Ohio State coach Ryan Day reflected on his own experience as a player in a quarterback battle to provide insights to his players.
Ohio State is in the middle of an intense quarterback battle between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz, and coach Ryan Day is reflecting on his past to pull up valuable lessons. He’s been involved in a competition for the starting job before.
In fact, Day revealed that he’s still best friends with the man he competed with, Matt Cassano. He looks back fondly at that time.
“It’s a great question. When I think back on that, one of my close friends to this day is one of the quarterbacks that was in that room,” he said. “You spend so much time together, and the easy thing when you’re early on is to kind of hate the guy you’re going against. And then you spend so much time with them they kind of become your best friends. All that said, you want to play.”
For their part, Sayin and Kienholz have maintained a pretty healthy relationship through their battle. Or at least they’re saying all the right things this offseason.
Of course, time will tell how well the relationship holds up. Day described the quarterback battle as going down to the wire, which means it’s intense. Someone’s feelings are likely to be hurt. And that’s usually new for the guys in the battle.
“When you’re in high school, you’re used to being the guy,” Day said. “And there’s a certain level of comfort that comes with that. And when you’re competing with somebody you’re kind of always looking over your shoulder. And that’s not a great feeling, but it’s a healthy feeling because you know that you have to hold yourself to a certain standard. You’re not allowed to have a bad day, and you certainly can’t have bad plays.”
With Ohio State taking on Texas in the season opener, the pressure is amped up considerably. The season either gets off to a terrific start or the Buckeyes are facing an uphill climb in their quest to repeat.
For the two guys involved in the quarterback battle, it’s all about handling the expectations. Those expectations can be internal, too.
“So when you’re going through that competition it’s not a comfortable feeling, but that’s OK,” Day said. “That’s part of the process. And just go back to that, if I could talk to my former self in that spot I would say, ‘Be the hardest worker. Outwork the room. But control the things that you can control. Things like the team, commanding the huddle, commanding the line of scrimmage, your body language, your leadership.’
“Those things make a big difference. Probably more than just being 12-of-15 during 7-on-7, if that makes sense.”
Category: General Sports
