Ryan Day considers when he knew Ohio State was right job for him

The marriage between Ryan Day and Ohio State has been nothing short of a magnificent pairing since he replaced former head coach Urban Meyer in 2019. In that time, Day has led the Buckeyes to a 70-10 record and a National Championship in 2024.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Day opened up about when he knew that the Ohio State job was right for him. Prior to being promoted to head coach in Columbus, Day served as offensive coordinator on Meyer’s staff from 2017-18.

“I don’t think I knew at the time,” Day said when referring to the magnitude of the Ohio State job. “You know, it’s like you’re never ready to buy your first house or first kid. You’re never ready to be a head coach for the first time, and certainly not at a place like Ohio State. I had great coaches around me that I would follow to press conferences. I’d be able to sit in meetings with administrators and sit in recruiting meetings and see them work with the staff.

“I just always took a lot of notes so when it was my turn to be a head coach I’d know how I’d want that to look. Had a great experience in ’18 during that preseason to go through and learn a lot of great things from a lot of great coaches like Greg Schiano, Larry Johnson and Kevin Wilson.”

Day credits Urban Meyer and the Ohio State coaching staff

Coming off of last season’s National Championship, Day has led the Buckeyes to a 4-0 record this season with a strong 14-7 win over No. 1 Texas. Their last two games have been against inferior competition, but they will get a strong test this weekend on the road at Washington.

“A lot of good people that put their arm around me at the time, and then obviously what coach (Urban) Meyer did in establishing things here and then all the coaches that I was around,” Day continued. “You’re never quite sure how it’s gonna go and you learn every year. It’s what it is, and I was just saying to someone the other day I’m going on a decade of being here now. It goes fast but every year you learn more and more about yourself, your staff, your team and what needs to be done on a daily basis. That’s it.

“Gotta have that mindset that you’ve got to get better, and you go from there. It’s the same thing as being a coordinator and same thing when you’re a first time position coach. You’re never quite sure if you’re ready but you’ve got to go learn and grow. That’s what this job is all about.”

Ohio State will look to keep its success going this weekend at Washington. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:30 PM ET. The game can be seen on CBS.