Ohio State Travels to Arizona to Continue CFP Prep
12/22/2019 8:56:49 PM | Football
Photo Gallery | Press Conference Transcript | Playoff Central
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A three-and-a-half day break for the holidays ended Sunday for the Ohio State Buckeyes as the team traveled to Arizona to reassemble and continue preparations for Saturday’s 8 p.m. EST College Football Playoff semifinal game against unbeaten Clemson at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. ABC will televise the game to a national audience.
Most team members – 64 of 106 – flew out of Rickenbacker at 12:30 p.m. with coaches and support staff on a Boeing 777 or “Triple 7,” a giant of a plane that featured 10 seats across and roomy and extra-roomy accommodations for the players in its first- and business-class sections, respectively. The remainder of the players had scheduled flights from their hometown or home area airports and met up with their teammates at Notre Dame Prep, where the team will practice this week.
60-Minute Workout
The Buckeyes spent about 60 minutes at Notre Dame Prep upon arrival, loosening up, stretching and getting back into the typical game week routine with a typical Sunday afternoon workout. By the end of practice, all players were on site or accounted for with the exception of one walk-on, whose flight was delayed, as was the full complement of coaches, graduate assistants, quality control coaches and interns.
Tomorrow
The Buckeyes will practice late Monday morning at Notre Dame Prep and then about half of the team will take part in a community service event with Child Crisis Arizona at Dick’s Sporting Goods in the afternoon.
This Week’s Media Schedule
Tuesday, Dec. 24
It’s coordinator’s media day at the Camelback, the media hotel for the Playstation Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State will be represented at this 45-minute event between 9:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. by:
- DC/secondary coach Jeff Hafley and DE Chase Young, CB Jeff Okudah and LB Tuf Borland; and
- OC/tight ends coach Kevin Wilson and OG Wyatt Davis, RB J.K. Dobbins and QB Justin Fields.
Open practice Tuesday: The first three periods, beginning at approximately 1 p.m., of Ohio State’s practice at Notre Dame Prep will be open for photography and video taping purposes.
Wednesday, Dec. 25
The first three periods, beginning at approximately 1:30 p.m., of Ohio State’s Wednesday practice at Notre Dame Prep will be open for photography and video taping purposes.
Thursday, Dec. 26
Team media day at the Camelback will feature head coach Ryan Day, all of the Buckeyes and the assistant coaches in a one-hour extravaganza of a press event beginning at 10 a.m. at the Camelback.
Friday, Dec. 27
The final press conference prior to the game will be a joint event featuring coaches Ryan Day and Dabo Swinney at 9:30 a.m. at the Camelback.
Headquarters
Team headquarters this week for the Buckeyes and their support staff is the Fairmont Princess, in Scottsdale.
A Cibene Surprise
Mike Cibene, a student intern working with the linebackers who was a walk-on member of the team for four years between 20013-16, was sporting a glow about him, as he should: over the break he proposed to his former girlfriend – Olivia DiCarlantonio, from West Palm Beach, Fla. – who is now his fiancé. No wedding date has been set.
2019 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl
Ohio State Team Arrival Press Conference
Sunday, December 22, 2019
COACH DAY: Thank you. I want to thank everybody involved with the Fiesta Bowl, one of the most prestigious bowls in all of college football. Very hospitable. It started way back in the spring with my wife and I and then coming to some of the games. Really looking forward to this trip.
Arizona this time of year is beautiful. Looking forward to some nice weather to practice. We gave the guys a couple of days off. They were home with their families. And now it’s back to work and looking forward to a great week.
SCOTT LEIGHTMAN: The gentleman in the middle is a sophomore from Miamisburg, Ohio. In high school, he was named the No. 1 player in the state of Ohio, which is quite an accomplishment, as an offensive lineman. He’s the anchor of an offense that ranks No. 5 in the nation in total offense and rushing offense, and that’s Josh Myers.
All the way to the left from Pickerington, Ohio, Davon Hamilton, 9 1/2 tackles for loss and five sacks, second on the team behind Chase Young.
Q. Assuming everyone was supposed to come, were they able to? Did everybody make the trip?
COACH DAY: The guys who are within a three-, four-hour radius came with us on the charter. Everybody else we fly from home. I know there’s always a couple things here and there. But as we took off, looked like the majority of the guys will be here today.
Q. Josh and Davon, this is an unusual Sunday. You’ll go out and practice from here. You have been on a plane for a couple hours. What was the mood like on the way in as you get ready for the week ahead?
JOSH MYERS: I think we were excited to get back here. We got time to spend with our families, and now it’s back to business. I’m excited to stretch after that long plane ride.
DAVON HAMILTON: I agree with him. It’s kind of a long plane ride. I’m glad to be back here for the third time for me. We’re really going to enjoy it.
Q. Ryan, your first bowl game as a head coach. I’m wondering, where did your plan come from in terms of this week and bowl prep?
COACH DAY: Very unique. This is a unique time frame in terms of coming off of the Big Ten Championship game, getting ready for this. There’s really no precedence for this one because typically in the past, the plan has always been, phase 1, development of the young guys, get rest for the older guys. And then phase 2 is kind of game plan the week before, go home for a little break, and come back. Phase 3 is at the bowl site.
We really didn’t have time for that. So this was somewhere between getting ready for a bowl game and a bye week. We practiced Friday, Saturday, took Sunday off. Went Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday real hard. Gave them three days off, and now we’re back to work here.
So talked to a lot of people about this. I think it’s a really good plan to keep them fresh and also on top of their game.
Q. Along the same lines, just how comfortable were you with everything you guys got done in Columbus and coming out here, the state of mind you guys are in right now?
COACH DAY: Feel great. I think our guys are going to come back today, refreshed, reenergized. We got a lot of time to game plan. We’ve been working at it the last couple of days, and now we’ve got really six days to get ready for this game, which is great. Whole bunch of time together in the hotel, which is always good, too.
It’s like being on the road for an extended period of time. That’s kind of the way we’re looking at it. Certainly, is a bowl game but it’s a little different. This one you’re playing for a lot more, and I think the guys are going to prepare that way this week.
Q. Coaches like to keep control of their team and want to be around them all the time. Any part of you that debated that approach, letting them go and trusting them? I know you have faith in them a week before a game.
COACH DAY: Well, I think when you look at it, we practiced five of six days and then we gave them three days off. That’s not very unlikely for a bye week. If this was a bye week, that’s typically what we would do anyways. It seems like a long time off. We blink and we are right back together again. It really wasn’t that long.
After those three games we played down the stretch, these guys needed it, and now they’re going to come back refreshed ready to go.
Q. Davon, you’re the only one of the three who was here three years ago. Do you reflect back on that time three years ago? Are there things you learned from that, that you now can talk to the team about today?
DAVON HAMILTON: I mean, all I can really say is we are prepared. We have the week to prepare. There’s nothing really to say about the last three years. We’re talking about the present now, and that’s all we’re looking forward to.
Q. Ryan, I know the official status report won’t be released until Friday. Can you give any update on how Justin [Fields], for example, is moving around? Shaun Wade? Any other players?
COACH DAY: We’re expecting to be at full strength. The injury report coming off of last week was excellent. Everybody was practicing. After three more days of rest, we should be at full strength.
Q. What do you remember about Clemson from that last time you guys played in that game?
DAVON HAMILTON: That game, we didn’t play very well, I would say. But this time around, I feel like we’re going to play good.
