Ryan Day praises Jim Knowles, Chip Kelly, their impact on run to National Championship

Ryan Day knows he can’t do it alone, so, you bring along Jim Knowles and Chip Kelly to achieve the ultimate goal.

There’s no doubt Ohio State’s staff is loaded with Day’s track record, Knowles’ defensive schemes and Kelly’s offensive prowess. It could all pay off with a national title win on Monday against Notre Dame.

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Day couldn’t talk about Ohio State’s success this season without mentioning Knowles and Kelly, two days before the biggest game of the year.

“But I think first off, when you talk about Jim Knowles, I think Jim Knowles is the best defensive coordinator in the country,” Day said. “I think what he’s done this season and how he’s built it over the years has been tremendous, and I think he deserves all the credit in the world for building that because we’ve come a long way on defense in the last couple years.

“Chip Kelly obviously is a mentor of mine and a friend and a colleague, and so I would never be where I’m at right now without Chip, and certainly the same thing is to be said for this season, as well.”

Kelly decided to go from UCLA head coach to Ohio State offensive coordinator to work under his former protege. It’s certainly worked out as the Buckeyes have unlocked new wrinkles in teh offense.

And there’s no doubt Day loves having Knowles at his side too. Ohio State’s defense is wildly considered one of, if not the best in the country.

“Yeah, we’re to the point in the season where we’ve played 16 games, so people can talk about who’s favored, who’s not,” Day said. “We know what we need to do in this game. That’s for other people to talk about. We know this is a very, very good team. We know what we have to do to play in this game. When you’ve played, now, 16 games, our focus needs to be on the game and execution. The rest of that stuff doesn’t matter.”

Kelly wasn’t surprised at the turnaround for the program and Day over the last three games.

“I think the one thing about knowing him for so long, I’m not surprised, you know, I told him a long time ago, he was built for this,” Kelly said. “You know, he understands the gravity of what you have to do to be a head coach here, and I think he’s handled it tremendously. You know, he’s the same person every day. I think the consistency and how he shows up here every day, and what his mission is, and how he drives this entire program, coaches, people in the building, players, whatever is very, very evident, and we get a chance to play one more game.”