The Buckeye Weekly Podcast

The Buckeyes capped spring practice with their annual spring game. The Scarlet (offense) team defeated the Gray (defense) team 34-26 in what was an entirely offense vs. defense matchup.

Following the game, Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr share their instant reactions from the game and answer a number of live viewer questions with the help of Kevin Noon.

The fellas discuss how the quarterbacks performed, Evan Pryor's impressive game, the depth at wide receiver, the ongoing situation on the offensive line, the talent of JT Tuimoloau, the stellar play of the cornerbacks, and touch on a number of other topics throughout the show.

game, we are focusing on something entirely different.

This upcoming season will mark the 12th year of the Big Ten Championship Game in football and will be the ninth year of the current configuration of East versus West after three years of Leaders versus Legends.

It has been extremely one-sided since moving to a more geographical system with the East holding a perfect record of 8-0, Ohio State winning five titles during that run with Michigan State, Penn State and Michigan filling out the other wins by the B1G East.

As talks of College Football Playoff expansion are off-and-on, there has been talk about the importance of the championship game in the first place and if the game were to remain, potentially doing away with divisions all together and just having the top-two seeds meet in the championship game, even if that meant a rematch of say… Ohio State and Michigan.

Is the Big Ten West just worthy of a participation trophy when it comes to the B1GCG or is that too much of an East-centric view of things?

We bring in Jeffrey the Greek from the EyesOnB1G podcast to get his views on this matter. We mixed it up with him on social media a week ago and agreed that this issue needed to go to one podcast or the other to try and settle it.

Be sure to join us here on the Big Me Kickoff to hear both sides of the argument and come to your own conclusions.

The Ohio State spring game is this Saturday and since there is a Buckeye football game being played, that means there must be bold predictions.

Tom Orr and Tony Gerdeman run through 14 bold predictions for a game that is impossible to predict. Which Buckeyes will shine brightest? Who will get to the quarterback the most? Who will find the end zone more than anybody else? The fellas have bold predictions covering the gamut of possibilities.

The Ohio State spring game is this Saturday and rather than just watch it like normal humans, in order to make things a little more interesting, Tom Orr and Tony Gerdeman have decided to draft spring game fantasy squads from the Ohio State football roster.

Using a PPR scoring system, the fellas have to use their wits and wiles to decide how much a Buckeye is going to play and weigh it against how much he isn't. It's not the most baffling draft you've ever seen, but it's gotta be close.

This isn't about drafting the most talented team, it's about drafting a spring game squad that will put up the best numbers. Tony and Tom select a quarterback each, along with a running back, three receivers, a tight end, a kicker, and three defensive players, and then add in three reserves should anything happen to their starters.

And they do this without even having the spring game rosters yet. Is it foolish? Probably, but who cares!

In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss the tragic passing of former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins and the legacy he left behind long before he was gone.

The Big Me Kickoff is back and we are shifting gears to talk about the NFL Draft. We know that the Buckeyes will be well-represented, not only in the draft in general but also in the first round with players like Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. Who comes off the board first and what makes each player tick?

Who might be the next Buckeye off the board after the pair of receivers? What about the Browns and Bengals, what do they need to accomplish, especially with the Browns not having a first-round pick and the Bengals addressing their offensive line during free agency?

And speaking of free agency, what a wild offseason this has been. Are we out of fireworks or should we expect more on draft night?

We are joined by John Vogel of Football Sapient and he helps us break it all down here on the Big Me Kickoff, don’t miss a single minute.

Ohio State landed a commitment from 4-star safety Malik Hartford on Wednesday. It was also a busy day for the current Buckeyes as the quarterbacks and linebackers spoke to reporters about spring ball.

In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss the happenings of the day. Topics include the following.

- Malik Hartford's commitment.
- What makes him special?
- What does it mean that Ohio State already has two safeties committed?
- Is there a concern regarding cornerback recruiting?
- Where has CJ Stroud improved from last year?
- What does Stroud think about Jim Knowles' defense?
- What keeps Stroud humble?
- How Ohio State is building an assembly line of quarterbacks.
- Why you should like Devin Brown.
- What Steele Chambers thinks about the defense.
- All of this and much more.

In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, Tom Orr and Tony Gerdeman discuss the transfers of Ohio State defensive backs Bryson Shaw and Lejond Cavazos. They also talk about the huge recruiting weekend that the Buckeyes just had. Among the topics covered in the show are the following.

- Why did Shaw and Cavazos transfer now?
- What made them transfer candidates?
- What does the depth chart in the secondary look like now with them gone?
- An update on Kam Babb.
- Will the Buckeyes be able to land a big-time 2023 QB?
- Will they take two in 2024?
- Who is Mark Fletcher and why should you care?
- The wide receiver train looks like it is just going to keep on keeping on thanks to the handful of 5-star pass catchers who visited this past weekend.

The Big Me Kickoff is back with a special guest here on this Friday in advance of a big Ohio State recruiting weekend. We are joined by Mike Farrell, the 'Godfather' of football recruiting and a 20-plus-year veteran of the recruiting wars.

Farrell has been around so long that he knew Ohio State head coach Ryan Day when he was just a young coach back in New Hampshire and see his rise from assistant to head coach of the Buckeyes. What do the Buckeyes have in Day, where is he different and where is he the same as former boss Urban Meyer?

What are some of the best recruiting stories through 20-plus years in the industry and how has the industry changed over the course of the years?

Who did he rank right, who did he rank wrong, who did he not rank at all and is still taking the blame for?

And Name, Image, Likeness is a game changer when it comes to recruiting, what does Farrell think about its impact over the entire landscape?

Ohio State is returning one of the nation's top running backs in TreVeyon Henderson, but he is not the only reason for optimism with the Ohio State running game.

In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, Tom Orr and Tony Gerdeman discuss the intel shared by Ryan Day and Kevin Wilson this week, much of which revolved around why the Ohio State running game looks like a stock worth buying this year.

Among the topics discussed in this episode include the following.

- Cade Stover's move back to tight end.
- How are Joe Royer and Gee Scott doing?
- Ryan Day's concerns coming into spring.
- What is the biggest concern with the offensive line?
- Is the starting five up front essentially set?
- Why is the interior lining up like it is?
- What kind of standard is TreVeyon Henderson setting?
- What has impressed Kevin Wilson about CJ Stroud?
- What's Wilson's impression of Jim Knowles so far?
- And more.