COLUMBUS, Ohio - National Signing Day has become somewhat of a formality in college football.

The early signing period where athletes can send in their national letters of intent has become the de facto signing day, especially so for Ohio State this year.

The three-day signing period in December saw 24 members of the 2020 class sign their national letters of intent, 14 of which decided to enroll early on campus. The one lone holdout, Cameron Martinez, signed his letter on Wednesday to complete Ryan Day's first recruiting class.

Work will now begin on preparing those players for their first season in Scarlet and Gray, but on Wednesday, Day spoke about the 2020 class and the relationships that Ohio State developed with them.

With the opportunity for athletes to sign their letters of intent and enroll early like over half the class did, Day doesn't see recruiting as getting someone just to sign their letter of intent, but building a relationship and making them want to come on campus early.

"It's not just about getting the kid to sign on the dotted line. It's not that way anymore," Day said. "Now it's having trust and having the relationship with the family and common respect for each other that things are going to go in a certain way."

With the 14 early enrollees that felt strong enough about their relationship with the program to join the team early, a bond has begun to form as they remain mostly separated from the rest of the team and work in the weight room on their own.

The brotherhood will embrace them soon enough, but for now, it's harboring those relationships with fellow incoming teammates and coaches to ensure that they feel part of a family at Ohio State.

"I think the way we're recruiting right now -- and like you said, there's a family atmosphere here right now," Day said. "And I think these recruits and these families will see as time goes on, just like we talked about, they're going to be treated the same way they're recruited, in that we're recruiting this thing tight and you are family."

While making the recruits feel comfortable coming to Ohio State is of the utmost importance to Day and his staff, part of their job is also assessing whether they believe those players fit in not just schematically, but with the culture established at Ohio State.

Tough love was an emphasis in 2019, and early enrollees on Wednesday spoke about how they've already experienced some of the highs and lows of the program while focusing on strength and conditioning.

Understanding what Ohio State is about will come more with time spent in the program, but early returns from the 2020 class have been positive, and Day is happy with what they have brought.

"We want to have great players, the best players in the country but the right fit for this program and this culture," Day said. "I think that's what I'm the most proud of right now. When you look at the kids coming into this program, when you look these guys in the eye, they're beautiful kids. They're made of the right stuff and have the right work ethic, the right families."