Ohio State football: Ryan Day has his own stamp on the program

Despite taking over for one of the best coaches in the modern era, Ryan Day has been able to put his own stamp on the Ohio State football program.

Ryan Day had a tough situation to navigate in 2018. He had to coach the Ohio State football team in the first three games of the season because of the suspension of Urban Meyer. He went undefeated in those games and showed the first glimpses of how good he could be as a head coach.

Fast forward three years later and there is no doubt that Day was up for the challenge of running his own program. Despite playing with a lot of Urban’s former players, Day has already put his own stamp on this football program. He is not living in anyone’s shadow anymore.

That shadow disappeared after the Buckeyes killed Clemson in the Sugar Bowl. Not only has Day’s team looked good on the field, but his players are showing the love they have for him and the program. Justin Fields and Chris Olave are big examples of that.

Fields was the most vocal player in the country in wanting to play college football in 2020. He led a viral campaign that eventually garnered over 200,000 signatures to let the Big Ten play. Eventually, the Big Ten did relent and let them play. Fields showed his capacity as a leader and his love for the university during that time.

Olave could have left this offseason for the NFL and could maybe have been a first-round pick. Instead, he decided to stay at Ohio State for his senior year. His love for this program made him want to come back and play for Day one more time. Day clearly has improved Meyer’s culture.

Day has also already recruited at a level above Meyer. There is a realistic world in which Day surpasses Meyer as a better coach in Ohio State history very soon. That’s how good he has already been in just two short years as the head man.

2021 gives Day a chance to increase his legacy and further help him keep his stamp firmly planted on the Ohio State football program.