Ryan Day lists attributes needed in quarterback amid position battle

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is one of the best quarterback coaches in all of college football. Few have the acumen, talent, and the keen eye for elite talent at the position quite like he does. With a 45-6 record entering his 5th season with the Buckeyes, no coach can accomplish a record like that without some elite skill players. Earlier on Wednesday at Big Ten Media Day, Day took some time to speak about what he looks for in his starting signal-caller, now that he’s trying to settle on a new trigger man heading into fall camp of the 2023 campaign.

Ryan Day on the traits he looks for in his starting quarterback

“I wish I could say it’s one thing, but you know, over time you just kinda build the rolodex of the things you look for in a quarterback. I think, you know, every throw isn’t the same. When you’re in 7-on-7, it’s the second play of 7-on-7 and you throw a good ball that’s great. But it’s a lot different when it’s a third down drill on 3rd and 3, you put the ball in the right spot. Or you find the hot. Or you make that throw to end a drive in the red zone. Those game altering plays, those situations where you have a playaction setup and there’s a guy open. You’ve gotta make that throw to go score a touchdown. Those are the things you look for. And as time goes on, you try to identify those things the best you can as a coach,” Day continued.

“But also, you know, you can’t really figure in their feet until you get into a game where you’re actually tackling. You know, you can figure out a little bit in the pocket. But you know, we have a couple quarterbacks that can move. And so, we’ll try to do the best we can to get a quarterback here for the first game. And then, kind of see how the season goes,” Day said.

The Buckeyes’ head man also went into detail about why being a high-level quarterback is one of the most difficult positions to play in all of sports.

“There’s so much that’s a part of it. I’ve been watching that Netflix story, ‘Quarterback.’ Peyton Manning says the hardest position in the sport is quarterback and all those things that come with it. Certainly, at Ohio State, you’re gonna be scrutinized in so many different ways,” Day continued.

“You’re gonna get a lot of the credit, which you have to be able to handle that. You have to handle the success. But also, the blame when something doesn’t go well. You’ve gotta be able to handle that and continue to grow from that and build and be able to be resilient. So, there’s a lot that comes with it.”

On3’s Chandler Vessels also contributed to this article.

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