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The Ohio State Buckeyes are heading to the College Football Playoff for the fifth time in eight years and the third in four years under head coach Ryan Day.
But all is not well in Columbus.
That’s because Day and the Buckeyes just lost to the Michigan Wolverines for the second consecutive season. It’s the first time in over two decades that that has happened and fans have begun to sour on Day.
Ohio State has also hit some “struggles” of sorts off the field. After finishing with a top-five ranked recruiting class in each of Day’s first three seasons, including the No. 2 ranked class in the country in 2021, the Buckeyes slid all the way down to No. 7 in 2023 class rankings according to 247Sports.com.
Day places much of the blame for his team’s relative struggles on Ohio State’s lack of name, image and likeness funding. And it turns out he may actually be telling the truth.
Ohio State QB Commit Says Buckeyes Are Lagging Behind In The NIL Game
The Buckeyes capped their 2023 class by adding four-star quarterback Lincoln Kienholz just a week prior to National Signing Day. Kienholz chose Ohio State over Washington as well as a slew of others.
Many believed that NIL was a big part of the deciding factor for the gunslinger. But he says that’s far from the case.
"I need to bet on myself, stars really don't matter."
@AnderaMidco talked to @LincolnKienholz about why he picked the @OhioStateFB on signing day!#MidcoSports pic.twitter.com/cq7I1UOPLd
— Midco Sports (@MidcoSports) December 22, 2022
In an interview with local media station Midco Sports, Kienholz said that Ohio State’s NIL offer to him was not as lucrative as the one made by the Huskies.
“I think Washington had better NIL than Ohio State,” Kienholz said in a video shared by Midco Sports. “I think I can go to Washington and get money, or I can go to Ohio State and be developed and then potentially reach my goal of going to the NFL.” – via The Comeback
The quote comes as a shock to many college football fans. The Buckeyes are one of the nation’s powerhouse programs with a massive donor base. While Washington is one of the west coast’s premier programs, it’s still surprising to hear that they have more resources than the Buckeyes.
In the quickly changing landscape of NIL, Ohio State needs to either catch up or get left in the dust.