Question: Is this good?

Most Coverage Snaps Played Without Allowing a TD Last Season:

Caleb Downs, Ohio State: 509@OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/xxZbe2pTtT

— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 2, 2025

Have a good Monday.

 A PICTURE IS WORTH 1,000 WORDS.

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 THE BURDEN OF CHAMPIONS. Jim Knowles moved on to Penn State. Justin Frye moved on to the Arizona Cardinals. Chip Kelly moved on to the Las Vegas Raiders. That’s all hard to swallow. But that’s life for a national champion.

Ohio State receives: A national title

Other football teams receive: Ohio State’s assistant coaches

If I’m Ryan Day, I take that deal 10 times out of 10.

Still, Day must bear the burden of replacing Knowles, Frye and Kelly – two weeks after he won his first championship as Ohio State’s head coach. Here are some of the names Eleven Warriors editor Dan Hope has named as potential candidates to fill the team’s defensive coordinator, offensive line coach and offensive coordinator roles before the Buckeyes enter the 2025 season.

Defensive Coordinator

• Matt Guerrieri
• Tim Walton
• Jim Leonhard (RIP)
• Randy Bates
• Jerod Mayo
• Jon Heacock
• Mike Tressel
• Jeff Hafley
• Luke Fickell
• Phil Parker
• Glenn Schumann

Offensive Line

• Kevin Wilson
• LeCharles Bentley
• Tim Drevno
• Joe Rudolph
• Phil Trautwein
• Glen Elarbee
• Mike Sollenne
• Chip Kelly (RIP)

Offensive Coordinator

• Kevin Wilson
• Brian Hartline
• Jason Candle
• Jim Moorhead
• Jeff Nixon
• Will Stein

** coughs **

Guerrieri and Bates as co-defensive coordinators, Wilson and Hartline as co-offensive coordinators…

** coughs **

Who says no?

Who says no?!

 A LIVE REACTION?! We seldom see Day provide a live reaction to Ohio State football news – heck, we never see it – but we saw that Sunday after offensive coordinator Chip Kelly left the Buckeyes for the same role with the Las Vegas Raiders. In an appearance on The Joel Klatt Show, Day shared what it meant to coach with his mentor and lead Ohio State to a national championship together.

Ryan Day reacts to the news of longtime coach and mentor Chip Kelly leaving @OhioStateFB after winning a National Championship together.

More with @joelklatt on Kelly’s departure and what reaching that mountaintop meant to Ryan Day pic.twitter.com/uoWNdGdj6Q

— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) February 3, 2025

“That was great. It was great,” Day said. “We talked about it, the fact that we had a really good group here, and the dream would be to win a national championship, and then he decides whether he wants to stay or have an opportunity to go to the NFL, and that’s exactly what happened. To be able to have a beer in a few years and talk about the year that we had together is gonna be special. We started together. This is where I started with him. We went and did that. What a great story. I know so many people back home in New Hampshire are excited for him and for the story. It’s pretty special.”

It seems, to me, like Day knew Kelly could (and probably would?) leave after one season at Ohio State, especially if the Buckeyes achieved their ultimate goal of winning a national championship. Because he and Day accomplished that feat, Kelly pursued an offensive coordinator position in the NFL and earned a $6 million contract per year with the Las Vegas Raiders. That’s not bad. That’s not bad at all!

As I discussed in the previous section, Day will have to replace Kelly with Wilson, Hartline, Candle, Moorhead, Nixon, Stein or someone else we haven’t considered to this point. No matter who Day chooses to fill the role, the worst-case scenario is that Day, one of the top offensive minds in the sport, takes control of the offense and leaves the hire to game-planning duties and other tasks. Oh, darn!

 “I’M EXCITED FOR HIS NEXT STEP.” Kyle McCord believes Emeka Egbuka never received the flowers he deserved throughout his Ohio State career.

“I think just how unselfish he is is the first thing. At Ohio State, his four years there? Obviously, he had a great career. He’s a great player. But he never really was the star receiver,” McCord told CBS Sports. “Obviously, being in the room with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, Marvin (Harrison Jr.), and then just this past year with Jeremiah Smith, I never felt like he got the credit that he deserved but just produced every single year.”

It’s true.

Across four seasons with the Buckeyes, Egbuka collected a school-record 205 receptions. He also recorded 2,868 yards – 30 yards short of Michael Jenkins’ record of 2,898 – and 24 touchdowns. That’s incredible for someone who spent his entire career as a WR2.

“Every time he was on the field, good things happened,” McCord said. “I think everybody can see his route running, his hands, his speed, his athleticism getting in and out of breaks. But I think the stuff that goes unnoticed is just his run blocking, he played in the slot a bunch and he had no problem going and digging out a linebacker and never complained about it, either. … Just having a guy like that who’s super talented in every aspect just being so unselfish to go and do what’s best for the team? I’m excited for his next step.”

Same here.

Egbuka does all things well.

And yeah, Colorado’s Travis Hunter, Missouri’s Luther Burden III and Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan may come off the board before him in the 2025 NFL draft, but I am confident Egbuka will have the best professional career of them all. He can catch passes, he can run routes, he can block – Egbuka can do it all. A complete package, Egbuka will be a Green Gem for whoever drafts him.

 SONG OF THE DAY. “Good Times Roll” – The Cars.

 CUT TO THE CHASE. German hunters compete in a national deer calling championship… The unexpected origins of Groundhog Day… Luka Doncic heads to the Lakers and Anthony Davis goes to the Mavs in blockbuster trade… The Doomsday Clock has never been closer to metaphorical midnight… Is drinking alcohol bad for your health?