COLUMBUS – The Buckeyes began their preparations for the 2022 college football season Thursday when 110 players took the field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for the first of 25 practices prior to the Sept. 3 opener against Notre Dame.
Head Coach Ryan Day welcomed back 46 letterwinners and 16 starters from a team that went 11-2 in 2021 for the first step on what he characterized as a long journey.
“It’s very, very easy to start getting ahead of ourselves but in order to reach our goals, we got to take care of business early on. And, really, you can’t start accomplishing those goals until November so we’ve got to focus on just getting better every day,” Day told reports Thursday.
One of the expectations he has for his team is to rank among the nation’s top 10 offenses, defenses and special teams.
The 2021 season began with an early loss to Oregon and another in the season-ending game against arch-rival Michigan, a 42-27 defeat in Ann Arbor that cost Ohio State trip to the Big Ten Championship Game and likely berth in the College Football Playoff.
Day also welcome four new assistants to his coaching staff, including defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and offensive line coach Justin Frye.