Ryan Day and Will Howard have teamed up at Ohio State for the 2024 season, and the two will face sky-high expectations in Columbus.

Coming out of the 2023 season, the Buckeyes are once again among the national title favorites after reloading the roster. Howard steps in as the likely starting quarterback while Ohio State retained key defensive pieces and added star safety Caleb Downs from Alabama.

To no surprise, Day was included in ESPN’s list of coaches with the most to prove in 2024. Such is life at Ohio State for a team that traditionally has one of the most talented rosters in the country but has lost 3 straight to Michigan and has not won the B1G since the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

That simply is not going to cut it for Ohio State, and Day will need a breakthrough season to calm the rising chatter about his job status. Here is what ESPN’s Bill Connelly had to say about Day having a lot to prove in 2024:

Few schools have signed a more high-upside set of transfers (Alabama safety Caleb Downs, Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins, quarterbacks Will Howard for the present and Julian Sayin for the future) than Ohio State. After coming up just short of their goals the past couple of years, Day and the Buckeyes appear to be going all-in this year as Michigan undergoes massive turnover. The odds of success are high, but the perils of another year of missed expectations could be awfully damning.

That group of transfers and returning talent has the Buckeyes trending up as we hit the spring. Fans can take advantage of Tradition’s Ohio sportsbooks links to follow all the line movement as we get closer to training camp.

Howard is undeniably a key part of Ohio State’s offseason, and Connelly and ESPN colleague Adam Rittenberg both listed the QB as one of the players in college football with the most to prove this season. Rittenberg pointed out Howard doesn’t need to be the reason why Ohio State wins a national title “but he can’t be the reason the Buckeyes fall short.”

Connelly echoed a similar sentiment regarding Howard, saying he felt the Buckeyes would have been “the best team in the country” during the 2023 season with a top-20 QB. Howard was on the edge of that group, finishing 22nd in Total QB last season.

We’ll see if Day and Howard can combine to breakthrough for the Buckeyes.