Ohio State Football: Ryan Day impresses in his first year

The Ohio State football team had a new head coach for the 2019 season, but following it he’s now a household name who proved he’s among the elite.

In his first year as the official head coach of the Ohio State football team, Ryan Day exceeded expectations. He led his Buckeyes to a historic regular season and championship run that ended just short.

Though it was out of his control, Day handled his first loss like a true professional with class.

No matter what was thrown his way this season, Day excelled and lived by his tough love mantra. He amplified the family and brotherhood culture already set in place at Ohio State, but added his own twists to make it unique to his style of coaching.

It has been evident all season the players love and respect coach Day and bought into his system and vision for the program. He was faced with no easy task in filling the shoes of an all-time Hall of Fame coach Urban Meyer.

But Day did it like a great coach would, he didn’t fill Meyer’s shoes because that’s impossible. Instead, he continued to wear his own while adhering to the direction and mentorship of Meyer which is forming him into the coach he is today all while personalizing it to make the program his own now.

He wasn’t raised in it, but Day showed he understands the magnitude of The Game and how the Ohio State-TTUN rivalry is 24/7 365. His reward was hanging 56 points in the Big House in a phenomenal culmination of all the hard work his Buckeyes continuously put into that game.

Day also handled the first Wisconsin game well and didn’t waiver from his game plan despite the conditions and elements of the late October day en route to a 38-7 victory.

More importantly, Day had Ohio State maintained their focus on a weekly basis as opposed to getting caught thinking ahead like in year’s past. Potential upsets weren’t even given the opportunity to become a bid as the Buckeyes dominated from the opening whistle each week finishing their first 13 games with a +470 scoring margin.

The most impressive feat of the season was developing into an elite game manager which was especially showcased down the stretch of the season facing Penn State, Michigan, and Wisconsin all in a row to clinch a berth in the College Football Playoff.

The fake punt to gain momentum against Wisconsin deep inside his own territory is the call that stands out to me with Ryan Day. It showed he was fearless, aggressive and trusted his team. Another play was the onside kick to Chris Olave down the sideline that ended up being a virtual pass from Blake Haubeil’s foot.

Unfortunately, in the semifinal against Clemson none of the main significant calls went the way of Ohio State. The one that holds the most of a “what if” is the catch-fumble that Jordan Fuller returned for a touchdown that was then reviewed and overturned despite no indisputable video evidence.

Ryan Day outcoached Brent Venables in the first half before Venables began swinging back and evening the playing field. The most ingenious call of the game was the QB sneak on third down during the look over to the sidelines where they knew they’d catch the Tigers off guard.

Reflecting on this season and his time as an offensive coordinator Ryan Day has shown to have the upper hand in chess matches against top ranked defenses.

Coach Day has shown the future is still bright at Ohio State under his leadership and there has been no drop off in recruiting either. The Buckeyes proved they are one of the elite teams in college football and Ryan Day was extremely impressive in his first season as head coach of the Buckeyes.