Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day Previews Fiesta Bowl Against Clemson

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day spoke to members of the media on Dec. 26, ahead of the Buckeyes’ Fiesta Bowl matchup with Clemson.

• Not only is Clemson talented. They are also well-coached.
• It’s easier to be away from home for Christmas with how well they’re treating us here. Hospitality has been great.
• Our coaching staff has done a great job with bringing energy to practice. We want our players to have a lot of fun. Some of the other practices have been very physical. There’s a lot on the line.
• I’m not ready for this team to be done. I love this team. The veteran players have to play veteran.
• It’s been day to day and week to week. You can’t get caught up in the expectations. When you have great coaches and players with great families, then you rely on them.
• We have to be bold. We have to come out of the gates and be aggressive.
• When we started here last January I knew what Coach Meyer had done leading up to that point. But we just took it day to day. It’s all about the leaders though. It comes down to the players.
• When you look at both sides of the ball for both teams, there are a lot of players who will be playing in the NFL for a long time. Clemson is strong, tough, powerful and fast. We both have speed. We both have good quarterbacks and a good running back.
• Don’t take it for granted and just let it go by. Appreciate the moment and appreciate your teammates. It will be gone some day
• You do the best you can to rely on who you are as a person and be yourself. I’m not in this alone. We have the other coaches, strength coaches and operations staff. I like to empower coordinators to do their job. The players and coaches lead the team.
• I wasn’t here and most of the team wasn’t either. Everything is different. It’s a reference point but not something we talk about.
• Jordan Fuller? Jordan’s been unbelievable. He’s been a quarterback of the defense. He’s as close to a coach-player I’ve been around. He’s been a huge part of our success this year.
• You always want to start fast. The last couple games they had good plans coming into the game, but our defense did a good job of recovering. It’s four quarters and you have to be willing to play four quarters. But a fast start certainly helps.
• The stability of Gene Smith and his foresight to hire within. I am forever in debt to Gene and Sheila and everything they’ve done for us.
• Even though I’m not from Ohio, I was quickly indoctrinated into what it means to be a Buckeye.
• Going in, it doesn’t matter what people think of us. If you want respect? Go beat the defending champions who have won 28 games in a row.
• It’s hard to win 28 games against air. I don’t know how you do that. It just takes one bad bounce to lose.