RJ Day’s recruitment is picking up steam entering his junior year at St. Francis DeSales High School. It was easy to see why during Ohio State’s final 7-on-7 tournament of the summer on Wednesday.
Day, who recently added offers from Cincinnati, Purdue and Syracuse to a list that now includes offers from 13 FBS schools, was among the biggest standouts of Wednesday’s 32-team tournament that concluded Ohio State’s high school football camp slate for 2025. The class of 2027 quarterback showed substantially improved arm strength from his previous years camping at Ohio State. His ball placement shined as he accurately fit throws into tight windows throughout the day while leading DeSales to the tournament semifinals.
Day, the son of Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, has already had plenty of success in his first two seasons of high school football. With 2,933 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns as a freshman and sophomore, RJ is already DeSales’ career passing leader with two more years as a Stallion still to come. He’s worked hard this offseason to keep getting better, and he’s seeing that work pay off.
“From where I was as a freshman to now, I feel like I've made big jumps,” Day told Eleven Warriors after Wednesday’s camp. “Every year you try to focus on different things, and I'm starting to complete that.”
Of course, Day has some advantages at his disposal that the typical high school quarterback doesn’t, starting with being the son of one of college football’s top head coaches and offensive minds.
“He just gives fatherly advice like everybody else, and he's very knowledgeable, so that also helps,” Day said.
Day’s also had the opportunity to spend extensive time inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and around Ohio State’s quarterbacks since his dad became OSU’s quarterbacks coach in 2017. From J.T. Barrett to Dwayne Haskins to Justin Fields to C.J. Stroud to Kyle McCord to Will Howard, Day’s seen what it takes to play quarterback at the highest level of college football – and this past season, he got to go along for the ride as Ohio State won four straight College Football Playoff games to win the national championship.
The championship run was cathartic for the entire Day family, who had to endure intense criticism following Ohio State’s fourth straight loss to Michigan but got to experience the highest of highs less than two months later. And it showed him the importance of staying even-keeled as his own football career ramps up.
“Getting to be around that (the national championship run) after the last couple of years was great. It was great for our family, great for my sisters and our home,” RJ said. “That puts perspective on the game. You've got to hang in there when times are bad, but you've also got to enjoy it when it's high. You've just got to hang in there and find the happy medium.”
Being in the locker room with the Buckeyes gave RJ a front-row seat to how Howard led Ohio State to a national title, and Day strives to emulate that example as he leads his own team.
“Will was one of the best people I've ever met,” Day said. “He cares about it, he cares about the guys in the locker room, so applying those characteristics just means you’re being a good teammate.”
While Day is prioritizing preparation for his junior season over his recruitment, he says Syracuse, Cincinnati and Purdue are the college he’s connected with the most so far. He has a natural connection to the Orange through McCord, who built such a close relationship with RJ during his three years at Ohio State that he deserved as RJ’s sponsor for his Catholic confirmation.
“He reached out to me after I got the Syracuse offer and we kind of connected on that, which was really cool,” Day said. “He's been a great guidance over the years.”
Day, who says he hopes to make his college decision around this time next summer, says his top priority in choosing a school is how connected he feels with the team’s coaches.
“Coaching and the people I'm going to be around every day is really important to me,” Day said. “All the weight rooms and facilities and all that stuff is cool, but it's going to be who you’re around every day that matters.”
As with his on-field development, having a father who’s seen the recruiting process from both sides as a former college quarterback and now as a college coach has been a great resource for RJ.
“He knows what to look for. Nothing's going to fool him. It helps with that because he kind of sees through whatever somebody might try to put up,” Day said.
That said, RJ said his father isn’t trying to steer him to any specific school. While he values the input of both of his parents, he’ll ultimately make his own decision based on which school he thinks gives him the best chance to succeed.
“Like everybody else, obviously the opinion of my mom and dad matters, it’s just I've got to find the right place for me,” Day said.
