It's officially a new era of Ohio State football.
Ryan Day became the Buckeyes' head coach on Jan. 2, and now three weeks later the school has announced his first full staff. Not counting Day himself, the new Ohio State staff will be an equal blend of old and new -- with five assistants retained from Urban Meyer's staff, and five new assistants hand-picked by Day.
“I am really excited with this foundation of coaches who will mentor, coach and prepare in all areas the young men in our program,” Day said. “I am obviously very comfortable with the coaches who have been here and helped us win consecutive Big Ten championships and bowl games, and I am thrilled they want to continue to help this program pursue championships and achievements.
“I am also confident the new assistant coaches will make an immediate impact on this program. I’m really looking forward to working with this staff these next couple months shaping the program and developing our players for the 2019 season.”
The new Ohio State staff breaks down as follows:
Ryan Day -- Head coach
Kevin Wilson -- Offensive coordinator/tight ends
Tony Alford -- Running backs/assistant head coach for offense
Mike Yurcich -- Quarterbacks/passing game coordinator
Brian Hartline -- Wide receivers
Greg Studrawa -- Offensive line
Greg Mattison -- Co-defensive coordinator
Jeff Hafley -- Co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs
Larry Johnson -- Defensive line/associate head coach
Al Washington -- Linebackers
Matt Barnes — special teams coordinator/assistant secondary
Wilson, Alford, Hartline, Studrawa and Johnson are the holdovers from the previous Ohio State staff. Johnson is the longest-running Buckeyes assistant at this point; the 2019 season will mark his sixth in scarlet and gray. Alford has been at Ohio State since 2015, Studrawa since 2016 and Wilson since 2017. Brian Hartline is a former Buckeyes wide receiver who joined the staff in 2017 as a quality control assistant but was promoted to wide receivers coach following Zach Smith's firing just before last season.
Yurcich was hired away from Oklahoma State, where he was the Pokes' offensive coordinator, while Mattison and Washington were both hired away from Michigan. Hafley worked with Day in San Francisco, where he was the 49ers' defensive backs coach from 2016-18. Barnes spent the past three seasons at Maryland.
Though he has done much to overhaul Ohio State's on-field product, Day has retained key Meyer hires on his support staff. Mickey Marotti will continue to oversee the Buckeyes' strength efforts, Mark Pantoni will stay on as assistant AD for player personnel, and Brian Voltolini will remain on as the program's general manager.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.