Inspired by Michigan, Ohio State went all out this offseason

Columbus, Ohio – two days after the incident michigan wolverines Parading through Ann Arbor with the national championship trophy in January, Ross Bjork met Ohio State This is the first time coach Ryan Day has held the position.

Bjork was in Columbus, finalizing a deal to become Ohio State’s next athletic director. While there, Day unveiled a plan that ultimately produced one of the most spectacular offseasons in college football history.

Since taking over as Ohio State’s head coach five years ago, Day has a sensational 53-8 record; the only one among active FBS coaches GeorgiaKirby Smart had a better winning percentage during this period.

But for the Buckeyes, that’s not nearly enough. Day hasn’t won a national championship yet. Worse, they’ve lost three in a row to That Team Up North, something that hasn’t happened in this millennium. Even more tragic, rival Michigan won its first national title in 26 years. Just a week after the celebrating Wolverines were showered with corn and blue confetti inside Houston’s NRG Stadium, Day showed Bjork how he plans to bounce back.

“I was really impressed with their intensity, their thoroughness at that point,” Bjork said. “Nobody was happy with the last couple of seasons and the way they finished. There’s a reset that had to happen. Coach Day was at the forefront of activating all of that. He had a methodical, thorough, deliberate plan. … Hearing that directly from Ryan, I thought that was really exciting and encouraging.”

Day’s dream became a reality. Buoyed by $20 million in name, image and likeness money this year, the Buckeyes struck gold in the transfer portal, securing two of the SEC’s top players, according to Bjork. Caleb Downs and running back Quinshon JudkinsOhio State signed another star-studded recruiting class, including the nation’s most touted freshman wide receiver, Jeremiah SmithSeveral key players from last year’s team, including preseason All-America wideout emeka egbukaalso prevented the NFL from coming back for one final season. Day even convinced Power 5 head coach Chip Kelly to run UCLA and became their offensive playcaller.

One NFL scout called it the most talented team he’s ever seen at Ohio State, with more depth than the 2021 national champion Georgia team that set a draft record with 15 players selected in 2022.

“Pound for pound, player for player,” the scout said, “they have as many good players as any (college football) team that I can remember.”

Ohio State’s previous two head coaches, Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel, who led Ohio State to national championships, Agree how talented These appear to be Buckeyes. on my podcast last weekMeyer said that “as far as NFL talent and depth goes, this might be the best roster in college football in the last decade. … They’re plentiful.”

The long offseason has added pressure to build a great team — pressure that only a Columbus title parade can relieve.

“We’ll figure out what that foundation looks like as we get into this season and weather some of the storms that are headed our way,” Day said. “They’re coming. We have to be ready.”

For Day, the storm has already arrived.

“For the people in Buckeye Nation — and this is not my opinion — I would argue it’s national championship or bust,” said Cardale Jones, the last Ohio State quarterback to win a national championship in 2014 who later co-founded The Foundation, one of the school’s two primary collective organizations. “I don’t think beating Michigan, I don’t think winning the Big Ten championship game and just getting into the playoffs is enough.”

only two years First, the day Told to boosters It would cost the Buckeyes $13 million to get their team together.

Tyvis Powell, director of player engagement for Ohio State’s other group, the 1870 Society, said the Buckeyes in the past didn’t get the players they wanted because they didn’t have enough NIL money. Now, industry sources say Ohio State is one of college football’s biggest NIL spenders.

Former teammates Powell and Jones said losing to the Wolverines again and then watching them win the national championship “lit a fire inside more people” to come forward and donate to NIL.

“This was the first year people were so generous in donating money en masse,” said Powell, the defensive MVP of the Buckeyes’ national title win over Oregon in 2014. “Seeing your rival win is very motivating for a lot of people. It seemed like that couldn’t happen anymore.”

Teaming up with longtime athletic director Gene Smith, who retired this summer, Day inspired major supporters to increase their commitments. Money also started coming in from smaller donors. Suddenly, the Buckeyes had the means to execute Day’s offseason plans.

Out of the transfer portal, Ohio State grabs Kansas State quarterback Will Howard With Downs and Judkins.

Howard, who started 28 games for the Wildcats and led K-State to the 2022 Big 12 title, named Ohio State’s starter this month. Judkins topped the SEC with 2,725 rushing yards for Ole Miss the past two seasons. At Alabama, Downs was the SEC Freshman of the Year; an NFL scout called Downs the Crimson Tide’s “best player” last year.

Downs joined the portal on Jan. 17 after Alabama coach Nick Saban surprisingly announced he was retiring. Powell claimed the NIL played a role in Ohio State not hiring Downs out of high school. Many said Downs would return to his home state and play for Georgia, which recently hired Downs’ Alabama position coach, Travaris Robinson. But this time, Ohio State traded Downs off to come to Columbus (the Buckeyes also added Julian SeyinTop quarterback recruits, and centers in 2024 Seth McLaughlin From Alabama’s roster) Downs, a preseason All-American, said last week that Ohio State’s talented roster played a role in his joining the Buckeyes.

“I think that was a big part of it,” Downs said, describing Ohio State’s talent level as “above or right on the same level” as any SEC team, including the Crimson Tide. “It’s always a plus knowing you’re going into a real brotherhood and a real team.”

last year’s holiday Team, Wide Receiver Only Marvin Harrison Jr. and defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. Defensive end Jack Sawyer He said he and the other draft-eligible players came back for “one last effort” after falling short against Michigan and in playoff contention the past three years.

“I wanted to go to the NFL and fulfill my dream more than anybody else,” Sawyer said. “But I didn’t win a championship. I didn’t beat a team from up north. And when you walk around in the Woody (Hayes Athletic Center), all you see is championships and championship posters and banners. Being here for three years and our team never winning any of those things is something that exhausts me and it’s something that motivates me every day.”

Day said Sawyer and the returning upperclassmen have led the way in setting a tone while holding each other accountable. Egbuka said the “stains of the past” have brought a new collective focus.

“Nobody on this team has won a big game in their careers at Ohio State. We haven’t. It’s frustrating to say that, but that’s the truth. We haven’t really had anything that matters, anything that matters,” Egbuka said. “But this has been the hardest-working team I’ve ever been a part of. And we’re also the most close-knit group I’ve ever been a part of. … We’re really committed to achieving our goals this year.”

egbuka, sawyer, guard donovan jacksonDefensive Tackle Tyliek WilliamsDefensive End J.T. tuimolou and cornerback Denzel Burke Here are some of the guys who could be selected as Day 1 or Day 2 picks in this year’s draft. ESPN Insider Field Yates has Egbuka, Tuimoloau and Burke on the list Next year’s first-round selections,

“No gold pants (given for beating Michigan), no natties, that was a big reason … why we came back,” Burke said. “We have to win every single game — no doubt about it.”

Initial Target Day Day asked former Penn State and Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien to be his offensive coordinator. But when O’Brien accepted the head coach job at Boston College, Day turned to his longtime mentor, Kelly. Day, a former quarterback, played for Kelly at New Hampshire, and later coached with him there.

Day handed over playcalling duties to Kelly, who took a pay cut of nearly $4 million to leave the Bruins and join the Buckeyes. Kelly turned Oregon into a great offensive player before becoming an NFL head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. With Kelly as head coach, the Ducks averaged 45 points per game from 2009 to 2012, and led the nation in scoring over that span.

Kelly and Day both grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire. At Big Ten media days, Day said he not only trusted Kelly with Ohio State’s offense, but he also trusted Kelly with his life.

“I feel the same way,” Kelly said. “It’s a long history. We grew up in the same hometown, we’ve known each other for almost 40 years. … The same coaches that coached him in youth sports also coached me in youth sports. That connection will always be there.”

Kelly will have plenty of playmakers to deploy.

Judkins and the returning leading runners Treveyon HendersonKelly will have the top running back duo in college football. Kelly may also have the nation’s top receiving duo to work with. Jeremiah Smith Dazzling in the spring and preseason,

“You think, ‘This team has four players who can kill us with the ball in their hands — what do we do?’” the NFL scout said. “When you have players that good at every position, you have to eliminate everybody.”

With another outstanding defense filled with stars at every level, the Buckeyes don’t appear to have any glaring weaknesses on either side of the ball.

“There’s a lot of energy on this team,” Day said. “They know what they want. There’s an urgency, there’s a purpose and they’ve come together. You can see it. … You can feel it when you’re with the guys. It’s real. So what does that mean? We have to earn whatever we get next year. Nothing will be given to us.”

The plan Day outlined for Björk is complete. All that’s left now is to earn the most important thing.

“We have the best players. There’s depth in every position group. So we have no choice but to win a national championship,” Powell said. “A lot of people like Coach Day. I think he’s a really good coach. (They have) all the resources they need to possibly win. And if they don’t, the writing is on the wall. … Nobody’s really listening to any excuses.”

“But if he does it, it’s all worth it.”