Real Pod Wednesdays

Ohio State’s first two days of spring practice are in the books, and we already have plenty of thoughts.

The first two days at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center allowed us to watch the first hour of each of Ohio State’s initial two practices as well as talk to Ohio State coach Ryan Day, each of the Buckeyes’ scholarship quarterbacks and running backs and each of their respective position coaches, giving us plenty to see and hear.

While we haven’t yet seen any head-to-head 11-on-11 work between Ohio State’s offense and defense, numerous players have stood out physically while there have been some interesting developments with Ohio State’s initial lineups, such as Austin Siereveld practicing at left tackle and Malik Hartford taking the bulk of the first-team reps at safety.

With that in mind, we spend the majority of this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays discussing our takeaways from the first two days of spring practice. We wrap up the show with a brief conversation about the end of Ohio State’s basketball season and why we both believe it’s the right decision to give Jake Diebler a second year to turn things around.

The full rundown for this week’s show:

• 0:00 Julian Sayin’s Release Stands Out, But He Has More to Prove to Win Starting QB Job
• 13:17 Early Signs Are Promising for Running Back Duo of James Peoples, CJ Donaldson
• 21:42 Jeremiah Smith, Mylan Graham Standing Out at Wide Receiver
• 26:18 Austin Siereveld Probably Won’t Be Starting Left Tackle, But He Might Be Next Man Up
• 31:27 Malik Hartford Getting First Shot at Safety as Secondary Rebuilds Around Caleb Downs
• 35:10 Devin Sanchez Among Numerous Freshmen Standing Out Physically Right Away
• 39:09 Building Depth Crucial for Ohio State’s Defensive Front Six
• 44:24 Jake Diebler Deserves A Second Year, But Ohio State Must Be Aggressive in Transfer Portal

The spotlight will be on Ohio State’s defense as the Buckeyes begin spring practice next week.

Yes, the quarterback competition will draw plenty of attention too, but it’s the defense that we’ll be watching most closely this spring as we seek to get an idea of what Ohio State’s defense will look like in 2025 with eight new starters and a new defensive coordinator.

While we know the defense will be built around Caleb Downs and that Sonny Styles and Davison Igbinosun will play major roles as returning starters, there are otherwise more questions than answers about Ohio State’s new-look defense under Matt Patricia – even if the Buckeyes’ defensive talent and what we heard last week from Patricia offer plenty of reasons for optimism.

We spend more than half of this week’s show talking about our expectations for Ohio State’s defense entering spring before turning the conversation to what we’re looking to see from Julian Sayin and the Buckeyes’ offense over the next four weeks. We wrap up the show by discussing what Ohio State men’s basketball needs to do in this week’s Big Ten Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament.

The full rundown for this week’s show:

• 0:00 Why This Spring Feels Different Than Last Spring at Ohio State
• 5:57 Why Ohio State’s Defense is the Biggest Thing We’ll Be Watching This Spring
• 15:19 Ohio State’s Defensive Line is Its Biggest Question Mark, But There’s Plenty of Promising Talent
• 25:35 Lorenzo Styles Jr., Devin Sanchez, Safeties Could All Determine What Ohio State Does at Nickel
• 34:25 Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese and Payton Pierce Lead A Strong Core at Linebacker
• 38:23 What We Need to See From Julian Sayin This Spring to Feel Confident He’s Ready to Start
• 43:46 Offensive Line, Running Backs Among Other Offensive Positions to Watch This Spring
• 51:08 What Ohio State Basketball Must Do in the Big Ten Tournament to Make the NCAA Tournament

The NFL Scouting Combine gave us an opportunity to not only watch some of Ohio State’s 2025 draft prospects work out for NFL scouts, but to learn more about some of OSU’s returning players in the words of last year’s Buckeye stars.

Garrick Hodge joined Dan Hope in Indianapolis to cover the combine last week, so Garrick joins us on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays as we talk about both the combine performances of Ohio State’s 2024 NFL draft prospects and our biggest takeaways from what they had to say about players who could be breakout stars for the 2025 Buckeyes.

Former Ohio State running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson and defensive tackles Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton helped themselves with their on-field workouts in Indianapolis. The combine raised some concerns for quarterback Will Howard and defensive end Jack Sawyer, but we‘re still believers in both Buckeyes as NFL prospects because of how well they played in leading Ohio State to a national championship.

As for what we heard about some of Ohio State’s returning players in Indianapolis, Denzel Burke added fuel to the Julian Sayin hype train while Henderson made an Andy-approved comparison for James Peoples. Jaylen McClain, Mylan Graham and Max Klare were among the other 2025 Buckeyes who received hype from OSU’s draft prospects at the combine.

We talk about all of that – plus the spectacular NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium last weekend and a couple of other Ohio State-related comments by combine participants that went viral – on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays.

The full rundown for the show:

• 0:00 The Stadium Series Game at the Shoe Was Awesome
• 5:46 Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson Were Ohio State’s Combine Stars
• 10:20 Why We Don’t Think Scouts Should Overreact to Will Howard’s Shaky Throwing Session
• 17:04 Jack Sawyer’s Proven Playmaking Ability Matters More Than His Arm Length
• 21:00 Tyleik Williams Proves He’s A Freak and Ty Hamilton Might Go Higher Than People Think
• 23:34 Denzel Burke’s Endorsement of Julian Sayin Carries Weight
• 28:04 Why Andy and TreVeyon Henderson See J.K. Dobbins in James Peoples
• 30:36 Jaylen McClain Carrying Momentum Into Spring as Potential Starting Safety
• 33:36 Mylan Graham Gets More Buzz, But How Much Playing Time Will He See in 2025?
• 36:55 Lathan Ransom Expects Big Things from Max Klare, and We Do, Too
• 40:30 Omarr Norman-Lott’s Jeremiah Smith Praise, Tez Johnson’s Rose Bowl Take Go Viral

Ohio State’s historically deep 2025 draft class will be in the spotlight at this week’s NFL Scouting Combine.

15 members of Ohio State’s national championship team are in Indianapolis for the combine – the most players from any school – and all 15 of them are expected to be drafted, which would tie Georgia’s record for the most picks from one school in a seven-round NFL draft.

With media interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine starting today and on-field workouts commencing at Lucas Oil Stadium tomorrow, we take a look at Ohio State’s loaded NFL draft class on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays.

We start the show by sharing some overall thoughts on Ohio State’s draft class, which Buckeyes boosted their NFL draft stock the most during the College Football Playoff, which Buckeyes we expect to be combine stars and which Buckeyes would benefit most from a strong combine workout.

Then, we put our GM hats on and conduct our own draft of Ohio State’s draft prospects, with each of us making seven rounds’ worth of picks of which Buckeyes we’d draft if we were calling the shots for an NFL team.

The full results of our draft:
1. DE Jack Sawyer (Dan)
2. OT Josh Simmons (Andy)
3. WR Emeka Egbuka (Andy)
4. G/T Donovan Jackson (Dan)
5. RB TreVeyon Henderson (Dan)
6. DE JT Tuimoloau (Andy)
7. DT Tyleik Williams (Andy)
8. QB Will Howard (Dan)
9. CB Denzel Burke (Dan)
10. CB Jordan Hancock (Andy)
11. S Lathan Ransom (Andy)
12. RB Quinshon Judkins (Dan)
13. C Seth McLaughlin (Dan)
14. DT Ty Hamilton (Andy)

The full rundown for this week’s show:

• 0:00 Historically Deep Ohio State Draft Class Heads to the Combine
• 9:24 Donovan Jackson, Will Howard, Jordan Hancock Among Buckeyes Who Boosted Stock in CFP
• 15:29 Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson Among Potential Combine Stars (If They Work Out)
• 19:56 Denzel Burke, Cody Simon Among Buckeyes Who Could Benefit Most from Strong Combine
• 22:35 A Seven-Round Draft of Ohio State’s Top 2025 NFL Draft Prospects
• 37:23 Can Ohio State Men’s Basketball Bounce Back to Make the NCAA Tournament?

Now that Ohio State has new coordinators on both sides of the ball, one of the biggest lingering questions entering this spring is how the Buckeyes’ offense and defense will operate under Brian Hartline and Matt Patricia. 

We aren’t expecting any drastic changes on the offensive side of the ball – Ohio State’s offense is still Ryan Day’s offense, and Brian Hartline’s promotion comes in part because of how well he knows Day’s offense – though the Buckeyes will have to make adjustments to fit their personnel as new starters take over at quarterback, running back, tight end and offensive tackle.

Defensively is where the bigger scheme questions lie. Patricia was never tied to one specific scheme as the New England Patriots’ defensive coordinator, so there’s reason to believe his defense will be built to fit Ohio State’s personnel, but that will require changes too as the Buckeyes break in eight new starters on that side of the ball. And while the rest of Ohio State’s defensive coaching staff returns, there are questions about how Patricia’s ideas will mesh with defensive line coach Larry Johnson and whether Patricia’s success in New England will translate to the college level.

We discuss all of that on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays with Eleven Warriors scheme analyst Kyle Jones, who joins us to share his thoughts on what Ohio State’s offense and defense could look like in 2025 as well as what impressed him most about Ohio State’s national championship run this past season.

The full rundown for our conversation:

• 0:00 Why Ohio State’s Scheme, Play Calling Worked So Well in the College Football Playoff
• 4:28 Ohio State’s Evolution from Michigan Game to CFP Might Have Simply Been A Mindset Shift
• 6:49 What Matt Patricia Brings to Ohio State
• 10:17 Should We Be Concerned About Patricia’s Defenses Being Too Complicated?
• 16:07 What Ohio State Should Do Schematically to Fit Its Defensive Talent in 2025
• 19:50 Will Matt Patricia’s Defensive Line Philosophies Mesh with Larry Johnson?
• 23:21 Player Departures Could Drive Defensive Changes More Than Coordinator Change
• 26:08 Ryan Day Will Have Big Hand in Ohio State’s Offense, But That’s Nothing New
• 32:08 Why Offensive Line Development Matters More Than Run Game Scheme for Tyler Bowen
• 34:54 Less Quarterback Running Could Be Biggest Change for Ohio State’s Offensive Scheme

With Ohio State’s offensive coaching now set for 2025, the Buckeyes’ focus on that side of the ball turns toward trying to build another championship-caliber unit this season.

Offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, co-offensive coordinator Keenan Bailey, run game coordinator and offensive line coach Tyler Bowen, running backs coach Carlos Locklyn and quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler have plenty of talent to work with as their preparations for spring practice begin. The Buckeyes’ receiving corps should be the best in the country once again, hopes are high for five-star redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin and Ohio State’s offensive line has the potential to be its best in a few years.

But there are also some significant questions surrounding Ohio State’s 2025 offense including its inexperience at quarterback, how effective its running game will be following the departures of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins and whether the Buckeyes’ returning offensive linemen will reach their potential with another year of development.

With all of that in mind, we spend this week‘s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays assessing the state of Ohio State’s offense for the 2025 season and discussing our expectations for how we think the offense will fare in both the passing and running games come fall.

The full rundown for this week’s show:

• 0:00 Thoughts on Ohio State’s New Offensive Coaching Staff
• 15:16 Ohio State’s Receiving Corps Should Be The Best in the Country Again in 2025
• 23:32 Julian Sayin Has Five-Star Talent, But Inexperience Makes Quarterback A Question Mark
• 28:34 Offensive Line Has Upside to Be Better Than It’s Been The Last Two Years
• 40:19 Running Game Faces Questions at Both Running Back and Quarterback
• 51:59 Ohio State Should Build Offense Around Jeremiah Smith and Its Receiving Playmakers
• 53:46 Will Ohio State Have A Championship-Caliber Offense in 2025?

You may have forgotten, but today is National Signing Day.

From Ohio State’s perspective, the real signing day happened two months ago, as the Buckeyes signed 26 high school players during the early signing period. Ohio State isn’t expected to add any more scholarship players to its high school recruiting class for 2025, making the traditional February signing day a non-event for the Buckeyes.

That said, we didn’t spend much time talking about Ohio State’s 2025 recruiting class on Real Pod Wednesdays during the early signing period because the Buckeyes were preparing to play in the College Football Playoff at the time. So we felt the secondary signing day would be an appropriate time for us to take a more complete look at Ohio State’s new crop of freshmen.

Eleven Warriors recruiting reporter Garrick Hodge joins us on this week’s Real Pod Wednesdays as we share our overall thoughts on the 2025 class and make our picks for who we think will be some of the class’ biggest stars and hidden gems.

The full rundown for this week’s show:

• 0:00 Intro
• 3:31 Overall Thoughts on Ohio State’s Fifth-Ranked 2025 Recruiting Class
• 7:43 Devin Sanchez, Tavien St. Clair Headline the 2025 Class
• 17:09 Projecting Some of the Other Future Stars from Ohio State’s 2025 Class
• 22:19 Freshmen with the Best Chance to Play Early
• 25:51 How Ohio State’s Transfer Class Supplements Its High School Recruiting Class
• 29:00 Nate Roberts, Bodpegn Miller, Trajen Odom Among Intriguing Developmental Prospects
• 34:18 Potential Commits and Priority Positions in the 2026 Recruiting Class

After recapping Ohio State’s national championship run on last week’s show, we’re beginning to look ahead to the 2025 season on this week‘s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays.

Ohio State’s 2025 roster is set for the spring now that the winter window for players to enter the transfer portal has closed. With that in mind, we spend the entirety of this week’s RPW taking a first look at Ohio State’s 2025 roster and sharing our initial thoughts on how the Buckeyes stack up at every position.

The full rundown for this week’s show:

• 0:00 Ohio State Fends Off Efforts to Poach Its Players, Retains All of Its Projected Starters
• 5:22 Julian Sayin is the Projected Starting Quarterback, But He Still Has to Win A Competition
• 12:35 James Peoples, CJ Donaldson Lead Ohio State’s Running Back Room
• 16:56 Ohio State’s Wide Receivers Should Be the Best in the Country Again
• 21:04 Could Ohio State Have the Best Tight End Room in the Country, Too?
• 24:21 Offensive Line Looks Promising with Transfer Tackles, Interior Line Play in CFP
• 31:44 Rotational Defensive Linemen in 2024 Must Step Up As New Starters in 2025
• 37:18 Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese Backed Up by Plenty of Young Talent at Linebacker
• 40:38 Ohio State’s Cornerback Room Remains Loaded with Davison Igbinosun’s Return
• 44:34 Jaylen McClain, Malik Hartford Both Candidates to Start at Safety Alongside Caleb Downs
• 49:40 Ohio State Returns All Three Starting Specialists, But Nick McLarty Remains A Punter to Watch
• 54:01 There’s Still Too Many Unknowns for Us to Call Ohio State A 2025 Championship Favorite

Ohio State is a national champion once again after one of the most impressive championship runs we’ve ever seen.

The Buckeyes’ four-game run to the national title was one we won’t soon forget as Ohio State beat four of the nation’s best teams in the College Football Playoff – all by double digits – to turn what could have been one of Ohio State’s most disappointing seasons ever into one of its greatest success stories.

Ohio State’s national championship run featured too many great moments and top performers to highlight them all in just one hour, but we spent our post-championship episode of Real Pod Wednesdays recapping the best of the best from Ohio State’s spectacular four-game CFP and contextualizing the legacy of the 2024 Buckeyes.

The full rundown for this week’s episode:

• 0:00 The Most Memorable Moments from Covering Ohio State’s National Championship Victory
• 5:29 Ohio State’s Seniors Overcome Years of Disappointments to Go Out on Top
• 7:45 Who Ohio State Had to Beat and How It Won Made OSU’s Four-Game CFP Run Special
• 9:29 Ohio State Should Be Remembered More for Its Resiliency Than Its $20 Million Roster
• 15:46 Does Michigan Loss Dampen Championship Season or Make the Ending More Rewarding?
• 26:31 Ryan Day Wins Over His Haters and Establishes His Standing As An Elite Coach
• 35:03 Will Howard, Jeremiah Smith, Quinshon Judkins Among Offensive Stars of CFP Run
• 40:17 Offensive Line Growth Led by Donovan Jackson A Microcosm of Ohio State’s Season
• 47:40 Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Jordan Hancock Among Defensive Stars of CFP Run
• 52:07 Our Picks for College Football Playoff MVP

Ohio State is one game away from accomplishing the biggest goal we thought the Buckeyes would achieve when the season began.

The Buckeyes didn’t always look like a national championship team during the regular season, but they sure have in the College Football Playoff. While they weren’t as dominant against Texas as they were in their first two CFP games against Tennessee and Oregon, the CFP semifinal win over the Longhorns may prove to be the defining game of a title run as the Buckeyes showed their resiliency in the fourth quarter and won the game in thrilling fashion.

That gives us plenty of confidence that the Buckeyes will finish the job on Monday night and win the first-ever 12-team CFP. If Ohio State plays as well as it has throughout the CFP, the Buckeyes should have a clear advantage over Notre Dame with the Fighting Irish’s limited passing offense, though Ohio State will have to contend with Notre Dame’s strong running game and defense.

We discuss what went well and what didn’t for Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl and preview Monday’s national championship game on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays.

The full rundown for the show:

• 0:00 Ohio State is One Win Away from What Could Be Its Best National Championship Run Ever
• 5:18 Why Jack Sawyer Deserved His Heroic Moment in the Cotton Bowl
• 10:31 Wins over Tennessee and Oregon Were More Dominant, But Texas Win Feels More Memorable
• 14:38 Assessing OSU’s Offensive Line Play Against Texas and What It Needs to Do vs. Notre Dame
• 20:51 Many Standouts Against Texas Included TreVeyon Henderson, Will Howard, Jordan Hancock
• 27:57 Notre Dame’s Pass Defense is Really Good, But We Don’t Expect It to Shut Down Jeremiah Smith
• 33:42 Stopping the Run Will Be Easier Said Than Done, But Ohio State Should Win If It Does
• 39:52 Cody Simon, TreVeyon Henderson, Defensive Tackles Among Players to Watch vs. Notre Dame
• 43:42 Why We’re Both Confident Ohio State Will Beat Notre Dame
• 47:43 Score Predictions for Ohio State vs. Notre Dame