by It’s been a good past few days for Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.
Following a rather underwhelming 2023 season that ended with back-to-back losses to Michigan and Missouri, Day needed to make some big changes.
Firing special teams coordinator Parker Fleming, who the Buckeye faithful desperately wanted out of Columbus, on Wednesday was a great start. Soon after, Ryan Day made further progress by hiring former Indiana defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri to become the new safeties coach.
On the player front, one of the top wide receivers in the country in Emeka Egbuka announced his return to Columbus yesterday. This was rather surprising to some as Egbuka was projected to be a first round pick this season, but it turns out to be a rather wise choice considering the amount of elite receivers declaring for the draft this year. After replacing Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the starting slot receiver in 2022, he became just the ninth 1,000-yard receiver in school history. And while he nursed an injury for a fraction of the season, Egbuka is out to prove even more in his senior campaign.
This, of course, is great news for recently signed former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard, as the two are slated to be one of the best QB-WR duos in college football come September. Let’s also not forget that the Buckeyes just signed All-SEC and Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins on Tuesday as well.
In the trenches, top offensive lineman and All-Big 10 guard Donovan Jackson also said he will return for an additional year. A future first round pick, Jackson will be alongside center Seth McLaughlin, who transferred in from Alabama earlier this week.
These are five elite pieces that can help lead this team to a deep playoff run on offense alone.
Defensively, star cornerback Denzel Burke announced yesterday that he is returning next season too. Burke is the Buckeyes’ top defensive back and was a borderline first round pick this season. He was a huge reason why the Ohio State secondary ranked first in the country in opponent yards per pass and opponent pass yards per game, respectively.
The Buckeyes are ALSO getting another cornerback to return in Jordan Hancock, who is another future early round draft selection.
Returning such valuable production and making necessary coaching changes is a huge win for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State is going to be one of the most complete teams in the nation next season, which is encouraging for a program that has been criticized for its recent “Michigan problem” and a lack of national titles in previous years. It’s now clear that Day is getting his players to truly buy in and have a chip on their shoulder ahead of what will be a big redemption year for the Buckeyes in 2024.
