Ryan Day lists fellow college coaches standing out to him

It’s not easy to get noticed by a head coach like Ryan Day. However, the Ohio State leader just named a few fellow coaches who have his caught his eye. TCU‘s Sonny Dykes was the first on his list.

Ryan Day praises Sonny Dykes

“There’s a ton of great coaches out there,” Day said on a recent episode of “The Joel Klatt Show: Big Noon Conversations.” “look at what Sonny dykes did this year at TCU. Unbelievable job.”

Day isn’t lying. Dykes’ time at TCU has been revolutionary. After being signed on Nov. 30, 2021, the 53-year-old head coach needed just one year to take the program to its first College Football Playoff. Dykes is only the third head coach to lead his team to the CFP in his first season behind the wheel.

For his efforts, Dykes won 10 National Coach of the Year awards in 2022, including the Big 12 Coach of the Year Award. The former SMU head coach quietly built a juggernaut. The Horned Frogs were picked to finish seventh in the Big 12, instead the Horned Frogs were No. 2 in the final AP Top 25.

Kalen DeBoer receives some props

Dykes wasn’t the only head coach who caught Day’s eye.

“Kalen DeBoer does a great job out of Washington. He was in Indiana. Indiana really made a great run there. He’s a really good coach,” Day said.

DeBoer is another coach with one year of experience at his most recent program. On Nov. 29, 2021, was named the 30th head football coach in UW history. In his first season leading the Huskies, Debar captained the Huskies to a 11-2 overall record, including a 3-0 mark against ranked teams and a win over Texas in the Valero Alamo Bowl.

DeBoer brought his team to the brink of the College Football Playoff, finishing second in the Pac-12 and eighth in the final AP Top 25 rankings. The 48-year-old was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

Brett Bielema gets a shoutout

Day saved perhaps his most surprising shoutout for last.

“Brett [Bielema] is doing a great job in Illinois. They play tough and he’s a really good coach. His guys play well on both sides of the ball. They run the football. I got a lot of respect for him a lot of respect for all these coaches,” Day said.

In his second season as head coach of the Fighting Illini in 2022, Bielema guided the program to an 8-5 record and boosted Illinois to a bowl game. Illinois was ranked in the AP Top 25 for five weeks straight, reaching as high as No. 14.

Where Illinois really shined was its defense. Bielema’s iron curtain led the nation in scoring defense (12.8) for the first time in program history, led the nation and set a school record in interceptions (24), and ranked third nationally in total defense.

Ohio State fans can only hope Day has picked up a few lessons from watching so many other successful coaches. The Buckeyes were two points away from the National Championship last season, falling to Georgia 42-41 in the CFP semifinals.