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we are no longer this team that's going to be fighting for six wins anymore.
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Malachi Tony, Is he going to be ready?
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B
Dante Moore.
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C
He showed improvement.
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B
Better command.
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What's going on y'? All? Bud Elliott here of the COVID 3 College Ball podcast. And this is summer school today. It's a big one. That's my man, Dave Biddle. Bucknuts.com does a great job covering all things Ohio State for us on the 24. 7 sports network. Dave, welcome back man.
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B
But always a pleasure being with you. I love doing summer school with you.
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C
It's. It's always a blast. All right, so 12 and 2 overall last year. 90 Big Ten regular season. You know, obviously Buckeyes have high standards coming off the national championship the year before. You know, did lose in, in the Big Ten title game, lost in the Cotton bowl to Miami. Mostly a game. I think they kind of flipped on that pick six 24 to 14 in the semis. Like are we at a place where we were able to complain about making it to the national semifinals and, and losing? If you're Ohio State, I wasn't.
- [03:34]
B
I. A lot of fans were, were upset about the way the season ended and I get it. You know, they, I think maybe even some fans maybe didn't have high expectations as far as winning a national championship last year. Then Ohio state starts off 120 and you know, the ranked number one. It's like, okay, they're going to get this done. They're better than anybody thought. And they, you know, even though they only lost by three to Indiana, they got really, got physically manhandled in the trenches and then that was just exacerbated against Miami. So the season ended even though they didn't get, they only lost by 10 to Miami. As you said, the pick six was huge. That's kind of stuck in everybody's crawl. The way I looked at it, I came into the season saying if they beat Michigan and make the, the CFP coming off a national championship, that's a successful season. They had to get the Michigan monkey off their back. They did in a big way in Ann Arbor. 279 make the CFP. So I can't go back on that and say the season was a, was a failure. But I was kind of like the fans that thought coming into the year they might be more like they'd probably drop a regular season game, maybe even two. And then Julian San was much better than I thought, you know, as a red shirt freshman until the last two games. So I do not consider last year failure. If they would have lost to Michigan, missed the cfp, I would have said that. But beating Michigan and making the cfp, that, that was what made it a successful season in my opinion. This year I think it's A different story
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C
because of last year of Jeremiah and year two of Julian. Like. Like there's. There's real pressure.
- [04:53]
B
Yeah. And I just think the coaching staff this might be. And we'll see. The great thing about sports is we'll see. Arthur Smith might be a terrible hire as. As offensive coordinator. I think he's really good for a multitude of reasons. Bud. Because it allows Ryan Day to step back and be more of a CEO like he was when Chip Kelly was offensive coordinator at Ohio State when they won the national title. Brian Hartline is the best in the business, as you know, as far as recruiting and developing wide receivers. I think he's going to be a good head coach at. At. At you. At South Florida. Usf. I always get UCF and USF confused, even though I shouldn't. One's in Tampa, one's in. In Orlando, but usf. I think he's going to do well, but he was a little over his head as an offensive coordinator. I think Arthur Smith's his. His background with the offensive line and, you know, the running game concept, I think he's really going to help out and, and yeah, year two of Julian, last year of jj, the offensive line, although they, you know, ended the season poorly last year, they have a lot of continuity, a lot of experience coming back 91 career starts coming back on the offensive line. So Matt Patricia with the defense, even though they're losing a lot of guys, they reload on that defensive defense looks good once again. So, yeah, it's not national championship or bust. Kind of like it was two years ago. Really felt like national championship or bus two years ago. It's not like that and they have a really difficult schedule. But I do think this team will be better than what they were last year.
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C
Two years ago, really, to me, felt like the last possible year under like, at least in light of the current infrastructure of the sport, like it was the last year pre Rev Share. So it's like this is probably the last time you can really build one of these super teams. You know, there's only like maybe 12 teams, you know, spending at like the level that is even close to what we now have with Rev Share. You know, now I feel like it's just so much more balanced across the sport. You know, when you have 70 teams deploying, you know, 20 plus million, you know, just kind of like the additional marginal dollar that you can spend on top on. On, you know, on top of the rev Share, like it matters, but like, you know, the difference between 0 and 20 is a lot bigger than the difference between like 30 and 50, you know. So I, yeah, like, I, I totally agree. Like 2 years ago it was like, they have got to win this thing. Like, like this is, you know, an absolute load up. I want to dig into Arthur Smith a little bit more. Like Falcons fans have some mixed feedback on this. When I saw them interacting with Ohio State fans, you know, Titans fans as well, like he did, he was really good at protecting his quarterbacks typically. And there's a lot of run game stuff there. Like what if. What have you heard as far as how this offense is going to look different under Smith? Obviously saying, was sacked five times against Ohio State, five times against Indiana. So, you know, taste in their mouth coming off the. The two final losses there probably like we got to get better protection around Julian. But I'm curious to see how this offense is going to look.
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B
Yeah, I am too. And they, they kept everything close to the vest. When we'd ask about, you know, even like minor tweaks, they weren't, they weren't giving anything away. And then the spring game, they were as vanilla as could be. So we'll see. There was definitely going to be Arthur Smith's fingerprints all over this offense. He's not going to reinvent the wheel. It's still going to be the Ryan Day Ohio State offense. But we saw two years ago with Chip Kelly, they did things they normally didn't do, like run the quarterback. Now with Will Howard, you're going to run the quarterback more than you are with Julian Sand. So I'm not saying it's going to be that. Yeah, you look at it reminds me a little bit of Matt Patricia because you had, we had Lions fans come and say what a terrible hire this was as defensive coordinator. I was like, okay, hold on. He's not coming here as head coach. And the list of guys who are really good college coaches who failed as NFL head coaches as long and includes names like Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier. Keep going. If I wanted to. Those guys are really, really. Those guys are legendary head coaches in college, including the Goat and Nick Saban. So I take it with a grain of salt and, and I know they had Derrick Henry. That's a big reason why. But one of his years with the Titans, they had the number three offense in, in the NFL, total offense. And that was Ryan Tannehill's. Tannehill's best season as a quarterback. Now it helps when you have Derrick Henry and you have a really good offensive line like they did. I I get it. But I think this and, and Steelers fans were saying the same thing. They were saying, well, our offense was only like 20th in the NFL with Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator. Then you look deeper, it's like, well, you were 32nd in payroll, the cheapest payroll in the NFL. They were number one in defensive payroll, dead last in offensive payroll. You can't be dead last in offensive payroll and expect elite results. So we'll see. I think Arthur Smith is going to help this offensive line the run game. And he's, you know, Ryan Day said he's, he's has, he's, he's adding a lot of passing game concepts too. It's not just, it's not just the run game. So he's coming here and like, yeah, you guys do whatever you want with passing and I'm just going to work on the run game. Ryan Day was saying he's going to all in on pretty much everything, so. And he doesn't have to recruit, bud. This, this. It's still weird. You can have a, an offensive coordinator that doesn't go on the road recruiting this, this day and age of where he can have as many resistance as you want, only 10 can recruit. So he's just the offensive coordinator. Now when they bring guys in for visits, they're meeting with Arthur Smith if they're an offensive player for sure. All the defensive players meet with Matt Patricia. Patricia actually does go on the road recruiting. Not a lot, but he does go on the road recruiting and he says he likes it. So we'll see. I think Arthur Smith, when the dust settles, it's going to be proven to be a home run higher. I don't know, maybe it's a sack bunt double play. We'll see.
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C
Yeah, I mean, I think that's better for our sport, by the way. Like, it's going to make the game better if you can put better quality coaches as coordinators because they don't have to be like elite recruiters, you know? And like, you can allow some of your position coaches who are elite recruiters to go out and be awesome at that and compensate them appropriately for that. I just think it's gonna make our game better to watch. Right? Like, like, it's so hard to find somebody who's an absolute unicorn, who's like an amazing recruiter and an amazing coach and an amazing schemer, like all in one for a coordinator. And then if you do, good luck holding on to him for very long.
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B
Right?
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C
Like, like, I just, I think it's good for Our game, honestly, that they're allowing that now. But it is kind of a shock, like, compared to, you know, what we. The game we grew up covering.
- [10:32]
B
Right. You know, Sabin, I mean, obviously, I mean he's. He's the goat, like, as we all know. But like, I think he. Because the continuity was always so important and it still is to some degree. But I think Saban like flipped it on its head, saying, well, wait a minute, you can almost have like coaching rehab here. You know, bring in Sark, bring in Bill o', Brien, all these guys that he brought in, Lane Kiffin and Ryan Day's kind of doing that now. And it's not like people are saying, well, what if Arthur Smith is only one and done? Well, if you're a Buckeye fan, did you care? Chip Kelly was one and done. It's a transaction. Everything is a year to year transaction now in college football. So. And there's a really good chance, in my opinion. Arthur Smith went to North Carolina. He was an offensive lineman at North Carolina. Right. It's a really good chance, in my opinion. He is going to be one and done. He's going to do a good job. North Carolina, you know, things go south with Bill Belichick again, he could be two and done. And I think they're going to give the job to his son. Like, he hopes Arthur Smith could be the head coach of North Carolina this time next year. But if Ohio State achieves their goals, that that's a home run for Ryan Day. And I think, I think like Nick Saban, even though it was a different time, but it wasn't that long ago, showed the way that you. It. Yeah, continuity can be important, but getting the best coaches year to year is the most important thing. I think Ryan Day is kind of taking a page out of Nick Saban's book. Good book to take a page out of.
- [11:40]
C
Yeah, for sure. I forgot what year it was that the Bama photo had like the million guys in polo shirts and other staffs were like, wait, what? Like they got. They got as many people as us, like us in South Carolina combined. Like, this is. This is different look, you know. All right, so Julian saying, really kind of a great year. If you look at it, you know, a couple hiccups, but first year as a starter, you know, guy who I think is still kind of maturing physically. Where do they specifically want him to get better?
- [12:13]
B
Oh, I would say making sure he doesn't. That he takes his shots on explosive plays and it's not like he didn't have explosive plays last year, but he should have had more. Now he's a registered freshman. They're also telling you don't make mistakes. So he has all that going on in his head. But there were times last year where, you know, Carnell Tate might have been open deep or JJ Smith might have been open deeper. Ennis or even Max Claire, like down the seam. And he hit a good share of those. But he also sometimes would check down when he had a guy open deep. So that's one thing they definitely want him to. So it's processing, processing. But they. Overall he's, he's so accurate with the football, but they want him to get better at processing. They want him to be able to run the ball, you know, not take hits. But if it's there, get the first down. Or even if it's not a first down, if it's, if it's first down and you get five yards, instead of throwing the ball away, get those five yards and get out of bounds or slide. Second and five is way better than second and 10. So again, he's not going to be a guy that's going to run the ball like Will Howard did two years ago, but he's got to. He can't have negative rushing yards. And I know sacks count against rushing yards, which is, you know, in college football, as we all know, which I'm not a huge fan of that, but it's the way it is. But just once or twice a game, pick up a cheap first down with your legs kind of, you know, I hate to say it, kind of what Carson Beck did against Ohio State, I didn't expect that. You expect Fernando Mendoza is going to run on you. That's part of his game. Carson Beck picked up a couple of cheap first downs, maybe more than a couple. That's what Julian can do and he's shown that he can do that. I think a lot of that, bud, is not Julian being afraid to run. I think it's Ryan Day kind of coaching it out of his quarterbacks as we've seen it, that Will Howard was the one exception. Even Justin Fields later said that, yeah, Ryan told me not to run too much. That was a lot. Because they didn't really have a backup quarterback. They basically had walk ons that were on scholarship just to fill out the quarterback room. Ryan's first year. So even with Justin Fields, they told him not to run. CJ Stroud, he told him not to run. So I think a lot of that's Ryan Day just trying to keep his quarterback safe. But again, I'm not saying it. Run Julian and let him get like smoked by a linebacker, get down, slide, or get out of bounds.
- [14:07]
C
So on the back, I was going to ask this later, but like on, on the back of quarterback situation, like, Sinclair looked pretty good in the spring game. That's a. For folks at home who have not seen him. Like, this is a big ass quarterback. Like, he's kind of. You remember Michael Bishop of Kansas State back in the 90s. He's kind of built like him. Like, like when I watch Ohio State, I'm like, man, I wish they could be a little bit better in the red zone in some of these critical games, you know, and obviously like JJ is a great red zone option, clearly, but you know, it. We saw some of the short yardage stuff against Indiana. Is there any chance you could see. And I know St. Clair is like, not like crazy fast, but he is like seriously difficult to bring down just due to his size. Any chance we can see some like, St. Clair packages in some of these like, you know, short yardage type stuff?
- [14:56]
B
There's a chance. Like, I would bet against it just because Ryan Day probably doesn't want to even have a hint of a two quarterback system. Even though that wouldn't be a two quarterback system. It would just be almost like what
- [15:05]
C
they did with Tebow at Florida, you know, like in, in the short when it had Chris League.
- [15:09]
B
Yeah. And they talked about doing it last year with Lincoln Keenholtz. Not that he. Lincoln was. Lincoln's a better runner than Julian, but not a. Not a huge guy like Tavian Sinclair. As you mentioned, they list Tavian at six four two. He looks a lot more like six five to me. They do this all the time. They listed sonny Styles at 6:40, goes to the combine and measures in at 6:5. It's the one team that like, kind of short changes their players sometimes. But you're right. And, and he's, he's one of those 64230 guys that's not afraid to throw his body around too. So I think that would be effective. If I had to bet. I don't think they'll do it. But who knows with Arthur Arthur Smith might be like talking Ryan Dan to it. Hey, let's get Tavian out there. And furthermore, you kind of want to keep Tavian happy, you know, you want to make sure now he knows Julian. This is going to be Julian's last year and he's going to be the guy next year if everything plays out like it's like we think, but still getting him some playing time and keeping him happy is probably, probably a good idea because in this day and age you don't want to have a disgruntled guy entering his third year and could possibly transfer. So yeah, I don't know. That's intriguing. I, I, that that would be, I think a smart move. I don't know if they'll do it though, bud. Maybe they, they need to check in with you on these things.
- [16:11]
C
I mean, no, I just like, I, I flashback to like, like you know, you, you see him without the pads on an Under Armour or, or, or at lead 11. I was like, okay, that guy's built different like that, that is a different looking dude for a high school kid. And obviously like, you know, he's kept it going in Ohio State's weight room. Speaking of different built dudes, Jeremiah is still on campus and that is just, that's so cool to be able to cover a guy like that. Obviously a lot of guys though are not on campus. Carnell Tate to the draft. Graham and Quincy Porter are both gone. I assume Ohio State's going to be just fine here, but can you tell me how they're going to be just fine as far as the guys who are not Jeremiah?
- [16:46]
B
Yeah, I thought they would be obviously top heavy with Jeremiah. Still have the best wide receiver in college football. But I thought depth would be an issue after they lost the guys to the Portal. But they did a good job getting a couple under the radar guys. Devin McEwen from UT San Antonio looked really good this spring. I thought he'd be a depth piece Buzz even though he had good stats. But I'm like, okay, he had good stats at UT San Antonio. He looks good. He's a senior. They really like him. I think he'll probably be the third starter they got. Obviously jj, they've got Brandon Ennis coming back. Was really the number four receiver last year because you had, you had Jeremiah, you had Carnell Tate and really Max Claire was really the slot receiver. Even though he was a tight end, he wasn't doing a lot of blocking. He was basically the slot receiver. So Brandon was kind of like the number four guy. Now be the number two guy. He was a captain last year as a junior. Hard worker. I think Brand Ennis is going to have like not a huge year, but a good year. And then Devin McEwen, right, is right there, that number three. The other transfer they got from LSU, a young man named Kyle Parker. He's, he's solid I think McEwen looked a little better than Parker, even though Parker, I think was ranked a little higher in the portal by 24, 7 sports. And then they've got some freshmen they really like. Obviously, Chris Henry Jr. He's the guy that, you know, five star, number two wide receiver in the country. We all know Chris Henry Jr, LeBrock Boyd. Brock Boyd was a three star prospect ranked number 100 in the country at the wide receiver position, like right around the 700th ranked kid in the country. But it's because he didn't like going to like camps. He, he played at a powerhouse program in Texas and put up monster stats. He is going to play. He's going to play a lot as a true freshman. Probably not, but he's going to play. So Brock Boyd's going to add depth. So they like their true freshman class with Chris Henry Jr. Brock Boyd, Jacquaden Guilford. But it's Devin McEwen and Parker have really added some, some depth there. Like, I thought those guys might be like number five, number six receivers. No, those guys are going to play a decent amount. I do think Cortez Hankton, the new wide receivers coach who's replacing Brian Hartline, coming from lsu, I do think he's going to use a little bit more of a, of a rotation. Heartline was basically, if you're not in my top four, you're not playing because what am I going to do? Take. Why am I taking Jeremiah Smith off the field for you if you're not as good as him? Why? That was basically his mantra and it made a lot of sense. But I get the feeling Hankin's probably going to play more like six guys, five or six guys rather than just four. So the depth is a little better than I thought, buddy.
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C
Interesting. I like Boyd's brother Brady is at Texas Tech. Like, I'm curious like, like how, like they spread it out and run four wide all the time. Like, like I'm curious like how he didn't, you know, end up there. I just, you know, kind of going back here, looking at some of his, his track times, they're like, like, okay, you know, they're not like amazing. So like, do you see him in a different role than what they use Ennis for?
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B
It's pretty similar. It's pretty similar. And that, that's the thing. Like, he's going to be like the future slot now. He can play all three spots. Ryan Day said that I've been calling him a slot receiver because he just, he reminds Me so much of Anthony Gonzalez wearing a number 11 like, like Gonzalez did at Ohio State as well. Which reminds me. Yeah, he's like, he's, he's fast, but it's like, it's everything else. It's his toughness, his iq. His dad's a coach. He catches everything. He had the best catch of the spring game. I thought it didn't count because it was out of bounds, but it was one of those balls. It's like, oh, not even gonna get a fingertip on that. It was throw weight out of bounds. He caught it and he barely got. Barely was out of bounds. I was like, geez, didn't count. But it was like the best catch of the spring game. I thought so. He's just one of those guys that's just, he's just, you know, he just loves ball. He catches everything. And he didn't like going to camps. He just likes playing real football. So when people say, like, how was he like, ranked that low? It's like he, he didn't like going to recruiting camps. So way it goes, and they, they
- [20:15]
C
probably got him for cheap. So it's a great way to, to load the roster up there. Good job, Ohio State. Offensive line wise. When I looked at this, like, this looks like it should be one of the better groups in the country. Like, is there any reason why it wouldn't be? Like, what's their real potential this year?
- [20:33]
B
I think they're going to be really good because of the experience they have coming back and now with Arthur Smith coming in and adding his expertise. But there's no getting around the fact they got their butts kicked against Indiana and Miami got destroyed before that. Julian was thing only got sacked like what, like six times all year or something like that in the regular season. Then he gets stacked 10 times in the two postseason games. And it wasn't like a fluke thing. Like they were just getting like tossed around. They were a little banged up. And Indiana's defensive line was fantastic. And Miami's defensive line was even better in my opinion. So. But a lot of people are saying, how can you say the offensive line is going to be good? Watching those last two games, I get it. But I do think they're going to be improved this year and they were really good during the regular season. So I just think we talked about continuity before with coaching, how that might be a little overrated. I don't think it's overrated at all in an offensive line. I think that's huge, having that continuity. 91 career starts, I believe is the most of any offensive line of power four that's coming back this year and they're losing tag with Shabola who transferred to Kentucky. He started a lot of games. Most of those 91 career starts are what I call the big three of Austin Seraveld, Luke Montgomery and then Carson Hinsman center. Hensman's going to be a rare four year starter at center if you clue the 2024 season when he finally took over for Seth McLaughlin after he got hurt because Hensman started the previous year as a redshirt freshman. So he's going to be having a center that has as a four year starter. Fifth senior is just absolutely huge. So. And they've got some depth on the offensive line too, so we'll see. They ended the season terribly, but overall I thought they were good last year bringing all these guys back. I think this is going to be a really good offensive line but really tough schedule. We'll find out very quickly if I'm right or not.
- [22:10]
C
Miami also made a couple other pretty damn good offensive lines look bad down the stretch. I mean like A M was a pretty decent offensive line and they, they ate them up obviously. Like they gave Indiana all they wanted for, you know, for the entire like that was finally just like a really high ceiling off like defensive line that was playing like actually healthy and, and just you know, could play the entire game. Yeah, I, I agree with you. I, I think that this should be a really strong group running back wise. How do you see the carry shaking out here?
- [22:39]
B
Yeah, Bo Jackson is definitely going to be the starter and he had a good year as a true freshman and he's going to be better as a sophomore. I think that's reasonable to assume. He had about 1100 rushing yards average a little north of 6 yards per carry. I think he, and they, they've said this. He's got to be able to be, and he showed some of this. He's got to be able to be a guy that makes the first man miss most of the time. What I say about great running backs usually makes the first man miss falls forward and he does a good job of that. He usually falls forward after contact. He's got the, the makings of a, of a stud running back. And then behind him it's gonna be a really good battle between Jacoby Jackson, a seventh year senior transferred from Florida and sophomore Isaiah west, who played a decent amount as a true freshman last year. Jacoby Jackson looked good in the spring and Bo Jackson and Isaiah west missed the Spring, they got their. Both had a shoulder scope. They're both going to be fine. Was a. As far as shoulder injuries go, very minor. And Jacoby Jackson took like all the first team reps because he had some other younger running backs that were out as well. And he looked good, but he's not going to be the starter or anything. But he's going to be a good number two. Number three. I thought it'd be good between the tackles. Bo Bud. But he also, he's catching the ball pretty well out of the back. He's smooth out of the backfield catching the ball. I did not expect that. Seventh year senior. They got two seventh year seniors, Hunter Welson, the tight end they brought in. Those guys have a Covid year, a regular red shirt year, medical red shirt year, now in their seventh year. So yeah, I think it's gonna. And then the other guy that's gonna factor in behind those top three guys is Legend Bay. And he's more of a slot, you know, a little slash like wide receiver, running back. He was a high school quarterback. Really, really, really dynamic. I mean, you watch his film playing in Texas. He would just run away from everybody and they like him a lot. Ryan Day called him a poor man's Tyreek Hill and. But he was banged up. He had a, you know, he had a torn. Not a torn, sorry. He had a pulled hamstring during spring, so he didn't play that much. But they really like him. Ryan Day can't talk about the offense without just bringing up Legend Bay. We gotta get Legend Bay back because he can add some explosives for us. So he's kind of that wild card. But it's going to be Bo Jackson the starter, then Jacoby Jackson, Isaiah west, two, three, in whatever order. And then Legend Bay is kind of that, that joker, you know, that wild card.
- [24:39]
C
Absolutely. All right, Dave, we'll hit our first break. Here we come back defense, schedule kind of predictions for Ohio State season. This has been really fun.
- [24:47]
B
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- [26:15]
C
All right guys, welcome back into summer school on the COVID 3 podcast. That's my man. Dave Biddle. Buck Nuts been the best. Still the best Ohio State website in the country. Everything you guys need. Ohio State go to Buck Nuts. All right, so defense, small task here. Gotta replace probably four first round picks. I think if I'm looking at some of these mock drafts correctly, a lot of key guys gone. But obviously Ohio State recruits at a high level. They do the transfer portal at a high level. Dave, like, what are like the most striking differences to you as far as like what they're going to run and how it's going to be different for this 26 defense compared to the 25 defense?
- [26:50]
B
I think they might rotate a little bit more because you're not going to take Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese off the field and they didn't. You're not going to take Caleb Downs off the field and they didn't. I think they might rotate a little bit more at linebacker and safety, maybe a little bit more corner. Although they rotated a decent amount of corner the last couple years.
- [27:06]
C
Anyway.
- [27:06]
B
Defensive line, they've got some depth there, but losing Caden McDonald, I mean that's the one everybody talks about and rightfully so. Losing Caleb Downs, I mean maybe the smartest football player I've ever been around and just a human missile. I just, I just think Caleb Downs is just a. Just a tremendous football player. And Sonny Styles and rvelries awesome. Kaden McDonald might be the biggest loss because just having a one tech defensive lineman that just commands double teams and still Pushes a line of scrimmage back. That's what Kaden McDonald did. And they don't really have that guy this year. Although they did do a good job in the portal. They didn't get like a bunch of superstars in the portal, but they did a really good job in the portal of getting good veteran defensive players. Like for example James Smith from Alabama, Earl Little Jr. From Florida State, Quay Russo from Alabama. These are guys that are going to step right in and start. Russo might be more of a, he's battling with Zion Grady, a couple other guys to be the, the second starting defensive end. But regardless he's going to play a lot. Earl Little Jr. Is going to start right away. James Smith is going to start right away. So they did a good. There's a few other guys. I got Terry Moore, a safety from Duke, Christian Allegro, linebacker from Wisconsin. These are all guys. They didn't bring in a Caleb Downs or a Quinn, Sean Judkins, a superstar, but they brought in really good guys. Like guys I would say maybe instead of having an A plus, they brought in a bunch of good like B plus guys. Maybe James Smith is better than that. Maybe some of those guys are better than a B plus, but they did a good job. And then they have some guys that maybe aren't going to be Arvel Reese that are first year starters and just blow up like that. But guys they really like who they think are going to have, you know, like a Devin Sanchez at corner. He played a lot as a true freshman. He was a five star recruitment. He looked really good during the spring and they think he's going to break out. So they're still confident they're going to have an elite defense and I think having Matt Patricia around, that's huge. And he's the, they're paying him $3.75 million a year. But, but, and I remember it wasn't that long ago. I'm proud maybe it was. Things changed so fast. We had. Gene Smith was Ohio State's athletic director. It was probably 10 years ago. I think maybe it's a little bit more than that. I'm old. And he said we're not going to get in the business of having million dollar assistant coaches. One million dollar assistant coaches. Now Patricia's making almost four times that. It's just crazy. But. And Arthur smith's only making 1.5 million. So keeping Patricia around for another year was huge. And, and they had to pay for it. But they're thrilled they're able to because he had some options they didn't go into specifics, but he had some options as far as the NFL, probably his defensive coordinator somewhere and turn that down to stay at Ohio State. So we'll see. But they expect to have an elite defense once again.
- [29:30]
C
I mean, look, paying somebody 3.75 as a coordinator, it, I do think there's a lot of signal in that as to their confidence in him. Right? Like, like, I mean it's, you know, if you didn't really believe in that guy, then I think the approach is, look, it's Ohio State. We're going to have elite defensive players, right? We get height, weight, speed and hustle here. That's a large part of what defense is. They, they really must love like the scheme layer and how the guys play hard for him, you know, to the fact that they ponied up like that. Could they have a better pass rush this year?
- [30:00]
B
They could. They lose Kaden Curry, but they bring back Kenyatta Jackson, who in my opinion has a higher ceiling. I mean he looks like straight out of central casting when you look at defensive ends. He's six, six with long arms. He came in, he was like, when he was a true freshman coming from the Miami area, he was like maybe 235 pounds soaking wet. And I was a fifth year senior. He's jacked about 265, still tall with a long arm, still has a really good quickness. He had about six, I think it's six and a half sacks last year. Six and a half sacks last year. He's a guy that could be a double that guy and give them maybe even more than what Kaden Curry did. And then I think, yeah, I think they, the depth is pretty good. Quay Russo is going to be a guy that's going to get sacks. I mean, Zion Grady played a decent amount as a true freshman last year and played the most like down the stretch, like against Michigan, Indiana, Miami. Just the fact he was on the field as much as much as he was as a true freshman speaks volumes to me because you have the same defensive line coach with Larry Johnson, same defensive coordinator with Matt Patricia. They like Zion Grady. So yeah, I think the pass rush could be better. Kaden McDonald wasn't a guy that's gonna get a lot of sacks, but he was pretty good as a one tech of just pushing things back and, and disrupting things. So that's, that is a concern. But I think they have more depth there because Tywin Malone was a guy that was the starting defensive tackle next to Kmac last year and didn't really do much. Edric Houston was banged up. Now Edric Houston's healthy entering his junior year. Former five star. They expect him to be a guy that can rush the passer from the interior. James Smith can rush the passer from the interior. Will Smith Jr. Can rush the passer from the interior. So you add it up, I do think they'll have more sacks than they did last year and they need to create more turnovers.
- [31:30]
C
Now.
- [31:30]
B
Matt Patricia will tell you we had a. We led the country in three and out. Those are basically turnovers. Yeah. And we didn't have a lot of snaps because there's only like eight possessions per game. But they still want to have more turnovers than they had last year. They didn't force enough turnovers last year. Again, Patricia would tell you that three and out is a turnover, but they still want to, they want to do a little bit of both. They want to have the three and outs and to get some turnovers. So yeah, I think, I think they will have a better pass rush this year. But losing Cad McDonald is huge.
- [31:55]
C
The, the Earl Little addition is, is interesting to me. Like having watched him a lot at Florida State, like I felt like coverage was kind of iffy, big time hitter as the shoulder problems continue to mount. Like the tackling, you know, watching it was inconsistent, but I'm not really able to separate like how much of that was the shoulder, you know, as opposed to, you know, what he's like when he's healthy. I could totally see him in like a. Remember how they used Downs two years ago? Like a little bit less coverage, a little more down in the box, like, you know, getting downhill, you know, playing the run from, you know, that kind of fifth DB spot. Like how do you see them using
- [32:32]
B
him exactly like that? You nailed it. You nailed it, bud. Because when they talk about them, they'll. There's always the same caveat. They start talking about Earl, Little June. They're like, you can't replace Caleb Downs. But you know, and they're like, he. This is the best case scenario if you are trying to replace Caleb Downs is basically what they say. But yeah, I think they are because you're right. They were using Caleb Downs sometimes almost like a hybrid M at times. So yeah, I do think it's going to be similar to how they use Caleb Downs two years ago.
- [32:58]
C
Yep. Okay, all right, cool. That, that, that makes me feel good about it. I was like, if they're trying to have him be like a one for one replacement for Caleb, I was like that I'd be very, I'd be very worried about, about that scenario, Dave. I'm kind of like, so we, we recorded Oklahoma yesterday, you know, and I was talking to Josh from their site, and, you know, I was like, man, it kind of feels like if you can avoid significant defensive regression, the offense should be, you know, quite a bit better there in Norman. Like, I, I'm kind of getting the same vibes here. Like, offense takes a leap, defense doesn't fall off a cliff. And you're really cooking with gas here. Like, is that kind of how you see this?
- [33:32]
B
Yeah. And I'd be shocked if the defense falls off a cliff. Will they be number one in the country again? I. Probably not. I mean, that'd be tough sledding against this schedule and replacing all the talent. Although they had to replace eight starters last year, too. On defense, I think Arvell Reese might be like the number two or number three pick of the draft. Whatever ends up being. And they just reload. So they. I still think they're going to have a top 10 defense, maybe better than that because they still, they've got, they've got talent and depth at every position. I really like this coaching staff. James Laurinaitis as linebackers coach. I like the two, like, DB coaches with Tim Walton and Macareri, obviously, Matt, Patricia and, you know, Larry Johnson with the defensive line. I think this is still going to be a really good defense this year. And yeah, the offense needs to take a big jump. They were a, a good offense last year, ranked 26th in the country, but they were bad when it came to short yardage. You mentioned earlier, Red zone. They were like, really, like, terrible red zone, short yardage. And they've got to get exponentially better at that because they were one of the best teams in the country in 2024. Short yardage in red zones. So if they can be a top 10 offense to go along with the top 10 defense, they're going to be a big problem this year. But you're right, I mean, the offense is definitely going to be better, but the defense can't be like, 20th in the country. That's not going to be, that's not a good match. So I still think this is going to be a really, really good defense for Ohio State.
- [34:48]
C
This schedule, as you mentioned, it just for folks who are listening and not watching us on YouTube, which everybody, even if you're an audio person, should subscribe to the YouTube because I think we have a lot of really cool elements on YouTube that you may not get on the audio product, but we appreciate our audio audience as always. Ball State at Texas, Kent State, Illinois at Iowa, Maryland at Indiana. Bye week at usc, Oregon, Northwestern at Nebraska, Michigan. I, in looking at this, I, I do like that there's really only one time where you play two. I would call them lose a bowl games back to back. Right. Like if, if you play well, you know, I'm saying like if you play well, like Illinois is not really losable at, at, at home for Ohio State, you know, but like the, the, the at USC and then hope like you know, come back to play Oregon. That's probably like your toughest 2 gamer. I like you get Maryland before you have to go to Indiana. You know, I like, you know, I like you get Ball State before you have to go play at Texas. But you know, this is a tough road slate. I mean at Texas, at Iowa, at Indiana, at usc, at Nebraska is like, I'm not gonna say it's hard, but it's still a tough place to play. You know, they could be like, they certainly could be better. How do you see this thing shaken out?
- [36:04]
B
It's definitely on paper the toughest schedule I can ever remember at Ohio State. Both my time just growing up in the state, being a fan, and my many years on the beat. We'll see how it pans out. We thought last year's schedule wasn't as tough as this year's, but we thought last year was tough. We don't think James Franklin will get fired before Penn State even came to town.
- [36:19]
C
Right.
- [36:20]
B
So you never know how it's going to turn out. But yeah, man, I mean, at Texas, Texas is going to be excellent. We know. And they're going to have the revenge factor big time because Ohio State beat them in the semifinals of the CFP in 2024, then beat them in the season opener last year. So they're going to be like out for blood and they're going to be really good, especially playing at home. Yeah, I mean there's, there's games like you mentioned, like at Nebraska, that's not a gimme. At Iowa, that'll be a tough game. Michigan here, you know, at Indiana, it's, it's going to be crazy to me. That's the, that's the Big Ten stadium even. I've been to Bloomington even more than I've been to Ann Arbor because as a kid we used to go over there because I grew up in the Dayton area. It was an easy drive to Indiana. I've been over, I've been to Memorial Stadium more than any other Big Ten road venue. Every time I've been there, Bud, we're talking about, you know, at least a dozen times it has been like 80 Ohio State fans. At least not this year. Not the defending national champions. It'll never not be weird to say that the defending national champion. So it's going to be, it's going to be so strange going to Bloomington and not having Ohio State fans take over the stadium. There'll still be plenty of Buckeye fans there, but it'll be majority Indiana fans. So it is Oregon. You're right. I mean this is, it's a fun schedule. I love it. And especially in the age of the 12 team playoffs, if you're 10 and two Ohio State, you're a lock. You can make an argument depending on what the three losses would be. I don't think they're have three losses. There are nine and three. Let's say the losses were against like Texas, Oregon, Indiana or Texas, usc, Oregon, whatever it might be. And there were close losses. Those three teams all ended up being good nine and three. Ohio State would probably still like sneak in the playoffs. So it's a fun schedule. I don't know if the coaches think it's fun. I love it, but it's tough. It's tough. And we're going to find out a lot about this team. Week 2 at Texas, there's no doubt about it.
- [37:54]
C
Totally agree. 10 and 2 is a lock. I mean when you play the non conference game against Texas, if you go 10 and 2, that, that is, that, that's, that's an easy in, you know, nine and three. I think kind of depends on the quality of your like let's say top three wins in that scenario. Right. Like how good is Illinois, how good is Iowa? You know, how good is a Nebraska or, or a Michigan? Right. You know, if those teams are maybe if at least two of those three or at least two of those teams in that group I mentioned are slightly better than, than projected, then I think nine and three, they would certainly, you know, have a chance. Man, it's gonna be a lot of fun to watch. Dave, I'm excited to watch Ohio State team like, you know, I try not to miss any Jeremiah games because he's just so special and like I just have confidence like they, they just have so many nice pieces. A couple of those, those guys are going to emerge. I'll get you out of here on this. Is there one guy we've mentioned or perhaps not mentioned who like you Know, you internally, them internally inside the building, they're not really expecting to like reach his ceiling this year. But, you know, I, I kind of started asking this because, you know, 2013, Florida State thought Jamis was going to be 2014. Right. Like, that's when he'd probably really click and he was there right then. Right. Is there a guy on his team? It's like the potential is meaningful enough that if for some reason he hits the ceiling this year, it really changes how you feel about this program.
- [39:11]
B
Yeah, I mentioned him earlier, but if Devin Sanchez can be like a true lockdown number one corner and not like a really good number two behind, I think he looks better than Jermaine Matthews. I think he will be the number one corner. And he looked good all spring against arguably the best wide receiver room in the country. And Julian saying, throwing the ball. And Devin looks, I mean he's, he's always been a big corner. I mean he's, he's filled out. Not that he, not that he was ever skinny by any means, but he's 62 1, 90 runs. Well, he hits. He's the guy. If you can have a lockdown corner, it's not like a. As you know, like a big one tech D tackle like we were talking about just completely changes the landscape of your defense. You can have that lockdown corner the teams are afraid to throw towards. It just completely changes things. And I think Devin Sanchez could be that. As a sophomore, he played a lot. As a true freshman, he's got the pedigree from his, his recruiting rankings and everything. He's got the mental aptitude. He, he's a really smart guy, good guy from a good family. He's the guy that, that could turn this defense into like. Okay. That's the reason that this defense. Not the only reason, that's the main reason this defense is elite. It'd be Devin Sanchez becoming an elite cornerback. A true lockdown number one corner.
- [40:16]
C
Dave Biddle. Buck. That's man. Thanks for taking us to school.
- [40:19]
B
Thank you very much, bud. I appreciate it, my friend.
- [40:21]
C
Enjoyed it.