Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day has now given the NFL his first bona fide superstar Super Bowl champion after the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots on Sunday night during 2026's "Big Game."
With Seattle's 29-13 triumph in Santa Clara, per Cleveland.com's Stephen Means, "Ohio State was going to have another former Buckeye get a ring regardless of who won Super Bowl LX but the question was about how many. With the Seattle Seahawks beating the New England Patriots, 29-13, that answer is now one who is also the first of the Ryan Day era to do it. Jaxon Smith-Njigba finished what was already an impressive third season with plenty of hardware. Individually, he was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year after turning 119 catches into 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. Now he’s added a Super Bowl ring as the 34th former OSU player to do so."
Jaxon Smith-Njigba's Super Bowl win figures to be the first of many who are coming from Columbus. Of course, it's fair to say many of the future winners may also be guys Brian Hartline brought to Ohio State.
Can the Buckeyes survive Hartline's departure to the USF Bulls to become the next head coach in Tampa?
Ohio State will still recruit the best receivers money can buy
Mark Pantoni is still Day's primary partner-in-crime on the recruiting trail, buying the best players money can buy up and down the roster. As long as that's the case, this program will survive losing guys like Hartline.
Day is still going to find an NFL-worthy quarterback and develop him. Recruits will always go to where they can get paid, and where there's a pathway to professional football success and a lifetime of financial security; JSN serving as Exhibit A moving forward. Smith-Njigba got to play with Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud in Columbus because of Day.
Pantoni is offering the life-changing payday to a teenager, while Day offers a QB who can bring you glory. It's an effective strategy that isn't going anywhere. Ipso facto, the pedigree of the receivers coming to the capital city isn't going to fall off.
Not unless the guy calling the plays who isn't involved as much on the recruiting trail schemes an offense that is both unproductive and doesn't get players noticed like they should be. Luckily, Cortez Hankton could cover many gaps and is a draw to elite receiving talent for what he did with the LSU Tigers, particularly during a historic 2023 season.