Ryan Day reveals why Ohio State was so interested in Miyan Williams as a recruit

In the midst of his third season with the program, Miyan Williams has broken out as the star of the Ohio State backfield. The true junior is averaging a hair under a hundred yards per game on the ground, with 497 yards and eight touchdowns to his name through five games.

Given his background as a lower-level recruit (by OSU standards) and the recent death of his grandmother whom he was very close with, Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day is thrilled to see Williams finally step into the spotlight on the football field.

“I give Miyan a lot of credit, he’s been through some different things over the last year or so. Lost some people in his life. But he continued to work through that,” Day said. Then added: “He has been through a lot and it’s not easy for these guys when they go through different things. I give him credit for that and I know the guys around him and his friends have pulled for him and helped him through that.”

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Miyan Williams is a story of overcoming adversity, per Day. Overcoming tough personal situations this season, and overcoming his lower recruiting status at a prestigious place like Ohio State. Ryan Day actually spoke more on that later on. He revealed why the Buckeyes were interested in a guy who was ranked outside the top 600 in the On3 Consensus in the 2020 recruiting class.

“You know, [OSU offensive coordinator] Kevin Wilson actually saw him play live in a game and we just felt like he just ran really hard. And, you know, maybe he wasn’t as highly recruited but we just felt like we saw some something in a kid from Cincinnati who ran hard you know Winton Woods, they have a great winning tradition, they’re a great program. They produce really good football players. And again, being from Ohio means a lot. So, you know, we wanted to always invest in Ohio guys and so we certainly saw the talent in him. But it was mostly just the way that he was built low to the ground. His vision, his power running the ball.”

Turns out Wilson and Day had a good eye for this diamond in the rough. To wrap up his comments, Ryan Day went on to discuss the type of person Williams is. How he can be the life of the room or a silent listener.

“He’s an interesting person, you know. He really has a way about him, where he’s very thoughtful and at times can be understated a little bit. But then there’s other times where he’s in front of the group and telling jokes and laughing and being loud. So we’ve seen kind of different parts of his personality bloom here.”

Buckeyes got a great one in Miyan Williams. On and off the field.