At Big Ten Media Days, Ryan Day breaks down Julian Sayin’s development, Jeremiah Smith’s leadership, and Ohio State’s path back to the top.
CHICAGO – Ryan Day wasn’t interested in dwelling on last season’s collapse at Big Ten Media Days. He was ready to move forward. ‘We’re back to what matters the most, and that’s playing the game,’ Day said, setting the tone for an Ohio State team ready to trade offseason questions for on-field answers
His opening statement touched on everything from Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti’s leadership to the program’s new patch deal with J.P. Morgan Chase – evidence, Day said, of Ohio State’s continued “adaptation and innovation” as an athletic department.
Ryan Day at Big Ten Media Days:
🗣️ “We’ve had a great summer. But what matters is what we do with it.”
Ohio State has National Championship expectations and a gauntlet schedule. Day thinks the Buckeyes are ready for the challenge 🔥
— Blake T. Biscardi (@BlakeBiscardi) July 29, 2026
But the core of his message came when Day turned to his roster, and specifically to quarterback Julian Sayin, who returns for his second year as the starter after a rocky finish to 2025. “When you look in his eye now, you see a different person,” Day said. “You see a different body. He’s worked hard, he’s gotten stronger.”
Day pointed out that Sayin is only the third quarterback to return for a second season under his watch at Ohio State, which is a continuity he called “a big deal,” especially paired with the return of a veteran offensive line in Carson Hinsman, Luke Montgomery, and Austin Siereveld.
“He has a different look in his eye,” Ryan Day said of Julian Sayin.
Day credited Sayin for finding his voice, improving his body, and gaining strength this offseason.
— Blake T. Biscardi (@BlakeBiscardi) July 29, 2026
Ohio State’s coach was candid about what went wrong down the stretch last season, including the Big Ten Championship loss to Indiana. “We take ownership of that, and we had to get that better,” he said. “They won in those situations. If we win those situations, outcomes are different, but that’s football,” Day said.
He continued with an action plan to ensure the Buckeyes don’t have a repeat this fall, saying, “The real work is really identifying what needs to get fixed and then make that change.” Day believes his team has made the changes and is excited for a “monster” schedule and the feedback it will provide for his players and staff. Noting the challenges ahead, he said, “We’re fired up about that.”
Ohio State’s schedule includes games at Texas, Indiana, and USC, as well as home showdowns against Oregon and Michigan.
Jeremiah Smith, entering his third year, drew some of Day’s most pointed praise. “He’s a household name, and he’s had a great offseason,” Day said, noting Smith has stepped into more of a leadership role with “a whole generation of young players” watching him.
Day also leaned on a phrase borrowed from the military: VUCA, for volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, to describe the environment college football now operates in, crediting his staff’s stability (Mick Marotti, Mark Pantoni, and Larry Johnson, who have all been in Columbus for 15 years) as a stabilizing force amid the chaos and change.
As preseason camp opens next week, what matters now, he said, is what Ohio State puts on the field. The Buckeyes’ first practice is Thursday, August 6.
NEXT: Read Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin Named Big Ten Preseason Honorees
Blake Biscardi serves as Co-Founder, Lead Reporter, and Senior Editor of The Silver Bulletin. He hosts the Buckeye Cadence podcast, where he breaks down Ohio State football and basketball with an inside look into the programs. Covering Julian Sayin in New York City in 2025 was his Heisman moment, which became a viral moment in its own right. Biscardi is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and has degrees in Business Administration and Strategic Communication & Leadership.