Ohio State head coach Ryan Day can heed some words of wisdom from Rutherford B. Hayes.

The Buckeyes’ fifth-year head coach needs to attempt to make a bigger effort to include more Ohioans on his squad.

Examine 6 the future This weekend, Buckeyes will compete for state championships.

Herbstreit said to the hosts of the “Pardon My Take” podcast, “If you look at the Ohio State roster, there are not a ton of Ohio guys. I would suggest maybe looking at that aspect of the roster and finding more Ohio guys that qualify to be on the Ohio State roster to make them understand what this game really means.”

The Centerville High School graduate, the son of Ohio State captain Jim Herbstreit and subsequently an Ohio native himself, stated, “I’ve always thought that when Ohio State is harder, it has more Ohio natives.” “They recruit nationwide, and they have done so since the conclusion of the Urban Meyer era. They travel to Florida. They travel to Georgia. They travel to Carolina. They travel to Texas. They travel to California.

In late 2011, Meyer took over as the Buckeyes’ head coach.

Before leaving in 2018 and giving the program to Day, who has signed four top five classes himself, he signed six national top five classes.

Day also carried on the pattern of signing fewer Ohioans.

Under Day, the percentage of in-state recruits at Ohio State has decreased from 41% under Meyer to 31% now.

On the other hand, the two full-time coaches before then, Jim Tressel (2001–10) and John Cooper (1988–2000), both signed classes that were, on average, 60% Ohioans.

Herbstreit claimed that Ohio State, under Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer, “lived in Michigan’s mind for a number of years.” To his credit, Jim Harbaugh, the head coach of Michigan, was about to be fired, but he has since totally turned the situation around.

With a physically dominant 42-27 victory in 2021, the Wolverines ended an eight-game series losing run, which gave rise to the myth that the Buckeyes are not tough.

Even though the results of the previous two games seemed to have more to do with taking advantage of opportunities—or not—than with sheer physical strength, the conversation about toughness was reignited after Michigan won 30–24 last Saturday, and it will likely remain a cloud over the Buckeyes until they start winning the series again.

It’s okay to post slogans. You may rehearse what’s known as the Michigan drill, a fourth-quarter exercise. Although the Woody Hayes Athletic Center has a countdown clock, Herbstreit stated, “The fact is that when we watch The Game, it feels like the Michigan team plays as a bunch where they play like they have a chip on their shoulder.” They play with something to prove it, and they act as though they’re angry with the world. Additionally, that has exceeded what Ohio State has contributed to that game over the previous three years.

Michigan has turned the tide of the rivalry without outrecruiting Ohio State; since 2011, the Wolverines have only signed a class with a better class rating than the Buckeyes once. However, under Harbaugh’s leadership, the Wolverines have become a blue-collar team and have returned to the winner’s circle.

“I believe that Ohio State now has excellent athletes and a fantastic culture, but in terms of that game, it’s turned into a psychological contest,” Herbstreit remarked. “I still believe that Michigan has a number of excellent players, but perhaps not as well recruited as Ohio State.” They also have a burning desire to show that they are superior to Ohio State’s collection of outstanding individual superstars like Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and others. They are determined to prove to Ohio State that they are superior to them, that our culture is superior, and that the United Front now possesses greater strength than Ohio State.

You still had the ball late, despite that. You were given an opportunity. You have to give Michigan all the credit in the world because you moved the ball into their area. To win the game, they had to make the necessary moves.

The possibility that Day and Ohio State director of player personnel Marc Pantoni would begin focusing their efforts more locally—in Ohio and the Midwest—after the launch of the transfer portal and players’ ability to make money off of their names upended the traditional model of talent acquisition was discussed last winter.

They now have seven Ohioans verbally committed to the 2024 cycle, out of a class of 23, although that number is expected to rise until the first National Signing Day of the academic year (December 20) and beyond.

Ironically, there have been fewer Ohioan athletes recruited by Michigan in recent years.