Ryan Day is the top first-year head coach in the nation.
Ohio State's head coach was named the first-year coach of the year by the Football Writers Association of America on Monday afternoon, adding another honor after an impressive debut season.
In his first season with the Buckeyes, Day led the team to a perfect regular-season record which included an eighth-straight win over Michigan. He also led Ohio State to its third-straight Big Ten Championship and brought the Buckeyes back to the College Football Playoff for the third time and the first time since 2016.
Under Day's leadership, Ohio State had the nation's No. 1 total defense, No. 4 scoring defense, No. 5 total offense and No. 1 scoring offense. Heading into the College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes were winning games by an average of 36.2 points per game and hadn't played a game closer than 11 points with just two games closer than 24 points.
Day was also named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by the media, marking the first time an Ohio State coach earned that honor since 1979. He was also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award and the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award.
