Post-game presser balls: Ryan Day, Larry Johnson, Justin Fields, Haskell Garrett and Trey Sermon analyze Ohio State’s 52-12 win over Michigan State

The Buckeyes claimed a 52-12 road victory at East Lansing, outscoring Michigan State 28-0 in the first half before retiring in the final 30 minutes. Subsequently, interim head coach Larry Johnson, head coach Ryan Day and several Buckeyes – Justin Fields, Haskell Garrett and Trey Sermon – joined the media for a Zoom press conference.

A preview of their comments (with a video to come):

Larry johnson

• Johnson says he thinks the executives “continued to do what Coach Day did.” He calls it a “great team effort” and praises the preparation by the coaching staff.

• On the Gatorade tub: “Pretty cold. I’m just glad it wasn’t below zero here. I would probably be sick.” He says the players set him up with Zach Harrison speaking to him to get his attention.

• On Garrett’s interception: “Athletic enough to tip and grab your own pick.” He says Garrett is a “big story” because he “is probably lucky to be still here”, referring to his gunshot wound a few months ago.

• Johnson believes the coaching staff “did a great job” giving the players a chance to play.

• He says he didn’t think about being the first black Ohio State head coach for a game. Said he focused the most on the players. “I didn’t want to come home on Sunday and stand in front of this game after losing a game.”

• Johnson says they thought it would be better for Kevin Wilson to call the game. “He’s the offensive coordinator. He called the games.” Said he let Wilson “run the game”.

• He says Tyreke Smith “has a chance to play more shots” and “he’s going to make a game” when he gets on the field for 20 to 25 shots.

• In the third quarter he was teary-eyed because he was happy for the players and he realized that they had a chance to win. “It could be canceled again, but we weren’t.”

• On defense: I think my kids came with a chip on their shoulders. ”

• “If you’re a head coach for a day, you want Justin Fields to be with you.” Said he always saw Fields with a smile on his face.

Ryan day

• “I would like to be quick because I think it’s all about the leaders, the coaches who have stepped in this week.” Note the contributions of Shaun Wade, Trey Sermon, Wyatt Davis and others.

• “I thought Drue Chrisman had two really big kicks in the game that ended up inside the 5-yard line.”

• Day says he “couldn’t be more proud” of this coaching staff. “So many people must have stepped up this week.” Said it wasn’t easy to watch, but it was a great statement on the program.

• On returning players: “I hope we start picking up players. We have a lot of them. I’m going here on Monday and we’re picking up some of the coaches.” He says as long as the state of Ohio continues to perform well with COVID-19, he hopes “the worst is behind us.”

• He says Fields “knows what happened” in the Indiana game. “You could just see today how he attacked the game.” Said he thought Fields played “really brave” in a situation where the Buckeyes had to be “really careful” with the offensive line. “I thought he took a huge step today.”

• “I took a lot of notes. I screamed a lot. I was really, really excited about other pieces. Definitely the Haskell piece that I was running around the house.”

• Day says they met all week via Zoom before the game. “Thank God for the technology because that’s how we made it.”

• “I saw a team that had great energy, great tenacity, who loved being there.” He says it was “awesome” to see smiles in the fourth quarter.

• Day says he thought the offensive line was “fighting” even though it wasn’t perfect.

• He says it was good to see some of the younger ones stand up, including Miyan Williams, Ronnie Hickman, Bryson Shaw and Dallas Gant.

• Day says he thought “Kevin Wilson was awesome” this week. He thinks Wilson “deserves a lot of credit.” Also think Fields has taken another step forward as a leader.

• Day says he hasn’t heard any updates on next week’s game against Michigan.

• He says Johnson’s title of associate head coach was one of the reasons he was named interim head coach. “I think Larry has great leadership. Larry understands how to motivate a team.” He says he got a tear in his eye when he took the Gatorade bath.

• “We are very proud to be Buckeyes. There is so much emotion in the season.” He says everyone has to enjoy it “and then we’re on Team Up North”.

Justin fields

• Playing with absences: “We had to change the game plan a bit, but I think the offensive line adjusted well to what we had in the game.” He says he’s proud of how the line has stepped up.

• He says Harry Miller was “a little nervous” on the first ride, but settled down. Said all he has to do, he did it.

• Fields says he “tried to do something with my feet” on his first touchdown.

• I think this week has really brought us together as a team. “He says the leadership of the team” has improved this week. “…” It was difficult at first, but we all just had to step up and we had all met. ”

• On his teammates who couldn’t play: “I love these guys. I would die for them.”

• “I don’t know if I like initiating contact, but I will if I need to. He says he lifts a lot so he thinks his body is “built” for contact.

• Fields says Ryan Day wasn’t too sure about the last game’s interceptions. “To be honest, those were just stupid mistakes on my part last week.”

• He says that “it was like I was the attacking coach of the times.” He says he “really liked” playing a bigger role. Also mentions that offensive quality control coach Kennan Bailey has done his part.

• Fields on positive coronavirus tests: “I’m honestly surprised I didn’t have it. Guess it was just God watching over me.”

Haskell Garrett

• About Tyreke Smith: “He’s doing great. We all work as a unit. Tyreke is using his abilities more to his advantage now.”

• On his touchdown interception: “It was big. We had backed them up. We had to turn the pitch around and just put possession of the pitch back into our hands.” He says he was in the “right place at the right time” with his choice.

• Garrett says he “wasn’t really worried” with the backing offensive line. “I have full confidence in our offense that they are going to do their job.”

• He said he didn’t know Larry Johnson had a Gatorade bath until the game was over: “I was like, ‘Dang, you smell Gatorade. They must have you.'”

• On what his interception meant: “It means a lot. It reassures me that I’m doing the right job.” Said he was happy to change the game’s momentum and start a fire for the guys on the sideline.

• On stopping the race: “We are really proud to stop the race. Our goal is to have less than 100 meters per game.”

• He says they continually want to reset the bar and raise it.

• Garrett said on Thursday field trips he had an interception in training ahead of his pick on Saturday. “It was pretty wild.”

Trey Sermon

• On his big game: “I really trust my coaching and my abilities. It was rather slow the first games.” Said he was able to make the most of his opportunities on Saturday.

• Sermon says this week has been “tough,” but coaches told them they need to stay prepared. “We always keep our motto just to fight.”

• He says he was “getting better gradually” and was more in tune with the offensive line.

• How he feels about health: “I feel great. I worked really hard in the offseason. As soon as I got here I did tons of work just to make sure I was ready. I feel good. ”

• He says his explosive run was “very important” to his confidence.

• Sermon says the offensive line “has worked very hard to get to where it is.”