For the past nine years, RJ Day has been a constant presence around the Ohio State football program. Now, he’s turning his focus toward playing for another Big Ten team.
The son of Ohio State coach Ryan Day, RJ Day – a three-star quarterback in the 2027 recruiting class – committed to Northwestern on Sunday. After making an official visit to Evanston over the weekend – with his mother and father alongside him – RJ decided he was ready to be done with the recruiting process.
“It feels like a big sigh of relief that this recruiting process is over. It felt like the right spot for me, and I'm really happy that I'm at a place where I feel comfortable,” RJ told Eleven Warriors on Monday. “Just being around the people, being in the building, and just seeing the vision for the future, just being around the players that are already there and then talking to some of the future commits, there's something special there. There's a lot of guys who are hungry to win there, and I think they're going to do big things within the next couple years.”
Super excited to announce my commitment to further my football and academic career at Northwestern University!! Thank you to everyone along my journey who has made this possible from my family, @BradMaendler , the Desales coaching staff and Jay Hooten at the Armory. Excited for pic.twitter.com/3hLTnjsdSf
— RJ Day (@rj_day1) May 10, 2026
RJ committed to Northwestern just 11 days after receiving his offer from the Wildcats, but they had a big head start on building a relationship with the Day family. Chip Kelly, who became Northwestern’s offensive coordinator in December, has shared a close bond with the Day family since he was Ryan’s offensive coordinator during the elder Day’s own playing career as a quarterback at New Hampshire.
RJ says it’s special to have the chance to follow in his father’s footsteps by playing for Kelly himself.
“It's obviously a really, really cool opportunity and something that's very unique to this situation,” RJ said. “Whenever you get to do something that someone in your family did before you, it's a great honor.”
Ryan Day’s own offensive philosophy is modeled after what he learned from Kelly, who was previously Ohio State’s offensive coordinator in 2024, so the chance to play in a similar offense to that which he’s spent his entire childhood watching was appealing to RJ.
“It's very similar to the offense that I've been exposed to with my dad. It's an offensive system that I currently play in (at St. Francis DeSales High School),” RJ said. “And just the fact that I've been able to be in it already and you kind of take that part out of it, that's a big deal.”
That said, Kelly isn’t the only reason RJ chose to be a Wildcat. Northwestern quarterbacks coach Jerry Neuheisel also played a big role in his decision, RJ said.
“I don't want to understate the impact that Coach Neuheisel had on my recruitment,” RJ said. “Coach Neuheisel is a big part of the reason I'm going to Northwestern as well, along with Coach Kelly.”
“Whenever you get to do something that someone in your family did before you, it's a great honor.”– RJ Day on playing for Chip Kelly like his father
While Northwestern hasn’t won more than eight games in any of the last seven years, RJ believes the Wildcats are on track to become a Big Ten contender, citing the leadership of head coach David Braun, the talent they’ve brought into the program and the university’s investment in football, including the opening of a new $862 million Ryan Field that will open in October.
“Sitting down and talking with Coach Braun, you understand how much he cares about his players and how much he cares about the school, and his passion and his energy is just genuine and it's contagious. It's something that I want to be a part of,” RJ said. “The guys in the building, there's a lot of really good players in that building that people might not see yet. Just being around them this weekend, I got to see that and seeing them at practice, so there's a lot of upside. And then obviously the third thing is that the investment on the university side, just the fact that they're so invested in football now.”
Northwestern’s ranking as one of the nation’s top academic institutions was also a factor in RJ’s decision – especially when it came to getting the approval of his mother, Nina.
“Academics are really important to my mom,” RJ said. “That meant a lot to her and her signing off.”
RJ valued both of his parents’ input throughout the recruiting process, and expressed gratitude that his father focused on what was best for his son rather than on his own coaching interests.
“It was a family effort in terms of getting to the point where I was ready to commit. And just him being there meant a lot to me, just ’cause him and my mom's opinion matter a lot to me,” RJ said. “He just did the best he could to look at it from a dad's lens, not a coach's lens.”
I love the idea of Ryan Day getting the recruiting pitch, a tour of the facilities, etc., at another Big Ten school. pic.twitter.com/F2D5jVywaK
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) May 10, 2026
RJ said he received many congratulations from people within the Ohio State football program after he announced his commitment. Even though he’ll now be playing for another Big Ten school, he’ll continue to maintain relationships with the Buckeye players and coaches he’s gotten to know over the last nine years.
That said, his primary loyalty will now be to Northwestern as he prepares to be a Wildcat.
“Ohio State was my family for a long time, and a lot of people in that building will continue to be family. But my focus is now shifting towards what can I do to maximize the Northwestern Wildcats and everything that they do,” RJ said.
RJ has thought about the very real possibility that he could one day play against his father’s team now that he’s headed to another Big Ten school. He won’t be on the team yet when Northwestern comes to Ohio Stadium to play the Buckeyes at the Shoe this year, but he will be when Ohio State travels to Evanston to play the Wildcats next year. If the time comes that he is quarterbacking the Wildcats in a game against the Buckeyes, RJ says he’ll prepare for that game the same way he’d approach any other game.
“Playing in the Big Ten, that means you're playing Ohio State. But at Northwestern, we're focused on winning every game on the schedule, and that's the main focus. And if that happens to be Ohio State that week, then prepare as hard as we can, just like we would any other week,” RJ said.
For now, RJ’s focus is on having the best senior season he can at DeSales, especially now that he’s made his college decision. Already DeSales’ all-time leading passer with 5,714 yards and 54 touchdowns, RJ believes his commitment will allow him to be fully locked in on quarterbacking his current team this season, which he expects to pay dividends on the field.
“I don't think there's any more concern or any more stress or any more losing focus in terms of where I'm going to college, so now I can just give it all back to my teammates at DeSales,” RJ said.
