Ohio State offense reactions: Play calling plans, Jeremiah Smith health check, right guard change

Summary

The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Offense Reactions

Episode Summary: Play Calling Plans, Jeremiah Smith Health, Right Guard Change

Podcast: The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk (Blue Wire)
Date: December 22, 2025
Hosts: Doug Lesmerises & Bill Landis

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Overview

In this episode, Doug and Bill break down the latest Ohio State football news ahead of the Cotton Bowl, focusing on Ryan Day’s play-calling decision, the status and impact of standout receiver Jeremiah Smith, and changes at the right guard position due to injury. Drawing on their decades of experience covering the Buckeyes, the hosts offer insight, context, and thoughtful speculation with their signature blend of passionate fandom and insider know-how.

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Key Topics and Insights

1. Ryan Day to Call Plays in the Cotton Bowl

[03:00–13:57]

• Definitive Decision: Head coach Ryan Day, after some speculation, confirmed he will call plays for the Cotton Bowl and (potentially) playoff run, stepping back into a role he excelled in earlier in his career.

  • "Three major pieces of information I think, came out of this. The first is Ryan Day said he's calling plays for the Cotton Bowl. That was definitive. Definitive. It's what we expected." — Bill [03:18]

• Context & Nuance: Day’s announcement was careful—he said, “It will be my decision what calls go into the game,” a phrasing Doug found “convoluted” but respectful of outgoing OC Brian Hartline.

  • "It was not like, I am the play caller now. It was, it will be my decision what calls go into the game, which I thought was a very interesting sort of convoluted way to say, I am the play caller now." — Doug [03:56]
  • Both hosts see the move as logical and not surprising, especially with Hartline leaving for a head coaching job at South Florida.

• Why It Makes Sense: Doug and Bill believe Ryan Day is better-suited for play-calling in high-stakes games, especially given Hartline’s limited experience as a primary play-caller.

  • "I think maybe you want Brian Hartline for the 12 (regular season), so Ryan Day can do other things, but I think maybe you want Ryan Day for the three (playoff games) to get you over the top." — Bill [09:18]
  • "It's not just the best of a bad situation. It might be the best of any situation. This is better." — Bill [09:58]

• The “Eyes Up” Conversation: Doug credits Day with recognizing that a head coach/play-caller needs to keep an “eyes up” view—managing the whole team, not just the offense.

  • "If you're so locked in on being a play caller, are your eyes up for your program and your culture year round? And that is what I was most interested in in the should Ryan Day give up play calling Discussion." — Bill [07:38]

• Seasonal Dynamics: The hosts clarify this arrangement is ideal for the postseason but not for the full season, where “eyes up” on culture and preparation for Michigan outweighs tactical play-calling.

  • "You have to coach the whole team all year."
  • "If you are just in the meeting room with the offensive staff trying to figure out what the third and three package of play calls should be, then I don't think you're preparing Ohio State mentally, emotionally, holistically to play its best game against Michigan." — Bill [13:10]

2. Offensive Game Day Roles and Staff Structure

[15:20–19:07]

• Supporting Cast: With Day spending more energy on play-calling, tight ends coach Keenan Bailey and quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler's roles will be more critical. Hartline, now leaving, will retain receivers coach duties and be in the press box on game day.

  • "Keenan Bailey was like in Ryan's back pocket in the Big Ten championship game. Maybe that means Billy Fessler and Brian Hartline will be upstairs together. They'll help each other and Keenan Bailey will be the guy on the sideline." — Bill [17:08]

• Quarterback Communication: Fessler will relay plays to Julian Sayin, who has been operating in this system all year.

  • "Billy Fessler could still talk to Julian via walkie talkie. So that sounds like something maybe he's been doing all year." — Doug [17:56]

• Room for Change: Doug notes that specifics of who is where on game day may shift as the bowl prep unfolds, but the staff structure feels settled and sound.

3. Right Guard: Injury & Next-Man-Up

[19:25–26:48]

• Tegra Tshabola Out: Starting right guard Tegra Tshabola is out for “a few weeks” due to injury, officially confirmed by Day.

  • "Tiger Chabola is not starting at right guard against Miami. That is definitive. That is injury related. It certainly may have been performance related also." — Bill [19:43]

• Gabe VanSickle Takes Over: VanSickle is expected to be the starting right guard. If he struggles, Josh Padilla may rotate in. This is a tough “trial by fire” as Miami boasts a formidable defensive line.

  • "I would expect to see him play most, if not all, the game against Miami. And it's going to be a heck of a test for him because there's some real dudes in the middle of that Miami defensive line." — Doug [21:32]

• Host Analysis: Despite the challenge, both hosts agree that giving VanSickle a shot makes sense given Tshabola’s struggles and VanSickle's promising athletic profile.

  • "It's just a little early. I think that more often than not, certainly has the chance to be fine." — Bill [23:35]
  • "He's pretty athletic. He's very physical. He's bigger than Josh Padilla too, which is another reason why I think he might play more." — Doug [24:43]

• Coaching for Success: They discuss how the staff will likely alter gameplans—quick throws, pocket movement, and play design—to support a first-time starter.

  • "We have to help him. We have to assume he's gonna have some trouble. We have to design as opposed to, well, Tegra's a big, physical guy, like, let's see what he can do before, you know." — Bill [25:56]

4. Quarterback & Skill Positions: Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith

[27:07–33:42]

• Julian Sayin Focused: Sayin appeared notably more serious and “locked in” compared to the Heisman media circuit, focusing purely on prep for Miami.

  • "Now it's game prep again. And Julian was like, nope. Julian Sayin shut it down. Which is only an indication of locked in Julian Sayin…this is beat Miami time." — Bill [27:43]
  • "I certainly made note of the fact that he said he was watching both Miami and A&M prior to their game on Saturday. Like, I think he's pretty dialed in." — Doug [28:03]

• Ryan Day’s QB Influence: Doug wonders if Day's direct play-calling could “bring out” the CJ Stroud-Georgia level in Sayin, noting Day's proven impact on quarterbacks.

  • "The game that they got out of CJ Stroud there where he was just a playmaking maniac…it felt like Ryan Day was instrumental in bringing that out of CJ. Is there anything in this dynamic here that maybe Ryan can bring a little bit of that out of Julian?" — Doug [29:17]

• Jeremiah Smith Injury Update: The star WR personally clarifies his late-season struggles stemmed from a quad strain suffered in practice (“usually keeps you out 3-4 weeks”), not the previous back scare. He played versus Michigan below 100% on Day’s advice to "will" himself healthy.

  • "Jeremiah Smith himself, describing how worried he was about his ability to play in the Michigan game, that he was not sure that he was going to be able to play. He said it was a quad strain…He said, it's an injury that usually would keep you out three or four weeks." — Doug [29:49]

• Smith’s Health for Miami: Smith confidently claims he is now back to 100%, promising a return to his explosive form at season’s start in a game packed with personal storylines (he’ll be facing high school friends who play for Miami).

  • "He said, I am 100% now. And he's playing this Miami team that one of his best friends, a receiver at his high school, plays for Miami...you're gonna see like the Jeremiah Smith from the beginning of the year when he was healthy. And that could be quite a thing." — Bill [31:33]

• Emotional Stakes & Motivation: The hosts note Smith’s competitive fire and connection to his roots, cautioning only against letting his intensity spill over into penalties.

  • "Honestly, the only thing I'm worried about is that they're going to be like, too charged up...No personal fouls, I guess for Jeremiah should be the main goal here. But otherwise, I think you're gonna get the full Jeremiah Smith experience." — Doug [33:27]

• Broader Significance: They highlight how Smith, despite NIL era money and fame, embodies passion for team and program.

  • "This is a second-year college student...who wants to put it on for this program and his teammates and his coaches and the people that he cares about...it's nice to hear him talk about it." — Bill [34:03]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Play Calling:

  • “It will be my decision what calls go into the game.” — Ryan Day (as paraphrased by Doug, [03:56])
  • “I think maybe you want Brian Hartline for the 12, so Ryan Day can do other things, but I think maybe you want Ryan Day for the three to get you over the top.” — Bill [09:18]

• On Smith’s Health & Motivation:

  • "He said, I am 100% now. And he's playing this Miami team that one of his best friends, a receiver at his high school, plays for Miami." — Bill [31:33]
  • "He flipped double birds to the crowds after he scored against Michigan. He's got to be careful, I think, to not—because he didn't get caught that time. He's got to be careful because I think they could be looking for that next time." — Doug [33:54]

• On NIL and Player Attitude:

  • "And this is a second year college student...And he seems like he cares as much as anybody could care...And this guy wants to put it on for this program and his teammates and his coaches and the people that he cares about." — Bill [34:03]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:00–13:57]: Play Calling Plans & "Eyes Up" Philosophy
• [15:20–19:07]: Staffs Roles & Game Day Structure
• [19:25–26:48]: Right Guard Change Explained
• [27:07–29:17]: Julian Sayin’s Mentality
• [29:49–34:03]: Jeremiah Smith Health, Motivation, and Miami Ties
• [34:03–35:49]: Broader Reflections on NIL, Motivation, and the “full Jeremiah Smith experience”

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Tone and Flow

The conversation is a lively, analytical back-and-forth, sometimes self-deprecating, always fan-focused, with a penchant for big-picture insight and “what does this mean for the whole program” thinking. Doug and Bill inject humor, empathy, and wisdom, all while keeping Ohio State fans front-and-center.

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For Listeners: Key Takeaways

• Ryan Day calling plays is not a crisis response—it is the optimal move for postseason success given Hartline’s inexperience and new job.
• The offensive staff is reassembling roles to support both Day as play-caller and a new right guard (VanSickle), with careful planning.
• Despite injuries and off-field distractions, key players like Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin present as healthy, focused, and highly motivated.
• Emotional storylines abound—several players face former teammates and friends in the Cotton Bowl.
• This group of Buckeyes combines modern NIL realities with old-school competitive passion, giving fans real reason for optimism and pride.

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Next Up

Bill and Doug will follow with a defensive preview after interviews with Matt Patricia and OSU defenders, and provide more content on their Substack and podcast feeds, especially as game day approaches.

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Transcript

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[Bill Landis]

Welcome back to the Bill and Doug Show. Doug Lamor and Bill landis. It's Monday, December 22nd. We just spoke with Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. Four offensive players as mandated by the Cotton Bowl. The playoff gets involved. They say you got to talk. We're going to have defensive interviews on Monday evening. We'll have a separate show on that. But Bill, you and I wanted to chop it up a little bit about what we heard from Ryan Day and these offensive players, especially receiver Jeremiah Smith. And just to reset everything. Thanks everybody for your patience over the weekend. I was out of town. Bill is now out of town with the family. But we're here with you guys and that's the important thing. We're here to talk ball and we're like getting into. It's like cotton ball time, baby.

[Doug Lamor]

It is cotton ball time. Yeah. It's kind of weird, right? Because we. We know who Ohio State's playing. We get to talk to some people this week, but then there's another break for. For Christmas. Ohio State, also, they're practicing today and tomorrow, and then they'll get out of town for a little bit and reconvene, I think, on the 27th. Right back. Back in Columbus.

[Bill Landis]

I think 20s, 26, maybe practice. 26. I think two days off.

[Doug Lamor]

Yeah. Yeah. I don't think guys are like, you know, flying back to California for Christmas or anything like that, but some time off, I think, deserve time off for the. For the holidays as well. So we're. We're gearing up for it. But I would. I would just like, you know, caution people to not go full bore because you're going to run out of steam before the game's here. Yeah. Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

So we're going to have a lot of stuff. We'll be in Texas starting on the 28th. Again, thank you so much for being here. Like, subscribe, drop a review on Apple Podcasts. Tell a friend Whether you're on YouTube, whether you're on the podcast. If you. If you want to find us on our [e-mail] we certainly would invite you there as well. Three major pieces of information I think, came out of this. The first is Ryan Day said he's calling plays for the Cotton Bowl. That was definitive. Definitive. It's what we expected. It's kind of what we knew you had written about this on our substack, Bill. It was what you strongly felt. It's kind of what Ryan Day said. Right. Like right after the Big Ten championship game and that week of prep for the Big Ten championship game where Brian Hartline, the offensive coordinator, had taken the South Florida head coaching job. That was a tough week. We. I think we were like 95% down this road, but Ryan Day officially made it. So. Head coach Ryan Day is calling plays against Miami.

[Doug Lamor]

He is. It was even funny to me, though, the way that he. The way that he said it. It was not like, I am the play caller now. It was. It will be my decision what calls go into the game, which I thought was like a very interesting sort of convoluted way to say. To say, I am the play caller now. Like, I get it. I think he's, like, trying to. To walk a little bit of a line here and, and maybe, like, not disrespectful is not the right word. But just like handle this situation with class, I think. Right. And. Which is fine. Which is fine. But it's not surprising at all. No, that this felt like the, the logical step and, and in some ways I think is specific to Ohio State.

[Bill Landis]

Logical stuff.

[Doug Lamor]

I was having, you know, some back and forth with some people in the substack chat billandougosu.substack.com about this situation and I understand people being like a little on edge about it, but it's not like Brian Hartline is not the first coordinator to take a head coaching job while his team was trying to compete for a championship. In fact, he's not the only one doing it in this playoff. So it's not like this is uncharted territory for anybody. But I think Ohio State is uniquely positioned with a guy like Heartline who is the play caller. Yes. But still learning to be the play caller. And Ryan Day who like does this, this is why he got the job in the first place. So they just had this natural sort of fail safe that exists. So it was always head at this point. I guess the thing that I was mostly curious of is whether or not Ryan Day would, would say it because he doesn't have to. But yeah, he, he kind of made it clear on, on Monday he's going to be the guy who's calling the plays.

[Bill Landis]

I don't think it's anything to be worried about. And I think maybe you and I think it's actually all things being equal, perhaps better for Ohio State that in the playoff for these three games, if they keep winning, Ryan Day is calling the place.

[Doug Lamor]

I don't think it's anything to worry about and I, I agree with you that, that it probably is better. The, the one thing that I'm not worried about, I, I'm curious about and I, I actually liked Ryan Day's answer about it. Just this idea like what do you do in between series if you're the, if you're the head coach who's calling the plays, Are you only adjusting offensively in between series or do you have your eyes up as Ryan Day said it, or you're not staring at your play sheet on the sideline, you're aware of what's happening on the field with the defense. If you got to give them a timeout, you're there and ready to call them a timeout. You're watching the flow of the game to seeing how you're being attacked. He even said like you're watching the other sideline sometimes to kind of see what the vibes are over there that we all know this. There's a lot that goes into being a Game Day manager. And for the last basically two years, Ryan Day has kind of been able to do that almost exclusively. The five years prior to that, he was the play caller and frankly, didn't always do a great job of being the game manager. So, like, now these, like, two versions of him coming together in this playoff, I think is fascinating, but I do think. I do think it can work.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah.

[Doug Lamor]

And I like the fact that I didn't say to him, who's gonna call the timeout when you need to call the timeout on defense? I just said, like, hey, you should do this thing. Now you're doing this different thing, and now you sort of have to do both. What do you think about that? And sort of the first thing he was, you got to have your eyes up. So the fact that his mind went there right away for me was like, a little reassuring that, like, okay, I think he's got a pretty good handle on what this needs to look like.

[Bill Landis]

And just so you know, just because Philly Billy is out of town doesn't mean Philly Billy is not bringing it. At the news conference Tuesday afternoon or Monday morning, it was live people in the room, and then they would go to the zoo, and it's supposed to be, like, all these national people who get to chime in, and it's always like, we now go to Bill Landis. Bill Landis, go ahead. And Bill Landis jumps right in. So you were the one who really got that great answer from Ryan about the Eyes up situation. And I. I think Eyes up is both literal and figurative. Right. So it's literal on game days, but I think it's figurative the other six days of the week and the, like, the 365 days of the year that if you are so locked in on being a. Being a play caller, are your eyes up for your program and your culture year round? And that is what I was most interested in in the should Ryan Day give up play calling Discussion. That if. If you're just doodling plays all the time and you're thinking like an O.C. i think there's. You're leaving something out. You're missing things with the vibes of your team, with the. The mental preparation. Are they up? Are they down? Are that, like, is it like it. Just making sure everybody's feeling good and behaving correctly and all those things, and it's all 105. You know, it's not just the offensive players. And so I think that is a bigger deal. 365 days of the year. And that that's why you should have a play caller so that Ryan G. Day can do that for a month. I think it's fine. And I almost think maybe it's good. And when your play caller is a first year play caller and Brian Hartline, who has never done it before, and now Ryan, you know, Brian Hartline as a first year play caller, can you win a national championship? I don't know. But now that that's not the question anymore, it's Ryan Day who's done this before. Can you win a national championship? It's. It's almost like, you know, again, I. It's not a theory that I like necessarily agree with, but in 2014, Ohio State had a regular season quarterback and a playoff quarterback. And maybe you want J.T. barrett for the 12, but maybe you want Cardell Jones for the two to get you over the top, right? Yeah, I think maybe you want Brian hartline for the 12, so Ryan Day can do other things, but I think maybe you want Ryan Day for the three to get you over the top. So I, I think this is. But if Brian Hartline wasn't leaving, you couldn't do this. Like, of course Brian Hartline has to call plays. But I think rather, and this is not just to be like silver lining, everything is perfect. I actually think if you could design it, I think you might design. Ryan Day does not call plays during the regular season, but in the postseason he actually kind of does. But you can't do that without angering the play caller. Except the play caller's leaving, so it's all good. So Ryan Gay could do it. So it's not just the best of a bad situation. It might be the best of any situation. This is better.

[Doug Lamor]

Do you think. Does any part of you think we would have landed at this position even if Brian Hartline had not taken the South Florida job? Not that, not that Ryan Day would say, get out of the one chair, kid. I'm calling plays for the playoff. But like, like last year, he took a larger hand in the game planning, clearly. Yeah, but Chip Kelly was still calling the plays. I think given Brian Hartline's inexperience still in this job, that even if he wasn't leaving, Ryan Day very well could have taken on not only more responsibility, but probably more play calling anyway. Do you think that would have been at all possible?

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, and I think we'd be doing a month of like, well, Ryan Day is really calling plays anyway. Well, Brent Hartley's not really this. Well, you gotta, you know, like, everybody knows, like, people are saying that during the regular season. Well, Brian Hartlike wasn't really calling the plays anyway. It's like, okay, so, like, he. But he clearly was, at least for a lot of it. And then again, we would be trapped. We'd be bogged down. Now, maybe it wouldn't affect them, but you and I would be banging our heads against the wall.

[Doug Lamor]

Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Of people thinking they know. Well, not now. We have none of that. Now we have the. No, but the. The. The real. He said it, and it makes sense that he said it. So, like, we can at least have our heads wrapped around it. But, like, as far as how the team operated, I. I would imagine Ryan Day has a greater say in play calling in the postseason when he's not worried about culture, when he's not worried about recruiting, and when they have more time to prep. I would imagine that will be true from now until the moment Ryan Day no longer is a head coach at Ohio State. And I would imagine it's probably true for Kirby Smart and the Georgia defense. Right. I would imagine, like, for any head coach who is an expert on one side of the ball, but not the primary play caller. That's how it works.

[Doug Lamor]

Yeah. I'm sure Saban got pretty nitty gritty with the defensive game plans when he was trying to win national championships. It just like, that just happened to sort of coincide with Brian Hartline not being very experienced. Because I actually think, like, if this were. This were Brian Hartline's, like, third season calling plays for Ohio State and he was ready to leave, I think maybe they would have tried to give it more of a go to try to, like, balance it out and let him continue to call plays, but he's not. He's in his. He's called plays for 13 games. And I think throughout the year, Right. He's. There have been moments where it looked really good and moments where I think it was clear that he was still kind of developing his feel for things, but as long as he was sort of in that developmental stage like this, this was bound to happen. And. And the fact that he's leaving, I think just sort of, you know, threw through some more jet fuel on a thing that was already going to get. Get lit. So I. I think. I think it'll be okay. Yeah. I don't. I don't. I just want to be careful, I guess, like, because I was also with you, like, a. A strong proponent of Ryan Day giving up play calling. I don't want to like now that he's taking it back, like it's fine. But I just think like the time of year does make it very different. Like it's very different dynamics.

[Bill Landis]

I think it's better than okay. I think it's ideal actually. But, but the thing you have to coach the whole team all year and so that, that again to me is it is a bigger deal than, than it to me it really it and it's it's a Michigan conversation. It's making sure that Ohio State is mentally and emotionally prepared to play its best game against Michigan. And if you are just in the meeting room with the offensive staff trying to figure out what the third and three package of play calls should be, then I don't think you're preparing Ohio State mentally, emotionally, holistically to play its best game against Michigan in the last Saturday in November. So to me it's as much as I think your question is important and the answer that he got about eyes up is important. I think eyes up six days of the week in the building is even more important than eyes up for three and a half hours on Saturday.

[Doug Lamor]

So I think most weeks, I think most weeks that's true. But I don't know. Like I mentioned to you and I mentioned to our substackers, like the timeout that he called early in the Michigan game and you have referenced many times in the past the timeout the Kirby Smart called in the peach bowl in 2022. Right. Like you have to make yourself available to make that call. And as long as you are, then I think it's fine.

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[Bill Landis]

And I do think so. It's like, you know, this is even better. I think what this is better than is better than a first year play caller calling all the players for Ohio State in the playoff. Is it better than last year? Is it better than an experienced play caller that Ryan Day 100% believes in freeing up Ryan Day to call the timeout? No, it's not better than that. But I think it's, it's you. If he misses calling a timeout, I think that's worth the trade off of him making sure that the art of the play calling on against the best teams they're going to face this year, that there is a plan and a, and a rhythm and an art to that that is just hard for any first year play caller to develop. And I don't, I think Brian Hartline was still in the process of developing that and I think Ryan Day will fall right back into that. Right. And I think you will see better of like, they did this, they did this, they did this and then they set up the shot as opposed to you thought, you thought for against Indiana they got a little shot happy at times and it's like, are you it for the sake of doing it or is it, are you actually building up to something? And so for now, all good. I thought the discussion because he brought up the names Keenan Bailey and Billy Fessler, tight ends coach and quarterbacks coach in a way of like in your answer to your question about like I'm going to have to lean on them in a way that I thought is Brian Hartline even going to be upstairs in the box? Because he said that like Brian Hartline is going to be the receivers coach. And I thought like, okay, maybe it sounds like Brian Hartline and just going back to what he was was before, which is coaching a position group and then everybody has a say. But maybe heart because who's up? Fessler's upstairs with heartline normally. Is Keenan Bailey normally upstairs?

[Doug Lamor]

No, Keenan has been on the sideline. Keenan was like in Ryan's back pocket in the Big Ten championship game.

[Bill Landis]

So maybe that means that Billy is going to help Billy Fessler and Brian Hartline will be upstairs together. They'll help each other and Keenan Bailey will be the guy on the sideline who as stuff is happening, if Ryan's like Keenan, make sure we get this ready for the next drive. I have to pay attention to what's happening. With the defense here and Keenan Bailey is next to him. But the way he phrased it, I said I like. As Ryan Day walked away from the podium, I shouted out a last question of is Brian Hartline still going to be upstairs on game day? And he said yes, because I thought maybe it sounded like Keenan Bailey and Billy Fessel were going to be upstairs and Brian Hartline was going to be back on the sideline just the way the conversation had gone. But no, that's not what he said. So it seems like at least that game day structure will remain the same.

[Doug Lamor]

I, I am, I will leave an open mind on that potentially changing as the game gets closer. I do think you're, you're on it with the, the roles though, I think and Billy Fessler will be communicating with. With Julian saying so like the play comes in and Billy Festler be the one and Julian sayings headset relaying the play to him, which I actually think maybe has been kind of the case all year. It was, it was, it was kind of explained when they lost the communications in the Michigan game. It was explained that like Billy Fessler could still talk to Julian Saying via walkie talkie. So that sounds like something maybe he's been doing all year. But I, I think, I think you're definitely on it with what Bailey's role is here. Like he is if Ryan Day can't be game planning on the fly between drives because he has to have his eyes up while Ohio State's on defense and on special teams. And I think that responsibility probably does fall to Keenan Bailey, but I don't know that Bailey has to be next to Ryan Days. He does that. I think he could be up in the booth where it is more sterile and, and things can be more organized, as Ryan Day said on Monday. So we'll, we'll see. I think, I think the roles are defined where exactly everyone's going to be could maybe still be up for some change.

[Bill Landis]

I don't think Ohio State fans should be nervous about it.

[Doug Lamor]

No, I, I don't. No, I'm not nervous about it. I don't, I don't. I don't think you should. Well, I mean, don't be nervous about your team going into a quarterfinal playoff game, right? This be like the appropriate amount of nervous. Don't be extra nervous because this is happening. Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Okay. You want to talk about right guard. Tegar Shabola has been a player that we obviously everybody around Ohio State has discussed ad nauseam all season there. It's just funny how this Stuff happens sometimes. Like, there's sort of message board, Internet, hey, does take with Esha Bola have an injury? There's never sort of like Ohio State never says it, and then we get a chance to talk about it again and we sort of jump in half midstream of like, the assumption of, like, oh, so Tegra's hurt, so when will he be back? And it's like, he's definitely hurt. Like, we have that said out loud by somebody officially with the team before, but Ryan Day said he's probably out a few weeks. So Tiger Chabola is not starting at right guard against Miami. That is definitive. That is injury related. It certainly may have been performance related also. So we got there. We got there and it's one of those things like, well, everybody on the message boards knew it or whatever. Like, which is great, that's fine. But like, it's nice to have the guy in charge of the team. Like, let's officially make sure we're on the same page here. So that means right guard will be either or possibly maybe both, Gabe Van Sickle and Josh Padilla and that. Who has, who has been working in there. So that idea, Bill, again, it's not a silver lining of everything that goes wrong. Brian Hartline took a job, the right guard got hurt. That's the best thing possible for Ohio State. I hate that. I, I hate that approach to everything. But it's been the number one issue. I think it's. It's been the most problematic of the 22 starting spots, and it's going to change. What is your opinion on what you expect from right guard play against Miami? Assuming that it will be Gabe Van Sickle and Josh, are you assuming a rotation at this point between those two guys?

[Doug Lamor]

I'm kind of just assuming Gabe and Sickle is going to play.

[Bill Landis]

Okay.

[Doug Lamor]

And then if for whatever reason that goes sideways, which it could because Miami has a very good defensive front, then maybe you'll see Padilla, Josh Padilla rotate in. But I, I just thought the way that, you know, Ryan Day sort of went out of his way to mention Josh Padilla, even when we talked with Carson Hinsman, he kind of did the same thing. But, but, but it felt like everything was sort of layered with, like, we're moving with Gabe, we're moving forward with Gabe as our starting right guard. At least that, that's how I interpreted it. So I, I would expect to see him play most, if not all, the game against Miami. And it's going to be a heck of a test. For him because there's some, there's some real dudes in the middle of that Miami defensive line. I felt like there was a question asked about Miami's edges, Ruben Bane and Akeem Isador, who are excellent football players, but the tackles are good too. And the tackles actually like some of the, like Justin Scott's a young guy who's like playing better as the season has worn on. Like this will not be an easy game for anybody on Ohio State's offensive line. So to step in there and make your first start when you're Gabe Van Sickle, it's going to be a heck of a thing. But I, I do think, even strictly based on performance that this makes sense. Like, you know, we've, we've had the conversation many times over, should they just try something different there? And I think perhaps they would have gotten to this anyway. Now they're just sort of forced to. But I think the last couple times, well, the last game certainly gave in. Sickle played better than Tegra and maybe not the one before that where they rotated. But then like basically like two out of the three where he's rotated. I think he's played better than Tegra. So he would have earned a shot anyway. But now he's kind of going to get the whole, the whole job to himself.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, it's, you know, Josh Padilla had been the guy who had been rotating in, had been the sixth man up on the offensive line and then he got hurt and that's how. So Gabe Van Sickle was third up at right guard and now feels like he's going to be starting against Miami. Your third string right guard is now the starter. But we also have seen this before. Josh Padilla is a third year player. Gabe Van Sickle is a second year player. We saw this with Luke Montgomery last year as a second year player that like, it's just, can you ask a guy to do this in the back part of his second year? And I think, I think the answer is yes. I don't think this is outside the realm. You know, the injuries are part of the game. If they were putting a true freshman in who had never played before, I think that's like, oh man, I don't know about this. If they put in a guy who had been in the program six years and had never really sniffed the field and it had been pretty well established, like this guy is, is, we're glad to have him on the team. He's not good enough to play here and now he's playing. I don't think that would be great. But Gabe Van Sickle, when you are a second year guy like this and you are on the depth chart, it often is because they see you as at least a potential starter down the road. So if you are accelerating your starting timeline, it is not a desperation. I can't believe this guy's in. It is not. I can't believe we're starting this guy. This was never the plan. It's just a little early. I think that more often than not, certainly has the chance to be fine. And I think you've been smart about the idea of let's not assume that they're gonna get right guard play that is twice as good as what they were getting before just because it's the unknown. But it also honestly had been getting to the point at Reichard of like, man, I don't, I don't know if it could be more problematic than this. Like, is it time to just try something different? Because this is not working.

[Doug Lamor]

Yeah, I, I think it's good too. Like, he'll get to play. And Carson Henson mentioned this, right? He gets to play between very experienced center and Carson Hinsman and, and Phil Daniels at right tackle is not super experienced, but he's also not entirely green and he's also been playing better, I think the last couple of weeks too. So again, I'm not trying to make any of this sound like it's going to be seamless, because it's not. This is going to be. It would be a heck of a test if they had five offensive linemen who have played great all year. That's. That's how good Miami is, is up front. But, you know, there's. I think if you think about some of the things in Gabe's game, I think he's pretty athletic. He's very physical. He's bigger than Josh Padilla too, which is another reason why I think he might play more, because it's not only is Miami's defensive tackle group good, just a bunch of big burly dudes in there. And I think there could be some physical mismatches for Josh Padilla if he were to play in this game. That maybe won't be true of Gabe Van Sickle, who's like a couple inches taller and I think like 10 or 15 pounds heavier than Josh Padilla is. So I've liked a lot of what Gabe has done. He's like every young offensive lineman. He's got to get better in pass protection, but he seems to have like a pretty good awareness of what's happening and where he needs to be and what his job, responsibility is. And that can get you a long way, too. And I'm sure Ohio State will find ways to kind of scheme him into some comfortable, comfortable positions, too, which I think is important.

[Bill Landis]

I actually do think sometimes when you have a veteran guy, Tiger Chabola started every game for national championship team last year. Sometimes when you have a guy like that, it's like, no, he. He's okay. It'll be okay. Yeah, my last game. Last game wasn't so great, but, like, it'll be fine. And you don't account for it if their idea is like, okay. We're asking Gabe Van Sickle to make the first start of his career in the playoff against this Miami defensive front. So we have to help him. We have to assume he's gonna have some trouble. We have to design as opposed to, well, Tiger's a big, physical guy. Like, let's see what he can do before, you know. Right. You know what I mean? I almost would.

[Doug Lamor]

Would.

[Bill Landis]

Would assume the issue. There's going to be an issue. He's never done this. Then maybe we're okay. And then it's like, no, you're not okay. So what are you doing now? Right? Like, you know what I mean? Like, it's sort of what you said.

[Doug Lamor]

Yeah. Like, yeah, I think they will. Like, I don't know. We can. We're not doing our game preview now, but if that's like, get Julian saying, out of the pocket, get some movement throws, get some quick game going. Like, just kind of like stuff we've been waiting to see from the offense anyway. It's like, well, if a new right guard kind of gets you down that road a little farther, like, maybe that's a good thing.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. Julian saying. So we spoke on Monday morning with Ryan day for about 20 minutes, and we spoke with Carson Hensman, the center, Julian saying, the quarterback, Max Claire, one of their tight ends, and receiver Jeremiah Smith. And we talked to each of them for about 10 minutes each. And we had had a previous news conference with Julian Sam before he went to New York for the Heisman ceremony. And that was about Julian saying, that was more about your upbringing and how did you become a quarterback and your Heisman memories. And I thought in that news conference, like, Julian Sam was trying to like, hey, hey, everybody, like, just show a little more personality. And now it's game prep again. And Julian was like, nope. Julian saying, shut it down. Which just. Which is only an indication of locked in. Julian saying, like, he's he's not he does not want to engage in what was it like throwing a football on the beach in San Diego? Those that time is done. This is beat Miami time. Yes.

[Doug Lamor]

Yeah. Yeah, I think so. I certainly made note of the fact that he said he was watching both Miami and A M prior to their game on Saturday. Like, I think he's I think he's pretty dialed in.

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[Doug Lamor]

The one thing that wasn't asked of Ryan Day or Julian, which I sort of regret, is like, is there anything about their dynamic in this postseason Because Ryan Day is more involved with everything on the offensive side. Like, and that's like, I think Billy Fesser is a really good quarterbacks coach. But I'm wondering about like the 2022 Georgia game, right? Like the game that they got out of CJ Stroud there where he was just a playmaking maniac and it felt like just like Ryan Ryan Day was like instrumental in like bringing that out of cj. Is there anything in this dynamic here that maybe Ryan can bring a little bit of that out of?

[Bill Landis]

Julie yeah, we'll have to ask that at at team media day in in Texas. Julian Anything different with you know, it's like I moved into his house, but other than that, no, it's the same. Like what is this? All right, let's talk about Jeremiah Smith a little bit. We had not really talked with Jeremiah Smith that that much during the course of the season. And the thing that came out of this is. Is him. Ryan Day had described it previously, but Jeremiah Smith himself, describing how worried he was about his ability to play in the Michigan game, that he was not sure that he was going to be able to play. He said it was a quad strain. So we had. We had gone back and forth of like, is it a leg thing or a back thing? Like, is it. It looks. It looked like it made him stiff, the way he walked coming off the field after the UCLA game when he only played in the second half. And then he did not play against Rutgers those two games leading into the Michigan game. And so we have a confirmation from Jeremiah Smith that it was his leg. Said it was a quad strain. He said, it's an injury that usually would keep you out three or four weeks. He said it happened in practice. So it's not back to this play. When he got flipped on, like, the weird play against Illinois earlier in the season where he landed oddly on his back. And people were wondering, is that something that's related to this? Ryan Day had kind of said, no, that's not it before, but it's nice to hear it straight from Jeremiah Smith. And that Jeremiah Smith said he played against Michigan. He was worried about, can I do it? Ryan Day then said, I told Jeremiah Smith he had to will himself to be healthy. And he also told Jeremiah Smith, we're going to beat Michigan with or without you. But it's sort of like, like, you. You need to do this. And then he did it. This kid from Florida who is a. A football millionaire waiting to happen, probably since he was the age of 12. Like, you knew this guy is special.

[Doug Lamor]

I was gonna say he's already a football millionaire.

[Bill Landis]

I was gonna say billionaire, but I didn't want to be. I didn't want to be hyperbolic, that he is a football billionaire waiting to happen. And he cared enough to, like, put it on the line in the Michigan game, which we have covered. But he said, I wasn't 100% for the Michigan game, but he said, I am 100% now. And he's playing this Miami team that one of his best friends, a receiver at his high school, plays for Miami. He said he and his friend, I believe, is JoJo Trader, is that.

[Doug Lamor]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bill Landis]

That they had been, like, dreaming about this since they were 11 years old. Like, that's a great story. We seem perhaps on the precipice of getting the full Jeremiah Smith experience once again and asked, like, well, what. What is that gonna be? And he said, you're gonna see like the Jeremiah Smith from the beginning of the year when he was healthy. And that could be quite a thing. Bill Landis.

[Doug Lamor]

It sure could. Yeah. I, I tried to ask him and. But it was like the fourth question about the injury, so I probably wasn't going to get much like how he felt limited at the end of the year. It was just clear that he didn't have the same explosion. He was still good. He's, you know, he scored against Michigan. He had a long, long catch against Indiana. It's not like he was rendered useless in the times that he was playing, but he clearly wasn't himself. And, and now it seems like he and Carnell Tate, who Ryan Day also said is healthy, are both probably going to be what we've come to expect of both those guys in this game against Miami. Carnell, you know, not from South Florida, but certainly very familiar with a lot of the guys down there, too, having played at IMG Academy, and I think he played for South Florida Express, too. So I think it's gonna be a lot of fun for those guys to be out there playing against some familiar faces. I think there's. So both Jeremiah Smith and Kenyatta Jackson are from Chaminade Madonna down there, and I think there are three guys on Miami's roster who are also from that. From that high school. So honestly, the only thing I'm worried about is that they're going to be like, too charged up. Jeremiah all but confirmed us. He's like, yeah, I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be talking some smack, too. Somebody asked like, are you going to be worried about the emotions and like, those guys, like, taking extra shots at you was like, well, I'm gonna be doing that too. So, no, I'm not worried about it. So, no. No personal fouls, I guess for Jeremiah should be the main goal here. But other. But otherwise, I think you're gonna get the full Jeremiah Smith experience.

[Bill Landis]

Somebody in the chat has suggested, like, we're getting an offensive pass interference penalty out of Jeremiah Smith in this game. Like, he is just gonna run straight out of corner, shove that corner into the stands and yeah. Demand the ball. On the first play of the game.

[Doug Lamor]

He flipped. He flipped double birds to the crowds after he scored against Michigan. He's got to be careful, I think to not. Because he didn't get caught that time. He's got to be careful because I think it could be looking for that next time.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. So this is again and we're going to write something on substack about this, like this, this guy occupies a very special place I think in Ohio State football history in where we are in the modern game, in the nil era, in, in, in wondering and at times questioning about the motivation of, of 18 and 19 and 20 year olds who are already getting paid and have other big paydays ahead and how do they much do they really care about these things. And this is a second year college student who has been a star and a superstar since the moment he stepped on a college football field. And he seems like he cares as much as anybody could care, as much as some walk on who grew up wearing Ohio State gear in their crib and they've been in Ohio in all their life. And like this guy wants to put it on for this program and his teammates and his coaches and the people that he cares about. And so like that is, that is quite a deal and I think everybody understands it, but it's nice to hear him talk about it. We don't get to talk to Jeremiah Smith a ton and it was a pleasure to hear a player as young and talented as he is care as much as he does.

[Doug Lamor]

Yeah, it was good to hear because I do think there's a perception that has developed about and it's not true, but college athletes get painted with a bit of a broad brush now because they are getting paid. And I would bet, I don't know this for a fact, but if I had to, if I had to pick someone, I would bet that Jeremiah is the highest paid college football player and that he takes this approach is pretty remarkable. And, and I think like does not only a lot for him in Ohio State, but I think a lot of college football players, yeah. Who probably unfairly get judged sort of like against their work ethic just because they're making a little bit of money now or in some cases a lot of money.

[Bill Landis]

So we will do this with the defensive side of the ball after we speak with Matt, Patricia and a couple defensive players. I would imagine you can catch that on Tuesday on the Bill and Doug feed, writing a bunch of stuff leading up to the [e-mail] we will certainly continue to have videos and podcasts here on this current feed. Maybe not as much as we do in a typical week because it's Christmas, but we, we will do our very best to cover this team as completely as we can and then we will both be in Dallas for the Cotton Bowl. We'll fly down there on the 28th, have a full team media day on the 29th and bring you what we think is a high level of Ohio State coverage. So we're excited for this. We're excited that you guys have allowed us to join you on this ride. For now, he's Bill landis, I'm Doug LeMarice, and that was the Bill and Doug Show.

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