Will Howard, Cody Simon explain why they never lost faith in Ryan Day

Since taking over as the head coach at Ohio State, Ryan Day has received more than his fair share of criticism, with those critics often pointing out he inherited a strong program and that he has struggled to win big games. That is, until he brought the Buckeyes a national championship.

Within the program, there wasn’t the same kind of doubt in Ryan Day that there was from some outside of the program. Following that national championship win, and while sitting next to their head coach, quarterback Will Howard and linebacker Cody Simon explained they never lost faith in Day.

“First and foremost, I owe so much to this guy sitting right next to me,” Will Howard said. “He gave me a chance here and he bet on me. I am forever indebted to him for that. One of — probably the best coach I’ve ever been around. I’ve never seen someone work a game like Coach Day does. He thinks of every single possible scenario that could go on in every single play.”

Will Howard only spent one season of his college career with Ohio State. It ended up being an eventful one, with the team and Day being criticized extensively for a fourth-straight loss to Michigan before making the College Football Playoff and going on a national championship run.

“I’ve never been coached this hard. I knew I was going to get coached hard, and that’s what I needed. I needed that. If it were not for me coming here to Ohio State and getting developed by Coach Day and Coach [Chip] Kelly and Billy Fessler and Riley [Larkin] and all the guys in that room, man, I really wouldn’t be the player that I am right now. I think that coming here was just an unbelievable opportunity for me, and Coach Day — we all knew it,” Howard said.

“None of us ever doubted for a second that he was the right guy to lead this team, and we stuck together and we said we want to do it for each other, we want to do it for our coach, and let’s do this thing, man. I’m really glad that we were able to finish it the right way.”

For linebacker Cody Simon, it’s his fifth season within the Ohio State program and playing for Ryan Day. Still, he agreed that he fully trusts Day and the job he’s been doing as the Buckeyes’ head coach.

“Yeah, I would agree with Will. I mean, no one ever on our team lost any type of faith. Obviously, there’s noise all over the world, but we know what happens here within the Woody. I’d just say there are times when you get in early to the Woody and you think you’re getting work done and you go and walk past the head coach office and he’s already there. He’s been watching film. His eyes are bloodshot. He puts that extra time in that no one in the world is really putting in,” Simon said. “When I see stuff like that, there’s no one I’d rather trust than Coach Day, and I wholeheartedly believe that he is always and will be the best coach that I’ve ever been a part of.”

Ultimately, that faith and trust was universal on Ohio State. It’s that belief that played such a major part in the success that this year’s team is always going to be remembered for.

“The story of our entire team is all because of we all trusted in the leadership of Coach Day. I can’t say enough good things about him because he led us all the way, and all the stuff he’s been through,” Simon said. “And he talks about — he’s going to talk about self-doubt, but no one ever doubted him on our team. Within the Woody, it was always the Woody versus the world, so we’ll stand by that.”