ryanday.png
Getty Images

Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Monday he'll assume the play-calling role offensively for the No. 2 Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff. Outgoing offensive coordinator Brian Hartline will focus on the wide receivers after accepting the head coaching position at South Florida earlier this month.

Day has extensive play-calling experience as the program's former OC under Urban Meyer and last handled calling plays exclusively as Ohio State's head coach during the Buckeyes' 42-41 loss to Georgia in the 2022 Peach Bowl semifinal.

"It's such a strange calendar and the timing is brutal, but he's handled it really well," Day said. "As we move forward, he's coaching the receivers. It's a lot on his plate to manage. We're kind of taking it day to day. Going into the game, it'll be a group effort. (Tight ends coach) Keenan (Bailey) will be very much involved. Everybody will be involved with the play-calling ... ultimately it'll be my decision on the calls that go into this game. Kind of wanted to take that off Brian's plate going into the playoffs."

Day's aggressive style led to 348 yards passing and four touchdowns from future first-round pick C.J. Stroud during that monster effort a couple years ago against one of the nations' top-rated defenses. The Buckeyes toned down the tempo and explosiveness a bit in 2023 with Hartline's hand in the play-calling under a more collaborative plan. In his one season as the play-caller last year, Chip Kelly helped the program win a national championship with his offensive acumen.

Despite not calling plays in two years for the Buckeyes, Day has always accepted responsibility for his team's offensive production -- or lack thereof in certain spots. Following last season's loss to Michigan, Day pointed to schematic issues, coaching and game-planning for the Buckeyes' struggles in the red zone.

Under the direction of Hartline in 2025, Ohio State ranked 17th nationally in scoring offense (34.9 points per game) while redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin finished fourth in Heisman voting. Entering the Cotton Bowl quarterfinals against Miami, Sayin has thrown for 3,323 yards and 31 touchdowns as one of the nation's most efficient passers.

Ohio State's offense was predicated this season on getting the ball out quickly to the perimeter thanks to a bevy of future first-round talent at the wideout position along with tight end Max Klare.

Last season's offensive attack was considerably more balanced considering the Buckeyes were graced with a pair of 1,000-yard rushers (TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins) and hadn't yet unleashed Jeremiah Smith heading into the postseason.

Previously when Day has handled Ohio State's play-calling, the Buckeyes were more pass-centric. From 2017 through the 2022 season, Ohio State's starting quarterback ranked among the national leaders in passing and touchdowns. Day has helped develop several high-end prospects at the position, including Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields, Stroud and Kyle McCord prior to stepping away from exclusive play-calling.

Day called plays his first four seasons as coach before dividing up that responsibility.

Ohio State's offense with Ryan Day as play-caller


Scoring offense

Total offense

Passing offense

Rushing offense 

2018

42.4 PPG (8th nationally)

535.6 YPG (2nd)

364.3 YPG (2nd)

171.3 YPG (63rd)

2019*

46.9 PPG (3rd)

529.9 YPG (4th)

263.1 YPG (36th)

266.8 YPG (5th)

2020*

41 PPG (11th)

519.4 YPG (7th)

262.5 YPG (37th)

256.9 YPG (8th)

2021*

45.7 PPG (1st)

561.2 YPG (1st)

380.9 YPG (3rd)

180.3 YPG (47th)

2022*

44.2 PPG (2nd)

490.7 YPG (9th)

298.2 YPG (14th)

193.4 YPG (32nd)

Day said this offseason that Ohio State's offense has never changed, despite varying play-callers over the last couple of seasons. He said he took Nick Saban's adaptive approach, but wanted to ensure annual continuity no matter who was directing that unit from the sideline.

"You know, Chip brought in his own ideas, but we tried to keep the offense the offense," Day said in July. "And that was one of the things that he and I sat down and talked about on the front end, that this is going to be the Ohio State offense. There's certain things that you like to do that we're going to embrace.

"I knew that, you know, Chip may not be here for very long, and that was part of the understanding when he came in. But when he left, we can't just all of a sudden, you know, have a whole new offense."

Now, Day can get back to the basics that made him one of the game's best previously in his tenure with the Buckeyes. And that's pressuring opposing defenses through the air while trying to control tempo.

Given Ohio State's next opponent following Miami's dominant performance at Texas A&M, Day's got his work cut out for him.