Ohio State coach Ryan Day’s Buckeyes relinquished their hold on the national championship last season to the dominant Indiana Hoosiers, who also bested them in the Big Ten Championship game. The Buckeyes were a preseason top-three team and were fancied by many fans and analysts to repeat as national champions.
Day revamped his staff after losing Brian Hartline, who left to become head coach of the USF Bulls, and was also aggressive in the transfer portal, given the large number of players who departed Columbus for the NFL Draft and other programs.
Ryan Day Delivers Message to New Ohio State Players After Spring Practice
In a clip posted by 10TV Sports reporter Adam King on X on Tuesday, Day gave a fiery speech to his new players after spring practice about earning the right to play for the Buckeyes.
He said, “You have to earn your stripes around here. You have to earn your stripes. Earn respect from your unit. That’s what you do.”
“You have to earn your stripes around here” Ryan Day addresses a lot of new faces at the first Ohio State spring practice. Welcome back college football! pic.twitter.com/C9FHtroLZB
— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) March 10, 2026
Day’s Buckeyes have one of the most grueling schedules in college football next season, including trips to face the reigning national champions, the Indiana Hoosiers, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and the USC Trojans.
In addition, they will host Big Ten behemoths, the Oregon Ducks and the Michigan Wolverines, in Columbus to round out their conference slate.
Josh Pate Questions Ohio State’s Ability to Replace Defensive Talent
During Monday’s segment of “Josh Pate’s College Football Show,” analyst Josh Pate detailed his concerns with the Buckeyes after the mass exodus of players from Columbus during the offseason.
“This is kind of the second year where Ohio State, on paper, has to replace a lot defensively,” Pate said. “I’m actually more concerned about them this year than I was last year. Matt Patricia came in and worked what on paper looked like a miracle. I’ll always trust Matt Patricia, and I trust Ryan Day.”
Pate added, “But they’ve got to hit with transfers at several of these positions, ’cause you, you have one wave of attrition, that’s one thing, but then you have a second wave right behind it. It’s (Sonny) Styles, Caleb Downs is gone, Arvell Reese is gone. It’s tough to lose guys like that and one-for-one replace them. Defensively, what is the max potential of that team?”
In the 2025 season, the Buckeyes boasted the best defense in the country, remarkably only conceding 9.3 points per game. Led by Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, and Caleb Downs, all of whom have departed for the NFL Draft process, Ohio State earned an impressive PFSN College Defense Impact score of 95.1.
