Ohio State HC Ryan Day breaks down transfer standouts, 2025 recruiting class

Coming off a disappointing finish to the 2023 football season that included losses to arch rival Michigan in The Game and Missouri in the Cotton Bowl, Ohio State enters 2024 with a mountain of expectations.

And for good reason. The Buckeyes landed four of the nation’s top 15 transfers in safety Caleb Downs, running back Quinshon Judkins and quarterbacks Julian Sayin and Will Howard.

And the newcomers have already made a strong impression on the Buckeyes’ staff.

“You start with Caleb — that speaks for itself. And Will has really done a great job,” he told On3’s Steve Wiltfong on Tuesday at Big Ten media days. “Quinshon as well, you know. And you don’t know Julian Sayin this much, but he’s done a nice job of changing his body this summer, and we are excited to see what he looks like this preseason.

… Will Kacmarek has really had a great off season. We’re excited about him in many ways. Seth McLaughlin is going to play a whole bunch of football for us this year and hopefully be a leader for us up front.”

Combine that with the 15 returning starters from last year’s team, and they boast one of the nation’s top rosters in Ryan Day’s seventh season as head coach. A sense of unfinished business brought back a number of top returners like JT Tuimoloau, Josh Fryar, TreVeyon Henderson, Jack Sawyer and Emeka Egbuka.

Day feels Ohio State’s NIL opportunities are second to none

But perhaps equally as important was Ohio State’s success in NIL and the opportunities those players had to come back to Columbus, improve their NFL Draft stock and still make significant money in the process.

“The community really rallied behind our players, and it started with the guys who decided to come back this year. They’ve created the resources that we need to provide them an opportunity to want to be here. Because if it’s all equal, we feel great about what Ohio State is and the city of Columbus. It’s a great time to be a Buckeye for a lot of reasons. And so really thankful for all those people that have helped us backing our players.”

Day also went on to praise the local business and supporters of the Buckeyes who give players an opportunity at sponsorships and endorsements outside of just what they make from the program’s collective.

“When you’re in Columbus, there’s a lot of other opportunities outside of just what goes on with the collectives. And those type of things are because our guys are so marketable. I think that’s another thing that I’ve really appreciated here is that our guys are marketable at Ohio State, and we have two million people in the greater Columbus area. Our fan base is so big that they have an opportunity to make money with what goes on with the collectives, but they also get an opportunity to make a bunch of endorsements as well.”

Buckeyes looking to close strong in 2025 class

With the roster set up for a Big Ten championship run and a shot at the College Football Playoff, Ohio State’s staff is also looking to close out the 2025 recruiting class with a bang.

The Buckeyes hold the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings, and Day is excited about that group.

“I think the thing that fires me up is the fact that none of these guys lead with NIL,” he said. “I mean, they’re not looking for that first. They want to be Ohio State Buckeyes. They’ve embraced the tradition and know how important it is to be a Buckeye, and they want to win a national championship when they’re here.”

Two big priority targets remain for OSU, and both are expected to make decisions next month: Five-Star Plus+ offensive tackle David Sanders and five-star interior lineman Josh Petty. Asked about how they need to close out this class, Day was direct.

“The big one is probably the offensive line that we really need to finish strong with.”