What Ryan Day said after Ohio State's start to spring practice
Ohio State is back on the field.
Friday, the Buckeyes returned to practice to begin preparations for the 2021 college football season. Ohio State is fresh off a 7-1 season in 2020, winning a fourth consecutive B1G title and punching its ticket to the College Football Playoff for a second straight year.
Head coach Ryan Day enters his third season with the program as the full-time head coach and may undergo his biggest project yet: starting a year without Justin Fields under center. While there are plenty of other question marks ahead for the upcoming season, the battle for quarterback will be the No. 1 topic of conversation all offseason.
Monday, after the Buckeyes started spring ball, Day met with the media to talk his initial reactions to the start of practice. He talked position changes, injuries, quarterback competition and plenty more during the presser.
Here’s what Day had to say on Monday:
Ryan Day meeting with the media after Ohio State's second practice of the spring.
Said the Buckeyes will have their first padded practice of the spring on Wednesday. Will be the first padded spring practice for many members of the team, as they never got to pads last spring. pic.twitter.com/Vie1Q7QuOf
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) March 22, 2021
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Ryan Day said Ohio State will not have the quarterbacks take any live contact reps this spring, even though he might be tempted at times. “There's too much to risk there.”
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) March 22, 2021
Ryan Day said this is a big spring for second-year cornerbacks Lejond Cavazos and Ryan Watts. Also said freshman cornerback Denzel Burke has already flashed and made a play in practice even though he's limited coming off of shoulder surgery.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) March 22, 2021
Ryan Day: “It feels like things are somewhat getting back to normal.” Said the Buckeyes practiced outside today.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) March 22, 2021
Ryan Day said Ohio State is still talking about incorporating the "bullet" position into the defense. Still viewed as a different role than the Sam linebacker position.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) March 22, 2021
Ryan Day said Harry Miller, who's widely projected to move to center from guard, has been non-contact in practice as he recovers from an unspecified injury.
— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) March 22, 2021
There's been some speculation about Steele Chambers moving to linebacker, but Ryan Day said Chambers is still playing running back right now.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) March 22, 2021
Master Teague is the incumbent at RB says Day. But we know there's a ton of good looking players there, and a star true freshmen in TreVeyon Henderson.
— Buckeye Show (@TheBuckeyeShow) March 22, 2021
Day asked if any of the quarterbacks have started to separate themselves: "Nothing early. The reps have been pretty much split evenly." Said he's impressed by them but it's still too early.
— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) March 22, 2021
