Ohio State football: Ryan Day having COVID changes everything

We knew Ohio State had COVID issues, but we didn’t know Head Coach Ryan Day was going to have it. This changes everything for the football program.

COVID doesn’t discriminate. We have seen that all across the country, not just in sports, but in everyday life as well. Ohio State is learning that lesson firsthand this week. They have multiple players who have the virus, and now Ryan Day does too.

Ryan Day has tested positive for COVID and will no longer coach tomorrow’s game at Illinois. Coaches all across the country are out for 10 days with a positive test, so they are out a much shorter time than the 21 days Big Ten players are out.

That 10 days Day will be out likely means he will also not coach against Michigan State next week. Defensive Line coach Larry Johnson will be taking over on an interim basis. This changes everything for the football program. From preparation to playcalling, everything will be different.

It’s very interesting that they decided that Johnson was the coach to take over in this scenario. You would have thought offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson would be the choice considering he has head coaching experience. This is something that I’m sure the Buckeyes had planned for though.

As far as tomorrow’s game goes, this certainly changes the offensive gameplan. My guess is that the playcalling will be more conservative for this game and the Michigan State game. That may have been the case anyway because we don’t know what players have tested positive either.

The good news is that both Illinois and Michigan State stink. Day shouldn’t be needed to win either of those two games. He will be back for the game against TTUN, which is huge. If he was missing that game, it would be a disaster.

We wish coach Day the best in recovering from the virus. If any other news breaks, we will certainly let you know.