Ohio State Buckeyes College Football Pregame Quote, 12/26/2019

COACH DAY: Thank you. Had a really good week of practice so far. Again, I want to publicly thank everybody in the Fiesta Bowl and Mike and everybody involved, we’ve had a really good week here. Spent Christmas away from home yesterday. Makes it a lot easier when you’re away from home when you get treated so well here and great people who have helped us along the way. We’ve had a great week of practice that way. We’re looking forward to a great game against a really good team in Clemson. And as we prepare this week and watched film, not only are they really talented but really well-coached. Tremendous challenge. Had a good week of practice. We’re looking forward to Saturday.

Coach, I was talking to Coach Urban [Meyer] a few minutes ago and he made it sound like the key to the game was the first seven minutes, how both teams respond to another team that’s of equal talent level. What do you do to prepare a team to come out in that first seven minutes and respond to adversity and not make the stage too big?

COACH DAY: I think you talk to the team about it. You have a mature team; you give them what you think is going to happen in the game and you play it out so that they can prepare for that. I think any time you play in any type of game, you have to prepare physically. You have to get your body ready and prepare mentally, know what you’re doing and then emotionally and spiritually. That’s a part of this is understanding the electricity that’s going to come with the game and it will be on hyper speed for the first quarter. Then just preparing for that. Understanding that’s the way the game is going to go down and being able to respond to that. Our guys have played in big games. They’ve played in big environments, so I don’t think that will be an advantage to either side. Clemson’s played in unbelievable games here in the last couple of years. So you just talk to the team about it and then you prepare the best you can.

Before practice Tuesday, you seemed pretty fired up. Yesterday, you guys came out looking to have a more fun message. How does a coach decide what is the best approach on a given day?

COACH DAY: You take it day to day. I think what the coach’s staff has done a great job of is with our team and with this generation, it’s kind of day to day. It is just the way it is. And we’ve had great practices. Preparing for this game has almost been like a bye week, it has happened so fast. We’ve done a really good job, I think, of preparing the guys for that. When it’s Christmas, you have to have some fun with them. We had some fun. They’re away from home. Especially some of the younger guys, their first time away from home for Christmas. We want to have a lot of fun and make sure they understand that this is their family away from home. But then some of the other practices have been really spirited, really physical and a lot of line here and they know that and our coaching staff knows that. Again, I thought we’ve had a good week.

The 2013 bowl game against Clemson was the impetus for a defensive change in Ohio State, the 2016 bowl game against Clemson was the impetus to bring you here. Is this as well-fashioned a team that you could put together to be ready for Clemson again?

COACH DAY: I’m not ready for this team to be done more than anything. I love this team. I love these kids. I love this coaching staff, what they’ve done together as a group, but just personally what they’ve done for me in my first time as a head coach. They’ll always have a place in my heart. Like we said, we’re not ready for this thing to be over. We’re fighting for that, too. We want to continue to play after this and keep this team together. I think that these guys are excited to play in this game and it is time to go play and find out where we’re at. You don’t know it until you’re in those games and it goes back to fundamentals and understanding how you take care of the ball and tackling and those types of things. Our veteran players have to play veteran. Good players have to play good. That’s how it goes in games like this.

Could you just describe what this last year has been like for you, replace a legend like Urban Meyer and go undefeated in your first season as a head coach and now you’re getting ready for the playoff. What has this been like for you?

COACH DAY: Well, it’s been day to day, week to week. And again, it sounds clich√© but it is something we’ve talked about from the get-go and one of the things that you can’t get overwhelmed with is the expectations because they’re so high here and the margin for error is so small. When you surround yourself with great coaches, when you surround yourself with great players and leaders and recruit great families, that’s what helps and you rely on them. But it’s been quite a year. And I think that our guys as the season has gone on, have built a better chemistry. Our coaching staff has built that as well. So now we’re to this point now. And we talked about this way back in February that we wanted to be in this moment or in the moment right now. And now it’s all about preparing the best we can, spending every moment we can, being ready for this spot. And go play as great as we can.

And then the thing is when we get to that thing, we have to be bold and come out of the gates and be aggressive and that’s the way we’ve played all year. We have to continue to do that in big games.

Following up on that, there were coaches that coached for 30 years just to try to get to this spot. You’ve reached it in your first year. What do you do for an encore for the next ten years?

COACH DAY: I try not to think about that. I try not to worry about that. We started here last January knowing what Coach Meyer had done leading up to this point because again when you focus on that, you can get yourself overwhelmed. But yeah, it has been a great season. Couldn’t have hoped for anything better up to this point. Now it’s just a matter of can we go finish this thing off the way that we wanted to. All the way from the get-go.

It is all about the players though. It is about the leaders, the guys on this team who have built that camaraderie. And they play great and again, games like this, it comes down to the players. It is not plays. It is not coaches. It is the players playing great and they’re the ones who deserve the credit in the end.

What would be your words for the collection of talent that’s going to be on that field Saturday, counting both sides?

COACH DAY: Pretty impressive. When you look at the guys on both sides of the ball on both teams, you’ve got a lot of NFL players who will be playing for a long time. It will be fun to see those guys playing against each other and competing. But you talk about a collection of power, speed, strength, you kind of look on both sides. It’s there. Clemson, they’re strong, they’re powerful, they’re tough. They’re fast. They have speed. We have speed. They have a really good quarterback. We have a really good quarterback. They have a really good running back; we have a really good running back. It goes back and forth. It is an equated game. It will be fun to watch.

There was a moment in practice the other day you were kind of messing around with the big guys and they kind of picked you up on their shoulders. It looked like a scene maybe out of “Rudy.” Can you talk about the affinity for each other there and I don’t know what that means that you’re tight with them?

COACH DAY: We have moments like that a lot in practice that people don’t see. That just happened to be a time when the media was there. We were just having fun on Christmas. We’ve been doing it for years. You have Nick on the microphone and we had him go through the gate. Just something to have fun with them on Christmas. And then the offensive line decided they wanted to come and tackle me. Stuff like that happens all the time. I think that’s what makes this team great is we have a huge game ahead of us but they also know it is about enjoying being here. Enjoying each other. It is this family atmosphere. I talk to them all the time, don’t take it for granted and don’t just let it go by. Appreciate each other. Appreciate being on this team because it will be gone one day. You’re in it right now so enjoy it but also understand what’s at stake.

You said you try not to think about replacing someone like Urban can be overwhelming. How are you able to do that though?

COACH DAY: You do the best you can to rely on who you are as a person and be yourself. But then also you’re not in this thing alone. When you’re part of a coaching staff, you’re the head coach. It is your job. You’re not in it alone. We have the coaching staff, we have Coach Mick [Mickey Marotti], all of our operations people. There are so many people involved with this thing. We’re in this ‚Äì it is us, not just you, isolated. That’s kind of my style is that I like to have everybody involved with it. I like to empower the coordinators, empower Mick, empower Mark Pantoni in recruiting and you hire them to do the job.

When it comes down to the players, it’s their team. I talk to them the all the time, the best teams I’ve been around, the offense runs the offense. The defense runs the defense. You know you’re in it all together. You look to the right, you look to the left, you know you’re in this thing with a group of guys that you trust. That’s what gets you up in the morning. You want to make sure you’re doing a good job for them. That’s what special teams are made of.

I’m curious what have the seniors or people around the program said about the last experience in this bowl game, these two programs, and how has that influenced your preparations going into this game?

COACH DAY: It hasn’t other than the fact we know what happened but I wasn’t here and most of the team wasn’t here either. Good portion of them that weren’t here. And I think that we were aware of what happened but at the same time, this is a very, very different team. They’re a different team. We’re in a different spot. Different coaching staff, different players all together. It is a reference point but it’s not something we’ve talked a lot about.

Ryan, what has Jordan Fuller meant to this team? Obviously been here for a long time. Great student as well. What has his impact been for this team?

COACH DAY: Jordan’s been unbelievable. He’s a Campbell Trophy finalist. What he’s done off the field, what he’s done on the field. As that free safety, he’s kind of been the quarterback back there. He gets us into the right stuff. He’s a mature ‚Äì he’s like having a coach out there. He’s as close to a coach player as I’ve been around. Just handles business the right way. Does everything the right way and he’s had a great year on the field. Played at a high level. So when it comes to on the field production, off the field, the way he handles himself, the way he’s in the meeting room getting guys aligned, he’s been a huge part of our success on defense this year.

Coach, each of your last two games, you guys have been a little slow out of the gate. I think the opponent has gone down and scored on the first possession. Michigan and Wisconsin. How important will it be for you guys to get off to a fast start because with the way that they play offense, it could be 14 or 21 to nothing pretty quick.

COACH DAY: Yeah, sure, you always want to start fast. I thought both times ‚Äì the last couple of games, they’ve had a good play coming out of the gates. I thought our defense did an excellent job of adjusting as the game went on. When you look at the last two games, the second half, our defense played lights out. But certainly, we want to always start fast. We’ve had great games where we’ve started fast this year. That will be important. At the same time, it is four quarters and in a game like this, you have to be willing to play four quarters. You’re not just going to won’t blow a team out in the first quarter, first half in a game like this. It’s going to go four quarters. You get it into the fourth quarter and you go from there. But a fast start certainly helps.

Ohio State from Jim Tressel to Urban Meyer, now to ‚Äì you guys never seem to have a dip. You’re always in national title contention. That’s not necessarily true for other big brand name programs out there who have had periods of mediocrity recently. What is it about the Ohio State school program that allows you guys to maintain consistency from one coach to the other?

COACH DAY: I think in the most recent case, it was ‚Äì the stability of Gene Smith and his foresight to promote from within. He never flinched in this thing, and I’m forever in debt to he and Sheila for what they’ve done for us. That was a huge decision that was made.

And the hiring of Coach Meyer was huge. He’s a great coach. So is Coach Tressel. I think they’ve hired great people there. Buckeye Nation and the support when you’re at Ohio State and the way that they adopt you is unlike any place I’ve ever been or seen.

Although I’m not from Ohio, I quickly was indoctrinated to what it means to be a Buckeye and what the rivalry game means and how important these games are to the people of Ohio. And when you grab onto that, you realize how important that is. And you feel that week in and week out. It is really cool. I think that has a lot to do with it, the support you have from Buckeye Nations not only in Ohio but throughout the country. No matter where you go, you feel that support. I think that Block O has stood the test of time. That’s a big part of it.

J.C. [Latham] was talking about Ohio State is the most disrespected team in the nation going back to being not picked to win the Big Ten and dropping in the polls. How much are you guys using that and how much have you used that in this bowl prep?

COACH DAY: I mean, we know going in it doesn’t really matter what people think of it. What matters is what we put on the field.

It’s the same thing now. We’re not getting into that too much. If you want respect, go beat the defending national champs who have won 28 straight games. Whatever people think, they think. At the end of the game, what matters is what they think on Saturday night.

So we have an opportunity to go win the game. And you want respect, then you gotta go beat these guys. What better people to do it against than the defending national champs who are very, very good and they’ve been good for a long time now.

You’ve won 13 in a row this year, three as a coach in the interim basis, 16 in a row for you. When you see 28 in a row, knowing how hard 16 is, what’s your perspective on 28?

COACH DAY: You said it to Coach last night. We were at an event. It is hard to win 28 games against air. I don’t know how you do that. I think it goes to show you the stability he’s had in his staff there and their ability to stay focused throughout that time, because all it takes is a couple of times. The ball bounces one way or the other, and you lose a game. The consistency has been there. And nothing but respect for what they’ve done during this run.