Ryan Day confirms Kourt Williams has long-term injury, unclear on permanent status

Over his time with the Buckeyes, defensive back Kourt Williams has gained the respect of his teammates, coaches and Ohio State fans alike.

That’s what made the news of Williams suffering an upper-body injury so demoralizing, and Ryan Day’s latest update on the Ohio State safety so disappointing. Speaking with the media, Day revealed on Thursday that Williams has a “long-term” injury, and it’s unclear when he’ll be able to return to the playing field.

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“When you have a captain who’s not been able to get on the field, it’s not great. The good thing for us is that we have really good leadership on the team, so it hasn’t been felt as much. But you know, there’s all the coaches and certainly the players who elected him captain and have a lot of respect for Kourt. 

“… It’s a long-term prognosis, it’s long-term and we’re not sure when he’ll be back.”

During his Buckeyes career, Williams has accumulated 32 total tackles, one pass deflections and one sack over two seasons.

A four-star recruit out of Bellflower, California, Williams was one of Ohio State’s top recruits in the Class of 2020. According to the On3 Consensus, Williams was the No. 16 recruit out of California, while also being the No. 22 overall linebacker and No. 145 overall recruit nationally.

Alas, Ohio State will miss the leadership and football prowess of Kourt Williams moving forward, but Ryan Day is confident in his team’s ability to fill in the gaps moving forward.

Ryan Day doesn’t want Ohio State’s offense to get complacent after strong start

Meanwhile, Ryan Day has led the second-ranked Buckeyes to a 6-0 start to the season behind an absolutely ruthless Ohio State offense that has torn the heart out of every defense it has faced this season.

The Buckeyes have the nation’s top-ranked scoring offense and second-ranked total offense. Yet Day is still looking for ways to improve.

“There’s a whole bunch that we’ve got to get better at,” Day said. “I think our guys know that. I think that’s why they come in hungry every day to get better. We know the issues are there and we have to identify those and be introspective enough to recognize those and get them fixed after a game, even if we’ve had a lot of success.”

If that’s the case, the ceiling for Ohio State is remarkably high.

The Buckeyes have averaged 48.8 points and 543.7 yards per game, dusting opponents by an average margin of victory of 33.2 points. For Day, the key to continuing to get better is mindset.

“Just staying disciplined enough not to think that you’ve arrived or that you have a really good offense,” Day said. “That doesn’t mean anything going into this game. We’ve got to bring it every single week, and that’s why practice is so critically important.”