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Ryan Day: Joint spring practice "not something I would consider"

Spencer-Holbrookby:Spencer Holbrook•03/31/25•

SpencerHolbrook

Ryan Day by Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Ohio State coach Ryan Day (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

COLUMBUS — Ohio State is halfway through spring practice; its offense is going against one of the best defenses in the country every day, and the defense is defending one of the top offenses in the sport daily.

So do the Buckeyes even need to face another roster in a joint spring practice?

That topic has been hot in college football for the last couple of weeks, considering that Syracuse and Colorado petitioned to the NCAA for a waiver to hold a joint spring practice. That waiver was denied; the Buffaloes and Orange won’t be practicing together this spring.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day was asked about the possibilities of the Buckeyes holding a joint spring practice, but he shot that down rather quickly. Don’t expect the Buckeyes to do that even if it is approved by the NCAA down the road.

“I think if teams want to do that, then I think the rules committee should take a look at that and allow folks to do that if that’s what they want to do,” Day said. “For us, I’d be concerned about the health, because when you practice, there’s certain rules of engagement that have to happen. And so one of the things we really have to teach our players is how to practice. And seven-on-seven teamwork, if we’re not tackling people to the ground, what is the tempo? And you start talking about thud and different things, and we don’t take side shots. And when receivers are in the air, we don’t take their legs out and do those types of things. I’d be very, very concerned with practicing against another team when the rules of engagement aren’t clear, or you’re not going against one of your teammates that you’re trying to take care of, I think we all understand what that could be like. 

“But when you’re playing now a 16-game season, I feel like we need to do a little bit better job of making sure, especially with a 105-man roster, it looks like that we’re headed towards here this summer, the health is one of the most important things we had in the preseason.”

For all of those reasons, Ohio State won’t entertain the idea of practicing with another college team. It’s not that the Buckeyes wouldn’t benefit from it, but the injury risk is too much for this loaded roster to mess around with another team in March and April, which could impact what happens in October, November and beyond.

“So for me right now, it’s not something that I would consider,” Day said. “But for those who want to do it, I think they should be able to.”

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