Ryan Day’s 2026 Buckeye Power Trio
As Ohio State’s football season approaches, head coach Ryan Day must lean heavily on three emerging talents. Wide receiver Brandon Inniss enters his fourth season ready to seize the No. 2 pass-catching role left vacant by Carnell Tate’s NFL departure. Cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. is set to take over as the secondary’s top defender after Davison Igbinosun moved on to the pros. And sophomore tight end Nate Roberts, fresh off a standout spring practice, will step into a revamped tight end room lacking veteran depth. Each player’s growth will be crucial to sustaining Ohio State’s elite offense and shoring up its defense against top 2027 draft prospects.
In a move that would make fortune-tellers weep with envy, Ryan Day is essentially betting the 2026 season on a rookie tight end, a cornerback who’s never allowed a decent quarterback’s jersey near his hands, and a receiver whose biggest achievement so far is not tripping over his own shoelaces. It’s the kind of high-stakes gamble you’d expect from someone who thinks a Hail Mary is a new craft beer. But hey, who needs experienced veterans when you can have fresh-faced optimism and viral social media clips of dropped passes? If these three don’t pan out, Day can always pivot to coaching the marching band or start a motivational speaking tour—because, clearly, nothing says “leadership” like preaching trust exercises to a group of freshly-minted collegiate athletes.
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