Head coach Ryan Day watches the Buckeyes’ warm-ups prior to their 20-13 victory against Penn State Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor
After a huge 20-13 victory over then-No.3 Penn State in Happy Valley, the Buckeyes have returned to Columbus reinvigorated.
Saturday, Ohio State will have the chance to sustain its momentum against a Purdue Boilermakers squad hungry for its first Big Ten win.
These are the three most important updates from head coach Ryan Day’s Tuesday press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletics Center.
Offensive line performance
One of the biggest question marks heading into the Buckeyes’ Saturday matchup with Penn State was the offensive line.
With tackles Josh Simmons and Zen Michalski suffering injuries in back-to-back games, Ohio State’s left tackle position was left decimated.
This forced Day to make major changes along the line, moving usual left guard Donovan Jackson to left tackle, while also inserting Carson Hinzman into the starting lineup.
Day said he was impressed with Jackson’s and Hinzman’s efforts, which earned them “champion” grades this week. He also noted Hinzman will be the starting left guard moving forward, and Jackson will move to left tackle.
“In this game, we felt like experience was the right thing to go with, and after watching the film, [Hinzman] stepped up in a big way and showed us that he can play guard, so we’re going to continue to go with [Hinzman],” Day said.
Tyleik Williams and defensive line rotation
In the fourth quarter of Saturday’s victory over Penn State, defensive tackle Tyleik Williams endured an ankle injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the game.
Day said Williams’ injury isn’t serious and currently identifies his recovery process as “day-to-day.”
“[Williams] is doing good,” Day said. “He’s day-to-day; we’ll see how he is when he comes in.”
Day rotated his defensive line more than ever against the Nittany Lions.
Defensive linemen Kayden McDonald and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. each saw double-digit snaps for the Buckeyes, and defensive tackle Hero Kanu and defensive end Eddrick Houston both received time on the inside line.
“[McDonald] really stepped up for us, and we’re hoping that he can continue to give us more and more snaps, but great to see him with the game on the line,” Day said. “I think it was the third down play where he really got a lot of movement on the center, and that made a huge difference on that play.”
Don’t take Purdue lightly
With a 1-7 overall record and 0-5 record in the Big Ten, Purdue sits at dead last in the conference.
Still, Day said the team cannot afford to make any assumptions about their game against the Boilermakers, as Purdue is a more competitive team than its record may show.
“I think Purdue, their record may not say it, but they’ve been playing good football,” Day said. “We’ve got to come in and play physical in this game, and we continue to build on what happened last week.”
Day said his roster must be prepared for both quarterbacks that Purdue may insert — Hudson Card and Ryan Browne — as each has shown talent in different ways.
“I think Purdue’s offense is playing well. I think both quarterbacks are talented; they do a good job on offense,” Day said. “So, like, if our guys think that they’re just going to go out there and play this Saturday, they’re wrong.”
