Speaker 1: Welcome to another edition of the Dave Pash Podcast. I'm
Speaker 1: your host ESPN and Arizona Cardinals play by play announcer
Speaker 1: Dave Pash. My guest this week is Ohio State head
Speaker 1: football coach Ryan Day. Ryan and the Buckeyes are ranked
Speaker 1: number two in the country. They play Akron this weekend.
Speaker 1: With a new quarterback, Will Howard, transferred from Kansas State.
Speaker 1: We'll talk about him. We'll also talk about the new
Speaker 1: playoff format, and we'll get detailed on Marvin Harrison junior
Speaker 1: Harris Johnson junior. Both of them played for coach Day
Speaker 1: at Ohio State. We'll get specific on the professionalism of
Speaker 1: Marvin Harrison junior and when Ryan Day knew he was
Speaker 1: going to be great.
Speaker 2: Quickly when he got here his freshman year, he started
Speaker 2: to recognize and I think he took that big step
Speaker 2: in the Rose Bowl as freshman year. You know, that
Speaker 2: was kind of when we realized we had something special.
Speaker 1: We'll also talk with Coach Day about C. J. Stroud
Speaker 1: and Chip Kelly. He played for way back when in
Speaker 1: New Hampshire and also worked with in Theena Fell with
Speaker 1: the Eagles and Niners. Chip is now Ryan's offensive coordinator
Speaker 1: in Columbus. We are presented by Healer River Resorts and Casinos.
Speaker 1: Let's go red seat get closer to the game with
Speaker 1: Healer River Resorts and Casinos, proud partner of the Arizona Cardinals. Okay,
Speaker 1: time now for our conversation with Ohio State football coach
Speaker 1: Ryan Day coach. First of all, great scene, you thanks
Speaker 1: for the time. Let's jump right in on Marvin because
Speaker 1: one of the things that I noticed really early, and
Speaker 1: I had your Cotton Bowl last year, so saw him
Speaker 1: there and got a chance to chat a little bit.
Speaker 1: He is a pro. It's like you forget he's twenty two,
Speaker 1: just turned twenty two a week ago. How quickly did
Speaker 1: you figure out how professional he is and buttoned up
Speaker 1: and detail oriented?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: It started when he first got here. He and a
Speaker 2: Mecca book of both they were in a facility all
Speaker 2: the time. And they were in the facility, you know,
Speaker 2: working on you know, the playbook and what to do
Speaker 2: and watching film. But they would just wear out the
Speaker 2: jugs and to the point where you know, we got
Speaker 2: this one machine where you can just wear it on
Speaker 2: your belt and press the button and the balls just
Speaker 2: keep coming. So you could be there by yourself and
Speaker 2: then finally our strength coach mc murraty made a rule
Speaker 2: that you know, Marvin had to bring somebody with him.
Speaker 2: He couldn't just do it on his own. But he
Speaker 2: always from you know, when he first got here, showed
Speaker 2: up prepared, practiced at a high level, and and played
Speaker 2: that way. And you know, I think, you know, certainly
Speaker 2: it's well documented. You know that his dad prepared at
Speaker 2: a high level, and I think he instilled that in him.
Speaker 2: But you still have to do it, and you know
Speaker 2: he really did when he was here. He's the thing
Speaker 2: I say a lot of times is that, you know,
Speaker 2: for somebody who's very, very talented, typically they don't always
Speaker 2: have the discipline or skill that you need.
Speaker 3: He had both.
Speaker 1: When you were recruiting him, was pretty clear that he
Speaker 1: was going to be a Buck guy immediately or did
Speaker 1: it did it take a long time, because obviously he
Speaker 1: had great interest around the country.
Speaker 2: Well when he was he was actually at Lesalles freshman
Speaker 2: year and I was recruiting Philly at the time, and
Speaker 2: I think he would tell you I was the first
Speaker 2: one to start recruiting him. You know, at that time,
Speaker 2: you know, we didn't know what he could be, but
Speaker 2: certainly had the pedigree and but but then quickly saw
Speaker 2: him grow. But for a long receiver, sometimes it takes
Speaker 2: a little time to grow into your body. And I
Speaker 2: remember watching him in the IMG game when they played them,
Speaker 2: and you could see him come into his own and
Speaker 2: you could see he was growing into his body. But
Speaker 2: to say even at that time we knew that he
Speaker 2: would become the player that he is today, you know
Speaker 2: that would be a stretch. But but quickly when he
Speaker 2: got here his freshman year, he started to recognize and
Speaker 2: I think he took that that big step in the
Speaker 2: Rose Bowl as freshman year, and you know that was
Speaker 2: kind of when when we realized we had something special.
Speaker 1: Do you feel like his skill set is perfect for
Speaker 1: this level. You've coached at this level, You've been around it,
Speaker 1: You've been around great receivers at Ohio State. So it
Speaker 1: is his skill set setting up for early success here
Speaker 1: with the Cardinals.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: His route running is very, very precise. He understands how
Speaker 2: to leverage defenders. He can play on contact. You know,
Speaker 2: makes contested catches, run after catches is very good, has
Speaker 2: the length and the catch radius that you need. You know,
Speaker 2: his quickness and when you look at him. He's tall,
Speaker 2: but what you notice is his torsos low to the ground, so.
Speaker 3: His ability to change direction.
Speaker 2: Sometimes the taller guys, like their torsos are high, their
Speaker 2: their legs are longer, so they have a harder time
Speaker 2: getting it out of cuts. Now with him, you you know,
Speaker 2: just you see, like the way he's built, it's his
Speaker 2: torso is a little bit lower, so he gets in
Speaker 2: and out of breaks faster, can trans should create contact
Speaker 2: when needed. But yeah, I think he's going to be
Speaker 2: a next one pro. I think his skill set really
Speaker 2: does translate.
Speaker 1: Well, it's interesting you mentioned that on the torso. I
Speaker 1: was sitting or standing on the field before the preseason
Speaker 1: game against the Colts. I do the games with Ron Wolfley,
Speaker 1: and he and I are watching and we said the
Speaker 1: same thing. He almost looks like his dad from like
Speaker 1: torso down, but then he's three four inches taller. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that his dad.
Speaker 3: That's right, That's exactly. That's probably the best way to
Speaker 3: put it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know, it's it's funny though, but that's
Speaker 2: you know, proportionally, that's how he's built.
Speaker 3: And I do think that matters.
Speaker 2: I do I think that you know, the quickness has
Speaker 2: as you know, a big part of that.
Speaker 1: I want to ask you about another Cardinal who play
Speaker 1: for you, Paris Johnson junior. He played multiple positions in Columbus.
Speaker 1: He was the Cardinals right tackle last year. He's switching
Speaker 1: to left tackle this year. How do you think the
Speaker 1: experience there with you moving around on the offensive line
Speaker 1: will help him make this transition here in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, he started when he was here at tackle,
Speaker 2: but then we moved him to guard and he played,
Speaker 2: you know, his his sophomore year mostly at guard, and
Speaker 2: then we were able to transition to tackle his third year, which,
Speaker 2: by the way, you know, it'd be nice to have
Speaker 2: some of these guys for our fourth year, you know,
Speaker 2: just for their record. But but you know, you saw
Speaker 2: him play his best football, you know, really the second
Speaker 2: half of his third year, and he started to get
Speaker 2: comfortable at left tackle. But he was at right guard
Speaker 2: there again for a good portion of his career at
Speaker 2: Ohio State as he was transitioning out because you know,
Speaker 2: we had some some elder tackles here at the time,
Speaker 2: but he wanted to get on the field and that
Speaker 2: and that's a tribute to him. It's a tribute to
Speaker 2: you know his mom and the way that she raised
Speaker 2: him that you know, really have a growth mindset because
Speaker 2: that is going to pay And you don't know why,
Speaker 2: because you know, you're one of the top recruited guys
Speaker 2: in the country, and you know a lot of guys
Speaker 2: would say, well, no, I'm only playing tackle, I'm only
Speaker 2: at tackle.
Speaker 3: I'm not going to put that on film, not gonna
Speaker 3: to do these types of that. He didn't care. He
Speaker 3: just wanted to compete. He wanted to be a buck guy,
Speaker 3: wanted to.
Speaker 2: Win games, and those those experiences I believe really helped him.
Speaker 2: And you know, playing on the right side of the
Speaker 2: line there for a whole year, you know he had
Speaker 2: to have helped him last year playing playing at right tackle.
Speaker 2: But the versatility and you know, understanding, you know, how
Speaker 2: to leverage guys inside is different and when you're playing
Speaker 2: outside now it's the length in the space. So he
Speaker 2: can do both and I think that experience helped him.
Speaker 1: What were your interactions with him, Like, he's such an
Speaker 1: interesting guy. He's incredibly smart and has a lot of
Speaker 1: off the field interests, whether it's running for the school
Speaker 1: newspaper there, all the different languages that he studied, but
Speaker 1: he's still nasty on the field, Like he still loves football.
Speaker 1: So what were some of your conversations like over the
Speaker 1: years with him.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I remember the first time, you know, watching his film,
Speaker 2: he was always nasty, like you said, but then watching
Speaker 2: him play.
Speaker 3: He played at.
Speaker 2: Played at Princeton his senior year and Planet Sean X
Speaker 2: leading up to that, and he just always had that
Speaker 2: like you said that, you know, off the field, you know,
Speaker 2: he was a gentle giant, but on the field he
Speaker 2: was nasty. And I went to see him play live
Speaker 2: at one point and he was just getting after guys,
Speaker 2: you know, just finishing play. He's playing physical, So you
Speaker 2: knew that. And then when he got here, you know,
Speaker 2: he was like, that's going to be a part of
Speaker 2: my identity. That's gonna be who I am, and that's
Speaker 2: what I want to put on film. And so you know,
Speaker 2: that was you know, something that you know, he wanted
Speaker 2: to make sure that you brought to to the NFL
Speaker 2: when he left here, and.
Speaker 3: He's gonna play very, very physical.
Speaker 2: He's going to finish, he's gonna play all the way
Speaker 2: to the whistle, and so you know, but that that's
Speaker 2: his makeup and like you said, he's he's a well
Speaker 2: rounded person, and I think that, you know, I said
Speaker 2: this when he got to Arizona, that you know, he
Speaker 2: was gonna have a major impact on the culture there,
Speaker 2: and you know, I believe he will.
Speaker 1: He has already. It's it's remarkable in fact, Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: he and Marvin very similarly, even though marginal quieter, they
Speaker 1: both had an impact just with the way they carry
Speaker 1: themselves in their professionalism. Another guy that's had a big
Speaker 1: impact here as the head coach, Jonathan Gannon'm not sure
Speaker 1: if you guys have ever crossed paths, but he's in
Speaker 1: year two and I just had him on the pod
Speaker 1: and we were talking about, you know, some of the
Speaker 1: challenges that you face in year one and how you
Speaker 1: grow from year one to year two. Can you think
Speaker 1: back to, you know, when you take over full time
Speaker 1: at Ohio State year one to year two. What what
Speaker 1: did you learn and how do you think that could
Speaker 1: you know some advice maybe for JG in terms of
Speaker 1: handling the challenges of going from year one to year
Speaker 1: two and the growth that you go through.
Speaker 2: Yeah, now, you know I wouldn't give the advice. I
Speaker 2: wouldn't go on record doing that. But my experience would
Speaker 2: be that, man, you do you learn every single year,
Speaker 2: I mean, and you learn a lot. The number one
Speaker 2: thing for me is making sure you have the right
Speaker 2: people in the right seats. And that's a lot easier
Speaker 2: said than done. Making sure that you know you have
Speaker 2: the right players there that are going to embrace your culture,
Speaker 2: and then having the right coaches in line for the
Speaker 2: alignment and to teach your players exactly what what you
Speaker 2: know your messaging is, and then doing a really good
Speaker 2: job of making sure you're clear about what the mission is,
Speaker 2: what the expectation is, what the standard is on a
Speaker 2: daily basis, and holding guys accountable, you know. And that's
Speaker 2: the first few years, like those are the things that
Speaker 2: I really learned a lot. And then you know, as
Speaker 2: you get into your five and six, you start to
Speaker 2: learn more and more about, you know, how the season goes.
Speaker 2: You kind of you know, try to document what you've
Speaker 2: you've learned from the years previously and try to go
Speaker 2: back and fix those and make them better. But ultimately
Speaker 2: the job of a leader is to look around along
Speaker 2: the horizon and figure out what's coming next. You know,
Speaker 2: what's what's coming down the road here in September. What's
Speaker 2: coming down the road here as we head into the playoffs?
Speaker 2: What's you know those types of things and the more
Speaker 2: experience you have, the more you remember those as opposed
Speaker 2: to learn them, just like anything else, just like players
Speaker 2: are doing in their first couple of years.
Speaker 1: JG is a DB's guy, who's the decoordinator you know
Speaker 1: in Philly, and safeties are his passion. You're a quarterback guy,
Speaker 1: and I don't think you've gotten enough credit. I know
Speaker 1: you're not looking for credit, but I don't think you've
Speaker 1: got enough credit for CJ. Stroud and the success that
Speaker 1: he's had in terms of being the head coach and
Speaker 1: the CEO and having to oversee everything but also kind
Speaker 1: of still be attached to your passion and your strength.
Speaker 1: Has that been something that took time for you because
Speaker 1: you've got to oversee it all, but you know there's
Speaker 1: still an area of what you do that has gotten
Speaker 1: you to where you are.
Speaker 2: Yeah, No, it's it's probably an hour conversation that exact
Speaker 2: thing that you're talking about. But ultimately, like this year,
Speaker 2: you know, I just had to grab on and embrace
Speaker 2: the fact that when you move up, you got to
Speaker 2: give up, Like you when you go from you know,
Speaker 2: quarterback coach, the offensive coordinator, offensive coordinator, a head coach,
Speaker 2: like you need to do the job that only the
Speaker 2: head coach can do. You know, if you're doing a
Speaker 2: job of somebody else, then you're taking away from what
Speaker 2: your job responsibilities are. Now that being said, in the
Speaker 2: game of football, you're still gonna have an impact, You're
Speaker 2: still gonna have say, You're still gonna be around that
Speaker 2: part of it and hold the guys accountable. But but
Speaker 2: that that was a challenge as well, and that's still
Speaker 2: something even to this year now as you know Chip
Speaker 2: has become the offense coordinator here that you here are
Speaker 2: the things we've done, here are the things that have
Speaker 2: gone well, and then you know he's going to integrate
Speaker 2: some of his things as we go along during the season.
Speaker 3: So I, like you said, I'll still be a part
Speaker 3: of it. I'll still have my hands.
Speaker 2: And it's just like when you look at some of
Speaker 2: the great coaches that have been there, whether in college
Speaker 2: or in the NFL, you know they're not just strictly
Speaker 2: CEO and not having their hands on the football part
Speaker 2: of it. I think if that happens, then you lose
Speaker 2: touch on what's exactly going on on the ground level.
Speaker 2: So there is that balance there that you know, as
Speaker 2: time goes on, you get a better feel for.
Speaker 1: You mentioned Chip Kelly, and he and I were texting
Speaker 1: after he got the job. Uh, and I know it
Speaker 1: was hard for him to leave the beautiful weather in
Speaker 1: Los Angeles, but he loves you and you're his guy,
Speaker 1: and you guys obviously go way back. What's it like
Speaker 1: having him around? How is it different in you know,
Speaker 1: because you used to work for him and then you
Speaker 1: played for him before that. What's it like now where
Speaker 1: he you know essentially he's working for you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, it's it's it's been great. I think the
Speaker 2: thing you have is you have trust there, you know,
Speaker 2: and I think both of us want nothing more than
Speaker 2: to have a great season this year and you know,
Speaker 2: be able to look back on, you know, on on
Speaker 2: a you know, a long time friendship and you know,
Speaker 2: have a great season this year and put together a
Speaker 2: great run here at Ohio State, you know, personally, but
Speaker 2: also for the players here at Ohio State. I think
Speaker 2: in a short time he's got an opportunity to see
Speaker 2: there they're special group here. But I you know, for me,
Speaker 2: it's trust that you know you can go into a room,
Speaker 2: you can have honest conversation and leave the room knowing
Speaker 2: that you know there's there's a tight bond there and
Speaker 2: I think the guys in a room feel that as well.
Speaker 2: But for me, it's also knowing somebody who has such
Speaker 2: an unbelievable experience and one of the best offensive minds
Speaker 2: in the game of football in the last twenty years.
Speaker 2: So that's a huge opportunity for me to step away
Speaker 2: and know this is going to be well done.
Speaker 3: We're gonna have a great offense.
Speaker 2: You know it's going to be put together the right way,
Speaker 2: and then allow me an opportunity to, you know, get
Speaker 2: in some different areas.
Speaker 1: A couple of cook ones on the buck. Guys, Ryan
Speaker 1: will get you out of here. I mentioned I had
Speaker 1: your bowl game last year. Obviously, you guys are in
Speaker 1: a tough spot and it's unfortunately the reality of college
Speaker 1: football with your starting quarterback decides to transfer for the
Speaker 1: bowl game and then the guy that replaces him gets hurt.
Speaker 1: You guys are in, you know, a position that's almost impossible.
Speaker 1: Now you have Will Howard, who is very successful at
Speaker 1: Kansas State. How's he made the transition in terms of
Speaker 1: what you're looking for and your expectations for him, you know,
Speaker 1: starting here soon against.
Speaker 2: A great Yeah, he's he's learning a new offense. And
Speaker 2: I think it was you know, all happening pretty fast
Speaker 2: in the spring. It slowed down for him in the preseason.
Speaker 2: He's you know, really got a better grasp of what
Speaker 2: we're looking to do. He you know, we named him
Speaker 2: starter last week. We felt like he separated himself. He
Speaker 2: took command of the the offense, he took command of
Speaker 2: the team. I feel like at times, the thing about
Speaker 2: Will is Will can't beat you with his feet.
Speaker 3: He's tough, you know. I think it's throwing.
Speaker 2: His accuracy has really improved this preseason, coming out of
Speaker 2: the spring, really making some good throws and making good decisions,
Speaker 2: and so you know, he can come at you a
Speaker 2: bunch of different ways. He's also you know, played a
Speaker 2: lot of football and has experience and and any time
Speaker 2: again that you're remembering as opposed to learning, and that
Speaker 2: that bodes well. And you know, I think the more
Speaker 2: he can take the meetings to the field, take some
Speaker 2: of these new concepts that we're going to continue to
Speaker 2: throw at him, and put it in the field at
Speaker 2: a high level. You know, he can be as good
Speaker 2: as he wants. So he's got the weapons around him.
Speaker 2: He's got to take care of football, make through a
Speaker 2: team plays routinely and when it comes to third down,
Speaker 2: red zone in two minute, and that's what he's going
Speaker 2: to beat his best.
Speaker 1: How do you feel over all you guys have kind
Speaker 1: of handled this new world of portal ni l as interesting.
Speaker 1: I saw Mike Gundy say something about the other day
Speaker 1: at a Oklahoma State the head coach there that hey, players,
Speaker 1: tell your agents stop calling me. Call me in December
Speaker 1: after the season's over. The money has been sent out.
Speaker 1: If your contracts aren't signed, that's it, We're done. How
Speaker 1: have you guys kind of managed this this crazy world
Speaker 1: we're in.
Speaker 3: Well, the proof will be in the pudding.
Speaker 2: I think that you know, how do you gauge that
Speaker 2: you gauge how you know the type of season you
Speaker 2: have and then what type of culture you have. And
Speaker 2: I feel strong about the guys we have on this team.
Speaker 2: You know that you know we did add seven guys
Speaker 2: in the portal. You know, there's a combination of filling
Speaker 2: holes and then the fact that you know when coach
Speaker 2: save and retired. You know, there was an opportunity in
Speaker 2: some guys that were available, and so you know, we
Speaker 2: took it. You know, it took that as a as
Speaker 2: an opportunity to add bolster our roster. So but but
Speaker 2: it wasn't like, you know, we added ten to twenty guys.
Speaker 2: Because at Ohio State, you know, you come in to
Speaker 2: get developed, and so we want to recruit young men
Speaker 2: and develop them here and keep them in the program
Speaker 2: and and keep that culture very very strong. So I
Speaker 2: think it's those two things. And to say it's day
Speaker 2: to day, it's not true week to week now month
Speaker 2: to month getting closer, but I mean it's kind of
Speaker 2: that way right now. It's it's definitely a year to year,
Speaker 2: that's for sure, and so we have to you know,
Speaker 2: continually adapt with what's going on. But we feel like
Speaker 2: we have adapted well. I think that we've you know,
Speaker 2: put the right staff together, the right team together. But again,
Speaker 2: the proof will be in the putting as we get
Speaker 2: going this fall.
Speaker 1: Finally, Ryan, I know you're not going to coach any
Speaker 1: different obviously with this new playoff format, but in terms
Speaker 1: of you know, do you think coaches will have a
Speaker 1: different outlook in general, just because obviously the Gold Ohio
Speaker 1: State is always a winter national championship, but with this
Speaker 1: new playoff format, you could be the eleven seed and
Speaker 1: win the national championship. So, like, do you think coaches
Speaker 1: in general, depending on how things go, of course, over
Speaker 1: the course of the year, will kind of look at
Speaker 1: the big picture differently going forward.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they may.
Speaker 2: They may, you know, based on how everything's shaking out.
Speaker 2: But when you look at look at our conference, you
Speaker 2: know you have eighteen teams in there now, and so
Speaker 2: you know you can't afford, you know, a bad day.
Speaker 2: You know, you've got to do everything you can to
Speaker 2: get into that that Big Ten Championship game. And the
Speaker 2: first goal was to get that buy. So it's not like,
Speaker 2: you know, you're going to sit around and say, well,
Speaker 2: we're going to afford to lose it or have a
Speaker 2: bad week or anything like that, and it's just not
Speaker 2: going to be the way it is.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: The one thing that is significant, like when you look
Speaker 2: at our schedule is you know you'll play the rivalry
Speaker 2: game the last week, you know, and no November, and
Speaker 2: then you have the Big Ten Championship game and then
Speaker 2: you have the playoffs. So I mean you're going to
Speaker 2: have you know, five to six, you know, strong opponents
Speaker 2: in big games back to back to back. You know,
Speaker 2: if you make the run all the way to the end,
Speaker 2: and so I think you know, as always, you have
Speaker 2: to be playing your best football at the end of
Speaker 2: the season.
Speaker 3: But that's going to be a little bit different. The
Speaker 3: lead time between each games will be different.
Speaker 2: So all things that you know, we're preparing for, you know,
Speaker 2: and the justice as time goes on based on how
Speaker 2: the season shakes.
Speaker 1: Coach, great scene, you thanks so much for the time.
Speaker 1: Please tell Chip I said, hey, and best of luck
Speaker 1: Ryan the season man.
Speaker 3: Now you got it, absolutely no problem.
Speaker 1: Love the details from coach day on Marvin Harrison junior
Speaker 1: and Paris Johnson Junior. There's a culture that is at
Speaker 1: Ohio State. Those guys were a big part of it.
Speaker 1: They're now a big part of it with the Cardinals. Plus,
Speaker 1: I just loved his perspective on what Jonathan Gannon is
Speaker 1: going through as a young coach moving from year one
Speaker 1: to year two. Best of luck to the buck Eyes
Speaker 1: they play Akron this weekend. Ohio State certainly would be
Speaker 1: a factor, as they always are in the college football
Speaker 1: Playoff picture. We are presented by Helo River Resorts and
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Speaker 1: at Dave Past. You can also follow the team at
Speaker 1: a Z Cardinals or thanks to Ohio State coach Ryan Day.
Speaker 1: Thanks to you for listening to another edition of the
Speaker 1: Dave Patch Podcast