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Feb. 12—COLUMBUS — Count Ryan Day among those who believe Ohio State is loaded for bear in 2024.
And Ducks.
And Longhorns.
Bulldogs? Wolverines?
Yes, all of them and more.
“I do,” was his two-word reply when Day was asked if he felt his Ohio State football roster is good enough to win the national championship.
Day has shared such sentiment in the past, including 2020 when quarterback Justin Fields headlined a group of returning veterans from a team that went 13-1 in 2019, losing a one-score game to Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
The Buckeyes beat the Tigers the following year but ran into a buzzsaw Alabama squad in the National Championship Game then had 10 players selected in the NFL Draft.
Ohio State has not won the Big Ten or a playoff game since, but figuring out the source of Day’s optimism is not difficult.
He is returning almost everyone from a top 10 defense, the Big Ten’s leading rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver plus four starters on the offensive line.
Day also added five possible starters via the transfer portal in quarterback Will Howard, running back Quinshon Judkins, center Seth McLaughlin, tight end Will Kacmarek and safety Caleb Downs.
The first time they met with reporters in Columbus, every member of the latter group expressed a desire to win and a belief it can happen leading them to OSU, but now comes the hard part: Actually doing it.
“As a leader, it’s your job to put a plan together and create a vision of what it could look like,” Day said. “And it started with these guys deciding to come back.”
He indicated the first to do that were defensive backs Lathan Ransom, a senior who is using his extra year of eligibility from the COVID-19 pandemic, and Denzel Burke, a junior three-year starter.
After that, junior defensive end Jack Sawyer started talking about making it a movement.
“‘Hey,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ohio-states-ryan-day-embracing-151100057.html
Author : Dayton Daily News, Ohio
Publish date : 2024-02-12 15:11:00
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