Presser Bullets: Ryan Day presents the Peach Bowl as Ohio State arrives in Atlanta for CFP semifinal with Georgia

The Peach Bowl festivals have officially begun.

Ryan Day met the media on Zoom after Ohio State coaches and players arrived in Atlanta late Sunday and checked into their hotel on Monday. The fourth-year head coach spoke about the opportunity in front of the Buckeyes, how important another trip to the CFP is to the program and how his team will face Georgia on New Year’s Eve.

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Here’s a rundown of everything Day said during the press conference:

Ryan Day

• Day said Ohio State “had a really good practice (Monday)” and “is looking forward to a great week here (in Atlanta).” The Buckeyes arrived in Atlanta late on Christmas Day.

• “The whole month was a very good month for us as a team. We did a lot of very good work.” Day said Ohio State has divided bowl practices into Georgia Fundamentals and Planning. The fundamental work is done and the Buckeyes have now fully moved on to preparing the Bulldogs.

• “We’ll see as we get closer to Saturday, but I can say our guys worked hard, our staff worked hard… We’re going to prepare as hard as we can on and off the pitch this week.” Day said Ohio State would continue to work hard in the coming days before New Year’s Eve.

• Day said Ohio State learned from its experiences on previous college football playoff trips to help them against Georgia. “We have very good examples to build on for what will happen in this game… Every meter is a fight, every first down, every point.”

• Day said experienced players at Ohio State will be heavily dependent on success on Saturday. “Leadership is going to have to play very well. … The veterans are going to have to play the veterans.” Day thinks the Buckeyes have grown tremendously from Week 1 to now and veteran leadership has been a big part of that.

• “We certainly have a really talented opponent in Georgia… We know what we’re up against.” Day said the Bulldogs have talent everywhere, especially on the defensive side of football, and he looks forward to the challenge they bring to Ohio State on Saturday.

• “You have to keep as many routines as possible,” Day said of traveling to Atlanta and preparing for the Bulldogs in a place that isn’t Columbus. “Our guys are going to do a great job focusing on what’s important here, and that plays into Saturday’s game.”

• Day said Ohio State’s playoff uniforms honored the traditions of past teams. “It’s something we’ve done here in the past. Our guys like it. We’ve had good feedback from them, so we went with them again this year.”

• Day said Georgia did a “great job of recruiting and had depth in a lot of positions.” He added that Georgia has enough players in each position to allow them to “roll” different players into multiple positions. “It lets us know we can’t focus too much on the guys,” and Ohio State has to be thorough with its pre-game scouting to know what each Bulldogs player brings to the table.

• Day said Ohio State will assess whether running a tempo offense will work against Georgia and “see how that fits” into the game plan. “I think if you have the ability to go from game to game, from possession to possession, that can become a weapon for us.”

• Day says a “good chunk” of the team didn’t come on the team charter in Atlanta last night because the players were traveling from different parts of the country after their brief vacation break.

• Day said Georgia would look to “challenge you in a lot of different areas,” especially with the running game. “At the end of the day, it will come down to the fundamentals” to beat the Bulldogs and will require a lot of attention from the players to ensure they put themselves in position to succeed. “Having extra weeks of prep definitely helped the guys.”

• Day said Georgia’s defensive line would look to disrupt Ohio State’s backfield. “When you look at their defensive line, you see very good players with very good size… I think they do a very good job with their hands and take up space… Definitely we are going to be put at the challenge here on Saturday.”

• Day said Ohio State had a lot of “good on good” drills with Ohio State’s starters on offense and one-on-one defense to keep the players “to their advantage,” which, according to Day, will help the Buckeyes as they try to prepare for Georgia. Saturday.

Tommy Eichenberg and Cade Stover also met the media on Monday, as did Georgia coach Kirby Smart, center Sedrick Van Pran and cornerback Kamari Lassiter, and we have some notes of what each of them had to say. below.

Tommy Eichenberg

• Eichenberg says he had “no familiarity” with the Georgian schedule before studying their tape over the past two weeks, beyond catching some of their games throughout the season.

• Eichenberg said Ohio State would be ready for anything Georgia throws at them. He expects the Bulldogs to be physical in all three phases of the game, but thinks the Ohio State defense will need to be better prepared for how UGA will attack the Buckeyes’ defensive front with a powerful racing game that deserves respect.

Cade shorts

• Stover said Michigan’s game stings, yes, but right now we’re not worried about it “and said ‘Ohio State’ is all about Georgia right now.”

• Stover said Ohio State has a lot of very versatile players, leading to athletes like him, Steele Chambers, Xavier Johnson, and more. “Stay in different positions” that they weren’t drafted to play for the Buckeyes but ended up playing this season.

• “Anytime you have the opportunity to get back on the field earlier than expected, it’s beneficial,” Stover said of Ohio State’s acceptance into the college football playoffs and the Buckeyes’ chance to play for a national championship.

• Stover said Ohio State isn’t happy with any possession he doesn’t score a touchdown on. Still, he acknowledged ‘other team workouts too’ and is willing to stop the Buckeyes, so they understand they won’t score on every possession, forcing them to be solid with in-game adjustments for to succeed.

• Stover said the tight end “is a key part of a good offense.” He said the position has seen a revival recently due to the importance of having a player who can block and catch passes, something talented tight wingers do at an extremely high rate.

• Stover said the Ohio State players aren’t focused on what the media and fans are saying about them and are “just focused on winning this game.”

• Cade Stover says he’ll ‘never admit’ how badly injuries have impacted his performance throughout the regular season because he thinks football players ‘sign up’ to play with bumps and bruises and thinks that’s part of the job description of a college football player.

Smart Kirby

• Asked about injured starting receiver Ladd McConkey and right tackle Warren McClendon, Smart said, “We’re excited to have these guys back, hopefully.”

• When asked if he expects Ohio State’s defensive plan on Saturday to be like what it has been doing for most of the season or what it has been against Michigan , Smart said, “We’re expecting to see a bit of all of that.” He thinks that will be determined in part by the offensive personnel Georgia uses.

• When asked about recruiting CJ Stroud, Smart praised Stroud’s mother and said he was impressed with Stroud’s maturity and balanced disposition. Smart said Georgia really liked his tools back then, but he “became an all-around quarterback” at Ohio State.

• Smart said the Bulldogs regularly use three running backs because they feel it’s crucial to keeping their backs healthy.

• Smart said it’s helpful to have played Mercedes-Benz Stadium twice already this year, but he thinks Ohio State will be very familiar with the venue by Saturday after practicing there. the whole week.

Cedric Van Pran

• Van Pran said Ohio State moves around a lot on defense, so that’s something the Bulldogs need to be prepared for.

• He said he didn’t see Georgia as having a big advantage due to their familiarity with Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This is an elimination match. Ohio State is going to give it their all.

Kamari Lasiter

• Ohio State, they certainly have a lot of good receivers, a great quarterback. We have a lot of respect for them. »

• Lassiter said the Bulldogs were “back to basics” after giving up 502 passing yards against. USL.

• Lassiter said Ohio State’s offense is “pretty unique with what they do and how they do it.” He described CJ Stroud as a “dynamic quarterback” and said he was impressed with the Buckeyes’ receivers on the outside.