Buckeyes Bringing Pro Approach to 2026

Entering his eighth season at the helm of Ohio State, head coach Ryan Day is looking to return to the top of college football after an early College Football Playoff exit at the hands of Miami. To help the Buckeyes in their quest for a second national title in three years, Day hired veteran NFL offensive mind Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator. Smith previously served as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and most recently coordinated the offense for the Pittsburgh Steelers, bringing years of professional experience and a fresh perspective to Columbus.

Day is expecting a learning curve for Smith to coach at the college level as he switches gears from the pros.

“When you go from coaching Aaron Rodgers to a college quarterback, you can certainly imagine what that has been like for Arthur,” Day said at Big Ten Football Media Days presented by Discover.

This isn’t anything new to Day’s philosophy. Just a season ago he hired longtime NFL defensive coordinator and head coach Matt Patricia to run OSU’s defense. That decision paid off for the Buckeyes, who saw three defensive players drafted in the first 11 picks of the 2026 NFL draft.

With two former NFL head coaches leading both sides of the ball, Ohio State brings a professional approach to the upcoming season as they chase their program's 10th claimed national title. 

Sayin and Smith Team Up Again

Big Ten Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year Julian Sayin returns for a highly anticipated redshirt sophomore season. In 2025, Sayin threw for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns, while leading the nation in completion percentage (77%).  

Coach Day recognized Sayin’s rare talent both in-game as well as in the locker room, going into his second year as the starter. 

“For Julian, you look for some traits that are extraordinary – the first [being] his accuracy,” Day said. “He’s highly motivated and he really embraced this leadership role.” 

Joining Sayin in returning to the scarlet and gray is consensus All-American Jeremiah Smith. The former five-star wideout, now a junior, caught 87 passes for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago and has compiled over 2,500 yards and 27 touchdowns in his Buckeyes career. Smith will become draft-eligible after this season and projects to be one of the top players selected in the 2027 NFL Draft. 

Day complimented Smith’s on- and off-field presence with the chance to inspire a new generation. 

“Jeremiah is somebody who, in two years, has already made an amazing impact on the game of college football,” Day said. “He has a chance to leave a legacy behind…he’s got a whole generation of young players that look up to him.”

Smith was asked about Day’s comments and said that, along with the next generation of fans, he also wants to inspire the Buckeye newcomers at wide receiver. 

“[I want to have] the impact on people that are coming behind me,” Smith said. “[Leave] the jersey better than what I found [it].” 

Although Smith has nearly every Ohio State receiving record in his sights, he remains focused on returning to the national championship game. 

“I'm really just about the team first,” Smith said. “My goals are a national championship.”

With both Sayin and Smith projected at the top of their respective positions, they will look to combine their skills to form an even more dangerous tandem than a year ago. Smith mentioned the camaraderie between the two has only grown with another offseason under their belt.

“We still got a long way to go,” Smith said. “We still got fall camp — still have another season — but it’s grown.” 

Buckeyes Look to Fill Departures on Defense

With eight starters gone from last year's defense, there will be plenty of production from new faces in 2026. Junior safety Jaylen McClain will look to fill the shoes of national champion and current Dallas Cowboy Caleb Downs, who was selected 11th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. 

“[McClain] is somebody that we're counting on to replace not just some of the stuff that Caleb did last year [on the field]. but what he did off the field,” Day said. “Jaylen's had an excellent offseason. He's taken a lot of ownership and responsibility with a lot of new faces on defense.” 

As elite programs typically do, Ohio State won’t look to rebuild, but instead reload. The Buckeyes garnered the nation’s fourth-ranked recruiting class, adding five-star linebacker Cincere Johnson and highly touted four-star corner Jay Timmons. Those two will seemingly make an immediate impact on a defense that also added from the transfer portal. Safety Terry Moore (Duke) and defensive lineman James Smith (Alabama) were two of the team's top transfer additions. 

McClain will take these newcomers under his wing just as he learned from the safeties that came before him. The junior mentioned Caleb Downs and other former Buckeyes’ mindset that he will try to emulate in 2026. 

“They had that pro mentality,” McClain said. “They prepared [like professionals] every day, I feel like taking that on.” 

The new additions will have to settle in quickly as the Buckeyes schedule offers them no breaks throughout the regular season. First, the team will travel to Austin to play a much awaited game against Texas in week two. Then in week seven, they’ll head to Bloomington for a rematch of last year’s Big Ten Football Championship Game against Indiana. They finish the regular season with a matchup on the road against USC, and home games against Oregon and Michigan.

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