COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ryan Day has certain numbers he’s aiming for with each position. It’s not the end-all, be-all for what he wants and something that’s always changing — admitting that the defensive numbers may change once defensive coordinator Jim Knowles officially arrives.

But for the 2022 class, this is what Day and his coaching staff was working with:

Offensively, his goal is to have four-quarterbacks, five running backs, 11 wide receivers, five tight ends and 16 offensive linemen.

Defensively, it’s eight defensive tackles, eight defensive ends, eight cornerbacks, four “bullets,” seven safeties and seven or eight linebackers: something that changed when the Buckeyes’ scheme changed to a 4-2-5 look.

But those are just numbers.

When it comes to actual players, actual people Day’s filling in on the depth chart, he and the rest of the Ohio State coaching staff have higher expectations, something that’s ever-changing due to the shifting landscape of the transfer portal.

Day knows there are good athletes and football players to fill in those spots. But now, more than ever, he’s looking for players who want to be there, who have bought into Ohio State: the program.

“We’re going to really think long and hard and be deliberate about bringing guys in in the transfer portal,” Day said in his Early Signing Day press conference Wednesday. “We have and we will continue to look at that, but we also take a lot of pride in developing the guys that are here. In order to do that, we have to bring in the right guys.”

Day sees that in the 17 members of Ohio State’s 2022 recruiting class that were finalized Wednesday. It’s what he expects of the class as a whole as it grows into the 20-plus players he expects when it’s all said and done, including four-star linebacker Gabe Powers, who is expected to sign with the Buckeyes at a ceremony Friday.

The Ohio State head coach knows what’s at stake. He knows that a member of his current roster could knock on his door and inform him that he’s entered the transfer portal. He knows the uncertainty of recruiting, especially now with the emergence of Name, Image and Likeness rules, leading to unexpected decisions like four-star cornerback Terrance Brooks flipping from the Buckeyes to Texas during his Early Signing Day Ceremony.

2022 just represents the start of a changing recruiting landscape Ohio State’s coaching staff will have to remodel itself into.

“It’s something we have to come and be able to adapt to and adjust to, try and be able to do the best we can along the way to be able to build those relationships,” Day said. “It’s certainly very, very new and it’s moving very, very fast.”

But it wasn’t only on the coaching staff.

CJ Hicks knew the kind of players Day wanted, with the Ohio State head coach calling the 17 official members of the 2022 class “as good as there is in the country” in terms of the quality of people.

After Hicks committed to the Buckeyes in May 2020, his job was to find players, future teammates who fit that mold.

“He jumped into this thing early. He recruited a lot of those guys, he built those relationships,” Day said. “There were some guys along the way that were good football players. They just didn’t fit what Ohio State was all about and our culture.

“These guys are able to see them at the camps, at the Rivals events, The Opening and all these different things they go to. They spend time together, and in that moment, we don’t get a chance, as coaches, to see them. They do. CJ was a big part of that. His mom, Tiffany, was great. They really spearheaded this thing. He’s a big part of our class and a big part of our future.”

To Day, one of the best representations of what he wants from a player is actually in his 2022 quarterback: Devin Brown.

When former Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers reclassified from the 2022 class to 2021, Day turned his focus to bringing in another quarterback, filling in those numbers, trying to bring a new quarterback each year.

But it wasn’t something he was going to force. He had to find someone who could fit.

And Brown stuck out.

“I was sold when I watched his film and got him on the phone. Then he showed me a film of him windmill dunking and that put me over the top,” Day said. “This guy has a tremendous personality, very, very competitive, very gifted, very intelligent, but also very athletic. Excited to see his energy come into this building.”

Day’s still trying to build a roster based on those numbers.

He wants to have eight cornerbacks. Heading into 2022, Ohio State could have as low as five. Despite feeling he hit a “home run” on players like Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock and Jakailin Johnson in 2021, Day said he will have to turn back into the recruiting pool or dive into the transfer portal to fill out those roster spots.

It’s the same thing with the defensive line, wanting eight defensive ends and eight defensive tackles while Ohio State keeps its eyes on recruits like defensive tackles Christen Miller and Hero Kanu along with defensive end Omari Abor to round out the class.

But those are just numbers. Day still has to find the guys — whether it’s in the portal or in a high school — that are the right fit for Ohio State.

“You have to recruit guys that you think can come in and play right away and that you’re going to develop,” Day said.