Head Coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes stands on the sideline during a game against Western Michigan at Ohio Stadium on September 7, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
COLUMBUS – Some people might be concerned that Ohio State’s defense had only one sack in a 49-14 win over Marshall last Saturday but Ryan Day isn’t.
Day explained why on Tuesday in what sounded like a mini-lecture from a Football 101 class during his weekly press conference to preview Saturday night’s game at Michigan State.
“I think what is important for everybody to understand, and that includes J.T. And Jack (defensive ends J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer), and our guys, that if an offense decides they’re not going to give up any sacks they can run the ball every play or run an RPO (run pass option) and get the ball out of the quarterback’s hand quickly,” Day said.
“It isn’t a game of stats. What you’ve got to do is stop the run and if the quarterback is in a situation where he’s looking to run quarterback draw or quarterback power or those types of things we’ve got to stop the run first. The sacks will come.
“Just to go out there and think you’re going to sack the quarterback if one of the things the other side decides is they’re not going to take a 5-step drop and hangs on to the ball those opportunities aren’t going to be there. You have to defend what the other team is trying to do. That’s just the bottom line.
“When you have talented pass rushers you’re going to get some different styles of play. We all just have to make sure we understand the goal, which is first to stop the run, and then secondly it’s about disrupting the passing game.
“There are different ways to disrupt the passing game. We could talk about this for hours but I want to make sure that the No. 1 goal is the No. 1 goal and that’s to stop the run and get off the field on third down, whatever that takes. And that might not be a sack,” he said.
Some other thoughts from Day:
•FIELDING’S EXPLANATION: Usually reliable kicker Jayden Fielding sent three kickoffs sailing out of bounds against Marshall in the first half and did not play in the second half.
Day used the word “tweak” to describe an apparent physical issue Fielding had last Saturday.
“He gave us some information about a little tweak that he had. He either has to make the correction or communicate to us that there was an issue. I talked to him about that and how much we need him moving forward. He felt a little something early on and wasn’t able to make the adjustment. Nothing long term or anything like that,” he said.
•ROTATING GUARDS: Tegra Tshabola will continue to be the starter at right guard on the offensive line but Austin Siereveld will get some playing time at that position, as he did against Marshall.
Siereveld earned more playing time after starting at left guard when starter Donovan Jackson did not play the first two games of the season.
“We are going to keep moving forward like we just did and let both these guys play. As of right now Tegra is going to start but they’re both going to play,” Day said.
•BROWN STILL NO. 2: Devin Brown remains the backup quarterback but the competition for that spot continues, Day said.
“He would be our No. 2 right but everyone has a chance to compete. There are five guys in that (quarterbacks) room who want to get out there. Right now he is our two,” he said.
•WILLIAMS DAY TO DAY: Defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, who missed the Marshall game because of an undisclosed injury which some media reports have speculated is a shoulder injury, is “day to day,” Day said.
“Tyleik is day to day. He will be out there today (Tuesday) and we will see how it goes.”
Hero Kanu started in Williams’ position and others also played that position.
“When you watch the film there were good plays but there needs to be more consistent play. When Tyleik is out there he certainly makes his impact felt. You learn when you step into that role it’s different than playing 10 to 15 snaps in a backup capacity when you’re the guy,” Day said.
