Three players the Ohio State football program must convince to return in 2025

The Ohio State football program is at a crossroads. It's not a stretch to say that the first-round playoff game against Tennessee is the most important game in Ryan Day's tenure as head coach. If he loses that game at home right after losing a fourth straight game to Michigan, he could find himself without a job.

Firing Day after the season is the right move if they don't win a national championship. If they do end up firing him, the roster has a chance to have a lot of turnover. If Day is fired, there would be a 30-day window open for players to transfer to other programs.

That is exactly what happened when Nick Saban retired a year ago. A lot of players decided to jump ship. The Ohio State Buckeyes were one of the beneficiaries of that decision. If Ohio State ends up in this situation, there are a few players who they must bring back at all costs.

There are three players in particular who the Buckeyes need to keep. They are the most important players on the current roster. Any incoming coaching staff would need to have these guys to have any sort of success in their first year with the program.

The first player is the best player Ohio State has on offense.

1. Jeremiah Smith

The Ohio State football team absolutely has to keep Jeremiah Smith on the roster in this situation. Smith might be the best player on the entire team. He's certainly the best player on offense. Smith has already set all kinds of Ohio State freshman receiving records.

That's one of the key reasons that the Buckeyes need to keep him; he's still very young. Smith is only going to get better as he ages. He already runs smooth routes and can make outrageous one-handed catches. Ohio State has a great number of receivers, but he's clearly the best.

As a freshman, Smith had 57 catches for 934 yards and ten touchdowns. His yards and touchdown catches both lead the team. Those stats are only going to go up in each of the next two seasons before he declares for the NFL Draft. He's likely going to be a top ten pick when that happens.

It would be an absolute backbreaker to see Smith transfer to another program in the event that Day is fired. That would be the only scenario that he would even entertain something like that. He loves being a Buckeye, but Ohio State would have to find a lot of NIL money to keep him if Day is fired.

Other programs would circle him like vultures in the event that he entered the transfer portal. He might end up being the best receiver in Ohio State football history when it's all said and done. The next player has already been in the portal once but is Ohio State's best defensive player.