We are deep into the offseason for the Ohio State football program. The only news that is happening around the team is recruiting news. The Buckeyes just hosted their first round of official visitors of the summer. Now, the offseason will continue with workouts and more recruiting visits.
That doesn't mean there isn't a chance for some wild stories to come out. Since Ryan Day took over as head coach in 2019, there have been plenty of crazy stories that have happened over that time period. These are the three biggest ones that have surrounded the program.
3. Jim Knowles leaving Ohio State for Penn State
Right after the Ohio State Buckeyes won the national championship in 2024, the Buckeyes hosted a parade at the Shoe. Everyone was there. The players, the coaches, and the fans all packed the Shoe. Even I was in attendance, but I was looking for one specific person to be there.
That person was Jim Knowles. He did not attend, and shortly after, it was announced that he would be leaving for Penn State. Knowles became the highest-paid DC in the country. Less than a year later, he was fired from Penn State, along with James Franklin, and now he's at Tennessee.
That was a huge storyline for the Buckeyes. Day decided to hire Matt Patricia, and all he did was help the defense lead in every major defensive stat last season. This is a story that seemed to work out for Ohio State.
2. Tony Alford turning into Bennedict Arnold
It's rare for coaches to leave for another program during spring ball. It's even rarer for that coach to leave for an arch-rival. That's exactly what running backs coach Tony Alford did in the spring of 2024. He left a week into spring practice in order to coach for Michigan.
Day didn't panic and decided to hire Carlos Locklyn. A few months later, they were celebrating a national championship. Meanwhile, Alford watched his coach get fired this past season, and his star running back get hurt. He has not done well with TTUN.
1. Kevin Warren trying to cancel the 2020 season
No bigger offseason story has happened in the last decade or so than when Kevin Warren tried to cancel the 2020 season. The former Big Ten Commissioner decided it would be smart to cancel the year in the wake of the pandemic. Yet, the SEC and ACC were willing to play through COVID.
In the end, only half of the season went on as planned. Thanks to a big effort from Justin Fields, public pressure allowed the Big Ten to start playing football in mid-October. The Buckeyes ended up playing for a national championship, ultimately falling to Alabama.
Warren continues to screw things up, as now the Bears might leave the city of Chicago because of him. That 2020 season was Day's first big taste of adversity since becoming the head coach, and he handled it very well. Hopefully, nothing that crazy happens this summer.
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