"LeFreshman" "Let's see your work ethic": OSU fans break internet after LeBron James agrees to Ryan Day's standards

Ohio State fans lit up social media after NBA icon LeBron James reacted to Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day’s comments on his hypothetical college football eligibility.

During Monday’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Fallon revisited a past tweet from James, where the Los Angeles Lakers star asked:

"Do I have college eligibility if I went to play another sport besides basketball? How does that rule work?"

Day addressed the topic, joking about how James would fit into Ohio State’s football program:

“LeBron is a great supporter. With that said, he’d have to start with the freshman in the back of the room and work his way up. He doesn’t get any special treatment.”

James quickly responded on X, embracing the challenge:

“I don’t mind it one bit Coach Day! Earned Not Given!”

OSU fans flooded social media with reactions, with one writing:

“LeFreshman.”

“Lets see your work ethic!” another wrote.

“LeBron gonna play college ball with Zhuri after he retires from NBA,” one wrote.

“Suit up... You can't flop in football, though...” another wrote.

“The disrespect putting someone 40 in the back of the room and hoping they can see the board,” a fan wrote.

“I’d still love to have seen Lebron playing TE on a football team. I think he would have been a HOF football player,” one wrote.

LeBron James has long entertained the idea of playing football

LeBron James has long entertained the idea of playing football at both the college and professional levels. While he’s best known for his basketball dominance, he was a star wide receiver at St. Vincent–St. Mary in Akron, Ohio, and even received recruitment interest from Ohio State under then-head coach Jim Tressel, per Fox Sports.

LeBron James was at Ohio Stadium - Source: Imagn

More recently, James told Jason and Travis Kelce that he seriously considered an NFL stint during the NBA’s lockout-shortened season. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, who regularly works with elite talent—from first-round picks like C.J. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to future stars like Caleb Downs and Jeremiah Smith—acknowledged James’ stature but made one thing clear: even basketball royalty wouldn’t get to skip the line.