CLEVELAND, Ohio — Urban Meyer redefined recruiting for Ohio State, but Ryan Day is no stranger despite not having been in Columbus that long.
Those were the sentiments Tuesday from a few area high school football coaches who have interacted with both men, leading up to Ohio State's announcement that Meyer will retire after the Rose Bowl and Day will be his replacement.
"I don't think it's going to hurt anything," said Archbishop Hoban coach Tim Tyrrell, whose team is coming off its fourth straight OHSAA state title and has Division I college recruits up and down his roster.
Ryan Day recruited Hoban and has known Tyrrell since his days at Boston College.
Tyrrell said the difference from Meyer and Day are their personalities. While Meyer's demeanor can leave some in awe, Tyrrell said Day might be a little more personable.
"Maybe he's not as iconic, so it's easier for the high school coaches to talk to him," Tyrrell said.
That might not be good or bad for Ohio State in terms of recruiting, but just different.
The high school season wrapped up Saturday in Canton with the state championships. As of that time, the Buckeyes had three Northeast Ohio standouts in their sights:
- Hoban junior DeaMonte Trayanum, who is on pace to be a three-year starter on both sides of the ball for the four-time state champs.
- St. Ignatius senior linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, who is committed to Boston College but received interest from OSU and Michigan during a dominant fall.
- Massillon 6-foot-2 sophomore receiver Jayden Ballard got an offer before the season and helped the Tigers to the Division II state finals against Hoban.
Tyrrell is sending prized left tackle Nolan Rumler to Michigan next year, but Trayanum is one of Ohio's top prospects — and one of its most versatile — at running back, linebacker and safety. The Hoban coach does not expect Ohio State's coaching change to sway his players one way or another.
"Our kids didn't bat an eye when it went down," Tyrrell said.
Some of it has to do with who is recruiting them, and it rarely is just Meyer.
When Ohio State showed interest in Cleveland Heights' Jaylen Harris at receiver or Tyreke Smith at defensive end, it sent assistants Tony Alford and Larry Johnson. They developed vital relationships before Meyer ever made his visits to the school or home to close the deal.
"Obviously Urban Meyer left a huge imprint, but Larry Johnson and Tony Alford did a great job of recruiting the Northeast Ohio area," Cleveland Heights coach Mac Stephens said. "But again, I think it's Larry Johnson and Tony Alford embracing Urban Meyer's philosophy."
Alford recruited Harris, while Johnson developed a relationship with Smith that led to his commitment.
Stephens met Meyer on his recruiting trips to Cleveland Heights, and said Meyer's sincerity stood out.
"It just felt real," Stephens said. "It wasn't fake."
In the world of football recruiting, Stephens said he has seen plenty of pitches that lacked a heart-felt conviction.
"With some coaches, I can pretty much tell what the sales pitch is going to be before it comes out of their mouth," he said. "They come in and talk about the different uniform combinations or what their student services are like."
What did Ohio State do differently on its visits?
The off-field mentoring stuck out to Stephens. He remembered hearing about how Meyer's staff would bring in a CEO or motivational speaker each Wednesday to discuss life — things other than football — with their players.
"I know there are some other colleges that do it, but when I heard the reactions of Jaylen and Tyreke. it really registered with those guys," Stephens said.
Stephens hopes the coming month of preparation for the Rose Bowl vs. Washington begins the transition, which could benefit a receiver such as Harris.
"I think with the type of offense (Day) runs, Jaylen's going to be OK," Stephens said. "When you go to a bowl game and get those extra practices, it's like getting spring practices early."
Ohio State's area commitments from this senior class include Mentor defensive end Noah Potter and offensive tackle Ryan Jacoby. Earlier this year, when Meyer was given a three-game suspension for his handling of the Zach Smith situation, Potter and Jacoby reaffirmed their commitment to the Buckeyes.
Jacoby retweeted a salute Tuesday from the Ohio State football program to Meyer.
The sentiment from area coaches is that they are sad to see Meyer go because of his Ohio roots.
"I'm disappointed from the standpoint of what he's done and meant to Ohio State football," Mentor coach Steve Trivisonno said earlier Tuesday. "You look at the records, it's incredible. So I'm disappointed from that, but he gets to move on and watch his grandkids."
The high school coaches also were not surprised.
"We've been watching him the last couple of weeks, and you could tell something wasn't quite right," Stephens said. "Ultimately, we wish him the best. He's been good to Cleveland Heights. He set such a good foundation."
It's just a matter of Day maintaining that foundation, Stephens added.
Tyrrell thinks he will.
Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.
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