Ryan Day Discusses 2024 Signing Class, DL Depth, Twists, And Turns

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters on Wednesday to discuss OSU’s 2024 signing class. He went over each signee and then answered questions from the assembled media. The highlights of everything he said — and couldn’t say — can be found below.

“We have a really good class already signed.” Still waiting on some guys that may go a little bit longer into the day.
A bunch of these guys jumped in early on.
“I really feel strongly about the Armstrong twins.” Those guys led the way for their team’s success. They have developed and they are playing their best football right now.
They recognized Mylan Graham early on in the recruiting process.
Max LeBlanc is from Canada. Really talented. Came down from Canada and made the transition to a school on his own. “His film is tremendous.”
Miles Lockhart is going to start out at nickel for the defense. He fits what Jim Knowles wants.
Jaylen McClain is a position of need. Very productive safety.
Eric Mensah worked with Larry Johnson in camp. Comes from a great family. Had a good year. Played multiple positions and brings versatility.
Ian Moore jumped in early. “He’s been great.” Had a really good high school career and can move different places “inside.”
Air Noland is special in a lot of different ways. Very athletic and will be a leader of this team.
James Peoples has great change of direction. “He’s going to be a dynamic player” and make an impact next year.
Payton Pierce is a wrestler. He played quarterback for his team. Great family. Tough linebacker.
Leroy Roker is a safety they got in on late. Had a really good senior year. Been very productive.
Aaron Scott “was a huge addition” for this class. He even played QB when they needed him to. “Big-time player out of the state of Ohio.”
Garrett Stover is Cade’s cousin. Has that same mentality as a linebacker or safety.
Gabe VanSickle was a late addition. Justin Frye sees a really athletic guard who can possibly move to center. Huge upside.
Bryce West is somebody they offered early on.
Sam Williams-Dixon is a local guy with some versatility. Will start out at running back. He’s been attending a lot of practices.
Damarion Witten is listed as a tight end but he can play wide receiver. Dynamic on the perimeter.
Still waiting on a few other guys. May go later into the day or into the night.
Damarion Witten’s recruitment started early on. Ted Ginn Sr told Day early on that he could be the best receiver in the country. He’s going to have to grow into a tight end if that’s where he is going to end up. His ceiling is extremely high.
The Armstrong brothers have great work ethic. They improve year after year, week after week. They’re bigger guys with long bodies.
Is the recruiting on the offensive and defensive lines below OSU’s standards? No, they want to be the best in the country and they like who they’ve got coming in.
Are there any coaching changes being made? They will always evaluate that every season.
They watched Air Noland for a while having recruited teammate Jelani Thurman. He’s got a great approach and has a very high ceiling.
What has to happen for a true freshman QB to be able to compete to start? You don’t know until you get them in. Some guys you’ll see it early on based on what they can handle.
Day is told that Jeremiah Smith has signed. He has to pause and take a breath. He doesn’t want to speak on it until the paper work is in. His stomach has been flipping for a while.
On Bryce West, gotta give Ted Ginn, Sr. credit for how well he develops young men. Arvell Reese has developed well also. West is putting down great times in track and field.
Satisfied with the depth of the defensive line class? In their room, they want eight DEs and eight DTs, so however that happens, they’ve got to hit that number. Right now they have 83 or 84 scholarship players so they have some flexibility. “Yet to be seen” if the depth is there.
They talk about recruiting Ohio every year. Those guys need to lead the way in the program, in the locker rooms, in their apartments.
They may need the freshmen RBs to play next year. The plan is for them to play next year. They wanted to get them in early, which they are. They’ll know quickly if those guys will be able to contribute.
The best players in Ohio play at Ohio State. They know what those opportunities mean for the rest of their lives.
Is there a theme of these signees? They all want to be great. There’s nothing that can’t be done here. They want the big stage. “We’re the most-watched team in America.” You have to want to walk in a room with a bunch of great players and compete.
What factors are you evaluating with the coaches? “You’ve got to recruit your position. You’ve got to make sure your room is strong year in and year out.” The standard is to have the best room in the country. The second thing is how the coach’s room performs on the field. That’s recruiting and development. If you’re doing those things well, the production will be there. Then the last thing is what are you bringing in schematically.
How much harder is this job that it was two years ago? “I think that’s a long conversation.” The biggest thing is just that you have to adapt to the landscape. College football adapts very quickly. It is constantly changing. “We certainly all need to sit down and figure out how we can move forward in a direction that has guardrails.”
Roster management is difficult in this era. You want a team, not a bunch of individuals. You have to build something that is sustainable.
You always have contingency plans in place with the transfer portal as it relates to players leaving for the NFL. They have a board with portal targets and HS targets. The goal is to have the right 85 in the preseason.
How do you prioritize HS versus the portal? They always want to bring in HS kids. That’s how you build a sustainable program. But then you go to the portal for contingencies.
He’s not going to make announcements for the players that are opting out. He’ll allow those players to do that. Marvin Harrison and JT Tuimoloau have been at practice.
Larry Johnson is young. In terms of his approach every day, he’s active. He still wants to coach. He still has a passion for it. Does Day think he’s back next year? “Yes.”
Do you believe in program momentum? Losing a game can take a toll on you around here but they’re not going to panic and overreact. That’s easy to do in today’s day and age. “We’re not going to do that.” But when things need to be changed and addressed, you have to do that.
The guys that are closest to Columbus have to lead the way and Garrett Stover and Sam Williams-Dixon will do that.
Do you cast a wide enough net for defensive linemen? “I think so. We recruit from coast to coast.” They have a guy from Germany, Washington, and Columbus.
What is the plan to combat the negative recruiting of Larry Johnson’s age? The flip side is that he’s developed an unbelievable number of players. There is a body of work there. He has a lot of wisdom to him. Families feel comfortable with that. They know what they’re getting with Johnson. He’s working hard in recruiting. There are different challenges each year.
Do you feel like you’ve hit the number of quality defensive linemen in recruiting that you need to? “I do. I do.” They are still waiting on existing Buckeyes to make NFL decisions. They want 16 guys in that room, so that’s the number they’re looking at and they’ll know more when the juniors make their decisions.
They wish Kyle McCord nothing but the best. He’ll do well at Syracuse.
How much are they looking at the portal for a quarterback? He’s excited to see how the existing quarterbacks on the roster practice and prepare over the next couple of weeks. “And then just go from there.”
Devin Brown was very close to winning the job going into the season. He will be the starter for the Cotton Bowl. The Cotton Bowl is Brown’s game to play.
It is definitely a possibility that they could add some transfers before classes start in January. They have identified the players that they are interested in and who would be the right fits. “We’re gonna be all over it.”
Are you behind in the process of adding transfers? No. They have already had guys that have visited, but they also have a really good group of existing Buckeyes who could come back next year.
On Gabe VanSickle, he is a really good athlete. He may not be playing at a bigger school, but when you watch him “he sticks out.”
Is it harder to hold on to guys late now? “It takes twists and turns along the way. You keep swinging.” You have to keep pushing. The ultimate goal is to have the best roster in America in August. They are always going to target the best players. “We’ll continue to recruit guys all the way to the end.”
What has this day been like for you? “I mean, the first beer is gonna taste good, I can tell you that right now.” This is signing day and when you have really good players, it’s always going to come down to the wire. It’s the most competitive environment in sports.
How much uncertainty was there for you today? There are a lot of variables in place now that weren’t there in the past.
On NIL in recruiting: It’s become a bigger part of it every year.
There were some pieces that they felt they needed to get today. They didn’t get everything, but they got a lot of it. A lot of hard work put in from the staff.
Day is optimistic that “a lot of these guys” feel like there is unfinished business and an opportunity to come back and have a great team next year.
Eddrick Houston, really really excited about him. Larry Johnson worked really hard on him. He’s an impact player on day one. They identified him early as somebody who was a difference maker. Larry Johnson and Tim Walton did a great job on him.