740 --> 00:09:57.870 the Buckeyes get ready to take on Northwestern. That is 205 00:09:57.889 --> 00:10:00.700 going to be a fascinating matchup when night, we will 206 00:10:00.740 --> 00:10:03.759 find out the status of Northwestern quarterback Aiden Childs. He 207 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:05.860 was injured last week. If he is back, that is 208 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:07.720 one kind of challenge for Ohio State. If he's not, 209 00:10:08.100 --> 00:10:09.940 that's a different kind of challenge for Ohio State. We 210 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:12.179 will see how that all shakes out. We'll have an 211 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:14.940 update on that 8 o'clock on Wednesday night for you. 212 00:10:15.450 --> 00:10:16.889 But man, there's going to be a lot to talk about. 213 00:10:16.929 --> 00:10:18.230 We will be talking to Ryan Day and some of 214 00:10:18.250 --> 00:10:21.409 the players Wednesday night after practice as well. That usually 215 00:10:21.429 --> 00:10:25.529 starts streaming about 6.15 or so. 6.15, 6.30, give or take, 216 00:10:26.169 --> 00:10:28.409 on Wednesday nights live from the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. 217 00:10:28.450 --> 00:10:30.950 We'll be there for all of that for you. And 218 00:10:30.990 --> 00:10:33.769 of course, we'll be there all week long at BuckeyeInsiders.com. 219 00:10:33.789 --> 00:10:38.090 We've got coverage of the Buckeyes, the recruiting. 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