Ohio State Buckeyes College Football Postgame Quote, 01/10/2025

CHARLIE FISS: We are now joined by Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day, his student-athletes Will Howard and Jack Sawyer.

Coach, we will call on you first for an opening statement about tonight’s victory.

OHIO STATE HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: I, first, want to give Coach Sark (Steve Sarkisian) and his staff and team a lot of credit. It’s a very good team. A lot of respect for the way he goes about his business, and he’s got an unbelievable reputaon in the coaching community. And his team played very, very hard today. It was a very well-fought bale, and they’re a very good team. Had a great season.

It came down to the fourth quarter. And I believe that the resilience that we’ve had to show throughout the enre season and through some of these guys’ career has led us to this opportunity to win this game and go play for a naonal championship.

We talked before the game about how you leave a legacy is to become your own legend. There’s some guys on this team today that, I believe, will become legends in Ohio State history.

We also talked about how we want to keep this team together. It’s a great team. They’ve been through a lot. They’re resilient, and they’re great people. They do everything the right way. And so now they get 10 more days together. And an opportunity to tell their story, if they go win one more. And so that’s really exciting.

But going back on the game, just griy, tough. We knew it was going to be that way. Very good opponent. And just the way that we were able to change the momentum of the game in the fourth quarter. And then the ball is all the way down to the one-yard line. We get a stop there. Get our pads down. Knock it back. And then they go to the perimeter with it and really great play for a TFL. And then the third-down stop.

And then, obviously, what happened on fourth down by Jack [Sawyer] just symbolizes not only his career but our team, in general, and who they are and the toughness. And just the clutch play right there was something that I’m sure the whole city of Columbus exploded and all of Buckeye Naon during that play.

Q. For both student-athletes. Will, just to get into that fourth down when you decided to keep it and help to establish a first down that led to the touchdown. Jack, just what you can say about the strip sack and the return.

QB WILL HOWARD: Yeah, that fourth down was huge, man. They came out and gave us a good look for the play. O-line blocked it up well. I fell on purpose. I’m joking; I didn’t fall on purpose. I should have been out. It should have been a touchdown. I was trying to keep a couple of seconds on the clock. No, I’m just joking.

It was a great play and a statement drive. We needed that. We’d be beang ourselves all day with penales and geng behind the scks. That was a statement drive. The O-line did a heck of a job on that drive. I think guys stepped up and made plays. And obviously, what the defense did on the next drive sealed it.

But they bailed us out all game, and I can’t say enough good things about this guy sing next to me and about our whole defense because they played their tails off today.

DE JACK SAWYER: Coach has put us in great spots all day long. Like Coach Day said, that’s a really good football team that we just played. Hats go off to them, coach Sark (Steve Sarkisian) and Quinn [Ewers]. They’re a great team, and they’ll be back here, I’m sure, for the next couple years.

God is great, and He put me in a great posion to make a play. I was fortunate enough to do that. The resiliency of this team, you know, from a month ago, it’s been incredible. It’s been led by guys like these two men sing next to me. And the whole team embodies that role because our leader is like that.

I’ve said it a million mes, but we sat up here last year with a sore taste in our mouth. Heard a lot of things. Then come back and heard the same things a month ago. We kept swinging because this guy next to us, he shows up every day to work, and he loves each and every one of us so much. He’s the most resilient guy I’ve ever been around, and that’s the reason why you see this team fight so hard each and every week.

Q. Jack, how special was it, especially for you as a local guy, Pickerington guy, can you walk us through what you saw on that play and what you were feeling as you were running down the sideline?

DE JACK SAWYER: I guess just don’t fall like Will [Howard] did. I’m kidding.

No, seriously, I hit about the 30, and I looked back, I’m like, I hope I get some blockers. I’m running out of steam here. They were running with me side by side. That speaks volume to who this team is, too, you know. We always have each other’s back. It was a special moment.

I love Columbus. I love the state of Ohio. I love Ohio State football. Like I said a million mes aer the game, God is great and He’s put this team in such a great spot. I’m so fortunate to be playing in the naonal championship my last year here.

Q. Jack, when you watched Texas on film, everything went to the left, primarily with the pass and the run. Did you anticipate? Did you see that coached?

DE JACK SAWYER: I just think that they’re a great team, and they’ve got great scheme. You know, I give Coach [Jim] Knowles and Coach [Ryan] Day a lot of credit for the way they schemed them up. They made a lot of big plays, too. They punched us in the mouth a lot of mes throughout the game.

Like I said, they’re a great team, and we knew they had a lot of good stu., and they were going to land some punches as well.

The team who executed the most and prepared the best in the game was going to win. We were able to – we were fortunate enough to execute.

Q. Will, I’m curious, what do you kind of feel like Texas did well to take away Jeremiah [Smith]? And how important was it for you guys for Emeka [Egbuka] and for Carnell [Tate] to step up in that place?

QB WILL HOWARD: Yeah, we knew they were going to be keying him. Obviously, the .rst two rounds of the playoffs, he went off. We knew they were going to do something to try and take him away. They clouded him. They doubled him. They were finding di.erent ways to get two guys over top of him. But all that means is that we need to be smart and get the ball to other guys.

I think Carnell stepped up and made some great plays. The running backs did a great job. Tight ends had some great catches.

I think Texas, what they do on defense, likes to keep shell on things, make you work the game, and get the ball down the field methodically. I think they ‚Äì you know, credit to them. They’ve got a great defense, and they’ve got some dudes.

But when it came down to it in the fourth quarter, man, we did what we had to do, and the defense did a hell of a job.

Q. Jack, Coach Day was talking about leaving a legacy. How does it feel to deliver what figures to be one of the iconic plays in Ohio State history?

DE JACK SAWYER: I’m just so thankful to be able to play for this coach and this team each and every week. You know, we get 10 more days with each other, and that’s what means the most to me, is we’re going and compeng for a naonal championship now, which is something I’ve always dreamed of bringing back to Columbus since I was a lile kid, throwing the football in the backyard with my dad with an Ohio State jersey on.

I’m just really looking forward to that. And I was fortunate enough to make a big-me play, like a lot of guys did and like this guy did all night long. Responding from adversity throughout the game, too.

This guy sing right here next to me is such a good leader for this team. He runs the show on offense. I’m so proud of the way he played and the offense played and baled through adversity all game long and all year long.

We’ve got a good challenge in Notre Dame who is a great team, and that’s what I’m most looking forward to.

Q. Jack, you and Quinn Ewers used to be roommates. You and him embraced after the game. Curious what you said to each other.

DE JACK SAWYER: Yeah, I just said great season. He’s a good guy. He’s a great dude. He was my roommate here. He’s had a lot of success, and he’s a great person. I just told him, Keep your head up. You played a great game and you’ve got a great future ahead of you. Stay in touch someme soon.

Shoutout to Texas. Like me and Will have said, and Coach Day said, they’re a great team. A great group of coaches are on that sta.. They punched us hard a few mes, and it was a bale all the way to the fourth quarter the way we knew it would be.

Q. Coach, let’s go back to that Michigan game where after that game, the Michigan players stormed the field and attempted to put the flag in the middle of the field. What did you say to your team after that disheartening loss, and do you think that was a turning point in the season?

COACH DAY: Well, I think when you look at the guys that we have in our program, you see guys who are tough. You see guys who were resilient. And you see guys that care about each other. You see guys that love being Buckeyes. You’re seeing two of them right here.

Both guys here have two di.erent stories. One just got here. But when I see him get around our team, when I saw him on stage tonight, when I saw him embracing everybody in the locker room, this guy loves his teammates. He’s only been here a year, but in such a short period of me, he’s made such an amazing impact on our team. He’s made an impact on me.

There are mes where I’m coming to work and who knows, maybe I’m down, maybe I’m stressed, maybe I’m whatever, and this guy, he picks me up. He has an amazing approach on life, and I told his parents that. They’ve done a great job with him. But he’s also done it himself, the posive mindset that he has.

We lost Seth McLaughlin in pracce. It was a really tough loss for us. Seth was doing a great job, and he and Seth had a great relaonship. In that pracce, Will showed me some of the best leadership I’ve ever seen in resilience.

And the guy over there, I don’t know if there’s ‚Äì I mean, sure, we can argue about it, I’m sure, who loves being a Buckeye more. But this is somebody who grew up in Columbus, who has always wanted to be a Buckeye, who has always wanted for a moment like this. So to see him get the moment that he had today, I mean, he’s become like family to me. He has, to me and my wife and my kids.

And so this is just two guys. Emeka [Egbuka], TreVeyon Henderson, Cody Simon, Lathan Ransom, Donovan Jackson, the story of this team is yet to be told. And no great accomplishments are ever achieved without going through adversity. That’s just the truth. And so we’ve gone through our share of adversity, and that’s life. And I’ve told those guys that.

So we’re not focused on what’s coming down the road. We’re not focused on what happened in the past. We’re focused on right now and being right where we are.

And then at the end, we want to be able to tell the story of this team. And that’s really what this team is focused on right now.

Q. You just mentioned just now about how these two guys here have different stories and different paths. Your entire roster in this new world of college football is assembled from a national coast-to-coast level. But I’m just wondering, when Jack [Sawyer] is sitting here talking about playing football with his dad, wearing an Ohio State jersey in his front yard, in, I assume, Pickerington, how does that move you? Because you’ve been questioned and criticized at times for not being from Ohio, because that’s been an expectation for Ohio State’s coach. For somebody who is from Ohio and has become family to you, to hear that, what does it mean to this program, to you, to have an Ohio kid who has been through the wringer at times during his career to have that moment that he had?

COACH DAY: Yeah, I couldn’t be prouder. Couldn’t be prouder of ‚Äì I just love stories of guys who go through di.cult mes, stay loyal, defend the people they love the most, and then come out the back end. I just love that in life.

That’s why I ‚Äì Maurice Clare is with us, around the program now. I love guys who go through di.cult mes, stay strong, defend who they love, and then come out the back end. And you’ve got one right there with this guy right here. This guy was never stronger than when we needed him the most during di.cult mes.

AAnd we’ve been through di.cult mes together. That’s how you know. How do you know about someone’s character? When you go through tough mes with them. Everything is easy when things are going well. Everyone can be a frontrunner.

And so I think we talk about those things because our story has been ‚Äì the last couple years has been ups and downs. But to see the team play the way that they did in the fourth quarter today, I think that’s why that’s relevant. That’s why we’re talking about it. Because I don’t think without going through those things, we would have come through the way we did in the fourth quarter. And now we have the opportunity to play for a naonal championship, and I couldn’t be prouder of our guys, couldn’t be.

But we’ve got to finish this thing, and they know it. They know it, because there’s so many great stories to be told.

Q. What does it feel like, you went your whole career with the whole Texas scenario, and you finally get the win. What kind of emotions are you going through right now finally getting to beat Texas?

QB WILL HOWARD: Yeah, that was a movaon for me. But, man, that didn’t mean as much as geng this ‚Äì keeping this team together. And that’s all we wanted to do, man. And we talked about that this whole playoffs. We’re fighting for another chance to wear this jersey again and to be with this group again.

The thing that hurts me about this, the only thing that I wish I could go back and do di.erent about my me here is I wish I had more me, you know? I wish I had more me with Coach Day. I’ve goen so much beer because of him and because of Coach [Chip] Kelly and because of [Keenan] Bailey and just being here.

I’ve goen to be so close with guys like Jack [Sawyer] and guys like Emeka [Egbuka] and guys like Seth and all these guys that I only have one year with them. I wish that I got a chance to be with these guys longer. And we’re trying to draw this thing out as long as we can; and here we are, man. But the job’s not finished, and we’ve got to go out there and finish this thing.

It feels great to beat those guys, especially this year. They had a great team. And all the respect in the world for Sark (Steve Sarkisian) and Quinn [Ewers] and all those guys. They have a great defense. But the job’s not finished, and they were standing in our way today.

Q. Will, TreVeyon’s [Henderson] touchdown, what was your expectation of how that play might turn out, first of all? Comment on that. And, Coach, what went into that call?

QB WILL HOWARD: I don’t think anyone thought that that was going for 75 yards. That’s kind of a drive starter in that two-minute scenario. And you run that first play. We did it in the Tennessee game where we come out and we run the ball. And if you get a posive gain, then maybe we can connue to work our two-minute drill.

But when you’ve got a guy like 32 (TreVeyon Henderson) that can make plays like that, I mean, Carson Hinzman made some unbelievable blocks down the field. The receivers stayed on their guys, and 32 took off, man.

That was a huge play for us, a huge swing. We talk about winning the middle eight all the me, and that was big.

COACH DAY: Yeah, I agree with Will [Howard]. That was a huge moment in the game, that and Jack’s [Sawyer] play really were two big moments.

I thought the drive that the offense had there when ‚Äì you know, there was some momentum swings, and we talk about it a lot. When you have momentum, you’ve got to keep it. When you don’t, you’ve got to go get it. I felt like we turned that momentum with that long drive. I don’t know if it was 16 plays, but it was a bunch of plays, the one that finished with Quinshon’s [Judkins] one-yard run.

They kind of went down the field. We took a stand there at the one, and then Jack’s return was huge. But the screen ‚Äì we were laughing a lile bit in the locker room, having some fun with it, because we do screen drill.

I think somemes, these guys are like, are we ever going to call a screen? I actually said to the coaches, We’re going to stop doing screen drill because we don’t call any dang screens.

And so sure enough, what do you want to run? You want to run the ball? You want to take a knee? I said, No, just run the screen. All right, you sure? Sure enough, it went the whole distance. Went for 75, first play.

But TreVeyon [Henderson] has become a three-down back. TreVeyon is going to be a tremendous pro because not only does he do a good job running the football, but he protects at a high level, and he’s a threat with the ball in his hands as a receiver. That becomes a huge threat, especially when they’re looking to take away some of our receivers, in parcular Jeremiah [Smith]. So hats off to him.

BBut very well-executed. The line got out there, and he made a great play because they brought a pressure, and he just got it off. And TreVeyon went down and caught it. Another huge play in the game.

Q. Is there kind of a feeling for both of you of everything coming full circle? Because a little over a year ago, you were sitting here talking after a really tough loss to Missouri. And here you are, you made the plays now, especially with a punt-recovery touchdown, the call right there for the screen to finally finish the drill, and win yourself a Cotton Bowl.

COACH DAY: Yeah, I mean, it’s not finished, though. It’s not finished. But we did just walk in here and say the same thing. What a di.erence a year makes, but we’re not done yet.

DE JACK SAWYER: I second that.

Q. That final drive in the fourth, when you guys had about a six-minute drive. Will, you’re down on one knee talking to the guys in the huddle. What did you notice in their eyes? And for Coach, what did you noce in the offense and how calm they looked in that very important drive?

COACH DAY: I’ll just start by saying, I felt like we were stopping ourselves on offense with the penales. And I think that was the conversaon that was being had on the sideline and the locker room at halime. We’ve got to stop hurng ourselves with these penales. That was frustrang.

I felt like we had a good rhythm. We were making some nice plays, execung okay, good enough. But then you get some of these penales – and they were big penales, holding, 15-yarders – and that was really geng us behind the scks.

So we knew we just had to buckle down. And like Will said, they were kind of keeping it in front. When you do that, you’ve got to execute and move the ball all the way down the field.

Now that I’m looking at it, it was 13 plays, 88 yards, took 7:45 off the clock. At that moment, I was geng a lile concerned that the defense was geng worn out because we were not on the field very much. And we needed a big, long drive. And that’s what these guys answered with. Obviously, Will was the leader in the huddle.

QB WILL HOWARD: Yeah, I second all of that. That was a statement drive, man. And like he said, we’d been beang ourselves. We just knew that we had to work the game and just connue to just swing and take shots and body blows.

It wasn’t prey at all mes. It was taking some check-downs at fourth and two. It took a lot. 13 plays, 88 yards. We talked about it before the game, we’re going to have to work this game, and we’re going to have to methodically move the ball down the field.

II’m just so proud of our offense that we were able to get the game ‚Äì we talk about it all the me, get the game to the fourth quarter, and that’s where we’ll win it. And we leaned back on our training. And all that work that we put in, that’s for that me.

And I’m just so proud of our guys. The O-line played great on that drive. Guys made some plays, and we were able to punch it in. So that was great.

COACH DAY: And like Will said, the third down, I forget what the down and distance was, but we said to them if we can get this to a fourth and manageable, we’re going to go for it. And he got it to fourth and two. Big play. It’s the lile things that as an experienced guy you understand in that moment, and that was huge.

And then having the ability to do it with his feet on fourth and two. We went back and forth, are we going to call this one or not? He got us into the right call. And then the offensive line did a great job rocking off the ball. So that was a huge play in the game as well.

CHARLIE FISS: Thank you for coming. Congratulaons on your victory tonight. Good luck in Atlanta.