Ryan Day says players come to OSU to become 1st or 2nd rounders only

The Big Ten rules the roost right now, when it comes to the college sporting landscape, and that includes the practice of sending players to the NFL. No one does this better than the Big Ten’s bellwether program, THE Ohio State University.

You see this most obviously at the wide receiver position, but it’s all over the field.

The league will be big winners on draft night, with Ohio State set to have the most dominant presence of any single school. The Buckeyes are the #1 NFL player producing school, and this goes back to the days when it was the SEC who had the upper hand.

In the Urban Meyer era, back before the advent of NIL, the Buckeyes were the only Big Ten program with consistent SEC level talent. Times have obviously changed, dramatically, and Ryan Day, the man who Meyer handed the reins to, is the biggest beneficiary.

Day had no problem flexing about this topic over the weekend.

“When you’re coming to Ohio State you’re coming to be a first or second rounder, regardless of your position, and that’s it,” Day said during an appearance on the Not Just Football podcast.

“Just like if we don’t win games and championships, they’re going to find a new coach.

“If you’re not a first or second rounder, then this probably isn’t the right place for you- that’s just the reality of it”

There is a lot to unpack here, and obviously, guys like Jack Sawyer and Will Howard would like to have a word, please.

To say these standards are lofty, would be a major understatement. To an outside observer, these statements might seem like they could potentially backfire on Day.

That probably won’t happen though, because remarks like these, to use a political term “play to his base.” Sure it sounds a tad Social Darwinist, if we’re describing it in higher brow terms, or flat out meathead, if we want to go low brow.

But either way, this kind of rhetoric, plus a nice bag of money from the NIL fund, will help keep the talent pipeline flowing to Columbus.

This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Ryan Day sets an incredibly high draft bar for Ohio State Buckeyes