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Why Ryan Day will succeed his first year as Ohio State’s head coach

By Ian O’Brien

ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 15: Ohio State Buckeyes interim head coach Ryan Day looks on during the Advocare Showdown college football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the TCU Horned Frogs on September 15, 2018 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Ohio State won the game 40-28. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 15: Ohio State Buckeyes interim head coach Ryan Day looks on during the Advocare Showdown college football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the TCU Horned Frogs on September 15, 2018 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Ohio State won the game 40-28. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Ryan Day now has full control of the Ohio State football program and he will be just fine, and not struggle one bit his first year at the helm.

On December 4th 2018, it was announced Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer would retire after the Rose Bowl Game against Washington.  Meyer would hand the whistle off to Ryan Day as he would become the 25th head coach for the Buckeyes.

There has been some concerns with this move however. One of the concerns and perhaps the biggest one has been recruiting.  When Urban stepped down as head coach, so did the possible future players for the Buckeyes.

One of the first sites to report on this was Bleacher Report, after four star offensive tackle Jake Wray decommitted from the 2020 Ohio State recruiting class.

However, Ryan Day should not be worried.  He has already proven to Buckeye fans he can coach which was noticeable once they beat TCU 40-28, who at the time was in the top 15 in the rankings.

Coach Day has plenty of talented players returning on the defensive side of the ball, especially defensive end Chase Young who had 25 solo sacks, 10 sacks and a forced fumble last season.  The best thing Ryan Day did with the defense was to get rid of Greg Schiano.

Say what you want about the former DC but I was never a big fan. In my opinion, he was the reason Ohio State almost lost to both Nebraska and Maryland.

Coach Day brought in an excellent defensive coordinator.  That someone is none other than Greg Mattison who came from That Team Up North. According to the official Ohio State Football Website, Mattison will be in his 40th year as a college football coach going from Michigan, Northwestern, Texas A&M and the Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007.

Remember the latter was the same team Urban Meyer coached that defeated the Buckeyes 41-14 in the National Championship Game.  Mattison also has NFL experience with the Baltimore Ravens. In 2009 he coached future hall of famers Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis.

With this experienced coach taking over the defense, it provides comfort for coach Day and I guarantee the defense is going to play much better this year than last.  I expect to see some of the young players step up in 2019.

Now a look at the other side of the ball.

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