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COLUMBUS – For most Ohio State fans, hearing coach Ryan Day say freshman TreVeyon Henderson – who only played the first quarter against Rutgers last week – is ‘ready to go’ for the Buckeyes’ game against Maryland on Saturday would have been almost all they needed to hear.
But Day had a lot more to say at his weekly press conference on Tuesday. Some thoughts from the OSU coach:
• Making progress: Day said he was “proud of last month’s development” since a 35-28 loss to Oregon on September 11.
“It was a bit bumpy at times. But the guys have come in to work everyday, the coaching staff has been stable, the leadership has been stable and we are improving, ”Day said.
But a 52-13 win over Rutgers doesn’t mean all is well, he said.
“We had a good week. Now we have to do it again. But there is a dynamic there. We still have a young team. We’re not out of the woods yet. We have to bring it every week. The question is how fast can we get to where we know we can be, how fast can we become a team capable of winning a championship. “
• Olave needs patience: Day said some teams are designing their defenses to take out senior wide receiver Chris Olave and he needs to be patient when that happens.
Olave had 5 catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Rutgers, but only had a total of two catches in games against Akron and Tulsa just before that.
“The challenge for Chris is to understand that to get to where we need to be as an offense and as a team, he has to be selfless,” Day said. “There are going to be sections where the ball does not come towards him.
“But if he keeps doing what the game is designed to do and keeps pushing hard and having a good attitude, the ball is going to find him like it did on Saturday. He has a lot of big catches up front. him.
“But he also puts pressure on himself because he wants to be the best in the country. And it’s good. We want guys like this, ”he said.
• Healthy, precocious Henderson: In a halftime TV interview with Rutgers, Day said Henderson “got a little kicked up” and would not play again in the game. But the freshman, who ran for 510 yards on just 54 carries, is ready to get back into action this week.
When asked if Henderson has grown faster than expected, Day said he was a little surprised.
“I thought it would take a little longer than he did because he didn’t play his last year of high school and getting into that situation is a lot. But I also saw in the spring a guy who was very serious in his work, very mature and who takes care of his body. If he makes a mistake, he’s the hardest person on himself. It was all good. And then you see the talent, ”he said.
• Mitchell emerges: Having totaled just 18 tackles in the past two seasons, linebacker Teradja Mitchell is second in OSU tackles this season with 28.
“Teradja is in a unique situation because he hadn’t played much football at the start of the season. While he was in the program, he didn’t have a ton of experience, ”Day said.
“Now he’s starting to have a lot of reps (reps) and you see someone playing a lot more effectively than they did earlier in the season.”
Day
Contact Jim Naveau at 567-242-0414.
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