Ryan Day focused on Ohio State over Big Ten expansion
As conference realignment continued to take shape last week, the Big Ten expansion news caused some ripples up north. While not entirely unexpected, the additions of Oregon and Washington further bolstered the Big Ten’s profile.
But that’s something that coach Ryan Day hasn’t had time to think a whole lot about. He’s preparing Ohio State for a potential College Football Playoff run.
“Honestly it’s just like there’s so many things that are like higher on the priority list for me right now, honestly,” Day said. “Kind of defer to Gene (Smith) on those things and I’ll continue to do that and have conversations.”
The Big Ten expansion gave it a total of 18 teams, making it the biggest Power Five conference out there currently. And there’s little doubt that the league has attracted some quality teams.
In fact, three of the Pac-12 additions — USC, Oregon and Washington — could conceivably be CFP contenders this fall if things go well.
That’s where Day is at, trying to get his team ready to be one of those contenders as well. The Buckeyes don’t want their appearance in the playoffs last year to be a one-and-done trick, and that means Day can’t spend his time worrying about Big Ten expansion.
“I think right now I can’t keep my mind off inside drill and kind of what was going on in red zone today and that kind of stuff,” Day said. “Gene’s been such a great leader for me and certainly these first few years, kind of taking a lot of that stuff off my plate, let’s just focus on the team. And that’s kind of where my mind’s at right now.”
Ohio State offense insanely talented
If there’s one man who’d know about elite offensive talent and more of it joining via the Big Ten expansion, it’s former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer. And he said recently he hasn’t seen an offensive skill group as talented as Ohio State’s in, well, ever.
“It kind of happened to me at Florida,” Meyer said on The Herd. “We started recruiting speed and I always made a comment, I want to be the fastest team in America. And then you get good news or bad news. The good news is you have the most talented players in the country. Bad news, they got to touch the ball. So you have to get that ball in their hands. I’m not saying Ohio State’s less physical, but I’m saying you have a group and you are correct, Brian Hartline has recruited, and I did this a long time, I’ve never seen the level that the quarterback and receivers are recruited at Ohio State right now.
“Everyone’s a first round draft pick, everyone’s a five star, but you have to get the ball in their hands. And you know, the good thing is they are loaded at tailback this year too. But I would not say that it turns into a finesse game. But it turns into a game that you got to be creative whether it’d be hand it to him, throw to him, throw screens to him. Your job as a head coach is to get the best players the ball.”
With so much talent on board it’s no wonder Day is focusing on getting his team ready to roll rather than Big Ten expansion.