The Ohio State football program will see one major change in 2024. Head coach Ryan Day is giving up play-calling duties, a responsibility he has had since joining the program in 2017. He shared his thoughts on the change in a recent episode of Big Noon Conversations.
“You’re constantly chasing this 1 or 2%,” Day said, via FOX Sports. “And the last couple of years, it’s been a drive, it’s been a play. You’ve got to identify the things that are working really well and enhance those. But then identifying and being accurate about the things that you need to improve and then being self aware enough to make those decisions.”
“I think as you move up, you got to give up,” Day continued. “That wasn’t easy for me, but I feel like the time is right now, with the transfer portal, with NIL, there’s more and more energy and time that needs to be focused on the players in those areas. I also think that it’s going to allow me the opportunity to be more present with the team, especially later in the season.”
“Because that’s kind of how it’s been the last couple of years,” Day added.
Chip Kelly is the new offensive coordinator at Ohio State and will now take over play-calling duties. Day doesn't believe many fans will be able to tell the difference, in a good way.
“I don’t think it’ll look drastically different maybe just to someone watching the game, but you’ll see schematically some different things,” Day said. “Chip’s history of running the ball speaks for itself. And we got some really good running backs. He’s creative in what he does. What we’ve done passing the ball here kind of speaks for itself, [too]. And so I think there’ll be a combination of those things.”
Day could not get into any of the specific schematic changes because he and Chip have not got there yet.
“The tough part was [Chip] came in right before spring started. So we just kind of got it started, got it going, put the base things in, got some fundamentals down, focused on techniques and those things. And I think now the next couple of months, we’re really going to dig into what the install looks like going into preseason.”
Ohio State football's new athletic director speaks on Ryan Day's expectations in interview
Everyone at Ohio State knows that the Buckeyes will have huge expectations in 2024, including Athletic Director Ross Bjork.
Bjork replaced long-time AD Gene Smith, who retired after last season. He has been putting in a lot of effort into learning about Ohio State's football program.
“Just like college athletics is evolving and that conversation exists, the conversation around Ohio State football remains the same,” Bjork said, via Marcus Hartman of the Dayton Daily News. “This is what we signed up for. Coach Day knows that. I know that. That’s the exciting thing is every year Ohio State is expected to contend, and that’s not going away. So when you sign up for that, you embrace that.”
Bjork and Day are off to a good start so far. The future is bright in Columbus and Bjork wants to be there for Day to support however he can.
“My conversations with Coach Day have been, ‘Hey, what are the resources that we need going forward? What is this new economic reality going to look like? How do we maintain position as an elite program and really as a championship brand?’” Bjork said. “Right now we have the No. 1 recruiting class in the class of 2025. Our roster is packed. We’ve seen that. We know that. Other people are talking about it just like we are internally. So I’ve been really impressed with how Coach Day has really attacked the leaderships pieces, the culture pieces, the players being on the same page and the cohesion that needs to exist in order for teams to really have success.”
We can't wait to see the Buckeyes back on the gridiron later this fall!
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