Ryan Day explains decision to keep Ohio State spring game amid other cancelations

There has been a rapidly rising debate among college football coaches about whether or not to have spring games. Despite several other cancellations, Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day made sure to hold one this year.

Now, Day shared why he wanted to maintain that spring game. He explained that it’s both valuable experience for the team’s younger players and that it gives the team’s fans a chance to stay engaged during the offseason.

“I think it’s good for everyone to know,” Ryan Day said. “My plan is to have a spring game. I just think we need to save a little bit of wiggle room in case we take injuries. That’s it. We want to do this. We want to play a spring game. Now, there may be some guys that are held from the spring game, but not many. We feel like, I think, we’re 159 days away from playing Texas, and that day will matter to a lot of young players. So, well, we need to get out there and compete. The format of it and how it works will probably be similar to what we’ve done in the past.”

One of the major reasons for the cancellations of spring games has been the growing fear of tampering. Matt Rhule at Nebraska directly cited potential tampering with players and the upcoming Transfer Portal window as a key reason to avoid the spring game. Others, like Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, have looked at the length of the previous season as their reasoning.

“So, it will be a great opportunity for fans and folks to see our guys and get out there and play. That part of it, to me, and it is what it is but we’ve got to go do it. It’s important that we start the season fast and the first step is playing in the spring game,” Day said.

“If we’re down some linemen or down some bodies and we have to adjust we’ll figure it out from there. I guess we’re just three weeks out here. So, we plan on playing in that spring game on April 12th. So, we’re looking at getting a great crowd and I know we’ve got some great things planned that day.”

While several schools have decided to cancel their spring games, Ohio State and Ryan Day aren’t the only ones choosing to hold theirs as usual. Marcus Freeman, the Notre Dame head coach who played against the Buckeyes in the national championship game, also made it clear they think that spring games matter still.

As Ryan Day noted, the Ohio State spring game is currently scheduled for April 12th. Their 2025 season is going to open on August 30th against Texas.