Ohio State coach Ryan Day says he is exploring ways to get his football team on the field as quickly as possible, including a spring season that begins in early January and wraps up before the NFL draft in late April.
Day, speaking to reporters one day after the Big Ten postponed the fall football season, said the planning process for a spring season must begin immediately. He said he thinks the Big Ten could begin play in early January with an eight- or nine-game schedule and, even with postseason play, end before the NFL draft.
Day’s plan would allow NFL prospects — such as Buckeyes quarterback Justin Fields — to play the season in college. He also wants incoming recruits who enroll midyear to be eligible for a spring 2021 season.
Day said he spoke to athletic director Gene Smith earlier Wednesday about any possibilities of playing a fall season.
“We’re still exploring all those options,” said Day, who reiterated Ohio State’s preference was to wait until late September to attempt to play a fall season. “This thing is moving. It’s changing. And we are looking at everything, I promise you that.”
Smith, however, told ESPN later Wednesday that Ohio State is no longer looking at other options for fall competition.
Day’s main focus now is the spring season, which he admitted was not a focal point until the Big Ten made its decision Tuesday to postpone the fall season. He said a plan for the spring has “got to be fast.”
“What is fast?” Day said. “It’s got to be weeks. It can’t be months. We’ve got to start it as soon as we can.
“I’m sure there will be a lot of back-and-forth here, but … starting the first week of January would be the best week to go, an eight-week season. That way there is some separation between that season and the next season. We get some midyear guys to come in and possibly play a two-for-one, they’d get two seasons in in one calendar year, which I think the recruits would be really excited about. That’s the focus right now.”
Day will push hard for midyear recruits to be eligible for a spring season as well as the fall, saying it should cost them only one year of eligibility because both seasons would occur in the same calendar year. He also said a January start enhances the appeal for draft-eligible players to play a final season with their college teams.