Ohio State head coach Ryan Day greets fans before the game against Michigan State Oct. 5. Ohio State won 34-10. Credit: Amal Saeed | Photo Editor
First-time head coaches aren’t supposed to have a top 5 recruiting class — except maybe at Ohio State.
But even Urban Meyer’s final class came in at just No. 14 in the country, making Ryan Day’s first-year achievement that much more impressive.
Twenty-four recruits signed to Ohio State Wednesday at the start of the early signing period, but it was a big-time prospect from the previous regime that Day said helped glue the class together through the course of a coaching change.
“Paris Johnson, the No. 1 tackle in America, he’s been with us all along. He helped us in recruiting,” Day said. “He and his mom, Monica, were a huge part of this thing. I owe them everything because they’ve kind of kept this them together for us.”
Johnson, from Princeton High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, initially committed to the Buckeyes in June 2018, prior to any inkling of Meyer’s retirement.
When Day took the reins as head coach following the season, he said he had to wipe the slate clean and start anew with Ohio’s top prospect in the 2020 class. They’ve come a long way since then, and Day said the pair shared an emotional conversation Wednesday morning about finally making it to this point.
Despite Johnson’s loyalty to the program, Day said he knew other recruits would be taking a leap of faith given the program would be in new hands.
“There’s a lot of families here that jumped on board before we won a game at all this year,” Day said. “They believed in what we’re talking to these families about, my philosophies and what was going to go on, and here we are in the early signing day, undefeated playing in the national semifinals.”
Signing two five-star prospects and 13 four-stars Wednesday, it was a leap from which Ohio State has come out the beneficiary.
However, it was another coaching change that threatened to damage the elite class with the early signing period just days away. First-year co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Jeff Hafley had recruited five four-star defensive back prospects to Ohio State prior to the announcement of his new post as head coach at Boston College.
But Day said Hafley continued recruiting until the final day of the coaching staff’s recruiting trip and reached out to the prospects after he accepted the job.
Three of the five, in safety Lathan Ransom — who Day said will be as good a safety as they’ve had in a long time — cornerback Ryan Watts and safety Lejond Cavazos remained true to their commitment and signed despite Hafley’s departure.
“To get these guys here, going through the turmoil we went through with losing Jeff, it just goes to show you how much these guys love Ohio State, how much they want to be here and how much they believe in the development that goes on here,” Day said.
But the top defensive back in the class, cornerback Clark Phillips, and four-star athlete prospect Cameron Martinez have both postponed their signing days — Phillips to tomorrow, and Martinez to February.
Another Ohio State assistant, wide receivers coach Brian Hartline, had no issues with his top-flight class signing their letters of intent Wednesday.
Hartline helped haul in four of the top 15 wide receivers in the country, including the No. 2 overall prospect of the class in five-star wideout Julian Fleming, along with four-stars Gee Scott, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Mookie Cooper.
“This recruiter term rubs me the wrong way all the time,” Hartline said. “To me, it’s not a business. These are young men that just want to figure out where they want to go to school and they’re trying to find a coach they can relate to and a program where they understand the culture, and that’s all it is.”
Day said the impressive receiving class likely helped attract two four-star quarterbacks, Jack Miller and C.J. Stroud, to sign with the Buckeyes. Stroud had not formally committed to Ohio State prior to Wednesday.
Despite major Buckeye coaching changes in recent memory, Hartline may be one assistant who can develop continuity on the recruiting trail at Ohio State with Day for years to come.
“I’m very passionate about Ohio State,” Hartline said. “At this point, it’s really early, I don’t want to sound ignorant to the fact — I don’t know what would get me out of the city, frankly, unless I’m just not good.”
If this class is any indication, neither Day nor Hartline will be run out of Columbus any time soon.
