The biggest question for Ohio State in the 2026 season is how Arthur Smith’s addition as offensive coordinator will affect the team’s identity. After all, Ryan Day and Brian Hartline have painstakingly built it in these past few years. Former Buckeye icon Mike Vrabel, however, is all in on the new man in charge.

Attending the NFL Combine on February 25, Patriots head coach endorsed Smith as the right hire for Ohio State. The duo worked together at Tennessee, where Vrabel was the head coach. Drawing on their time together in Tennessee, Vrabel assured OSU fans the offense was in good hands.

“I think Arthur’s got a physicality to him, a toughness to him that he wants to put onto the football field offensively,” Vrabel, who signed a $17 million contract, told the press. “He’s created enough, has worked with a number of different players, that I think they enjoy some of the wrinkles that he has. I think he’s got some core concepts that he enjoys. And he’s always been an aggressive play caller.”

Smith has only two years of college football experience, which some flag as a concern. But with him on board, Ryan Day is getting a lot of valuable NFL experience for an offense that demands NFL-caliber schemes. Smith’s excellent play-calling is a critical factor. Ohio State’s success in 2024 and struggles in 2025 were both tied to the quality of its offensive schemes. Hartline, who called plays for the first time in his career last season, was eventually relieved of those duties by head coach Ryan Day during the playoffs.

Smith created two of the most electric offenses for the Titans. Not only did they make the playoffs in consecutive seasons, but they also defeated a Tom Brady-led Raiders team on the road in 2020. That year, the Titans tied for third in the league in yards per game (396.4). In his stint with the Steelers, he also developed a strong rushing attack, totaling 2,010 yards in the 2024 season. OSU also needs some of that in its own backfield, having averaged only 159.4 rushing yards per game in 2025.

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With Ryan Day at Ohio State, Arthur Smith will get to work with the elite offensive talent in college football. He is surrounded by elite playmakers at every level, which should be enough for Smith to emerge victorious in his return to college football. Vrabel knows that the Smith hiring carries weight in the program. The latter did face a troubling time at Atlanta as head coach, but he got there because of his successes as an offensive coordinator.

“I think what he does is going to be plenty, that’s to put the players first, make connections with them [and] do what the players do best,” said Vrabel.

However, the Buckeye star did give OSU fans something particular to look out for in Arthur Smith’s offense.

Vrabel lauded Arthur Smith’s aggression with a playful dig

Vrabel is an exceptionally good judge of Smith’s potential as an offensive coordinator. It was the former who took the risk of promoting the latter to that role, his first in the league, and it paid off well. Based on the wins he got by having Smith leading the offense, he encouraged Ohio State fans to never settle for a mediocre result.

“For all the Ohio State fans, I guess we have somebody to complain to if they don’t score 50 points a game like every other Buckeye fan does,” Vrabel said, smiling.

Mike Vrabel said this because Smith remained capable of reaching those high scores. In fact, in his very first game as OC, the Titans racked up 43 points against Cleveland. That same year, the team registered 42 points against the Jaguars and the Raiders. In 2020, Smith scored more than 40 points five times in the regular season. His peak score was 46-25, made against the Detroit Lions.

That kind of experience is coming to Columbus, which posted a points-per-game average of more than 40 from 2018 to 2022. Ryan Day is known for these kinds of offenses, and so is Arthur Smith. The Buckeye offense is quietly getting back into business under the new OC, potentially taking off right where they left off last season.