Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Ryan Day had to overhaul two coordinators, several position coaches, multiple members of his support staff, and his handing over the reins of the offense to a quarterback with 12 career passing attempts.
Needless to say, the DNA of OSU's 2024/2025 College Football Playoff title-winning roster is gone. And a new championship identity needs to be built. Soon.
As the Columbus Dispatch's Bill Rabinowitz noted at the Buckeyes' Big Ten media day, Week 1 against the Texas Longhorns is right around the corner and the team having practically no senior leaders after the 2025 NFL draft raided the roster of top talent.
"Usually, teams bring seniors as their three player representatives to media days. Day brought one senior – linebacker Sonny Styles – as well as junior safety Caleb Downs and sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Styles is a senior, but he's the age of a junior because he reclassified to enroll in 2022," Rabinowitz wrote.
"Styles, Downs and Smith will serve as an enviable foundation for an Ohio State team that lost most of its starters after winning the 2024 national championship. Since spring practice, the Buckeyes have tried to begin establishing their own identity.
"It must happen quickly. The much-anticipated season-opener against Texas is 39 days away."
Laying an egg against the Longhorns would be a disastrous look for Day, who, even after winning a championship, still has plenty to prove at Ohio State.
For starters, he made two polarizing hires this offseason who need to earn their salaries.
Brian Hartline is seen as a lazy and uninspired hire. Matt Patricia is seen as a potential subtraction by addition.
Day also has just one win against Michigan that happened prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Put all these things together, and you have quite the justified call-out from the Columbus-Dispatch that Day should take very seriously.