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It was a joke or maybe it wasn’t.
When Ryan Day talked about Ohio State’s defensive line’s need for improvement and increased production at his weekly press conference on Tuesday he said, "We need production for sure. We’re taking applications."
Kenyatta Jackson, a returning starter at defensive end, shares the team lead in sacks with linebacker Riley Pettijohn with two and has been solid in all four of the Buckeyes’ games.
But Zion Grady, a starter at the other defensive end spot at the beginning of the season, has missed the last two games because of an injury. And no one has claimed stepped forward and claimed the two interior defensive line positions.
OSU has only seven sacks in four games and two of those games were against Kent State and Ball State.
"It’s the job of everybody in the building to make sure we’re putting everybody in a situation to be successful. Then in practice we’re building trust that when you go in the game you’re going to do your job. It’s one thing to have talent, it’s one thing to flash. But when you’re playing team defense and one guy is not where he’s supposed to be, and I’m not talking about any player in particular, it does matter," Day said as he discussed the defensive line situation.
"I think we all need to recognize that. All it takes is one guy who is out of a gap and it can turn into an explosive play. We all have to be disciplined in what we do. We don’t just go out there and make plays. We have to play within the defensive scheme. We have talent but we need discipline and skill," he said.
Some other thoughts from Day:
INSIGHT ON JEREMIAH
When asked what makes Jeremiah Smith so special, Day said, "A lot of people like to play the comparison game and compare one player to another. The question comes up a lot about what makes Jeremiah so special, what separates him from everybody else. I think you’ve heard me say it before, it’s his mindset.
"He’s really big and really strong, really fast and powerful and has good hand eye coordination. He’s won the genetic lottery. We know that but there are a lot of players who have in the past. But what separates him is the mindset, the discipline and then the skill set. Discipline is all the things God didn’t give you. It’s your attitude, it’s your work ethic, the decisions you make on a daily basis about what you eat, what time you go home, where you go at night, how much film you watch.
"When you see Jeremiah you see the skill has improved over the years. The easy thing to do sometime when you’re talented is just lean on your talent. Jeremiah has not done that. I’d love to say he came in and we developed that part of him but he had that mindset when he walked in. His mindset is elite," he said.
MOMENTUM STARTER?
"This is a big opportunity for our team. To go into a tough environment and go get a win, that certainly would build a lot of momentum for our season as we move forward," Day said about No. 5 Ohio State (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) going to No. 14 Iowa (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) for a 3:30 p.m. Saturday game.
He called the Hawkeyes, who are allowing 8.0 points a game, "A team that does not let you run the ball."
INJURY REPORT, PART ONE
he decision on whether starting right tackle Phillip Daniels will miss a third straight game because of a leg injury will be made later in the week.
But it sounds like it is possible that Austin Siereveld might remain at right tackle with Gabe VanSickle playing right guard even if Daniels is cleared to play.
"We’ll see how Phillip looks this week and make the evaluation from there. Phillip did some good things before his injury but I also think Gabe has been a bright spot for us in a lot of areas. He hasn’t been perfect but he’s getting better with every rep and he’s making it hard, which is a good problem to have. But I don’t think right now he’s done anything to say he doesn’t deserve to play," Day said.
INJURY REPORT, PART TWO
Freshman nickelback Jay Timmons left last week’s 42-19 win over Illinois with what looked like a possible hamstring injury.
If he can’t play Saturday, Jermaine Mathews or freshman Jordan Thomas are probably the most likely replacements.