Breaking NEWS: Ohio State Buckeyes former head coach Ryan Day Confirmed Dead at 46read more details
Ryan Day doesn’t need to fight NIL hype with rules or restrictions. Instead, he leans into something much harder to manufacture: culture.
Ohio State’s head coach has a roster full of five-star talent-players like Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs, and Carnell Tate-who are not only producing on the field but racking up serious NIL deals off it. That kind of attention can easily throw off a team’s rhythm. But Day says the key to keeping players grounded is making sure they feel like they’re getting better, every single day.
It’s not just talk. Downs is coming off an All-American season with 82 tackles and two picks, while Smith lit up defenses as a freshman with 1,315 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. These are future first-rounders with every reason to be distracted. But Day says it’s their hunger to improve-and their leadership-that stands out.
“It’s not about defending a title. It’s about chasing the next one”
After last season’s title run, Day met with team leaders to talk goals. He was expecting a standard “run-it-back” mentality. What he got was something more serious.
