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What Ryan Day said as Ohio State prepares for Top 10 showdown vs. Michigan State
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The next two weekends for Ohio State have a familiar tone, with No. 7 Michigan State heading to Columbus on Saturday and a trip to Ann Arbor on their slate for the following weekend to take on No. 8 Michigan.
For fans of the B1G East, what could be better?
Day and the Buckeyes are getting ready for the Spartans as they come off a 59-31 blasting of Purdue. Speculation surrounded the matchup with the Boilermakers, given their propensity for upsetting Top-10 teams, but the Buckeyes quickly put that to rest.
But the Spartans will be more of a test, and the Ohio State defense has shown some vulnerability this season. Of course, that was earlier in the schedule, but Michigan State has shown to be a force.
In his Tuesday press conference, Day talked about the weekend and what the Buckeyes are doing to prepare for the Spartans.
Ryan Day says that if Ohio State can, it would like to redshirt the freshmen who have only played in four games or fewer, but ”We’ll see. There’s still a lot of football left.”
Kyle McCord and Evan Pryor have both played exactly four games this season.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) November 16, 2021
Day said people shouldn't read too much into which players participate in Senior Day or not. Said most players haven't made decisions about returning.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) November 16, 2021
Day on C.J. Stroud's preparation skills: "I think it's slowly grown in time." Said he came back "with a little more bounce in his step" after missing the Akron game with his shoulder injury.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) November 16, 2021
Day on a top-10 matchup: "This has been quite a year for the Big Ten. If you look at the second half, there have been some unbelievable games…. There are no weeks off."
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) November 16, 2021
On Bryson Shaw, Day says "he's graded out a champion, he's got tremendous work ethic, he's a tremendous teammate." Day says every player will want some plays back, but that he's sure Shaw will get any issues from last week fixed.
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) November 16, 2021
On not being at the MSU game last year due to COVID-19, Day says "certainly would never want to go through anything like that again." Day says it was a "big challenge" and "not easy at all."
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) November 16, 2021
Day says "there's been some things the past few weeks that have come up" in terms of injuries and absences on the Buckeye offensive line. Day says the plan moving forward is to still play a six-man rotation, including Matt Jones.
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) November 16, 2021
Ryan Day says first-year special teams coordinator Parker Fleming has “stepped in and done a very good job” this year, and that players have been taking a lot of pride in playing well on special teams.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) November 16, 2021
Day on Garrett Wilson: Said his success started with dedication in the offseason. "He's been a pro this year. He's strong. He's powerful. His football IQ has gone way up in the last year or two."
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) November 16, 2021
Day on walk-on Chris Booker, who forced a fumble on a kickoff vs. Purdue. "There's a whole bunch of (walk-ons) doing it. To see Chris do that is tremendous." Booker came from the OSU club team.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) November 16, 2021
Day on the effectiveness of dropping eight in coverage vs. Purdue: "I don't think we did that well enough, to be honest."
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) November 16, 2021
Day says the Michigan State defense creates turnovers and doesn't give up a lot of big plays, while its offense controls the game with the run and then sets up the play-action pass. "That's kind of their recipe."
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) November 16, 2021
On Chris Olave being a Biletnikoff semifinalist despite being the team's third-leading receiver, Day says some opposing defenses have "just decided to take him away" in their game plan.
However, Day says Olave has been a great teammate and team player.
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) November 16, 2021
Day said he asked Stroud before the Purdue game, "Can a Cali kid throw in 40-degree weather with (gusty) winds?" Day said Stroud said he could. And he did.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) November 16, 2021
Scott Schultz covers Michigan State Football, along with Breaking News for B1G Football & Basketball for Saturday Tradition. He also serves as an Automotive News Editor & Writer, and Softball Writer elsewhere on the web. Follow him on Twitter @SRSchultz.