Ohio State held its annual pro day for NFL coaches, scouts and front office executives on Wednesday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Following the event, OSU head coach Ryan Day met with the media for a relatively quick conversation.
[Follow this link to watch Day's Q&A session with the media following pro day.]
Day began by articulating what pro day means for Ohio State's program overall.
"Well, it's a great way to showcase the program," he said. "The feedback that we're getting from so much of the NFL personnel is, one, the type of guys that we have that you guys get a chance to see on a regular basis. Just overall, how we run everything today and how our guys are doing once they get to the NFL. That's a big part of it.
"I think the landscape of college changing, the type of guys that we're putting out is impressive to the NFL. We just got so much of that feedback today. That was good to hear, but the most important thing coming out of it was I feel like our guys did a great job. They look great. Everything was really clean, very professionally done. Mick (Mickey Marotti) did a great job, again, with everything. We got everybody in and out of here pretty quick. There were some stories of maybe some other places (NFL personnel) went to where it didn't go as fast, and it wasn't as organized, so that was good to hear."
Arvell Reese was a 3-star recruit when he committed to Ohio State. (He was eventually bumped up to 4-star status.) Now he's projected to be the No. 2 overall pick of the draft, after starting just one season at OSU. Day commented on Reese's rapid rise.
"Yeah, everyone has their own story," Day said. "But Arvell, his first year he was playing on the scout team. He was on the defensive line; he was a defensive end. And in year two, moved to linebacker. I don't know if you saw what happened in year three (laughing). But because of his mindset, he was at Glenville and understood what it meant to be a Buckeye.
"And then he didn't panic after one year and say, 'I've got to transfer.' He hung in there and knew what it meant to be a Buckeye. And now, look at what's going on here. And playing multiple positions has now paid off for him too because that's what an NFL team sees, somebody that can play on the edge and also can play a linebacker. So, I think he's got a tremendous upside. He's still only 20 years old, hasn't turned 21."
Wide receiver Carnell Tate did not run the 40 at pro day, but he's locked in as a first-round pick and did workout for scouts. Day was asked about the Chicago native following the session.
"I thought he looked good," Day said. "I thought he looked good running. I thought he was strong. He looked kind of long and powerful and just eating up ground and just covering some of those over-routes fast and looked sharp catching the ball and just having him look crisp."
Keep it locked to Bucknuts for full coverage of Ohio State football. On Thursday, the media will interview defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and some of OSU's top players following the fourth practice of spring.