Ryan Day working hands-on with defense: ‘Definitely been in there more in the last week’

Ohio State’s 32-31 loss at Oregon on Oct. 12 was the kind the Buckeyes had to sit on and then chew on and then move on from as they chugged through their second and final off week of the regular season.

Conversation was constant, evaluation ever present, especially in the defensive meeting rooms.

“Yeah, definitely been in there more in the last week than I have in the past,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said Tuesday. “And, ultimately, it’s my job to make sure that all three phases are the way they’re supposed to be.

“So I’ll make sure that gets done.”

Ohio State allowed 496 yards to Oregon. The Buckeyes hadn’t given up more than 264 yards in a single game this season before their trip to Eugene.

Ohio State allowed 32 points to the Ducks after giving up 34 points total in its first five outings.

It had looked as if defensive coordinator Jim Knowles had put the explosive plays that ruptured the Buckeyes in 2022 far in the rear view mirror. Ohio State entered the top-three showdown without having given up a pass play of 30 yards this season. Then the Ducks recorded four of them.

“You come out of the game, and you got to identify the things that didn’t work,” Day said. “We did make some adjustments. Do we need to overhaul everything? No, we don’t need to overhaul everything.

“But there are some things — the way that we’re coaching things, the way that we’re scheming some things, we need to make adjustments there. There’s no question. But once all that settles, you realize that there’s a lot of football ahead of us.”

Day said it, and he’s right: There’s a world in which the Buckeyes still have 10 games remaining. That world is one in which Ohio State makes a run to the national championship.

To get there, the Buckeyes will have to improve their pass rush. They didn’t record a single sack at Oregon despite generating 19 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

Getting pressure but not taking down the quarterback has been all-too-familiar tale for Ohio State recently, and not just this season.

“I’m not happy with anything right now,” Day said. “But certainly we want to get more pressure on the quarterback. That is no question. And, you know, it’s the coaches’ job to make sure that we put our players in a situation and environment to be successful. So that’s the first thing we got to look at. And then it’s the player’s job to go do it and execute it.

“All those things were part of the conversation this past week. We definitely need to do a better job there.”

Day did say he believes longtime defensive line coach Larry Johnson and Knowles, now in his third year as defensive coordinator, are on the same page.

It comes down to making the right schematic and coaching modifications to maximize the talent the Buckeyes have in spades on their defensive front, and then, as Day noted, the players have to perform.

Day was asked directly Tuesday about his faith in Knowles at the moment.

“I had hard conversations with everybody, and I know what the plan is moving forward — and I’m involved with that plan,” Day said. “So, yeah, I got confidence in all those guys on that side of the ball, and I know what we need to get done, and we’re going to get it done.”

Day confirmed that, coming off a loss like the one his Buckeyes suffered in Eugene, there’s a bit of him telling the defensive staff what he wants changed as well as a bit of conversation about potential change.

It’s a balance, as is the case for Day’s time spent with the defense.

Sometimes he’s in the meeting rooms, sometimes he’s working with players individually.

“Yeah, all the above,” Day said. “On field, in the meeting room, whatever needs to get done is gonna get done.”