By Micheal Germanese
The Ohio State 2024 season can best be described as a rollercoaster filled with ups and downs, but when the coaster ended, it was worth the line to take the ride. That’s because the Buckeyes took home their first national championship since 2014. The season played out nothing like how many would have thought, but in the end, Ohio State was able to get the job done.
Unfortunately, in college football, the time to celebrate a championship is short-lived. The transfer portal, recruiting, “tampering,” and the expectation to win have coaches working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. At a program like Ohio State, it’s even worse. That’s because the expectation is always to beat Michigan, win the Big Ten, and take home a national championship.
It’s that pressure to win that makes coaching at Ohio State one of the most taxing jobs in the country. Just look at last season, Ryan Day went from losing to Michigan and fans calling for his job, to having his name mentioned with Ohio State greats after winning the national championship. And to think it all happened in just over two months making the 2024 accomplishment even more incredible.
This is the worst moment of my life.
You gotta fire Ryan Day. You can’t lose 4x in a row.
Bring back @CoachUrbanMeyer. pic.twitter.com/KVKKLrWib1
— Ohio’s Tate (@BarstoolTate) November 30, 2024
Paul Brown
Woody Hayes
Jim Tressel
Urban Meyer
…and now Ryan DayAfter all the heat he took (including some from myself), he deserves this. He's EARNED this, & his players showed they have his back.
I'm good with him sticking around for a while. Agreed?
— Tyler Carey (@TC_CLE) January 21, 2025
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The 2024 season was great but it’s in the past now and for Day the focus has shifted to the 2025 season. Day understands at Ohio State it doesn’t matter if you lost several starters to the NFL, and both coordinators your expectation to win. But should the expectations remain the same with all the changes that have taken place? Is it realistic to think Ohio State can accomplish their goals in 2025?
The answers to those two questions will depend on who you are asking. However according to one article titled “The Hard Truth Ohio State Fans Need to Accept about 2025 Team” a down year is coming. At one point the journalist even states “Ohio State will not repeat as national champions in 2025. They will look more like last year’s team up north, the Michigan Wolverines.” It’s eerily similar with what both teams will faced coming off their National Championship. Both lost key coaches and many of their key contributors. Michigan ended up finishing the season at 8-5, is it possible for Ohio State to do the same?
If Ohio State ends up having that type of season, it would be the first time a Buckeyes team had three or more losses since 2011. That season they finished 6-7 but it was under interim head coach Luke Fickell. To find a season like that under a full-time head coach you must go back to 2004, when Ohio State went 8-4 under Jim Tressel. So it’s incredibly difficult to believe a down year is coming considering it has been 13 seasons since they had one.
Now Ohio State has lost a lot after their national championship run, gone are players like Mr. Ohio Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Will Howard, Quinshon Judkins, Emeka Egbuka, and that’s only a few. At the upcoming NFL combine Ohio State has 15 players invited, that a lot of production to replace in 2025.
Despite losing so much talent Ohio State still brings back players like Caleb Downs, and Jeremiah Smith, both are the best at their positions in college football. They also have guys like Carnall Tate, Bradon Inniss, Mylan Graham, Sonny Styles, Davison Igbinosun, and Eddrick Houston back. The amount of talent coming back should not be surprising to anyone. The lifeblood of college football programs is recruiting, and not many programs if any have been better than the Buckeyes. The last time an Ohio State class was not ranked in the Top 5 was in 2019. It’s why, unlike other teams, Ohio State doesn’t rebuild, they just reload.
A big part of why Michigan had a down year was because Sherrone Moore evaluated his quarterback room wrong when he took over. Being wrong with the evaluation forced Moore to start guys who never should have. The fact Michigan won eight games without a functioning QB is still mind-blowing. Ohio State doesn’t look to have that problem in 2025. Ohio State has the opposite problem, they could have three QBs that are good enough to start in 2025. Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz, and Tavien St. Clair will compete for the starting job in 2025
Five-star QB and Alabama transfer Julian Sayin has committed to the #Buckeyes.
A head-turning Ohio State weekend continues.
Story:https://t.co/DghhxNkhcE pic.twitter.com/ZNVFQIKxpt
— Lettermen Row (@LettermenRow) January 21, 2024
Sayin is looking like the front-runner to start at QB in 2025 followed by Kienholz then St. Clair. The one concern with all three is their lack of game-time experience. Sayin only played in four games in 2024 as a true freshman, going 4-for-12 with 84 yards. Kienholz didn’t play at all in 2024 but did play in three games during the 2023 season, going 10-for-22 with 111 yards. St. Clair just got to Columbus out of high school. But even with the lack of experience the ceiling for all three is incredibly high with the talent all three possess. Sayin a 5-star Alabama transfer, ranked eighth overall, and was the second-best QB in the 2024 class. Kienholz was a 4-star and 15th-best QB in the 2023 class, while St. Clair a true freshman ranked fourth and was the number three QB in the 2025 class.
Nooooo💔 https://t.co/mA5MneoqOr
— Jeremiah Smith (@Jermiah_Smith1) February 2, 2025
The biggest concern fans should have is with the replacement for Jim Knowles and Chip Kelly. It’s one thing if Ohio State only had to replace one of the best coordinators in college football. It is another when they must replace two of the best coordinators in the country. Day is attempting to do it with Brian Hartline who replaced Kelly, and Matt Patricia who is replacing Knowles.
Hartline started his coaching in 2017 with Ohio State and has never left. The former Ohio State and NFL wide receiver began as an offensive quality control assistant and worked his way up. In 2023 he was named OC/WR coach, after Kelly arrived in 2024, he became CO-OC/WR coach. Kelly left for the NFL after the 2024 season letting Hartline move back to being the OC/WR coach again in 2025. The biggest knock on Hartline is his lack of experience calling plays. But that shouldn’t play a big role on gameday, and that’s because Day will have a big influence on what plays are called in.
The Patricia hire came out of nowhere, there was never any sense he was being considered until the day before he was hired. The hire of Patricia brings a tone of experience to the DC spot. Most of Patricia’s success came from 2004 to 2017 in his first stop in New England. After, he became the Detroit Lions head coach in 2018 but was fired during his third season. Patricia rejoined New England for two years as a senior defensive advisor. In 2023 he went to the Philadelphia Eagles as a senior defensive assistant but was not brought back for the 2024 season. Even though Patricia hasn’t struggled a bit as of late he still brings a lot to Columbus, and a coach with three Super Bowls would.
Despite all the players and coordinator turnover Ohio State is still one of the top-ranked teams heading into 2025. In three of the way two early top early top 25 predictions ESPN has the Buckeyes at 1, Sports Illustrated at 2, and PFF at 3. Being ranked this early doesn’t mean much since rosters are still going to change when the spring portal opens. But it at least gives you an idea of how good Ohio State is expected to be in 2025, and they will be a contender to win it all again.
