As a coach, Ryan Day has led the Ohio State Buckeyes to an 82-12 record over seven-plus seasons at the helm. In that time, he’s secured two Big Ten titles, five College Football Playoff appearances, five CFP wins, and a national championship. As a player, Day was one of the first guinea pigs of former New Hemapshire and Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s spread offense at New Hampshire. In three seasons, he set nine school records including completions (653), touchdowns (53), completion percentage (59.9%), and total offensive yardage (8,492).
He passed on those quarterbacking genes to his son, RJ Day. On Sunday, Mother’s Day of all days, the junior Day had his pick of colleges. While at the time of his commitment, he had not received an offer from Ohio State, Day holds 18 offers, ranging from the FCS’s Rhode Island to a small handful of Power 4 programs. He holds two Big Ten offers at this point in the process: Purdue and Northwestern. It was the Wildcats who won the recruiting battle on Sunday, locking up their fifth commitment of the 2027 class, and first quarterback. If nothing changes by the time he signs and enrolls, Kelly (the current Northwestern offensive coordinator) will get to say he called plays for both Day quarterbacks.
RJ Day is Headed to Northwestern
Day is entering his fourth season as the starting quarterback for St. Francis de Sales in Columbus, Ohio. As a freshman in 2023, Day broke out as the first-team All-Central Catholic League quarterback. In 10 starts, he threw for 1,568 yards and 15 touchdowns. He backed that up with another first-team All-Central Catholic League performance with 1,425 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2024.
Last year, Day really stepped up for St. Francis de Sales and shattered the school’s single-season marks with 2,710 yards and 25 touchdowns. In three seasons as the starter, Day owns the school’s career records with 5,714 yards and 54 touchdowns, and is in great position to stand head and shoulders above anyone else after this year.
The six-foot-one, 205-pound quarterback has been impressing college coaches over the last few summers with his play at various camps and seven-on-sevens. While he could be considered a tad undersized, Day gets by with his accuracy and athleticism to get the easy yards.
He has been a rising prospect over the last year, and he only turned more heads after breaking out with 2,700+ yards last year. As of his commitment to Northwestern, Day holds offers from Purdue, Cincinnati, Syracuse, and Boston College, plus a host of Group of 6 programs like Brian Hartline’s South Florida and half a dozen MAC schools.
