"He just pulled the chord harder than anyone": Josh Pate breaks down Urban Meyer's critical role in changing Ohio State football

The Ohio State Buckeyes won the national championship this past season with coach Ryan Day at the helm. Day has his detractors, but he led the Buckeyes on a dominant playoff run. It was the first championship for the Buckeyes since 2014 when Urban Meyer was the head coach.

On Wednesday, college football insider Josh Pate spoke about how Meyer played a critical role in changing Ohio State football.

"Urban Meyer was for the Ohio State job, I think the same thing that Kirby Smart was to the Georgia job," Pate said on his show (starts at 4:00). "He kind of went there and it was like the lawn mower. He just pulled the chord harder than anyone else ever had.

"I'd say Ohio State is now fully the version of what it could have been. It was always a top program but I think there was this extra gear that Urban showed they could kick it into."

Meyer was the head coach of the Buckeyes from 2012 to 2018. He won the national championship in 2014 and won three Big Ten Championships in 2014, 2017 and 2018.

Ryan Day learned under Urban Meyer at Ohio State

Urban Meyer brought an incredible amount of experience to the Buckeyes when he arrived. He was already a two-time national champion with the Florida Gators.

Ryan Day was hired by Meyer and the Buckeyes in 2017 as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He was promoted to the role of offensive coordinator in 2018.

The following season, Day took over the head coaching job at Ohio State after Meyer left the program.

Since taking over, Day has had his ups and downs. Notably, the team has struggled against its biggest rival, the Michigan Wolverines, losing its past four games. However, he led the team to a national title last season.