PRESSER BULLETS: RYAN DAY, AL WASHINGTON AND MIKE YURCICH MEET THE MEDIA AHEAD OF OHIO STATE'S FINAL NON-CONFERENCE GAME OF THE SEASON AGAINST MIAMI
Ryan Day:
- Day opened his press conference by thanking teachers for the work that they do. This week is the College Football Playoff Foundation's Extra Yard for Teachers week.
- On the right side of the offensive line: "I think Branden Bowen and Wyatt Davis are two of the better offensive linemen in the country." Said he didn't feel like Indiana had reason to attack the right side of the line more than the left side.
- Day said he thought Ohio State played hard and tough in its 51-10 win over Indiana, but didn't play great; the Buckeyes still have a lot to work on. "We do have some momentum right now, but we got to keep that going." Day said it was actually frustrating to watch the film because "there are so many things to clean up."
- Day said he believes Ohio State has elite potential, but doesn't want to spend too much time thinking about that: "If we want to get to where we want to go, we have to take it one week at a time ... If we train the way we train, Saturdays will take care of themselves."
- On preparing for opponents: "I don't think you truly know what a team is until about midseason."
- Asked why he thinks the Buckeyes could be special this year, he believes they have the right people to be great. "They're the type of kids you want your family to be around."
- Day said "there are a lot of things that go into" the missed deep balls that Justin Fields had on Saturday, but "overall, he's managed the game well" and just has to keep gaining experience and learning from his mistakes. He said Fields is "light years" beyond where he thought Fields would be three games into his Ohio State career.
- Day said the Buckeyes spend a lot of time in the preseason working on different situations that could come up in games. Said the coaching staff will watch clips from different college football games and situations and discuss what they would do if they were in those situations themselves.
- Day said the Buckeyes will have to have conversations over the next couple weeks about which freshmen should redshirt and who should not. Said they will make decisions based on where guys can help them and stand on the depth chart, but those decisions won't be set in stone.
- Day said the biggest challenge for Branden Bowen will be to stay healthy and playing well throughout the whole season. "So far, so good."
- The backup quarterback job remains open for competition, and Day said Gunnar Hoak is still learning the offense after just arriving this summer.
- On Fields' arm strength: "Justin has as strong an arm as he needs."
- Day said the key to guarding against complacency is watching the film and seeing what the Buckeyes need to do better.
- “We’re probably doing more stuff than we’ve ever done in terms of variety,” Day said of the offense. He praised Fields’ ability to handle it mentally.
- Day said Fields arrived at Ohio State with a tendency to over-stride and sail the ball high, but Dwayne Haskins and J.T. Barrett also had the same issue until coaches worked with them to correct it.
- On Fields' low-key personality and deflecting praise to his teammates: "That's Justin." Said he hasn't told Fields how to handle himself, that's just how Fields is.
- On Master Teague's emergence as the No. 2 running back: "I think we all kind of had an idea what we had," but it was hard to see exactly what he could do because of injuries in preseason camp. "He needs to assert himself and start to be a guy we could count on."
- On the defense: "I think they're all kind of swarming to the ball."
- Day said backup safety Josh Proctor is "flying around and doing a great job."
- On Chris Olave: "Certainly the last six games he's had, his production has been off the charts." Said Olave has been practicing really well and gaining the confidence of his teammates.
- Day said Ohio State wants to be the best team in the nation, and he says he doesn't hide it: "That's our goal, and we're not ashamed to say that."
Entire article:
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...dia-ahead-of-ohio-states-final-non-conference
PRESSER BULLETS: JUSTIN FIELDS, DAMON ARNETTE, ROBERT LANDERS, WYATT DAVIS DISCUSSES INDIANA WIN, UPCOMING MIAMI GAME
Justin Fields:
- On going back to the film and nitpicking: "It's a learning experience, but it's also kind of a wow moment."
- "We also feel like our ceiling's very high."
- Fields says he missed too many throws on Saturday. "Again, that's just on me." He says he watched film and began working on making improvements beginning on Sunday.
- Fields on whether he surpassed his own expectations or not: "Kind of what I expected." He says it's not too surprising how he has played.
- He says Ryan Day talked to him about improving his footwork and keeping a wide base during Saturday's game.
- Fields says he has been low key his entire life. He says his dad told him to always stay humble.
- "Not every quarterback can hit the woah quite like me."
Entire article:
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...vis-discusses-indiana-win-upcoming-miami-ohio
Here's the O-Zone's take:
Live Updates — Ryan Day’s Tuesday Presser, Sept. 17
+ Chris Olave has been off the charts in production over his last six games, and that’s the way he practices. He knows what he’s doing. He takes the job very seriously. Any time you practice really well, you gain confidence from the guys around you. When you do it in practice and there is belief, that makes a big impact in the game.
+ Day has seen Justin Fields grow as a leader. The team respects him. They see him accept responsibility for plays that don’t work on offense.
+ A great coach can make corrections and show players where they need to improve without belittling them.
+ What needs to be cleaned up? Alignment, assignment, execution, and fundamentals. They are playing tough and fast, which is what they want. Then they go back and clean up the techniques and fundamentals.
+ The young guys on defense are all swarming to the ball. Josh Proctor has been in the right spot to make plays. Those will come because he is in the right spots.
+ It’s not relief to see Master Teague to get going. Day calls it excitement. They’ve been wanting to see him healthy and he did and it has been exciting to see. Now he needs to get better and assert himself.
+ If you’re the best in America, you’ve got to show that every week. If you’re a surgeon, there are no small surgeries.
+ Fields is a low-key guy. Day tells all of his quarterbacks that they have to be themselves. They have to be who they are. The quarterbacks they’ve had the last three years were all very different. They all need to lead and they build leadership in all of their quarterbacks.
+ There is nothing about Justin Fields’ throwing motion that would cause him to throw the ball high. Most of the time with young quarterbacks, it’s a long stride which causes the elbow to drop and the ball to rise.
+ He hasn’t been surprised by Justin Fields this season. “He can take a meeting to the field.” He doesn’t take a lot of reps to get something down. They are doing more stuff now in terms of variety than they’ve ever done, and for Fields to handle that is pretty strong.
+ Arm strength is like saying somebody has the longest drive. It’s not really important to the overall game.
+ Nothing needed to be fixed with Justin Fields when he arrived, there was just a lot that he needed to handle, and he’s handled them. The more you win, the more expectations you create. He handles it well.
+ No change in the backup quarterback job right now. It’s still Chris Chugunov.
+ The conversation about which freshmen are going to be playing or redshirting is happening soon. The more experience they get this year, the better they’ll be this year. They don’t like to redshirt players because it can lower a player’s expectations for themselves. “We certainly would not tell somebody at this point in the year that, ‘Hey, you’re redshirting.” They want all players to be ready to contribute.
+ They work on late-game situations during the preseason and talk about awareness and assignments to avoid some of the mistakes made by many teams this past weekend. They will throw clips of those mistakes up on the screen and talk about what they would do in those situations.
+ As to Justin Fields’ inaccuracy this weekend, there’s a lot that goes into it. On two of those incompletions, there were defenders right in his face. He’s going to get older and he’ll have to start making those throws. This was just his third start. So much of this is just about getting experience. They also work on footwork in practice. They always have somebody blocking the view or throwing angle during practice for the quarterbacks.
+ The type of people they have on this team is another reason why he feels really good about this team. His son is around a lot of role models on this team and that’s great.
+ As you get into these weeks, you start to get a better feel for the opponent because there is more film out there, but you don’t truly know what a team is until midseason.
+ Now is not the time for reflection, but he is extremely grateful to have this opportunity. This is a special place with special people. The culture is strong. There is great energy in the program and in recruiting. The youth is being developed as well, but the team has to bring it each week.
+ He’s felt like this team can be great and be special. They are nowhere near that, but they have the talent and the leadership. Have to take it one week at a time to get there. It’s a cliché, but that’s how it works. Staying focused and avoiding distractions is always key.
+ There is no common denominator in defenses that has given his offenses trouble over the years. Everybody tries to stop the run first and then goes from there.
+ In forming his desired defense, that came from years of playing and watching players and defenses. You try to figure out the trends moving forward. He likes where they are right now and thinks it’s who they need to be. They are running and tackling hard. There are things to clean up, but the effort and toughness is there.
+ OSU played well, but they didn’t play great. They played hard, but when you see the film, there are so many things to clean up. “It’s actually frustrating to watch.” They aren’t worried about buying into their own hype because there is enough to work on after looking at the film.
+ FOX’s broadcast said Indiana planned to attack the right side of OSU’s offensive line, but Day said he didn’t notice that. There were a couple of blitzes there. The right side may be more untested, but so far they have answered those tests.
+ Day started out by talking about the importance of teachers in everyone’s lives and wanted to publicly thank them.
+ Miami (Ohio) has been in tough environments before, so they won’t be intimidated coming into this game.
Entire article:
https://theozone.net/2019/09/ryan-day-tuesday-presser-sept-17/
Live Updates From Al Washington, Mike Yurcich, Justin Fields, More
Justin Fields
+ It’s important for quarterbacks to show their leadership in as many different ways as they can, on and off the field. Even when dancing in front of the team.
+ He knows his footwork was off at times last week. Coaches told him on the sideline, but he also sensed it as well. He welcomes that feedback during the game so that he can apply it right away. Some guys might need more time to process it, but he wants that info on the sideline.
+ What he’s done so far is what he’s expected from himself. It’s not surprising. He’s just glad to be here right now.
+ He’s not sure when he became a leader because there’s always in this building. It was a gradual thing.
+ The message of the need for improving isn’t new. There is always something on film to improve on. He has already watched film and looked at where he can improve and how it will help his game.
+ Film sessions are always learning experiences, but it’s also a wow moment because you see how many plays you missed.
Entire article:
https://theozone.net/2019/09/updates-al-washington-mike-yurcich-justin-fields/
