Ohio State football: Winter workouts set to begin Feb. 1; other takeaways from Buckeyes’ Ryan Day

Here are five takeaways:

1. Day is thrilled more than a handful of players put off the NFL for a year.

While Ohio State lost multiple players early to the 2021 NFL Draft as usual, Chris Olave, Jeremy Ruckert and Tyreke Smith chose a fourth season in Columbus instead.

On top of that, four players who would be out of eligibility in a normal year — defensive tackles Haskell Garrett and Antwuan Jackson, left tackle Thayer Munford and safety Marcus Williamson — are taking advantage of the NCAA’s granting an extra year to everyone as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think it’s unbelievable, and I think it speaks not only to our leadership but again you know you keep hearing me saying I know it gets old but it’s true is our culture, and the environment here. But you know for those guys who decided to come back, what a great opportunity for them. It just goes to show their maturity. No only do they love their teammates and love Ohio State, you know, because they still have unfinished business here at Ohio State they want to maximize themselves as players here in college.”

2. Another wave of talent is on the way.

Fourteen members of the 2021 recruiting class are set to arrive in Columbus this weekend.

“They have to quarantine for a week before they can do anything, but they’ve already started virtual classes, which is great for them,” Day said. “Really excited for them to get going. Very unique situation for them to be here with no students (and) quarantining.”

The newcomers include Australian punter Jesse Mirco, who is leaving behind summer in the Southern Hemisphere to start college life in the middle of a typically cold Ohio winter.

“I told him it only gets better from here,” Day said with a laugh. ‘He’s going from Australia to here (where it was) 28 degrees the other day, there are no students on campus, we quarantine him for a week — it can’t get any worse, so I promise you it’s gonna get better. But he’s great he’s excited to be here.”

3. He is not looking to hit the transfer portal hard, but Day isn’t ruling out using it to supplement the talent on hand, either.

“We feel like there’s a lot of guys in our program right now that can play for us,” Day said. “We just came off a very successful season and it didn’t finish off the way we wanted it to, but I think there’s a lot of good players in the program, and so I think we’re pretty healthy.

“But that being said, we’re always going to be looking to see if we can upgrade in different areas if need be, so it’s not like there’s an area where we’re like, ‘Oh my god, we’ve got to get somebody there.’ That’s not the case, but we’re always looking.”

4. Winter workouts will begin Feb. 1, but Pro Day and the first day of spring practice are still to be determined.

Day gave everyone time off after returning from Miami last week, and plans for spring football are still being finalized.

“Once Feb. 1 hits, that’s when we start getting back to work with lifting our offseason program with (director of strength and conditioning Mickey Marotti), and then we’ll get into spring ball as we get into March.

“COVID hasn’t gone away so it’s not like we all of a sudden can just start getting back to normal, but the goal is, how quickly can we get back to normal?”

5. Ohio State will have at least one new assistant coach next year.

Day announced veteran assistant coach Greg Mattison is retiring after 50 years in the coaching business.

“He’s a special guy,” Day said, crediting him for helping the Ohio State head coach and his wife transition into a new phase of their lives when Day was elevated to replace Urban Meyer two years ago.

“I can’t thank him enough for what he’s done. I know he’s going to really miss it, but he’s going to have an opportunity to spend some time with the grandkids and his children after an unbelievable career in coaching football.”

Mattison spent the past two seasons as co-defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes, and Day said he could be replaced in multiple ways.

“I think we have a really good group of guys there right now who are versatile,” Day said. “So we’re going to look at all options. Is there somebody else out there that can take Greg’s spot in the same exact role that that he did, or are we going to just move some things around and reassign some of the job descriptions? That’s all up on the table.”