You know, every time even now I come walking in this beautiful stadium and it hits me really hard. So you think about the history of tradition you look around this place and the former players have always hit me really hard. What happens to you when you walk in here? First off, my heart starts pumping, you know, because you think back on all the great players and great coaches that have been here before and the great games that have been played here in the Horsew. And it just makes you realize it's such a responsibility when you step in here in a tallow ground. You know, I was hired at Bowling Green at 36 years old and I remember a legendary team chaplain, Father Really grabbed me and says, you know, we need to sit on the talk. So, okay, what do we need to talk for? And he said, do you understand the difference between making a decision and making a suggestion? And I looked at him, I said, yeah, of course. And he says, do you realize up to now in your career all you've made is suggestions. Now you're going to make decisions that impact a lot of people. What's your comment when you hear that? He's dead on right and going day to day right now, he realized that more and more. But, you know, I think growing up as a captain, growing up as a coach, growing up as a coordinator, as you work your way up the profession, you start to take on that responsibility more and more. And I've always wanted that. I've always wanted to have those decisions. You know, that's just the way I've always lived my life. You know, I want the ball in my hands. And so, with that comes great responsibility and the consequences are higher. But that's why you start putting a whistle around your neck and that's why you coach. Let's talk about your career briefly. And that's in 2005, we hired you to graduate assistant at Florida. It was at 40, 50 years ago. And you were on a college journey and then you're your mentor at Chip Kelly College and you went to the National Football League. Many thought that was going to be your journey. And we had some openings in the past and I talked to you about it. And we had a big opening about two years ago. And I made a phone call to Ryan Day at San Francisco and an FL coach. And you made a decision to join us here at Ohio State. What was your thoughts when you made that decision? The only place that I would go in college football would have been a Columbus Ohio. I wanted to be a Buckeye. And first off, being your program and jump onto what was going on here. But then also the tradition you're growing up and watching some of the great coaches and players that have been here before. Some of the unbelievable games and the rivalry. I mean, that's why you put a whistle on your neck is to play that rivalry game and be a part of this thing. And so I jumped at it. Here we are Game Week in the Horseshoe and Buckeye Nation and really the country. Your top five program. Every head coach puts their stamp. What is this team going to be? What can the fans of Buckeye Nation and Ryan Day football team have? It's toughness. When I go back and I watch films of Woody, I listen to Earl Bruce and the coach Tressel and Coach Cooper. And then being around you, this thing has been built on toughness. And more and more, we have to be tough. We have to be physically tough if we want to win the Big Ten. And we want to go where we want to be. And we have to build that. And we have to be mentally tough, physically tough, emotionally tough to withstand the season. And then also the second part of that is love. And that's been a big part of what we've done. We've got tough love. And the love is the love for your brother. You know, that obviously you built, but we're trying to build on that and enhance that. The love for your coaches, the love for your university, for your team. And with that, I believe is the greatest motivation. You know, when you think about some of the most passionate and inspirational stories in history of mankind has been over love. And so if we can combine toughness with that love, then I think we've got something special. Let's talk about your starting quarterback field. So you went from Braxton Miller. And he handed the torch to J.T. Barrett. J.T. Barrett was injured and Cardell Jones had a memorable run as a national champion, illogical run. Yeah, did a great job. And then they handed off to J.T. He handed it off to Dwayne Haskins. And you could all different shapes, sizes, speeds. But they all flourished. What's your thoughts on fields and just how do you get a player that's maybe different than Dwayne Haskins to flourish? Well, I think when you look at the Ohio State offense, you know, it's always been the Ohio State offense. It's really never changed. Sure has enhanced certain areas and focused on things. Yeah. But at the end of the day, you try to find what your quarterback can do well. And so when you look at J.T. Barrett, you look at Dwayne Haskins. And now you look at fields. They all have different skill sets. They all do certain things well. They make certain throws. They have, you know, certain athletic abilities. And now what do you focus on? What do you spend your time saying, all right, here's what he does really, really well. And then you go, you know, focus on those things. But last year, Dwayne ran the read. You know, he pulled the ball. I think he ran it 13 times in a Maryland game. Now we didn't do that in other games, but we still had that in the offense. So, you know, we installed everything. And now what we think he does best will focus on those. Every coach's dream is to hand this off, which I did to an elite coach that can make it stronger. And the infrastructure stayed pretty much intact. How has that transition been? I think it's been fairly seamless, you know, and the good news was that, you know, it was two years of me being in the program and having relationships with these guys. But, you know, what you and Gene built there in terms of that infrastructure is unreal. Unbelievable people. They love Ohio State. They love the program. And now it's been, you know, let's not change things just to change things. And I think that's what we've done a really good job of is, you know, when you come in as a coach, and you want to say, OK, what am I going to change to make mine? Well, wait a minute. This is working. Let's try to enhance that. And if there's some other things that maybe we want to tweak, we can't along the way. But we've kind of kept it going and it's been strong so far. So Bob Davy, my dear friend, and he was a head coach in Notre Dame, or when I became a head coach, and he would always write me a note and say, at some point, they're in a game. There's only so many head coach opportunities and especially the place like Ohio State. And he said, promise me that sometime during that game, you appreciate what you got. And so mine was the hang on Suppy. Since I was that big, I watched the band playing the students. And I would pop off my head. I don't care what was going on. It was some good, some bad. I was going to take, sometimes it was 10 seconds. Sometimes it was two minutes. I was going to enjoy every moment of that. Do you have a plan that's something? Yeah, because I'm right to that note. Makes you enjoy and appreciate it. Yeah, I've actually thought about that. And it's going to be when we run out of tunnel. Because I think when you stop, you know, you can play a whole game as you know. Coach a whole game and not even recognize what's going on because you're so caught up in the moment. And so I thought about that. And I remember hearing you talk about that. And I think what that's also going to remind me is that it is a game. And to be aggressive and to enjoy it. And to not let the, you know, the enormity of the situation get in the way. Go play. Be aggressive. This is why you put a whistle or anything. This is why you started playing football. Look at all the people in the stands. And let's go get this thing. And I'm going to use that and hopefully it'll work. Obviously Ryan or his team a little bit north of here that there's a lot of ill will towards and respect towards. But a lot of hatred towards the enormity of the rubber is real. And when I say that team up north or when you see that game on coming up on the schedule, you only count down clock. What goes through your heart? It's everything. It started when I first got here. And my son, Argy, went to the bus stop the first day and is a kid wearing a blue shirt on. And they start getting into it the first day of school. And I said, OK, we're in it now. I remember growing up and watching the unbelievable battles that went on here in the rivalry. And then I learned that you have to live it every day. You have to live it every day. And that's how you respect the rival because there is a respect. You know, the players up there, you know, the coaches, a lot of respect there. But at the same time, this is real. This is a way of life. And it means everything to us. It's our identity. So, you know, obviously with our staff and our players living in every day is critical. Obviously a little misty out here, but right over there, you're going to leave the buck guys out of the tunnel in front of 110,000 people, thoughts. I can't wait. It's time to get going. And I'm just fired up. So many of the traditions about walking over to St. John's Arena and seeing the best damn band in the land. Walking over to the stadium and then seeing that student body before the game, after the game, singing with them afterwards. And listening to them all go crazy. Quick call before the game. And we got one of the best student bodies in the country. Just can't wait to hear those guys, but nuts. Big noon kickoff. August 31st, sponsored by Wendy's on Fox and the Fox 4 tab.