Quick Hits: Ryan Day Excited to See Ohio State’s “Capability and Potential” in Big Ten Road Win, Says the Buckeyes Still Have “A Long Way to Go and a Lot of Work to Do”

Ohio State’s trip to Seattle was a test of poise, toughness and growth — and Ryan Day’s Buckeyes passed, even if the performance wasn’t perfect.

After a hard-fought 24-6 win over Washington, Day praised his defense for leading the way, highlighted breakout performances from Caden Curry and Kayden McDonald, and emphasized the importance of eliminating self-inflicted wounds.

Julian Sayin echoed his head coach’s message, crediting Ohio State’s resilience in a hostile environment and the confidence the Buckeyes draw from their defense.

Together, along with Curry, McDonald, Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and CJ Donaldson, the Buckeyes' comments painted the picture of a young team learning to win tough games on the road while still chasing its full potential.

Ryan Day

“It’s exciting. It’s exciting to see the capability and the potential. I think if we can all stick together as a team, we’ll have a chance here, but a long way to go and a lot of work to do.”– Ryan Day on the potential of this Ohio State team

When asked to name his favorite Caden/Kayden, Day laughed and said, “They both played well.” Caden Curry had 11 tackles with a school-record five tackles for loss and three sacks, while Kayden McDonald had seven tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks.

On Ohio State overcoming adversity on the road: “Just growing. We got to grow. I think it’s a great reference point to come into a stadium like this. This is a great environment. I thought the fans on their end were loud and showed up in a big way. It was great for our guys to see some (scarlet) here. Anytime you take a young team on the road, it’s great to have familiar faces in the crowd, and they had a presence, and that was great.”

Day said players like Sonny Styles, Caleb Downs, Caden Curry, Kayden McDonald and Davison Igbinosun “believe in the system” and are “leading the way” for the defense because they’ve “played a lot of football.”

On Ohio State’s potential this season: “We’re not where we need to be in terms of down the road. I think we still got a lot of work to do in all areas, so we have to continue to work to get better, but you’re seeing obviously the potential of where we are. Each week, we’re gonna have to continue to get better because in this conference — that’s our first conference win, and we have a lot of work to do.”

Day said Ohio State will look back on film from the game and wish it could have some plays back. “If we can do some things a little bit better, we’re gonna come out of this film session thinking we could have even played a little better in certain areas. … But I think the confidence is there. It should be.”

Day said Ohio State's defense gives the offense confidence and freedom. “It’s important that we continue to grow on offense and figure out where the identity of this team is and where it’s going. I think it’s something that we’ll work on week to week, but when you have a defense that’s playing the way it is right now, you can play with confidence knowing that you don’t have to score every single possession, you can control the clock and play it — I wouldn’t say more conservative, but you understand time, score and situation.”

On Ohio State's five penalties: “We can’t be having these self-inflicted wounds. It’s gonna cost us a game. So, that happened too many times in this game. We had five penalties. We can’t do that.”

When a reporter said Ohio State’s defense has been historically good so far this season, Day laughed and said, “Well, we’re only four games in. We got a lot of work to do.” The reporter reiterated that the Buckeyes’ defense has been historically good. “I’d rather it this way than any other way,” Day said. “It doesn’t surprise me with the coaches that we have; it doesn’t surprise me with the players that we have. With that being said, we got a long season ahead of us, and I think there’s confidence right now, and that’s the most important thing.”

Julian Sayin

"They’re so good in practice, and it shows up on Saturdays... It gives us a lot of confidence as an offense that they’re gonna get stops for us.”– Julian Sayin on Ohio State's defense

On the poise he and his teammates showed in a hostile environment: “Coach Day has been preaching that to us all week, having poise in the noise out there. … Our mindset was just keep swinging. Things aren’t gonna go our way the whole time, there’s gonna be momentum swings, so we’re just gonna keep swinging.”

Sayin proved he could run the ball when needed against Washington, collecting 19 yards on three rushes. Sayin said that's what "the game called for" on Saturday. “I think it was kind of what the game called for a couple of times. They were either dropping out eight guys and there were only three guys rushing, or they were playing man coverage and nobody had the quarterback. I think it was just a couple of times it was what the game called for and I had to go make a play with my legs.”

Sayin said Ohio State's defense "builds a lot of confidence" for the offense.

On Ohio State's touchdown drives before and after halftime: “We were excited to score right at the end of the half, and then we knew we would get the ball coming out. I think we had a 15-play drive to go down there and punch it in. Offensive line did a great job — it’s a long drive for them — so I feel like they did a great job.”

Sayin said "the atmosphere was awesome" at Husky Stadium. "The environment was awesome. We were playing a great team. It was all-around excitement going out here, the West Coach, go to Seattle and play a great team like that.”

On CJ Donaldson, James Peoples and Bo Jackson: “It’s nice when you have three guys like that who can rotate because you have fresh legs in there. The defense gets tired, those guys are fresh and they’re about to run through contact.”

Sayin said Ohio State "knew it was gonna be a gritty game" against Washington. "It wasn’t gonna be perfect. … Coach Day and our whole offense’s message was keep swinging — things aren’t gonna go our way, just keep playing.”

Caden Curry

“I feel like our defensive line this year is a bunch of no-names. We just go out there, try to ball and play as hard as we can.”– Caden Curry on the success of Ohio State's defensive line this season

Curry thanked Ohio State fans for coming to the game in Seattle. "Seeing all of them was a great atmosphere to see."

When told he set an Ohio State record with five tackles for loss, Curry laughed and said, "I honestly didn't know that. I mean, honestly, it's truly and blessing and just got to thank the man upstairs for that."

Curry said Ohio State had success against Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. because of how hard it practiced this week. "Just the way we practiced all week. We knew we were playing a great athlete and a great playmaker, so we knew we had to contain the quarterback and knew we had to do our job. Honestly, plays just come off of that. If you cage the quarterback that well, he's gonna come to you eventually."

Curry said Ohio State's defensive line has great chemistry because of how long it's played together. "We've definitely seen guys before us. We've seen the great defensive line last year, all of our guys in the NFL now, and we just learned every day off of them. Just being able to play with them and learn and teach from them, it definitely paid off."

Curry said Ohio State's defensive linemen "love to do our job" and "make plays when our number is called."

Curry said Ohio State's defense "always has a chip on our shoulder." He added, "We lost so many players last year. We have so much to gain now. We have so many players who have an edge. We have such a good defense that wants to play and keep playing."

Kayden McDonald

“Caden Curry, man. He's a hard worker. How you practice is how you play. We work really hard. We always push each other to go as hard as we can, and it shows.”– Kayden McDonald on the success he and Caden Curry had against Washington

McDonald said Larry Johnson was preaching to Ohio State's defensive line to "rush together" this week to contain Williams.

On his second sack of Williams: "Well, it was fourth down, and I was like, just bring out my best move. I got past the center, and the rest was history."

McDonald said he and Ohio State's defense were "ready for the moment" against the Huskies.

Kenyatta Jackson Jr.

“Just havoc. Nobody can block us. Go get the dude with the ball. Do your job, and go get the dude with the ball.”– Kenyatta Jackson Jr. on the defensive line's mentality

On Curry's performance against Washington: "It's very exciting. I've been seeing it since freshman year, so it's not surprising, but I'm very excited for him."

Jackson said Ohio State's defensive linemen have worked to keep "the Rushmen standard" this season. Jackson said the Buckeyes aren't playing "selfish football" and are satisfied with "team wins."

CJ Donaldson

“That alien gave us some juice, man. That guy different. He work hard every day. He push us each and every day to be our best. He's always bringing that juice. He's a South Florida guy, you know, he's got that swagger to him.”– CJ Donaldson on Jeremiah Smith's Touchdown

On his game-sealing touchdown late in the fourth quarter: "It was electrifying having the opportunity to seal the game and us to sing (Carmen Ohio). That was special."

Donaldson said his touchdown catch came during a play Ohio State's offense has practiced since the spring.

Donaldson said Ohio State's running backs have played and will continue to play "as one" this season.

Donaldson said he and the Buckeyes still have lots to work on as the season continues, be he is proud of how he and his teammates weathered some storms against Washington. "On that 4th-and-1, I got to do a better job of getting my pads down. That's something I've got to work on. But you know, Coach Day always tells us to weather the storm. I think that's something we did as a team — we weathered the storm very well and we responded quickly."

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