Well, everybody puts the college football program on a pedestal, who brings home the Natty. But nobody talks about the pressure that comes with it. By now, the Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day must have lost his goodnight’s sleep. After all, that man has given his blood, sweat, and tears to grab the title and save his own job. But now that they come off as the defending champions in the 2025 season, the universe seems to be plotting against him. Several cracks appear in several areas, all thanks to the transfer portal. As a college football analyst landed a reality check for Day’s 2025 Natty dreams, the 2026 class recruiting race is already giving the Ohio State head coach a tough time. 

The year 2024 will be etched in the memories of the Ohio State fans for a long time. More than the fans, it will be memorable for Day. After all, he had witnessed the darkest side of college football. They had a 14-2 season. So, they had won the majority of the games. Out of the two misses, they lost one to their archrivals, the Michigan Wolverines. The 10-13 mishap made the fans pounce with ‘Fire Ryan Day’ attacks. So much so, that even his family was not spared. But somehow, Day managed to put out the fire.

So, moving into the 2025 season, he knows what might be in store for him if he loses the grip of the Natty. This might add to the pressure. But the surrounding factors are more concerning. Day has lost many key weapons who were part of his 2024 National Championship team. 

On April 21, analyst Blake Ruffino addressed the elephant in the room on The Ruffino & Joe Show-Weekly College Football podcast. He stated, “There are teams in college football when you recruit the way Ohio State does. You don’t rebuild, you reload. Ohio State is one of those teams.” As per On3’s 2024 Industry Ranking football Team Recruiting Rankings, Day’s Buckeyes held the No.4 rank. They had two 5-stars, fourteen 4-stars, and six 3-stars. Even having such a strong team, they had many flaws last season. Now, 2025 is going to be extra tough for the Buckeyes. As Ruffino landed a reality check, “They are losing two running backs, losing two EDGE guys, losing a lot of DBs, the problem that I have with them is who’s been replaced there.” 

The ones who have parted ways are the running backs duo Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. And the list continues with defensive ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau, and so on. On that note, Ruffino pointed out, “The problem that I have with them is who’s been replaced there.” But it’s not that Coach Day is sitting idle. He and the Buckeyes caught some big fish from the portal, like they signed former Minnesota offensive lineman Phillip Daniels and Rice transfer left tackle Ethan Onianwa.

So, what’s the current status of Day’s Ohio State? The biggest question is whether or not they would make it to the Natty race or not. To which Ruffino shared his take, “I look at them in such a unique perspective because I don’t know if they can win a national title. I think they can win the Big 10, though, they are that talented.”

But still, there is something that is pulling the analyst back. As he stated, “Now the things that scare me are this, you replacing everything with two coordinators, and as high as I am on Ohio State, I am very interested to see how all of that replacement, how do you respond for something like that?” The 2025 season came with a double blow as Ohio State lost both of their defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Here comes another big dilemma in Columbus.       

Ryan Day is already feeling the 2026 recruiting battle heat 

Even being the defending champions, Day and Co. could not mark themselves safe from the quarterback dilemma. The big trio – Julian Sayin, Tavien St. Clair, and Lincoln Kienholz is reigning the narrative. While they are yet to get clarity in the 2025 picture, the 2026 plot is already thickening…

Both Derek Zammit and Jett Thomalla, who were among Ohio State’s targets, announced commitments to Washington and Iowa State. On top of that, Day’s program’s seat gets hotter with high chances of losing top quarterback target, Nathan Bernhard, to archrivals, Michigan. Turns out that one factor [read: player] comes off as the villain in the Buckeyes’ recruiting struggle.

That’s none other than Day’s freshman St.Clair. The 6-foot-4 five-star player, who joined Ohio State this year, is viewed as the program’s future cornerstone. In that case, the waiting time for the recruits to gain the spotlight will be too long. St. Clair got his first taste of the spotlight in the spring game on April 12. The young chap turned heads, showing some serious arm talent. His best feat came up with, going 11-of-15 for 116 yards paired with a sweet touchdown pass to Phillip Bell. But not to forget, he showed some rookie jitters too, while tossing two picks early. Now, if Ryan Day feels that 2026 is a long way to go, and his 2025 roster looks all sorted, here comes another reality check. 

Much like Blake Ruffino, this time, former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer dropped a take that Buckeyes fans won’t love. A 10-win season for the Buckeyes is a bold prediction, but to be fair, they only won 10 games in the regular season. Meyer came up with a bitter truth that might not be easy to swallow. “I think they’ve recruited at a whole different level than anyone else in college football. They had a good spring game. They love their quarterback, Julian Sayin… but I’ve got them at 10 wins.” Back in 2024, Ryan Day turned the tables at the eleventh hour—who’s to say he can’t do it again?