Ryan Day’s career is off to an incredible start in Columbus. He is well positioned to lead his Ohio State Buckeyes to his first National Championship in 2022.

The Ohio State football program is one of the most storied and sustainable in the sport’s history. The Buckeyes have been known for their power run game and excellent defense in their nearly 130-year existence. But that all began to change in 2018 when Ryan Day and Dwayne Haskins burst onto the scene. 

Over the years, part of Ohio State’s sustained excellence has been its elite coaches and players. Above that, the Buckeyes always found ways to adapt and modernize its brand of football to the current times. Earle Bruce did not coach the same style of offense as Woody Hayes, nor did John Cooper. Jim Tressel elevated Ohio State football to unprecedented heights in The Game, and the Buckeyes haven’t looked back since. 

Then in stepped Urban Meyer, who built Ohio State into a truly elite program with a modernized power spread attack. Meyer was an incredible 83-9 in Columbus with a National Championship. In 2019, the future Hall of Fame coach handed the program off to one of the brightest young coaches in the sport: Ryan Day. 

Ohio State Football Changes Forever

Day was hired in 2017 and charged with coaching the quarterbacks while serving as Co-Offensive Coordinator. He immediately flourished in his role as the offense took a significant step forward from 2016 when it was shut out to end the season. In 2018, Day stepped in as the interim coach for the first three games, which doubled as his coming out party. 

Day developed Dwayne Haskins into one of the best quarterbacks in school history. Haskins threw for 50 touchdowns and 4,831 yards during the season despite a horrid defense. There was sometimes insurmountable pressure placed on the offense, and each time, aside from Purdue, Day and Haskins answered the bell. The whole world knew Day would become an excellent head coach in the near future from that point forward. 

The 2018 season was the true turning point in Ohio State football toward an air raid passing attack. Ryan Day and Dwayne Haskins reshaped Buckeye football and its QB spot into a destination position. His 70% completion percentage helped rewrite the school record books and lead the Buckeyes to a Rose Bowl victory. 

As a result, Georgia QB Justin Fields elected to transfer to Columbus. Fields played two seasons for Ohio State with two CFP berths and Big Ten Championships. Day transformed Fields into one of the most prolific talents to ever dawn the Scarlet and Gray. He ended up being Day’s second first-round NFL Draft pick at quarterback in a row. CJ Stroud looks to make it three in a row next Spring. 

The Future is Bright in Columbus

Stroud put together a sensational transformation throughout the season last year. Last year, Ryan Day’s QB room had never thrown a live collegiate pass, yet Stroud found himself in New York as a Heisman finalist. Winning a National Championship and securing a Heisman Trophy winner seems inevitable for Day’s career. I believe those two will both be fulfilled this coming season. The Buckeyes return a significant portion (60+%) of its production from a year ago and have unfinished business on the field. 

Kirby Smart and Ed Orgeron are the latest head coaches to win their first National Championships, and Ryan Day will be next. Ohio State has all of the intangibles to be one of the elite teams in 2022. The Buckeyes face a tough schedule but have a talent advantage throughout. 

Ohio State will be the favorite again in the Big Ten and return the matrix to order after suffering two losses last season, most notably to TTUN. Ryan Day has a 34-4 career record with the Buckeyes, so he is no stranger to winning or big games.

Day brought on Jim Knowles to fix the defense, which is exactly what he’s doing. The Buckeyes will see confetti rain down in Los Angeles next January if the Silver Bullets can move into at least B unit. It will give Ryan Day a well-deserved championship to match his championship-level love and care for his players and staff.