Ohio State Buckeyes GM Reinforces Key Pillar for Ryan Day's Excellence in Columbus

The Ohio State Buckeyes have maintained a standard of excellence few college football programs can reach, let alone sustain. The Buckeyes have done both and then some, culminating in a plethora of College Football Playoff appearances and two national titles over the last 11 seasons.

The standard remains winning championships every season. Buckeyes general manager Mark Pantoni knows it, which is what he has instilled under Day's leadership. But it really began with former Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer when Pantoni was with him during his Florida Gators stint.

"Going back to 2006, there was no social media at the time," Patoni said on "The Program with Woj." "So handwriting envelopes was really the main way to recruit high school kids and their families. Back then, it was still VHS tapes and logging them onto DVDs."

There has been a drastic change in the NIL era for the Buckeyes, which Pantoni elaborated further about.

"So over the last two years, I've really had to dedicate myself to focusing on salary caps, reading as much as I could, literature-wise, on how the NFL operates and how to negotiate with agents," Pantoni said.

What this means for Ohio State is it's fully on the cutting edge of NIL, navigating agents and always ensuring the team is as good as was the previous year. Ultimately, Pantoni and his crew want to use the transfer portal as an asset rather than an extra advantage. With the unpredictable roster turnover, it's more about staying ready every season than simply preparing to get ready.

Having to change his tune across the last 14 seasons has been an adjustment for Pantoni, but it's simply part of the evolution of the sport, he said.

"I'm kind of like Switzerland, where I have no attachment to them," Pantoni said. "I'm evaluating the film and coming up with grades and coming up with evaluations on how much money we're going to be able to pay them to be fair in that locker room. You almost have to take the emotion out of it. You don't want to have feelings into it where, if you have relationships, it may lean you into potentially making bad monetary valuations. You try to bring in the players who are the right fits."

Those "right fits" continue to pan out, whether it's wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, quarterback Julian Sayin or a stout defense.

Whether it continues in future years, though, remains to be seen.

Only time will tell.