Ohio State head coach Ryan Day spoke to the media on a video call about the Big Ten’s decision Wednesday to postpone the fall football season for the rest of 2020, his thoughts on the potential impact this has on recruiting and the conversations he has had with the players following the recent news.
- Day said he found out about the cancellation of the season from athletic director Gene Smith, then told his staff, then his team about the news.
- “We woke up this morning with a focus on what’s next, and that’s really the spring.”
- Day said that he thinks quarterback Justin Fields will want to wait and see what a spring football season will look like. Said it is “our job” to figure things out so “someone like Justin can plan his next few months.”
- On what would make an ideal spring season, Day said that he thinks it should start as soon as possible. “I think the first week of January would be the best way to go,” and said he’d propose an eight-game season so there’s enough separation between the spring and fall.
- Day said he isn’t concerned about the 2021 recruiting class if Ohio State plays in the spring, but that it could be an issue if the Buckeyes don’t play a season at all.
- As he has previously, Day continues to feel very strong about how well the medical professionals have done, as well as the plan Ohio State has in place.
- On players potentially transferring out to play in a different conference, Day said he knows schools from conferences that are still trying to play this fall will reach out to players, but Day doesn’t expect them to transfer, and doesn’t think it would be a smart move for players to make that move so late into the offseason.
- Day on the meeting he had with his players: “It was an awful meeting.” Called it one of the hardest conversations he’s ever had.
- “You don’t just wake up the next morning and everything’s fine. Not when you’ve invested this much into it. It’s not fine. It’s going to take some time.”
- Day said that the Big Ten has to play in some capacity this season to avoid having a recruiting disadvantage to other conferences.
- Day on still trying to play this fall: “It’s a fluid situation … We’re looking at everything. I can promise you that.” Said he talked to Smith on the topic Wednesday morning.
- “There’s just a lot of conversation, we’re trying to explore every option possible.”
- Day said he’d start to get emotional if he thought about this Ohio State team not playing. “This team is special. It’s special because of the leadership … It could have been a once-in-a-lifetime team.”
- Day said, if a season doesn’t happen in the spring, that the question of how eligibility will be handled will need to be answered as quick as possible.
- Day said the Big Ten’s testing and travel protocols weren’t set, and “because of that, I wasn’t ready to play a game. However, I thought we could get there.”
- Ohio State players will now be tested for COVID-19 once a week instead of twice a week now that there aren’t games scheduled less than a month away. The team will also still be provided with tutors, meals and medical care.
- Day said he supported players getting an extra year of eligibility, like spring athletes did this year, if there is no spring season.
- Day ended the call saying he doesn’t have all the answers, but that “I know that I’m going to fight like heck for these guys.”
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