The pressure Ohio State’s football program faces to win in 2024 is nothing new for Ryan Day.
Expectations have reached an apex for the Buckeyes after loading up this offseason, and the heat is on Day’s team to halt a three-game losing streak against Michigan. While Day knows Ohio State enters the season aiming for a national championship, he told reporters that’s nothing new at Columbus.
“Every year, there’s urgency,” Day said Thursday after the first day of training camp (h/t On3). “You don’t think it’s important? Try losing a game at Ohio State. I say it all the time. So, it’s no different that way. But certainly, there’s a lot of guys on the team that want to be able to finish the season with some hardware, and that matters.”
Day apparently does say it a lot, as he shared a similar line at last week’s Big Ten Media Days when discussing the program’s high standards.
“You expect to win every game,” Day said. “That just is what it is, and if you don’t think that’s the case, try losing a game at Ohio State. I mean, you’re expected to win them all. So that’s not new.”
Ohio State has gone 11-2 in each of the past three seasons and fell short of last year’s four-team College Football Playoff following another loss to its Big Ten nemesis. Day responded by adding quarterback Will Howard, running back Quinshon Judkins, and safety Caleb Downs through the transfer portal.
On Thursday, Day called it “a great time to be a Buckeye” and said the team is “well-positioned” to meet its lofty goals this season.
“There’s a great energy around this team,” Day said. “They know what they want. There’s an urgency, there’s a purpose, and they’ve come together. You can just see it.”
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