Ask Farrell: Can Ryan Day really recruit on par with Urban Meyer?
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One of the qualities that made Urban Meyer such a phenomenal coach was that he was also a fantastic recruiter. He had the ability to go anywhere to get anybody, whether it was at Florida or later in his career at Ohio State.
One look up and down Ohio State’s roster makes that clear, whether Meyer had a hand in most of these players coming to the Buckeyes or now with first-year coach Ryan Day in charge also playing a major role.
Star quarterback Justin Fields is from Georgia. Texas is well-represented with Jeffrey Okudah, J.K. Dobbins, Garrett Wilson and Baron Browning. There is a strong contingent from Florida, including Damon Arnette, Binjimen Victor, Shaun Wade and Tyreke Johnson.
Ohio State went to Arkansas for top receiver K.J. Hill. To California for receiver Chris Olave and offensive lineman Wyatt Davis. To Tennessee for running back Master Teague and others. The Buckeyes do well in Missouri and in the Mid-Atlantic, and they got star defensive end Chase Young out of Maryland.
They’ve gone to Hawaii and Utah and Idaho for players on the roster.
With Meyer gone now, the question becomes whether Day can continue this recruiting success? Meyer was arguably the best-ever head coach recruiter because he not only sold a program and a school but a vision for how each player was going to shine in football and later in life.
A lot of elite prospects bought in over the years.
Maybe even more than the incredible success Day is following at Ohio State is the pressure to recruit at the highest level possible. It’s nearly an impossible ask.
Day and the entire Ohio State staff are recruiting extraordinarily well, though, with the third-ranked class nationally in the team recruiting rankings, led by five-star commitments Julian Fleming and Paris Johnson Jr., the top receiver and offensive tackle in the 2020 class, respectively.
There are 13 four-stars in the Ohio State class.
FARRELL'S TAKE
We ask Rivals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell if Day can keep Ohio State recruiting at a level seen under Meyer, or if there must be an expected amount of slippage with Day now in charge?
“I don’t see things changing at all at Ohio State when it comes to local and nationally recruiting. I’ve known and followed Day at many places, and I can tell you he’s an elite recruiter who has many of the traits Meyer had. He learned under Meyer when he was at Florida and then again at Ohio State and he takes a similar approach. Trust me, Ohio State recruiting will continue to be elite.”