Good BAD Afternoon: Ohio State spring injury updates, Buckeyes at the NFL Draft
Here's everything Bill and Doug did this week.
Good afternoon, BAD folks, Bill here with your Friday newsletter. I’m taking over this week for intern Nick as he finishes up his finals.
Ryan Day was in his hometown of Manchester, New Hampshire, on Friday to speak to middle and high school students and raise awareness about kids’ mental health, an issue Day and his wife, Nina, have championed locally through their work with Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Kids Mental Health Foundation.
The Days are hoping to expand the work they’ve done in Columbus and achieve more national reach.
“For us to be a part of what’s going on locally in Columbus has just been something that’s really important to us,” Day said. “To see the impact that’s going on is tremendous, a provides a sense of pride for us. But with The Kids Mental Health Foundation, this is going national now. The goal early on was to be an example for others, and you’re just seeing this thing spread. Nina and her sister both really wanted to do something back home for a long time, and we got that done today.”
The Days spoke to nearly 1,000 kids on Friday in Manchester, only a few hours after Ryan was in Pittsburgh for the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, where the Buckeyes had four players selected within the first 11 picks. Following the event in New Hampshire, OSU’s head coach held a Zoom media availability to discuss the event, the draft, and how the Buckeyes wrapped up spring ball.
As far as the current team goes, the most pertinent piece of information was that Day expects all of the players who were out injured this spring — a list that includes expected starters such as running back Bo Jackson, offensive linemen Austin Siereveld and Phillip Daniels, and safety Earl Little Jr. — to be available for summer workouts.
“They’re all gonna have a full summer. There’s nobody on the team who won’t have a full summer,” Day said. “I wish we had those guys for all of spring, but I think we did the procedures at the right time to make sure that they do have a full summer. That was the most important thing. Whether they were labrums or miniscus, those types of things, we got them cleaned up. The next few weeks will be important for them to get strong, and then we hit the thing running at the end of May. Preseason will be important, because we all know we gotta start fast next year.”
Top article this week
Ohio State spring game rewatch: Quarterbacks, Arthur Smith's impact, defensive line thoughts
COLUMBUS — Second thoughts and observations on Ohio State’s spring game after rewatching the Big Ten Network broadcast.
I rewatched the spring game and came away with some additional takeaways from what we saw live. In this story, you’ll find notes and video clips on both quarterbacks Julian Sayin and Tavien St. Clair, some interesting defensive line developments, and plenty more.
Top podcast this week
Doug went solo on Thursday night, reacting to everything we learned about Ohio State’s first round of the NFL Draft. The Buckeyes kicked things off with Carnell Tate going No. 4 overall to the Tennessee Titans, followed by Arvell Reese at No. 5 to the New York Giants, Sonny Styles at No. 7 to the Washington Commanders, and Caleb Downs at No. 11 to the Dallas Cowboys. Rounds 2 and 3 of the draft will air tonight. Defensive tackle Kayden McDonald should be an early pick.
Other links
• Podcast: Our live BAD Overtime show after Ohio State’s spring game (subscriber only)
• Podcast: Around The Shoe with questions and answers from spring ball, Chris Henry Jr. predictions
• Podcast: Live postgame reaction immediately following Ohio State’s spring game
• Story: Ohio State’s dominance and history in the NFL Draft: All the numbers you need to know
• Story: Ohio State post-spring depth chart projection: Which transfers, freshmen crack the two-deep?