Ryan Day to evaluate Ohio State assistant coaches after Cotton Bowl

Ohio State is the No. 7-ranked team in the country, on Wednesday completed the No. 4-ranked high school signing class, highlighted by the No. 1 overall player in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, and yet the feeling around Columbus is anything but celebratory.

Ryan Day is 39-3 in Big Ten games as Ohio State's head coach and yet the three matters every bit as much, if not more, than the 39. That's the standard Ohio State accepts and embraces. That's life in the Woody Hayes Athletic Complex until Nov. 30, 2024.

And so during his signing day press conference on Wednesday, Day did not deny that he could make staff changes following the Buckeyes' date with No. 9 Missouri in the Cotton Bowl next Friday night.

And when evaluation time comes, the first criteria Day will look at is recruiting.

"The first thing is recruiting. That's the No. 1 thing. You've got to recruit your position. It's your job. You're the head coach of your position. You've got to make sure that room is strong, year in and year out. When you're at Ohio State and you're coaching the wide receivers, it should be Wide Receiver U. It should be Linebacker U, because this is the best place in the country," Day said. 

"The second thing is how they perform on the field. What type of production are you getting out of your unit? 

"The last thing is, what are you bringing schematically to the table? Are you putting your guys in a situation to be successful? That's our job as coaches."

And speaking of the importance of recruiting, Smith signed his letter of intent while Day was at the podium. Smith was committed to the Buckeyes for months but took longer than Buckeye Nation would have liked to get his signature in amid late pressure from Miami.

As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.