The Ohio State’s annual Scarlet and Gray spring is finally in the books now. The Gray squad got the best of the Scarlet with 36-25. Even though the score’s the least of the factors here, head coach Ryan Day looked more optimistic and content than he has all spring, especially after bringing in 51 new talents. Right after the game, the head honcho, drenched in rain, spoke with the Big Ten Network and shared some early insights.

First off, Coach Day was just happy they actually got to play the game despite the messy weather.

Ryan Day on Buckeyes’ overall performance

“I’m glad we’re able to get it in. I appreciate the fans coming out despite the forecast. Thought the guys played hard. Executions, that’s another day’s conversation. I wish we could stand out here for another seven hours, but we can’t. We’re going to bring them in. We’ll look at it, look at the film, see what we have, and then regroup and attack the summer. What do you want these guys to build on now that spring football is over, and the game is in the rearview?”

What’s his message to the players moving forward? Ryan Day – ‘Get Personal’

“First off, we’ve got to individually figure out how we need to get better so we can play at a high level. We had some guys out today, you know, certainly a running back, offensive line, and some other positions. So it will be good to get them back, but then we come together as a team now, and that’s what the summer is all about, coming together, having chemistry on both sides of the ball and as a team.” Ryan Day ensured talent definitely is on the team, but the summer needs to be a grind where everyone levels up their own skills so the team as a whole can succeed.

On the fanbase who stuck their necks out in the rain to watch Ohio State’s spring game.

“Just the devotion from this fan base, we have an obligation to come out and represent the Buckeyes in a way that the people here can be proud of. Because, as you can see, there’s just a pride here. It’s been going on for a long time, and so that’s one of the things. When anybody steps in, into the woody, they have to understand, whether as a coach or a player, it’s bigger than just themselves. It’s, you know, we’re out here for these people, and it was great to see them out here today.”

Post- game presser

“Ryan, how do you feel you did what you wanted to accomplish coming out of spring here, even with the weather and all that?”

“We have more players this spring than we’ve ever had, so it was great to see some of those guys get out there and see how they respond. Typically, when they’re out there for the first time, you see some wild things and then they settle down a little bit. We were down some bodies, obviously at running back and on the offensive line, and we wanted to get Jeremiah and Brandon out of there pretty early. So, it was good to get out there. We’ll look at the film, and it’ll be another piece of the evaluation going into the summer.”

Day on Tavien St. Clair’s performance? (9-22 for 166 yards and one touchdown)

“Well, being a quarterback at Ohio State is not easy, as you know, and he’s battling every day. I think you can see the talent for sure. He threw some really nice balls down the field and obviously missed some as well. Some of the drives got stopped, but that’s part of it. He’s got to learn from those things and continue to grow. He’s been showing up every day with a good attitude, and that’s important. I think we all can see the talent. That’s why he was recruited here, and he’s got to continue to grind to learn how to run the offense at a high level because he’s going to be an important part of this team. You need to build depth at every position, and we all know how important quarterback is.”

“Do you have any kind of update on Earl Little Jr.? We didn’t see him out there today?” (Injury Update)

“Yeah, similar to the other guys, he had a procedure on his knee, cleaning something up. He’ll be back here in a few weeks. This time of year is the right time to get those things done so that we can put them behind us. As much as we’d love to see him continue to evolve with the defense, he certainly flashed early, but then had a little bit of a setback. We want to make sure we took care of that so he has a full summer.”

On Julian Sayin’s development as a runner and playmaker

Ryan Day: “Well, it’s hard when he’s not live, and we were not going to make him live today. But it’s been an emphasis point, and you can see that he is aware of that and looking to do some of it. We did have a bad ball for a turnover, and that could ruin your whole day. It only takes one play. He knows how important that is, but it was good to see him move around out there. I don’t know what would have happened on the first drive. It would have been a pretty big collision between him and Peyton, I think. But he was moving well, and he has moved well this spring. Certainly, it is a lot different when you are live. That is going to be the challenge for him all summer, to continue to work on pocket presence and making plays with his legs.”

Overall defensive progress and team development

Ryan Day: “I think we are still a work in progress in all three phases. This summer, we all need to focus on getting better individually. That is what comes after spring. We identify the things we did well and the things we need to improve, and that starts individually. Each guy is in a race to get better. Then we need to build chemistry in all three phases: offense, defense, and special teams. The last piece is everyone coming together as a team for one common purpose. This is a big summer for us. I think we are off to a good, solid start, but with 50 new players, we have a lot of work to do. I do not think we are behind where I thought we would be, but we all know it is going to be a process. We are in a race against time.”

On-Campus interview

Ryan Day on urgency with a new roster and a tough schedule (The Buckeyes’ 2026 strength of schedule (SOS) is ranked 3rd in the country)

Ryan Day: “Yeah, so we’re in a race against time and we’ve got to wake up early and go to bed late, and we know what we’re up against. I thought the effort was good today. As you saw, the execution was spotty at best, but that typically happens this time of year. It was good to get some of the younger guys out there playing. You think about the freshmen that actually got reps today in the stadium, so that’s a positive. We’ll get back and grade the film.”

On the importance of summer conditioning and team chemistry.

“It’s all important, but you’re right. This is where the team builds their chemistry and comes together. Again, with half the team being new, we’ve got a lot of work to do, and we knew that coming in. That’s sort of what college football has become. A big part of it is what Mick does. We’ll give these guys a couple of weeks off, let them finish up with their finals, and then dive right into the summer.”

Building chemistry quickly with a new team.

Ryan Day: “Yeah, that’s the weird part of the game now because you’ve got to become friends overnight, almost. So we’ve got to do some team activities and bring guys together. But then also the leaders have to do that on their own, bringing guys over to their house and connecting. Because that’s it. A good team is well-connected.”