Presser Bolts: Ryan Day praises 2023 signing, says ‘we just have to adapt’ amid recent commitments and feels Ohio State is ‘in a great place’

Nineteen prospects signed their National Letters of Intent to officially commit to the Buckeye program by 12:30, giving the day plenty to talk about as it addressed members of the media for the first time in eight days.

Day praised Ohio State’s most recent signing, touched on some missed opportunities in the recruiting trail, discussed how the NIL affected this year’s class and much more. Eleven Warriors Take notes on everything he said on Wednesday below:

Ryan Day

• On how many Ohio State recruits haven’t landed for nothing: “That’s a good question.” The Buckeyes will “keep rocking this thing,” Day says.

• The 19 players who have signed so far, Day says, “deserve recognition now. … They will have an incredible opportunity here at Ohio State.”

• “These are the guys who want to be the Buckeyes. They know the opportunity is here.” Day says that “a lot of these guys did it for the right reasons” and signed with Ohio State for the “really important” things.

• On recruiting quarterbacks: “When is the right time to go to quarterback? Is it early in the process? Is it late?” When you’re a quarterback, Day says, you’ll see what they did in all four years of high school. “It’s something you always look up to.”

• “There are a lot of twists and turns along the way, a lot of emotional coasters” in the recruiting path, Day says.

• “There’s still a lot going on” with the hiring separation and “there’s still a long way to go until February,” Day says.

• About recent cancellations in the program, Day says there was a time when other schools stopped recruiting players after commitment, but that’s not the case anymore. “It’s the way it goes…we just have to adapt.”

• “When things are going well, everyone is with you.” Day says when things aren’t going well, you figure out where people stand.

• Day says there haven’t been a lot of transfers outside of the Buckeye program so far this year and that “I think it’s because we have such a strong culture here.”

• “I know the program is in a great place” despite the loss to Michigan and the loss of a few notable recruits recently.

• On Avery Henry’s cancer diagnosis: “Very difficult time for everyone here. Trying to give Avery as much space as possible during this time, but tell him he has a whole team behind him. … Things like this give you perspective on life.” Day says Henry will be in Atlanta with the CFP team.

• Day says Justin Frye has done a great job recruiting the offensive line and believes Luke Montgomery, Joshua Padilla and Austin Serifield could immediately make an impact. Day says Montgomery can play “all five positions” up front, Padilla will start at center and Serfield will start at guard.

• Day says Miles Walker brings a lot of potential into the tackle position, too.

• On the transfer gate: “If it’s right for them, if it’s right for us,” the Buckeyes will try to get players.

• Day says the Buckeyes “have to decide whether or not we move (Trayanum) to (RB) full-time.”

• Of the four locations in WR, Ohio, Day says, “All four are looking forward to coming and making an impact.” Recruiting Carnell Tate was a “fantastic process,” Day says. Day says there were some “ups and downs” with Noah Rogers’ recruitment, but he was “very loyal” the whole time.

• While things have changed in the course of the enlistment, Day says, “In the end it’s about relationships. That’s it.”

• In terms of college coaches, they don’t specifically call out other teams who might gossip players: “It’s definitely not a path I want to go down. I don’t think there’s any point to that.”

• Day says he will meet with Trianum to find out what he wants to do before spring regarding his position.

• Day says Jermaine Matthews did a great job at Ohio State’s camps over the summer and had a great season as a senior. “A lot of people blew that phone,” Days says, before signing day, but he remained loyal to the Buckeyes.

• Day says Will Smith Jr. has “absolutely poured it” over the past year, and that he didn’t receive a scholarship just because of his father’s name. It might have been a “risk” to offer it to him at first, Day says, but it’s “a no-brainer now.”

• On the NIL: “It’s Ohio State. We have to be the best in the country, and we will.”

• Playing quarterback at Ohio State is “not for everyone,” Day says, but he admires the “make-up” Lincoln Kienholz has.

• Day says Ohio State’s “number one” priority should be player development. “There will definitely be opportunities with NIL that didn’t exist before…but where will they be in three to five years?”

• Calvin Simpson-Hunt has impressed coaches as a senior, Day says, and has “really grown in a lot of areas” over the past year.

• “It was great to get” Jelani Thurman at tight end. Day says the Buckeyes haven’t addressed all of their roster needs yet, but there’s still a long way to go before next season.

• “I haven’t seen much in terms of enforcement” on NIL infringement cases.

• Day says players have “a lot of flexibility right now” in college football, and that “there’s a lot going on right now that I know it’s hard for players to walk away from. … We do whatever we can do thing the correct “.

• OSU wants to sign a quarterback every year, Day says, and “We don’t get anyone to be a backup. … If you can do it here, you can do it anywhere. It never flinched.”

• “Some high school coaches get very frustrated” with some schools spending more time on the transfer gate than they do bringing in high school recruits.

• With Ohio State being a triple defensive safety, Day says it needs more size in the secondary. He adds that Ohio State will “continue to look at that” after Wednesday.

• When preparing for CFP, Day says “I see a team that understands that not a lot of people give us a chance…we know where we are, we know what the challenge is.”