Former Ohio State football starter clears the air about a comment Ryan Day made that’s been catching pushback
Ryan Day made a strong statement about the Ohio State football program and now one of his former players has stepped in to fully flesh out what the Buckeyes’ head coach means.
Ohio State football is the most consistent college football program over the past couple of decades and much of the success is due to the strength of the environment that’s been built. From Jim Tressel to Urban Meyer and then to Ryan Day, Ohio State is on a multi-decade run of always being in the mix to win it all.
Not every program can relate to Ohio State and not everyone can understand how the program operated. Day recently made a strong statement on former Buckeye Cam Heyward’s podcast that not everyone could understand.
Ryan Day’s statement is all about the expectation and goal a player should have in Columbus
“When you come here, you’re coming here to be a first- or second-round pick, regardless of your position,” Day said. “That’s it. Just like if we don’t win games and championships, they’re going to find a new coach. Well, if you’re not a first- or second-rounder, then this probably isn’t the right place for you. That’s just the reality of it.”
The immediate pushback was, well Ohio’s State produces players who aren’t drafted in the first two rounds. Jack Sawyer and Will Howard are examples in the last draft. Day’s statement shouldn’t be taken at face value because he was talking about the approach.
Former Buckeyes starter says the quiet part out loud about Coach Day’s statement
Former Ohio State running back turned linebacker Steele Chambers took to X to tell what Day really meant.
“He’s talking about a recruit’s mindset coming in,” Chambers posted on X. “If you commit to Ohio State, your dream is to be a first-rounder. I thought I’d come in as a freshman and split carries with JK Dobbins…… then I got my ass kicked, switched positions, and found my role.”
Chambers pointed out that the mindset has to be that you’re coming to Ohio State to become a high draft pick at the next level because it should be the early goal. But sometimes it doesn’t work out as you expect, as Chambers alluded to his early time at Ohio State when he played in nine games as a running back between 2019 and 2020.
By 2021, Chambers had made the switch to linebacker and found his way as a regular contributor with 47 tackles. The former Buckeye racked up 77 and 83 tackles over each of the next two seasons to round out his five-year college career.
Day’s statement is spot on, even if it wasn’t the easiest to digest right off the bat. Ohio State football recruits players with such a mindset, and if it doesn’t go to plan then they end up out of the program, or they sign through adversity and are better for it. Simple.
