Ryan Day Talks QB Competition, NIL Rights And More

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day spoke to the media on Monday afternoon following another Ohio State spring practice as the Buckeyes enter week two of spring ball.

Day opened talking about name, image and likeness rights, saying that they’re “kind of in a holding pattern” with regards to NIL rights currently, but that at Ohio State “the amount of exposure these guys get, there’s gonna be unbelievable opportunity for our guys.”
Day went back to the back-up tight end well, saying that this is “a big spring” for Cade Stover, who moved to tight end from defensive end last season and is looking to serve as the No. 2 behind Jeremy Ruckert. After losing Jake Hausmann and Luke Farrell following the end of the 2020 season, Stover, Joe Royer and Sam Hart are all fighting for playing time in 2021.
Day said that learning from mistakes is going to be crucial for all three of his young quarterbacks and again lamented the lack of experience they have entering the battle this season. “You’d like for them to have a couple years of experience in the program … but they don’t have that luxury.”
He stuck with the QB battle storyline, saying that the job is completely open and will likely be determined by leadership and limiting mistakes. He also mentioned the possibility that Ohio State goes into the season with the battle still raging.
“There’s no incumbent starter. The competition’s open, and guys are competing every day. You can’t win the job in one day or one throw.”
“They all look the part and throw the ball very well, but now it’s who’s gonna be the leader?”
Day praised cornerbacks Lejond Cavazos and Lathan Ransom and said that squaring off with top receivers every day is a big positive for young cornerbacks. He said that Cavazos “flashes and does some good things early” and that Ransom “really came on for us and played well, especially against Clemson. He showed that he could do that in practice, and we gave him an opportunity to do it.” He also said that Ransom was really encouraging last season.
“Cornerback is a unique position. You have to have a short memory, and you have to bring it every play.”
Day praised his freshman halfbacks, Evan Pryor and TreVeyon Henderson, saying that Ohio State has “two young running backs that both look really, really talented. I think those guys have a chance to get on the field for us.”
Day mentioned the difficulty of being down three starters in Harry Miller, Haskell Garrett and Dallas Gant in spring practice. “It’s a shame, but that’s football … We’re just going to have to push through it. The good news is there are a lot of guys healthy.” Matt Jones, Luke Wypler and Jakob James are filling in for Myers at center.
Day spoke about the extended dead period in recruiting and indicated that it’s really starting to wear on Ohio State and its recruits. “It’s been really hard for us and really hard for our families.”
He also indicated that Ohio State has no plans to bend the rules in recruiting, which would admittedly be an absolutely wild thing to admit at a press conference. “We’re always gonna do things in a first-class manner here and do things above board. … I think our recruits and their families understand that and respect that.”