Buckeyes in the NFL Draft, OSU Spring Game thoughts, and offseason news

Spring ball is in the books and now we’re in that long, dark teatime of the offseason when news is something you’d rather just not hear.

For this episode, we looked at Ohio State dominating the 2025 NFL Draft. We looked at where the 14 selected former Buckeyes were picked (tying a school record) and wonder why there wasn’t a 15th player — a consensus All-American and winner of a major individual award, no less — taken to give the school a share of the all-time draft record. We also walked through the draft spots of a couple of ex-Buckeyes who transferred to other schools and discussed the landing spots for some OSU undrafted free agents.

With the spring practices coming to an end, we’ve probably seen our final black helmet stripe removal until preseason camp starts. We look back at the most recent players to lose their helmet stripes. We also touch on a couple of important transfer portal arrivals, as well as Ohio State’s trip to the White House, where the vice president tried to mangle the national championship trophy and the foot of TreVeyon Henderson.

Finally, we looked back at the 2025 Ohio State Spring Game. Lots of players stood out during this year’s event, especially the running backs. Bo Jackson and C.J. McDonald looked especially good, and the quarterbacks performed well as a group. It may not have seemed like it, but there were some defensive standouts as well. 

We are in our monthly offseason schedule, but we could have more than one show a month depending on how much news there is. We will return to our weekly schedule in August, as camp opens and we get you ready for the 2025 Ohio State football season.We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions via email at [e-mail]. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.

Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at ⁠@SilvrBulletsPod⁠.

As always, thanks for listening!

0:20 — A whole lot of Buckeyes are on their way to the NFL. We walk through where everyone was selected or signed as an undrafted free agent.

34:18 — Ohio State news doesn’t stop in the off-season. We touch on the final black stripes that were removed during spring camp and the Buckeyes’ visit to the White House.

44:42 — Finally, we look back at the Ohio State Spring Game and shine a spotlight on those players who stood out.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Look everybody at this time once again for the Silver
Bullets podcast. I'm Michael Citraw and I'm chip Minnick Chip.
If we haven't spoken in a few weeks. We were
getting our April episode in for the off season here
and lots to talk about. We we just went through
draft weekend in the NFL. There's some lot of new
Buckeyes in the NFL now, and of course we just

(00:42):
had the spring game, which I believe you attended.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
I did attend the spring game. It was enjoyable as usual.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Oh that's good. It looked like a little bit smaller
crowd this year, but we'll get into that in just
a bit. Let's uh, let's talk about the draft. This
was a record tying draft for Ohio State, but almost
an all time record tying draft. They just came up
one short of Georgia's fifteen draft picks with fourteen. And

(01:15):
I wrote about this fact this week at Land Grant
holy Land. But the fact that Seth McLaughlin slipped out
of the draft was the deciding factor of Ohio State
not tying the record. That's mind boggling to me that
you're Remington Trophy winner and it consensus all Big ten

(01:37):
first team center with Ohio State's history of developing centers
does not get drafted.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah, I mean it's unfortunate. I would say that the
achilles injury that he sustained, and I by all accounts,
I'm sure the rehab is going well. But now that
the players are in a business, and you know, when
it comes to the NFL, you know, it's just one
of these things. Granted, I mean there are sometimes there

(02:06):
are NFL draft selections that are made that are puzzling,
but it's the kind of thing where if you're an
NFL franchise and you invest a draft pick, you're expecting
that individual to be able to contribute in some way,
shape or form. And perhaps the consensus was, all right,

(02:27):
seth McLaughlin as good as a player as he as
he demonstrated this past season for High State, maybe he
won't be physically ready to compete in training camp, might
be on the physically unable to perform list, stashed away
on injured reserve. So it's unfortunate, because I agree with you.
I think Ohio State definitely would have tied George's record

(02:48):
for the number of draft selections with fifteen if McLaughlin
had been healthy.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, and here's a player who, yeah, he may not
be able to play much, if at all, his first
year because of how late in the season he got
hurt last year. But you know, if you're talking about
a sixth round draft pick, a seventh round draft pick,
you take a flyer on a guy. That's what those
late draft picks are for, is for taking a chance.

(03:15):
This is a guy who could start after you know,
and maybe starting in his second year as a pro.
He could be a starter in the NFL certainly.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
And speaking of another undrafted free agent that I think
wound up in an ideal situation is Josh Fryar. He
signed with Arizona. And the reason I bring that up
is you and I know our listeners know that Justin
fry is out in Arizona now as the offensive line coach,
and the rationale there is, Okay, you're talking about a

(03:46):
guy that, yeah, he wasn't a draft pick, but the
offensive line coach has complete faith and confidence in Josh
Fryar having coached him the past few seasons. I'm not saying,
by any stretch of the imagination that Josh Fire has
the Arizona Cardinals roster made, but I think that he's
going to get a significant benefit of the doubt considering

(04:08):
his position. Coach coached him in college. So I think
he wound up in a very good situation.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Yeah, good, good spot for him. So the Buckey's chip
had the most first round picks. They had four of
them in the first round, starting with the Mecca Buca
at nineteen overall to the Buccaneers. Joins a very good
receiver room there, and they actually added Tedes Johnson from
Oregon in the last round.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
Yeah, I'll tell you what. I might be mistaken, but
I seem to recall that it was one of these
things where a Mecca Buca didn't really spend a lot
of time with Tampa Bay. That it was just kind of,
you know, like I don't want to say a complete shock,
but you know, a Mecca Buca, you know the different

(04:57):
teams that you're allowed to visit. Tampa Bay was now
one of them that brought a Mecca Buka in. So
I'm happy for him. I think it's I realize it's
going to sound very cliche, but I think it's a
really good situation because with Mike Evans getting older, he's
still very productive. But the fact that Mike Evans is
getting older, Baker Mayfield is being productive at quarterback for them,

(05:19):
So he gets to go to a warm weather environment,
a good passing game, playoff contending team learn from Mike Evans.
And I'm not I'm not suggesting that he's not going
to be able to contribute right away, but I don't
think it's going to be the same thing is if
he was picked by a team maybe higher in the draft,

(05:41):
and let's say that the expectations might you know, might
be a little bit more unrealistic for a rookie wide receiver.

Speaker 1 (05:49):
Yeah, they I think that he's in a good spot
because he's not going to have pressure to to produce
right away. But they also have a in addition to
Mike Evans, if Chris Godwin, so they have a decent
room already before you'ven count the fact that a book
could come in. Maybe he can. He can as a

(06:13):
rookie probably isn't going to get the best corner or
cover guy, so he could make some noise. And I
like what they added to their wide receiver room, and
already very good wide receiver room gets better. And I
was shocked that Tes Johnson fell all the way to
the bottom of the draft.

Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, Tess Johnson highly productive. I just think it might
be a case of, you know, it's kind of slight
of build. I'm not suggesting that he can't play at
the NFL level, but that might have been a consideration.
That he did have an injury that you know, that's
one of these things where when it comes to NFL teams,
they scrutinize and really go beyond any kind of investigation

(06:56):
and you know, above and beyond, you know, trying to determine,
all right, is this, how severe is this? So that
might have been a contributing factor. I think it might.
My original thought was the fact that he's not necessarily
the biggest of guys that maybe at the NFL level
that might be some concern, but very productive, you can't
deny that. So similar to a Mecha Buka, I think
he's in a really good situation.

Speaker 1 (07:17):
Yeah, it'll be interesting. The thing about Tess Johnson that
is something to also keep in mind is he's a
guy who can play as a return man, and in
today's NFL you don't need to be quite as big
as you did in the past. You know, guys like
Tyreek Hill isn't very big, for example, and Tess is
very good in the open field as well. I don't

(07:39):
think I think he had maybe a concerning forty time,
but I mean we've seen him play. He looks plenty fast,
yeah exactly, so maybe just had a bad run. Anyway,
Congrats to Mecha Buka for becoming the first Buckeye off
the board in the draft. They had a few others.

(08:01):
Donovan Jackson went to the Vikings at twenty four, Tyler
Williams to the Lions at twenty eight, so they are
in the Norris Division together. And Josh Simmons rounded out
the first round the thirty second pick to the Chiefs.
Not a bad place to.

Speaker 2 (08:15):
Go, No, not at all. I mean Donovan Jackson, I
think he was one of these guys We've talked about
it before. When it came to the High State College
Football playoff run, he definitely emerged in my estimation as
being the most valuable player for High State. Considering I
know we're going to be talking about Josh Simmons here

(08:37):
momentarily that he was able to come in and help
solidify that offensive line, sliding over from left guard to
left tackle. I think he improved his draft stock immensely
by the way he performed against college football playoff caliber teams.
I mean, he was always a very good guard, but
that versatility along the offenelied is a valuable commodity within

(09:02):
the NFL. The fact that, Okay, now I've got a
guy that you know. I'm not suggesting that the Vikings
are going to do this, but if we needed to,
we could possibly give him a shot at left tackle.
We know that he can play probably both guard positions
and more than likely play right tackle. So four out
of five positions on the offensive line is tremendous. Like

(09:22):
I said a moment ago, Josh Simmons, it's unfortunate that
that he lost half of his season to injury, and
he's coming along nicely. He's in a tremendous situation with
the Kansas City Chiefs. You're talking about a team that
was competing in the Super Bowl. So I think that
the press.

Speaker 1 (09:40):
I mean I watched the Super Bowl, I wouldn't say
they were competing in it. Yeah, well it took part.

Speaker 2 (09:46):
I will say this. If anything, it's it's hey at
least that the Chiefs recognize the fact that they needed
to improve upon the offensive line. Josh Simmons had been
projected as a first a higher first round draft choice.
The injury took place in the regular season game at Oregon.
So the fact that he was able to demonstrate to

(10:08):
teams that hey, you know this, this is a a
high caliber left tackle prospect. I think he's he's in
a tremendous environment there. And then not to minimize Tyleek
Williams that one, I was I was happy for him
simply because I think Tylee Williams was a guy that

(10:29):
was certainly valuable to that Ohio State defense and sometimes
I think overlooked. I know we're going to talk about
some other players on that Ohio State defense, but his
ability to flog the run is something that it's very
understated and tremendously important. And as you said, you know
in that NFL, the NFC Norse Division, you know that

(10:52):
you know you're going to be playing against teams that
like to run the ball, and you know he's certainly
demonstrated ability to be a very effective run stopper. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (11:03):
I like where all of those guys ended up. I
think it's a good spot for all of them. And yeah,
not too bad when you're gonna be blocking for Patrick
Mahomes Simmons. His injury slides him to the bottom of
a round. Mclaughlan's slides him all the way out of
the draft, so go.

Speaker 2 (11:20):
Figure exactly, it's just a little bit more recent. Just
that's all.

Speaker 1 (11:25):
Yeah, And Achilles is a little more probably difficult to say.
How is he going to recover from that? You know, Achilles,
you never you never know if you're going to get
that back, that explosion and that quick burst off the line.
So it definitely is something that you know, obviously concerned

(11:47):
a lot of teams and say they didn't pick him.
But Draft Day two, your Browns take the first Buckeye
off the board on Day two with the Quinn Shawn
Judkins at thirty six. Are you happy to have Judkins
instead of Henderson?

Speaker 2 (12:04):
I am, And that's not meant to disparage Henderson. I
would have been happy with Henderson. But I just simply
believe that when it comes to running between the tackles,
I think Judkins is the more physical back. I think
that Henderson. It's not to say that he can't run
between the tackles. I just think his his as he
demonstrated in the playoff game against Texas. You know, his

(12:26):
home run hitting ability in terms of when he's in
the open field, you know, off that off that screen
pass that he took for a touchdown. I think that's outstanding.
He certainly Henderson's past protection was a highlight reel in
and of itself. Yeah, but I just think quinch on
Judkins for with the Browns with their offense. I think

(12:48):
what they're going to try to get back to with
with Kevin Stefanski calling the plays again, even though he's
the head coach, he's gonna he's going to again and
take over the play calling responsibilities. I think running the
ball is going to be very important. I think Judkins
is up to the task.

Speaker 1 (13:08):
Yeah. I guess it depends on what you're running, what
kind of scheme you're running, of which of those two
running backs would be the better one to take Because Henderson,
for me, I'm set up. I think what sets him
apart is blocking, not just in the past game, but
also in the run game. So his past blocking is good,
and his run blocking downfield is actually very good as

(13:29):
well if he's out there with another runner. And what
I like about him is what I like about Henderson
I think his comp is Robert Robert Smith, I think
is his comp.

Speaker 2 (13:42):
I could see that, I guess I thought that Jamal
Charles another you know, kind of very effective receiving pipe
back from from years ago. I thought that was another
good comp for for Henderson. I think he's in. I
think Henderson's in a really good situation in New England,

(14:04):
considering Mike Vrabel is the new head coach, and that
they're certainly giving Drake May their quarterback some weapons to
work with. And I think Henderson it's going to be
interesting to see how they decide to use him.

Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yeah, Henderson goes just two picks after Quinn Shawn Judkins.
So there was a little mini run on Ohio State
running backs. Always fun when you get a couple of
guys go right near each other. But then pick forty
five comes and you got j T. Tooey Moloaw going,
as it turned out, well ahead of Jack Sawyer.

Speaker 2 (14:43):
A little bit of a surprise, but that's just me.
I think JT. Tooey Moloaw demonstrated his value. I mean
he'll always be looked upon by I say fans for
almost single handle. The winning a game at Penn State,
A couple of years ago. But I think it'll be

(15:04):
interesting to see how the Colts use him. I think,
you know, in terms of the fact that his position
is labeled as edge, you know, so I'm not sure
if that means defensive end, that means three to four
outside linebacker. But I think they're going to try to
put him in positions where he'll be able to impact
the Colts pass rush.

Speaker 1 (15:23):
Yeah. That is seven players in the first two rounds.
That's in Ohio State school record.

Speaker 2 (15:30):
That's that is impressive, very impassive.

Speaker 1 (15:34):
I was surprised at the next name to come off
the board. There were no Buckeyes taking a round three,
So in round four, Cody Simon is the next Buck
guy off the board at one point fifteen. A little
bit of a surprise to me.

Speaker 2 (15:45):
I would agree with that. I think Cody Simon certainly
made his mark on Ohio State and the College Football Playoff.
He saved his best for last, and when you're talking
about going into your draft eligibility year, what a way
to do it. I think that. I mean, he had
demonstrated his leadership and was rewarded with the block O

(16:09):
jersey and well respected by his coaches and teammates, and
I think his play on the field, I mean, he
certainly came up big this past season for O High State,
So yeah, it was kind of a surprise that he
was picking round number four.

Speaker 1 (16:23):
His best season, clearly leader, clearly makes made some big plays. Still,
the concern I have with him at the next level
is he missed a bunch of tackles at the college level.

Speaker 2 (16:35):
Yeah, we'll see how Arizona decides to use him.

Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yeah, at one twenty two, still in round four, Laythan
Ransom went to the Carolina Panthers.

Speaker 2 (16:46):
And this is a guy that I think, you know,
was kind of underrated just because of the fact that
he played in the same defensive backfield as Caleb Downs,
all the notoriety, all the hype that I think Lathan
Ransom kind of flew under the radar, and so similar

(17:07):
to what we were just talking about with Cody Simon,
I think it'll be interesting to see what role he
has in the Carolina defense.

Speaker 1 (17:13):
Yeah, one pick later, Jack Sawyer went to the Steelers,
a team that's I mean, they know what they're doing
when it comes to drafting defensive players. So to have
Jack Sawyer fault to them, they had to been pinching themselves.

Speaker 2 (17:27):
Yeah, unfortunately. This is where as a Cleveland Browns fan
where I just become the exasperation. I know that the
Browns did pick Quinchwn Judkins, but this is kind of
what I talk about, is that somehow, some way, the
Pittsburgh Steelers find these very talented Buckeyes and bring them
over the Pittsburgh and then the Browns have to face

(17:49):
them twice a year, and usually on the losing end
of it. And it just makes you wonder what the
powers that be in Maria, Ohio, where the Browns front
office is located, why they can't seem to look at
their roster and see, oh Pittsburgh Steelers seemed to draft
Ohio state players regularly and.

Speaker 1 (18:11):
Routinely yeah, and do well with them exactly. That was
it for round four. In the fifth round, Ty Hamilton
went to the Rams in the in pick Good to
see Ty Hamilton land, and Tye was not shy about
tweeting out to the Rams Rams fans, you just got

(18:33):
a dog.

Speaker 2 (18:36):
I think Ty Hamilton he similar to what I was
saying earlier about Tyler Blooms very underrated. I know we're
going to talk about the High State spring game later on.
But the interior defensive line we were just talking about
Jack Sawyer, were talking about JT. Twoey mol while I
think the interior of the High State defensive line was
just kind of, I don't want to say completely taken

(18:57):
for granted, but you know, just the fact that they
were steady performers. Ty Hamilton is the kind of guy
that I'm not suggesting that he's going to come in
and start for the Rams, but I could see him
making that team and just being a solid player for
the Rams, depending on how they want to use him.

Speaker 1 (19:16):
Yeah, I think he'll make the team and at least
the practice squad, but I think he'll make the the roster.
Jordan Hancock also went in the fifth round at one seventy.
He went to the Bills. Unfortunately, that's another thing I
got to deal with him in my divisions.

Speaker 2 (19:32):
Well, that's it. I think Jordan Hancock, It's going to
be interesting to see this coming year with Ohio State,
what kind of impact the secondary I think that I
want to I want to preface this by saying I
think the Ohio State overall the defense is going to
be fine, But Jordan Hancock was one of those guys
he could kind of fluctuate between corner and safety and

(19:54):
so just being able to see, you know, what kind
of an impact his life will be on the High
State secondary. But I think the Bills got themselves a
good one.

Speaker 1 (20:05):
Denzel Burke chip falls all the way down to one
seventy four in the fifth round. This is a guy
who a lot of people thought would have been a
first round pick after this year. Maybe should have came
out last year.

Speaker 2 (20:16):
As it turns out, maybe he should have, but I'm
happy he didn't. Obviously for the High State for the
High State National championship season, we talked earlier about you
know his we talked about Tess Johnson. Maybe this was
a you know what all the NFL teams were fixated on.

(20:37):
I think Denzel Burke certainly does not lack for confidence,
and this might be the kind of thing where, you know,
falling to the fifth round, he might use this as
motivation to demonstrate, hey, I should have been picked earlier
than the fifth round.

Speaker 1 (20:51):
Maybe he will and when he's playing well, there there
were few better than him. Obviously, you had a tough
game at Oregon last year, and some individual place here
and there other than that, but for the most part,
he had another really solid season.

Speaker 2 (21:05):
I agree.

Speaker 1 (21:07):
The sixth round is where Will Howard finally was taking
pick one eighty five to the Steelers. Again, this is
a good place for him to go. He won't be
rushed into service, He'll be able to learn the craft
as a professional, and he we know he's the kind
of kid that will do that right. And I think
this could end up being a steal for the Steelers

(21:27):
because I don't know, Chip, I feel like that Will
Howard's got the tools and the intelligence to start in
the NFL somewhere.

Speaker 2 (21:37):
Well, I certainly do. And I think the fact that
he's from Pennsylvania. Now, granted he Will Howard freely admitted
he grew up more of an Eagles fan, but I'm
sure changing his allegiance to the Steelers is not going
to be a problem. The fact that he's going to
have Jack Sawyer there to kind of commiserate with. Will

(21:58):
Howard is in a very good situation because the coaching staff,
just the entire organization has been a model of stability
for years. I think the fact that Mason Rudolph is
the only i'd say legitimate candidate to probably emerge as
the starter for the Steelers means that it would not

(22:22):
be surprising to see Will Howard challenge for the number
two backup position. And so I'm not suggesting that he's
going to have necessarily a long career as a starter,
but I think, you know, we've seen other Ohio State
quarterbacks like Mike Tomzak who played for the Steelers for

(22:42):
a number of years, that I think he's in a
tremendous environment where he certainly can compete eventually for the
starting position at Pittsburgh, possibly this season. And I just
think that he's in a great environment where there's not
gonna be a lot of pressure on him, considering he's
a six round draft choice.

Speaker 1 (23:03):
Yeah, no pressure at all. And I agree with all
of that. In fact, I even agree with the comparison
to Mike Thomsack. I think that there are similarities between
their games a little bit.

Speaker 2 (23:15):
Yeah, I mean he's certainly, I think, physically bigger. You
know the fact that you know, it's one of these
things where Will Howard was called upon more of a runner,
you know, when he was at Kansas State than he
was at Ohio State. But I mean his he will
always be cherished by Ohio State fans for his play

(23:38):
during the college football playoff run to the National Championships.
So the fact that he's playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers,
like I said earlier about my frustration with the Browns,
you know, overlooking him, I had just kind of I
had accepted the fact, you know, just all of the
Steveland Brown's pre draft buzz, whenever they were talking about

(23:58):
quarterbacks that they were interested in, Will Howard's name was
never mentioned, which was which was upsetting. And so the
fact that the Pittsburgh Steelers selected him, and now the
Cleveland Browns, the potential that they will have to face
Will Howard twice a year and have him probably be
successful against them is just one of those things that's
going to be very galling.

Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yeah, and he gets to go home to Pennsylvania.

Speaker 2 (24:26):
Exactly like I said. The video clip that of him,
because Will Howard has never been shy about showing his emotion. Uh,
there's a video clip of him as the pick is
being announced of him and I and I I think
it's tremendous that he openly just started, you know, weeping
from joy, and his mother you know, nearby him started crying,

(24:49):
you know, like the fact that he was just so
excited for you know, the fact that he was selected,
and like you said, Mike, uh either he's he's he
gets to go home to Pennsylvania. I think it's just outstanding.

Speaker 1 (25:02):
Yeah, four picks before Will Howard gots taken, former Ohio
state quarterback Kyle McCord went to the Eagles the other
end of the state, and that's a lot closer to
where Will Howard's from exactly.

Speaker 2 (25:18):
Well, Kyle McCord did play for you know, Philadelphia Saint
Jose in high school. Yeah, so in a matter of speaking,
you could say that, you know, he's he also kind
of gets to go home.

Speaker 1 (25:29):
He does.

Speaker 2 (25:30):
In a matter of just style, I would have figured
that Will Howard would have been with with the way
that the Eagles like to involve Jalen Hurts in the
run game. Like, I would just think that Will Howard
would would have fit their style much better. But I am.
I am genuinely happy for Kyle McCord. He had a
really good year at Syracuse and like I said, you know,

(25:51):
in a matter of speaking, he gets to go home
and sit behind and compete for a position as a
backup quarterback behind Jalen Hurts for Theiladelphia Eagles.

Speaker 1 (26:01):
Now, Kyle, congrats you. You had a great year. You
got drafted ahead of Will Howard, but you didn't win
the national championship. Certainly, speaking of former buck Eyes, Quinn
Ewers was selected in the seventh round by the Miami
Dolphins at two thirty one overall. And the Dolphins are

(26:22):
not a serious franchise. They don't know what they're doing.

Speaker 2 (26:27):
Well, what I feel genuinely sorry for as it relates
to Quinn Ewers taking the Miami Dolphins out of the
equation is that somebody posted It was just I think
a random thing on Twitter that somebody posted. Whoever has
been advising Quinn Youers during his football career has just

(26:50):
guided him terribly wrong. Because the point that this individual
made is they said he was encouraged to graduate a
year early from high school so he could take advantage
of nil opportunities. So then he decided. Now I'm not

(27:10):
sure if the same individual encouraged him, but it wouldn't
be surprising, okay, to transfer from Ohio State to go
back to Texas. And so if he had stayed at
Ohio State, who knows how his career could have possibly
been improved. And then the fact that it didn't surprise
me that he declared for the NFL Draft. But the

(27:33):
simple reality is that by falling to the seventh round,
he actually made more money from NIL than he will
from his rookie NFL contract if he makes the team.

Speaker 1 (27:45):
He could have transferred back to Ohio State and made
more money than he'll make this year.

Speaker 2 (27:50):
That's if. Yeah, I never ever thought that that was
a possibility, but you're right. I think he could have
gone to another team and certainly made more money than.

Speaker 1 (27:59):
Yeah, yeah, it didn't have to be a Ohio State.
It just would have been extremely interesting to see if
he had to expressed interest. What what that would have
done at the Woody Hayes Athletic Complex. You know what
would would they have been interested? Obviously they've got a
lot invested in Julian saying Lincoln Keenholes is the backup.
You got Tavin Saint Clair coming in. But you know,

(28:24):
I still think there's a lot of raw material there
with Quinn. You were as he could he could be better.
I think there. I think we saw a lot of
you know, a lot of in the in the build
up to the college football playoffs. We heard a lot
of the flaws in his game, like if the if
the first read is there, he's he's great, you know.

(28:44):
Or if he can throw in rhythm, he's great. But
if you take that first thing away and make him
have to survey the field, that's when things break down
for him. We saw that in the National in the
semi final.

Speaker 2 (28:57):
Certainly. Yeah, I think he you know, he grew up,
he grew up a fan of the Longhorns, But I'm
just not sure if his development really took place down
and down in Austin.

Speaker 1 (29:10):
That's just my opinion. Yeah, all right, here's some Buckeyes
that did not get drafted. Seth McLaughlan uh signed with
the Bengals, another place where you may have to deal
with him twice a year.

Speaker 2 (29:24):
Yeah, uh yeah, kind of what we talked about earlier.
I think, uh, you know, I think it unfortunate that
achilles injury at the end of November. I think that's
what cost him an illegitimate draft slot.

Speaker 1 (29:35):
Yeah, it's too bad for him that he didn't get
to live that dream of getting that phone call on
draft day and everything. But he'll be all right mm
hm exactly. Josh Briar, as you mentioned, signed with the Cardinals.
Good spot for him. Can he stick? I mean, you're

(29:55):
not allowed to hold in the NFL. You're not allowed
to to have false starts in the EN either, so
Josh may want to clean some things up.

Speaker 2 (30:05):
Yeah. Like I said, though, I think he's in a
good spot with Justin Brye there and.

Speaker 1 (30:09):
Gee Scott Junior. You mentioned Mike Vrabel is in New
England now, so why not.

Speaker 2 (30:17):
I think G.

Speaker 1 (30:18):
Scott Junior also is a guy who could have been
drafted in the sixth or seventh round at least very
intriguing prospect.

Speaker 2 (30:27):
I would think, Yeah, I think it might have been
just maybe, and this is just purely hypothetical on my part,
is perhaps there were concerns about, you know, his his blocking.
That's not to say that he's a bad blocker, but
maybe that that would be something that NFL teams kind
of felt other tight end prospects were better at. But

(30:51):
I think he certainly has the athleticism. We were talking
earlier about the Texas game. You know that you know,
he one of the most underrated plays. You know that
was crucial and that that win Bio High State over Texas.
G Scott caught a caught a pass and just by
sheer determination and effort was able to lunge ahead get

(31:12):
a you know, get a crucial first down. So talented individual,
and you know now that now that these guys are
selected by NFL teams or signing rookie contracts, now the
mindset has to be all right, this is this is
your livelihood and you have to compete for it. And
I think the nice thing is for all of them
is that when you're playing against a talent Leyden roster

(31:37):
like Ohio State has, as well as their their competition,
I think that they are very well prepared to make
it in the NFL.

Speaker 1 (31:46):
Yeah, I think so too. G Scott's a guy who
you know, he's in a position now where it's tight
ends aren't what they once were in the NFL. You've
got blocking tight ends, you've got receiving tight ends. These
are there are very few that are excelling at both
things these days. So there it's almost like a specialized
position now that it wasn't in years past. Years past,

(32:07):
you had to be able to block, you had to
be able to catch, and now maybe you don't need
to be able to catch all that, well, if you're
a great blocker, maybe you don't need to necessarily block
all that well, if you're a great receiver. And g
Scott obviously former wide receiver, so with that body size
and everything and his athleticism, I would have thought, you know,

(32:27):
maybe he gets drafted, but no, in fact, he ends
up in New England though, and they seem to know
what they're doing most of the time as.

Speaker 2 (32:34):
Well, exactly. And I think Mike Rabel, I'm not suggesting
that he's going to play any favorites, you know, but
the fact that Mike Rabel probably has, as you know,
well of an understanding in terms of with Ohio state connections.
I think that g Scott is on a roster that's

(32:57):
it's in the rebuilding phase, and so I think he's
in a to have legitimate opportunities to make that roster.

Speaker 1 (33:03):
Yeah, all right, Chef, anything surprising about any of this
to you or any other points.

Speaker 2 (33:10):
Of interest, No, I think we I mean we kind
of talked about, you know, it's unfortunate about seth mnclaughlin.
But congratulations to the fourteen individuals who were drafted to
the three players who have already signed their their rookie
free agent contracts, and it'll be interesting to see when
the NFL with the preseason and the schedule is going

(33:32):
to be released on May fourteenth. I believe that, you know,
finding out you know, who's going to be, you know,
possibly playing on certain dates. Now my focus turns into
kind of keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that all
of them make their teams and have lengthy NFL careers.

Speaker 1 (33:51):
Yeah, that's either that or some of them get traded
to Miami for future low round draft picks.

Speaker 2 (33:59):
There's something like that.

Speaker 1 (34:00):
Yeah, something like that. All right, we got plenty to
talk about still to come, including that spring game. Why
don't we get to those other topics right after this?
All right, Chip, we are back, and why don't we
talk a little bit about black stripe removal.

Speaker 2 (34:22):
Okay, absolutely, it's one of those things where we're, as
you said, we are in the off season kind of
you know, so it's the black stripes are going to
be the removals will be dormant until the end of
the end of the summer, because that's when I shouldn't

(34:46):
say the end of the summer. August is still very
much in the summer.

Speaker 1 (34:49):
But till till preseason camp until.

Speaker 2 (34:52):
Preseason camp exactly. And so there have been a number
of individuals that were their black stripe were removed during
the end of March until the beginning of April, right
before the High State spring game.

Speaker 1 (35:08):
Yeah, we've had a few people getting their their black
stripe removals and these are now fully accepted members of
the Ohio State Buck guys.

Speaker 2 (35:22):
So we're going to start with Miles Lockhart. He was
a freshman who has red shirted cornerback that last year.
So he is just like a lot of other players
on the roster, slowly but surely making his move up
the depth chart. But as you said, Michael, the fact

(35:43):
that when they have their black stripe removed, that means
they're considered to be full members of the team that
are ready to be called upon if necessary for game action.
So Miles Lockhart had his black stripe removed at the
end of March. A familiar name to Ohio State fans,
simply because this is somebody who caught the eyes of

(36:06):
Ohio State fans when he joined the team via the
transfer portal. Max Claire, the tight end who came over
to Ohio State from Purdue, also had his black striper
moved at the end of March, and we'll talk about
the spring game performance here. In a little bit kind
of a surprise, I thought that maybe this one snuck

(36:29):
under the radar that I just missed last season, because
he actually contributed last year, albeit as a red shirt
defensive lineman. And that is Dominic Kirks defensive end. He
had his at the beginning of April. Another red shirt
freshman defensive lineman, Eric Mensa at the beginning of April.

(36:51):
So we're talking about a couple guys that are going
to be in the rotation, but not necessarily in the
starting rotation, starting depth chart, possibly more than likely one
of the true freshmen. This is the only true freshman
who so far to this point has had his black

(37:12):
stripe removed, and he had some moments in the in
the Ohio State spring game. And that is wide receiver
Quincy Porter had his black stripe removed. And the last
one that I want to bring up is it's a
This is a big one literally and is Ethan Oneonwall
the offensive tackle came over from Rice. He's the projected

(37:37):
starter at the left tackle position. He had his his
black stripe removed. Now you're probably thinking, Okay, well, you know, Chip,
what why is that important? Like you said, it's kind
of more of a symbolic thing that Okay, your teammates
kind of have have I don't want to say accepted you,
but that they believe that. Okay, if we go into

(37:59):
games situations you're ready to play. And you're probably thinking,
all right, well, oneon Wah was always going to start,
not necessarily, you know, like he just it's one of
these things where just because you come in versus in
via the transfer portal doesn't mean that you're guaranteed anything.
You have to earn your position on the on the
on the depth chart and oneon wall by the end

(38:22):
of the spring, like we're going to be talking about
the spring game. By the end of the spring was
starting at the at the left tackle position. But the
fact that he had his blackstripe removed is kind of
a is kind of a big deal within the team.

Speaker 1 (38:34):
Yeah, big, big deal, big man. And as you mentioned,
and yeah, this is good because it means that they're
they're coming in and they're putting in the work right away.

Speaker 2 (38:44):
Oh yeah, I mean Onion wa Is. He's listed at
six foot six, three hundred and thirty five pounds. Now,
as massive as that sounds and is, keep in mind
that he's lost thirty pounds since he arrived in Columbus,
So you're taught. I mean, like I it's and that

(39:07):
is not meant I'm not saying that is not meant
to sound mocking or disparaging of Ethan only Onwa. Yeah,
it is that, it is. It was one of these
things where on social media, you know, we're talking about
you know, for example, the people that have come over
via the transfer portal, you know, Ethionianua and Philip Daniels,

(39:29):
who you know is I guess you could say he's
probably like second on the depth chart at maybe at
the right tackle position. Presently, there were people that were
watching these guys because they were not necessarily you know,
like participating in practice, but you know, attending practice. People
would look at them, the High State beat writers, and

(39:53):
they would just kind of look at each other like
these guys are just massive, and they were you know
both you know, Dan and Oneonwa. The fact that they
were brought over in the transfer portal, it's going to
be interesting to see, you know, what kind of impact
they can have on that offensive line.

Speaker 1 (40:11):
Yeah, well, congrats to everybody getting their black stripes off.
We won't have any more of that for a.

Speaker 2 (40:16):
While, Nope, not till August, like you said.

Speaker 1 (40:19):
Yeah, but one thing we can talk about is that
there have been some transfer portal additions since our last show.
Bo Atkinson has joined. He's an edge rusher and then,
of course also an offensive lineman Justin Terry from West Virginia.
These are positions of needs so good that Ryan Day

(40:41):
was able to pluck a couple of guys out of
the portal.

Speaker 2 (40:44):
Yeah. I mean, I'm not sure if you happen to
see it, or if any of our listeners happened to
see it, but I did enjoy a comment that I
saw from Coach Day about the fact that Ohio State
did not lose any of their scholarship at players via
the transfer portal. Some of the some of the walk
on players decided to enter the transfer portal and wish

(41:06):
them well. Uh, but the fact that none of the
scholarship players entered the transfer portal that that window is closed.
And Ryan Day said how he kind of woke up
the day after that with like a slight hey, because
you know, having having a beer and kind of just
probably I'm sure exhaling, like, okay, you know, we got

(41:27):
through the transfer portal window without losing any of the
scholarship guys. But getting back to the additions with Justin Terry,
he's a red shirt freshman. Like you said, what I
like about this is not only a position of need,
he's you know, it almost sounds like a broken record.
We were just talking about Ethan Oneanwa. He's listed at
six five, three hundred and thirty eight pounds, he red

(41:49):
shirted his freshman year. He's gonna he's gonna be a
guy that coming in after spring practice. Now he's gonna
be a low low man on the depth chart, but
he's going to be able to be that valuable depth
that Ohio State needs along the offensive line. And then
as far as bo Atkinson, here's a guy that you

(42:12):
know was highly was highly considered recruit. It came down
to Ohio State or Georgia. So the fact that Ohio
State was able to secure his services is a good thing.
The Ohio State defensive line the biggest concern I would have,
And when we start talking about the spring game, it's
not necessarily the past rushers. It's we just talked about

(42:34):
earlier with the guys that are going up to the
NFL would be the interior defensive line. So just because
the transfer portal to enter it has closed does not
mean that that Ohio State cannot possibly add additional players.
There are some some players that are still considering Ohio
State that that visited Ohio State. The hope is that

(42:54):
maybe some interior defensive linemen might consider coming to Ohio
State because I think that's a depth area that I
say it's concerned about.

Speaker 1 (43:02):
Yeah, well, the spring game is a good place for
us to talk a little bit about that. But the
the last piece before we get to that is that
the Buckeyes did go visit the Tesla dealership in Washington,
d c UH where Vice President JD. E Vance fumbled

(43:23):
the trophy badly and like really came close to dropping
it on the foot of an NFL bound player.

Speaker 2 (43:34):
Fortunately, kab On Henderson demonstrated his his composure and and
good good hands cap catching the top portion of the trophy.
Somebody must have somebody must have forgotten to give the
vice president the memo that the trophy actually is in
two pieces. But fortunately you know that the trophy wasn't destroyed.

(44:00):
I'm happy for the players, all kidding aside, because I mean,
it is an honor to be given an opportunity to
go to the White House, and I'm sure it's certainly
a memory that they will not forget, notwithstanding the Vice
president's near mistake of fumbling the National Championship trophy.

Speaker 1 (44:22):
Yeah, I'm just I'm glad Trayvon Henderson was. Okay, if
that base of that thing had landed on his foot
and cost him his rookie season, it would have well,
I guess just been another thing in a long list
of things. And we can believe it at that and
move on exactly exactly, all right, Chip the spring game,

(44:42):
how was the weather?

Speaker 2 (44:44):
It was crisp, it was, And by that, okay, I
am saying, you know, if any of our listeners want to,
you know, challenge me on this one. It was. First
of all, it was a beautiful sunny day, but it
was it was about fifty degrees fifty five, you.

Speaker 1 (45:00):
Know, so good football weather.

Speaker 2 (45:02):
Yeah, good football weather. You know, it's the kind of
thing where you know, in years past, and it's just
it's just the nature of Ohio weather. I mean, I'm
not gonna I'm not gonna, you know, try to suggest otherwise.
There are there are times where the spring game can
be you know, like sixty five seventy seventy five degrees beautiful,

(45:22):
you know, like it's outstanding, you know, T shirt and
shorts weather. And then there are times where I was
I was telling my son that I remember it's it's
it's kind of scary to think about this, but it was,
you know, twenty years ago the two thousand and five
a high State spring game where it was sleeping and
it was just absolutely miserable. And this was pretty big

(45:43):
ten network days. So of course, you know, being the
stalwart that I am, like I have to go to
the high State spring game, of course, you know, like
cause it's so important. But I'm happy. I'm happy to
go because it just gives an opportunity to see some
of the incoming talent. We were talking about Ethan Oneonwall

(46:05):
and Quincy Porter and you know other people that that
we can talk about here momentarily. But it's just kind
of a reminder that you know, the all right, a
lot of the talented players. I get where Ryan Day
was coming from me that when he said in the
days leading up to it, He's like, Oh, we're gonna jokingly,
we're gonna have to ask the n C doua A
for five more weeks because really the reality is is that, yeah,

(46:28):
High State still has an abundance of talent, but it's
it's an experience. And I could see where as a
coach wanting as many practice rep opportunities for a team.
H I could see, you know why, having a DVR
at Ryan Day immediately afterwards to tips pol was like, Oh,

(46:49):
we got a lot of work to do. It's like, okay,
there's It's always the pessimism is always going to reign
supreme within any coaching staff.

Speaker 1 (46:57):
Yeah. Uh so let's talk about the game itself. The
game was interesting from the perspective that the quarterbacks mostly
played really well in this game, Julian saying, certainly, to
me stood out the most among the three quarterbacks that
we were wanting to see in this game. I also

(47:18):
thought though that Lincoln Keenhols did some good things, and
I think even David Saint Clair did some good things
as well. And you know, he of course made the
biggest mistakes, but he is also the least experienced of
the three.

Speaker 2 (47:31):
I think I think your assessment is very accurate. I
would say that when it comes to the players themselves,
you know, speaking about the quarterbacks, I would agree that
I think Julian Saying looked the best. I thought that
Lincoln Keenholtz started.

Speaker 1 (47:47):
Out nervous, Yeah, you look nervous.

Speaker 2 (47:52):
His game improved, Yeah, to be I'd say, if not
necessarily exactly on par with Julians say, And it was
pretty close. So I think if I was, if I
was handicapping it, I would say that, all right, going
into since we're so close to we're talking about the
Ohio State spring game in the NFL Draft, since we're

(48:12):
still relatively close to the masters, I would say like saying,
is the leader in the clubhouse, but by no means
you know, is he? I would say that keen Holts.
There were rumblings and reports of Keenholts outperforming Saying in
other practices, So I would feel good if I was
linking keen Holts. I would think that, by no, by

(48:35):
no stretch of the imagination, are you out of this?
I think that that's going to be a legitimate quarterback competition.
And as far as Tavian Saint Clair, yeah, I mean
the the Jitters the bad mistakes, but he's a battler.
I think by the end of the game that you
know that, yeah, he you know, made some bad mistakes
and interceptions and all that. But you know, a few

(48:57):
things to remember about him is not only being a
Tree freshman. He played the high school that he played at,
Bell Fountain is a relatively small district. And that's not
I'm not taking shots at that. It's just that when
you think about the kind of level of competition that
he played at at Bell Fountain versus what he's seeing

(49:18):
in practice, I mean, it's going to force him to
elevate his game. But I if I as an Ohio
State fan, I am truly excited about the potential. I
think that the raw just raw talent. I mean the size,
the arm, strength, the mobility, all those things. He'll get better.
And that's that's kind of what you why you have
coaches on this on the payroll. And the nice thing

(49:41):
about the upcoming season is that he's going to get
and I think ample opportunity probably in the non conference
to play and get better.

Speaker 1 (49:50):
Now, the other thing that stood out Chip is that
the run game looked very good.

Speaker 2 (49:55):
Very good. The fact that James People's had a few
areas and was politely told, okay, you were done for
the day. That that okay. C J. Donaldson very impressive burst.
He's one of those guys that came in with kind
of a reputation of being a power back. And that's
not to suggest that he doesn't have power to his game,
but he's lost weight. I think he's he's gained explosion.

(50:21):
So I think he's probably you know, if you know,
I guess back number two. You know, since we were
just talking earlier about Judkins and Henderson, I could see
how he would probably be the next guy in the rotation.
And not to put too much on him, but as
a true freshman, I thought bo Jackson had some impressive moments.
I think, yeah, that carries I'm happy to see Sam

(50:41):
Williams Dixon has you know that he came back into
the fold. He had entered the transfer portal, came back.
So he's probably your number four. But I think all
all four running backs, I think the position is in
really good POSI really good shape, I should say. As
we go into fall camp.

Speaker 1 (51:01):
Yeah, I was impressed. I mean, if you lose a
Henderson and a Judkins it's really hard to reload, even
if you're Ohio State. But to see the way that McDonald,
Bran and Bo Jackson ran and Sam Williams Dixon ran,
they all look very, very good. And of course the
other side of that is people were saying that the
interior defensive line didn't look good. And it's kind of

(51:23):
hard to judge the defense in a game like this
where you're not really allowed to tackle in a lot
of instances and you know, you're you're sort of you're
sort of already playing at about seventy five percent because
of that rule, So it's kind of hard to know

(51:45):
if you should be concerned about it. But I thought
that Mensa and Edric Houston flashed for me.

Speaker 2 (51:51):
Yeah, the starters are not the issue, I think. I mean, like, yeah,
I think I think that Edwick Huston as a very
bright future. I think, you know, obviously Kate McDonald is
going to be another guy that's going to be counted
on at the starting position. Yeah, like it's going to
be one of these things where all right, they can't

(52:12):
play every down. So that's where I think, as Ryan
Day said, you know, the defensive line seemed to get
knocked back. I think is the way that he referred
to it post game that they had him concerned. But
would it be that would I think, uh, Ohio State,
you know, like if they were to be able to

(52:33):
say to you know, like the other one hundred and
thirty coaches around the country, like, hey, do you want
to trade our defensive line? You know for years? I
think you know, Ohio State is in very good position.
I think, you know, like the talent is there. It's
just that I think that the depth would be the
I don't want to say it's it's concerning, but that
would be the only thing that I would say that

(52:55):
I could see where Ryan Day would want to would
want to augment it.

Speaker 1 (52:59):
How is that We talked a little bit about Max
Claire earlier. This is a guy who really flashed in
the spring game quite a bit, to the point where
you almost believe this is the year of the tight end.
We say it every year, you almost believe it. You
can't really believe it because with that wide receiver room,
you're always going to try to throw to the wide

(53:20):
receivers first. But if they if they committed to using
the space that the wide receivers provide, Max Clair is
the kind of guy who could he could have a
thousand yard season with the other weapons out there that
they have.

Speaker 2 (53:38):
Oh, certainly, yeah, I mean, let's face it, Yeah, the
Ohio State the year of the tight end. I mean,
it's always it's always a nice thing. But he certainly,
he certainly flashed. I thought Nate Roberts is a true freshman.
And now keep in mind true freshman. Want to emphasize

(54:00):
we were talking earlier about tav Saint Clair. I thought
Nate Roberts is a true freshman that enrolled early. I
thought he had some moments. Max LeBlanc had some up
and down moments at tight end obviously. You know, when
it comes to the tight end position, it's one of
these things where I mean, I think you said it
very well earlier about you know, you're not going to

(54:22):
be called upon exclusively to be a receiver or a blocker,
you know, kind of a mix of both. What's nice
is with Max Claire is that you've got a guy
that is a legitimate weapon who on a I don't
want to call it a rebuilding team, but a team
that with inexperienced quarterbacks. It wouldn't be surprising if in

(54:42):
the early. This is just my just my thought is
in the early part of the year that trying to
get your relatively inexperienced quarterbacks uh to feel a little bit,
you know, a little more at ease, that the High
State offense may rely upon the the running game more
in the early part of the season, which opens itself

(55:04):
up to play action passing, which opens itself up to
a guy like Max Clair being a legitimate weapon. You know,
when it comes to who do we cover. The wide
receivers are are difficult enough to handle, but now you've
got Max Claire, you know, on seam routes that are
that almost impossible to cover.

Speaker 1 (55:24):
I mean, if you're going to have those wide receivers
Tate and Smith and Ennis, keep those, if you're going
to keep those safety split to try to cut the
field down, Max Claire is going to go right up
between the middle of certainly.

Speaker 2 (55:39):
Yeah. I mean it's because he demonstrated at Purdue that
he was a legitimate recept receiving threat, and I realized
this is this is going to sound like a shot
across the bow at Purdue. But you know, when it
comes to the offensive weaponry, they didn't have nearly what

(55:59):
Ohio States. So the fact that you know, now he's
on a team that, like you just said, you know,
with Tate, with Smith, with Innis, you know, not even
counting you know, like a possibility of like one of
the one of the very talented tailbacks you know, coming
out of the backfield. It I think Max claire Is
is primed to have a really good year for Ohio

(56:21):
State in twenty twenty five. It could be the year
of the tight end, as you said.

Speaker 1 (56:25):
Could be the year of the tight end. If it's not,
there's another guy who flashed in the spring game that
I think could have a breakout year and that's Milon Graham.

Speaker 2 (56:34):
Yeah, red shirt freshman. And you know we talk about
this all the time. I mean it's just like the
rich just keep getting richer. When you know, he was
a guy that during the recruiting process came to a
couple of years ago, came to their high of state
summer camp and was you know, everyone was kind of
like who's this kid and did enough to impress Brian

(56:58):
Hartline in the Ohio State coaching state to warrant a
scholarship offer, which he accepted and then lo and Behold
went back home to Indiana, was tearing it up on
the high school fields there and was offered by anyone
and everyone, but he stuck with his Ohio State commitment.
It was just simply the logjam of talent at the

(57:18):
high state wide receiver position. The fact that he, like
you said, he flashed in the spring game. He's going
to be one of these guys that you know, just
trying to keep him involved because there's when we talk
about the projected starters. I think mylond Graham would certainly
have to rank his number four as a guy that's

(57:39):
going to be being called upon certainly in games for
Ohio State this season.

Speaker 1 (57:45):
He's going to be pushing the bottom of that starting trio.
He's going to be pushing for playing time against Innis
and against Tate. He's not going to beat Jeremiah Smith out,
but he's got that kind of talent that he could
challenge the other two for minutes.

Speaker 2 (58:02):
I agree with that. I think, you know, it's one
of these things where it just depends on how they
want to use him. And Brian Hartline certainly likes to
cross train the receivers that he doesn't want them necessarily
to focus in on one position. So it's entirely possible
that that he could be the legitimate backup to like

(58:23):
you said, to Tate to Ennis and you know, being
called on in various substitution packages.

Speaker 1 (58:30):
All right, well we'll talk about the defense a little
bit too. I know they you know, most of the
headlines were about the offensive players, some of the defensive
players who flashed for me early in the game, obviously
because he did't play a lot of snaps. Sunny Styles
look good.

Speaker 2 (58:46):
Yeah, Sunny Styles. I mean it's you know, it's going
to be a it's going to be a major surprise.
I will say this if he doesn't get the block.
Oh we were talking earlier about Cody Simon wearing it.
I think it's it's pretty much written in the stars
that that that it's going to be Sonny Styles. You know,
you're talking about future captain. I think he's he's certainly

(59:09):
settled in to be a leader on that Ohio State defense.

Speaker 1 (59:13):
Yeah. Aaron Scott Junior was another player who I thought
looked good. It broke up a touchdown pass, had made
several plays in this game.

Speaker 2 (59:22):
Yeah, he's exceptionally talented. He was a guy that last
year just because of just the talent in the in
the secondary as A as a true freshman, didn't get
as much playing time I'm sure as much as he
would have liked. But he certainly does not lack for confidence.
He's he's very physical, so I think he's certainly going

(59:43):
to be in the rotation.

Speaker 1 (59:45):
So I talked about Eric Mensa earlier. Mensa had a
pressure quarterback pressure that led to an interception by Ikey Jones,
who great break on the ball, made a good play,
but Eric Mensa was at least partially responsible for that interception.

Speaker 2 (01:00:03):
Yeah, Eric Mensa, like I said, he's going to be
within that interior defensive line rotation. It's just a matter
of how often Ohio State wants to substitute out, but
he'll certainly be within that within that group. YEA.

Speaker 1 (01:00:18):
A couple other guys who flashed for me. Lorenzo Styles
Junior made a nice pass breakup down the sideline on
Myland Graham Jalen McClain broke up a pass in the
end zone that was almost caught by Johnnie Thurman. It
was like all but caught and he pulled it out
of there. And then again I think speaking of transfer guys,
I thought Logan George pressured the quarterback a couple of

(01:00:40):
successive plays, and linebacker Peyton Pierce had a couple of
big pops.

Speaker 2 (01:00:45):
Yeah. I'm really happy for Logan George, just simply because
of the fact that coming from an FCS program, and
from what I understand, other big time programs like Oklahoma
had had expressed an interest in him. But the fact
that he was able to come in during the winter time,

(01:01:06):
during the conditioning and obviously in the spring game and
demonstrate that he can compete at this level. So at
that defensive end position, I thought he looked good. As
far as Lorenzo Styles Junior, I think you're looking at
him as the projected starter at the in the nickel position.
You know, you talked earlier about Jalen McLain. He's a

(01:01:27):
guy that's going to be in the rotation at the
safety position. We already know. You know, Caleb Downs is starting.
He's the guy news news flash. Yeah, but you know,
I think that McClain is certainly going to be a
factor at that safety position. So it the the talent

(01:01:48):
is there, it's just inexperienced.

Speaker 1 (01:01:50):
Yeah, all right, check any other further final thoughts on
the spring game. As an attendee of this event.

Speaker 2 (01:01:58):
I would say to it, and I mean all kidding
aside about the year of the tight end and all
those kind of things, if I had to assess the
Ohio State talent based on you know what you see
in a very controlled environment, I mean, you're not gonna
do too much. You know, like the first commandment of
any spring game, I don't care what season we're talking

(01:02:20):
about for is a football is nobody gets hurt that
that was fulfilled. We talked earlier about the transfer portal.
No scholarship players entered, so that's another moment to truly
exhale if you're Ryan Day and your coaches, So that's
that's a good thing. But getting back to the spring game,

(01:02:41):
I would say that the talent that that you could
see on television or sitting there in the in the
in the stadium, that's a team that is going to
be in the college football playoff contention and discussion. And
by no means am I saying are they going to repeat?
I will simply say that the talent is there. It's
just a matter of getting the chemistry and the cohesiveness

(01:03:03):
developed over the summer and in the fall. Practices, but
that team is certainly going to be in the running
for a college football playoff spot.

Speaker 1 (01:03:12):
Yeah, and yeah, they may not repeat, but it would
be a lot cooler if they did well.

Speaker 2 (01:03:18):
Always would be cooler, absolutely all right.

Speaker 1 (01:03:21):
Well, and I'm also glad Chip that it was a
spring game and not a spring showcase.

Speaker 2 (01:03:26):
Well, that's the thing is that, you know, you were
talking earlier about the lack of I should say the
lack the lower attendance. That's kind of been part of
the speculation is that by calling it a showcase, but
that may have kind of dampened the enthusiasm for that.
I can only I can only say that, you know,

(01:03:48):
I was I was planning on going no matter what
they what they called it, just you know, just simply
because as I said earlier, it's I think any opportunity
to see some of the incoming talent, regardless whether we're
talking freshmen or transportal, is always something that I just
like to kind of get an idea as to what
it looks like. But you know, kind of to extrapolate
to other programs. I saw a screenshot of Nebraska and

(01:04:12):
they called, you know, they number one didn't televise it.
Number two they called they called it a spring showcase,
and it was I'm just gonna come out and say
it was embarrassing because you're talking about a very proud
fan base that historically Phill's Memorial Stadium Aunt Lincoln and
it was I mean, it was nothing. It was. It

(01:04:34):
was I mean hardly hardly anyone there. And I realized,
I understand, you know, every every coach, you know, Matt
Ruhle did what he thought was best for the program,
you know, by not televising it and all that. I
will just say that I think having it as a
traditional game is actually a good thing for your respective

(01:04:54):
program because speaking from an Ohio State perspective, I think
not only you know, for the fans, it gives you
an opportunity to bring you know, granted my children are older,
but you know, when they were, when they were younger,
that was was one of their fond memories of going
to Ohio State, you know, like being able to actually
be in in the stadium and then as if I

(01:05:17):
was a prospective recruit, you know, being able to if
it was a relatively full stadium. I would think from
the coach's mindset, it's like, hey, like this could be
you next year and just imagine what it's like when
the games are for real and all the stuff that
they would tell a recruit.

Speaker 1 (01:05:31):
So yeah, this is just these eighty five thousand, This
is just a spring game attendance exactly.

Speaker 2 (01:05:37):
Well, I've been there. I've been there in years past
when it was I mean when it was packed, you know,
and that's kind of you know, the fact that that
that that's kind of like I said, it was kind
of the the suspicion was all right, by calling it
a showcase earlier, did that kind of dampen the enthusiasm
and you know, going into like I said, I the
weather was fine, you know, I you know, you know

(01:06:01):
when you when you dress for it, you know, like
fifty degrees is nothing like you said, good football weather.
But you know it's one of these things where you
know sometimes where it's like when you look at the
weather forecast, you know, if you're thinking, oh it might
rain or whatever. Like I said, it was a beautiful
sunny day. It was a little crisp, it was it
was it was just an enjoyable, enjoyable way to spend

(01:06:22):
the day with my with my kids.

Speaker 1 (01:06:25):
All right, Chip, One final thing, we should talk about
before we get out of here. Very serious subject matter.
Ohio State no longer has an Apollos.

Speaker 2 (01:06:38):
I okay, I had heard that very very you know again,
it's just one of these things that the changing landscape
of Ohio State. I will say, as I mentioned a
few moments ago that my children are older, one of
the things that we did do is we did go
to the Outer Rim post game, which was well attended.

(01:07:02):
I don't think the spring meant anything to do with it.
I think it was a just because it was a
Saturday afternoon, but that was it was. It was nice. Uh,
the the bouncer, you know, after he carted my son
and he carted my daughter, he said he would he
would let it pass and let me go.

Speaker 1 (01:07:20):
Which was, Oh, that was nice of him.

Speaker 2 (01:07:22):
Very nice of him. I appreciated, uh, his generosity.

Speaker 1 (01:07:26):
The jokes on him because you're only nineteen.

Speaker 2 (01:07:27):
Exactly, you got it.

Speaker 1 (01:07:32):
You got away with it just for looking old. Chip. Yeah,
he knew that would come in handy someday.

Speaker 2 (01:07:39):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (01:07:39):
Yeah. I was just really bummed. I mean, I think
I think Apollos was there for something like four decades
maybe more, but obviously that was the place to go
and get dollar euros after the bars closed and it's
it's a campus institution. Man was well, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:07:58):
Yeah, yeah, I understand the sadness.

Speaker 1 (01:08:01):
I just it's that's what government bailouts should be all about,
saving places like that.

Speaker 2 (01:08:06):
Well, that's the thing. I mean. That was a conversation,
a conversation I had with with my son, because I
will say that my son is you know, now twenty
one being able to get into the outer end legitimately.
You know that because the outer end supposedly is one
of these places where, you know, if you have a

(01:08:27):
fake ID that I'm just going off of what I've
been told, sometimes it can wind up being taken from
you and there you are. You know, so he enjoyed
the outer ends. But I you know, getting back to
your point about you know, campus institutions, I mean I
get it. You know, it's a sad thing when you

(01:08:47):
know places that you've come to love and enjoy are
no longer there.

Speaker 1 (01:08:51):
Yeah, just even you know, I haven't been there since
my last trip to Columbus. I actually did stop in
and get a euro at Apollos few years ago, but
just knowing it was there was like, it's the same
as the beerstube. The beerstube closed, and that was just
knowing it was still there was like a comforting thing.

Speaker 2 (01:09:12):
I get it.

Speaker 1 (01:09:13):
I completely understand, and thankfully the outer end is still there.
You got it, all right, Chip, unless there's something else
on your mind. I think that's it for our April
twenty twenty five off season episode.

Speaker 2 (01:09:26):
Yeah, I think next month this is just this is
I don't want to call it a t's, but next
month we will be able to identify not all, but
several ISA kickoff times because in the next month is when,
by the end of May, is when networks start to

(01:09:48):
kind of I don't want to call it leak out,
but announce some of the early season kickoffs. So we'll
have a better understanding about some of the ISA kickoffs
for the twenty twenty five season.

Speaker 1 (01:10:01):
Yeah. Well, we've got May, June, July as off season months,
and then in August we're back to doing previews and
be back to a weekly schedule. So exciting stuff. As
we continue to meander and work our way through the
off season months, it hopes that we will have another

(01:10:24):
wonderful college football season ahead of us this fall. Exactly,
all right, Chip, where can people find you and your
work on the internet.

Speaker 2 (01:10:33):
I can be found on Twitter at Chip Midik. Name
is spelled I N n c H. I'm a contributor
to the Buckeye Huddle, so look for articles there. Usually
on Thursday afternoon evenings. You know, I find some kind
of a topic to discuss. It'll probably be something NFL

(01:10:54):
Draft related for this coming week.

Speaker 1 (01:10:56):
All right. You can follow me on Twitter or blue
Sky at Mike thirty Fan. You can read my stuff
at the land Grant holy Land site. That's Landgrant Holyland
dot com, and my columns usually drop on Monday. This week,
I wrote about the fact that Seth McLaughlin did not

(01:11:17):
get selected in the draft, and he is the first
Remington Trophy winner to not get drafted since twenty fourteen,
and it was the cause of Ohio State not being
able to tie Georgia for the most draft picks in
one draft of all time. So I'm a little a

(01:11:37):
little bit bitter about it. But you know, there'll be
other opportunities, I suppose, absolutely, all right, Chip, we will
be back in the month of May at least once.
We're going to go to our at least once a
month schedule here in the off season and we will
talk about all the news that's fit to discuss between

(01:11:58):
now and then looking forward to it. All right, well,
that's going to do it for this episode. You can
of course always write to us at Silver Bulletspod at
gmail dot com. Can also hit us up on Twitter
at silver Bullets Pod with no E and silver because
that's one too many characters and so we had to

(01:12:19):
take something out.

Speaker 2 (01:12:20):
We took.

Speaker 1 (01:12:21):
We chose to lose the E in silver, so s
I l v R Bullets Pod on Twitter and of
course make sure you're subscribed, and hey, leave us a
star rating and review. We would love that as well.
So thank you for listening. We'll be back next month.
The only thing left for us to do, Chip is
what we do at the end of every show, and
that is to say, go Bucks, Go Bucks.