Ohio State’s summer routine under Ryan Day has included more than workouts and football talk. According to linebacker Payton Pierce, the Buckeyes are also spending part of the offseason in book club mode.
Pierce discussed the setup Monday on BIGPLAY’s “Bobby Carpenter Show,” explaining that Day has the team reading a book and then breaking it down together. Last year, the assignment was Chop Wood Carry Water. This summer, the book is Legacy.
“We're reading 'Legacy' right now," Pierce said. "I think we are on Chapter 12.
It's been really good. It's about learning about the all-Black rugby team.
And it's super cool; last year, 'Chop Wood Carry Water' was interesting to learn about, and then this year with 'Legacy' it's longer chapters. So we have a player come up and speak about the chapter every couple of days, and it's been cool watching a lot of the guys who aren't as vocal get to step up and speak in front of the team."
That part of the process seems to be doing exactly what Day wants. The book discussions have created another way for players to connect, and Pierce said the rotating speakers have given quieter guys a chance to stand up and lead in front of the group.
It’s another example of how Day has put his own stamp on the program since taking over in 2019. He’s now in a very different spot than he was a few years ago, when people were openly wondering whether he was the right fit after Ohio State lost to Michigan for four straight years. Then came the national championship in the 2024 season, and with it a much louder conversation about where he ranks among the sport’s top coaches.
Day still has plenty of heavyweight competition in the Big Ten, with Curt Cignetti at Indiana, Matt Campbell at Penn State, Dan Lanning at Oregon, Lincoln Riley at USC and Kyle Whittingham at Michigan all mentioned among the league’s standout coaches. So even in the offseason, the message is clear: Day is pushing his team to keep growing in every way possible.
In Other News...
Michigan Just Took Another Major Hit Behind The Scenes
Michigans athletic department is dealing with another round of turbulence behind the scenes, with athletic director Warde Manuel reportedly expected to exit at the end of the calendar year. The move comes after an outside firm examined the culture inside the department, though the findings have not been made public, leaving plenty of questions about what prompted the latest shake-up in Ann Arbor.
For Ohio State, the news serves as another reminder of how different things have looked across the rivalry when it comes to athletic department stability. The Buckeyes have largely avoided the kind of public scandal and internal uncertainty now hovering over Michigan, and that contrast matters in a sport where off-field order can be just as important as what happens on game day. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Development Could Suddenly Reshape Ohio States Running Back Board
A recruiting domino in Tennessee is starting to matter well beyond Knoxville. Asa Barnes, the Tennessee running back target from the Volunteer State, is leaning toward staying home, and that could help clarify the top of the board for a pair of programs watching the same market closely. For Ohio State, the ripple effect is less about Barnes himself and more about how one decision can shape the path for another back the Buckeyes have their eyes on.
David Gabriel Georges is the name to watch next, with his choice expected to come after Barnes sorts out his future. Tennessee and Ohio State are both positioned around that decision, but the two schools do not present the same kind of running back picture, and that contrast could wind up mattering as the process unfolds. If Barnes lands where the momentum suggests, the rest of the board may start to move in a direction that gives the Buckeyes a cleaner read on where they stand. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Just Hit The Urban Meyer Comparison Fans Dread
Ryan Days Ohio State tenure has now reached the point where the comparisons to Urban Meyer are no longer just about style or expectations. Through seven seasons, the two coaches have lived in the same rarefied air in Columbus, each delivering a national championship and multiple Big Ten crowns while navigating very different versions of college football. The numbers are close enough to invite the conversation, and the circumstances around those numbers are different enough to keep it from being a simple one-to-one matchup.
The larger question is how to weigh all of it. Day has had to coach through the pandemic, the transfer-portal era and a sport that keeps changing around him, while Ohio States path through the Big Ten has also been shaped by expansion and a Michigan scandal that altered the landscape. So the Meyer comparison is flattering on one hand and nerve-wracking on the other, because it puts Day in the same sentence as a standard Buckeye fans still remember vividly. [Read more 🡒]