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What Ryan Day said about Ohio State’s 2021 recruiting class
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Recruiting football players to Ohio State is a little like trying to find oil as the first-born son of a Saudi petrol sheik—the search can be something of an anticlimax.
The Buckeyes have once again netted a monster recruiting haul and dragged it up onto the banks of the Olentangy for sorting. According to 247 Sports, they have the best class in the Big Ten (no surprise there) and the 2nd ranked class nationally, trailing only the Death Star run by Lord Saban down in Tuscaloosa.
Head coach Ryan Day, now heir to this wealth of unimaginable scale, spoke with the media Monday during the early hours of the first day of the Early Signing Period, a tight window of time that already has seen the Buckeyes pile talent on top of talent for further development down the line.
Ryan Day meeting with the media now.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 16, 2020
On five-star running back TreVeyon Henderson: “As a person, he's one of the more special people I've had the opportunity to know.” Notes that Henderson is a 4.0 student. pic.twitter.com/PrVRABXoCa
Ryan Day said he thinks this year's class of Ohio players is “special.”
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 16, 2020
Day said he is “so, so fired up” that Jack Sawyer is a Buckeye, and Sawyer made a huge impact on the recruiting class as a whole.
Ryan Day said the secondary was a huge point of emphasis for the recruiting class of 2021. Ohio State signed six defensive backs this morning.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 16, 2020
Ryan Day on Mark Pantoni's impact on building the recruiting class: “This class wouldn't be where it is without Mark and his staff.”
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 16, 2020
Ryan Day on five-star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka: “Emeka's a special young man … another 4.0 student, No. 1 wide receiver in the country, culture fit and again, the fact that Emeka decided to come and be a Buckeye was huge for us.”
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 16, 2020
Ryan Day said five-star offensive lineman Donovan Jackson “just jumps off the film.” Said he “almost fell to the floor” when Jackson committed to Ohio State, as Jackson caught him by surprise during a visit.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 16, 2020
Ryan Day said he would give Greg Studrawa an A for Ohio State's offensive line recruiting class this year.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 16, 2020
Ryan Day said he thinks all three of Ohio State's offensive line signees have the versatility to play multiple positions, including offensive tackles.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 16, 2020
Is this the best recruiting class in the country?
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 16, 2020
Ryan Day: “It’s the best class in the country for Ohio State. What's the best class in the country for somebody else is not the same for us.” Says the Buckeyes look for guys with high character who want to be there.
Ryan Day said he thinks all three of Ohio State's offensive line signees have the versatility to play multiple positions, including offensive tackles.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 16, 2020
Ryan Day acknowledged he will be “anxious” going into next year's starting quarterback competition since C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller and Kyle McCord are all inexperienced, but “You recruit guys for a reason.”
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 16, 2020
Day said the thing OSU kept foremost in recruiting this class was making sure that all of the prospects fit the culture of the program.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) December 16, 2020
Day said the days of being a salesman and "closing a sale" with a recruit are gone. It's about building relationships and making sure you get the right people who match the talent/character/culture/academic.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) December 16, 2020
Day said Kyle McCord will compete for the starting job next year, assuming that Justin Fields does go to the NFL.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) December 16, 2020
Mark Schipper is a reporter, sportswriter, and aspiring novelist living in Chicago, Illinois.