Ryan Day Supports Son RJ Before Ohio State Faces Big Ten Challenges

Ohio State coach Ryan Day supported his son RJ Day during St. Francis DeSales Senior Night in Columbus on Oct. 9, 2026, before returning to prepare the No. 5 Buckeyes for Maryland and address ongoing special teams concerns.

RJ Day led St. Francis DeSales to a 28-20 win over St. Charles, completing 13 of 17 passes for 192 yards and four touchdowns, according to USA TODAY. The victory moved the Stallions to 6-2.

RJ Day, a three-star quarterback prospect in the 2027 class, has committed to Northwestern after setting St. Francis DeSales career records with 5,714 passing yards and 54 touchdowns, according to sports.yahoo.com.

Ohio State reporter Blake T. Biscardi highlighted Ryan Day's family moment at the senior event.

"Tonight, coach Ryan Day gets to be just Dad, as his son RJ celebrates Senior Night for St. Francis DeSales," said Blake T. Biscardi, Ohio State reporter.

Biscardi also noted that RJ Day plans to continue his football career in the Big Ten at Northwestern after choosing the Wildcats.

"RJ Day will continue his athletic career at Northwestern next Fall," said Blake T. Biscardi, Ohio State reporter.

Ryan Day later discussed Ohio State's special teams performance after missed field goals, return issues and penalties remained concerns early in the season.

"I don’t think I can sit here and say that we’ve improved in special teams. We need to play better and that’s everybody included. It’s not just Rob. Rob is the coordinator, so he’s in charge, but I’m in every meeting, the coaches are in every meeting, and we need to make sure that we’re getting better production out of the special teams," said Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach.

The Buckeyes ranked 20th in special teams efficiency in 2023, 47th in 2024 and 67th last season before falling to 100th through five games this season, according to cleveland.com.

"When we look at the consistency of kicking field goals, not good enough," said Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach.

Day also called for improvement across other special teams areas, including returns and field position decisions.

"When we look at our return yards we need to be better just across the board, and we have an opportunity to pooch the ball inside the 10-yard line that has to get done," said Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach.

He said the entire program must improve rather than placing responsibility only on special teams coordinator Robbie Discher.

"It’s a challenge to everybody in the program. We’ve got to get better in all four phases of special teams," said Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach.

Ohio State had also prepared new pressure situations in practice as the coaching staff searched for consistency from the unit.

"I think we gotta look into everything and try to figure out different ways in practice to apply more pressure. I think we’ve done that. We’ve looked into it, we’ve made changes.

I think that everybody has to feel pressure. There’s no question. What we’ve done hasn’t worked, so we’ve got to continue to figure out ways to get it better," said Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach.

Previously asked whether he trusted the special teams unit, Day answered affirmatively while expecting improved execution.

"Yes," said Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach.

Day said Ohio State still believes its kickers can deliver in important situations as the season continues.

"I do think we have guys that can kick field goals and they’ve shown that they can do that, but it’s got to be consistent. It’s got to be in big spots. You ultimately fall to the level of your training, but we have to keep looking and uncover all stones to get this thing addressed because we know it’s gonna come down to one of these kicks again that we gotta make," said Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach.