Ryan Day and Team Speak to the Media Ahead of MSU Matchup
9/26/2024 8:30:00 AM | Football
Jeremiah Smith, Wide Receiver
On his current role with the offense and the impact he’s had so far:
“Coming to Ohio State and all the receivers that have been here even before I got here. I had no expectation of having the role that I have right now. I give all the thanks to God and just to be able to be in the position I am in right now.”
Most difficult thing he has experienced in adjusting to college:
“I would say the playbook because of the different formations. A lot of stuff that goes into it and coming from high school that was one of my biggest things. I say I had problems with just learning the playbook but Coach Hartline, Emeka, Carnell, really the whole receiver group just helped me a lot just learning the playbook to be able to understand it. In high school I was just a one sided receiver.”
Ryan Day, Head Coach
On freshman who come early and the impact of being on campus in January: I think the first thing is that they get here at mid year. It's been really hard for guys to make an impact who aren't here in January. I think the second thing is they're physically mature and then they're mentally and emotionally mature to be able to handle and quickly simulate into the speed of the game.Being able to push through physically, mentally and emotionally usually those are the guys that make an impact.
On the running back room’s physicality:
It's always an emphasis but I think you can just see they all kind of want to bring that and it's contagious in the room. I think Carlos does a great job in the way that he approaches every day. The mentality and mindset that he coaches with in that room. I think it's contagious and guys are pushing each other. They see somebody break one or they see someone run for a hard three or four etc they want to do the same thing and they have pride in that. It's a good start but we want to continue to see them improve as the season goes on.
On Will’s running ability:
He knows that's a huge weapon at all levels of football. Certainly for us we're going to need that because it changes the advantage in the box, the leverage, numbers and having the ability to pull the ball and read somebody certainly makes a big difference. So when appropriate we'll use that. He knows that and he's done that before so, he feels comfortable in that he likes that part of it and I think it just adds to his overall game
Cody Simon, Linebacker
On B1G Ten week:
"It's the most competitive possible football we can play. It's all about toughness, running the ball and stopping the run. It's really the best part about football."
On stopping the run:
"I love when our defense gets warm to the ball. That's probably the most fun thing when you make a TFL or something like that and you got eleven halves to the ball and that's just the most rewarding part about defense by linebacker."
On not having a player named defensive player of the game for Marshall:
"We have standards. We want to hold ourselves to the highest standard. I'll stand behind anything Coach Knowles says. We didn't feel like we had someone that separated themselves and that's what we want. We want guys to be able to separate themselves and make big plays. We just know our standard is higher and we can play better at all times. So we're just striving to play better every year."
On losing black stripe:
" Welcome to the brotherhood'. It's hard to understand that until you actually get there and get to that point in your career. I remember I got mine off in the middle of COVID in a scout uniform. It was one of the best days of my life because I felt like I'd earned that respect for my teammates and my coaches. I'm so happy for all these young guys because they're proving themselves out there every game and it's an honor for them. I'm happy to have those guys join our brotherhood too."
Caden Curry, Defensive End
On B1G Ten Play:
"Conference matchups. You're getting everybody's best and everybody wants to win. They're going as hard as they can. It's kind of that next step but it's always all about us and whatever we do and I feel like as long as we play our game we'll be good."
On playing away:
It’s different going out there and they're yelling against you rather than with you. So you kind of got to get used to that. But a lot of players use it as energy and kind of gets them going a little bit more."
On playing with Tywone Malone:
"I love Tywone. He's a great player. Me and him both have that baseball background so we both kind of connect there and he's a great player. He's really athletic."
On his game this year:
"I think for me personally this year is kind of building that confidence in myself knowing that I can do it and just seeing myself do it day in and day out of practice. Taking it from practice to the field and just trying to make a name for myself and kind of get out there and kind of make a dent in the college football world."
TreVeyon Henderson, Running Back
“I love the coaches. It’s the mentality they bring here. I thank God for bringing them here. They have been amazing in this room and on the team. They’re a huge part of the team. I am thankful that God has allowed us to cross paths and have been really helpful in my life.”
On improvement of his career:
A part of this program is getting developed so really just fully getting developed here. The coaches have been doing a good job of helping me grow and becoming a better running back. Especially having Coach Locke here he has been a huge part of the success. I praise God first and foremost that he brought him here.
Josh Simmons, Offensive Line
On potential for offensive line:
"The way we were looking at and measuring it is being the hardest playing team we can be. We just want to play hard. We want to be the hardest playing team in America and that's something that we strive for every day and the rest fall in place."
On his improvement:
"l've improved more in recognizing defense and stuff like that. That way I can measure up how a combo is going to go or if Don is gonna five or he might go inside or might shoot up the field, recognizing blitzes and downs and distances. Kind of putting some puzzles together so it can help me throughout the down."
On playing with confidence:
"That's something that Coach Day says you need do is to play with confidence. I go against the best D line unit in the country every single day. I think that alone will build your confidence. It's time to lock in and floor it on game day."
On getting better at reading defenses:
"That would be Coach Fry. Coach Fry is a genius at not only teaching you a play but teaching you why the play is being called to a certain look. When you go through a whole off-season with that and bye weeks and camps it's gonna marinate in your head."
