Ryan Day Reviews Rutgers, Looks Ahead to Maryland

Ryan Day joined Buckeye Roundtable on 97.1 The Fan on Monday night to wrap up last week's win against Rutgers and begin looking forward to Maryland.

Ryan Day joined Buckeye Roundtable on 97.1 The Fan on Monday night to wrap up last week's win against Rutgers and begin looking forward to Maryland. This was Day's first media appearance of the week. He will also meet with the media on Tuesday at noon Eastern Time.

Here are a few notes from tonight's discussion:

• Day said that the Buckeyes have placed an awful lot of emphasis on getting out of the gates quickly this year and that Justin Fields is "a big part of that, for sure." He touched on the strength of Fields' arm, which allows them to take some deep shots - including the one that he connected on with Jameson Williams for Ohio State's first score last week.
• Rutgers ran a bunch of trick plays on Saturday, including the first one of the game on the opening kickoff. Ryan Day said his team wanted to be equally aggressive, which is why they called a fake punt early in the game. "In our meetings, we talk about the opportunity to be aggressive … we knew Rutgers would try to do everything they can to try and get us … on the fake punt, the look was right for us there … I told the team that the first opportunity we had to do it, we’d take it … it's one thing to say it, another to do it when you’re in the moment. So you kind of hold your breath, but those guys were holding me to it, and it worked out."
  
• Day said there were lots of teachable moments on all of the trick plays Rutgers ran. He said he was generally pleased with how ready his team was to defend what they saw, especially the onside kicks with all of the chaos they saw. Other than the punt return that went back for a touchdown, Day was pleased - he even pointed out that on the punt return, they were in position to make a stop but didn't finish tackling.
• Regarding the somewhat flat second half, Day referenced the mental challenge of being up 35-3 and expecting that the starters would go in for one series and be removed. "We need to do a better job of bringing our own energy in situations like that." But he went on to say how pleased he was that the offense responded and never really let Rutgers back in the game.
• With this weekend's game against Maryland forthcoming, Day was complimentary of the effort the Terrapins have played with so far. "They're playing with a lot of confidence, the quarterback is playing well the last two weeks, they have good receivers, the defense disrupted the pass game nicely against Penn State last week … they’ve upgraded their talent and they’re playing well. We've got to go into their place and play well, play four quarters.”
• Regarding Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, younger brother of current Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Day said, "I recruited him when he went to Alabama. He's a great kid and comes from a good football family. You knew he was going to be a really good player, and happy for him that he's doing well.”

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