Ohio State head coach Ryan Day explains why this time of year is so important for his players.
This time of year is the most anxiety-inducing for coaches and programs. The team just completed four months of very hard work after the season, and now, players are on their own for the next three months before the start of fall camp.
It's not exactly the case anymore these days, as players stay around campus for most of the summer and are still working out in the building around the team. Regardless, it is still the most important time for a lot of players who are fighting for a roster spot.
Ryan Day was on the Josh Pate College Football Show and was asked how the end-of-the-year meetings go for his players and what their expectations are for the players when they get back for the fall.
Day talked a lot about how they set goals with the players with their position coaches, the coordinators, and the strength coaches. Then he explained the most important part of his goal-setting with the young guys.
He looked at the meeting room and said that physically, the players move up a section in the meeting room as they get to the next year. Freshmen move down a row, sophomores move down a row, and Juniors move to the front of the room.
He pointed directly at the seat that was middle middle of the room and exclaimed, "That was Caleb Downs! So you have to take on all of that responsibility if you're moving into that seat."
It's a lot of weight to put onto a young player, but that is the standard that is set at Ohio State. That is what the expectation is, and that is why the Buckeyes have one of the greatest programs in the history of the sport.
The saying that always surrounds the Ohio State program at the beginning of every season is that they never "rebuild," they always "reload." There is rarely a drop-off in production year over year, and this is the reason why.
Day will always challenge his players to be better, but the best motivation is the fact that the new guys are filling the shoes of the legends before them.
That, should be, enough to get the best out of every player.
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