The last time Ohio State won the national championship was 10 years ago with Cardale Jones as their starting quarterback.
Fast forward to now and the pressure is on the Buckeyes heading into Saturday’s season opener. After three straight years of losing to Michigan and falling short of winning any Big Ten or national championships, anything less than finishing the job will feel unacceptable.
On Monday, ESPN’s Jake Trotter published a story on Ohio State’s reported $20 million “national championship or bust” roster. Expectations are through the roof, but Jones believes this year’s Buckeyes are up for the task.
More notably, he Is confident that Day is the coach who can get them to the finish line.
“As a fan, Buckeye Nation has high expectations each year. I can promise you, no one wants to win more than the guys in The Woody! One thing you can’t deny, this staffs ability to recruit, develop, and coach! And we have the right guy for it all!” Jones tweeted Monday evening.
Day has taken heat from all corners over the last few years, including from his own fan base.
Jones isn’t the only prominent figure to defend the head coach before his sixth season in charge though.
“I personally think Ryan Day is a really good coach and I think he’ll do a really good job with his roster…” Nick Saban said over the weekend. “If he has the best roster – who got the roster there? That counts for something. That means something.
“The fans should appreciate the fact that they have one of the best teams in the country and they do their part to cheer the guy on in a positive way and create a lot of positive energy for the players.”
Ohio State will open its 2024 season against Akron on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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