Spring Practice Insider: Ryan Day Recaps Day One For Buckeyes

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters following the first spring practice of 2025. The Buckeyes were on the indoor for a two-hour practice on Monday as they begin the next phase in their 2025 season. Day answered questions about his personnel, what he saw on day one, the quarterback battle, and more. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

Is the QB race still wide open? “Right now we’re going to roll those guys like we did last year.” Today was about getting the guys moving around. Wednesday will ramp it up a bit, as will Friday. They’re going to try to do as much as they can for the Spring Game, even though they’re calling it a “showcase.”
Who do you lean on now that you are defending national champions? He and Mickey Marotti showed the leadership group a presentation and got their feedback. The feedback was that they need to reinforce the culture and also rebuild the culture because there are so many young players on the team. The seniors embraced the early-enrollee freshmen who were with the team during the playoffs. They introduced the freshmen to the culture. The leaders of this team wants to take some of the national championship stuff down because that was last year’s team and this year’s team hasn’t won anything.
Former Buckeye special teamer and safety Nate Ebner was out there helping the team. He is transitioning to a coach and he’s a benefit to the team. He understands the culture here.
They are looking at switching the safeties around this spring, having them play both boundary and field. They have to figure out the best way to use their guys.
The freshmen are going to be much further along in August than they are now.
Austin Siereveld moving to left tackle is about having versatility. They need guys who can play multiple positions. “We want to be able to teach guys in dual roles” now that the roster is going to 105. That’s not just on the offensive line. That’s other positions as well. Like maybe Brandon Inniss taking some handoffs out of the backfield like Xavier Johnson did in the past. You have to have versatility on the roster. They have seen Austin Siereveld play guard. They want to see Luke Montgomery at center. Tegra Tshabola will move around a bit as well.
How are you different this year? He has a book picked out for the team about leadership. It’s something they haven’t done before but it’s going to be a good project for the guys. Leadership is the backbone of the program. Leaders have to bring people with them. “Your voice has to be heard.”
They had a team meeting the day of the championship celebration where Day had all of the departing seniors who were all sitting in the front row of the team room get up and move to the back of the room and he asked the juniors to take those seats as a sort of ceremony of leadership, showing that they were now going to have to step up.
CJ Hicks has a great first step off the edge. He’s powerful for somebody who isn’t as big as some of the defensive ends they’ve had. He can get skinny around a pass blocker.
Does the QB competition ever have to go into fall camp? Not necessarily, but he’s not felt like a QB has won it in the spring since he’s been here. There is a lot of football to be played in August. Think about where Will Howard was at this point last year. He made a huge jump. They try not to make hasty decisions, but if somebody is that much further ahead, then they’re that much further ahead.
What do you want the mindset of your quarterbacks to be? Win the job or get better? There’s no much that comes with winning the job. “To me, it’s the process of understanding how to get better.” A lot of that has to do with their preparation. The quarterback has to be the hardest-working guy in the building.
Are there freshmen who are physically standing out now? “Yeah, I’m impressed with the way these guys work.” There are a bunch who can have an impact this year, at all positions. “If guys deserve to play, we’re going to play them.”
How jarring was it to walk out there today and not see those seniors? It happens every year. When spring starts, you have to start over. It begins with mat drills as well. “We’re on to the next year now.” “It is a transition for sure.”
On the RB battle: James Peoples has been here so he’s going to have to step up. He knows the offense. CJ Donaldson has played more but doesn’t know about Ohio State. “I’m excited to see how that looks.” He played scout team for the Buckeyes in the playoffs. But it will be interesting to see Bo Jackson, Turbo Rogers in the summer, Sam Williams-Dixon, and Isaiah West. There are some good options. Peoples is having a great offseason.
On adding Ethan Onianwa: “I thought it was a very good get.” When you lose two tackles to the portal, it was important to add tackles for the depth of the room. It’s been exciting to see Onianwa and Phillip Daniels works. Onianwa has already changed his body, so that’s good. It’s important to have the right fit from the portal. They did that last year and they’ve done it again this year. Onianwa will start out at left tackle, then they’ll go from there.
How involved are you with the defense right now? “It’s everybody involved. The whole defensive staff, myself.”
On Matt Patricia: You love being around smart guys and he’s very smart. Has a lot of credibility when he speaks.
“I’m definitely more relaxed (than a couple of months ago), but that doesn’t change the approach.” Some days you wake up and you forgot you won it because you have another season to go. Winning a national championship just allows them another chance to impact young people. But it’s good to have a certain level of testimony to use in recruiting.
Sonny Styles is finding his voice. He is speaking up a lot. “Just a stud in all areas.” Will ask a tough question when he needs to, and that starts with his family. Being a Buckeye means something. “He is certainly one of the biggest leaders on the team.”
This is a much younger QB group, how do you handle that? Will Howard got the benefit of the doubt last year because he had done a lot before he got to Ohio State. When you’re a young QB, you have to do it every day because you don’t have a body of work to fall back on. There is no benefit of the doubt because none of these guys have won a Big XII championship like Will Howard did.
On recruiting impact this spring: The energy in the WHAC is great right now. “We take a lot of pride in developing the most elite players in the entire world.” It’s one thing to put it on social media, but it’s another thing to be here and walk among them. Ohio State is not for everybody. It might be too much for some people. Sometimes it takes care of itself. You have to want to be at Ohio State. Some people gravitate towards it, like Jeremiah Smith. He wanted to be around this. Every day you walk on this field, it’s a war. You have to compete for your job every single day. Also, families want to be around this kind of family atmosphere. He wants parents around the team and other parents. They’re not trying to hide any experiences here. If you have to talk somebody into coming to your school and things don’t go well, they’re leaving. It’s still about relationships and choosing Ohio State for the right reasons.