After claiming the title last season in NCAAF, the Ohio State Buckeyes will look to repeat the achievement this year. Ryan Day knows he has a tough road ahead due to the significant losses his team endured in recent weeks, which is why he made it clear just how important the Transfer Portal will be in these circumstances.
The successful head coach of the Buckeyes, in recent statements to the press, emphasized how crucial it is to have the opportunity to bring in players twice during the season, especially since his team was one of the two programs that competed in the National Championship game.
“For us, if we didn’t have the second transfer portal window, it’s very, very difficult,” Day said. “We’re trying to make decisions about next year, yet our year isn’t even done yet. So that affects your current roster, and it’s just messy. I think you’ve gotta have two portals unless you’re finishing the season sooner. But if you’re finishing the season on Jan. 20, you can’t have just one portal window.”
The exodus of players at Ohio State could pose a major headache for its head coach, who is looking to reinforce his roster in the best way possible in order to make another push for the championship.
Ryan Day reflects on the schedule
The fact that they competed until the final day of the last NCAAF season means the Buckeyes have less time for rest and preparation for what’s ahead. Regarding this, Ryan Day shared his thoughts on the time his team has to prepare for the upcoming season.
“I think the first thing is, I think we need to look at the calendar,” Day told Joel Klatt on his show Monday. “Starting a new semester for two weeks, and still playing the last season doesn’t really make much sense at all for a lot of reasons. I’m not going to get into all those reasons right now, but we need to take a hard look at that.”
Although the coach refrained from giving further explanations on the matter, his dissatisfaction with the schedule was evident. It will be a matter of making the most of the available time to prepare for the season and maximizing every practice session leading up to the start of the competition.