Jerry Azumah, in the fall of 1998, was a star senior running back at the University of New Hampshire when Ryan Day was a highly touted, third-string freshman quarterback and Chip Kelly was in his second year as the school’s offensive line coach.
This week, Day and Kelly are in college football’s national spotlight. Day is in his sixth year as head coach at Ohio State University, and he brought Kelly aboard this year as offensive coordinator. The Buckeyes will face Texas on Friday night in the Cotton Bowl, a college football playoffs semifinal.
Azumah, who had a seven-year Pro Bowl career with the Chicago Bears, will be glued to his television to watch.
“I was never a fan of Ohio State, but now that Ryan (Day) and Chip (Kelly) are there, I am really focused on what they are doing,” said Azumah Wednesday morning from his Chicago home. “I am always rooting for my UNH guys. I am really happy for their success.”
The winner between No. 8 Ohio State and No. 5 Texas will advance to the national championship on Monday, Jan. 20 against the winner of Thursday’s semifinal between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 6 Penn State.
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Day served as a quarterbacks coach under Kelly with the Philadelphia Eagles (2015) and San Francisco 49ers (2016). Their New Hampshire ties aren’t limited to UNH. Kelly and Day attended Manchester Central High, 15 years apart.
“I always followed (Day) and all the guys I played with,” Azumah said. “I was ecstatic when he got this opportunity at Ohio State to become head coach. I am pleased when anybody makes something for themselves at a high level that came from UNH. I kept an eye on (Day’s) whole career; what he’s been able to do with that program has been phenomenal. I am pulling for him to win a championship.”
The Buckeyes, who went 10-2 in the regular season, beat No. 9 Tennessee, 42-17, in the first round, and then beat top-ranked Oregon, 41-21 in the New Year’s Day quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl.
“What (Day and Kelly) did against Oregon, the No. 1 team in the country, was phenomenal,” said Azumah, who works as an ambassador for the Bears. “I looked at the Xs and Os, and they beat them in every facet of the game, and that’s coaching. The sky is the limit for Ohio State. If they stay focused and execute their game plan there should be no problem with them winning it all.”
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Texas advanced to the semifinals after a 38-24 win over No. 12 Clemson, and 39-31 double overtime New Year’s Day win against fourth-seeded Arizona State University.
Stephan Lewis was a running back for UNH during Day’s three seasons as the UNH starting quarterback, and Kelly was the team’s offensive coordinator all four years.
“I think (Day and Kelly are) amazing,” said Lewis, now a football coach at Phillips Exeter Academy. “Ryan overall is a great dude, I love him, and I am very excited for him, Chip and Ohio State. Hopefully, they can get this thing done.”
Lewis, too, was not a fan of Ohio state before Day’s arrival.
“I am now,” Lewis laughed. “I think Ohio State is playing great football right now. They showed how dominant they could be against Oregon. Texas is a good football team, but I think the Buckeyes can pull it off.”
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Lewis is not surprised at Day’s coaching success at college’s highest level.
“Not at all,” Lewis said. “Just the way Ryan went about himself. He was always essentially a coach on the field. He always understood everybody’s job. I had no doubt he would go into coaching, and not only go into coaching, but for him to be as successful as he is. No surprises there.”
Ryan Day has two brothers, Chris and Tim. Chris, a retired Manchester police officer, lives in Hampton, and loves seeing all the Ohio State football shirts and jerseys around town and at the playground of his son’s elementary school.
“All these kids in Hampton wearing Ohio State stuff is awesome,” Chris said. “They all want to have a Jeremiah Smith jersey.”
Smith had 70 receptions for 1,224 yards and 14 touchdowns in his freshman year with the Buckeyes. Smith stepped up against Oregon, hauling in seven passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns.
“We’re all very proud of (Day) and very excited (about Friday),” Chris said. “We’re rooting for him to finally get the ultimate goal and win a national championship; something that is rare for any coach to be able to do.”
Chris speaks to his brother two or three times a week; the talks are always first about family, he said, and then the conversation shifts to that week’s opponent.
Ohio State has rebounded since losing to unranked rival Michigan, 13-10, in the final game of the regular season. Ohio State’s only other loss this season was a 32-21 loss at Oregon on Oct. 12.
“Ryan took that (Michigan) loss the hardest,” Chris said. “No one wanted to win that game more than him, no one was hurt more than him.”
Chris Day said a lot of people from across New Hampshire became Ohio State fans when Day joined the program in 2017 under Urban Meyer. Day served as offensive coordinator for two seasons before being named head coach prior to the 2019 season.
The amount of Ohio State fans then grew with the hiring of Kelly, who still has ties throughout New Hampshire, and the Seacoast. Kelly served as head coach at UCLA from 2018 to 2023, and then agreed to serve as Day’s offensive coordinator last February.
“My phone is always fluttering with people looking for tickets,” Chris said. “Everybody up here is rooting for them.”
Mike Zamarchi first met Kelly at a coaching clinic when Kelly was at UNH, and Zamarchi was the boys basketball coach at Marshwood High School just over the state border in Maine. The two talked about coaching, and struck up a friendship that now has lasted a quarter of a century.
“(Kelly) is the same person as he was back then,” said Zamarchi, a history teacher at Marshwood. “He’s very down to Earth. He’s very generous, and loyal to his friends.”
Zamarchi, and Marshwood High School athletic director Rich Buzzell, another friend of Kelly, has followed Kelly’s coaching career from New Hampshire to Oregon, to the NFL, and back to the college game with UCLA to Ohio State.
Zamarchi, Buzzell and other friends of Kelly from the Seacoast try to take in at least one game a season. This year, a group went to Chicago and took in Ohio State’s game against Northwestern in November at Wrigley Field.
“Hopefully, Ohio State is peaking at the right time,” Zamarchi said. “It’s pretty unbelievable that two guys from New Hampshire are coaching in a college football semifinal with a chance at getting to the championship.”
Buzzell said both Kelly and Day are more than just coaches to their players, and that’s what makes them successful.
“They’re dedicated to football, but they want to help kids be better people, their purpose is beyond football,” Buzzell said. “They’re great football coaches, but they’re also trying to make people around them better. They’re extremely competitive, and both fun guys to be around. It’s always good to talk shop, and talk family with them.”
If Ohio State were to end the Longhorn season, Buzzell said the key is to establish a running game early on and score quickly.
“I think that’s been the magic potion for them,” Buzzell said. “That Jeremiah Smith kid is a talent, both teams will be ready. Ohio State put themselves in position to have a chance to get to the national championship game. Everyone back here, including me, is super happy for them. These two live, eat, and breathe football. They try to make people’s lives better. We’re all pulling for them; hopefully, they can pull it out.”
Day is making his second trip to the semifinals. Ohio State beat Clemson, 49-28, in a semifinal in 2021, then lost to Alabama in the national championship, 52-24.
“No one wants to win more than Ryan right now,” Chris Day said. “After getting so close before, he’s in the zone right now. He’s really locked in and focused. We are excited.”
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Kelly, as head coach, led Oregon to the BCS championship game in 2011, falling to Auburn, 22-19 on a field goal as time expired.
“Chip has a lot of unfinished business as well, he never has won the big one,” Chris Day said. “The goal is to win this thing. The talent on the roster is there. They’ve both lost in big games, and lost, I think that helps them out, I think it plays a factor.”
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