After a brief consideration of giving up play calling duties to offensive coordinator Brian Hartline during spring practice and fall camp, it appears, at least to begin the season, that head coach Ryan Day will remain as Ohio State’s primary play caller.
“Brian’s going to certainly at times make some calls, and we’re going to discuss it in between series, but I think early, I’ll do the majority of it,” Day said Monday on Ohio State Sports Network’s Football Season Kickoff Show. “Brian is going to have an opportunity to call it as well as time goes on, and I think the thing for Brian is that he’s done an excellent job of helping organize the offense. He’s done a good job of installing for the first time in this preseason in offense. That’s a big part of being a coordinator.”
Hartline called plays during the spring game and also had opportunities to do so throughout scrimmages in the spring and fall camp. He will continue to have a chance to call some plays during the season, but the majority of those responsibilities will continue to fall on Day, who considered giving up some play calling duties this offseason to increase his ability to spend more time elsewhere on the team.
“We’re going to do the same thing this fall,” he said. “We’ll allow an opportunity to call plays, but also will bring it along the right way at the right time. I think it’s something that I have a great feel for. There’s been times that we’ve called it and just had great conversation about (the) thought process and situational football. So it will kind of be a joint effort, but I’m certainly going to be involved.”
Day has called plays for Ohio State since 2018, and he continued doing so after becoming head coach in 2019. During that time, he has mostly worked alongside former offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, who left this offseason to become the head coach at Tulsa, leading to Hartline’s promotion.
