When Ohio State football coach Ryan Day finds a quarterback he likes, he is not shy about making a scholarship offer.
That is exactly what happened on June 21, when Day worked with Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian Academy 2025 quarterback Colin Hurley and promptly offered him a scholarship. The 6-foot, 215-pound Hurley actually has two seasons of varsity football under his belt as he split time with a senior during his eighth-grade year.
Hurley joins Findlay, Ohio, quarterback Ryan Montgomery as early scholarship offers at that position for the 2025 class.
“My visit and camp to Ohio State was amazing,” Hurley said. “I toured the campus, saw some things on the academic side and then it was all about football – whiteboard, film, the facilities and more. I camped and worked exclusively with coach (Ryan) Day. His knowledge of the QB position blew me away. After the camp, he said, ‘Colin, you throw it as good as anyone I’ve seen. The ball shoots out of your hand. You’re super talented. Stay focused, embrace productive discomfort and keep working. We’d love for you to be a Buckeye.’”
Talking about his day at Ohio State, Hurley said, “Everything went great. I thought I did very well. I learned a lot of new stuff from Coach Day. He taught me a lot of new things I had not done before.”
One of the drills Hurley encountered at Ohio State saw the quarterbacks trying to complete a deep out pass along the sideline over a nine-foot-high screen. The ball was anywhere from 20 to 30 yards in the air. The key was to throw as tight a spiral as possible, finding the receiver on the other side and, above all else, not hitting the screen.
“That was difficult because he wanted it thrown a certain way,” Hurley said. “I have to work on that a little bit.”
Hurley said he appreciated the way Day approached the camp.
“I definitely want to be coached hard,” he said. “He coaches his players hard. He wanted everything thrown specifically. As a player, I definitely want that because that can only help me.
“I think he was impressed with my arm talent, my velocity and my accuracy as well.”
Hurley also spent a good bit of time with quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis.
“He was great because he coached me hard as well,” Hurley said. “He was impressed with how I can spin the ball.”
Hurley was asked what is attracting top quarterbacks to Ohio State right now.
“They’ve had a lot of great quarterbacks in the past and they’ve got a really good one right now with C.J. Stroud,” he said. “I think they’re going to be great. They produce a lot of great quarterbacks. I’ve always loved Ohio State growing up.”
Hurley is sorting through roughly 25 scholarship offers. Since the Ohio State camp, he was also offered by Penn State and Washington State. Some of his previous offers have included Miami (Fla.), Georgia, LSU, Florida, Michigan State, Florida State and Missouri.
“I’m not chasing the offers,” Hurley said. “I’m grateful to every coach that has offered me. I just come out here and try to be the best quarterback I can be.”
Hurley was asked about the possibility he could be the top-ranked quarterback or even the No. 1-rated prospect nationally in the 2025 class.
“I just want to be the best version of myself,” he said. “I know if I do what I am capable of doing I could be the best quarterback in the country.”
In a unique twist, Hurley said he walked from his nearby hotel to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center prior to the camp.
“I wanted to clear my head and focus on my way here and stretch my legs a bit,” he said. “That’s just what I like to do before throwing the football. It was only about a mile.”
At the OSU camp, Hurley worked out alongside Ohio State 2024 quarterback commitment Dylan Raiola. The Arizona native Raiola is currently ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect and quarterback in the 2024 class.
“I didn’t try to focus on that,” Hurley said when asked if he tried to match Raiola. “He can spin the ball. I enjoyed competing against him and we all learned some stuff.
“It definitely feels like a great relationship getting to know each other. We will definitely see each other in the future.”
For his part, Raiola was also impressed with what he saw with Hurley.
“He’s a great player, great athlete,” Raiola said of Hurley. “Obviously he’s going to play at the next level. I was talking to him a little bit. We were just trying to get our work in. It’s great to see quarterbacks along this journey.”
As a freshman, Hurley helped lead the Conquerors to a 10-4 record and the Division 2A state championship. He completed 56 percent of his passes (144 of 257) for 2,146 yards with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Trinity Christian defeated Champagnat Catholic 41-23 in the state championship game.
“I played as an eighth grader,” he said. “I split reps with a senior as an eighth grader. Nothing felt new to me (this past year). I know the pressure was there. I just went out there with my team and got better every game.”