Ryan Day silenced all the critics last year as he led his team in the 12-team playoff and won the national title. This was an incredible feat considering Day’s team had to beat opponents like Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and Notre Dame to lift the title. So, the celebration happened, the praise started coming in for the head coach, and Day signed a new contract, which would pay him $12.5 million annually, making him the second-highest-paid coach in college football. But before all of these glory days came, Day’s family had to endure one of the darkest times in their lives, and it wasn’t easy, as RJ Day, Ryan’s son, reflects on.

There is an unwritten rule, on the skyline beaming down ‘The Horseshoe’, that whatever happens in the season, you just can’t lose to the ‘team up north’ as OSU fans like to call Michigan. And Ryan Day last year did just that as his team lost to a first-year head coach, Sherrone Moore, which was Day’s 4th consecutive loss against Michigan. All hell broke loose, and OSU fans came down heavily on Ryan Day, but amidst this criticism, there was also a fringe that targeted Day’s family.

Ryan Day’s wife, Nina Day, detailed the heinous text messages she received and said that it was “extremely negative, unprecedented hate.” But the messages weren’t limited to just criticism; it was everything outrageous that one can imagine, including death threats. “The time between the Michigan game and the Tennessee game was as low and dark as you could possibly imagine. They told me multiple times to have Ryan follow in his father’s footsteps and kill himself,” detailed Nina.

Ryan Day lost his father to suicide when he was just 9 years old, an incident which Ryan Day described as the “lowest” point of his life. So, Ryan Day has consistently prioritized his mental well-being during his tenure at Ohio State and even donated $1 million to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center to fund mental health research. But at that time, after the loss against Michigan, for Ryan Day’s family, mental health became a priority. However, after 2 months of that Michigan loss, there was light at the end of the tunnel, as RJ Day detailed.

“Getting to be around that (the national championship run) after the last couple of years was great. It was great for our family, great for my sisters and our home,” RJ said. “That puts perspective on the game. You’ve got to hang in there when times are bad, but you’ve also got to enjoy it when it’s high. You’ve just got to hang in there and find the happy medium,” said RJ Day to elevenwarriors.

The times after Michigan might have been one of the darkest phases for the Day family; however, RJ Day also had a front-row seat as those iconic moments unfolded. He learned and admired the heroic feats and leadership that Will Howard brought, and experienced that 56-yard catch of Jeremiah Smith against Notre Dame, like he were himself playing the game. And so, with those learnings in the 2024 season, RJ is on to make a big statement in his recruitment. As for Ryan Day, he also had his take on the dark time after that Michigan game.

Ryan Day reflects on the time after the Michigan game

According to Nina Day, after the unprecedented and toxic messages that they received after the Michigan game, the family had to hire armed security guards to protect their home. For Ryan Day, at the time, protecting his family became paramount, but he also had to navigate and plan a course forward after that Michigan loss. So, the time was filled with several challenges.

“As a dad and as a husband, you’re like: All right, I got to get this thing fixed fast. Because they didn’t do anything, they have no control over it, and I think that’s probably the hardest thing as a man, is just to see your wife and your kids, who have zero, literally no control over any of it, have to deal with it. So you have one choice, you better pick yourself up off the ground and get it figured out fast, and that’s what we did, but yeah, I think that’s probably the biggest challenge.” Said Ryan Day. 

Now in 2025, Ryan Day might not have placed his name amongst coaches like Kirby Smart or Dabo Swinney, but he is on course to do that. The public perception has softened regarding him, and the 2025 season is looking optimistic with players like Jeremiah Smith coming back. However, one frontier still remains for Day, and only then can he get closure: beating the ‘team up north‘.