"Motivating through love": When Ryan Day revealed his stamp on Ohio State after Urban Meyer's exit

Ryan Day was a guest on the special edition of College GameDay for the NFL draft in April 2020. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the event, which was scheduled to be held in Paradise, Nevada, took place via videoconferencing and with a live broadcast on television.

Day had just completed his first season as Ohio State head coach a few months before the draft after taking over from Urban Meyer. The Buckeyes finished the regular season with a perfect 12-0 record, won the Big Ten championship and made it to the College Football Playoff.

Without a doubt, it was a brilliant start for Ryan Day in his new role in Columbus. He inherited a flourishing system from Urban Meyer and worked hard to maintain the status quo. He was asked on GameDay by Kirk Herbstreit how he is putting his stamp on the program despite inheriting an already successful brand.

“We spent a lot of time just talking about our culture, and again, a lot of it had to do with Coach Meyer and what he built to this point,” Day said (Timestamp 3:08). But then, everybody has their own personality.

“Our coaching staff got together and we talked about tough love; that you have to be really really tough to play this game. But at the end of the day, we believe in motivating through love. Love for your teammate, love for your coach, and love for each other, and that it sustains.”

Ryan Day noted that the players understand the expectations of the program

While explaining how he is putting his stamp on Ohio State, Ryan Day noted that the players at the program have a full understanding of what is expected of them. The Buckeyes became more prominent under Urban Meyer and that standard can't be compromised.

“I think our guys understand that we have to win a lot of football games a year, and the expectation is to win national championships," Day said (Timestamp 3:31). But that doesn't mean you can't have fun. You can't enjoy being in the building every day and walk in with a lot of energy and compete against each other.”

Six years into the journey, Day's tenure has recorded significant success. The coach has won two Big Ten titles and a national championship while making the College Football Playoffs four times.

However, despite his 70-10 record, there's been outrage among fans for his now-four consecutive losses to rival Michigan, something that never happened in the seven years of Urban Meyer in Columbus.