After 3 weeks of anticipation around the OC hiring quest, Ohio State Buckeyes head honcho Ryan Day finally surprised fans by hiring Arthur Smith. The pick caught many off guard because Smith was never viewed as a front-runner from an insider’s perspective. However, according to a man who bleeds blue and maize, this may be the best possible hire the Buckeyes could have made for the OC gig.

On January 24, former NFL star and Michigan alum Taylor Lewan put his Wolverine-esque ego aside and gave a big-boy thumbs-up to Ohio State on his Bussin with the Boys podcast, with stats as his alibi.

“All the quarterbacks he’s had, whether as an OC or a head coach, their win percentage without Arthur Smith coaching them is 36.11%. That’s Tannehill, Matt Ryan, Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ritter, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers. With Arthur Smith, that number jumps to 55.24%. So, almost a 20% swing.”

To put that 20% jump into perspective, in college ball terms, it’s the difference between a 4–8 season and an 8–4 or 9–3 season with a major bowl. In the NFL stance, it’s the difference between a bottom-tier six-win team and a 10-win playoff contender. Arthur Smith even had Justin Fields looking like he was back at Ohio State for a bit during his purple patch run last season. The former Ohio State gunslinger went 4–2, completing about 66% of his passes for just over 1,100 yards with five touchdowns and only one pick. Even that wasn’t entirely his fault. On top of that, he ran for almost 300 yards and five TDs on the ground.

What’s more impressive is that he even won some games with Desmond Ridder at the Falcons, including that 21–19 comeback against the Texans. The man is a certified winner if he’s given a workable offense. When Smith left these quarterbacks and their organizations, their winning percentage significantly dropped from 55.24% to around the ballpark of 42%. That’s a 13% difference.

Having played under Smith with the Tennessee Titans, Lewan knows the coach on a personal level. He described Smith as a “player’s coach” who earns respect because of his past success, like leading the Titans to the No. 2 offense in yards and No. 4 in points back in 2020. Lewan mentioned that he’s never heard a single teammate say anything bad about him.

This is as good as it gets for the Buckeyes. If you actually think about it, it’s an impeccable upgrade from Brian Hartline. The man has run different types of offenses and schemes in the NFL. In his last pit stop with the Steelers, he helped the unit improve to 15th in scoring, averaging 23.4 points per game, which was a nice jump from the 17.9 points they averaged before he arrived there.

For the 2026 season, Smith is going to have some incredible weapons to use. He’ll be coaching Heisman finalist Julian Sayin at quarterback and the explosive Jeremiah Smith at wide receiver. Arthur Smith is also legendary for his run schemes. The man had Derrick Henry run for 2k yards in his zenith season. With Lewan’s seal of approval and their usual roster full of NFL-caliber-esque talents, Buckeyes fans can expect some high-scoring seasons.

Arthur Smith’s offense preview

For the 2026 season, get ready for “Bully Ball” to arrive in Columbus. Arthur Smith’s expected to transform the Buckeyes into a physical, NFL-style machine that loves to run the rock more than ever before.

On the ground, Smith will lean on sophomore Bo Jackson, who already has a 1,090-yard freshman season under his belt. The safe bet is that the Buckeyes will have 2 running backs with 1k yards next season.

Plus, Smith’s known for using multiple tight ends to bully defenses. It’s one of his signatures. This should help open up huge passing lanes for stars like Jeremiah Smith. Last season, he had the third-most tight end usage in the league. Hunter Welcing or Mason Williams are going to be a bit busier with their hands than last season.

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It’s basically going to be a “pro-style” system designed to control the clock and keep opposing defenses on their toes. Once the run game gets established, Smith then uses heavy play-action and RPO (run-pass options) to create mismatches and take shots at deep targets.

By hiring Smith, Ryan Day is basically going “full NFL.” He’s stepping back to be the program’s CEO while letting a former pro head coach call the plays. With Smith running the offense and Matt Patricia leading the defense, Ohio State is basically an NFL franchise playing on Saturdays, hopefully.