Ryan Day’s meteoric rise from New Hampshire to Ohio State head coach

“He was always a leader. He’s the person you want taking the last shot. He had the ability to will himself to be good, it seemed. He made everyone feel like they were part of something bigger than ourselves.”

Matt Dufour, friend of Ohio State head coach Ryan Day via Dan Murphy, ESPN

The rise of new Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is pretty incredible. Just a month removed from his 40th birthday, Day is not only one of the youngest FBS head coaches, but he is leading one of the most prestigious programs in college football history. While most head coaches his age are in charge of rebuilding programs, Day has no room for error as he is expected to keep the Buckeyes in the thick of the College Football Playoff race.

The meteoric rise of Day isn’t much of a surprise to those who have known him for years. Day excelled at three sports while in high school, and it became apparent to those close to him that coaching would likely be in his future. After playing quarterback at New Hampshire for offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, he would join the future head coach on the staff as tight ends coach in 2002.

Day’s stay on the coaching staff at his alma mater was short, as bigger things would await him. After spending two years as a graduate assistant at Boston College, Day joined Urban Meyer’s staff at Florida as a graduate assistant for a year in 2005. After leaving Gainesville, Day would move between Temple and Boston College as he made his way up the coaching ranks.

Following a couple stops as quarterbacks coach with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, Day again teamed up with Meyer in Columbus, becoming co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2017. Day impressed early on, helping head coach Urban Meyer to restore an offense that struggled at times in 2016.

While it was clear to many that Day’s first head coaching opportunity would come sooner rather than later, nobody imagined it would happen this quickly. Day was Ohio State’s interim head coach for the first three games of the 2018 season after Meyer was suspended. Ohio State was impressive in Meyer’s absence, and when Meyer announced he was retiring at the end of the season, the choice to elevate Day to permanent head coach was a no-brainer.

Now Day will face the toughest task of his head coach career, as he has to manage the expectations that come with being Ohio State’s head coach. Those who have known Day for years are convinced that Day possesses all the tools to be successful at the job, which should make Buckeye fans breathe easier. Day has been excelled at everything he has done throughout the years, and if the glimpse of what he showed last year as interim head coach is any indication of what is in store for Ohio State with Day as their head coach, the Buckeyes will be just fine.

Ohio State football revealed their Big Ten Championship rings today, and it looks like no expense was spared to celebrate their latest conference title. Not only do the rings commemorate the Big Ten title, but one side of the ring contains the score from the 28-23 Rose Bowl win over Washington, while the other side has the player’s name and number.

With their 45-24 win over Northwestern in early December, the Buckeyes clinched their third Big Ten title in the last five years, and their second in a row. The first true Big Ten test for the Buckeyes this year came against Penn State. Ohio State needed a fourth quarter comeback to secure a 27-26 victory against the Nittany Lions.

Ohio State’s Big Ten hopes took a bit of a hit in October, when the Buckeyes were humbled against Purdue in West Lafayette. The loss to the Boilermakers left Ohio State no room for error the rest of the season. The Buckeyes faced tough tests from Nebraska and Maryland in November, but somehow survived to put themselves in position to secure the Big Ten East.

All Ohio State needed to win their second consecutive Big Ten East crown was a win against Michigan, and the Buckeyes didn’t disappoint, leaving little doubt against their hated rival in a 62-39 win. The win over the Wolverines earned the Buckeyes a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game against Northwestern the following week. The Wildcats tested Ohio State for a good portion of the game, but the Buckeyes would eventually pull away to earn the conference title.

Even with a new head coach heading into the 2019 season, the goal remains the same for Ohio State. Not only will Ryan Day and the Buckeyes have their eyes on the Big Ten title this year, but they’ll be looking to return to the College Football Playoff. If the Buckeyes can live up to expectations, at this time next year they might just have a national title ring to along with their Big Ten Championship ring.

After suffering a partially torn pectoral muscle at the NFL Combine, Ohio State cornerback Kendall Sheffield didn’t let the injury stop him from showing some of his skills to NFL scouts. Following the injury, Sheffield decided it wasn’t in his best interest to participate at Ohio State’s pro day last month. The cornerback looks to have made the right decision judging by the numbers he put up for scouts from 27 teams today at his workout.

While it looks like Sheffield didn’t run the 40-yard dash, he did show some of his speed in the short shuttle and 3-cone drills. Even without showcasing his sprinting ability in the 40-yard dash, teams know what kind of speed Sheffield possesses, as he is the school’s record holder in the 60-yard dash.

After starting his career at Alabama in 2015, Sheffield transferred to Blinn Community College after one season in Tuscaloosa that didn’t see Sheffield play for the Crimson Tide. Following his season at Blinn, Sheffield joined the Buckeyes for the 2017 and while results were mixed during his time in Columbus, many are projecting Sheffield as mid-round draft pick. With Sheffield’s strong performance today at his workout he likely solidified those projections, as teams love his speed. The 2019 NFL Draft starts two weeks from today in Nashville.

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