Ohio State's No. 3 spring practice: OL maulers, Jeremiah Smith as Derrick Henry & Arthur Smith vibes

Summary

The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk Episode: Ohio State’s No. 3 Spring Practice—OL Maulers, Jeremiah Smith as Derrick Henry & Arthur Smith Vibes Date: March 24, 2026 | Blue Wire

---

Brief Overview

In this in-depth episode, Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis analyze Ohio State football’s third spring practice. They dive into early takeaways about the offensive line’s physicality, the growing imprint of new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, and what rising talent like Jeremiah Smith could mean for the Buckeyes’ defending national champions. The duo offers granular insight, direct quotes from players and coaches, and their uniquely fan-centric, irreverent style—bringing listeners right into the heart of spring ball at OSU.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Spring Practice Access and Atmosphere

• Bill and Doug detail their routine covering spring practice: post-practice interviews with players and coaches, noting the shift from heavy practice viewing to more talk and relationship-building this time of year.
• Notably, this practice featured interviews with OC Arthur Smith, receivers Brandon Inniss, Carson Hinsman, and Luke Montgomery.
• (01:02–01:55)

2. Arthur Smith’s Offensive Imprint—More Under Center Looks

• Doug details seeing more under-center work than usual, attributing this to new OC Arthur Smith’s NFL influence.
  • “Even in those practices I felt like there was a lot more under center stuff than we’ve seen in the past...I think it’s a sign of some of the imprint of Arthur Smith here.” — Doug (02:51)
• Ohio State’s under-center snap percentage was 16.4% last year, the highest of the Day era, up from 13.9% in 2022.
  • “If that percentage goes up to 25% to 30%, what do you think that would mean for the offense?” — Bill (04:53)
• Doug explains why this matters:
  • It changes the angles in the run game, helps running plays hit faster, and makes play-action more effective.
  • “If they are under center more, the effect, I think, will be felt in some of the different ways the runs hit and maybe how much play action pass Ohio State chooses to run off of that.” — Doug (05:16–06:09)

3. Arthur Smith’s Early Message—Physicality and NFL Clips

• When introduced to the offense, Arthur Smith showed a 15-minute clip of his previous NFL offenses, emphasizing physicality and pushing defenses around.
  • “Arthur Smith told the offense, we’re going to play this way.” — Doug (06:15–06:51)
• Bill’s vision: “If you’re telling me Ohio State’s gonna get up there with the veteran offensive line, get under center, push people around, get Bo Jackson downhill and hammer that, and then run a play-action deep shot to Jeremiah Smith...that is what this offense is going to be.” — Bill (06:51–07:54)

4. Offensive Line: Old Man Strength, Experience & Potential

• Despite some concerns about body types and athleticism, Doug believes the line could benefit from physical, under-center football.
  • “Maybe that meshes pretty well with the way this offensive line plays, what their strengths are.” — Doug (07:54)
• Bill coins the “old man strength” theme for both lines, emphasizing experience over pure athleticism.
  • “There’s just a difference...the 20-year-old might be more skilled...but 24 vs. 20 there’s just a difference there.” — Bill (11:19)
• Doug shares that OSU might have one of the most experienced, oldest lines nationally, returning 4 starters with 6,000 combined snaps.
  • “Maybe the oldest team in the trenches in college football next year.” — Doug (13:18)

5. Tradition Returns—Gold Pants Ceremony

• The ceremony for gold pants (given for Michigan victories) returned, possibly for the first time since 2019 due to COVID-19 disruptions.
  • “Today was the medal scene. And we were talking about this, I think we were theorizing, is this the first spring football presentation like this since spring 2019?” — Bill (17:24)
• Emotional resonance as players discuss who they’ll give their gold pants to—Bill likens it to the ‘medal ceremony’ at the end of Star Wars.
  • “It’s the difference between beating Michigan, which matters, and gaining possession of your gold pants...One is the accomplishment, one is being handed the token of your success that will be with you for the rest of your life.” — Bill (16:06–17:22)

6. Arthur Smith’s Vibe: New Offensive Coordinator

• Early impressions: Smith is “understated,” direct, not gregarious, but clearly competent and at ease handling a large press contingent thanks to his NFL head coach experience.
  • “He’s not going to be overwhelmed by even an insanely large Ohio State beat. He was an NFL head coach. He knows what it’s about.” — Doug (20:33)
• Bill is especially interested in why Smith took the job—with a smaller salary ($1.5M vs. $3.75M for Matt Patricia). Smith cites wanting the challenge and mentions consulting Mike Vrabel, Justin Fields, and others.
  • “So why is he here?...He thought that Ohio State was a pretty interesting challenge...to come to a place he’s not super familiar with in college football, coach athletes at a different point in their career.” — Doug (23:24–25:38)

7. Scheme Questions—Personnel & Physicality

• Smith brings an offensive line background (uncommon for OSU OCs in recent years), which could mean a subtly different flavor—physical, detailed, adaptable.
  • “I think you’re going to have an offense that’s pretty dialed in all the time...Sort of like, pretty detailed.” — Doug (26:57–28:17)
• Bill probes Smith and Doug about personnel groupings: Will there be more tight ends? Smith’s answer: use what you have. OSU’s receivers are too talented not to play mostly 11 personnel.
  • “When you have receivers, you play 11 personnel. So I think that’s more or less what we’ll see.” — Doug (29:32)

8. Jeremiah Smith as Derrick Henry?

• Notable Analogy: When asked if you can get the ball to Jeremiah Smith ‘too much,’ Smith laughs and invokes Derrick Henry—his NFL bell-cow running back.
  • “‘Is it possible to get the ball to Jeremiah Smith too much?’ Arthur Smith said no...and then immediately started talking about Derrick Henry.” — Doug (30:25)
  • 2019: Henry 303 carries; 2020: 378 carries. “Henry got the ball a lot. So for Arthur Smith’s mind to go immediately to Derrick Henry, when asked about Jeremiah Smith, was just like—OK, there’s nothing to worry about here. Jeremiah is going to get the ball plenty.” — Doug (30:55)
• Implication: Jeremiah Smith could have a massive target share, with plays designed to feature him—from deep shots off play action to motion/reverses.
  • “If the assumption is sort of like: we’re going to mash people and then we’re going to throw it to Jeremiah. If that’s what the offense is about...does that sound good? Yes and yes.” — Bill & Doug (32:27–33:55)
• Bill pitches a hypothetical “go time” play: under-center play-action bootleg, with Jeremiah sprinting across the field for a cross-body throw. The pair have fun with naming the play, riffing on creative concepts.
  • “We call that play ‘Go Time.’” — Doug (34:37)

9. OSU Community Vibe

• End-of-episode: Buckeye alumni—Sonny Styles, Cade Stover, JT Tuimoloau—return to practice, contributing to a tight-knit, multi-generational team culture.
  • “It’s just a reminder of, like, there’s a lot of...good players play Ohio State and then people don’t mind hanging out in Columbus.” — Bill (36:45–36:52)

---

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Arthur Smith’s Under Center Influence:
  “Even in those practices I felt like there was a lot more under center stuff than we’ve seen in the past...I think it’s a sign of some of the imprint of Arthur Smith here.” — Doug (02:51)

• Defining the Offense’s Identity:
  “If you’re telling me Ohio State’s gonna get up there with the veteran offensive line, get under center, push people around, get Bo Jackson downhill and hammer that, and then run a play-action deep shot to Jeremiah Smith...that is what this offense is going to be.” — Bill (06:51)

• On ‘Old Man Strength’:
  “There’s just a difference...the 20-year-old might be more skilled...but 24 vs. 20 there’s just a difference there.” — Bill (11:19)

• Gold Pants Ceremony Significance:
  “Today was the medal scene...One leads to the other, but it’s not the same thing. One is the accomplishment in the moment. The other is being handed the token of your success that will be with you for the rest of your life.” — Bill (17:22)

• Arthur Smith’s Philosophy—On Jeremiah Smith as Derrick Henry:
  “He was asked, can you...Is it possible to get the ball to Jeremiah Smith too much? And Arthur Smith said no...” — Doug (30:25)

• Scheme Adaptability:
  “When you have receivers, you play 11 personnel. So I think that’s more or less what we’ll see.” — Doug (29:32)

• Fun with Play Design:
  “We call that play ‘Go Time.’” — Doug (34:37)

---

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 01:02–01:55 | Spring practice logistics and atmosphere
• 02:51–06:09 | Under center observations; Arthur Smith influence; impact on scheme
• 06:15–07:54 | Arthur Smith’s messaging & offensive identity
• 07:54–13:18 | Offensive line analysis; experience vs. athleticism; “old man strength”
• 15:36–17:24 | Gold pants ceremony; Buckeye tradition and emotion
• 19:41–21:17 | Bill interviews Brandon Inniss, Doug stays with Arthur Smith; Smith’s demeanor and answers
• 21:17–25:38 | Why Arthur Smith took the OSU job; salary talk and career context
• 26:57–29:32 | Scheme: Personnel groupings, professionalizing the offense
• 29:58–34:40 | Jeremiah Smith-Derrick Henry analogy; “Go Time” play concept
• 36:27–36:52 | OSU alumni presence; maintaining a strong team culture

---

Final Thoughts

Bill and Doug deliver a lively, insightful breakdown of Ohio State’s evolving identity under Arthur Smith, the gritty reality (and potential) of an aging but seasoned offensive line, and the central role superstar receiver Jeremiah Smith is poised to play. The show’s mix of detailed scheme talk, player anecdotes, and classic college football tradition—underscored by humor and camaraderie—offers an essential snapshot for Buckeye fans and college football aficionados following the defending champs this spring.

Transcript

[Walmart Express Delivery Announcer]

Hiring isn't just filling a role, it's about finding people who can drive results.

[Bill Landis]

Indeed Sponsored Jobs helps you match with the right candidates faster.

[Walmart Express Delivery Announcer]

Target candidates by skills, certifications or location. Join the 3.3 million employers worldwide that use Indeed to connect with quality talent that fits their needs and listeners of

[Bill Landis]

this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves@ Indeed.com podcast.

[Walmart Express Delivery Announcer]

Terms and conditions apply. Hiring do it the right way with Indeed. Walmart Express Delivery can get what you need delivered in as fast as an hour. Whether it's baby formula, when you're down to the last scoop, pet food before the bowl runs, empty batteries for a dead remote or a last minute gift, it is handled. Try Walmart Express Delivery today and get free delivery with promo code Express Promotion valid for First Express delivery. Order $50 minimum subject to availability restrictions apply.

[Bill Landis]

Welcome back to the Bill and Doug Show. Doug Laymaris, Bill Landis it's the third practice of spring for Ohio State football, happened on Tuesday. We talked to some folks afterward. Bill 15 practices leading up to the 15th and final practice, which is the spring game on April 18th. We are the plan is for us to get to talk to Ohio State people. We're not going to watch practice really much anymore, but we're going to talk to Ohio State people after every practice. And we like it.

[Doug Lesmerises]

We do like it. Yeah, I think we'll see Student Appreciation Day next week. Not this coming weekend, the following weekend, and then hopefully that clinic practice before the spring game. But otherwise, yeah, it's more, it's more like talking time, which is typically the case for, for spring. But there's still good information to get, I think. And it's also, you know, it's just good to get back around people, get reacquainted with them, meet some new people, as we did on Tuesday with Arthur Smith. So it's all good.

[Bill Landis]

Brandon Innis, the receiver, Carson Hinsman and Luke Montgomery on the offensive line and our offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith with the four people who talked after practice. Can I just give them this is the Bill Landis Ball Knower Head on a Swivel award. The quarterback stayed out after practicing because what just when people know we walk in, we walk into the indoor facility, the indoor field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. We do the interviews out on the field. Sometimes we do them in the team room, sometimes we do them out on folding table tables out on the field so they're done with practice by the time we go in. But you still have people milling about. Usually when we go in like position groups are meeting with each other after practice, people are walking off the field, you know. But they're continued. The quarterbacks and the, and the centers kept practicing long after we were in there doing interviews. And what did you say about those quarterback practices?

[Doug Lesmerises]

They were doing quarterback center snap exchanges and prime. There was some shotgun but a lot of it was under center. And this is the third time we've been in there. The first two times we got to watch practices but even in those practices I felt like there was a lot more under center stuff than we've seen in the past. Just in terms of like individual drill. Not, not plays really. And I do, I think it's it, I think it's a sign of some of the imprint of Arthur Smith here. Like Ohio State has played under center under Ryan Day. And in fact last year I looked these numbers of numbers up a while ago. When Ohio State hired Arthur Smith last year was Ohio State's highest percentage of under center snaps under Ryan Day. It was still pretty low, but it was the highest they've done it and I think they're going to keep building upon that. Like I, I, I didn't ask about it because I feel like maybe I'll ask Ryan Day about it. But I think if you're like looking for ways that Arthur Smith is going to put his mark on this offense a little bit, I think Kohai State's probably going to end up playing under center more this year than they have in.

[Bill Landis]

Do you remember that what the percentage was last season when you said it was the highest of the Day era

[Doug Lesmerises]

17 or something like that. I'll try to pull it up here.

[Bill Landis]

And of course like a lot of that's short yardage I bet right? Like goal line.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah, short yardage.

[Bill Landis]

Like I would almost be curious sometimes like when you sort by stats and you, you're able to knock out garbage time. I almost would wonder what their under center percentage is like if you knock off like anything that's you know, with three yard, you know. Sure. Anything that's and one to go and anything that's inside the three yard line. Let's say if you knock those out, I'm sure those percentages come down even more probably.

[Doug Lesmerises]

And also especially last year when they were like kind of hammering away at the goal line sometimes with a couple plays. So that that can certainly contribute to this percentage being higher. It was 16.4% last year. The previous high had been 13.9% in 2022.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. That could just be failed short yardage runs. Yeah, well, we had first and goal at the 1, we had second and goal at the 1, we have third and goal at the 1 and we had fourth and goal at the 1. And that was four straight under centers. It should have been one, it was four. If they are under center more, if that percentage goes up to 25 to 30%, what do you think that would mean for the offense? Why might that be good?

[Doug Lesmerises]

It changes the angles in the run game, which I think is a pretty important thing here. Ryan Day did a interview with. Who's the. I always forget his name. Greg, espn. Yeah, thank you. They were talking a little bit about Arthur Smith in the run game and Ryan Dave kind of brought up like the angles in, in the run game and then how, how critical they are to sort of getting guys to the second level, which is a pretty consistent issue for Ohio State last year not being able to do that. So I think when you go under center, it does change the angles. Runs hit faster and play action is, is far more effective. So I think if, if I am correct in my theory that Ohio State is going to be under center a little more, I think there'll still be, still will be primarily shotgun, but if they are under center more, the effect I think will be felt in some of the different ways the runs hit and, and maybe how much play action pass Ohio State chooses to run off of that.

[Bill Landis]

So tell them the thing that Carson Hensman said about Arthur Smith before I say the thing that I, I want to say about that, the introduction of

[Doug Lesmerises]

Arthur, the intro to the Buckeyes. So I. He said it was when he introduced himself to the offense, I think. Right. Not the whole team, I think just the offense. When the offense got together for the first time with Arthur Smith as the offensive coordinator, he showed them. I think Carson said it was about a 15 minute video cut up of, I'm assuming Arthur Smith's previous offenses in the NFL, not just offenses in general, pushing people around, putting, putting, putting defenses in the dirt, playing a physical brand of football. And then Arthur Smith told the offense we're going to play this way.

[Bill Landis]

So I will say less of a ball nowhere than Bill Landis, but just thinking about ball. If you're telling me that Ohio State's going to get up there with the veteran offensive line, get under center, push people around, get Bo Jackson downhill and to the second level and hammer that and then run a play action, deep shot to Jeremiah Smith off of that and then have a play action Play action Bootleg Julian saying out in space with his six shooter with like three levels of throws to make and like with little hop at his step and like that is what this offense is going to be. You had some interesting information. You're going to write about it atbilla Doug osu.subsack.com so I don't want to give your information away here about the offensive line if you don't want to give it away yet. But there is a chance for this offensive line. Do you think there is a chance for this offensive line to push people around?

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah, I do. I and I, I think I, I sense a little, I don't know if concern is the right word, but maybe some frustration. And we had a question about it on our, on our Sunday show we did for Substack subscribers how like they don't, they don't have like the, the perfect body types across the board. Especially when you think about Austin Seravel playing left tackle. And you know, maybe that does limit your athleticism some. Maybe that can put you in more precarious situations if you're like a pure shotgun drop back passing team. But I also think there's some benefits to that if you're going to line it up and get under center. And we're not like Ohio State's not going to become an offense that starts running the ball 70 of the time. But I do think it wants to, it wants to run the ball probably about as much as it has run it under Ryan Day, but just do so I think with a little bit of a different demeanor, like a different kind of way about them. And I do think maybe that meshes pretty well with the way that this offensive line plays, what their strengths are. So yeah, I, and, and if that's, that's the case, I do think this offensive line stands a chance to appear improve, seem like, be improved because maybe the offense is a little more tailored to kind of what they do best.

[Bill Landis]

I wrote a little bit on our sub stack on Monday about Kenyatta Jackson and the idea of old man's strength on the defensive line. And you said when we were at interviews on Tuesday, like maybe you could see that same application on the offensive line and they got a bunch of old guys who maybe if you just let them get out there and maul people like I don't, who cares if Austin Cerebell doesn't have the prototypical offensive tackle body if he's just like knocking over the guy in front of him?

[Doug Lesmerises]

Right? I think so. I mean I'll, I'LL I'll give people a little, like, preview, I guess. So. I just went through and looked at all the P4 teams and how much continuity they had on their offensive line, and I don't think it would surprise anybody to hear that. Ohio State has good continuity. They're returning four starters, but in the context of the sport, they are, like, really experienced in terms of guys who have played together now, like, teams have lost players and supplemented with old portal players. But when you're talking about guys coming back from last year who played together, nobody's better than Ohio State. And this group, this, like the four returning starters plus Gay Van Sickle, Ian Moore, Josh Padilla, whichever of those three ends up being the fifth starter, that group has combined for over 6, 000 snaps. Like, that's a lot of snaps. I remember, like, watching the, the Texas AM Miami game last year in the playoff, and like, half that broadcast was about how experienced both those offensive lines were. And I think both those groups are probably slightly more experienced than Ohio State's is heading into this year. But I think it's a similar idea. You know, I think I. Whenever this, you have this conversation, you can, you know, dovetail into, like, all right, well, they, they weren't a great offensive line last year, so you're, you're bringing back a lot of guys who are like, kind of okay. Will they get better? I think, you know, we'll, we'll see. But I do think there's something to be said for just sheer experience for being an older guy playing against younger guys sometimes. Like, I think Ohio State encountered that last year when it was playing Miami and Indiana. And even if Ohio State had better athletes, kind of had like, younger athletes. And I think that can matter sometimes. So Ohio State's going to have a pretty old, pretty experienced offensive line next year. And, and I, I do think that can do a lot for an offense.

[Bill Landis]

We're going to get Ryan Day next Monday, is the plan, right? Next time we talk today, Monday or Tuesday.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah, I can't remember.

[Bill Landis]

I, I do think I might ask a question with the phrase old man strength in it of Ryan Day and how that applies particularly to the two lines and whether he saw. Because he said earlier this spring he felt like they were a little young last year, and he thought that he felt that play out a little bit. And I think you can feel that play out in attitude and football intelligence and overcoming adversity. Right. I think you can talk about young versus old in terms of mentally and emotionally, but I, I wonder how much he would think about that physically of like it's just a 24 year old against a 20 year old and the 20 year old might be more skilled and might end up being a higher draft pick. But 24 versus 20, there's just a difference there. And that maybe did Ohio State ever feel like up front they were on like the wrong end of that equation at times. And is there something to just be an like I have an old college, old, like old bodies. Because you, I mean like everybody's talking like Kenyatta Jackson has talked about it. Luke Montgomery and Carson Hinsman both talked about it. Just like here we are, we're coming in, you're looking at him. It's like, oh, we haven't had eyeballs on you guys in three months or two and a half months. And like some of them like, they just look different and it's like, well I'm just, and there's some part of this is like I'm, I think Luke Montgomery's like, I'm kind of growing into my body and it's like that's what a man says, right? He's so, he's a, he's not a kid. It's not. Versus 18 year olds, but there's still a difference. Of like I'm at the next final stage of physical development. And would Ryan Day think that, that that age in the trenches is an inherent advantage because you got a bunch of dad bods in there, you got, what do you ever want to call. But you got a bunch of older bodies that have fully filled out and is that a thing? Can I ask? Is, is it gonna be weird if I use the phrase old man strength or is that okay?

[Doug Lesmerises]

No, no, I actually think he'd like that I, I, because I, I, that really gets to the heart of it and I would wonder. So I looked up the O line, right. And I like I, I can add to the research that I've done and I can add the transfers and we can like really get, get to the meat of it. I think it's possible that Ohio State is maybe, maybe the oldest team in the trenches in college football. Next year they're gonna have like, yeah, Carson Hinsman's a fifth year guy, Kenyatta Jackson's a fifth year guy, Bo Atkinson's a fifth year guy and there's a bunch of fourth year guys. Yep. Or you don't have the, whatever, you know, the seventh guy who won't go get a job. But you have, you have a lot of fourth and fifth year guys who are going to play. And that's not to say, like, you shouldn't be excited about guys like Kari Wilder, you should. But like, for a guy like Kari Wilder, for instance, to exist in a world where there's just a lot of old dudes kind of raising the floor of that room, I, I would imagine that's what a lot of college coaches view is sort of the sweet spot when you're trying to contend for national championships anymore. And I think Ohio State is at least in terms of age and experience. Now the other, the other piece of it is talent, but I think in terms of age and experience, they're like right where they need to be on both lines. Big thanks to our sponsor BetterHelp, for partnering with us for this important conversation about mental health. This is Steve Smith here, former NFL wide receiver and host of the 89 show on YouTube. So having a counselor and working with BetterHelp, that gives you an opportunity to really start to unpack. But people don't understand when you unpack things, you also open up a box that you're not always sure what's inside. So I think that's why seeing a professional is extremely important. If you need someone to open up to, visit betterhelp. That's betterhelp.com89 to get started, Walmart Express

[Walmart Express Delivery Announcer]

delivery can get what you need delivered in as fast as an hour. Whether it's baby formula, when you're down to the last scoop, pet food before the bowl runs, empty batteries for a dead remote or a last minute gift, it is handled. Try Walmart Express delivery today and get free delivery with promo code Express promotion valid for first express delivery order $50 minimum. Subject to availability restrictions apply.

[Bill Landis]

Before we talk about Arthur Smith, they got their gold pants at Tuesday's practice and Luke Montgomery, you know, it's just, it's just, it makes me again, I'll get my idea away. Don't take it. I'll sue you if you take my idea. Somebody out there in the world, but I still. Show me your pants. You drive around and you find Ohio State players like, like here you are, whether you played a year ago, five years ago, 10, 15, 25, 50 years ago. Like, where are your gold pants right now? Are they with a family member? Are they with you? Did you build a special case with a spotlight on them? Are they on your, in your sock drawer? Do you wear them around neck every day? Did you bury your grandfather with the gold pants in his hand? Like the stories of these pants and it's, it's the difference. It's like a fine, fine line. But if you're. You cover a team for long enough, you got to slice it thin because you can't just write football's interesting. It's the difference between beating Michigan, which matters, and gaining possession of your gold pants. So it's, it's. One leads to the other, but it's not the same thing. One is the accomplishment in the moment. You just beat Michigan. One is being handed the token of your success that will be with you for the rest of your life. So, like, Luke Montgomery is talking about it. Like Carson Hisman's talk about who they're going to give it to. Luke Montgomery, like, said it on Mike and then said, this is off the record who I'm giving my pants to. But, like, don't, don't say anything because I want to surprise them. So I'm not giving away. And if the rest of the media is giving away Luke Montgomery's secret, Luke, come after them. I'm keeping your secret. Like that matters. The. It's the presentation, right? It's the end of Star wars, right? When they had like the goofy thing where they're putting the medals on Chewbacca and like the ghost of Darth Vader or whatever, right? It's like, everybody gets a medal. You're getting your medal.

[Doug Lesmerises]

UAC Olympics. Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. It's the end of the movie. They put in the medal scene. It's not just like, wow, that was a great battle. End of movie. It's like, no, that was a great battle. Here's the metal scene. Today was the metal scene. And we were talking about this, I think we were theorizing, is this the first, like, spring football presentation like this since the spring of 2019? Because Ohio State then in the fall of 2019 beat Michigan. But by the spring of 2020, Covid was here and spring practice was all jacked up and maybe they didn't get to hand over that. So if you think about that, is this potentially the first time in seven years that Ohio State football players have been presented gold pants as a team have had their medal ceremony inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Usain Bolt wins 100 yard dash. They show that everybody's excited. They then show the medal ceremony. This was the medal ceremony seven years in the making for Ohio State. Now, we didn't get to see it, but we got to ask a couple guys about it. This was a big day in Ohio State football.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah. I didn't know. There was just like an energy when we walked into The Woody. And, like, I didn't know why, but something felt a little more jubilant, I guess. And then the players like, oh, yeah, we got our gold pants today. I was like, okay, that's like, yeah, we're putting two and two together now. I wonder. You can only do this, obviously, with so many teams, because there. There are far more players in Ohio State history that have gold pants than championship rings. But if you're a guy who has both, I wonder what you wear more.

[Bill Landis]

Wow. Like, what do you actually wear more? Because that's always, like, I always. If I had a national championship ring, I'd be wearing that clunky thing every day. But they're a little, like, wear them. They don't wear them.

[Doug Lesmerises]

They're not functional. Like, they can get in the way of things. I'm terrified. I don't have my wedding ring on right now, but I don't wear a metal wedding ring because I'm scared of that thing where your ring gets called on the table and then your finger gets torn off. I don't want that to happen to me. But, like, you can just wear the gold pants on a. On a chain around your neck. Yeah. And that's like. That's far more functional.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. So. So it's an interesting day. We'll write about this a little bit more at billandduggosu.substack.com let's talk about Arthur Smith. You stated Arthur Smith the whole time.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

It's nice having two people. Arthur Smith started talking, then Brandon and started talking. So I went over and talked to Brandon, had a lovely conversation with Brandon Ennis. And you stayed and talked to Arthur Smith. Overall vibes on Arthur Smith, new offensive coordinator?

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah, good. Good vibes. He's. He's a little understated. Right. I. I think you and I were talking, and you sort of, like, want to juxtapose his introduction to. To Matt Patricia's last year in the spring. Different circumstances. Right. I think there was. And Matt Patricia sort of even admitted to this, and he was talking to us. Like, he's. He's got a. Like. Like an image he was trying to rework a little bit, and, like, has done so, like, tremendously well since he's been at Ohio State. So he was like, a little more gregarious, I guess, would be the way that I would say it. Arthur Smith was just, like. I'll answer your question. Pretty, like, not short, but, like, not going really off on a tangent.

[Bill Landis]

Not.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Not expounding on anything. A little. A Little too much, but, like, to the point. And I thought there was some interesting information in there, but I told you, like, I had watched, and I. I guess that one hindsight that I'm thinking about, like, I watched his introductory press conference when he was hired by the Falcons, which was also during Covets. Like, it was on Zoom and it was aw. So, like, maybe that wasn't the best presentation of Arthur Smith in that moment, but I was, like, based on that, I was maybe expecting him to be, like, a little awkward, and he wasn't. Like, he was fine. Like, why. He's not going to be overwhelmed by even an insanely large Ohio State beat. He was an NFL head coach. He knows. He knows what it's about. So it was good. I thought we got. We got like a. Kind of, like, set the table in a few different ways. I think for. For some of the ideas he has for the offense without getting super in depth on anything.

[Bill Landis]

I remain very interested in sort of like, why he's here, like, why he took this job. And you and I are talking about this. The assistant coach salaries came out a couple weeks ago. You did a good job putting in the information request for that. They gave them to everybody in the media who had requested them at the same time. So that's out there. Matt Patricia, we talked about $3.75 million this year as a defensive coordinator. Arthur Smith, 1.5 million for this year. Is that correct?

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah, let me double check that.

[Bill Landis]

And you and I were talking to each other about, like, you know, before they came out, what might we have guessed that Arthur Smith's salary would be? And I think if you had given us the information that Matt Patricia is jumping from 2.5 to 3.75, and if we knew that, what would your guess be on Arthur Smith's salary? And I think we both said we might have guessed 3 million and he's making half that. And you feel like that still is in line with a typical offensive coordinator salary. But it's just an interesting part of this that I. It's not that, like, Ryan Day hit him in the face with a check you got. You ever watched the. I just. They come across my algorithm sometimes. It was a while ago, but the tortilla challenge, right? Everybody has the water in their mouth and they slap each other in the face with the tortilla.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

The blooper videos of that are just crazy, right?

[Doug Lesmerises]

It's just.

[Bill Landis]

It's an enjoyable thing. There's the one where the person, like, throws a tortilla, like, a Frisbee, and it takes off like a, like an unidentified flying object by accident. If you need to pick me up, just go watch people slapping each other in the face with a tortilla. Ryan Day did not slap Arthur Smith in the face with a check. This is not just like an offer I can't refuse. I'm not going to make this much money anywhere else. I've got to take this just for the money. By the way, his. He's from a family of billionaires, so he probably wouldn't make decisions that way anyway. So then it's like, like, it's just interesting. Interesting to me that he's here. And so he did get a couple questions about that. But I could have gone for like 11 questions. We want to get to the offense. But I could ask 11 questions about his decision to come here and exactly how it unfolded. But at least he did say he talked to Mike Rabel about it.

[Doug Lesmerises]

He did, yeah. He said he talked with Mike Rabel, he talked with Justin Fields, he talked with Will Howard. He, like, ran through, actually, because I forgot he drafted Zach Harrison at Atlanta when they were, when he was in Atlanta, they traded for Jeff Okuda. May have been one other player he mentioned, but he's got, like, some Ohio State guys in his background that I think he kind of touched base with as he was considering this. There's. There's more detail to get in there, into there. For sure. Maybe we'll have. Have that opportunity. The way he kind of presented it was. He was sort of caught off guard by the, the Mike Tomlin stepping away thing in Pittsburgh, which sort of left him as a free agent. And I think people are aware, like, at the time of him coming to Ohio State, even there were, there were reports anyway of NFL teams being interested in Arthur, at least interviewing Arthur Smith to be their offensive coordinator. And, and he kind of said, like, he. That happened. He met with Ryan Day. He, like, took a beat. He talked to some people. He pondered what he wanted to do. And he thought that Ohio State was a. Was a pretty interesting challenge, is the way that he described it, to come to a place that he's not super familiar with in college football. Coach athletes at a different point in their career and, and see what that can do for, for his growth as a coach. So I don't, I don't know, like, he's not think about Arthur Smith's career and like, part of it's his own doing because he just wasn't a super successful head coach when he was with the Falcons. Like, he hasn't won in a while. Like, he hasn't won since he's been in Tennessee, and they were good when he was there. But he's. He's working on shoot five years at least of. Of just kind of being on bad to sort of average NFL teams, I would imagine. Hey, do you want to come coach with the. The best of the best at our level and make probably the same money you'd make in the NFL otherwise? I can definitely see why that would be enticing. So. It is. It's. There's no connection between he and Ryan Day, like he said. Like, okay. Like he said. They've. They've met a couple times when Arthur Smith was here for pro days in the past, but, like, they're. They weren't friends. They weren't chatting all the time. This isn't Chip Kelly. It's probably more. More similar to Bill o'. Brien. But I, I wonder even if maybe Bill o' Brien and Ryan Day had a slightly more substantial relationship than he and Arthur Smith had. So. Yeah. Why, like, why are you here? We definitely could have gotten two more than we did on Tuesday.

[Bill Landis]

I. I would have been curious. I mean, like, last time I knew people who were surprised to be free agents, out of nowhere, they started a substack. So I thought maybe Arthur Smith could have just done that. All right. Which is. But I also, like, like, I like. That's like, I like the hire. It's like, I don't know this guy at all. I just think he's good. Yes. Great job. Like, great job all around. Again, like, for the people who, like, wanted to get into the weeds of, like, I don't like Arthur Smith's personal grouping and, you know, inside the 20, it's like, I don't know what to do. I was coaching Aaron Rodgers last year, and I was coaching Julian, saying, by the way, someone brought up the idea, I think maybe Luke Montgomery did, of like, Arthur Smith, like, saying, like, maybe Aaron Rodgers will swing by and Luke Montgomery was excited because he said he's a Packers fan. So he'd be excited if, like, Aaron Rodgers.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Carson Hinsman's a Packers fan. Luke Montgomery is a Steelers fan.

[Bill Landis]

Oh, that's right.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Oh, yeah. I get those guys confused. But that's both. They're Both would be excited to see Aaron Rodgers. They were both excited for Aaron Rodgers for different reasons. Yes. Luke Montgomery was talking about waving his terrible towel.

[Doug Lesmerises]

That's right.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. Montgomery. He's a terrible towel waiver. What's Arthur Smith gonna do for this offense,

[Doug Lesmerises]

Like professionalize it, I think. Right. Like, and it's not to say that that Ohio State's offense wasn't like pretty detailed before, but I, I think, I think the details were lacking last year and that's not surprising because they had an experienced offensive coordinator. But now you have a guy who's got head coaching, head coach and offensive coordinator experience at the highest level. Mix that with, with Ryan Day and his expertise and I think you're going to have an offense that's sort of like, like pretty dialed in all the time. Doesn't mean they're going to go hang 45 on everybody they play. But I think, I think there's going to be like a level of consistency probably with the offense that maybe wasn't. Wasn't always there last year. And then like stylistically like what Sor talked about at the top. Right. They are, they're gonna want people to consider them a physical football team. And I don't think this is the same conversation of like the toughness stuff that we got into with when Ohio State was losing to Michigan. I think it's just more of like, I don't, I don't know, it's kind of, kind of like standard physical football talk. Not like, let's go show everyone our muscles, we're tough guys kind of thing that I think can get you thrown out of whack. So I'm interested to see what it looks like. Like there's a, this offense has, and it's Ryan Day's offense, you know, that that's not really going to change, but it's never really been sort of led by someone with an offensive line background like Arthur Smith has. So I think that that'll bring a slightly different flavor to things that I'm, that I'm, that I'm excited to see. He was asked about like the personnel grouping stuff because I like, you know, there's a, you could watch any Arthur Smith team play and see a whole lot of tight ends on the, on the field. I, I don't think we're gearing up for. Let's, let's trot more 13 personnel out there. He told a story about when he was in Atlanta, I think in 2021 or 2022, they ended up winning a game in a two minute drill and 23 personnel. And he made it like they had a tight end then named Lee Smith who's like kind of a journeyman tight end. And Arthur Smith said after the game, Lee Smith said to him, I've never been on the field in a two minute before, but he was, because that's sort of what the Falcons had to work with. But I think that was the point. I think that's what they had to work with. And here at Ohio State, there's more to work with. And, and I, I sense, like, a lot of excitement about the receiver position early in spring. Not just Jeremiah Smith, but like, the transfers they brought in, I think have kind of hit the ground running. And there's reason, obviously, to be excited about the young guys, too. So I don't think anything's changing in regards to people looking at an Ohio State offense and you ask them what's the thing that jumps out to you first? And you say it's the receivers. And, and I think even if Ohio State does run the ball more, it has a more physical brand. Like, they're still going to rely on that passing game. And I think Arthur Smith, without sort of like guaranteeing that they were going to play 11 personnel more than they played 13 or 12, did say, like, you use what you have, and here we have receivers, and when you have receivers, you play 11 personnel. So I, I think that's more. More or less what we'll see.

[Bill Landis]

You said he was asked about having Jeremiah Smith utilizing Jeremiah Smith and gave an answer that, that excited me. I love analogies that you wouldn't think of. And that might sound weird when you first hear them. And it's like the Alonzo morning meme, right? Like, the analogy is that you're like, what? And then you're like, whoa, wait. And that's what this one did for me when you said it.

[Doug Lesmerises]

So he was asked, can you. Is it possible to get the ball to Jeremiah Smith too much? And Arthur Smith said no, and, like, gave a little chuckle and then immediately started talking about Derrick Henry, who was his running back for the Tennessee Titans when he was the offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020. In 2019, Derrick Henry carried the ball 303 times. In 2020, that wasn't enough. He carried the ball 378 times.

[Bill Landis]

378 times, yeah.

[Doug Lesmerises]

So. And that was an offense that had A.J. brown and Corey Davis and John who Smith and Ryan Tannehill. Like, they had pretty good weapons, but their best weapon was Derrick Henry. And Derrick Henry got the ball a lot. So for his mind, Arthur Smith's mind, to go to immediately to Derrick Henry, when asked about Jeremiah Smith was just like, okay, there's nothing to worry about here. Jeremiah is going to get the ball plenty. In fact, Jeremiah might get the ball even more than he already has. These first two years, Liberty Mutual customizes

[Bill Landis]

your car and home insurance.

[Doug Lesmerises]

And now we're customizing this rush hour

[Bill Landis]

ad to keep you calm, which could help your driving.

[Doug Lesmerises]

And science says therapy is great for a healthy mindset. So enjoy this 14 second session on us. I think you've done everything right and absolutely nothing wrong. In fact, anything that hasn't gone your way could probably be blamed on your father not being emotionally available because his father wasn't emotionally available and so on.

[Bill Landis]

And now that you're calm and healing,

[Doug Lesmerises]

you're probably driving better too.

[Bill Landis]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Walmart Express Delivery Announcer]

Walmart Express Delivery can get what you need delivered in as fast as an hour. Whether it's baby formula, when you're down to the last scoop, pet food before the bowl runs empty, batteries for a dead remote or a last minute gift, it is handled. Try Walmart Express Delivery today and get free delivery with promo code Express Promotion valid for First Express delivery order $50 minimum, subject to availability restrictions apply.

[Bill Landis]

So that's Derek Henry led the NFL in rushing attempts both of those years with Arthur Smith. And so it's like, all right, should Jeremiah. Does that mean Jeremiah Smith is going to lead the power four in targets? And I, I think maybe the answer is yes.

[Doug Lesmerises]

The only reason I would say no to that is just like volume of plays. But if you, if you did it more of like target share, like what percentage of a team's plays go to this guy? I think, I think Jeremiah Smith could be the guy who leads the country. Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

And if that's, you know, we won't talk about it on this show right now, but Brandon was talking about how he wants to get better in the slot again. I do think there seems to be genuine enthusiasm around Kyle Parker and Devin McEwen at that Z receiver spot. So I think, you know, there's not going to be, it's not, not like, well, there's nobody else to throw it to. But if, if, if the assumption is sort of like we're gonna mash people and then we're gonna throw it to Jeremiah. If that's what the offense is about. A, does that sound likely? And B, does that sound good?

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yes and yes. Yeah, I think that's something I can get on board with. I wonder too, like how much of that might involve they're not going to put Jeremiah at running back, but like getting him the ball on reverses and stuff like that and jet sweeps, those kind of things. I think you could see that come into Play too.

[Bill Landis]

I mean, I just, I like. I like a route, right, when the receiver runs all the way across the field, right? And then like because. Because then you have a chance, especially if you get man coverage, right? Then you just like run away from your defender. And the idea that's like, I'm pr. I'm preparing myself for the. My favorite play of the season to be under center play action. It's a. It's action of like a run to the left. Julian bootleg out to the right. Ex receiver Jeremiah starts on the left side of the field, runs all the way across the formation with Julian and then it's just go time. Is that a play? Is that a reaction? That's a real.

[Doug Lesmerises]

We call that play go time. Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Okay. Okay.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Go time. Go time. On three.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, I gotta get down. I gotta get in there with Art and give him some ideas. Come on, man.

[Doug Lesmerises]

We call this one go time.

[Bill Landis]

Let me tell you how it works here at Ohio State. I've been around here a long time. Go find us on the substack. Bill and Doug. OSU.subsack.com I felt a little energy today. I'm not. I'm not. Not everybody liked it. I'm not even going to say the word. I'm not gonna say the B word on this show. But it was kind of good to get back to the F word. You know what I'm saying?

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Let's just be real. Okay. Billandgo issue.subsack.com Read more shows Good chat. Fired up Ohio State fans who are into spring football. Growing community. We love our substack folk. We love you guys for being here and hanging out with us. Make sure you're subscribed on YouTube. Make sure you're subscribed on a podcast feed so you don't miss anything that we drop in here. Pro day on Wednesday. We'll be there for that. Another practice and interview session on Thursday and then another practice and interview session on Saturday. So we have like four opportunities to be around Ohio State football to talk about Ohio State football. And that also makes this go time.

[Doug Lesmerises]

That's right. 17 guys working out, by the way. Allegedly. And some of the guys, some of the guys in Indy who didn't run 40s, which I know people get pretty excited about, I think are gonna run them on Wednesday. So that should be pretty cool. And then always too, you know, the guys who are currently on the team tend to find their way into some of the workouts, so. They do. We'll see if Julian sayings throwing some passes or if Jeremiah Smith is running some routes or Brandon and it's guys like that.

[Bill Landis]

And then the guys, some of the guys who were getting ready for pro day, like Sonny Stiles was at practice on Tuesday, kind of running around a little bit. Kane McDonald was there. And then again, like there's just players kind of like to hang out in Columbus. JT to Imola. Wow. Was there. Who? Who else did you see?

[Doug Lesmerises]

Everybody else over. Kate Stover was there.

[Bill Landis]

Stover was there. Yeah.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

So it's just a reminder. It's just a reminder of, like, there's

[Doug Lesmerises]

a lot of, a lot of good

[Bill Landis]

players play Ohio State and then people don't mind hanging out in Columbus. So they come back and they hang out. So. All right, thanks to you guys for hanging out. Go find us on Substack. We'll talk to you soon here on this YouTube and podcast feed. For now, he's Bill Andis. I'm Doug Lemurice and that was the Bill and Doug show.

[Doug Lesmerises]

A cool and crisp Modelo tastes good, but that fought for every rebound. Modelo or that just clocked out Modelo. That Modelo you earned is just better. That Modelo is the mark of a fighter. Drink responsibly. Being reported by Crown Import, Chicago, IL.

[Walmart Express Delivery Announcer]

Walmart Express delivery can get what you need delivered in as fast as an hour. Whether it's baby formula when you're down to the last scoop. Pet food before the bowl runs, empty batteries for a dead remote or a last minute gift, it is handled. Try Walmart Express delivery today and get free delivery with promo code. Express promotion valid for first Express Delivery Order $50.00 minimum. Subject to availability restrictions apply.