Ohio State is devoting more resources this year to football support staff who are involved in coaching during practices and games.
The school listed 18 quality control coaches and other assistants for spring practice, a staff that is in addition to coach Ryan Day and his 10 primary assistant coaches.
The combined salaries of the coaching support staff total $1.78 million, according to information obtained by The Dispatch through a public records request.
It represents more than a two-thirds increase over the total from 2024. Thirteen quality control coaches and similar assistants and analysts who were listed as part of the support staff last year made just over $1 million in combined compensation. Six will also earn six figures this year after only two previously did so.
Tony Johnson, the son of longtime Buckeyes defensive coach Larry Johnson who holds an official title as senior advisor and analyst, is the staff’s highest-paid quality control coach at $206,000.
Michael Hunter, a former graduate assistant who was promoted to assistant secondary coach, and Marcus Johnson, an assistant offensive line coach who was the offensive line coach at Purdue the last two seasons, are also each making $200,000.
The NCAA last year removed limits on how many staffers could provide on-field coaching instruction, a move that figured to incentivize Ohio State and other top programs to bolster their personnel.
“They have more of an impact,” Day said, “because they’re all coaches.”
Before the cap was lifted, only Day, 10 assistants and four graduate assistants could be hands on with players on the field. Now, the only limits remaining involve the number of coaches who can recruit high school players or transfers off campus.
Day pointed to the offensive line as a position group that is poised to benefit from the additional support staff this year.
Along with hiring Marcus Johnson as an assistant offensive line coach, the Buckeyes also brought in Charlie Dickey in a similar capacity. Dickey had spent the previous six seasons as the offensive line coach at Oklahoma State and a decade at Kansas State before that.
They will supplement Tyler Bowen, the former Virginia Tech offensive coordinator who was hired in February to replace Justin Frye as the offensive line coach.
“In the past, it was really just the offensive line coach and a graduate assistant,” Day said. “Now you get three experienced guys working every day with the offensive line, working in recruiting and in meetings. It splits up individual time, which is really important. It’s great.”
The Buckeyes had Tim Drevno as a quality control coach on staff last season to work with Frye and graduate assistant Mike Sollenne.
As part of the growth of the support staff, Ohio State also hired Nate Ebner, a former walk-on from Hilliard who became a three-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, as an additional quality control coach involved with special teams.
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Ebner joined Rob Keys, who has been a special teams quality control coach since 2023.
Ohio State has not released the most recent contracts or salary information for the primary 10 assistant coaches.
They made a combined $11.43 million in basic compensation last season, leading all public schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision, along with totaling nearly $4 million in bonuses for the championship run.
The school gave Day a raise and contract extension in February following the national title. Under the terms of the deal, Day is due to receive $12.5 million as part of his annual compensation package, making him the second-highest paid coach behind Georgia’s Kirby Smart.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.
