Ryan Day is entering his second season with the Buckeyes and moving forward will hold the title of acting head coach while Urban Meyer is on paid administrative leave. But who is Ryan Day and what can Buckeyes fans expect from him moving forward, be it in the short-term or longer term if the situation warrants it?
Day joined the Buckeyes in 2017 after a stint with the San Francisco 49ers, replacing Tim Beck who later went on to join former Ohio State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tom Herman at Texas. Day joined the team as a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and this season became one of the first million-dollar assistants in Ohio State history and became the offensive coordinator along with Kevin Wilson.
Day has ties to Meyer dating all the way back to 2005 and the Florida Gators when he served as a graduate assistant before moving on to Temple in 2006 and starting his upward climb that led him to work with Chip Kelly at two stops and become one of the brightest young offensive minds in the game.
"I think that I have been lucky enough to be around some great coaches and had some great exposure to different systems," Day said last August during fall camp. "Being in the NFL and being around great college coaches. Then also being around coach Meyer's system and being in the environment, that mixture makes it a good fit."
In Day's first season with the Buckeyes, the offense flourished with more than 500 yards per game, a passing game that averaged more yardage than the rushing game, a 6.9 yard per play average on offense and 41.1 points per game. The Buckeyes led the Big Ten in many of the major offensive statistical categories including total offense, rushing offense, passing offense and points per game.
Under Day's leadership, Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett saw his numbers in the passing game go up with 3,053 passing yards as a senior, 35 touchdowns and 240 completions. Expectations are high in 2018 that Day will be able to maximize the talents of first-year starter Dwayne Haskins who will take over for Barrett.
Day has been courted in the past for other opportunities including a reported head coaching job in the college ranks and assistant positions in the NFL during this past offseason but opted to stay with the Buckeyes and sign a three-year deal.
"Ohio State is an outstanding place to be a coach, and Columbus is a great city for a young family," Day said earlier this year upon being promoted to offensive coordinator. "I really enjoyed my first season with this program and I’m looking forward to the 2018 season and the opportunity to coach a very talented and hungry group of players."
Day admitted that he had more to accomplish with the Buckeyes and that was something that kept him close.
"There's only so many places in America that you can get to a (championship)," Day said. "Growing up, that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to get to a place to win a national championship. I am here, so now I am going to leave? No, I am not doing that."
