Senior defensive end Jack Sawyer answers questions during a press conference at Big Ten Media Day, which was held at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium on Tuesday. Credit: Daniella Davila | Asst. Sports LTV Producer
The Buckeyes are gearing up to start college football season, with week one just over a month away.
Head coach Ryan Day — along with graduate wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, senior cornerback Denzel Burke and senior defensive end Jack Sawyer — spoke at the first of three Big Ten media days Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Here are four central talking points from the availability.
- Expectations are sky high as usual. It’s beat “the team up North” or bust for Ohio State.
Day did not hold back when it came to expressing his hopes for this year’s Buckeyes. After losing three straight match-ups to the Wolverines — and consequently, three Big Ten championships — in the past three years, Day hopes to get Ohio State back on track in 2024.
Ohio State’s long history of success has created the expectation to win every game year in and year out. This new squad is no different, Day said.
“After every year, you have to identify what are the things that have held you back from reaching your goals knowing that we want perfection,” Day said. “And we want to win ‘The Game’ at the end of the season.”
- Jeremiah Smith is looking like the real deal.
Throughout the preseason, the hype around wide receiver Jeremiah Smith — the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2024, according to 247Sports — was undeniable.
Day, Egbuka and Sawyer all spoke highly of Smith at Big Ten Media Day. The freshman has impressed not just as a talented athlete, but also with his veteran-like attitude toward the game.
“He’s a very professional kid; I think [that’s] what’s most impressive about him,” Egbuka said. “He’s the prototypical wide receiver that you would want but he’s mature beyond his years and you don’t really have to get on him too much, he’s going to work and he’s going to keep himself humble.”
- Improvement in the offensive may be the difference maker for the Buckeyes.
In 2023, the Ohio State offensive line was seen as one of the position groups in need of the most improvement, as the unit only returned two starters from the previous season.
Heading into 2024, the Buckeyes will return four starters on the offensive line from last season, also acquiring graduate interior offensive lineman Seth McLaughlin from Alabama in the transfer portal.
“This team is going to go as the offensive line goes,” Day said. “We know how important the offensive line is going to be, and I think that some guys have really stepped up. Josh Fryar to me has had an unbelievable summer and Donnie [Donovan Jackson] has been much of a leader.”
Right guard is currently the biggest question mark for Ohio State. Junior interior offensive linemen Carson Hinzman and McLaughlin are two of the lead candidates to take the spot, with the pair rotating between center and right guard, Day said.
“Tegra Tshabola is another guy who stepped up and had a good summer,” Day said. “We feel like we have some decent guys in there that can fill that role, but we got to go put it on the field now and see how this training and everything that’s happened this summer is going to translate to being on the field.”
- Despite having a top-three defense in the country last year, the Silver Bullets may have gotten even better.
The Buckeyes defense was top-three in nearly every major defensive category last season. Ohio State led the nation in touchdowns allowed [15] and was top-three in yards allowed per game [265.4], yards per play allowed [4.17] and total yards allowed [265.4], according to the NCAA’s website.
Ohio State may have experienced a down season on defense this year if it weren’t for multiple top-draft-eligible Buckeyes returning to retain a first-rate defense, with nine starters coming back.
Sawyer said the combination of the Buckeyes’ past experience — along with additions such as sophomore safety transfer Caleb Downs, the No. 1 overall transfer in the portal according to 247Sports — could push the Buckeyes to new heights this season.
“I think [our defense] can get a lot better,” Sawyer said. “When you look at our team and all the guys that came back being in our third year in the system, I think we felt the jumps from our first year in coach [Jim] Knowles system to our second year and going into our third season we just feel that much more confident.”
