Sports

Ryan Day’s Real-Time Reaction To Signing No. 1 WR Encapsulates The Unpredictability Of Recruiting

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Ryan Day on the field for an Ohio State football game.

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The Ohio State Buckeyes landed their big fish on National Signing Day by securing the signature of Jeremiah Smith, and Ryan Day had the best reaction.

Smith, who is rated as the top player in all of college football by 24/7 Sports, had been committed to OSU for over a year. Still, late pushes from instate suitors had many predicting a flip.

In fact, a number of media outlets posted of the growing momentum for a decommitment prior to his official announcement.

A prospect from the Sunshine State, Smith fell in love with Columbus and the Buckeyes’ plan for him on the football field. Looking to follow in the footsteps of recent OSU greats like Marvin Harrison Jr, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Garrett Wilson, he could make an immediate impact upon stepping on campus.

But in this new age of college recruiting, nothing is sure until the pen meets the paper.

“A lot of schools are now just calling within the last 48 hours of a kid’s signing and throwing out crazy numbers just to get them to sign with them on signing day. They’re utilizing NIL packages as the main motivation.” -Eli Drinkwitz

Smith spoke with 24/7 Sports in the final moments of his recruitment to talk about some of the outside suitors continuing to pursue his commitment. Florida, Florida State, and Miami all made home visits last week.

With the head coaches dropping in, NIL offers were reportedly being made a key piece of each recruiting pitch.

Smith claimed that those schools were “throwing all types of money” at him in hopes of persuading him to change his mind.

In the end, he stuck with his pledge to become a huge part an Ohio State recruiting class that ranks fourth in the nation and first in the Big Ten.

Coach Ryan Day received word that the decision was made official while speaking with the media on Wednesday. His reaction shows the battle he’s faced in fending off the competition.

Day looked to be in absolute disbelief before taking a huge sigh of relief at the podium. Smith immediately became the top player in his ’24 cycle.