Why 2021 Ohio State recruiting class, Ryan Day have added stakes for The Game

In 2021, a group of freshmen arrived on campus at Ohio State. They were seen as the Buckeyes’ stars of the future, and many of them are still around in Columbus with hopes of declaring for the NFL Draft.

That class — ranked No. 2 in the nation, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking — features some of Ohio State’s biggest names this year. Jack Sawyer was the second-highest rated recruit of the bunch, closely followed by J.T. Tuimoloau. Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson and Kyle McCord were all top-25 players. Let’s also not forget Marvin Harrison Jr., who was a four-star prospect.

Being part of that recruiting class isn’t the only thing those players have in common, though. Those players also have yet to beat Michigan in The Game. That, according to Lettermen Row’s Spencer Holbrook, adds to the stakes of this year’s installment of the rivalry.

“It’s one of the best recruiting classes talent-wise and obviously history. They have zero wins against Michigan,” Holbrook told Andy Staples on Andy Staples On3. “They’re 0-for-2, and a lot of those guys are leaving for the NFL. So they were talking about that today, even. Like, ‘The stakes for this for us, to leave our legacy at Ohio State are you have to win this game.’

“Because when you get asked by alums, ‘What was your record against Michigan?’ And you come back with a goose egg? That’s not something you can do.”

Why Ohio State needs ‘Georgia Ryan Day’ and not ‘Michigan Ryan Day’ this week

That class’ freshmen year saw Michigan get its first win over Ohio State in a decade — a 42-27 Wolverines victory in Ann Arbor. They then saw the Buckeyes fall on their home field 45-23 a year ago as Ryan Day became the first coach to lose to Michigan in back-to-back years since John Cooper.

Of course, that also means Day’s facing some pressure. After all, he, like Jim Harbaugh, has a losing record in The Game. But Holbrook pointed to a potential key for Day this time around: his preparation. Last year, Holbrook noticed Day was more tense than usual during Michigan week. That, in turn, translated onto the field.

But when Ohio State took on Georgia, it was the opposite. Day was more upbeat and relaxed, and the Buckeyes nearly stunned the reigning national champions in the Peach Bowl. If Day can keep a similar mentality into this week’s matchup, Holbrook said that could be the difference for Ohio State to avoid three straight losses.

“We’ve heard all year, ‘Are we getting Michigan Ryan Day or Georgia Ryan Day?'” Holbrook said. “And that’s something that the Ohio State beat has kind of latched on to of, like, trying to take a temperature of Day because against Michigan last year, the entire week, it was the most tense I’ve ever seen Ryan Day. And it showed on Saturday. When he was out there on the field, when he was coaching in the game, you could see how tense he was and the players followed suit.

“Against Georgia, he said we’re going to let it rip, we’re going to play loose, we have a second lease on life. … You need to see ‘Georgia Ryan Day’ in the Michigan game to tap into all of that potential that Ohio State has on this roster. Because I know that it doesn’t look like it the last two years, Ohio State has more talent than Michigan. And that’s probably the thing that’s the most difficult for Ryan Day to grasp, knowing you have the most talent and still being 0-for-2 in your last two.”