Ohio State football coach Ryan Day couldn’t help but laugh over speculation online that he has a nipple piercing.
During Wednesday’s installment of the “Not Just Football” podcast, Day was asked by host Cam Heyward if he “got a nipple ring” — and referenced the coach’s viral moment at the Buckeyes’ season opener against Texas on Aug. 30.
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At the time, Day made waves online when screengrabs of his interview with Fox Sports’ Jenny Taft appeared to show him with a nipple piercing under his Nike collared shirt.
“I mean, I kind of thought it gave me some street cred there for a second,” Day said with a laugh. “But unfortunately no, I’m not that cool. I don’t know.”
Heyward, a 15-year NFL veteran with the Steelers and former defensive tackle for Ohio State, joked that he “had to bring it up.”
Heyward added that he asked his Steelers teammates and former Buckeyes players Will Howard and Jack Sawyer about Day’s viral moment when they appeared on the “Not Just Football” podcast in November.
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“Hey, the amount of times I’ve been asked that question,” Howard said at the time, adding that both he and Sawyer were at the game, where No. 3 Ohio State defeated No. 1 Texas, 14-7.
Head coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on during warmups before the 2025 Big Ten Football Championship against the Indiana Hoosiers at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 6, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Getty Images
“Didn’t we mess with him a couple times about that?” Sawyer said.
“Oh yeah… I’m hoping it was just a really bad angle I really haven’t gotten confirmation,” Howard joked.
Heyward, who was a first-round pick by the Steelers in the 2011 NFL draft, did not play for Day, who took the head coach job at Ohio State in 2019.
