INDIANAPOLIS — With little more than a week before Ohio State opens preseason football training camp, coach Ryan Day said he is looking for a physical stretch of practices from the Buckeyes.
“We’ve got to have a good preseason,” Day said. “We’ve got have a physical preseason. We’ve got to lay that foundation for what’s going to come.”
Speaking during an opening news conference at the Big Ten’s media days on Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium, Day took questions about the high expectations that await the Buckeyes.
Three separate media polls released this week, including one conducted by the USA TODAY Sports Network, have the Buckeyes as the favorites to win the Big Ten. They’re also seen as likely top-five preseason team and among the contenders for a national championship game.
“Our focus is on this preseason,” Day said. “It’s the next step. I’m sure a lot of coaches will say you can’t really focus on what happened the year before. You can’t be worried about what’s coming down the road.
“We all know there’s a lot of noise and hype around this team. We can’t let those distractions grab our focus from what we need to day in and day out. It’s going to be a long season.”
The Buckeyes ended last season on a two-game losing streak with setbacks at the hands of archrival Michigan and Missouri in the Cotton Bowl but retained a bevy of upperclassmen and made several high-profile upgrades to their roster through the transfer portal, heightening the high hopes and aspirations for Ohio State.
“We’re not going to shy away from that,” Day said. “We want to win the rivalry game, be in this stadium right here to win a Big Ten championship and win the national championship. We know that. But at the same time, that can’t our focus, because that’s a distraction.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
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Source link : https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/college/football/2024/07/23/ryan-day-ohio-state-football-coach-2024-preseason-schedule/74511643007/
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Publish date : 2024-07-23 13:42:18
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