Ohio State head coach Ryan Day gave an evasive answer on true freshman running back Legend Bey's status for the Iowa game.
Day said that “We definitely would like to see him on the field" at the press conference on Tuesday.
Day is in control of whether we will see Bey or if the latter's time in the doghouse will continue. The head coach is either undecided or knows that the real answer wouldn't be a popular one with the fanbase.
Bey reportedly has an ankle injury, but Day has hinted that Bey's performance in practice could help him see the field. It's possible that behavior and health are both playing a role in how Day plans to deploy Bey.
Bey has had a rough go this year. During the spring, he was having trouble earning the coveted Scarlet and Gray No. 2. Bey had to wear No. 44 instead.
In fall camp, Bey was suspended for the first two days for a minor violation of team rules.
When Bey finally got his first taste of action against Ball State in Week 1, he made two mistakes in the return game, bringing the ball out of the end zone despite upperclassman leader Brandon Inniss frantically trying to get him to kneel the ball for a touchback.
Legend Bey has to play sooner rather than later
There's a clear hierarchy forming in the Buckeye backfield. Ja'Kobi Jackson is continuing to earn his role as one of the lead backs. Bo Jackson is settling in alongside him. Isaiah West has fallen behind both.
Then there's Bey, who has eight carries all year, with not a rushing yard to his name since Week 1.
Bey didn't get a single offensive play call in Week 4. Whatever the reason, Bey can't be held out for too long.
NIL implications aside, Bey is a major future piece in Day and Arthur Smith's offense beyond this season. At least, he's supposed to be.
If there's no momentum built towards that happening, Bey will have landing spots around the country clamoring to give him the role he's not close to in Columbus.
Ryan Day can't get away with too many public player spats
Day overreacted in Week 1 against the Cardinals when he publicly called Bey out for his special teams mishaps.
Sure, Day had a point, but he didn't convey it very well. Day came off as petty for treating a true freshman that way in a blowout against a MAC opponent.
Let's hope that Day's halftime throw under the bus of Bey on Big Ten Network airwaves wasn't something that forever changed the coach and running back's relationship for the worse.
If Day comes to regret that, and Bey ends up leaving after an uneven season, the head coach needs to limit these types of public spats moving forward. He should do that regardless, quite frankly.
At a certain point, Day will take a major reputational hit among star recruits if these kinds of incidents continue to occur.
If at any point the Buckeye brand in the Day era becomes seriously compromised by that kind of behavior?
Let's not even go there.
Let's hope Bey simply returns as soon as possible and produces like everyone knows he can. To Jeremiah Smith, a Heisman candidate and perhaps even the new favorite after dominating Illinois, that means being a finalist one day.
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