Ryan Day admits what the challenge is that Ohio State is facing with the Texas Longhorns right around the corner
We are now less than six weeks away from the Ohio State Buckeyes opening their season by hosting Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns.
The Buckeyes are coming off a National Championship win over Notre Dame—a magical run that also included a victory over Texas.
This year’s team, however, will look quite a bit different. Ohio State is replacing a significant amount of talent that departed for the NFL—14 players were drafted, and the Buckeyes have upwards of 16 starters to replace.
Head coach Ryan Day recently opened up about one of the challenges facing the program
A program like Ohio State reloads year after year thanks to elite recruiting and savvy use of the transfer portal. Player development is at an all-time high, and the program is in great shape. Still, Day acknowledged that replacing leadership has been a challenge.
“It’s been going good. The guys have been working really hard this summer,” Day said via The Bobby Carpenter Show. “And I think that the biggest challenge has been the leadership—figuring out who the guys are that are going to step up. When you look at last year’s team, there are guys returning like Caleb Downs and Sonny Styles—guys who have been in some leadership roles in the past—but a lot of players now have to step into more prominent roles in that area.”
I feel like it’s been a good couple of months leading up to it. As you know, when (strength coach Mickey Marotti) gets to work with these guys, that’s really when the team bonds and forges together. So we know that August is going to be a huge month—and it’s right around the corner.”
Fortunately for Ohio State, they return star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith for his second season and standout safety Caleb Downs for his third. Arguably two of the best players in college football, their presence will certainly help ease the transition.
Other key returners like Sonny Styles, Carnell Tate, Davison Igbinosun, Caden Curry, and Kenyatta Jackson have been in the program long enough to emerge as team leaders as well.
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