"Hasn’t Apologized": Ohio State Hall of Fame Coach Makes Honest Assessment of Ryan Day
· Yahoo Sports
Ryan Day has spent the last few years trying to keep Ohio State at the level the program expects. That is harder now than it sounds because of NIL and the portal. Players leave for the NFL every year, transfers come in, the roster turns over, and coaches have to rebuild relationships almost immediately. A legendary former head coach believes Day has handled that part better than he gets credit for.
“I think one of the best things Coach Day has done is he hasn’t apologized for wanting to bring in good people.” Jim Tressel said on CBS Sports’ August 29 interview. “Of course, he wants great players, and he recruits top kids. But first and foremost, he is to make sure he brings in the type of person that can maintain the tradition and the excellence of Ohio State.”
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The 2026 draft made that point rather clearly. Ohio State had 11 players selected, the most of any school. Four went in the first 11 picks alone: Carnell Tate, Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs. That creates a constant problem for Day. He has to replace elite players without letting the standards inside the building slip.
“You have to do it faster now because, like I think Coach Day has 51 or 55 new players on his roster and some of them, they’re here for the first time,” the 2002 national champion head coach said. “Do they really know our history? And so you have to do it more quickly. And I think he’s done a nice job of really integrating that history and that tradition and that responsibility of playing here. And I think he doesn’t relax the high standards. He expects to win.”
Day’s record makes it hard to argue that his approach hasn’t worked. He is 82-12 at Ohio State, including 55-5 in Big Ten play, and has taken the Buckeyes to the playoff five times. He has also won two conference titles.
The 2024 season was the high point. Ohio State went 14-2, then beat Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame on its way to the national title. The next season started with the same expectations, so there was no real chance for Day to sit back and enjoy what he had built.
After Ohio State won the 2024 national title, Day quickly turned the page. During the next offseason, he had the team readChop Wood Carry Water. The book focuses on staying disciplined, doing the little things right, and not getting carried away by past success. Day used it to get the players thinking about what came next rather than spending too much time celebrating what they had already accomplished.
Day has also made it clear that a player’s recruiting ranking does not guarantee him anything once he gets to Columbus. Five-stars and transfers still have to earn their spot through shedding the black stripe, which matters even more now that Ohio State brings in so many players from other programs. You can see that in this year’s leadership group.
The Buckeyes named seven captains for 2026, including returning leaders Austin Siereveld and Brandon Inniss. Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith, Jaylen McClain and Payton Pierce are also part of the group. Giving that many players a leadership role puts some of the responsibility for setting the tone on the players themselves.
Day has also kept plenty of Ohio State’s older traditions alive rather than trying to create some flashy new identity. The players still walk into the same stadium, play for the same Block O and carry the expectations that have followed the program for generations. Traditions such as Script Ohio belong to the university and its band rather than Day himself, but his job is to make sure new players understand what those things mean once they put on the uniform.
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