Ryan Day’s second big loss of the week coming on Early Signing Day

Ohio State Buckeyes fans surely are feeling the keen sting of a fourth consecutive loss to rival Michigan this past Saturday. Not only are Wolverines fans not letting them forget but the fact that Ryan Day's team is not playing for a Big Ten Championship once again is an even harsher reminder.

Of course, in the wake of another loss to Michigan, the buzz of Ryan Day potentially losing his job at Ohio State has started to pop up again. How real that is remains to be seen but plenty of fans are calling for it, some of them continuing to do so after seemingly nothing has changed.

And Day's failure early on Early National Signing Day won't do anything to quell those concerns.

Day and Ohio State had been working to flip 5-star offensive tackle David Sanders from his commitment to the Tennessee Volunteers. Sanders reportedly took a visit to Columbus in November but, ahead of Early Signing Day, was supposed to return, conceivably for Day and his staff to close the deal for the Buckeyes, for the Michigan game.

That's where things fall apart massively.

Ryan Day fails to flip 5-star OT David Sanders to Ohio State

According to On3 insider Keegan Pope, Sanders didn't show up for that visit for Michigan-Ohio State. Moreover, while there's a good chance that Sanders doesn't sign on Wednesday for the Early Signing Day and will likely wait until next week, all indications are that he's going to stick with Tennessee, leaving the Buckeyes' attempt to flip him futile.

Sanders would've been a massive get for Ohio State for a number of reasons. First and foremost, he's a complete stud. The Charlotte, NC native is the No. 5-ranked overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite rankings and the No. 1 player at offensive tackle in this recruiting cycle. While he needs to add some weight and strength, his athleticism and multi-sport profile give him a monstrous ceiling soon down the line.

Particularly for Ohio State, trying and failing to attempt a player like Sanders speaks to many of the shortcomings fans see when it comes to Day as the head coach. Offensive line has been a sore spot for this program in recent years and, while injuries have factored into that, it's also partly Day not recruiting the positions to the level that many fans would like.

The current 2025 recruiting class for the Buckeyes is indicative of that. While they have consensus 4-star tackle Carter Lowe signed, they have no other offensive line commitments inside the Top 300 of the consensus recruiting rankings. That's simply not good enough if you're at Ohio State.

Furthermore, it's a biting reminder of why this team has lost to Michigan four straight times. The Wolverines have out-physicaled and out-toughed the Buckeyes, to dumb it down as much as possible, time and again. And with this latest offensive line whiff from Day on the recruiting trail immediately after another loss in The Game, it's hard not to venture to thinking that more of the same could be coming.