It's officially Week 6 for Ohio State as it looks to build on a high-quality win over Big Ten foe Iowa last week when it welcomes Maryland to Columbus this Saturday.
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 Terps and give his final takeaways from the win against the Hawkeyes. The Ohio State head coach discussed numerous topics ahead of the Buckeyes' Week 6 game.
Here's a look at some of the standout notes and quotes he had.
Special Teams Needs To Improve
Ryan Day isn’t pleased with Ohio State’s special teams play. pic.twitter.com/F1HHaCLxsu
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 6, 2026
Whether it was the loss to Indiana last year, the loss to Texas this year, and some of the other big moments in games throughout much of the last few
seasons, special teams play has been a thorn in the Buckeyes' side -- and not just due to missed kicks. Whether it's on kickoffs, punts, receiving, or not, the special teams unit hasn't improved and isn't providing any boost to the Buckeyes. One stat that says that and more? Ranking No. 116 nationally in punt return average. If the defense does its job to get the opposing offense off the field, the special teams unit isn't capitalizing on it in any way. Ryan Day didn't mince words on Tuesday.
“I don’t think I can sit here and say that we’ve improved on special teams right now. We need to play better. And that’s everybody included," Day said. " ... we need to make sure that we’re getting better production out of the special teams. When we play against certain teams, teams will try to steal a possession. So there’s times where we have to make sure that we’re covering our bases.
"But just overall, when we look at the consistency of kicking field goals, not good enough. When we look at our return yards, we need to do better just across the board. And we have an opportunity to pooch the ball into the 10-yard line. That has to get done. So it’s a challenge to everybody in the program. We’ve got to get better in all four phases of special teams.”
Offensive Line Likely To Be By Committee, Looking To Find Consistency
Offensive 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲: @lukeMonty8 ‼️ pic.twitter.com/ZGeTuZe3Cs
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 4, 2026
Ohio State came into the year knowing that its offensive line was going to be an x-factor and one of the big keys to the potential success of the season. So far, it's been a mixed bag. The good news is the Buckeyes are hoping to get starting right tackle Phillip Daniels back very soon, and that'll add another dimension to the team and the rotation. The Third-Team All-Big Ten selection in 2025 brings with him 14 career starts. Ryan Day said that Ohio State will likely go with some sort of consistent rotation, but up to this point there isn't a lot of clarity on what exactly it will look like, other than hoping Daniels is back on the field soon.
“I’ve always felt like you don’t lose a position just because you get injured," Day said. "That being said, I think there’s a little bit of rhythm going on right there, so we’ll have to identify that as it goes. I think we thought Phil (Daniels) would’ve been back a little bit sooner. He’ll be limited today. We’ll see how he looks today. Hopefully, we can get him going with some scout work throughout the middle of the week, and hopefully, we can get him available for this game. Once he is available, we’ll figure out how many snaps he can take and then how we would rotate that in the game. But we’re anxious to get Phil back. That’s for sure. And how he gets integrated back into it will be based on his health.”
Running Backs 'Feel The Competition'
Ryan Day picked out a diamond in the rough when he snagged Ja’Kobi Jackson from the portal pic.twitter.com/2HzfffR6uK
— Mr. Ohio (@MrOH1O) October 5, 2026
Bo Jackson and Ja’Kobi Jackson continue to work in tandem this season for the Buckeyes, and with that comes a lot of friendly and healthy 'competition,' says Day. It was notable that against Iowa, Ja'Kobi Jackson got the start ahead of Bo Jackson. Bo Jackson still has paced the Buckeyes throughout the season, with 66 carries for 353 yards and two touchdowns, while Ja'Kobi has just 45 carries, albeit for 278 yards and six touchdowns. 'Everybody needs to feel pressure,' said Day, and he points to some of the better teams he's had where multiple running backs are getting involved consistently each and every week.
“Yeah, I think everybody needs to feel pressure, and everybody needs to feel competition," Day said. "And we’re challenging a lot of different people, and it’s a good thing. When Quinshon (Judkins) and TreVeyon (Henderson) were working together, they were challenging each other every day. I think Quinshon really helped TreVeyon in a lot of ways, and I think vice versa. It’s the same thing here. Ja’Kobi’s coming in, and I think he’s pushing Bo, but it’s a great relationship. And I think it’s a healthy relationship, and I think it’s a healthy competition.
“When you think about the teams that make deep runs, they have running backs that are big-time backs that play at a high level. And so they know what the challenge has been to them, and I think they’re responding and getting better like a lot of guys on the team, but we’ve still got a lot of meat left on the bone. And so the more these guys can put pressure on each other and challenge each other, along with the coaches, the better we’re going to be."
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: 3 takeaways from Ohio State coach Ryan Day's media availability
