5. Buckeyes are in good hands with Ryan Day
Ryan Day has huge shoes to fill. While he did have three games at the helm last season, Urban Meyer led the charge all the way until fall camp was over. It’s a big change that we don’t know how he will handle. But if Ohio State’s offense last year gives any clue, Day should be just fine in following one of the greatest coaches college football has ever seen.
Day was a quarterback himself at the University of New Hampshire and went on to set the career records for completion percentage and touchdowns at the college. But what is really interesting here, is that his offensive coordinator was Chip Kelly, one of the greatest offensive minds college football has ever seen. Learning under Kelly is a huge advantage for any young player looking to be a coach, and that advantage should prepare him well for his first head coaching job.
As the offensive coordinator for the Buckeyes last season, Day led an explosive offense behind Heisman finalist Dwayne Haskins to a record-setting year, especially in the passing game. Haskins broke the single-season record for passing yards in the season by a Buckeye with 4,831 yards. He had the most passing yards in the country last season and that came under the leadership of Day.
Day will almost certainly have the same effect on the young Justin Fields in 2019 and with a talented wide receiver unit, it should only make the head coach’s job easier.