Ryan Day isn’t treating Ohio State’s final stretch like a developmental showcase.
With the Buckeyes sitting at 6-3 and the season drifting into unfamiliar territory, Day said younger players can earn more chances - but only if it doesn’t compromise what he believes gives Ohio State the best shot to win right now.
“Not at the risk of what’s best for the team right now,” Day said. “So if we can, the answer is yes.
But this is not like an open tryout. We’re not doing that.
We got to win this game.”
That message landed after a rough week around the program. On Monday morning, it became public that special teams coordinator Robby Discher got fired.
Then on Tuesday, Day reaffirmed that Luke Fahey will stay the starting quarterback, saying he gives the Buckeyes a better chance to win than Tavien St. Clair.
Day’s stance also reflects how unusual this moment is for Ohio State. It’s the first time under him that the Buckeyes will have three or more regular-season losses, and the first time the program has reached more than two regular-season defeats since 2011.
Still, Day said the veterans remain part of the equation, and he believes they care about finishing the season the right way. His view is simple: if a younger player was ready to help right now, that player would already be on the field.
“They’re Buckeyes. And so they want to make sure that this thing is done the right way,” Day said of the upperclassmen.
“Quite honestly, if it’s all equal and we have an opportunity to get a young guy in there, give him an opportunity and get him a chance, then I think we’ll do that. But we’re not all of a sudden just going to play a bunch of young guys.
We’re not going to do that.”
A few younger players have already carved out some space. Jay Timmons has looked ready from the start, and the five-star freshman cornerback has been the starting nickel all season when healthy.
Beyond that, the opportunities have been limited. Chris Henry Jr. has picked up more responsibility as a receiver, but he has only 11 catches for 283 yards and two touchdowns.
Cincere Johnson has recently earned a larger role and posted four total tackles and two tackles for loss against Oregon. Brock Boyd had a solid workload before an injury sidelined him after the Indiana game.
There are other names in the mix too - Legend Bey, Khary Wilder, Jordan Thomas, Simeon Caldwell and others - but Day’s point is that potential only matters if it turns into production on the field.
He has repeatedly talked about trust when it comes to younger players, and with the College Football Playoff all but out of reach, there would seem to be more room to see what those guys can do. At the same time, Ohio State brought in 17 players through the transfer portal, and Day noted that those additions come with real expectations and real costs.
“We’ve had some really good play, guys coming in and embracing the culture. When you bring in quite a few of those guys, there is a role for each of them.
You’re not bringing in everybody to have the same role. There’s obviously some unknowns when you do that,” Day said.
“But I feel like over the past few years, we brought in some really good transfers that embrace the culture, that have been productive on the field. And there’s been some other guys that haven’t quite fulfilled what we thought would be the case.
So we’ll keep doing a good job and the best we can at identifying the talent and then making sure it’s the right fit.”
For now, though, Day keeps bringing the conversation back to the same place: winning. Ohio State hasn’t done that over the last two weeks, and he made it clear that frustration is the only acceptable response.
“When we play the way we have played the last two weeks, it’s frustrating and disappointing. So, the bottom line is nobody cares.
There’s nobody here that are victims. We got to get this thing fixed,” Day said.
“And we got to get on the field to beat Northwestern. Nobody saw the way that the season was going to play out like this in terms of the Woody.
Nobody expected this. But here we are.
We have to embrace our situation right now and then do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
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