Ohio State Buckeyes: 5 takeaways from Ryan Day’s weekly press conference

1. The Buckeyes altered their routine for Election Day.

Per NCAA rules, all Ohio State athletes — like their counterparts across the country — had the day off Tuesday to participate in the presidential election.

However, the Associated Press reported some coaches taking issue with the move because it wreaked havoc on their normal schedule and might not have been necessary because of the availability of early voting.

“I think just about all of our guys and coaches have already voted, so it is what it is,” Day said.

“But we’re just gonna handle it hopefully better than our opponent.”

The Buckeyes' week was already somewhat compressed thanks to playing a night road game last week.

“It’s significantly different. We practiced yesterday (Monday), and today’s off. So it’s very different. That’s kind of our routine, and we’re just making it work. We really didn’t do much on Sunday. We met. (Strength and conditioning director Mickey Marotti) ran 'em. We had our victory meal and got everybody out of here. We practiced yesterday — had a really good practice, very spirited — and now the guys have today to catch their breath and we’ll just come back with a normal Wednesday on Wednesday.”

2. While Election Day only interfered with one week, the coronavirus figures to impact all of them this season.

The latest reminder of that came Tuesday morning when Wisconsin announced the cancellation of a second consecutive game as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak on the team. After not playing Nebraska last week, the Badgers won’t play Purdue this week.

The situation with Justin Hilliard demonstrates another reason for coaches to fret.

Day confirmed the senior linebacker was unavailable Saturday night because of a positive antigen test for COVID-19. Per Big Ten protocols, he was still unable to play even though a subsequent PCR test (considered more reliable) was negative.

“The way that the Big Ten protocol is, he was still not allowed to play, which is what is heart-wrenching as you could imagine,” Day said.

“We felt awful for Justin, and I know (the conference protocols are) something that is being discussed and continually being discussed, trying to figure out ways to make it better, but that was the policy that was in place.”

3. Day called Cam Brown’s season ending injury ‘very costly.’

With the secondary already featuring three new starters, Day noted cornerback is a position the Buckeyes could not afford to lose anyone.

“It’s a significant hit, but I obviously wish he has a healthy procedure and a healthy recovery, but I really feel bad for Cam and his family.”

There is no shortage of available scholarship players, though.

Tyreke Johnson may be first in line to receive more playing time, joining a rotation with Sevyn Banks opposite Shaun Wade.

Day also suggested freshmen Ryan Watts and Lejond Cavazos (who is still recovering from his own injury) could also be in the mix while slot corner Marcus Williams could play an expanded role by getting some snaps on the outside.

“Those guys are going to have to step up in a big way, and some of the other younger guys like Cam Martinez, we’re going to have to get some of those guys ready so we can play with some depth,” Day said, referring to another true freshman.

4. Day is uncertain about his kicker situation.

Blake Haubeil was not able to finish the Penn State game after feeling some groin discomfort.

Whether he is ready to play Saturday against Rutgers remains to be seen.

His replacement, Dominic DiMaccio, was 1-for-2 on field goal tries at Penn State, including missing a chip shot late in the game.

“I don’t know exactly how long it’s gonna be with Blake, if he’ll be ready tomorrow or it’s kind of a day-to-day thing,” Day said.

Jake Seibert, a true freshman from Cincinnati La Salle, could be an option if Haubeil remains out.

5. The coach still sees plenty to clean up.

“I thought the way we played on Saturday was excellent — I did — but there are just so many things that we need to grow upon, clean up,” Day said.

That’s a function of having new starters throughout the lineup.

“So many guys in there who really are doing it for the first time, so there’s so many opportunities,” Day said. “There’s so much meat on the bone, and I thought we started off good yesterday (in practice), but it’s got to continue through the end of the week. We’ve just got to keep working to get better and just becoming pros at our craft, taking meetings to the field, and then understanding that now as the season goes on, the defenses and offenses and special teams (we face) are going to start adjusting.”

That is more challenging with the loss of reps the team would hav enjoyed in spring practice and a regular preseason.

“We’ve got to be able to put it on the field at a high level and then have competitive excellence,” Day said. “And so I think some guys are doing a better job than others, and we’ll just keep getting better and keep coaching. That’s what this thing’s all about. It’s not about who’s the best team at the beginning of the year, it’s who’s the best team at the end of the season.”