Buckeye Bits: Ryan Day and the team preview Top-10 battle with Indiana

After a week hiatus, Ohio State football is set to retake the field this weekend for a matchup with No. 9 Indiana this Saturday at the Horseshoe. The Buckeyes will hope that everything runs smoothly this week both within their own program and among the Hoosiers so that Ryan Day and his guys don't have to miss anymore time.

Let’s jump right into today’s headlines.

From around Land-Grant Holy Land...

Ohio State hoops virtually visit with four-star center
(Dan Hessler, LGHL)

Recruiting news isn’t always just surrounding the football team, as Chris Holtmann has proven himself a worthy recruiter in his time in Columbus.

Ohio State basketball 2020-21 stats preview
(Gene Ross, LGHL)

The Buckeyes’ hoops team lost leading scorer Kaleb Wesson to the NBA Draft and a pair of guards to transfers this offseason. Where will they make up some of that production?

Buckeye Clips: NFL Week 10 highlights
(Tia Johnston, LGHL)

Davon Hamilton picked up his first career sack, Malcolm Jenkins recorded another pick, and Terry McLaurin continued to be awesome in this week’s OSU alum NFL highlights.

Podcast: Crimson Quarry’s Mike Miller previews Ohio State-Indiana
(Matt Tamanini, LGHL)

It’s always great to get the point of view of the opposition heading into a big matchup. In today’s In Conversation, Matt sits down with Crimson Quarry managing editor Mike Miller to talk Buckeyes-Hoosiers.

From around the gridiron...

On Tuesday, we got to hear from Ryan Day and a handful of Buckeyes as they sat down with the media to preview the Indiana game. As usual, the head coach was the first to the podium.

Day opened up by talking about trying to keep things moving after the Maryland game was cancelled. He says the team tried to replicate game reps as best as possible in practice, but Indiana really gets the added bonus of being in rhythm with four-straight weeks of play.

The former quarterback coach had lots of praise for Indiana QB Michael Penix.

Day says he understands that there is no margin of error for Ohio State, especially now that they will be playing at least one fewer game. He says the team was disappointed and angry about the Maryland cancellation, but handled it maturely and got right to work.

Like many in the Big Ten sphere, Day is not surprised by Indiana’s rise this season.

While the fans have certainly expressed their feelings in regards to the team needing to make improvements following the Rutgers game, Ohio State’s players have felt the same.

Day also had praise for Indiana head coach Tom Allen, who has done a phenomenal job building the Hoosier into the program they have become so far this season.

In case you were worried about an early exit, Ryan Day loves coaching at Ohio State.

Defensive end Tyler Friday was up next at the mic, and he began his time praising the work of his fellow defensive linemen as they continue to improve each week.

Friday, like the rest of us, thinks this college football season has been really odd.

Friday finished up by acknowledging how important it will be for Ohio State to get pressure on Penix and make him uncomfortable. He then passed things over to Thayer Munford.

The talented offensive tackle does not think the Buckeyes have come close to hitting their peak.

Ohio State beat Indiana 51-10 last season, but the Buckeyes know that doesn’t carry much weight into this year’s meeting.

Munford’s offensive line mate Josh Myers spoke next, and he began by talking about how the team isn’t quite satisfied yet with the way the running game has looked.

Harry Miller has been a topic of discussion, as the first-year guard has struggled a bit early on, but Myers isn’t worried. Day acknowledged earlier that Miller has been thrown into the fire at a new position, but lauded his ability to learn from his mistakes. Myers expressed a similar sentiment.

Josh Proctor was the final Buckeye to speak on Tuesday, and he classified himself as the “Swiss Army knife” of the defense with his willingness to play anywhere he is needed. Proctor is impressed by the athleticism of Indiana’s receivers, and knows this is an important week for the Ohio State secondary to step up.

Proctor finished up the afternoon talking about his experience in playing man-to-man coverage, even as a safety, as former DC Jeff Hafley had him practicing with the corners at times last season.

Speaking of Indiana, the last time these two teams met a man by the name of J.K. Dobbins had a pretty great afternoon. Maybe this is the week an Ohio State running back steps up and pours in some big numbers for the Buckeye offense.

From around the hardwood...

We are just one day away from the NBA Draft, and Kaleb Wesson is hoping to hear his name called on Wednesday night. Most draft analysts have the forward as a late second-round pick.

On the women’s side of things, Ohio State junior Dorka Juhasz has been named to the Naismith Trophy Watch List. Juhasz averaged 13.2 points and 9.4 rebounds last season, and finished fourth in the Big Ten with 10 double-doubles. She is the first Buckeye in program history to lead the team in both scoring and rebounding in each of her first two seasons.

In addition to Wesson and Juhasz, you know who else at Ohio State can hoop?

Thats right, wide receiver Garrett Wilson.

From everywhere else...

Former Ohio State outfielder Nick Swisher will be on the ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time. A Columbus native, Swisher spent 12 years in the MLB, spending the majority of his career with the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians.

Indiana confirmed on Tuesday that basketball games will be played inside an empty Assembly Hall for an indefinite period of time. It is unlikely that any Big Ten program will have fans in their arenas to begin the college basketball season.

In significant baseball news, Theo Epstein is stepping down from his role as the Chicago Cubs’ President of Baseball Operations. Epstein is credited with playing a significant role in helping both the Cubs and the Boston Red Sox overcome World Series droughts.

As a NY pizza snob, I was never much of a Catfish Biffs fan myself.

Pfizer is inching even closer to releasing its COVID-19 vaccine. While this is very good news, we must continue to do our part by social distancing and wearing masks to help limit the spread until a vaccine is widely available to the public.