Inside Ohio :According to Ryan Day, his two new quarterbacks will increase their

According to Ryan Day, his two new quarterbacks will increase their

Columbus, Ohio — To what extent has Ohio State’s quarterback recruiting been exceptional?

This brings up a query from a subscriber to Buckeye Talk Subtext:

Hello, Andrew In light of the recent developments at OSU in terms of

recruiting—transfers, quarterbacks from the same class, and a noticeable upswing in the 2024 and 2025 classes—as well as

the current level of positivity in the program and fan base—does it seem likely that 1) Ryan Day has figured out

this aspect of head coaching (NIL, recruiting, administration of assistant coaches) moving forward, and 2) that he

may well be seen as redefining college football recruiting going forward? — Steve B., 444

(Hat tip to Steve) This is an excellent question that has to be answered.

In recent years, Ohio State’s quarterback recruiting has drawn a lot of attention, but I’m not sure it’s warranted. I hate to

break the bad news, but not every cycle will result in a player who can start for a long time in the NFL or the No. 2 overall

pick. Examine all of the successful college football programs in the past; it just doesn’t happen.

Regarding the first point, Ryan Day is not the only one who needs to understand NIL (he can be a strong advocate for

requesting funding, for example), and I don’t think he has ever struggled with recruiting.

Justin Fields was a transfer that the Buckeyes added to their class of 2019.

They signed C.J. Stroud (number 42 overall) in 2020. They added Kyle

McCord (No. 28 overall) and Quinn Ewers (No. 1 overall) in 2021; more on this class later. They signed Devin Brown (number

43 overall) in 2022. Lincoln Kienholz (No. 190 overall), the lowest-rated recruit of the group, was signed by them in 2023.

However, Bill O’Brien is now there to assist with management and maintain

Day in a CEO-like position. That is very significant. Day, who Stroud has praised

a lot this season, is able to concentrate more on the development of his quarterback. That is advantageous.

Regarding the second point, I’m not sure if “redefining” is the appropriate word in

this context, given that any college football program would be lucky to have a coach of Day’s caliber. It’s not as

though programs witnessed him produce quarterbacks at a very high caliber and suddenly realized something.

Perhaps “he could lead college football recruiting” would be a better way to put it, given Day’s skill in quarterback

development and recruitment, combined with the fact that Ohio State has a program that is fully functional in the

NIL. For the sake of history, USC under Lincoln Riley, Texas, and Alabama would all rank highly.

Since the Buckeyes won’t sign two five-star quarterbacks in each class, Ohio State won’t reinvent quarterback

recruiting. Only twice since 2007 has that occurred, and both times as a result of Ewers’ reclassification.

However, Day ought to be able to position the Buckeyes to lead the quarterback recruiting class each and every year.

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