Buckeyes Spoke To The Media Before They Hit The Road To Washington
9/24/2025 10:16:00 AM | Football
On how he has been preparing in practice for Washington:
Crowd noise. It’s a great environment. I've never been, but I can't wait to go. They have won twenty-two straight home games, so what a great challenge for our team. We're excited about that, as that's the next step for our maturity as a team. We know that in order for us to reach our goals, we are going to have to go on the road in this conference and win games. This is a team with a great record at home and they're a very good team. They have a lot of weapons and they're well coached. Our preparation has been good this week. The guys know what the challenge is going to be. We know how tough we have to be to go on the road and win games, and it's not just about being physically tough, but it's emotionally tough, mentally tough, and understanding the environment can't dictate how we play.
On his message to Julian before this match-up:
Take care of the football and take it one play at a time. Don't do anything other than that and then find a way to get your first road win. Sort of like in the Texas game, win the game. In an environment like this, you've got to be steady, and you've got to lead. You have to lead.You have to lead with your command, and you have to lead with your play, and your resolve.
On what's going through his mind during these first couple of home games:
Just to go out there and dominate, that's what is going through my mind.
On why he is hard on himself after these first couple of games:
I feel like that is what motivates me, being hard on myself. That is how I have always been, ever since I was a little kid. I know what I am set out to do, and what I want to achieve, so I am very hard on myself because there are things I know I want to accomplish.
On his thoughts about Washington's stadium:
I will definitely look around, look at the fans, look at the stadium, they have a big stadium. It is going to be loud, Coach Hartline said when he played there back in the day. He said it was very loud, so I am just ready to go out there for a big game; it is a good opponent.
On Julian and his overall performance for these first three games:
I am very proud of Julian, from the first game to now, he took that step, and I can't wait to see how he plays this Saturday.
On facing a good defensive lines:
We’ve had a lot of experience in it, but also because it’s going to be a great challenge for us and what we want to do this year so, we need to be really dominant in that aspect.
On how different environments change the game:
It kind of helps you not get rattled, for some guys when it’s your first time in one of those loud environments, it’s difficult to lose one of your senses. Not only that but with a team who obviously has a great defensive front, it can be difficult at times, but being able to play in a couple of those games and having that experience it helps build a good trust connections like yeah, we can do this.
On talks between snaps:
We have prepped for this in practice and stuff like that with the noise. It’s that us-versus-them mentality. We have a great culture in the defensive line room that we can trust each other, and to have that trust between us, I think it’s important in those high-pressure situations
On trusting that everything works out:
I mean it’s difficult but you know in the Bible Jeremiah 29:11 'for you know the plan the Lord has for you'' we write that up on the board every time before we go play a game, and so just being able to trust the process and trusting that we will play when it’s our time, and when it’s our time we will go out and put it all out on the field.
On how excited he is about the challenge of the first away game of the season:
I’m super excited. I know they have had a lot of great success at home and they’re a great team. It’s going to be an amazing environment to play in, so it’s exciting, it’s our first road game. It’s a really tough one and I think we are going to walk out of this game, figuring out a lot of stuff about ourselves.
On the challenges with Washington's quarterback and how that impacts his job:
Just certain situations, being aware of quarterback runs, being aware for QB draws, and being aware as the play extends, like getting ready for him to scramble out. Then for the defense line, you have to be able to keep him in the pocket, just to be cautious with that.
On asked about what he’s seen from Caden Curry thus far this season:
I think he’s a playmaker, always making plays. I think when you turn the film also, the biggest thing that stands out is he plays so hard. He's the hardest playing guy on the field. And he’s just consistent.
On what kept him sticking with Ohio state football:
Honestly the coaching staff, coach Day and coach Johnson. When Matt Patricia came in, he definitely got me to stay close with my defensive line. It's the brothers and the connections I’ve made and they have made me not want to go anywhere else.
On how the defense showing motivation for this upcoming game:
There is always motivation for this defense. I feel like we are always trying to make ourselves better every week and were always trying to be one step ahead of everybody, and we are always staying motivated and create energy when it’s not there.
On the ups and down through his career:
Kinda the same ups and downs for everybody, every player here has to go through, because you’re playing at one of the best football teams in the nation. You have to go through the freshman process. You have to go through the not starting when you want to process. Then you have to go thought everything else like that. That’s what I feel like going through the highs and lows, but it has paid off for me.
On biggest challenge that comes with going against Washington:
They have a really good offensive coordinator. He has been a lot of places and is a really good coach combined with a lot of good players. Washington's quarterback is a really good player. Their running back's are really good players; receivers are really good players. They have a lot of talent around the field with a good offensive coordinator calling the plays.
On the impacts of Devin Sanchez as a freshman:
He is trying to be intentional with everything he does. He's trying to learn, trying to put himself in a positions to make plays on the field and when his name is called, make the play. I think that's a big thing for any freshman just trying to pay attention to detail and put himself in position to win.
On Jaylen McClain improvements:
He has grown up. He's a really good communicator. He's put himself in a lot of good positions. He's made a lot of plays. I think he's taken a real leadership role and just showing the way for the young guys to watch how he's grown and how he's progressed as a player. He’s made himself somebody that you can look to and say I want to be like him.
On how the first three games felt for him being a starter for the first time:
It’s really why I came, so I can be on that field and show the world what I can do. It has been fun to start, we got a lot of games left, a lot of football ahead, so it’s just the start.
On What it was like mid game to switching to the nickel position:
I have been preparing to do whatever they ask me to do all off season. I think, I was ready for the moment. Coach Day likes to say a lot when things get hard, you have to refer back to your training. I trained a lot in the nickels off season, got my technique better, so I was ready.
On what it takes mentally and emotionally to play so early in his career as a freshman:
I think you just have to have that something about you, like that swagger, and confidence in yourself and everybody around you to have that confidence in you as well. I think the main thing is having that confidence and just knowing who you are and what you can do out there on that field.
