The Buckeyes are now more than a quarter of the way through preseason practice.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media for roughly 30 minutes on Thursday morning to discuss the seventh practice of fall camp.
Day touched on a number of topics, including the depth and injuries at cornerback, the continued installation of new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' scheme, position battles and much more.
Below is a bullet-point recap of what Day had to say:
- Day said injuries and the depth at the cornerback position is one of his “top three concerns,” though none of the injuries are long-term.
- That includes sophomore Jordan Hancock (calf) and fifth-year senior cornerback Cameron Brown, who is on a “pitch count” right now with an undisclosed injury.
- Day said fifth-year senior wide receiver Kamryn Babb had a “tweak” and sat out team drills today but said he should be back in a couple of days.
- Day does not have an update on USC transfer kicker Parker Lewis, who continues to deal with an eligibility issue. “We’re hoping soon.”
- On redshirt sophomore safety Lathan Ransom, who is coming off a broken leg in the Rose Bowl: “He’s had a very good summer … We’re certainly keeping an eye on it, but he’s been able to handle it.”
- Day praised freshman safety Sonny Styles for his start to fall camp after enrolling this summer. “For somebody who’s supposed to be in high school right now, he doing darn good.”
- Day said redshirt sophomore Josh Fryar and redshirt freshman Zen Michalski are “working really hard” to be the third offensive tackle behind starters Dawand Jones and Paris Johnson. “Hopefully, it can be both of them.”
- Day said Knowles has brought a new dynamic and energy to the defense. “Jim is excellent to work with. Just a professional.”
- “I think our guys are becoming more and more comfortable with the language, the system, the scheme, and it’s encouraging.”
- Day mentioned running back Evan Pryor and defensive tackle Mike Hall as two players who are developing following their redshirt seasons.
- Day on redshirt freshman Jakailin Johnson and true freshman Jyaire Brown, who lost his black stripe this week: “If they can stay healthy, we’re going to be sharp going into the season.”
- Day said there’s only “a handful” of starting jobs up for grabs, but noted players will be rotated at a number of positions.
- That includes outside wide receiver, where Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson took a majority of the snaps over the last two years.
- Day on fifth-year senior walk-on wide receiver Xavier Johnson: “He’s cut his teeth here and he’s developed into a really, really good receiver … I’ve been very impressed with his first week.”
- Day thinks the idea of a scrimmage against another team would be “intriguing and probably a good conversation” to have, though he’d prefer to see that in the spring to avoid injuries. “Probably a conversation for another day.”
- On Arizona State transfer DeaMonte Trayanum, who is in his first year at linebacker after playing running back with the Sun Devils: “He certainly has a lot of skills, works hard and the guys respect him … As soon as we feel like he’s ready, he’ll go play.”
- Day said sophomore wide receiver Emeka Egbuka’s work ethic and toughness is off the charts. “If he keeps stacking days, I think he’s going to have a really good year.”
- Day on junior tight end Gee Scott: “He’s flashed, for sure … There’s certainly been really good signs.”
- Day said the Buckeyes will transition to the next phase of training camp following Saturday's scrimmage, which would be to start focusing on the Fighting Irish.
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