It's officially Week 9 for Ohio State as it looks to come out of its bye week with a good momentum-building win on the road against No. 25 USC this weekend, a critical game to continue its journey to the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media on Tuesday for his weekly game-week presser to preview the Buckeyes' matchup with the Trojans. The Ohio State head coach discussed numerous topics ahead of the Buckeyes' Week 9 game, including the topic on everyone's mind -- who will play quarterback after the injury to Julian Sayin.
Here's a look at some of the standout notes and quotes he had.
Day Not Ready To Name A Starting quarterback for Ohio State
Ohio State went into its bye week trying to navigate the quarterback position after the news broke about Sayin likely being out for
the remainder of the season. The good news? It had an extra week to prepare for whoever will be under center against the Trojans. The bad news? Both options are incredibly inexperienced, and Day is not ready to make a decision between Luke Fahey and Tavien St. Clair. Is there a chance both will play on Saturday? Yes.
“Both quarterbacks practiced well last week, which was good. There was good energy. Guys were rallying around both guys. We’ll keep working this week and keep working on packages for both guys," Day said. " ... We’ll see how the next couple days go, but they both have been really into it. Practice was good last week, so we need to stack a few more days, and then we’ll go into the game and figure out what gives us the best chance to win ... there’s definitely a chance (of playing both).
“You gotta get somebody ready to play. So we’ll parse those out today and project it the best we can. But yeah, there’s no question. We gotta be smart about this preparation and every rep. The good news was we did have some snaps next week and last week that were extra, so that was good. I got in here Sunday, got a cut ahead of the game plan, which was good. Every rep will be very, very important.”
What Is Day Looking For From His Starting Quarterback?
This isn't a one-week decision. Day understands that this decision will likely make or break Ohio State's long-term potential this season. With just five games remaining and already a loss under its belt, Ohio State needs to feel confident with the starter this week and moving forward. But what exactly is he looking for, with neither having a lot of true game film to base this decision on? There's one specific skill that Day is looking for: toughness.
“I think the first thing is, if you say one thing, they gotta be tough. If our guys play tough, and what I mean by that is physically, mentally, and emotionally tough, that’s critical here,” Day said. “So we know we gotta make routine plays routinely. We gotta stay on schedule. We can’t make bad situations worse ... it’s gonna take everything we have, and it’s gonna start with the quarterback. You’re saying give me one thing, that’s toughness."
The Offensive Line Shuffle Could Be Nearing Its End As A Critical Stretch Approaches for Ohio State
Austin Siereveld, a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection last year who has 26 career starts under his belt, is likely to be returning to action for the Buckeyes this week after missing the past two games. What does that mean? It means the offensive line should be at its best health since the preseason. With Siereveld back, it brings some additional flexibility to the position. Gabe VanSickle and Phillip Daniels round out the right side of the Buckeyes' offensive line, making this just the third time this season that all three players will be active for the same game.
"It’s going to depend on how much Austin is available to play, and whether he can play a full game," Day said. "We’ll figure that out as the week goes on and see how he does. He wasn’t available to practice even last week, so this will be his first full week of practice. We’ll see how he is coming back and go from there. When both guys are healthy, I think they both help us, and we have to assess over the next couple of days how much he can play this week and what gives us the best chance to win."
Regardless of who is active and where on the line they play, it's now of the utmost importance that this position group plays in sync and plays with confidence. With a young quarterback under center, there needs to be a heightened emphasis on the details, and that starts with making sure everyone is fully healthy and ready to play with an elevated level of responsibility.
"It certainly will help ... The offensive line has a direct impact on how this goes," Day said. "It’s the quarterback’s job to earn the trust of the guys up front, but it’s also their job to protect him and encourage him, and to remember that he’s in the huddle because they’ve played a lot of football. It’s the quarterback’s job to run the huddle, though, so it goes hand in hand."
Overall Message To The Team for Ohio State players -- 'Do Your Job'
Ohio State, currently No. 2 in the country according to the US LBM Coaches Poll and sitting with a record of 6-1, still has games at Nebraska and home against No. 18 Northwestern, Oregon and Michigan following USC this week -- none of which would be considered 'easy' games. That one loss lingers and sticks out like a sore thumb when looking at the Buckeyes and their potential resume and record at the end of the season. The past is the past, and nothing can be done to change that. So what is Day's message to the team moving forward?
"Do your one-eleventh of the puzzle. That’s the message," Day said. "You have to do your job, and you can’t do anything more than that, but the margins have gotten tight. If you make a mistake with a young quarterback in there, you’re putting yourself at risk of losing a game. We just need to be tighter, do our jobs, and have great focus. That message wouldn’t be any different if Julian were playing this weekend, but it’s a good reminder. You can’t do more than your job, but you have to do it really well and really efficiently."
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State coach Ryan Day's key takeaways following the off week
