Ohio State Football: Ryan Day’s case for Coach of the Year
Ryan Day, head coach of the Ohio State football team, is more than deserving to be in the conversation for National Coach of the Year. Here’s why he should win it.
There has been much speculation when considering which FBS football coach should win Coach of the Year. Big names like Nick Saban, Ed Orgeron, Paul Chryst, Mario Cristibol, PJ Fleck, etc,. have all been named. While all are deserving, you should have to look no further than Ryan Day at Ohio State.
Coming into the season, the Buckeyes were viewed as a good football team that was expected to regress following the departures of Urban Meyer, Dwayne Haskins and Nick Bosa. Ohio State wasn’t widely selected to win the Big Ten East let alone make the College Football Playoff.
Day has had to endure the monumental task of replacing one of the greatest to ever to coach the game of football in Urban Meyer. His winning percentage all-time stands at .854 while he was 83-9 in Columbus, winning a National Championship and finished undefeated (7-0) against that team up north.
Big shoes to fill is an understatement, but so far they seem to be Day’s size as he actually has the Buckeyes looking stronger and more complete in his first year. The offense has been dynamic in all aspects with the designed QB runs making a comeback.
It is also safe to say the trio of Day, Fields and Young have lived up to the hype thus far and have done an elite job succeeding their predecessors. Coach Day has done a phenomenal job with game management in situational football, creating schemes and out coaching his opponents as has been reflected on the stat sheets and in the polls.
Justin Fields is light years ahead of schedule to where he should be right now having only been in the program since January. That’s a testament of Ryan Day’s coaching abilities and tailoring the system and scheme to fit the players during a given season like the elite coaches are able to do.
Fields can’t maximize his talents in a Dwayne Haskins offense. He could thrive, but he wouldn’t shine and succeed as well as he is in his own scheme.
Coach Day recognized that and has the offense operating near maximum capacity with threats like JK Dobbins and KJ Hill all over the field.
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Defensively, the Silver Bullets have been punishing and suffocating as they’re only surrendering a mere 8.8 points per game. Chase Young leads the way with 8.5 sacks on the season as he is just terrorizing offensive lines and quarterbacks all game long amidst constant double teams.
Also, coach Day has his team motivated and laser focused approaching the season one game at a time while drowning out the noise. Everybody around the team heard the disrespect preseason and it immediately became bulletin board material.
These Buckeyes are out to complete unfinished business and prove Ohio State is still among college football’s elite.
Next. Buckeyes simply have to take care of business. dark
What Ryan Day has been able to do through six games is unprecedented, but also what Gene Smith and Urban Meyer expected when they selected him for the job. If his Ohio State football team is able to maintain their height level of success, Day should be chosen as the National and Big Ten Coach of the Year despite the honor eluding head coaches in Columbus. Just ask Urban Meyer about 2014.