Head coach Ryan Day leads the Buckeyes across the field and into the locker rooms prior to Ohio State’s Saturday game against Akron. The Buckeyes went on to win 52-6. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor
Fresh off a 52-6 victory over Akron, Ohio State is heading into its second of three out-of-conference games to begin the season.
With the first game in the books for the Buckeyes, there were certainly some bright spots. Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith had a record-setting day, and the Ohio State defense recorded multiple touchdowns.
Still, there’s plenty for the Buckeyes to review and improve upon.
Below are the three biggest takeaways from head coach Ryan Day’s Tuesday press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletics Center.
Areas for improvement
The key goal for Day and the Buckeyes was having as many players “grade out a champion” — or above 80% of their reps won during the game — as possible.
A lot of players did just that — including graduate quarterback Will Howard — in the season opener, but there is always room for improvement. Day said there’s “little things across the board” that the team is focused on improving upon.
“Each player has their own things that they need to improve on,” Day said. “Offense and defense are focusing on things as a group.”
Day highlighted all four aspects of special teams — kickoff, kickoff return, punt and punt return — as areas the Buckeyes are actively working on.
“For instance, on that play of a punt return, those plays go for 14 seconds,” Day said. “They’re long plays, and I thought our guys busted their tail[s] for, like, the first 8-10 [seconds].”
Injury updates
The Buckeyes lacked two key starters Saturday in senior left guard Donovan Jackson and starting Mike linebacker Cody Simon.
Day said Jackson and Simon are both “day-to-day” with their respective, undisclosed injuries.
“We’re gonna see how today goes,” Day said. “But [they] had a good weekend, listed as day-to-day.”
Due to Jackson’s absence, sophomore offensive lineman Austin Siereveld stepped up at left guard against Akron.
Even when Jackson is ready to return, Day said he thinks there’s a chance for Siereveld to be in the Buckeyes’ mix on the interior. Overall, Day was impressed with the sophomore’s ability to make an impact and sees a bright future with Siereveld’s skill set.
“He looked like a first-time starter in there who has real potential,” Day said. “[He has] power, has strength and I think once he got his feet underneath him and started playing a little bit and flushed through everything, he played decent. He didn’t grade out a champion, but he wasn’t far off, so that was good.”
Day confirmed that Siereveld will play this weekend, but how much playtime he’ll get is dependent on Jackson’s health.
Reviewing the rushing attack after game one
Ohio State’s rushing attack is expected to be one of the country’s best.
In the season opener, senior running back TreVeyon Henderson amassed 65 yards on eight rushes. Junior running back Quinshon Judkins received 13 carries for 55 yards, and freshman rusher James Peoples added 30 yards on six carries.
Day said there was a mixture of both good and bad reps in the Buckeyes’ rushing attack. More specifically, he placed emphasis on getting out to the perimeter to allow the rushers to break free.
“There was some plays that we got to the perimeter, we didn’t quite make that guy miss a couple times,” Day said. “There was some other times where he went into the boundary, pulled around and we didn’t quite identify the backer that we had.”
Overall, Day is looking for everybody to get involved this weekend against Western Michigan.
“We’re looking to be more explosive,” Day said. “Everybody’s gotta own it, everyone’s gotta be a part of it. There were some good things as the game went on, but [we] gotta see more improvement in week two.”
