Ryan Day wants to keep traditions going at Ohio State
Tradition means everything at Ohio State. The skull session, the walk to the stadium, Script Ohio and Carmen Ohio are all integral parts of the gameday experience not only for the fans, but for the team and coaches as well.
When a new head coach takes over a program, questions surround how traditions may be changed or updated, and with a school like Ohio State, a coach is judged as much on fitting in the Buckeye culture as he is his coaching performance on the field. With Ohio State’s 25th head coach Ryan Day, you’ll find that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
“We're doing a couple of things just leading up to the game, but in terms of the traditions that have been before, we want to keep all those going,” Day said. “That's one of the great things about Ohio State -- the skull sessions and the walk, the quick calls with the students -- we actually did that; we had almost 5,000 students in the stadium the other day. We went through it and taught them the quick calls, unbelievable tradition. And then singing with the band afterwards.”
During his two seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Day was able to look at how Urban Meyer treated the traditions of Ohio State and the way he respected the institutions that came before him. He saw the impact it had on the players and fans, how hyped they became just minutes before kickoff as the team ran out of the tunnel.
Day has a lot more responsibility on his plate now as head coach, but he doesn’t want to get tunnel vision before kickoff and forget to appreciate those big moments.
“Had a long talk with Coach Meyer when I first took the job, and he used to say when "Hang on Sloopy" came on, he looked up and would really appreciate that he was coaching at Ohio State,” Day said. “I tried to figure out when that's going to be for me, and that's when I run out into the stadium, when I'm with the team in the tunnel, looking up to see the Horseshoe and everybody that supports the Buckeye Nation, how cool that is take it in, take a deep breath, because you can go through a whole game and not ever recognize anything that's going on because you're so caught up in the moment.”
Day is joining a long list of coaches including Meyer, Jim Tressel, Earle Bruce and Woody Hayes that have upheld the traditions of the Buckeyes. He’s excited for the future, but he’s also proud of the coaches and the traditions that have come before him.
“All those things are what make Ohio State great. We want to keep that going and we're embracing that,” Day said. “The guys on the team had to learn -- the young guys had to learn the fight song. We sang the fight song in the locker room after the mock game on Saturday. We love the traditions. We have to keep them going.”
We’re now only a few short days away from Ohio State beginning the season when they take on Florida Atlantic, and Day will step out of the tunnel for the first time as the official head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. While you may be excited, nobody is more thrilled about waking up Saturday than Day.
“I'm excited to get going -- run out of the tunnel and go play. What an unbelievable opportunity this is,” Day said. “It's an opportunity to be around a great group of players and coaches at an unbelievable university. Time to start playing some games.”