Former Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer gives Ryan Day perfect advice for 2026 season

Former Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer gives Ryan Day perfect advice for 2026 season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The college football off-season officially began following Monday night’s national title game between the Indiana Hoosiers and Miami Hurricanes. For the 2024-25 national champion Ohio State Buckeyes, though, it was an underwhelming conclusion as they lost in the Cotton Bowl to the Hurricanes to end all hope of a repeat title opportunity.

Despite the underwhelming finish, former Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer has seen a reinvigorated Ryan Day and fully anticipates this fall being much different.

“I actually talked to Coach Day about that yesterday,” Meyer said on “The Triple Option” podcast. “We talked about it before the [national title] game and he mentioned that. That everyone’s talking about it – how do we get a locker room of grown ass men that have been through it?” Meyer said. “Coaching that 21-year-old is a much different cry from coaching that 18-year-old. You’ve got a grown ass man with experience that understands the game.”

Meyer said he envisions Day’s team being tougher, especially with the starpower it has returning offensively.

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“I think the template has all been set now, with the Big Ten winning three years in a row [with the] most mature, veteran teams,” Meyer said. “Every team average age is what — someone said they were about the same age as NFL teams. … The average experience was almost four years; someone threw that at me yesterday as well. The Wolverines did it, the Buckeyes did it.”

Given that experience is a key attribute, Meyer said it would be unsurprising to see the Buckeyes follow suit with other national title teams.

Whether they will, even with quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith back in the fold, remains to be seen.

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By August, we’ll find out.