Before Chip Kelly became Ryan Day’s Big Ten rival, he was his coaching mentor, his neighbor, his OC for the national championship campaign, and ‘Uncle Chip’ to his son. That long history just took a new turn on the recruiting trail. RJ Day has received an offer from Kelly’s Northwestern.

“Wow. After a great throwing session and conversation with Coach Kelly and (head coach) Jerry Neuheisel, I am excited to announce that Northwestern has offered,” RJ Day wrote on X today. Chip Kelly is Northwestern’s new offensive coordinator, and those old acquaintances, along with RJ’s talent, finally helped seal a Northwestern offer. So far, the St. Francis DeSales QB has more than a dozen offers in his bag as he still awaits an offer from his father’s team.

RJ Day has learned the craft under his dad’s unrelenting guidance and has been a consistent presence at OSU for almost three years. During OSU’s 2024 national championship season, when Kelly served as the offensive coordinator, RJ practiced with the squad.

“I grew up with him (Chip Kelly), so he was my dad’s head coach in college, we grew up around him,” RJ Day said two years ago. “Our vacation house was two doors down from him. So he’s, like, my uncle, pretty much Uncle Chip, but yeah, he’s taught me. He’s taught me a lot about the passing game, a lot of those kinds of schemes. But he’s also taught me about the mental aspect, too. Like you can’t get too high, you can’t get too low, you just have to keep bouncing back.”

RJ has become a standout QB in high school. In his freshman season in 2023, he was named First Team All-Central Catholic League after throwing for 1,568 yards, the third-highest total in school history. His completion efficiency (71.1%), along with explosive games’ prowess (six 150-yard passing games) and rushing ability, was a treat to watch. But RJ still wanted to develop beyond it and even set a personal goal.

“Sophomore season, I want to win all our games this year,” RJ Day said after completing his freshman campaign. “I want to attack. I want to make my teammates better this year. And I want to get my guys to the point where they can go off to college because of what I did for them.” And that’s exactly what RJ did in his sophomore year in 2024.

In 2024, RJ passed for 1,425 yards and again set a sophomore passing record with 14 touchdowns. Cherry on top? The 6-foot, 204 lb QB also rushed for 208 yards and even had a career-high 48 rushing yards in a game against Badin. Currently, RJ is navigating the final campaign of his high school career and would probably like to add more yards to his already tall DeSales career record.

RJ is currently DeSales’ highest passing QB ever, accumulating 5,714 yards along with 54 touchdowns. He is also a three-year returning starter and a letter winner. Although Ohio State hasn’t offered him yet, it won’t be long before Ryan Day finally decides to keep his son close to his camp after his incredible senior season performances.

Ryan Day’s son opens up on playing for Ohio State

According to ON3’s predictions, Purdue currently has the highest chance (56.4%) to land RJ, followed by Bowling Green (4.5%) and Miami (OH) at 3.8%. Syracuse is another program that appeals to RJ, along with Cincinnati and Boston College. However, what would be better for the 3-star QB than landing at Ohio State and being coached by his dad? That may seem straightforward, but OSU has high standards.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the Shoe and play for my dad,” RJ Day said of hopes for an OSU offer. “If the Situation’s right, then yeah, we’ll go ahead. But until then, I’ll keep hunting down teams and make my decision later…He (Ryan Day) always tells me it’s my journey, so you’ve got to figure it out because everybody else figures it out, and you can’t use me as a crutch. So I got to figure it out on my own.”

Ryan Day is actively teaching his son the same craft that helped develop elite quarterbacks like Julian Sayin, Justin Fields, and CJ Stroud. The rigorous regimen for RJ involves watching film with his father at least four times a week. But it’s not like a father-son breaking down the tape; it’s like “any other recruit,” and Day tests RJ with different things. That should ensure that the 2027 QB finally earns an Ohio State offer.