Ohio State is the 2024 offseason champions, but can Ryan Day parlay the individual victories into a real title this fall?

Ryan Day can go back to being Ohio State’s head coach again. 

For the first two weeks of spring practice, Day served as the Buckeyes’ de facto running backs coach after Tony Alford made the fascinating departure for the same job at Michigan. But the assistant vacancy was filled Tuesday, as Day snagged tailbacks coach Carlos Locklyn away from Oregon. 

Lockslyn, 46, hasn’t coached in college all that long, but the eight-year assistant has been a fast riser up the ranks after working for Mike Norvell at Memphis and Florida State and with Dan Lanning the last two seasons in Eugene. 

A former federal prison guard who volunteered his way onto Norvell’s staff at Memphis, Locklyn is seen as both a strong recruiter (he landed a pair of consensus 4-star tailbacks Jayden Limar and Dante Dowdell in the 2023 class) and good position coach (Bucky Irving had over 2,200 yards the last two seasons). He inherits perhaps the best running back room in America with former 5-star TreVeyon Henderson, Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins, talented junior Dallan Hayden and a couple of 4-star signees. 

“When you hear his story, where he came from, how he came up in the business, Chip (Kelly) and I were really were both very excited about the possibility we could hire him here,” Ryan Day said on a local radio station Tuesday.

“We’re extremely excited for the room. I think he can have a great impact on our room, a great impact on recruiting and be a tremendous coach.”

On the micro, it’s a great hire for Ohio State, especially for a program in the market for a position coach in the middle of spring practice. 

But on the macro?

It’s the latest offseason move for a program going on a three-month heater. 

Ever since Michigan won the national championship in early January, the Buckeyes can’t stop winning. 

Moments after the Wolverines’ championship, the Buckeyes’ top collective placed a call for donations, and the well-timed fundraising campaign raised more than $1 million dollars in less than a week. 

Those funds were immediately put to great use, as Ohio State raided the portal for some of the top available prospects like Judkins, 5-star safety Caleb Downs, Kansas State quarterback Will Howard and others. They also managed to keep nearly every draft-eligible standout not named Marvin Harrison Jr. to return to school (see: the likes of JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Denzel Burke, Tyleik Williams, Emeka Egbuka and Henderson) for a 2024 Buckeyes’ Redemption Tour.

When Nick Saban retired from Alabama, Day added another 5-star quarterback to the room in Julian Sayin. 

Ohio State’s head coach made the conscious decision to cede play-calling responsibilities this offseason, and when his first offensive coordinator choice Bill O’Brien took the head coaching job at Boston College, Day had his longtime confidant Chip Kelly, then the head coach at UCLA, waiting in the wings. 

The Ws don’t stop there, though. 

Ohio State inked the No. 3 recruiting class in the country for the 2024 cycle, holding onto consensus No. 1 overall prospect Jeremiah Smith. It took the all-world wideout a week into spring practice to lose the black stripe on his helmet. 

The Buckeyes are off to a blazing start in the 2025 cycle, too, with commitments from three of the Top-15 players in the country already. Ohio State is positioned to sign perhaps the best DB class of all time with four blue-chip commits already including verbal pledges from 5-star cornerbacks Na’eem Offord and Devin Sanchez. 

In totality, Ohio State has cemented themselves as the offseason champs. Give the Buckeyes the crown now. No matter what happens between now and Week 1 of the 2024 season, no other program is going to score more wins. 

The question is can Day & Co., finally parlay all these individual victories into an actual title in the fall? Everyone is well aware of the pressure on the Buckeyes, particularly, Day to deliver championship results — especially after watching arch-rival Michigan win three straight Big Ten titles and the national championship last season. 

Day has made the right moves at every turn this offseason, but the only crowns that truly matter for Ohio State are earned eight months from now.