\u23f0 9 am – 12 pm
Woody Hayes Athletic Center
\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/vjnkaxJRYN<\/a>@OhioStateFB<\/a> | @MyBobs<\/a> | @safelite<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/nHWYdUxXCY<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\u2014 Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) July 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Friday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S EIGHTH (?!) BEST COACH? ESPN’s college football writers ranked the top coaches in college football <\/a>this week, and the top three looked familiar: Indiana’s Curt Cignetti at No. 1, Georgia’s Kirby Smart at No. 2 and Ohio State’s Ryan Day at No. 3.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Worldwide Leader added some spice to an otherwise predictable top three, however. ESPN’s de facto Ohio State beat reporter, Jake Trotter, ranked Day No. 1. Bill Connelly ranked him… No. 8?!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tYou were the only voter to have Day at No. 1. Everyone else went with Cignetti or Smart. What was your rationale?\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t“Nobody wins more. Day owns the best winning percentage of any active coach while operating under the game’s most demanding expectations. Two seasons ago, he delivered Ohio State’s first national championship in a decade, leading the Buckeyes on a dominant playoff run. Last November, he finally cleared the one obstacle critics held against him, beating Michigan 27-9 in Ann Arbor. Every preseason, Ohio State is deservedly in the national title conversation. Every spring, the Buckeyes send a wave of talent to the NFL. When combining elite results, championship success, player development and the pressure that comes with the Ohio State job, Day is doing it better than anyone else.” \u2014 Trotter\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tYou had Day ranked No. 8. No one else had him lower than No. 4. What was your reasoning?\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t“Honestly, it’s just really hard to evaluate the performance of a successful Ohio State head coach, as it has been the most consistently awesome program in the nation for decades. I may have dropped Day too far after last season, but I just didn’t think he stuck the landing at all in 2025. When it was time to help that offense shift into gear late and ramp up the tempo and the risk profile against elite opponents, Day just couldn’t do it. I’m not an Ohio State fan, but I was yelling at the TV during the Miami CFP game because the Buckeyes just refused to pick up the pace in the second half when they were down multiple scores. They weren’t up for the task late in the season, and it cost them. Eighth is probably too low, but I guess it could be considered a challenge for 2026.” \u2014 Connelly\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tI thought Ohio State’s 2024 national championship had put to rest the debate over whether Ryan Day is a great coach or whether Ohio State is just a great program. Apparently not.\n<\/p>\n \n\tConnelly even admits at the end of his explanation that eighth “is probably too low.” I’d drop the probably. It is too low.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tHead Coach Ryan Day has been named to the 2026 @thedoddtrophy<\/a> Preseason Watch List. pic.twitter.com\/1e3BiIv2Vt<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) July 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tDay is one of only four active head coaches with a College Football Playoff national championship, alongside Cignetti, Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, and he’ll enter 2026 as one of the favorites to win another.\n<\/p>\n \n\tI like Connelly, and I respect his work, but this is analysis paralysis. Sometimes the answer is the obvious one. Day is one of the best coaches in college football. Ranking him No. 8 ignores too much evidence to the contrary.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0THAT\u2019S A LOT OF DEALS. There are still plenty of name, image and likeness issues to sort out in college athletics, but a recent report from the College Sports Commission provided some encouraging news: The CSC\u2019s clearinghouse<\/a> has rejected nearly $90 million worth of NIL deals since launching one year ago.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe clearinghouse can reject deals for three reasons. First, the deal does not serve a valid business purpose as defined by the House settlement. Second, the compensation is not at a rate and on terms commensurate with similarly situated student-athletes. And third, the deal does not include the direct activation of a student-athlete\u2019s NIL.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn January, the CSC revealed \u201cserious concerns\u201d about some of the NIL deals submitted through NIL Go, the platform operated by Deloitte that reviews any NIL agreement worth more than $600.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAt the six-month mark of NIL Go\u2019s existence, the CSC had rejected $15 million in deals. That means the clearinghouse has since rejected nearly $75 million more in NIL proposals.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOf course, the NIL landscape remains complicated. In recent months, schools have sought to compensate athletes through revenue-sharing agreements \u2014 which fall outside the CSC\u2019s jurisdiction \u2014 as well as through separate NIL opportunities. Ohio State and other major programs have reorganized their athletic departments or created new entities to facilitate school-related NIL deals.\n<\/p>\n \n\tBut no matter how complicated the NIL market remains, we are starting to see guardrails emerge in what has been the Wild, Wild West of college athletics, and I will gladly celebrate it.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOne example of the CSC’s new authority came\u00a0in May, when it won an arbitration case after denying millions of dollars in NIL deals that 18 Nebraska football players had arranged with Playfly Sports, a sponsorship and marketing firm that works with schools and athletes across the country.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis process shows the system is working as intended: a decision we made was challenged and a neutral arbitrator assessed the facts to inform a final decision,\u201d CSC CEO Bryan Seeley said after the arbitrator\u2019s ruling.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhen the West gets a sheriff, the frontier gets a little less Wild.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0MY FAVORITE OFFSEASON TRADITION. Former Eleven Warriors reporter James Grega Jr. has transformed Ohio State\u2019s club football team into a perennial powerhouse, and one of my favorite offseason traditions is watching one of his many talented players earn a call-up to the varsity roster.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn 2026, defensive back Jackson Gula became the latest club football standout to make the jump, joining Zach Hayes, Glorien Gough and Ian Gesce as former club players currently on Ohio State\u2019s varsity roster. He is the sixth member of the program to climb the ranks, joining those three Buckeyes as well as Chris Booker and De\u2019Shawn White.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tNEWS: Jackson Gula has been called up to play for @OhioStateFB<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gula joins Zach Hayes, Glorien Gough and Ian Gecse as former Club Football players that will now be teammates in 2026.<\/p>\n Gula posted 29 tackles, 8 PBUs and 3 INTs last season and was named a Second Team NCFA AA. pic.twitter.com\/1mh3AK23Zs<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Ohio State Club Football (@ClubFootballOSU) July 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tGula made an immediate impact as a freshman in 2025. Despite appearing in just six games, he recorded 29 tackles, eight pass breakups and three interceptions en route to earning second-team NCFA All-American honors. His interception in the fourth quarter of the 2025 NCFA National Championship Game sealed the deal as Ohio State defeated Coppin State, 28-8, to win its second consecutive title and fourth championship in six years.\n<\/p>\n \n\tBefore arriving at Ohio State, Gula was a standout at Streetsboro High School in Northeast Ohio, where he totaled more than 400 career tackles, 12 interceptions and four forced fumbles while earning three All-Ohio selections.\n<\/p>\n \n\tI look forward to seeing him in the Big Leagues!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0THE HAPPIEST OF HOURS.\u00a0Eleven Warriors has another big announcement. On July 16, 12th Warriors will have the chance to go behind the scenes with an Ohio State legend as we continue our 12th Warrior Happy Hour, an exclusive series where members of our perks program get direct access to Buckeye greats in a live Q&A.\n<\/p>\n \t \n\tFollowing Andy Katzenmoyer, J.K. Dobbins, Maurice Clarett, Michael Jenkins and Jim Lachey,\u00a0Jake Ballard headlines our fifth Happy Hour. The Ohio State tight end\u00a0\u2014 and, later, a Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants \u2014 will join us virtually at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 16.\n<\/p>\n \n\tDuring the relaxed, interactive experience, 12th Warriors<\/a> will hear untold stories, ask questions and connect with Ohio State history like never before. It\u2019s our way of saying thank you for backing independent coverage, representing 11W and being like the great state of Ohio \u2014 the Heart of It All.\n<\/p>\n \n\tSo, 12th Warriors<\/a>, select a drink of choice, log on and let\u2019s make some memories. We\u2019ll share further details in the Premium Lounge.\n<\/p>\n \n\tNot a 12th Warrior?\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s a great time to join.\n<\/p>\n \n\tFor $85 a year (just 23 cents a day), you can join a perks program designed to flip the paywall system, keeping our coverage free for all, by paying it forward. Membership perks include admission to our 12th Warrior Happy Hours, a $40 voucher to Eleven Warriors Dry Goods<\/a>, access to the Premium Lounge and more.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWant to chat with Ballard, help the site and score other perks?\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tBecome a 12th Warrior<\/a> now!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY.\u00a0“Give It Away” – Red Hot Chili Peppers.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0World Santa Congress brings Christmas cheer to the height of summer<\/a>…\u00a0Museum honors a late artist by covering its floor in enough peanut butter to make 15,000 sandwiches<\/a>…\u00a0We won’t see a pitcher like Justin Verlander again<\/a>…\u00a0Kia recalling almost 463,000 Tellurides that may catch fire while being driven or parked<\/a>…\u00a0Why this 6-foot-4 Norwegian soccer sensation has become a hero in China<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n