← The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk
The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk
Ohio State Around the Shoe: Where will Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin go in the 2027 NFL Draft?
00:58:27
It's time to talk Ohio State in the 2027 NFL Draft on this episode of Around the Shoe on The Bill and Doug Show, as the panel looks ahead to Jeremiah Smith, Julian Sayin and some surprise early picks in the draft a year from now.
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- [00:02]
A
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B
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C
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C
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C
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- [00:30]
A
Now at McDonald's. A McDouble is 250. So you can get your gym gains on or just get lunch for only 250. Get more value on the under $3 menu. Limited time only. Prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher for delivery. Welcome back to around the Shoe on the Bill and Doug Show. Douglas Maurice and Bill Landis joined every week by two outstanding media members. This week, Bill Bender of the Sporting News. Back again, dan hope of 11 warriors. Back again. We're going to talk about the 2027 NFL Draft. With the 2026 NFL Draft just in the books this past weekend. Bill Bender, thanks for your time, brother.
- [01:13]
D
Hey, thanks for having me on. It's always great. Still coming off that NFL draft, it is a blur. There are moment like if you ask me, a few things I may not remember from the weekend because it just that day three goes crazy. But you know, it was a lot of fun covering that for Sporting News. We had a ton of good content.
- [01:29]
A
Great to come on with you guys and Bill. It does amaze me with Bill. Bill covers everything. But you, you really obviously have a handle on college football, on Ohio State football, on the draft. I'm really curious to hear what you have to say about next year for the Buckeyes and Dan Hope, 11 warriors, fantastic Buckeye beat writer, but Danny Boy, also an interest in the NFL draft, right?
- [01:51]
C
Yeah, absolutely. I've been covering the NFL draft for longer than I've been covering my Buckeyes. So it's always my favorite week of the year. So lots of fun talking draft here for you guys.
- [02:02]
A
Landis, I believe that in, in a previous life, did we not have Dan Hope on a show one time like as a draft expert before he was a Buckeye beat writer? I think we might have.
- [02:11]
E
Yeah, it's possible. I'll say this, my favorite draft analyst, Dan Hope. Not even close.
- [02:16]
A
Yeah, come on, come on. We got two, we got two stalwarts here. And Ohio State had another very successful NFL draft. 11 picks over the weekend, the most of any team. 25 picks the last two years combined, tied for the most ever. We do want to look ahead, but Bill Bender, we'll start with you for the first of our five topics here on around the Shoe. I do want to look back briefly and ask this question. 25 picks the last two years combined for Ohio State football, tied for the most ever with the Little Georgia run. What word would you use to describe that for the Buckeyes? 14 last year, 11 this year. 25 overall.
- [02:58]
D
Organized. And as far as the entire program, you're organized in this era of college football where nobody was quite sure how it's going to work and then you have 25 draft picks. I think the graphic, Doug, that struck me was the that Ohio State put out with every starter from the national championship team being drafted. They have all 11 of them. It looks like one of those 80s posters. It was pretty cool. And you know, I had a great article. You guys know this secret of our business. Like you had I had an article ready had they had five first round picks. I looked at every class with five first round picks and of course Kaden falls to round two so it doesn't see the light of day. But you know, one of my takeaways from researching that article was there was a stretch from 01 to 4 where Miami had 19 first round picks and it was the, you know, the Ed Reed, Andre Johnson, all those guys. And then Alabama under Saban had six years where they had four or more first round picks, including back to back twice. So when you can do it once, that's great. But you do it back to back years, have four or more first round picks and then you start to peak it next year, maybe they have another year where they, it'll be closer, organized. They know how to develop NFL talent and they're doing it at a very high level.
- [04:12]
A
Yeah, it is. And it is like it's a, it's a promotional weekend for the program. They're putting all this stuff as you said, like every defensive starter off the national championship team from two years ago winds up being a draft pick. Remarkable. I was like running through stuff of like looking at games and I was looking at like the goal line stand against Texas in the semifinal and I was counting up like, okay, where are the draft picks on the field on this play? And Arvell Reese was on the field on first down and ran off the field for second down. And I was like, they're running a first round pick off the field to like bring A second round pick on the field. It's just like one of those things that blows your mind a little bit. Dan Hope, what do you think of this 25, 25 player hall the last two years?
- [04:53]
C
I'll use the word validating and that. I think it's, it's validating for what Ryan Day has sold as the vision for his program, A program that Ryan Day has tried to build at Ohio State where, you know, he's talked about, you know, the development. You know, I mean, I remember, I think the last time I was on here, one of the things we talked about was this idea of should Ohio State take fewer recruits, should they go heavier in the transfer portal? And you look at it, the majority of these guys, especially this year, were guys who were high school recruits for Ohio State, were guys that developed. You mentioned guys like Arvell Reese, Kaden McDonald. I mean, to me, like, those are kind of a perfect examples of what Ryan Day has talked about, what he wants to build in his program, of guys who did have to wait their turn, but they developed. You know, if Arvel Reese transfers somewhere else and, and doesn't, you know, just, just to play sooner, does he become a top five overall pick? I'd guess probably not. I think probably that development that he had learning from James Laurinaitis over the course of three years led to him playing so well this past year and becoming that number five overall pick. So I think, I think it validates what Ryan Day has tried to build in terms of, you know, if you, if you come here, I mean, you know, I think there was that, that sound bite that went a little viral a couple weeks ago and maybe some players took offense to it. The idea of you come here to be a first or second round pick and, you know, guys like Draymond Jones, like, I was a third round pick, like, does that mean I wasn't good enough for you? But I think he's trying to sell that vision to guys of like, this is our goal for you. If you come in here as a top recruit, like, we're trying to make you into a first or second round pick. And when you can. Now look at these last two drafts. 14 guys selected in the first or second round. He's putting his results where his mouth is.
- [06:39]
A
Yeah, it was funny, Dan. Like, you were on the call. Ryan Day talked to us the other day. He did a kid's mental health event and then talked with us about the draft a little bit. And he tried to walk that statement back a little bit on, on that Call, too, that it was kind of like, like, like it was funny that some people did take the. For you better be like a first and second rounder, like, as an insult when it's actually almost like a challenge or a standard that he's kind of thrown out there. And they are. I mean, like, it is funny how that got twisted a little bit, but it is like, it is a threshold that they're trying to put out there.
- [07:10]
C
Yeah. And again, it's to get 14 guys in. In two years. It shows that, like, that's. That that is the standard now. Like, that's like, you know, if you're James Laurinaitis, I mean, how many recruiting texts do you think James Laurinitis sent on Thursday night after Arvo Reese and Sonny Styles got drafted? There's no better recruiting pitch that you could have than to say, I just had in an era where off ball linebackers probably aren't as valued as they once were to be able to text recruits and say, I just had the first ever class with two top 10 linebackers in the NFL draft. So I think that, you know, it just shows that, you know, the things that they've sold the players in terms of their ability to develop them into NFL players, this gives them the results to back it up.
- [07:52]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bill Landis, what's your word here?
- [07:57]
E
Like, a little complicated, I think, because I don't disagree with anything that Bill or Dan said. Right. I do think this is sort of the ultimate sign of a healthy organization. Organization. I do think there's a lot to tout here with Ohio State's development, because I was just telling it up as Dan was speaking, only I believe this is right, that only four of the 25 were guys who were in the program for one year. The rest were in multiple years, including some of the transfers. Nine of the 25 were transfers, but most of those transfers were guys who were in the program for a couple years. So, like, they spent time getting better at Ohio State before they got drafted. So I. I think that matters too. Yeah.
- [08:32]
A
Caleb Downs, Lorenzo Styles, guys like that. Yeah.
- [08:35]
E
Josh Simmons. Yeah, yeah. But then you take that 25 and you think, like, should they have done more with it? And, like, I know they won the national championship. And I've been saying that a lot as we've had this conversation going into the draft. Like, people are like, boy, look at all this talent. Did they do enough? It's like, well, they did win the title in 2024, but, like, now that, like, the book is like, closed, closed you're sort of like, I don't, I don't know, maybe they should have won two. Maybe at the very least they should have won more in 2025, even if, even if they didn't win a national championship kind of thing. So I don't say that to like, to downplay or look past this incredible accomplishment that Ohio State just, just did with, with putting this many players into the league over two years. But I also think it's fair to wonder a little bit if they should have done more with it. And just how much of a missed opportunity was it? Like, I don't think it was a failure. They won the national title two years ago. But, but is it fair to label it a missed opportunity?
- [09:31]
C
I think maybe, and probably worth saying too, like to that point that the Georgia team, the Georgia two year span that they tied, those teams did win two national championships.
- [09:42]
E
Right?
- [09:45]
A
This show is designed to set me up, to make, to have takes like you guys are just prop now. I love this show. I love having other opinions here. I did want to discuss this aspect of this accomplishment for Ohio State. So I'm going to use the word clarifying because there had been to me this season, you look at 12, 0 during the regular season, you look at all these, you know, top four, four guys in the top 11, three of them defensive players, like the elite talent on this defense, this defense for Ohio State, you know, had the fewest points per game allowed. But then yet it's like, well, but like they couldn't get the ball back from Miami at the end of that game. Like, should there have been more? And the phrase that Bill used I think is exact right. Not a failure, but a missed opportunity. I wrote a story for our substack on Sunday. Bill and Doug osu.substack.com just trying to look at sort of eras. I think like you could argue that kind of in modern football maybe the greatest runs of talent are the U. Like that you run in 0104 when they only won one title because Maurice Claret and Jim Trestle kept them from one another. They had like the earlier title run when they didn't have quite as many draft picks. But you had that little window of like the second go around in the early 2000s with Miami. You have actually Saban won more titles early but had better NFL draft talent late. So from a draft talent standpoint, it's the second half of Saban. Like the last eight years of Saban is nuts. And then you look at like this kind of this current Window of Georgia highlighted by the 25 and two years. And you look at those runs and like you either need to be, I think when you have this, and that's the level that Ohio State's at. And the thing that's clarifying for me is not just like, oh, high State was good. It's like, no, we officially sort of have confirmation now. The last two years, Ohio State had one of the great elite talent runs in modern college football history. So then if you are asking the question, should there have been more? That's the context. Not just like, yeah, they had a lot of good players. It's like, this is one of the three or four best runs ever of great players and should they have done more? And that's a high bar. But Dan, you just said it. Georgia, when they did this, won back to back. And the fact even that they sort of had to back into the first 12 team playoff to make that run. It's even not necessarily about like back to back titles. The one thing, Bender, that, that I think I'm kind of waiting for with Ohio State is when the talent is this elite is just the kind of year where they just kick everybody's butt from week one to the national championship game. Like a kind of Bama year where it just feels inevitable. Like a Miami year where it feels inevitable that Georgia year where probably year one more than year two, when the defensive talent was just ridiculous, where it's just like Georgia against the world and then you, you sort of, you cap it off, right? Whereas like in 2024, Ohio State was kind of viewed that way going in, but then they lost Oregon, then they lost to Michigan, then they were an eight seed, then they kind of were forgotten and then they made the run. I do think Bill Bender, like what we are talking about is rare enough and you guys have all cited this. I kind of think it's a reasonable expectation for Ohio State to have one of the most dominating years or back to or runs on the field in college football history. Because this is one of the elite talent runs in college football history. Is that too much to ask, Bender?
- [13:25]
D
Well, there's a fine line, right? Like you were saying, those teams, like Georgia's the last team where I thought from day one, yeah, they're going to win it, like, and that was in the four team era. I was like, yeah, there, there's not a team better than them. I, I always, I made the joke that season. I would sit and watch with my son. We would watch games and I would say we would take Bets I'd be like, do you think Kentucky will get a first down this quarter? That, that it wasn't like what's the score gonna be? It's like, are they going to get a first down? True or false. And like I'll give you one and a half first downs.
- [13:56]
A
Right.
- [13:57]
D
And it wouldn't happen. And they were that good. And you know then as you were saying that like so Texas, for example, Texas had 23 players taking the previous two drafts and Texas didn't win anything. They, they made the playoff, but that's not enough for Texas. They've had talent runs too. And that talent run will continue next year. When you start to look at big boards and you see Arch and Rasheed Biles and Cam Coleman and the amount of talent they're going to have. So we could say, man, they haven't done enough. And we've been saying that about Texas for like 20 years. So I think Ohio State, I think what I'm struggling with is how are we going to evaluate. You have to go through a 12 team playoff. Now if it was a 14 playoff last year, is the Ohio State story different? Because it's probably what Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia and Texas Tech, that's your playoff. So I think I, it's a fine line for me. I still think you can ask, yeah, they should have won it. But we do that all the time when you have double digit draft classes.
- [14:54]
A
Yeah, I do think one in the last two years is probably right in the end that right. If we had a 14 playoff, they wouldn't have gotten it in 24. But then in, in 25 they would have played like an overrated Georgia team in the semis and maybe had a rematch with Indiana and had that motivation in the championship game. Maybe they win there. So I think one is probably right. But, but as Bill said, it was complicated. Like Dan, I do think a weekend like this, it is, it is a celebration, but it's not a celebration of the main thing. Like producing NFL players is a, is a great bonus. It's important to the players. But it's not like fans walk around with T shirts that say like 25 draft picks the last two years. Right. Like that's not what it's about. And I do think it's reasonable to celebrate it, acknowledge it as an accomplishment, but also understand it does then lead to man, you had this much talent, did you get the most out of it on the field? Which on the field is goal one?
- [15:50]
C
Yeah, I agree completely. And you know, I think one thing I was thinking in the back of my head, you were talking about teams that just dominated from start to finish. I was thinking about Indiana. Like Indiana was that team this year. They were a team.
- [16:00]
A
Yeah.
- [16:01]
C
From start to finish, they just took care of business week in and week out. And they did have the number one overall pick, of course, in Fernando Mendoza. But, you know, I, I don't. Did they think seven draft picks? I think they finished with something along those lines.
- [16:12]
A
And they did not have that defense, I think two on defense for India the whole draft.
- [16:16]
C
Ye. So they did not have the same caliber of talent that Ohio State. We already knew that, but the NFL draft kind of confirmed that. So, you know, it goes to show it's, it's not just about to, you know, to Bill's point of Texas as well, like, it's not just about accumulating NFL talent. There's a lot of things that, that have to come together in order, in order to, like you said, win that ultimate goal. Because to your point, this is, it's a great accomplishment for Ohio State. It's a great recruiting tool for Ohio State. But in the end, the goal is to go win championships.
- [16:52]
F
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- [17:50]
G
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- [17:53]
A
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- [17:56]
G
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- [18:29]
A
I did see Landis, like people note that right at Indiana, top two or three defense in the country, two defensive draft picks. Ohio State had more defensive picks and the first 11 picks of the draft than Indiana had in the whole draft. Right. Because I think it was just the d' Angelo Pons and Aiden Fisher on the defensive side of the ball. And like, that's not. We kind of knew that again, all of this stuff that happened this weekend, it's not, we didn't know this stuff before it. Just as I think Bender said, like, close the book on it. It put a stamp on it. You officially have the numbers now. And like when you see something like that Landis, that's pretty crazy.
- [19:05]
E
It is pretty crazy. Also, I'd like to thank Bender for reminding people that it is not Ohio State, it is Texas by a mile. That is the most underachieving program in college football. Yeah, pretty, pretty, pretty wild to see that from Indiana. Not surprising. Plus they had some other guys on that defense too who I think will end up being high draft picks. So you have to kind of wait that out a little bit. But I don't know if anybody's surprised that Ohio State had the most talented team in the country last year and the year before. I don't think so. But now, right now, now, now, now it's just so, yeah, it's in ink for everybody to see and you start to. I, I don't think we're having a conversation people haven't already been having for like a, for a couple months now. Right. But you just tend to want to bring some finality to it now that we know what this, what this draft class was. And I guess like it's not closed entirely because there's at least one other important player from this last two year run who's going to get drafted next year. So a heck of a crop of talent. And, and like, well, the fact that they got one is good. Like you sometimes like you ask for a word or phrase. If I were to give a phrase, my phrase would be like, thank God they won in 24 because I don't want to see what they were all like. Had they, had they not, they would have this much talent in the draft either way. Right. So.
- [20:13]
A
Right.
- [20:14]
E
Have that many picks with nothing to show for it would have been terrible. So at least I got that one two years ago.
- [20:19]
A
Yeah, no, that is very true. And that leads us into Dan Hope and question number two, Jeremiah Smith, that player that Bill Landis just referenced to is such an important part of the last two years. 20 NFL Draft will be in Washington D.C. on the national ball, on the steps of the capital. I think that'll be a cool setting to have this. Ohio. Ohio State has 99 all time first round picks. So the next one for the Buckeyes next year will be the 100th first round pick in Ohio State history. I think it's going to be Jeremiah Smith. Where do you think Jeremiah Smith will be drafted in 2027? Dan Hope. And this is okay to do because it is Monday. Mock drafts for 2027 are out because it's fun to think about this stuff. And I will say like, I just looked at like pffs from last year and just did like a quick count. I think they got like 10 guys who were in their mock first round who went in the first round this year and they're like three guys who didn't come out. So like, you know, there were, when you start doing this, we know it's, it's a discussion of who the most talented players are. So I think it's okay to think this way. But really it's like, does he have a chance to go number one? Where will JJ go? Dan Hope.
- [21:29]
C
He'll be the first non quarterback drafted. I think, you know, it depends on how many quarterbacks ultimately establish themselves at the top of that board and how many teams ultimately end up needing quarterbacks at the top of that board. I mean, he would have been the number two overall pick in this year's draft. Like, I don't even think that's a question. I think that the jets needed a weapon. He, I mean, Carnell Tate's a great player, but Jeremiah Smith's better. So Jeremiah Smith would have been the first quarterback, first non quarterback selected in this year's draft. Shoot, he may have been in the conversation two years ago. Probably wouldn't have gone above Travis Hunter, but he would have been up there. But I, I think that I would feel very confident saying that he'll be the first non quarterback drafted next year. And there's not much you can say with certainty a year out. But I mean he's going to be a top five pick. He could not play another down and he'd be a top five pick because he, he's just such a special talent. We've seen it from really his first game as a freshman. And I think NFL scouts have been salivating over the chance to, to potentially draft him for three years now.
- [22:33]
A
Yeah, it's, it's hard, isn't it hard, Dan? When Carnell Tate goes four and then it's like, well, then where does Jeremiah belong in a discussion of this? And that's not a shot of Carnell Tate, but like if sort of like the number two guy next to Jeremiah is that high, then what are we talking about with jj? It does like blow your mind a little bit.
- [22:52]
C
Yeah, I mean, I, it's just, it's. I mean, it's crazy to think what this wide receiver room has produced. You know, I'm working on. You know, I always do my all Buckeye team after the draft every year. Ohio State is seven number one wide receivers in the NFL now, and they're going to have eight a year from now. It's just crazy the amount of talent they produce. Like if you were building an NFL team of Ohio State receivers, you're going to have to cut some really good players because there's, there's a year from now they're going to have 25% of a number one receivers in the league.
- [23:24]
A
Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Wow. I can't wait until like you tell like Garrett Wilson, he's like third string on your, your all Buckeye team in the NFL. Bill Landis, where will JJ go?
- [23:37]
E
So there was a time where I was, I was pretty steadfast and believing that JJ was going to go number one, I was just refreshing my memory. So Keyshawn's the last one, right, to go number one overall? 96, the first quarterback selected in that draft didn't go until number 42. So that was, that was a bad quarterback draft. Obviously this, this draft is just going to be too quarterback heavy for JJ to go number one. So I will, I will come off of that stance that he'll be number one overall. I kind of want to say like wherever the Dolphins pick, as long as they're not picking first, but. Because I just think it'd be, I think it'd be hard for them to turn that down. They need a quarterback, but they also need a lot. Yeah, I, I think he's without a doubt the first quarter, the first non quarterback taken. I just don't know how many quarterbacks are going to go in the top five. So I, I think I'll probably end up going third overall. Third or fourth overall. I don't I don't think he'll end up going lower than Carnell like at 5, 5 or lower than that. I think he'll be 3 or 4, perhaps a chance to go second, but I don't think he'll be first because the quarterbacks. There's the odds of one of these quarterbacks just becoming like a. No doubt about it. This guy's got to go first overall is too great.
- [24:47]
A
Yeah. I mean really, like I wanted to see if anybody but. And maybe Bender will get there. Like the idea of like Jeremiah at number one. I do think it's been three receivers who have gone number one overall. I think there have been Carnell Tate one, four. I think I had. There have been 10 receivers who have gone higher than four who so have gone in the top three. So it is rare air there. Problem is there's a bunch of bad teams who don't have quarterbacks.
- [25:09]
E
Yeah.
- [25:10]
A
So like depending. Unless Shadur Sanders locks down that job in Cleveland, the Browns are going to be looking for a quarterback next year. Arizona is going to be looking for a quarterback next year. Miami, even though they signed Malik Willis is going to be looking for a quarterback in the next draft. Pittsburgh is probably looking for a quarterback in the next draft. Although that Drew Aller will Howard battle to be the starting quarterback in camp is going to be a banger. The jets are probably looking for a starting quarterback next year. So like you have a bunch of bad teams who are going to be at the top of the draft. Draft needing a quarterback when it seems like there are decent quarterback options. I'll say two also. And I. And Bender. I want to ask you about this before you give your pick. Like if you. Let's say that there's a team. Let's say the Raiders have a bad year. And the raiders are at 2. Right. And they just took Fernando Mendoza, so they're not taking a quarterback. Do you have to trade out of that spot because somebody's gonna offer you a ton of picks to move up to try to get the second best quarterback. Or is JJ the kind of guy that it's like, well here we are. We're not trading out of this spot. And so that it's. It's going to be that he would go in the first spot where that team doesn't need a quarterback because they're not trading away the chance to take Jeremiah Smith or is it going to be all hands on deck. People are going after all the QBs in this draft and you would trade a spot to take J.J. yeah.
- [26:33]
D
So before I give you the answer, 14 receivers since Keyshawn, top five picks taken into the top 14. And I got half of that list from cleveland.com and then I did the research on the rest. So from an article in 2012, before Justin Blackman got taken with the top five picks. So if you believe that Jeremiah Smith is in the neighborhood of these four names that were top five receivers. Andre Johnson, who was taken behind Charlie Rogers, by the way, Larry Fitzgerald, he. He did all right. Calvin Johnson and Jamar Chase. I think Jamar Chase has been the best top five receiver taken in the last 15 years. And. And I think Jeremiah Smith's in that neighborhood of a franchise receiver. So yes, if I had the number two or number three pick and Arch or Dante Moore or whoever gets selected and I want to upgrade my team with a receiver, I think Jamar Chase might be the best receiver in the NFL in some ways what he presents. And if you believe Jeremiah Smith can be that, you take him. And so I'm gonna say three. I think he will. He won't fall lower than three. Number two, still it's a number. But I think number three will where will be where he lands, even though I have him as a top player on our board.
- [27:48]
A
Because I do think, Dan, like, if you're taking a quarterback ahead of Jeremiah, don't you almost have to feel like it's a sure thing? And I wonder, although there's a bunch of quarterbacks kind of in the mix here, I wonder how many will get to kind of sure thing status. Like if Arch is Arch, he probably gets there. Would. Will Dante Moore get there? Will Sam Levitt get there? Will Lenora Sellers get there? To the point of like, you're not just a quarterback. You're like, I'm feel very certain you're a franchise guy versus, I don't know and I don't know how many sure thing quarterbacks will there. There will be next year. And if you're not a sure thing quarterback, then I'm taking J.J. yeah.
- [28:30]
C
And I mean, how many times do we do this? I mean, just a year ago there were the tweets out there of next year's quarterback class is going to be the greatest ever. And people are throwing Drew Aller and Kate Klubnick and Garrett Nussmeier and John Matier and Lenora Sellers, Sam Levitt. I mean, half these guys didn't even enter the draft. Half of them were day three picks. And it's like this quarterback draft class is going to be the best Ever. So I do think that, like right now, I, I thought most of those guys were overrated. I do think that this year's quarterback class or 2027's quarterback class right now will be better. But to your point, like, are four of those guys gonna be such sure things that yes, Jeremiah Smith gets pushed down to the fifth overall pick? No, I don't think that will happen. And I think to your early question, I do think JJ is that guy. I think Jeremiah is that guy. That if you are in position to draft him, it's going to be very hard to pass a guy like that up because if he becomes what I think we probably all think he's going to be, which is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. I mean, I mean the guy came to Ohio State as a freshman and was the guy that put them over the top to win a national championship. Like, he's just a difference maker. There's great receivers and then there's guys who are just total difference makers on the game. And I think that's what he is. So I, I do think that there's going to be a team in that top three that is getting offers to trade down and they're going to say, nope, we're taking Jeremiah Smith.
- [29:57]
A
Yeah, I think you're right. So it sounds like we're around two, three, somewhere in that range. We'll get to the third question with you, Bill Landis. Both Arvell Reese and Kaden McDonald weren't starters for Ohio State last year and became very high picks this year. Arvell Reese, the fifth pick. Kaden McDonald early in the second round. Who is your prediction for a surprising high pick for Ohio State next year? We're referencing Caden here. So it doesn't have to be a first rounder. It doesn't necessarily have to be a guy who didn't start this year, but maybe a guy who's like not in any mock drafts right now. Because I don't know if people were putting Arvell Reese in the first round a year from now when they were doing a draft a year out. Who's your surprise, Bill? Or is this just like much harder to do this year than it would have been last year? Like, would we have said arvel and Kaden McDonald last year if we asked this question?
- [30:47]
E
I think we might have. I, I did find this difficult, especially if you're trying to find a non starter to make that kind of leap. I guess this guy would like, he was like a, like half a starter. We played a lot. Edric Houston probably would be my pick like and he's not, it's not like he's you know, hiding in plain sight. Ohio State fans know who, who Edric Houston is and he's a former five star prospects. Maybe this is cheating a little bit but he's not going to be in anyone's first round mock I don't think over, over the course of this week but I could see him making that jump especially if you consider the the pass rush ability that I think he still possesses at the defensive tackle position. It was interesting to hear that being discussed in this year's draft and how people were kind of searching for that. And I think part of the reason why Katie McDonald wasn't a first round pick is because he didn't have a ton of pass rushing production. If Edric Houston does make that jump this year, then I think he could become a first round defensive tackle. But yeah, I didn't, I just, I went through like all the list of guys who were, who are draft eligible and have been with the program who like aren't transfers in this year and there aren't a lot to jump out of you in. In the same way I think that they're, they're obvious guys who are going to get drafted. But if you think about who could be like surprisingly high, I, I would put Houston high up there and, and one other player I would say is like who I have seen in some mock drafts is Austin Serraville. I don't like if Austin Serval ended up the Ohio State's number two draft pick behind Jeremiah Smith. I don't think I'd be terribly surprised by that.
- [32:22]
H
If you work in university maintenance, Granger considers you an MVP because your playbook ensures your arena is always ready for tip off and Grainger is your trusted partner offering the products you need all in one place from H Vac and plumbing supplies to lighting and more. And all delivered with plenty of time left on the clock. So your team always gets the win. Call 1-800-GRAINGER visit grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get
- [32:50]
A
it done now at McDonald's. A McDouble is $2.50 so you can get your gym gains on or just get lunch for only $2.50. Get more value on the under $3 menu. Limited time only. Prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher for delivery. It is hard like that. This like a bunch of those third year guys got wiped out in the transfer portal and left. I think like if he was eligible for the draft next year. We might be talking about like Devin Sanchez. Might be the answer that everybody gave to jump from. Like non. But I like, he's only being a second year. He's going to have to be back. I'll say it quickly just because we've had 4, 000 conversations about him. Ian Moore, it's like, yeah, he's a left tackle. Yeah, no, that's what a left tackle looks like. Okay. Left tackles, like, they're really valuable. I don't know if he should go pro. He's only been a starter for one year. They try to keep him. He's like, no, I gotta go. I need more goes and is like the 28th pick in the draft. Anyone possible scratching up his face.
- [33:54]
E
I'll place a bet with you on that one if you're interested.
- [33:57]
A
Bill Bender. What, what's your answer here? Is there an answer?
- [34:00]
D
Well, I mean, it's like Jalen McLean. Too easy.
- [34:03]
A
No, it's not. I mean, like, go on Jalen.
- [34:06]
D
Yeah, like, I think he. You're seeing him in the top 50. And I asked that like Ron Burgundy reading teleprompter, like looking for confirmation from the crew here. But is that okay? No, he, he. I think he's in a safety class that's pretty loaded next year. Obviously K.J. bolden at Georgia is going to get some attention. Coy Parich, everybody loves him for. He transfers from Minnesota, Oregon, two way player in some ways. But you know, I looked at Jalen McLean and I said, okay, he's coming back. He's going to be a leader on the team. Playing for Patricia for another year. Missed just one tackle. I always look at that stats with safeties. How many tackles are you missing? And you know, Sonny got a lot of attention for that last year at linebacker. You want a guy that covers well. You want a guy that doesn't miss tackle. We only had one missed tackle in the last eight games. So I just think a solid player with a chance to be, maybe be that back in Caden McDonald type pick in the first round. He's my guy.
- [35:01]
A
Okay, Dan, help. Who's your guy?
- [35:03]
C
Yeah, Bill just stole my answer because. And I had a feeling he might because I saw his, his draft board and he had Jalen McLean in that 50th overall spot. But I think outside of Bill, I don't know that I've seen any of the other, you know, national early NFL draft projections that have Jaylen McLean up there. So he's a guy that jumps to mind for Me because, you know, I think he's a guy who probably is going to go overlooked by some folks because he wasn't that highly touted recruit. He was overshadowed by Caleb Downs in last year's secondary, but he was quietly, really, really good. Like if I was just ranking like right now going into the season, who are Ohio State's best draft draft eligible players right now, I would put him third behind Jeremiah Smith in Julian saying. So I think that he, he's a guy now. Do I think he's going to be a first round pick? Probably not. Because I mean we just saw one of the greatest safeties college football has seen in recent history, not even going the top 10. So he plays a position that the values maybe not quite as high as some other positions, but I think if he builds off of what he did last year and you know, makes even more plays and, and playing, you know, a bigger role because now he's going to be the number one guy who's tasked with replacing Caleb Downs. I think second round is realistic for Jaylen Mcclain.
- [36:15]
A
Also would have accepted either Brock Boyd or Chris Henry Jr. They go nuts and challenge the eligibility rules for the draft and try to go out after year one would have been acceptable because it is like, it's funny, we're like, there's a lot of freshmen we're talking about again like Riley Pettigohn or Devin Sanchez or some of these second year guys. Like there are more obvious answers I think among the true underclassmen than there are among like third year guys maybe ready to pop. Okay, this one's going to set the show on fire. Will Julian say and be a first round pick next year? And this is sort of a two pronged question and we'll start with me because it is about like will Julian say and play to the level that he deserves to be a first round pick but also like will he be in the draft next year? Will he decide to turn pro next year? Among the mock drafts that are out pff, who like fired are the people. So I'm not exactly sure who's doing the, the PFF drafts. Like no offense to pff, but like I'm sure the person did their very best job, but it's not the same people who used to do the stuff there. They have Julian saying number one and Jeremiah Smith number two in their mock draft. That feels hot. That feels a little hot, Landis. It's a little hot. Julian saying overall number one pick. But you said like you just think they do that based on Their ratings. Yeah.
- [37:34]
E
If their, their grades guide them a long way, I think when doing their mock drafts. And Julian's grades were very good.
- [37:40]
A
Yeah. And I had Dane Brugler on the show on Friday after the first round and I asked him about Julian saying Dane Brugler at the Athletic who does a really good job. He said he his mock draft, he said at the Athletic will come out for next year. On Tuesday, he said he's not going to have Julian sand in the first round. So I don't know if that will change by the time that draft actually comes out. I will say no, he will not be a first round pick next year. And I think I'm leaning more toward maybe he doesn't go pro because maybe he gets an evaluation that's a little bit like could be a first rounder. Not a sure first rounder, but you have an opportunity to stay in school and make a bunch of money and try to elevate yourself even more. So my official answer on this is no. Bill Bender, what is your answer?
- [38:31]
D
Hot topic of discourse in the Sporting News offices last week because I had him in the first round. And then, you know, one of my editors said, well, he'll be a day three guy. And then, you know, another one of our NFL guys, he's the first. His answer was something to the effect of he's a first rounder for now. And here's the issue. I think you hit it well. One, a lot of quarterbacks in the class. Two, he's not going to do anything to hurt. Like from a statistical standpoint. Oh, his passing percentage drops to 71. Oh, no. You know, like stuff like that. It's going, he's going to be an annoying quarterback to talk about on the NFL level because his stats will still be there. One of the things I looked at with him really good under pressure, like his completion, they'll say, well, he can't handle pressure based on the Miami game. And I'm looking at a guy that had a 62% complete completion percentage under pressure according to those PFF stats, which they lean on, like Bill said, I, I just think he's one of the better, if not one of the best quarterbacks in the power four. But if he gets that grade you're talking about, you know, Arch and Dante and those guys come out, then maybe he's at the back end of the first round, doesn't like that eval and he. And then all of a sudden you become this year's Ty Simpson, which nobody wants to do. So I'M going to say yes, but I don't feel, I think he should be. But the scenario you presented absolutely could happen.
- [39:58]
A
Okay, Dan, yes or no?
- [40:00]
C
Yes, I'll go. Confident? Yes. I think, you know, you talked about it before. I mean, there's probably going to be five teams looking for quarterbacks in the first round of, of next year's NFL draft. And I mean, I think if we were having this conversation before the Indiana Miami games, like is this even a discussion? Like I think we all would have said he's a first, first round pick. So he had a couple bad games and now the narrative kind of changed. But I mean, you're talking about a guy who was the most accurate quarterback in college football last year. I think all the, the passing tools are there for him. He is going to get dinged a little bit because he's not the biggest guy. You compare him physically to Arch Manning and Dante Moore. He's not, he doesn't have the same physical attributes of those guys. So that's something that's certainly going to come up a lot in the NFL draft conversation. But I mean, you just mentioned Ty Simpson. Granted, much weaker quarterback class, but he went 13th overall. I would 100% take Julian say over Ty Simpson without even hesitating. So I, I think he's going to be a top 15 pick. I, I mean I think two guys who come to mind to me, and this might be low hanging fruit because these are literally the two guys who had better completion percentages in a single season in the FBS than Julian say did last year. But Bo Nix, Mac Jones are two guys who kind of come to mind for me when I think about like who, who Julian say might be as a prospect. And those guys were both top 15 picks. Maybe they weren't, you know, that number one overall pick type just based on physical attributes. But in terms of their ability to, you know, efficiently pass the ball from the pocket, their, their accuracy to all levels of the field, their ability to read defenses, I think Julian Saiyan has all those things. So I think, you know, the developing that, you know, running outside of a pocket part of his game is going to be important for him to keep himself there as one of the top quarterbacks in this draft. But I, I do believe he's going to be a top 15 draft pick.
- [41:47]
A
Confident, definitely a chance that playing this back a year from now, a no on the first round on Julian saying might sound ludicrous, like they can run it as Julian sand is the number one pick and it's like this freaking guy covered him his whole career thought no, Landis, yes or no.
- [42:05]
E
It's another confident yes for me. And I was, I, if you would have asked me this a week ago I might have said no. And then I saw Ty Simpson get drafted 13th and I said okay, the NFL's crazy Julian saying is definitely going to be a first round pick. And I'm not to say that's not saying that they'd be crazy to draft Julian first. It's just that they are so quarterback starved in that league that I just don't think they let a talent like Julian leak out of the first round. Like I don't think he's in a QB1 conversation because I don't think his, his traits put him there and he will be in a tough evaluation situation because there are quite a few sort of just like big athletic traitsy quarterbacks in this class who maybe even aren't like super consistent. But I, you know, or maybe Volta vault themselves ahead of Julian because he's not that way. What he is is consistent and he processes and he's accurate. We all, we all know what he is and I still think what he is gets him drafted in the first round. So I don't, I don't know exactly where I, I think I'm, I'm probably more in line with Dan. I think he ends up being a top 15ish. Top top or top 15ish pick. But yes, I, I do believe pretty confidently now that he will be selected in the first round.
- [43:16]
D
Well, I was going to jump in real quick and say yeah, what Dan said with Mac Jones, Mac got a treatment of well look who he's throwing to. And Julian's going to get that too is like because how many, how many people have you been around say well I could throw to Jeremiah Smith and I could throw to. Well you couldn't. Probably not but you know, I couldn't. I think I, I think I could throw a wide receiver screen to him if you gave me like if I cut the snap cleanly I think I could get a wide receiver screen out there. But I played.
- [43:47]
C
You all have to go out, you challenge. You have to throw the pass. With Keonte Scott
- [43:53]
D
I am confident that I would do even though I'm not technically OSU media that I would do okay among the OSU media quarterback challenge because I played games in junior high so yeah, it's a low bar but yeah, I think he'll get that treatment though that he gets. You almost get penalized for playing with Good players. But hey, when he plays in the NFL he's going to throw to NFL receivers too.
- [44:16]
A
Yeah, it's hard. I do think there are two key people in this conversation because I'm just thinking about like Kate someone like Kade Klubnick, right. Who I, I think I picked Kate Clubnik to win the Heisman, right. And like that was where people thought that Clemson quarterback was like he's, he's a little bigger than Julian Sam but I think he maybe is a little more of like smart run the offense kind of guy. And then the Clemson season exploded and Kate Clubnik, whatever went in the fourth or fifth round or whatever. But Landis Cade Clubnik did not have Jeremiah Smith and Kate Clubnik did not have Arthur Smith. And it is very possible that the
- [44:51]
E
Smith didn't have a lot of things.
- [44:53]
A
Yeah it like those guys the idea. So I think the thing like and my no is not like Julian saying has an awful year. But that is one of those things. And I like, you know we saw what happened with Drew Aller. Drew out completely different style of draft prospect than Julian Sand. But like that's not gonna happen, right? Like Julian saying's gonna have a good to great year because he's got an NFL coordinator, he's got a head coach who knows offense, he has the best receiver in college sports. And then we're into this other discussion because like there are other quarterbacks that we are thinking about now who are going to fall off the board completely just like Aller and Klubnick did in, in this draft. But that's not what we're talking about
- [45:34]
E
at all with Julian saying no, I actually think where he's gonna end up in the draft I think could end up being like pretty good for him because I don't. He could end up going to a good team, right? Like he could be a first round pick of a team that is not built. I, I saw and it's like everyone's doing their mock drafts and nobody really knows anything. I saw a mock draft this morning that had Julian saying going to the E like 22. It's like that's a heck of a situation for a young quarterback to walk into, right? So the fact that he's not QB1 or even going to be part of that conversation I actually think could end up working out very well for him next year. So he is the NFL draft echo chamber is what it is and he will probably be the most echo chambery quarterback going into this process be one because he's at Ohio State and two, because there are some things to evaluate with him. So I, I don't think it's going to be a particularly fun like run up to the draft for him unless he's just awesome this year maybe, and he certainly could be, but I still think when it's all said and done, he's still gonna, he's gonna end up being a first round pick.
- [46:39]
A
Because Bender, like in the end, there's a huge difference between being a successful college quarterback and how you are viewed as a draft prospect. Right. Like Julian saying, could go win the Heisman this year, but still be viewed maybe a little bit differently as an NFL prospect because he has Jeremiah Smith, because he's not 6, 5, those kind of things, right?
- [47:00]
D
Well, because we do it every year. We did a story last week about how and we talk ourselves into guys and we talk ourselves out of guys with quarterbacks. I mean, I could go down the list of back end first round picks. You know, Steelers fans will tell you Kenny Pickett, he was 20th. Tyler Shuck, early second round pick. Will Levis, early second round pick. More often than not, when you get into the conversation of the hypothetical quarterback, you're not getting Josh Allen, you're just not. But when you have the guys that are more known commodities, I think the guys out of Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, on some level with Arch, they, they're graded on a different curve because they're playing around super talented players. But the other thing is like C.J. stroud didn't do anything from the year that he was projected to be a first rounder to the next year to dissuade us from taking him in the first round. You know, Justin Fields really didn't do that either, even though he was a sophomore his first season at Ohio State. Like if you do it twice and you do it at a high level. And I think what Bill said kind of striking me too. How would he fall past 16 if he has another super productive season with Ohio State? I can't see it.
- [48:08]
H
If you work in university maintenance, Grainger considers you an MVP because your playbook ensures your arena is always ready for tip off. And Grainger is your trusted partner, offering the products you need all in one place, from H VAC and plumbing supplies to lighting and more. And all delivered with plenty of time left on the clock. So your team always gets the win. Call 1-800-GRAINGER visit grainger.com or just up by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [48:38]
A
Mom, can you tell me a story?
- [48:39]
B
Sure. Once upon a time, a Mom needed a new car.
- [48:42]
A
Was she brave?
- [48:43]
B
She was tired mostly. But she went to Carvana.com and found a great car at a great price. No secret treasure map required.
- [48:50]
A
Did you have to fight a dragon? Nope.
- [48:51]
B
She bought it 100% online from her bed, actually.
- [48:54]
A
Was it scary?
- [48:55]
B
Honey, it was as unscary as car buying could be.
- [48:58]
A
Did the car have a sunroof?
- [48:59]
B
It did, actually.
- [49:01]
A
Okay, good story.
- [49:02]
B
Car buying. You'll want to tell stories about. Buy your car today on delivery fees may apply.
- [49:10]
A
You know who could be an interesting and we're going to finish with like other quarterback conversations here. An interesting hypothetical quarterback a year from now. I wonder, Lincoln Keenholtz. What if Lincoln Keenholtz at Louisville like, like shows a little something and again, he's not seven feet tall and Julian saying is four six. Right. But it's just like Lincoln Keenholtz has a little bit to him. I'm curious about it. We'll end with this discussion. Bill Bender, starting with you. We'll broaden it past Ohio State. Who. Who's another quarterback prospect that you are intrigued or that you. You like this guy for the 2027 NFL Draft that you think you know. A year now, a year from now, as we're going into the draft, we'll be talking about this guy.
- [49:52]
D
Well, I'm going to give you two answers. Well, Dave, I like architecture and I, I like arch. He's not polarizing to me. He, he back into the year. Last year produced impossible standard to meet. Played very well when he was labeled a bust after the Florida game. And I just look at him and the physical tools, the ability to run and the ability to get better and I think he's going to be a hit now. I love looking at like day two guys and day three guys and I missed on this year because I thought Luke Altmeyer was like that day two, day three quarterback I liked. I actually like that. Like Bill was saying, you land in a favorable situation, the Lions pick him up. He'll do well there. You know, in the preseason it'll be have a chance to be a backup. So you might laugh at this day two, day three type guy, but I really like Gunner Stockton. I, I think he did a nice job at Georgia. He's mobile. He's not stat. I see Bill smirking.
- [50:42]
E
Oh, Doug's getting a sword out.
- [50:44]
D
Yeah, yeah. Like he's not Stetson Bennett. He, he's gonna play another year at Georgie. Plays at a high level. Another quarterback. Pretty good under pressure. Makes some plays like well in that Bull game, even though they lost to Ole Miss. So he's a guy that if I was lit like round four, round five, and you're like, why would they take Gunner Stockton over this guy? I won't be surprised next year.
- [51:10]
A
Gunner's a baller. Gunner's a baller. Like that. Like, Gunner, Gunner. I, I. Of all the things that turn my stomach about Georgia football, I, I get it. Gunner. Gunner's bit. We'll, we'll let that one go because actually, it's a good answer. Dan Hope, who's your guy?
- [51:25]
C
Yeah, I mean, I know obviously everybody's talking about Arch Manning, Dante Moore. I mean, right now, personally, I'd probably lean toward Dante Moore over Arch Manning as the top guy, but I'm very much like, I want to see what both these guys do for another year before, you know, I really anoint either of those guys. I think going, you know, away from the guys who are really being talked about the most, you know, I did kind of pat myself on the back earlier for saying I didn't think last year's quarterback class was as good as everyone thought it was going to be. But there was one guy that I was really high on a year ago who I thought was honestly going to be the number one overall pick in this year's draft, and that's Lenora Sellers. So I'm going to go Flora Sellers. I haven't quit on Lenora Sellers yet. He did not have the year that he was expected to have this past season, so he's got a lot to prove this upcoming year. And I'm not saying I think he's going to be the top pick next year because I think it's a stronger quarterback class, but I do think he's a guy, he plays well, he can get himself back into that first round conversation. I mean, all the tools are there. Great athlete, a great, great arm. You know, I think he showed a lot of flashes of it two years ago that didn't show up as much this past year. But I think if he can put it all together, he's a guy who could get himself back into that first round conversation.
- [52:33]
A
Interesting, interesting. I think that's good. There are going to be some interesting guys to talk about. Landis, who's your guy?
- [52:39]
E
Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech. Oh, Texas Tech by way of Cincinnati and Indiana. I liked it when he was in Indiana that those teams were bad, but I thought he was like an intriguing player there. Went to Cincinnati and, like, was kind of okay. And now he's a Texas Tech, I think trying to put some, put some polish on his game before he goes to the NFL. He's big, he's got a really strong arm. He's pretty athletic. He'll have something like 3, 000 career snaps by the time he goes to the NFL. What you think teams are like, he has accuracy, accuracy issues and I think his decision making at times is a little wonky. But I also feel like I'm just like describing college Josh Allen and then teams will maybe convince themselves that they can fix Brendan Sorsby. So I don't know that he's actually going to be an NFL stud but, but I could absolutely see him rising up draft boards and, and going pretty high. I know some people already have him as a first rounder in some places, so I'm not that far out there on him. But when you think about the different tools that he brings to the table, I, I do think he's a pretty intriguing quarterback prospect in this class.
- [53:37]
A
Okay, I'm gonna give you three and I'm gonna give two third year guys that are like in a similar position as Julian saying. I'm like ah, Julian say is not gonna be a first round pick, but I just think like he might have more opportunities in college a year from now. One is and I think this is a pretty direct comparison to Julian Sand. And it's just like sometimes guys popping. So C.J. carr at Notre Dame interests me. That C.J. carr as a third year guy, a second year starter. Like if that all comes together and they brought in you know, a bunch of Ohio State receivers and like they're gonna miss the running back. So it's gonna, I think that'll put the, the offense a little more on CJ Carr. Like Jeremiah Love was the engine of that offense a year ago for Notre Dame. This year CJ Carr has to be the engine. Like what if that takes off? I'm just curious. This one is probably for two years from now, but I can already hear like Jon Gruden's voice in my head. I was gonna do the impersonation. I'm not going to this 6 foot 5 kid from Minnesota, Drake Lindsey Drake Lindsay is 6 foot 5, 230 pounds. And if Carson Beck can be like he's tall, he's, he's stiff as a board. But let's make him a third rounder. Like I like I probably after a second year, only third year in college, Drake Lindsay probably won't be in the draft next year, but I could see him like if Minnesota can't keep him. He goes to a bigger, like one more school and then I think Drake Lindsay could be an NFL guy at one point, but then the last guy is an older guy and I'm. And again, he's not big, but I think he maybe has like a little Baker Mayfield in him. And like if John Mateer can be in a conversation a year ago, let's put Rocco Becht at Penn State in this conversation. As a guy who's played a million games at Iowa State was very successful. He had two great receivers at Iowa State two seasons ago. Didn't have him last year. But like the overall talent level at Penn State I think is just going to go up for him with Matt Campbell and they have an easy schedule. And Bender, what if Rocco Beck like drags Penn State into the playoff and people are like, this guy is a leader, he can sling it, he can move around a little bit. Like I think he's got a little something and has an opportunity to show it in this step to the Nittany Lions.
- [55:50]
D
You know, I used to have a theory. It's not perfect, but I was, I always liked NFL quarterbacks that elevated their program that wasn't like a big time program. So it was like a Philip Rivers or a Drew Brees or you know, those guys like what, what is Purdue without Drew Brees? That type thing. You know, it'd be interesting to see what Iowa State is without Rocco Beck. Slash, Brock Purdy this run that the. And Matt Campbell, of course. But if he drags them to the playoffs with a 10 and two record and he's super accurate and plays like Big Ten quarterbacks do and top five in the Big Ten passer rating. Yeah, you're onto something there. And if you look at their schedule, that's certainly possible.
- [56:26]
A
Yeah, I do think, Dan, in the end, as we think about quarterbacks, like looking ahead for this class, Arch Manning and Dante Moore, I feel like, are they like the, the two guys that maybe you'd be surprised if they didn't work out as very high draft picks a year from now, but then maybe everybody else could go one way or the other. Like I think Sellers is a, is a great pick, but are you like a hundred percent sure that Sellers is going to be a first rounder year from now? I feel like we have maybe, maybe it's arching more and then like maybe 10 interesting guys who you can envision being first rounders, but you won't bet your life on it.
- [57:04]
C
Yeah, well, I'll double down on what I said before I'll put Julian in that group with Arch in that group.
- [57:09]
A
You think Julian belongs in that group?
- [57:11]
C
I do, I do. I believe Julian belongs in that group as one of the top three quarterbacks in the 2027 NFL Draft. So I would put those three as the guys that right now I'm confident those three guys will be first rounders. I think probably the next most guy would probably be if, if he has the year that he's expected to have and if he does decide to enter the draft, which could go either way, probably would be CJ Carr being probably that, that next guy in that conversation. But you know, to your point, I mean, we talked about a lot of guys. I mean, we didn't even talk about Josh Hoover. I mean, look at what Fernando Mendoza just did at Indiana. Like, who's to say Josh Hoover does not have a similar ascension under Kurt Signetti? You know, Drew Mestemaker is a guy transferring from North Texas to Oklahoma State. A lot of people are talking about. So there are a lot of names in this quarterback class. And you know, much like we talked about with last year's class, there's going to be some guys that are being talked about right now that a year from now are either going to be back in school or their, their day three picks. But we also, we saw it with, I mean, Fernando Mendoza. There were, there were some people. I admittedly was not one of them. There were some people who were talking about Fernando Mendoza could be a top pick a year ago. Most people weren't. I mean, we've seen it with Joe Burrow. I mean, there's so many, there's so many different names we could pull out there. There's going to be a couple guys nobody's talking about right now that are going to be in this conversation a year from now. But there's also certainly going to be guys in this group that we've talked about that that aren't going to be what people think they're going to be right now. Because when you have this many guys in the conversation, they're. They're not all are going to ultimately be what people think they're going to be.
- [58:43]
A
Let me throw two more Big Ten guys in here real quick. Curious what Nico does with Bob Chesney, right. If that coaching situation at ucla. But actually the guy that I think and I think this guy's going to be in the cop the Heisman conversation, he's 6 4. I do think Jaden Maeva at USC has a chance to be a guy that really could be in this conversation a year from now. But as so I think it's an interesting crop. There's interesting possibilities there. Landis, we'll end with you like this idea. Would you agree with Hope Arch more Saiyan as the three maybe surest things to be first rounders a year from now?
- [59:22]
E
Yeah, I think I would. And then I'm not. I'm not quite sure where it goes after that. I don't think. Have we said Sam Levitt's name? I think Sam Lovett's someone else.
- [59:32]
A
Okay, interesting.
- [59:33]
E
I know. Like a bent Bender. I'm looking at your top 50. You have my Eva 29th, right?
- [59:37]
A
Okay.
- [59:38]
E
Like what, what do you. You think he can vault himself into this conversation at the near. Near the top or.
- [59:44]
D
No, he needs to be a little more accurate down the field just a little bit. And, and I always look at, you know, one of the. The PFF stat that I love is intermediate range. I look at that 10 to 19 throws. Do they throw a lot of picks in that range? Because why. That's where NFL quarterbacks have to throw the football. 10 to 19 yards. Anybody can throw the bubble screen, including all four of us in the Ohio State media QB challenge. And anybody can throw a deep ball. We. Maybe not so much us four, but like anybody can throw the ball down the field. Yeah, but can you pitch? That's what I always say. Can you pitch? And he'll have to pitch a little bit better. Julian can pitch. Like that's what I'm saying. Like if, if you can make it in that. So I agree with you guys that they're the top three, you know. And then Sellers is interesting. He's the most interesting because of the physical tools and. But he has to, he definitely has to have bounce back season.
- [60:36]
A
Yeah.
- [60:37]
E
I think Chambers is interesting too.
- [60:39]
D
Yep.
- [60:40]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it is, it is a. It'll be an interesting group. But again, it always feels like a year away. It feels like an interesting group. And then you get there and you're like, oh my God, what happened to quarterback play? And it's why we love the draft so much. Bill Bender and Dan Hope tremendous at what they do. And that includes talking about the NFL draft. Bill Bender, where can the folks find you find your work?
- [61:02]
D
Yeah. I'm at sportingnews.com@billbender92. This was a lot of fun. It always is. I, I love coming on with the Ohio State media. You know, like it's, it's, it's fun. It's intimidating. I had to come extra prepared because I didn't know if Jalen McLean would pass the test. But oh, you can catch all that work over there. I've really enjoyed talking to you guys and hopefully we can do it again soon.
- [61:22]
A
And dan hope at 11 warriors dominating the beat as always. Where can the folks find you?
- [61:27]
C
Yeah, 11 warriors.com that's E L E V E N spelled out warriors.com or on X at Dan underscore Hope and Landis.
- [61:37]
A
We got anything going on over at the Bill and Doug substack? Bill and Doug osu.substack.com We do.
- [61:42]
E
Yeah. I think we're gonna do some more draft stuff. I'm interested in this linebacker you thing and where James Larnardis has it going, so I'm going to write about that. And also typically after the draft I tend to go back and do a re ranking of the recruiting class that just ended. So that would be the 2022 class, so I'll probably do that this week as well. Only like half the guys ended up staying at Ohio State, but I'll still end up re ranking that class to see how it panned out now that most of those guys are off to the NFL.
- [62:08]
A
All right, you guys can go find us over there on the sub stack. But we're always so grateful for the time and expertise shared by the wonderful media members here who give us time on around the Shoe. So thank you to Bill Bender. Thank you to Dan Hope on behalf of Bill Landis. I'm Doug Lemurice and that was around the Shoe on the Bill and Doug Show.
- [62:32]
B
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