Reunited at last, Ryan Day and Chip Kelly hope for Ohio State football glory together

Ryan Day took the call from Chip Kelly that changed his life at a pay phone in his school cafeteria.

Almost 30 years ago, Day was a senior at Manchester Central High School in New Hampshire. He was a promising quarterback with grades that earned him Ivy League offers. Cornell, Brown and Dartmouth were his top choices.

Mar 5, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Chip Kelly works with quarterback Air Noland during the first spring practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Then Day got that call from Kelly, a University of New Hampshire assistant coach he’d known for years. Kelly understood how prestigious the Ivy League was. But he also knew he could tap into Day’s ultra-competitive nature.

“He kind of challenged me,” Day said. “He says, ‘The Ivy Leagues don’t play for a national title. Don’t you want to play more than just eight games a year?’

“I committed right there in the cafeteria, and the rest is history. He must have known: Come at me with a competitive challenge. He pressed the right button.”

Day and Kelly have been close ever since. Kelly was his offensive coordinator at New Hampshire and became a mentor. Kelly tried hiring Day when he became head coach at Oregon and did hire him as his quarterbacks coach for his NFL stints with Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Now they are reunited again. In February, Kelly stepped down as UCLA’s head coach to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. As training camp opens Thursday, their futures are linked as well as their pasts as Ohio State approaches a season with immense expectations and pressure.

Ryan Day and Chip Kelly have a Manchester bond

To understand the bond between Day and Kelly, it helps to know about their hometown.

With a population of 115,000, Manchester is the largest city in New…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/reunited-last-ryan-day-chip-100343494.html

Author : The Columbus Dispatch

Publish date : 2024-08-01 10:03:43

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