Ohio State's Day talks Martinez, Robinson and more
For both Ohio State and Nebraska, nothing is normal about their 2020 season opener.
Speaking on his monthly radio show, Buckeye head coach Ryan Day said as they get ready for their opener against the Huskers, it presents quite a few challenges out of their control.
“We are only going to have three weeks in pads,” Day said. “It’s not like it’s a training camp either, as the guys are in school. It’s not like you have all day with them where you can meet in the morning, practice, bring them back, walk-throughs at night. It’s not that way. It’s just very, very different.”
As for Nebraska, Day has a lot of respect for NU and head coach Scott Frost.
The two never worked together, but they share a mutual connection with their tie to former Oregon and current UCLA head coach Chip Kelly.
Day worked for Kelly at New Hampshire and in the NFL with both the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. Frost got his first FBS full-time assistant job under Kelly at Oregon in 2008.
“It’s a good outfit coming in,” Day said of Nebraska. “Scott (Frost) is obviously a good coach, and he did a great job at UCF. They are getting stronger every year. I think he feels good about his team that’s coming back. It’s going to be a challenge. We are going to have to make sure we are ready to roll early in the game. We have to make sure we have our pads down, and we are playing tough, we are taking care of the football and we are tackling and blocking and doing all the fundamental things.”
Day is also no stranger to NU’s personnel.
He recruited Husker junior quarterback Adrian Martinez back in 2017 and brought him on campus for an official visit.
“I have a lot of respect for Adrian as a person, but also as a player,” Day said. “He had an injury his senior year (of high school), so there was a little bit of uncertainty as to where he was at and everything. He’s come out and had a great college career. He’s done some great things. He’s really strong, he’s a good leader and he runs the offense incredibly well.
“He’s a strong runner, strong passer and he has good touch. Now he’s a veteran. When you have somebody who’s played as many snaps as he has in this conference, you know you are going to get a guy where it’s not going to be too big for him. He understands the value of the football. He plays situational football. He’s played against us now a couple of years. He’s one of the better quarterbacks in the conference.”
The other guy that has Day’s attention is NU sophomore wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
“(Robinson) is a speed guy. He reminds me of the guy from Purdue, Rondale Moore,” Day said. “He has that explosive ability. He’s really sideline-to-sideline fast – jet sweeps and things like that. He can get down the field, run reverses, they try to get the ball to him in space. He’s also powerful. He’s built low to the ground. Any time you can get a guy like that in space, it’s advantage offense.
"Wan’Dale is now in his second year, so we know he’s stronger and he’s got more experience. So he’ll be more dangerous.”
Preparing for the tempo of Frost’s offense is another concern of Day’s, especially in a season opener.
Both OSU and NU will try to run tempo, and when operating at their highest speed the Buckeyes will get plays off in the first 14 to 15 seconds of the play clock.
“You want to get lined up,” Day said. “Scott has shown they will play with tempo. They have been one of the best in the country. We have to be prepared for that. You have to get lined up. That’s one of the things you count on as a tempo team is that they aren’t going to get lined up properly. You have to be in good shape. You have to communicate well. You have to get the play in quickly. All of those things are critical.
"The good news is our defense gets to see that every day against us. That’s a positive, but at the same time, it’s different when you get into the game. You can’t go tempo if you go three and out – that’s what I say all the time. If you can get stops those first couple of plays there is no tempo. That first first down is critically important.”
The 2020 season opener will also bring a number of other challenges to the table.
Day said he doesn’t see how it’s possible any road team could fly in the day of game for an 11 am CST kickoff.
He also said it’s important for Big Ten schools to watch and learn from other teams playing right now on what the best practices are when it comes to COVID-19. By waiting until Oct. 24, the Big Ten has that going for them.
“We’ve got enough time to make sure we get this right and do it safe,” Day said.