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Ryan Day dissects what he looks for when recruiting QBs to Ohio State

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

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Ryan Day knows all about running an offense and developing a quarterback. In fact, he currently presides over one of the most talent-rich QB rooms in the entire country, and he has a specific model of what he looks for in recruitment.

During Thursday’s radio show, Day was asked if he goes into recruitment looking for certain things. While the physical tools are important, the head coach of the Buckeyes believes it all starts with the intangibles and the mentality of the player.

“You want a winner, you want someone who is very, very competitive. Someone who knows how to lead people, is a good decision-maker, and then it starts getting into the skill set,” said Day about the order in which he looks at the criteria.

“You want someone who — when it’s 4th-and-2 — can get that first down… (needs to) have a great work effort and be resilient.”

The characteristic of resiliency deserved a specific explanation from Day. He explained the QB position requires a lot from a player, and a good QB must be resilient at their core.

“(QBs) work through adversity, they’re willing to put themselves out there. They’re going to get a lot of credit but they’re also going to get a lot of criticism (when things are bad),” Day explained.

Any future QBs would be wise to heed Day’s advice of what he looks for in a player. He has developed a handful of first-round QBs, including Justin Fields and CJ Stroud who are currently having strong performances this season in the NFL.

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As for this year’s team, veteran QB Will Howard is taking his chance to learn from Day in his one remaining season of eligibility to try and develop into an NFL Draft pick. Behind the former Kansas State star stands a group consisting of Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz, Air Noland and Julian Sayin, all former elite recruits look for their chance to lead the Buckeyes.

We’ll see who becomes the next star from that group, but Day has shown he knows what it takes to be a good QB and to develop a player into a great QB.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.