COLUMBUS, Ohio — Buckeyes coach Ryan Day looked frustrated and frustrated during the postgame press conference after Ohio State lost 30-24 to Michigan last November. He must have realized at that moment that despite winning 88 percent of his games as a head coach, he and his program would now be defined by their incredible three-year losing streak against the Wolverines.
More than four months later, Day, 45, sits in his office at the Woody Hayes Sports Center, smiling, giddy and looking relaxed. After calling up nearly every junior prospect from Ohio State who could turn pro while adding some of the most accomplished transfers in the portal, he exudes the confidence of a coach who knows his roster has the talent How crowded.
“At Ohio State, you have to beat North and win every other game,” Day said. “If that’s the expectation every year, you’re going to like your chances better when you have good players. So, just try to get the best you can.”
Without NIL, Day said, “you certainly wouldn’t have seen what we’ve seen this year.”
Ohio State donors went on a spending spree after a 14-3 loss to Missouri State in the Cotton Bowl. With the help of two groups, The Foundation and The 1870 Society, the program “re-signed” defensive linemen JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer and Tyleik Williams, running back TreVeyon Henderson, receiver Emeka Egbuka, cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Linebacker Donovan Jackson, among all players, is a projected first- or second-day pick.
“Our (2021) recruiting class just came in and it’s in really good shape. We know we can do something special,” said Jackson, one of six five-star signees in the class. “But at the end of three years here, we didn’t achieve the goals we set out to achieve. NIL is a controversial topic, but in this case, it gave us the peace of mind to come back and pursue it again.”
With the core of the roster returning, Day enters the portal to fill the few remaining holes. His players include All-Big 12 quarterback Will Howard (Kansas State), All-Southeastern Conference running back Quinson Judkins (Mississippi), All-American freshman safety Kaleb Towns (Alabama) State) and veteran center Seth McLaurin (Alabama).
The backcourt tandem of Henderson and Judkins is particularly scary. They totaled 5,470 yards rushing and 63 career touchdowns.
“We don’t decide who is in the portal,” Day said. “But when players come on, we’re looking to upgrade our roster in certain areas.”
deeper
Can Will Howard beat Ohio State and the NFL?A winding QB journey
Ohio State was not considered a major player in the NIL-driven gateway market before the Dec. 29 bowl game. In fact, retiring AD Gene Smith has been one of the most outspoken critics, calling on the NCAA to crack down on collective recruiting practices. Two months ago, a federal judge in Tennessee ruled that the NCAA cannot enforce a rule that prevents collective negotiations for NIL agreements with recruits.
Even with 2023 starting quarterback Kyle McCord entering the portal shortly after last year’s Michigan game and third-string freshman Lincoln Kienholz against Missouri ESPN broadcaster Dave Pasch still told the entire Cotton Bowl crowd that Day had been adamant that Ohio State would not pursue another game. Quarterback.
Five days later, Howard, who had previously visited Miami and USC, committed to the Buckeyes. Remarkably, when Towns committed to the Buckeyes from Alabama on Jan. 19, Foundation announced the news on Twitter.
Welcome to, @caleb_downs2, our newest student-athlete companion! Caleb will do an outstanding job on and off the field as our charity partner and ambassador for the Columbus community. (Boom 😉) https://t.co/htkLB83pbF pic.twitter.com/bNvKx3BPRO
— The Foundation (@TheFoundation1_) January 20, 2024
Two years ago, Day told a group of business people that $13 million in NIL funding was needed to maintain Ohio State’s roster. Today, the budget is believed to be even higher than that.
“We’ve had a lot of people step up and really help us,” Day said. “Gene (Smith) obviously played a big role in this, but I made a lot of calls and a lot of people stepped up. It just goes to show you how strong the support is here.”
With the personnel in place, Day made another big decision: Find a renowned offensive coordinator who could hand over the game-calling reins for the first time in his career. After his original choice, Bill O’Brien, left in February to become Boston College’s head coach, Day called Chip Kelly, his former college coach at New Hampshire. In a shocking move, Kelly gave up the head coaching job at UCLA in the Big Ten to work for Day, who had spells with the Eagles and 49ers before coming to Ohio State in 2018. Kelly worked under.
“I don’t think so,” said Kelly, 60. He’s enjoying getting back to his roots as he coaches UCLA’s quarterbacks in preparation for the bowl game. “Coaching football makes me happy. It’s that simple.
“I never thought about going into sports management, but in some places, that’s what a head coach’s job is becoming. It’s hard for me to ask people for money.”
deeper
Ohio State pays new OC Chip Kelly $2M
That’s Day’s job now.
The results of all the fundraising efforts will be on display Saturday when Fox will broadcast Ohio State’s spring game for the first time. Viewers will have the opportunity to watch the quarterback battle between Howard and returnee Devin Brown. They’ll get their first look at freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith, who shone so brightly during spring camp that coaches are already eyeing him as a starter.
Smith, the top recruit in the class of 2024, had been committed to Ohio State for more than a year but made waves on the first day of the early signing period in December when he didn’t sign his letter of intent until that night.According to reports, explain Athletic team Manny Navarro said, “Smith’s NIL representatives are ensuring that the commitments Ohio State collectively made to Smith during the recruiting process will also be in writing.”
Jeremiah Smith 😳 pic.twitter.com/8tG66Yltsn
– Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 6, 2024
But aside from Smith and rookie Towns and receiver Carnell Tate, Ohio State’s starting lineup consists almost entirely of fourth- or fifth-year players. As many as 17 positions can be filled by players with at least one year of full-time starting experience, including nearly the entire defense that ranked third nationally last season (4.2 yards allowed per play).
All this was deliberately promoted by Dai.
“We had a lot of talent here in the past, but when you lose some players to the NFL after three years, you quickly get young again,” he said. “What I’ve found over the past few years is that I want to be talented but also gain experience. I noticed some of the teams we played were around 21, 22 years old, and I think that’s important.”
He wouldn’t say it, but those teams were from Michigan.
For all that talent, however, Ohio State does have two question marks — and they happen to be in arguably the two most important positions. One is the offensive line, which struggled at times last season. Returning starter Jackson and 2023 tackle Josh Simmons, a transfer from San Diego State, have locked down the left side, but the right side is still in flux.
Then there’s the quarterback. While Howard has started 27 games and led K-State to the 2022 Big 12 Championship, no one will confuse him with Justin Fields or C.J. Stroud. He has yet to beat Brown, who was injured in his first career appearance in the Cotton Bowl. But Howard also offers the staff a chance to become the program’s first true dual-threat quarterback since Fields in 2020.
“We feel like Will is a great fit for our team for a lot of reasons,” Day said. “I’m excited to see how he fits into Chip’s offense.”
deeper
Will Ohio State’s quarterback battle be tighter than expected?What have we learned so far about Spring
In some ways, “Chip’s offense” is already Ohio State’s offense. When Day was hired as OC by Urban Meyer, the passing game he brought over from Kelly’s 49ers was essentially the same, just with different terminology. Kelly said he sometimes catches himself calling a play by the wrong name during practice.
But Kelly’s impact should be most evident in the running game. Ohio State’s offense under Day has been criticized at times for being too shifty (hence, his infamous Lou Holtz rant after last year’s Notre Dame win). While Kelly no longer directs the Oregon offense of the early 2010s, his UCLA teams are still synonymous with the high-powered rushing attack. Behind dual-threat quarterback Dorian Thompson Robinson and star linebacker Zach Charbonnet, the Bruins lead the class with 6.0 yards per carry in 2022 Nationwide.
Now he will work with Henderson and Judkins.
“I think (Kelly) likes some of the tools he has to use,” Day said with a laugh. “Our passing game has been very, very successful and his running game has been very, very successful. So when we combine the two, it’s fun.”
With so much talent, the generosity of all the donors and a splashy offensive coordinator hire, the bar hasn’t been this high in Columbus since Meyer’s Buckeyes won the 2014 national championship. Ending Michigan’s drought would be a base expectation, but Ohio State needs to at least compete for its first national title in a decade, a task made more difficult with a 12-team playoff this season.
“It’s not like it’s broken,” Day said. “The truth is, we’ve been nowhere near that goal the past two years. We haven’t beaten our opponents the past few years, which stings, but we’re one game away from Georgia on the road (in the 2022 semifinals). We’re Trying to figure out the last 1%, 2%. The last few plays.”
Ohio State invested heavily in figuring out the final few games.
(Photo: Jason Murray/Getty Images)
