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Ryan Day’s son commits to Big Ten rival

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated May 10, 2026 11:54 AM ET

The son of Ohio State coach Ryan Day will be playing college football for one of the Buckeyes’ Big Ten rivals.

RJ Day, a three-star quarterback recruit from the class of 2027, has committed to Northwestern, he announced Sunday. He also had offers on the table from the likes of Purdue, Syracuse, Cincinnati, and South Florida.

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

Day is a three-year starter at St. Francis DeSales High School in Columbus, Oh. where he already owns multiple school records, including for passing yards and touchdowns.

The decision to play at Northwestern will unite Day with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who served as his dad’s offensive coordinator at Ohio State before an ill-advised move to the NFL last year.

Ohio State did not really have a spot for Day, especially when he had scholarship offers elsewhere. Interestingly, he is the second high school quarterback with Buckeye ties to end up at a different Big Ten school recently, though this is nowhere near as big a betrayal as that one was.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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