Ohio State football coach Ryan Day finds inspiration on the tennis court

This Saturday's marquee match-up in college football pits the undefeated and third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes against the undefeated and seventh-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. Not much separates these two tradition-laden powerhouses, and the difference may come down to the fact that the game is being held in Columbus, rather than State College.

Ryan Day, head coach of the Buckeyes, hopes that home-field advantage will materialize into an edge on the gridiron. He knows what the deafeningly passionate fans inside Ohio Stadium, with a capacity over 100,000, can do for his team—just as he knows what one man, in a different Ohio State sports facility, has done for him.

"I tell at him a little bit," says Ty Tucker.

Tucker doesn't run the weight room or the track at the university. He's the director of tennis, a sport that can help a coach managing a pressure-filled situation better than any squat rack or wind sprint. Tennis trains Day's mind, says Tucker, and that can help translate to success in football.

"Absolutely, it's a big stress reliever," Tucker says of Day's connection to tennis. "I think it's his fun part of the day."

"Letting out some steam for me, during the season, is really helpful," says Day. "You have physical health and mental health, certainly in the environment I work in, and the pressure that comes with it. Having that outlet has been great."

The two have developed more than a relationship as coaches. Their friendship has grown while on opposite sides of the net, even as Tucker runs him around during drills. Day played tennis growing up in New Hamsphire, and during Covid asked Tucker if he could stop by to reacquaint himself with the game. He's been a regular ever since.

Like most people on campus, Tucker is a huge Ohio State football fan. But Day makes a point to attend the Buckeyes' big tennis matches, as well, and occasionally talks to the players beforehand. One of his favorite sayings to each team is, "On your great days be elite, on your average days be great, on your bad days be average."

"That mental edge in all of sports," says Day, "is what separates the really good from the elite."

And is what may separate Ohio State from Penn State.