Ohio State's Ryan Day Talks Notre Dame Game, Loss To Michigan, Defensive Expectations At Big Ten Media Days

"Maybe at some places, an 11-2 year with a Rose Bowl victory is a good year. It isn’t at Ohio State."

Ohio State officially kicked off the 2022 season on Wednesday afternoon, as head coach Ryan Day spoke for roughly 15 minutes at Big Ten Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Day touched on a number of topics, including the season opener against Notre Dame, last year's loss to Michigan,, the development of leadership on the team, expectations for the defense under a new coaching staff and more.

Here's a bullet-point recap of what Day had to say:

• Day noted there’s a lot going on in the Big Ten right now with the addition of UCLA and USC and the possibility for further expansion. “I want to congratulate commissioner (Kevin) Warren for a great couple of months and leading this conference not the future.”
• Day also thanked university president Kristina M. Johnson and athletic director Gene Smith for what they’re doing for the program.
• Day said they could have brought 10 or 15 different players with them to Big Ten Media Days, but that quarterback C.J. Stroud, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and safety Ronnie Hickman “capture what (they) want as a player.”
• On Hickman: “We’re going to need that veteran leadership, especially early in the season as we kick off with Notre Dame at home.”
• On Smith-Njjigba: “He had a tremendous year last year and a strong offseason. He’s one of the more competitive young men I’ve been around."
• On Stroud: “It’s amazing at this time (last year), he had not thrown a college football pass … This offseason, he’s really had an edge to him.”
• Notes that all three players were named to their leadership committee this offseason. “It’s great to see a team come together … I’m excited for what this team is. I’d kind of describe them as edgy this offseason.”
• Day said there’s so much excitement about the program this year that the Notre Dame and Michigan games are completely sold out and that there’s only some single-game tickets available for the other six home games.
• Day said Stroud’s leadership has carried over to the defensive side of the ball, as he’s invited members of the defense to his home and cooked for them.
• “We have to play winning football, and that starts with stopping the run.”
• Day said the new defensive staff, including coordinator Jim Knowles, secondary/cornerbacks coach Tim Walton and safeties coach Perry Eliano, has been excellent in installing the new scheme this offseason. “We expect a top-10 defense. That’s what we want.”
• On right tackle Dawand Jones, who is entering his second season as a starter: “I'm really excited about the offseason Dawand has had. He’s lost a bunch of weight. He’s in great shape.” Also mentioned Matt Jones, Donovan Jackson and Luke Wypler as players who have taken their game to another level along the offensive line. 
• “We really did an extensive study on how we wanted to handle leadership this year … I think that brought the team together a lot more.”
• On the opener against the Fighting Irish: "I think our guys feel it. I think they feel the excitement, I think they feel the anticipation, they feel the community rallying around this team. That game being a night game, it's going to be electric. And our guys know that.”
• “Every year, the expectations are high and that doesn't change based on what happened the year before.”
• On the loss to Michigan, Ohio State’s first in 10 years: “Maybe at some places, an 11-2 year with a Rose Bowl victory is a good year. It isn’t at Ohio State … I think our guys are a little scarred, they’re a little calloused, they know what it's like to lose a game and that's not fun.”

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