Ryan Day on importance of recruiting evaluations: ‘It’s going to cost a lot of money if you make a mistake’

Recruiting has changed almost more than anything in college football over the past five years. Even so, programs like Ohio State continue to bring in elite-level talent. Ryan Day and his staff are among the best at evaluating high school players, only to develop them before turning guys into NFL Draft picks.

Evaluations are actually more important than ever in Day’s opinion. Not too long ago, missing on a high school guy was a disappointment but did not have any real repercussions. Now, Day points out how there is usually a financial aspect attached to each recruit who comes to a place like Ohio State. Not having them pan out means a monetary investment fell short.

“I think now more than ever, evaluations are critical,” Day said. “Like, more than ever. It was important before but you brought somebody on your team in the past and maybe it didn’t quite work, they moved on. Well, now, it’s going to cost you a lot of money if you make a mistake. That’s just the truth of it all. So, I think evaluations are as important now as they’ve ever been.”

Now, some might argue it’s easy to evaluate talent in Columbus. Ohio State is one of college football’s biggest brands and most players strive to earn an offer from the Buckeyes. At times, Day has a pick of the litter when it comes to who they want in each respective class.

Even so, the financial implications are real. Everyone remembers the dollar figure associated with Ohio State during its national championship run just a year ago. A lot of high-dollar players came through retention and the NCAA transfer portal. But several freshmen played a role in ultimately winning the College Football Playoff, evaluations nailed by the staff to find instant contributors.

Looking at where things currently stand, Ohio State’s 2026 class is placed ninth per the Rivals Industry Team Rankings. Usually, they are inside the top five and still project to be there come National Signing Day. An important stretch is upcoming, mainly when the bye week takes place.

“We have a bye week next week,” Day said. “It will be a busy week of recruiting. Starting to get down to that point. I think we’re going to have a couple of busy months. We’re evaluating really heavy right now with this class and with how things are going. The majority of their seasons are on film now. So, it gives us a great chance to identify who we feel like is playing at a high level and who we really want to target.”