For a brief few hours on Wednesday, there appeared to a thread of renewed hope for fall football at Ohio State following comments from head coach Ryan Day.

It now appears that hope has dissipated, as ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reports that Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told him on the phone that there is no longer a chance for any fall competition.

"There's not a fall option,” Smith said, per Rittenberg’s report. “We had hoped and just realized that not too long ago. We're all about the spring and how do we set that up."

Smith essentially said the same thing following the Big Ten’s postponement announcement on Tuesday, telling media outside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center that it wasn’t realistic that the Buckeyes would jump to a different conference for a fall season.

But Day said Wednesday that Smith had been caught at a bad time, and the pair discussed the possibility of pursuing any and all options earlier Wednesday morning.

“Some of the things Nebraska’s asked about is something that we’re continually asking about as well. We play nonconference games year in and year out, so in this unique situation, we’re just trying to find out what exactly the conference’s stance is on this, and what it means, the TV contracts and everything else,” Day said.

Instead though, Smith told Rittenberg that the program will be all systems go on figuring out a plan to put the Buckeyes back on the field for a spring season.

"We just embraced the spring. I think it's realistic,” Smith said. “We hadn't spent any time on it. None. Now that we are, it becomes clear that it's realistic."

Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said Tuesday on the Big Ten Network that there was “no chance” of spring ball happening this season, citing safety concerns for players tasked with playing two seasons in the same calendar year.

But Day said Wednesday that those issues can be mitigated if the spring season starts on the first week of January and lasts only eight or nine games.

Day said mid-year enrollees may even be enticed by the prospects of playing a “two-for-one” freshman season at Ohio State.

“Everyone’s kind of throwing ideas around right now,” Day said. We’re working really, really hard on that. That was not a focus a few days ago, but it is now, so we’re going to have to work quickly and diligently to get this done.”

All information on the prospective season is fluid and subject to change, but after Smith’s second refutation of fall football in as many days, it appears this decision may be set in stone.

Update: 6:07 p.m.

Smith released an official statement to the press shortly after the ESPN report. Read the statement in its entirety:

"Ohio State has continued its communications with the Big Ten Conference office regarding a scenario to still play fall football games, but has now determined that this would not be an allowable opportunity for us to move toward. We are 100 percent focused on supporting the health and safety and academic success of our student-athletes, and on working with the Big Ten to develop a spring plan for our sports as expeditiously as possible."