Nick Saban explains how Ohio State will be impacted by Ryan Day taking playcalling duties from Brian Hartline

With Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline being named Alex Golesh‘s successor at USF, head coach Ryan Day will be calling plays for the Buckeyes throughout the College Football Playoff.

Calling plays will not be new for Day, who rose through the coaching ranks as an offensive-minded coach. He joined Ohio State as co-offensive coordinator in 2017, was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018, and was named Urban Meyer‘s successor at head coach in 2019.

During Tuesday’s edition of ‘The Pat McAfee Show‘, legendary head coach Nick Saban discussed whether or not Ohio State will be impacted by Day taking play calling duties from Hartline.

“It’s Ryan Day’s offense, and you know, they sort of transitioned last year a little bit with the coordinator they had,” Saban said. “They took some of that stuff and Ryan Day applied it. I don’t think it’s going to be a big issue, because he’s an offensive guy and he’s used to calling plays. He’s called plays a lot before. I don’t think it will be a problem.

“It was hard for me to (call plays) and call defenses and still be the head coach once I got used to not having to do it. So, I think it wouldn’t be a big problem because it’s only been a little while since Ryan Day has done it.”

Ohio State is seeking back-to-back National Championship wins

Wednesday night’s College Football Playoff Quarterfinal game against No. 10 Miami will mark the Buckeyes’ first game since Dec. 6, when it fell to No. 2 Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game. Their loss to the Hoosiers marked the first game since their season-opening 14-7 win over No. 1 Texas that they failed to score at least 20 points.

Heading into Cotton Bowl preparation week, Day clarified his decision to strip play calling duties from Hartline amid his transition into being a head coach.

“Really happy for Brian and the opportunity that he is getting,” Day said. “It’s such a strange calendar and the timing is brutal but he’s handled it great, as you can imagine. Right now, as we move forward, he’s coaching the receivers. It’s a lot on his plate, it’s a lot to manage. So, we’re kind of taking it day-to-day right now, just in terms of how we move forward. Going into the game, it will be a group effort.

“Everybody will be involved with the play calling. Ultimately, it will be my decision what calls go into this game. Kind of wanted to take that off Brian’s plate going into the playoffs because he’s got so much going on with what he’s trying to do. He’s working hard toward it and we’re going to keep evaluating it every day to see what’s best for the group.”

Ohio State‘s offense, led by Hartline, averaged 429.5 yards per game (fourth best in B10) and 34.9 points per game (fourth best in B10) this season. It will need a much stronger performance against Miami in the Cotton Bowl, as the ‘Canes held Texas A&M to just three points in their First Round CFP matchup and allow just 281.5 yards per game (10th best in NCAA).