Spring football as well as all organized team activities were canceled due to concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day held a teleconference with members of the media March 25, updating everyone on the pandemic has affected Ohio State football and beyond.
- Day began the teleconference by saying his is a strange and unique time, giving his thoughts and prayers for everyone affected by the coronavirus.
- Day said almost all of the student-athletes are at home and beginning the first week of online classes at Ohio State.
- When asked about recruiting, Day said it has been sped up. He said the Buckeyes did a great job in a tough winter after losing a week before the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff. He said Ohio State and the staff really got ahead of things and the relationships are really strong.
- Day said he and his staff have been using FaceTime and other technology to keep in contact with players even though they cannot visit campus.
- Day said he cannot comment on grad transfer running back Trey Sermon due to NCAA putting a moratorium on all recruiting.
- Day said there could be reform in recruiting areas due to the inability to visit right now. He thinks they should change things as February was dead, March is now dead and at least part of April will be dead.
- Day said most of the players Ohio State is recruiting have already been on campus. Now they are trying to just answer questions.
- Day said the players are accustomed to a specific structure and that this time has been weird. He said they are trying to help players adjust to online classes. Workouts are very individually based right now.
- Ohio State position coaches have communicated with their players and Mickey Marotti can send things out in terms of body-weight workouts and whatnot.
- Day said it is unfortunate for the two freshmen quarterbacks because they worked hard to get on campus early. Day said Corey Dennis is doing a good job communicating with them and he is hopeful there will be future workouts.
- Day said he was very impressed with true freshman quarterbacks C.J. Stroud and Jack Miller and how they worked and took the offense to the field in the three spring practices.
- Day said he is unsure of the long-term impact of this time off. He said there is a model out there of getting players ready in fall camp from the past.
- Day said accountability is at an all-time high of making sure guys are doing what they are supposed to do. He said the older guys know what they are supposed to do and younger guys are learning.
- For injured players that have gone home, arrangements have been made for them to rehab at home. Players in town are able to work at the Crane Sports Medicine Institute in Columbus to rehab.
- Day said there are a few guys who filed a waiver and stayed in the dorms due to injuries or whatever reason.
- Day said the athletic counselors have sent out messages and ways to stay mentally healthy. He said again this is a unique time with the health part of it, the mental, financial part, and a new norm of people being home so much.
- Day said the Big Ten coaches and athletic directors are going to get together and he has already talked to Big Ten coaches about their thoughts about the future. He said there is a bit of an unfair advantage for teams that were able to continue practicing longer and one of the models they might consider is the OTA model from the NFL.
- Day said the staff has two conference calls a week. He attempts to send out text or video messages to players and meets with the leadership committee. He does the best he can to communicate a unified message.
- Day said he spends his mornings watching film. Then he does recruiting and gets into contact with as many recruits as he can. The staff also can dive into more evaluating of film more than they usually can. He stays in contact with his staff and Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith about issues and where to go next.
- Day called it disappointing that the early enrollees did not get the practices under their belt, but it is what it is, and everyone in the country is going through the same thing.
- Day said it helps working from home when the sun is out and you can take a walk outside. He said he is looking at the positives and he does not often get this much time with his family.
- Day did not want to comment on the potential of a shortened or canceled season. He said it would be “awful.”
- Day said no one has tested positives for the coronavirus. He did say that the tests take time but no one tested positive yet.
- Day said his kids do their school work in the morning. He and the family try and do a workout around lunch and then back to work. He said he works when the kids work.
- Day said if the coaches have to check on student-athletes following their guidelines, they are not really a team anyway. He said that would lead to an awful team. But there is constant communication with the players, adding that their parents have been excellent as well.
- Day said he gets the sense the student-athletes are doing well. They are handling a strange time well and are used to doing classwork online.
- Day said they are able to send guys some food around the country. The guys who are local can get stuff. The Buckeyes are able to give the players in the dorms money that would typically go on their student IDs to get food in Columbus.
- Day is not wasting time thinking about the “what ifs” because there are so many things that could happen and he would just stress himself out worrying about it.
- Day said the leadership of this team is going to be really good for the group in this situation. He said there are a lot of guys that played a lot and had to grow up really fast.
- Day felt the Buckeyes got a lot in during the first few spring practices “but we were just getting started.” He said the receiver position is probably the most inexperienced but the rest of the positions have veterans.
- “There’s nothing like taking reps, though.”
- Day said he has been using the crockpot a little bit. He is still trying to figure out the ingredients.
- Day also said he and his wife watched Tiger King on Netflix.
- Day ends by saying he appreciates the work of the media and continuing to produce content for Buckeye Nation while at home without much going on.
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