“I have this vision in my head” - Ohio State HC Ryan Day opens up about dreams of winning national championship title in 2024

The Ohio State Buckeyes have not won a national championship since 2014. The Buckeyes' best shot to win a national championship since then was in 2020, when they made the title game but were heavily defeated by the Alabama Crimson Tide.

This season, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day wants to return Ohio State to its former glory. Day has a vision of how the season will end for him and his Buckeyes team.

"I have this vision in my head of us holding up the national championship or celebrating against the team up north and everyone in Buckeye Nation, 12 million strong, singing the fight song," Day said on the 'Late Kick with Josh Pate' podcast.

The 2023 season was not the finest of performances from Ohio State. The school started the season well, but for the Buckeyes, only one game's result matters.

The game in question is against their arch-rivals, the Michigan Wolverines, the "team up north" that Day referred to.

Coming into the encounter to end their regular season, both teams were undefeated. This meant that the winner would make the Big Ten championship game and the College Football Playoff, keeping them in the hunt for the national championship.

The Wolverines won the game, and Ryan Day's program ended up in the Cotton Bowl against the Missouri Tigers. Their offense heavily struggled in this game, leaving the Buckeyes on the back foot and ending the 2023 season.

However, the struggles against strong opposition may become something of the past during the 2024 season. Ryan Day has built a team that has many of last year's starters, along with some of college football's best prospects that the Buckeyes have landed from the transfer portal.

This gain in talent can be paired with the departure of many key players from the Michigan Wolverines, who are again likely to be the Buckeyes' main contender for the Big Ten this season.

The likes of J.J. McCarthy and Blake Corum, who have dominated the Ohio State defense in recent years, are no longer in Ann Arbor. While their replacements are talented, the Wolverines may struggle without the players the team had been built around last season.

This can only give Ryan Day hope that his vision will come true.

Who has Ohio State gained, and can they win the national championship?

One of the more notable gains made by Ohio State in the offseason was Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss. Judkins was a key part of the Rebels offense, and during his two seasons in Oxford, the running back recorded 2,725 yards and 31 touchdowns.

Additionally, to provide former Kansas State Bearcats quarterback Will Howard with some well-needed protection, the Buckeyes have brought in former Alabama center Seth McLaughlin.

On the defensive side of the ball, Ryan Day has recruited another member of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Defensive back Caleb Downs recorded 70 tackles in his freshman year last season and is likely to improve on these numbers for the Buckeyes.

These arrivals are only a snapshot of the many changes that Ryan Day has made in the offseason. It has made Ohio State a stronger team than it was last season and more than able to make a decent run in the expanded College Football Playoff.

Ryan Day's vision could come true.

Do you think that the Ohio State Buckeyes will win the national championship this season?