In 1998, a little-known quarterback enrolled at New Hampshire and played two ways as a QB and linebacker. Now he leads one of the CFB’s bluebloods, Ohio State. Ryan Day’s collegiate career was shaped by figures like Chip Kelly, and that has led to the coach he is now. Now, the OSU head coach wants the same for his son, RJ Day, a 2027 QB recruit.

Day recently appeared in an interview where he was asked if there was a specific coach he’d like his son to play for, football aside.

“The guy that comes to mind a lot to me is Dabo (Swinney),” said Day. The reason? It’s simple for the OSU head coach, as he recounted his 2019 Fiesta Bowl game with Dabo Swinney’s Clemson.

“When we first played them in ’19 in the Fiesta Bowl, they had a great team, we had a battle, and we had some really good players. And during one of the events, he and his wife came over and just had, you know, some real conversation.

“I remember Dabo saying, ‘Listen, you’ve done an unbelievable job. You’ve done a great job recruiting in your first year. He’s like, who knows what’ll happen in this game? If you beat this, you probably win the national championship. If you don’t, you’re gonna win a national championship,'” recounted Day.

“He didn’t have to do that. I’ve been around a lot of coaches that wouldn’t even take the time. They’d posture, their egos getting in the way. But the fact that he did that, I’ll never forget it,” said Ryan Day.

Day’s team eventually lost the game as a seasoned Dabo Swinney outscored them 29-23. The OSU head coach was in his first year as a full-time head coach and had much to learn. So, to receive encouragement from a coach like Swinney meant a lot. It was a moment that stuck, even in Swinney’s mind.

“[The ranking] had nothing to do with Ohio State. I said they were good enough to beat us, good enough to win the whole dang thing,” said Swinney about his conversation with Ryan Day in 2019.

But history with Swinney isn’t the only reason Day picked him. Another reason is the way the Clemson head coach has built a “family” culture with the Tigers.

For the two-time national champion, results align when a coach has “right relationships” with the players and the coaching staff. So much so that even coaches’ wives and family members are involved in decisions. The results speak for itself on the field and off the field.

Ryan Day opens up on the atmosphere at Clemson

The Clemson head coach has found on-field success hard to come by in recent years, evidenced by his 2025 7-5 finish. That, however, doesn’t mean the program has lost trust in what Swinney has built brick by brick ever since joining the ACC program in 2009, clear in their decision to hand him a 10-year, $115 million contract in 2021/

The school consistently finishes in the top 10 academically, and discipline dictates every aspect of players’ lives. It’s also the personal approach that Swinney takes with every recruit that appeals to Ryan Day.

“He talks about his family, he talks about his kids, and then you see the way he treats his players. We went down to visit, and he took RJ and me around the whole facility just the way that he’s built it down there. He’s the one who comes to mind the most as somebody who really has a great perspective on it. He’s a great coach, but he’s a great dad, and he really treats those guys in the building like they’re his sons,” said Day.

Notably, Day and RJ visited the Clemson campus last year and spent time with Swinney and Garrett Riley, the program’s OC. The visit for the 3-star QB didn’t immediately lead to an offer, but considering the bluebloods’ late offer, it would be in the pipeline. As for the “family” aspect at Clemson, even RJ felt it.

“Everyone was so welcoming and kind. It is like one big giant family. Everyone is very happy to be working and be in the building, which says a lot about the culture that Coach Swinney has built in his time there,” said RJ Day.

The 6-foot and 204 lb. St. Francis DeSales QB has several offers to his name already, including Power Five offers like Purdue, Syracuse, and Kentucky. Moreover, considering this year the QB has been named the First-Team-All District, those blueblood offers, including Clemson, would be just around the corner.

And of course, if it all doesn’t pan out, he can always count on Ohio State and play for his father like Shedeur Sanders did at Colorado.