Columbus-area high school quarterback R.J. Day’s decision to attend Northwestern has piqued the interest of college football fans, not because he’s an elite prospect, but because he’s the son of Ohio State coach Ryan Day.
‘Ryan Day has been working on this recruit for 18 years but Northwestern landed him instead,’ one fan joked on X. ‘Tough business!’
In reality, the younger Day did not receive any official interest from the Buckeyes, but did choose Northwestern over reported offers from Purdue, Syracuse, Cincinnati and South Florida.
‘That’s gotta be a tough convo to have as a Dad,’ one commenter wrote. ‘[Kid] probably grew up wanting to play for OSU.’
Many of the comments directed towards R.J. were positive and typically congratulated him on joining a team in the elite Big Ten conference.
Now a member of Northwestern’s 2027 recruiting class, R.J. announced the decision on Sunday as he and his family went out on Chicago’s North Side.
New Northwester commit R.J. Day is pictured with his parents, including OSU coach Ryan
Ryan and R.J. Day are pictured with their family members after OSU’s NCAA title win in 2025
‘Super excited to announce my commitment to further my football and academic career at Northwestern University!!’ he wrote on X.
‘Thank you to everyone along my journey who has made this possible from my family… Excited for the next step and ready to get to work! Go ‘Cats!’
RJ played high school at Columbus’ St. Francis Desales in the shadow of a Buckeyes program his father led to a national championship in 2024. And although Ohio State was overtaken by conference rival and current reigning national champion Indiana last season, Day’s Buckeyes enter the 2026 campaign with one of the country’s top quarterbacks in Heisman finalist Julian Sayin.
What’s more, Ryan Sr. added quarterbacks Luke Vahey in his 2026 recruiting class and Brady Edmunds for 2027. Both are standout prospects in the highly competitive California high school football scene.
R.J. Day is pictured speaking with his dad before a 2018 game at the Horseshoe in Columbus
Now R.J. will join a Wildcats roster that is slated to have eight quarterbacks in 2027, which led many to speculate that he could ultimately leave the program to return to Columbus.
‘He might be a graduate transfer at Ohio State,’ one commenter wrote on X.
For now, R.J.’s decision to play for Northwestern gives him the chance to learn under first-year Wildcats offensive coordinator and former NFL head coach, Chip Kelly. Interestingly, Kelly was the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire when R.J.’s father, Ryan, set several school passing records.
Kelly would later serve as offensive coordinator for the Buckeyes in 2024 en route to the program’s ninth national title.
Ryan Day is currently the fourth highest-paid college football coach in the country at $12.5 million a season. Indiana rival Curt Cignetti now tops the list with a $13.2 million annual salary.
