Day says Pro Day is important for current players to experience

Ryan Day doesn’t just want his former players to benefit from Ohio State’s annual Pro Day-- he wants his current team to take notes, too.

While Justin Fields, Wyatt Davis, and many more Ohio State prospects showcase their pro potential to a host of scouts on Tuesday afternoon, the Buckeyes of today will be watching and waiting for their turn under the bright lights of the NFL Draft.

According to Day, the pipeline from Columbus to the professional ranks runs a lot quicker than many players realize.

Seeing former teammates on the verge of becoming professional athletes is a jarring reminder that more than a few Ohio State players will be in the same position come next spring.

“The first thing you recognize is that it’s gonna be here faster than you think,” Day said on Monday. “These guys that you grow up watching in the NFL, they kind of seem-- you look up to them, and you watch them, and it’s like, ‘Wow, that seems like miles away.’

“And then some of the teammates that you played with a few months ago are now going into the NFL and going into the Draft.”

Since 2000, Ohio State has had 151 of its former players drafted into the NFL, the most of any program by a hefty margin. That won’t change in 2021; behind Fields and Davis, Day and company expect a number of Buckeyes to be drafted come late April, including (but not limited to) Trey Sermon, Tommy Togiai, Shaun Wade, and Pete Werner.

With that consistent flow of talent into the highest ranks comes great expectations for the players still making names for themselves in Columbus.

Ohio State turns high school recruits into NFL-caliber prospects. It has been the standard since Urban Meyer arrived on campus in 2011, and Day has only improved upon it since joining the staff in 2017.

Each year, Pro Day reinforces that standard to Buckeye coaches and players alike.

“You realize that it’s right around the corner, and that you have to have urgency about you, because they’re gonna be in that same spot here soon, and they’re gonna have that opportunity,” Day said. “You gotta maximize the day. I think it brings urgency about them.”

Beyond the urgency factor, Day said the temporary return of soon-to-be NFL players to campus drives home a more tangible goal for his current squad: healthy eating and fitness habits.

The difference in physical shape between a normal Division I athlete and an intensely-focused NFL Draft prospect is very clear, the former NFL quarterbacks coach said. Much of that comes down to a dedicated diet.

“I think the second thing is you realize how well these guys, when they leave and they go with some of these people, they do a really great job with their diets,” Day said. “And they come back looking leaner, and you can just see, they look the part. They put a lot of time into their bodies, and so much of it is their diet.”

All told, the importance of Ohio State’s 2021 Pro Day may be immediately evident when the NFL Draft rolls around, but Day is hoping its true impact will be felt in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for months to come.

“When you see that and combine that with the urgency, it’s a good thing for those guys to see,” Day said. “They’ll be out there watching tomorrow.”