Spring football roundups: Ryan Day's reload
Ohio State is facing a massive talent drain and a need to adjust. Can Ryan Day pivot the program into position to stay on top?
If you’re a regular here you know about my space force theory.
The game of football is disproportionally impacted by four key positions who routinely face 1-on-1, high leverage matchups in space. The left tackle, the edge rusher, the deep threat wideout, and the man cornerback.
Beyond those, I’ll admit that defensive tackle is an extremely important position as well. If you’re not solid there, you can’t force any kind of stalemate in the trenches. If there’s no stalemate in the trenches, then your ability to win in space becomes essential just to hang on, much less win. Defensive tackle is also uniquely important, as opposed to guard, linebacker, etc, because it’s hard to find good defensive tackles due to the scarcity of 280+ pound true athletes. Bill Parcells believed in prioritizing such players in the draft and his rationale was called “planet theory.” Between planets and space force, you have the theoretical framework for elite roster construction.
This is all super relevant for the 2023 Ohio State Buckeyes, who are waving goodbye to the following players exiting the program for the NFL Draft.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud
Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Left tackle Paris Johnson, Jr
Right tackle Dawand Jones
Edge Zach Harrison
Cornerback Cameron Brown
Center Luke Wypler
Safety Ronnie Hickman
Defensive tackle Taron Vincent
Nickel Tanner McCalister
I just listed five players who could qualify for the space force as well as a number of other highly important players like their quarterback, who might go as high as no. 1 overall.
Ryan “3rd base” Day inherited an absolute national recruiting machine from Urban Meyer along with a topnotch staff and deep roster. Thus far he’s parlayed it into a 45-6 record overall, a 1-2 record against rival Michigan, two Big 10 Championships, and a 1-3 record in the playoffs.
The 2022 NFL Draft claimed six Buckeyes after the 2021 and 2020 Drafts each took 10. This draft will claim something more like 10, which obviously presents challenges. Can Ohio State keep reloading or are they at risk of starting to slide?