Ryan Day took the Buckeyes to the highest national prominence after a decade. Thanks to a bounce from the humiliating Michigan loss in the midseason. The backlash, the repeated trolls, and those death threats doubled the Ohio State head coach’s urge to clinch the prize at any cost. But the gap between a thought full of adrenaline and the discipline and edge needed to make it happen isn’t very sweet to surpass. It requires courage, determination, grit, and perhaps the most crucial factor: a roster brimming with talent. However, this talent richness can also pressure you to exceed expectations. Now, if you read pressure as a privilege, maybe, just maybe, you can use it against the veteran coach.

Day stockpiled talents, not without paying a price, literally. We are not talking about the obvious increased responsibility to produce a breakout year out of your assets. The Ohio State athletic director, Ross Bjork, revealed that they spent over a whopping $20 million to build the championship roster. That turned out to be an impressive achievement in their journey to winning the trophy despite challenges. But does it cast any doubt on Day’s capability as a coach? Well, a subject of deep debate. But that’s a whole lot of work. Throwing a casual one-liner jab amidst a discussion seemed easier to former NFL head coach-turned-analyst Jon Gruden.

The former Raiders coach was busy explaining the elite draft stock of the Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson. He was singing praise for making zero fumbles in his collegiate career and how his film against the breakout Penn State game tagged him as a great blitz pickup. He keeps him at No. 4 in the mock draft after Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton, and Quinshon Judkins. All of a sudden, the conversation took a pear shape, and Jon ended up throwing a hard jab at Coach Ryan Day. “I wish I coached at Ohio State, Hell! I could be a good coach,” the draft guru made the bombshell claim.

There is no easy way to judge his claim to be hollow, but having talent, certainly, isn’t the end of your coaching endeavor. You can have money, a lot of money, and a potential edge over the competitors in swooping talent in the current NIL-driven market. That’s all legit. But remember when Nick Saban said, “If you don’t pay the right guys, you’ll be s— out of luck.”

Exactly so. What would you do with a slew of lemons if you didn’t know how to make lemonade? Bringing in talent might be a bit of money and luck (the rest is effort, too) for coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes. Retaining them, holding them to their best potential, and, in the end, producing the championship performance out of them needs strategy and rigorous work. Love him or hate him. You can’t ignore the facts. If you still do, believe that Urban Meyer sang on the same note, even if it came wrapped in a rat-poison narrative.

The former Buckeyes coaches held the 2024 Buckeyes roster in great esteem

Just ahead of the 2024 season peak, the former Buckeyes head coach praised the Ohio State and the Buckeyes. “As of now, this is one of the most talented rosters in the last decade, maybe ever,” former Buckeye coach Urban Meyer told Adam King of 10TV in Columbus. “I mean, that’s a big statement. They’ve got to play. But you look at the quality of athletes at every position. … I’ve never seen anything like it.”

For those who are unversed in what rat poison means, it’s straight and simple. As per Nick Saban, the theory of weakening the focus of your opponent by serving them an ounce of sweet words is what is called the rat poisoning method. But even if we believe that Meyer’s words were an evil try-to-love bomb, it turned out to be real when the Buckeyes flexed their championship squad on the podium at Mercedes Benz Stadium on the 20th of January.

Also, it’s not just Meyer. The former national champion-winning Buckeyes coach, Jim Tressel, also said Ryan Day and Ohio State did a great job of nailing talent to their 2024 roster. You have later tossed these claims in your real-time experience watching guys like Will Howard, Caleb Downs, Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, and Henderson perform in the season. Do you still think that the jab makes any sense? Get yourself a good basic rule book for college football and feed your senses!