DEPTH CHART BREAKDOWN / Ohio State Buckeyes LIVE 279

I am still trying to calm down from uh going off on poor scheduling it's been going on now for 30 years how that League cannot schedule all right we're talking Ohio State football here appreciate you all stopping by and uh we talk it up of course each and every Wednesday with Tony German from Buckeye huddle Buckeye weekly is the podcast that you need to lock in on Steve hellwagon senior Big 10 writer there at 247 Sports bucknuts so we will check in with Tony first and foremost on the quarterback situation because of course there is a press conference on Thursday and there is some anticipation as to uh it being a good time in which in the past there has been a starter named at this point so this could be the day could be the day uh we will uh when we talked with Brian day after the first practice back on H the 1st of August he said that he'd like to have somebody named within the seven to 10 days within the within those two weeks and then you look at the schedule that we have with them and you go out two weeks later from that day and you know you're looking at the possibility of Ryan Day naming a starter now we haven't seen anything from uh since Thursday but last Thursday will Howard took all of the the first team reps that we saw Chip Kelly and Ryan deos said don't read into any of that but of course when it's just one guy taking reps with the ones I'm not sure you can read into anything other than the fact that uh he's with the ones right now so I I I like like I was telling you before the show I'm going to go ahead and re pre-write the story of will Howard being named the starter however I will also tell you I've Rewritten the the story before for other quarterbacks and Ryan day has never when there's been any kind of quarterback battle has never named a starter before the second scrimmage and so we are coming up tomorrow is the what the 15th he named CJ strad the starter on the 21st of August he named Justin Fields the starter on the 19th of August so if um if he breaks if Ryan Day breaks character and names will Howard the starter or Devin Brown the starter tomorrow that would um be a bit of a surprise however after what they went through last year I also have no doubt that he wants to name a starter as soon as possible and if he feels like they can he will I um you know last year I was fully expecting him to name the starter at this pretty much at this point and it went into what two three two or three weeks of the Season we anticipate it but you know he he has his own timelines even when it's clearly obvious that somebody is the starter like with Justin Fields it was clearly he took every single rep with the ones for the first two plus weeks of camp it was clear but he still waited until after that second scrimmage before he said anything Steve why am I not surprised that Tony gave us the exact date in which Ryan Day named his last couple starting quarterbacks well it just makes sense I think when you think about it we talked a little bit off before we started about how they have two Saturday scrimmages one last Saturday and one this coming Saturday and it just makes sense that that after the second one and you're two weeks out from the first game that that's the natural time to do it and pair down the Reps and give everybody a role I you got five quarterbacks and uh they need to give these guys roles for what they're going to be doing during practice uh going forward and it is a luxury to carry five quarterbacks certainly in case somebody were to get hurt you do have some options to to throw somebody else in there so um I do think it it will be will Howard I the times that we watched he was probably the most consistent I think Devin Brown by some accounts did have a pretty good scrimmage last week I don't have many or any details Beyond just some abstract Concepts that that he played pretty well and uh the offensive line was was still kind of beset by some virus issues last weekend but uh beyond that uh nothing you extraordinary that we heard came out of that so I'm of a of a belief that things in motion will continue in motion and that's will Howard he seemed to be uh the one closest uh ready to produce this season when we saw them so uh that's that's what I'm that's my story and that's what I'm sticking with until somebody can prove otherwise I can't imagine he's going to get unseated as the quarterback of this team so with three cupcakes uh to start the season is there any negative to saying we're playing two quarterbacks for week one will commit to that week one publicly maybe even thinking this is going to be the approach maybe for two games or for three games you give the backup quarterback valuable playing time and you let these guys and and you know who will Howard is we don't know who he is with Ohio State complimentary pieces around him but we know who he is as he's starting quarterback for two and a half years in BigTime college football but let's say Julian San's the next guy or Devon Brown's the next guy um let especially with Devon Brown not being able to get that full audition that we anticipated last season let him play or is that naturally gonna transpire because you're up 50 to nothing I think what's gonna happen is when Ryan Day names his starter he will say but so and so is still going to play we're gonna need more than one and he's gonna incorporate that as well but what you're talking about Mark is the norm like it's it's what you do early in the season when you've got a schedule like this it's what they've always done what teams have always done you play the backup to get him some reps in games where you know there's no the outcome isn't in doubt that helps them in case there's an emergency situation later on and so yeah I fully expect him to let's just assume he's gonna name Will Howard the starter in the next breath he's gonna say but Devon Brown's gonna play and we're gonna need him to play and you're right he does not have a ton of experience despite the playing time that he got last year so much of that is you're the change of pace guy you come in and you you'll help the Run game he needs to come in and be able to throw the ball around like he does in practice frankly and get that kind of experience and get that kind of comfort level in a real game as much as you can call these games real games I mean they count in standing so I guess they're real but they're not the the real kind of test that will come down the road and you don't want the first time he's out there in that kind of situation to be against somebody legitimate and you know we don't know what would have happened if he stayed healthy against Missouri last year but that's kind of the example like the first time he gets thrust into anything it's it's that kind of game and and so it's um it's important to get these guys SN both snaps and both throws frankly because there are too many times where the the backup where you know the number of throws for the backup or the third guy has been too few over the years at times for the for Ohio State so my point is is more to to the to the fact are they going to give Devin Brown those reps when it's 45 to7 or when it's 0 on the third Drive of the game or maybe they're down three to nothing and even though it is akan and it's not Iowa uh that that it's just a different feel to the game at that point yeah I think I think you're not going to see the third series of the game I think it's Howard's team I think Howard will be in there you know until he either falters or they're up 28 to nothing and I think that um you know the other guys are just going to have to accept the fact that it's his team and uh they will get work around the edges you know when those times come I mean if you're up 21 to nothing in the second quarter sure you know maybe put somebody in for a series just to just to see how it goes but uh I do believe believe you got to find a way to get Julian saan some throws in here somewhere as well in live action in one of these first or two of these first three games and um you know I just think that U he's a guy that that's got to get his feet wet Brown's at least played a little bit here and there I think Sayan is a guy that uh if they feel like uh can help him this year that they get him in there and get him a few snaps here there but yeah I I I believe that uh it's Howard's team and he's got to take you know the that that's the most important thing is building a rhythm and a rapport with him and the receivers and the offensive line and and and getting it down in those first three games because after that I mean gradually the the challenges get tougher Michigan stay on the road Iowa at home at Oregon it doesn't get any tougher than that so uh you got to be ready for weeks four five and six or or you've done your team a complete disservice if if you're not ready by the end of game three Wayne Taylor dropping by Wayne thank you so much for the contribution we appreciate you being here uh Buckey live on a Wednesday as it typically is 11:00 am eastern time however we sometimes have to uh uh reschedule the show but we are always here at some point during the week so please subscribe to the channel and turn on the bell for the notifications to know when we go live Wayne again thank you so much for that Wayne asks a question there with Ryan da saying the Freshman running backs will play do you think both of them will burn their R red shirt absolutely those guys are burning their red shirt this year got four scholarship running backs and we were just talking about who's playing in the fourth quarter of blowouts or who's going to get those reps in the blowouts like that has to be your two true freshman running backs because you don't want quinon Judkins out there you don't want trayan Henderson out there in the fourth quarter so those are the two guys that are going to carry you through a lot of the ends of games because they have to and they both played well in Camp and talking with Sam Williams Dixon and James pupil we got to talk to them both a week or so ago and you can just the the five practices that we got to see you could see the growth in Sam Williams Dixon just in those five practices and James peoples has been pretty much outstanding from the get-go so those two guys are definitely going to play and as I mentioned there like I I trying to think who's the last like fifth year senior running back it may have been de Mario McCall who then eventually moved to corner like um Eddie George I mean you go you go way back for for some of those guys but it's not something that uh exists really at Ohio State anymore there's no point in uh in doing that because you're not going to get that fifth year out of them like red shirting D Hayden last year how'd that go for him it didn't did a favor where' he end up color Colorado Colorado did did prime a favor on that one and there number one running back immediately transferred when Hayden came in and went to Kansas State Dylan Edwards yeah so yes musical chairs across college football of course all right uh folks I guess we will go right into the uh possible probable 2D roster uh Dave bidd of 247 Sports on buck nuts uh displayed a uh depth chart Steve so I'll let you take it from here yeah I'm going to uh send you guys the link just in case you haven't seen it just uh let's see yeah you've got it up on the screen I guess um you know obviously the quarterback position we've delved into that running back he's got trayon Henderson or Quin Shan Judkins which makes sense and I don't know if it'll be a territorial thing where they just start Henderson every week since he's the guy from the program or if uh Carlos llan and and Chip Kelly and Ryan day will look at the body of work each week and say this is uh quinan Judkins week to start and honestly starting is you know everybody makes a deal about it but the important thing is producing and uh I think you're going to get into some games where both guys have gotten some first half carries to see which guy's got the Rhythm which guy has got uh the ability to to make some things happen against the opposing defense and then the second half it could be a case where they go where where whoever's done better in the first half gets three fours of the Reps in the second half and that's how the game ends so uh starting is one thing finishing is an entirely different thing and I wonder if quinan Judkins just because of his durability will be that finisher will be that punishing guy who puts teams away Dave doesn't mention Sam Williams Dixon in there as a backup with the James peoples but I fully expect seeing Williams Dixon to also play he was impressive to me I don't think peoples or Williams Dixon look like they were freshman the three or four days I got to see and I don't think they backed down from The Challenge one bit and that isn't to say that they're not freshman and they're not going to fumble and they're not going to take a step the wrong way and create a broken play or you know something stupid is going to happen I mean it it it's just human nature uh you know the more reps you get the the more uh you know the better you are at execution but uh so yeah I see all four of these guys playing and um I think that Henderson and Judkins are gonna be given every chance to to put their imprint on each game this season and uh you know whichever guy you know grabs grabs that Brass Ring on a given week that's the guy that's going to get rewarded I think I will just say trayan Henderson has started every game that he's been healthy at Ohio State since like the second or third game of his career as a freshman so once once he established himself and he's been healthy enough he started but yeah I'm I'm with Steve it's it you if you if you start quinon I don't think that means anything to these guys um so I and they may want to just do that right away just to like kind of um just break the seal on somebody other than on starting just so you can if if it happens throughout the season but I'm expecting both guys to get between like 12 and 17 carries a game and they're both I think G to be very similar in numbers so you know like I don't I don't consider one of them a backup I like there there are positions in this on this team where I don't consider somebody a backup to somebody else because they're both going to be needed like you know CJ Hicks and sunny Styles you know Sunny Styles has been with the ones as CJ Hicks the back back up maybe but he's got a role in other things as well so um this is just you know twoo starters good problem to have and I do wonder how often we'll see them together in the back field because um I I don't think it'll be something that we talk about and it's like we never see it I do think we'll see it this year yeah he Scrolls on down goes right into the offensive line and uh Donovan Jackson obviously at left guard and Josh Simmons at left tackle he's got Seth mlin at Center his Right Guard is Tegra chabola or Carson Hinman and then the right tackle is Josh frier I think all that makes sense to me I think and this is just kind of me reading between the tea leaves and the lines here two things in that battle at Right Guard that kind of stood out to me um one is Carson hinsman was an iron Buckeye and that really carries a lot of weight he's one of 10 players on the team that were an iron Buckeye in the offseason program according to Mickey morate so that that's one feather in his cap and the other one uh I believe Ryan day was asked directly about Tegra chabola and kind of where things are at with him he said well he in paraphrasing he said yeah he's got the size he's got the athletic ability but you have to do it on a consistent day in and day out basis and that's carrying out your assignment knowing your assignment mastering your assignment getting the job done and you just kind of read between the lines there that maybe there's been a little bit of a disconnect at times with Tegra and again this is overly simplistic maybe not knowing his assignment on a particular play not executing it perfectly whatever it might be but it just seemed and felt like Carson had just the slightest of edges even though he has a year Less in the program than Tegra chabola so it's kind of a an interesting thing shabo is in his third year well what is hinsman hinman's his third year maybe they're both in the third year I don't know so uh to me uh that's interesting as far as the backups at all these spots I don't look at it as left and right and I don't think they do either I think that if something were to happen to one of the tackles that possibly George Fitzpatrick might be the first guy in then Zen mahalski then maybe Luke Montgomery who's also repping at guard that seems to me to be the pecking order there and uh certainly we've kind of laid out what the pecking order is there at guard uh you know to a degree Austin SEL maybe also in that picture but he's a Down the Line guy to me I think you've got you you know let's let's say you play hinsman you got chabola and Montgomery who would play you know eight series before srael ever got on the field so just as an example so I don't look at the left and right thing and I don't think the coaches do either they're going to put the best player uh and they're cross training these guys left and right and they're gonna put the best player on the field and I think the the pecking order seems clear to me even if it's not to Justin fry and uh and Ryan d and Chip Kelly but um you know that's kind of my reading between the tea leaves on that it it would be um much clearer if they weren't dealing with the virus that they've dealt with throughout the first two weeks of camp but I'm I'm with Steve I think it's gonna be Carson hinsman at Right Guard and and it's been interesting the other interesting aspect of this is that Luke Montgomery has been the backup center in in all of this and that they're trying to to me it looks like they're really trying to make him the backup center and not having to worry about Carson hinsman playing Right Guard if something happens to Seth mclock then now we got to move Carson over and now you've got to also bring in somebody new at ruard so looks like they're just trying to make it so if something happens they can just plug in one person and everybody else just keeps doing what they're doing and you put all this experience around a secondy year guy like Luke Montgomery who is a tremendous athlete for for an offensive lineman you as a defensive end and tight end in his first couple of years in high school school you know a Au basketball player so he's got the athleticism that they like and I think it's been an interesting transition for him to Center and he's he's embraced that but can play essentially all five positions for Ohio State which is a nice swing guy to have there but yeah I I'm with you I'm still waiting to see who the number three tackle is completely and and honestly it may end up be in chabola or Montgomery if if things go wonky but I they're also really really working hard on getting George Fitzpatrick ready for that yep wide receivers um I think it's pretty clear Mecca bua Jeremiah Smith Carnell Tater the top three Brandon inis has had a really good start to preseason camp after missing the spring due to an injury and I think he's number four and then I think it is wide wide wide open for five six seven after that uh he lists Bryson Rogers red shirt freshman Milan green the late en rolling TR freshman de Marian Whitten who uh was recruited theoretically as a tight end 64 215 true freshman he's been repping with the wide receivers Jaden Ballard who's in like his fourth year and really you know never had much of an opportunity on offense and he does not list Cojo anwe but he is also uh repping at wide receiver as well but uh you know zone six uh a little bit of a different look no Marvin Harrison Jr Mecca bua is the only uh known commodity although Jeremiah Smith number one overall Prospect in the country and coming off an incredible spring showing as a freshman looks like he's going to be right in there and Tate really start started uh preseason camp strong Tony I I uh I liked really in the few practices I got to see I like Tate you you probably have seen all five of the open practices I only got three of the five because I had family stuff going on the other two days but uh yeah those those that seems to be a pretty solid group right there and I like that they're cross trining guys at different spots so you can't just say oh Mecha is gonna always line up in the slot or jeremi is always going to line up at split end or Tate's always gonna line up at flanker seems like they're cross trining at different spots and uh that can pay huge dividends as well yeah Mecca and Carell Tate can play any of the three receiver positions and they did it last year so you can move those guys around just like they did with Marvin Harrison last year who I think played about third of his snaps in the slot and you move guys around try to find the matchups that you want but yeah Tate has been fantastic and we got to talk to him last week and he said you know he's just looking forward to showing what he can do and talking trash along with it so he's not a quiet guy and you know he he does he knows like people are talking about Jeremiah Smith and Mecca abuka even though people aren't really talking talking about AA abuka he knows he's like third in the pecking order of media attention but I I do Wonder like if you opened up the Big 10 wide receivers to a big 10 draft Carell Tate's not lasting much past five or six in in the draft and he might not make it that far yeah uh scrolling down tight end G Scott Jr fifth year senior 63243 sat behind Kate Stover the last two years and it looks like it's his time but not as Lee Corso would say not so fast my friend um I like J he one of the spiritual leaders of the team but again consistency he's got to do it on every down every day every play every game basis and that's a big hurdle I think for him and any of these guys will Cas meric comes in from Ohio University big step up in class obviously going from the Mid-American to the Big 10 you know he caught over 20 passes each of his first two years will he be able to to generate much in the terms of uh catching passes in the Big 10 galani Thurman great pass catching tight end can he Master the rest of the job which is blocking Patrick gerd I'm GNA say walk-on probably been awarded a scholarship Ryan Day won't tell us what Walk-Ons have scholarships because that's an important state secret to keep kid hidden from every everybody and then Bennett Chrisman uh he's not listed coming off the year suspension for the U performance enhancing drugs or whatever it was that that kept him out last year uh he says an inadvertent uh you know thing that he took uh you could make the case that g Scott's not the best pass catcher and he's not the best blocker but he might be the best allaround tight end I would think Thurman and Chrisman are probably the best pass catchers based on what I've seen I would say casmer and gerd are probably the best blockers so you got five guys and I think On Any Given play any of those five could be on the field and I'm giving Bennett Chrisman a little bit more benefit of the doubt than I think anybody else is uh but when I see him in practice going down the middle of the field he makes plays so uh you've been there Tony as I said two more practices than I have what's your thought on the tight end position and am I am I selling g a little little bit short or is he going to be the every down guy well I think he he's going to be the every down guy 60% of the time you know like willz Merck is gonna be in there as well because those have been the two guys that have been running with the ones and the twos and it's been galani Thurman Patrick gir everybody else running with twos threes and so on um you know galan's had some good moments but like Ryan day was asked about him last week or the week before and it was like one of the most critical answers and honest answers that Ryan day has given about a player in terms of what he still needs to do and what he's not doing yet it's the consistency it's you know yes there might be a nice catch or nice drive but there was a missed block or there's just a Miss assignment so like he's still to me like everybody likes to talk about him but if you can't trust a player on every single snap you're not going to see him on very many snaps because and and game any play can cost you a you know can it can be critical and you have to be able to trust those guys I think they trust G Scott and will casmer the most right now and I think you'll see those two guys in 12 Personnel um but I do think there'll be times where it's will in there and then G Scott on the sideline just likewise there'll be times when it's G Scott out there and will cas's on the sideline it's been it's been a steep climb for Casmir to move from Ohio to Ohio State and it I think it I think it caught him off guard a little bit in the spring but now he's acclimated to what it is to play at Ohio State I think he he's starting to pick up speed and camp and I think we talked to Keenan Bailey in the tight ends next week and I wouldn't be surprised if they kind of echo that sentiment with Will asmer hey Tony I uh I set up all the offensive positions if uh if uh Mark's goingon to scroll down to the defense do you want to set him up and I can provide sure kind of change up here yeah and and really this is gonna be pretty easy because yeah pretty cut and Dy I've heard of those two guys yeah it's watch a show from last year um but yeah I mean Jack already jt2 M while I think the key here is getting Kaden Curry and kinata Jackson playing every like like playing every quarter essentially like being part of a true rotation and we saw kinata Jackson go down and practice last week with a foot ankle type of thing um he didn't leave like he wasn't carried off or anything but he had to get ret taped and then he was done practicing but that happens all the time in Camp so I wouldn't worry too much about it right now I haven't heard anything about that being any worse than it than it is um but those two guys are GNA be Jack s and JT Tumo Tu moo or the foundation of the defensive line and then you need Steve you need to get contributions from everybody else there because it can't just be those two guys carrying this thing again yeah I I agree 100% uh kinata Jackson to me uh has got star potential written all over him I mean he looks like coming out of Central Casting he's a National Football League defensive end you know with that huge frame and you know long wing span and everything else and uh I know I'm keeping track of Jim nolles does the Silver Bullet of the day and I believe kenat has now wanted at least once or twice here in the early stretch she picks out a defensive player for practice every day and makes a point to put on social media that this was our best defensive player of the day and you can generally figure out who's going to play on defense just by uh who is being selected and Kenyata Jackson was certainly a I think he's done it twice now through the first 11 days Germaine Matthews uh if you remember Tony one last a week ago Sunday had the pick six and a sack in a spin of about five plays and lo and behold when the the winner for day four came out it was Germaine Matthews so it's not hard on a given day to go to practice and see who who's going to win that award usually it's the guy whose name gets called they honest to goodness have a PA guy uh one of the program assistants will tell you what happens pretty much on every play so we don't even need to go to practice Tony we could stand outside and just chart who gets announced you know sack Jack Sawyer you know is what you'll hear and uh you know you in this instance you hear that a lot so same with kinat and I want to see JT had the one game against Penn State which was arguably one of if not the single greatest game in Ohio State defensive player ever had I mean you could say Chris Spielman had 29 tackles against Michigan in a game that they lost in 1986 and Jamie Morris ran for 200 yards that day but uh you know you can you can we can argue all that till the end of time but get off the field yeah JT tuy maloa in a win that maybe that's a way to put it had as good a de and he had his fingerprints on the victory I mean it was like in the AP story of the game the first words in the story were JT tuy maloa you know kind of like that game they had at what at Michigan State and it was the punter uh Drew krisman was the first two words in the AP game story that day because the punter won them the game and he was interviewed on network television after the game uh kind of interesting but uh yeah so yeah those are long and short thoughts on the defensive end position again uh these guys got to bring the goods you know I'm you know you you know don't don't tell me about the pain show me the baby guys it's uh you know it the moving sidewalk is ending do you want to be a first round player look down the the one anecdote about Drew Chrisman in that game he was also brought to the postgame interview with all of us and he's like I didn't even realize this stuff happened like he had no clue that there was like postgame room postgame interviews I wondered where those guys went where where were they going yeah so yes that was a fantastic we always have to wait for him on the bus everybody else is ready to go and those guys are the last ones to take their shower what's going on it's like when Dorothy steps out of black and white and into colors like what in the world moving to defensive tackle then obviously Ty Le Williams Ty Hamilton Ty Hamilton started uh seven of their games last year splitting time with Mike Hall so you essentially have two starters returning and I agree with the backups here Kaden McDonald hero canu those two guys have been um the two guys basically have been with the ones and the twos throughout Camp when when one of those guys is sitting hero canoe has been the three Tech behind Ty Williams Kad McDonald the nose tackle behind Tai Hamilton but all of those guys can play both positions Larry Johnson wants them to be able to do that I think it's key to find somebody else a fifth and a sixth now Larry Johnson was effusive in his praise of Jason Moore back in the spring and he's been mostly with the threes at this point can he get up into there do they even need do they need more than four because Steve they're going to play defensive ends inside as well with the brushman package they'll be times where JT Tu MOA or Jack Sawyer or Kaden Curry are playing inside which eliminates the need for a defensive tackle in there so I think they they want more I'm not sure how uh readily available a fifth tackle is going to be whether you know Jason Moore Will Smith Jr who we haven't we didn't get to see last year year Taiwan Malone I'm not sure if that's if that's happening this year I wouldn't expect anything from Eric Mena the true freshman so the four here I like but but also Kaden McDonald and hero Cano have not really done much yet there's excitement about them Kate McDonald was had an okay freshman year but now you're asking them to be in a rotation which they really haven't done fully and so I think that's something to watch as well yeah there are some people who think Ty Williams could be a firstr NFL draft pick at 63 327 and I'm here for that if he plays up to that capability then they are going to be a extremely difficult team to beat I think this year and Tai Hamilton is one of the unsung heroes I think of the defense as well does a lot of that dirty work inside so uh you know Tai Hamilton somebody asked me if you had a darkh horse somebody who could win all big 10 honors I'd say Tai Hamilton because he's GNA he's going to do a lot of things I think for this defense that helped them win and maybe opposing coaches will recognize that even if maybe he doesn't have huge numbers with tackles and the media may not catch on to him uh some young guys Jason Moore Will Smith Jr's been banged up and uh really started to kind of get healthy in the spring and started to do a couple things Tony edric Houston is he more of an edge player I believe oppos being a tackle I thought edri uh in one of the practices seemed to do pretty well going back on defensive end I think maybe he's a guy a true freshman but they again this is the whole same premise you're losing probably 15 year 22 starters off this team will be gone and it's imperative that you get some youngans ready to go for 2025 and I think Jason Moore kind of fits that bill and uh you know edric Houston at defensive V kind of fits that bill ER Mena is a humongous person and uh I don't want to Discount that he he's not going to help him this year but uh uh I think he's a guy in the plan certainly for the future but uh I like the present and the future at defensive tackle that's that's my uh my thoughts on that and then U moving to linebacker again uh Mike linebacker middle linebacker Cody Simon is the leader of the defense he's the quarterback of all of this uh confidence is very very high in him I think the interesting battle between Gabe powers and Aral Ree and Dave's got it as an or here I think that or has I it wasn't there before camp but I think it's starting to appear they really really like arval Reese and I think he was one of the the Silver Bullets of the day not recently and and he's the guy yeah Jim noes cannot speak highly enough of him just all of the different the athleticism and trying to find a ways to use him I know last year he talked about you know he he could be somebody in that Jack role the jack is not a thing with this defense this year as nolles told us recently if I put that in there I have to take somebody else off and there's too many good players to take off the field to put that on there so this is a situation where Gabe Powers arvel ree I'm fascinated to see how much those two guys play because again Cody Simon has had injuries in his past he had a he had a bad shoulder a couple years ago you want to it's kind of like the backup quarterback you want to get the backup quarterback of your defense reps as well uh to in case something happens and I think they do need to figure out exactly who the backup is I think right now I'd still give the edge to Gabe Powers but it's been interesting to watch arel Reese come on and earn some praise from his coaches yep Payton Pierce just lost his black stripe too so although he may Factor more at the outside linebacker spot but he's another guy that uh I've heard nothing but good things about his work in preseason camp so maybe special teams certainly ourv Reese will be on special teams he kind of got dinged up I think on special teams last year that kind of put a damper on his season uh yeah I don't know what to say about that Tony do you think there's any chance that they play Sunny Styles and CJ Hicks together with one of them as the middle linebacker and take Cody Simon kind of the same premise as I mentioned on the offensive line that those are your three best linebackers and you will simply rotate them uh between the two spots and James laurenitis has talked a lot about cross trining everybody at middle and outside will linebacker do you think that's a possibility or what what what do you think I suppose well and that's what I'm wondering with those two um because when you play will at Ohio State you can also play Mike like there there's some cross training there they want it to be interchangeable but Sunny Styles coming from safety to will linebacker do you want to give him that much to do and CJ Hicks still trying to get the will linebacker position down and be the kind of read and react guy and see somebody that can even do the middle linebacker stuff but also I it's it's easy to imagine them together on a passing down type of thing with their athleticism their ability to cover ground I just don't know um how comfortable they are and maybe that's a good question for nolles when we talk to him tomorrow how comfortable they would be just having those two guys out there without a middle linebacker per se making the calls and getting everybody right getting the defensive line right I think it was a James loridas talking about Gabe Gabe Powers how um in talking about him in the position as a whole he said you have to make sure everybody is Right whereas right now Sunny Styles and CJ Hicks are more concerned about themselves being right and so they may not not have the the wherewithal right now to make sure everybody else is right so they may that may be a down the road thing maybe a next year thing as well but I do think you can see uh Sunny Styles at Sam CJ Hicks at will and then a middle linebacker when they're going with their three linebacker sets that will happen and it gives them some flexibility but I think um with with those two I'm I'm Sunny's been with the ones that we've seen he was with the twos in the spring which was under understandable he's gotten better he's talking to him about his footwork and being more patient and um you know not overstepping and not and just staying in his gaps that's that's been a learning process for him CJ Hicks talks like he's he's excited about his opportunity this year and said they don't care who starts they talk about it all the time him and sunny they talk about it they don't care who starts as long as he said as long as they both eat they'll be happy and and they both believe is that CJ said it like we're basically you're getting the same guy so when say Sunny's tired and he wants to come out I go in when I'm tired I'll go out Sunny I'll come in and you're getting the basically the same guy to do the same job yeah I want to see how it all works in uh principal uh Jim nolles spoke right at the beginning of camp and I you know I I kind of was a little bit koi with him I said you know you can say what you want today about how this is all going to go but once Ohio state gets into games one two and and three it's going to be readily apparent uh how these guys are used is sunny styles used for every meaningful play and then Hicks just comes in when the score is 21 to nothing or does Hicks come in in a first and 10 situation where they're going to run the football and then Sunny Styles comes in on Third and 10 where they're going to throw the football and he's got that experience from safety being a cover guy be much easier for him as he was having to play at times last year the nickel safety uh trying to cover a guy in the slot and he did the best he could with it although he gave up a few plays here and there well it's going to be a lot easier I think on him this year trying to cover the running back out of the back field or uh the the tight end releasing you know down the middle of the field or whatever I think those are going to be easier assignments for him and more up his alley so uh I'm uh interested to see how this goes and uh again uh two really really good players and I I kind of consider Hicks to be a the 12th starter maybe on this defense because uh I think he could play a starter's number of plays uh particularly let's say if Styles goes out for a game then you've got Hicks and he plays the whole game and and that's how it goes or vice versa so uh yeah I think it's a good good situation for him to have and his impact could be felt by the the plays that he makes not necessarily the plays that he's in on like the snaps he he may have a higher percentage of plays made with the snaps basically because they are going to be attacking more with the wills and we saw one of the practices C.J Hicks was on the edge basically on on the line of scrimmage and Jim N said they they want to be more aggressive with those two guys and it's a it's a process that he's he's implemented over his time whether it's a Western Michigan or Oklahoma State or Duke where you do more and more as you have guys who are older and older and who are more comfortable doing it so they're going to get more more aggressive there um and and really that's CJ hicks's best quality so let's see if that actually comes through on the field moving to um Corner because again this one is also pretty cut and dry Denzel brke and Davis nbos arguably the best duo in the nation Germaine Matthews would be starting I don't know 96% of the schools around the nation at either probably 100% at either nickel or corner like there would be a spot for him somewhere and and he's the backup to Jordan Hancock at uh in a slot I do Wonder though is is he still the number three corner or is that I assume that he is but he hasn't played outside like he's just been inside he's been playing nickel but I think they're pretty confident that they can just move him outside if need be but Calvin Simpson hunt has been fantastic in Camp he's given up some ridiculous catches made by ridiculous receivers some really really impressive plays have come against him but he's right there and there there are some plays where he's batting the ball away and we saw Jaden Ballard still haul it in with one hand like the coverage has been there Aaron Scott's been picking it up more and more as as he's come on you know Bryce West still working his way he was injured in the spring so he's coming along miles Lockard as well but um yeah it's a pretty good crew uh Tim Walton loves the depth he said he's he's working on getting five guys that can play I'm just wondering Steve if they come to a situation where they're gonna be some there's some rotation at corner because Germaine Matthews makes plays that's I mean that's what he does and I I just wonder how much we see of him because he can rotate a different two different spots for you or three different spots if you want to consider both outside corners and coming in for Jordan Hancock at times yeah you think about today's game and uh all the passes that are thrown and all the routes that are run these Corners really blow themselves out and I think that uh Matthews is a guy who's GNA get to play I would think at a minimum 25 to 30% of the snaps just uh just the way it's going to work out and uh I do view him as the fourth corner I think Calvin Simpson Hunt is going to get to play 101 15% of the snaps as well uh you know as a backup outside and I think again this is an embarrassment of riches here uh Denzel Burke I looked at four mock drafts and he was in the first round on three of them he could play his way up to the middle of the first round if he has a great great senior year for Ohio State I think for him taking the next step is okay you've deflected the pass you've shown you can master that now you need to intercept the pass and return the pass and I think that is what uh kind of the final finishing step for Denzel Burke to do if he comes back with four or five six interceptions he could win the Jim Jim Thorp award possibly so to me uh he's a guy that that can be in that rarified air up there if if he can do that uh Davidson EG bosen I think he's rock solid uh I know scrolling on down he mentions Dave mentions the slot Corner position and uh you know that's certainly Jordan Hancock with Germaine Matthews backing him up and Lorenzo Styles Jr you know it's a guy uh he's kind of been banged up at times and I think in preseason camp he's still coming off a little bit of an injury somebody earlier asked about injuries and andtony my way of thinking other than the virus on the offensive line line and Lorenzo Styles Jr I can't think of anybody that we know of and maybe tomorrow we'll find out a little bit more that has missed appreciable time uh due to injuries but hopefully Lorenzo can be a force for this uh this defense and on special teams defense when give the chance and on special teams as well and talking to him back in the spring he would love to be involved in in kick returns which we have not seen any of so far in Camp moving to safety my biggest question here is Jaylen mlan and whether or not he will be able to move Malik Hartford to strong safety and Jaylen mlan is the backup behind Caleb DS or if they're comfortable having Malik Harford be the backup for both downs and Ransom should somebody go down but when they want to play multiple guys or when they want to play the backups where do they fit in now Jaylen mlan has been mostly with the threes but Steve you mentioned the PA announcer uh I was at getting ready for interviews one day and I heard the um jayen mlan interception that was the day he got his black stripe removed as well like so he's one of the earliest guys to get the the black stripe removed in this class he was fantastic in the spring but we've seen Malik Hartford and jayen bonsu with the twos throughout most of camp and again we haven't been there in almost a week now so maybe there's something changed or maybe jayen mlan has been able to work his way in there but but again the the starting Duo is arguably the best in the nation willik cartford would be a comfortable starter this year if one of them if one of DS or Ransom hadn't you know decided to be a be a buckeye or stay a buckeye and they'd feel pretty good about that Jaden bons who had a strong spring played a bunch because lean Ransom was out so that helped so I think it's a pretty um pretty good crew I just have a question about uh Jaylen mlan and where he fits in and could he move Malik cartford over to strong safety yeah DS was the SEC freshman of the year as Dave list here LED Alabama and tackles as a true freshman helped lead that team SEC Championship college football playoffs so he's accomplished he's been there he's done that and certainly that's that cliche uh stands for lean Ransom been there done that been through so many injury issues in his career and uh you know I think he's a possibility to be the block o Jersey guy I did a story about that as well on our site I gave 10 seniors kind of a run at that uh that block O Jersey I left out Cody Simon so really there could be 11 of them uh that could be in consideration for that but certainly Ransom is a guy that's been through the ringer uh hardford I look at this as he's the number three safety and then probably as you say bons SU and then McLean and McLean is a cumber no doubt about it a dog going to bite you he's going to bite you as a pup and as our friend coup coup would have said so uh they're not saying boo they're saying Coupe uh I think sometimes they were saying boo but any rate uh Jaylen mlan uh to me is is a guy uh maybe his early next year that that's going to be in the mix I mean you know you you you you hope and you believe that DS will return uh for a third year uh in college at Ohio State next year without another transfer but uh you know you never know in this day and age but he'd be the backbone of the defense certainly coming back next year downswood and potential All-American this year so uh we we'll see how it all shakes out mark would You' like to have anything to say yeah we kind of EX excluded you from your own show for the last 30 minutes you were able that's quite all right this is able pay your bills and able to you know catch up on your emails and none of that no I was locked in on this because this is where after I know I know the names the positions the stats and I can recall about three or four plays from most of these guys but this is where I can then after I start watching week one I'm like well that's right Tony said to look out for that all that's that's right Steve said that I didn't know that before no this is where it all comes back so this was awesome I I love the the breakdown on the positions because that is uh I hope everybody took that in because that was great stuff to go in depth on each position because absolutely I can only know so much and when you guys Supply that kind of background then it makes these games so much more enjoyable to watch and and I know so much more than just reading magazines well they've had 12 practices to date at the s13 maybe today and Tony got to go to five of them I got to go to three of them so I we can't be sit here and be definitive inside the head of every position coach and say this is what this person thinks of this person but based on what we were able to observe individually you know going to those practices I think we've got a a reasonably good hold on where things are headed so yeah and and when we have questions we we've said it so yeah I feel pretty good about um what we've seen and and what we know and and what we don't know and we're gonna find out a lot more tomorrow with Coach Jay coach Kelly and Coach nolles all taking turns in the hot seat I'll probably get uh 20 M or 15 20 minutes with day and probably 15 minutes with each coordinator as well so Josh Petty offensive tackle uh committed to George Tech so he was lost and then the big announcement coming up at uh Saturday 12:30 pm. everybody set your watches I know Steve you are fully committed on these commitment watches to make sure that you don't miss a round of golf or anything because you got to be there when the 17-year-old commits or makes his first commitment at least uh but it's David Sanders of course Ohio State Tennessee Georgia Nebraska I'm understanding Tennessee is a slight lean but Ohio State's got a good shot yeah I think Tennessee is the two to one betting favorite may maybe even eight to five at this point I don't know but uh yeah I uh I have a hard time believing Ohio State's Gonna Come Away with David Sanders at this point I mean they've made every bid that they could possibly make with nil and playing time I mean I think Josh Simmons is headed to the NFL after this season that opens one Tackle Spot for some reason in the roster lless frier as a oneyear remaining guy I thought he had two years left but uh maybe he'll be gone too I guess I need to investigate that a little bit more but uh there's there's an opportunity to play a tackle at Ohio State next year if you're the best and uh you know so if he goes elsewhere then you know as as uh my old high school basketball coach said to a kid who quit the team at halftime and walked out the walked out the door he says well hey good luck to you so that's it's kind of my thought you know these guys go elsewhere well hey good luck to you I didn't realize you played basketball with Kon pop well hey good luck to you yeah this kid he was honestly you know how you wear a jacket and tie of the game the coaches are huddling over on the hallway you know getting the strategy down to come in and talk to the team they give the kid two minutes he already had his uniform off and his shirt and was putting his tie on was grabbing his jacket and go hey man where you going goes I'm out man I I can't do this anymore he goes what hey man good luck to you couldn't waste another 45 minutes of his life could he played in the first half wasn't gonna play in the second half he was gone one note on the AP poll that was released this week I understand that somebody else did this research for me so I'll credit whomever out there 18 times Ohio state has been ranked number one or two in the preseason poll and never won a national championships so the eight claimed national championships came from other positions within the poll uh apparently that's crazy of course and only 11 number ones since 1950 finished number one yeah um I know the year with Trestle and ' 02 I think they were like 10 111 12 I'm not sure what they were in 14 coming off the two losses to end the 13 season um probably in that 8 N1 range I would bet and oh but then the world found out about Joey Bosa and Ezekiel Elliott didn't they so found out all about them they were um number five in 2014 season R good and then they took the tumble after week one in the injury and the uh the close win against Navy all the way down in the teens somewhere maybe I don't did they even drop to 21 or something like that they were way down there well after Virginia Tech yeah yeah they they dropped dropped to 22 22 wow wow then the Red Sea parted the Red Sea parted I would like to take a smidge of credit for that because I walked in the next Monday and I took um off the national championship game I I took that date off of work I marked it down I told my boss I want this he said what are you taking that off I said for the national championship game and he said Ohio State just lost and I said national championship game taking it off we're digging in on this one how could that have not been an all Hands-On deck day at at oh the mothership I did pretty well missing National Championship games for a long long time I'm trying to think I must have been off yeah I was a Friday Saturday off at that point so yeah I had to work the championship games but yeah the worldwide leader there was plenty of personnel there yeah somebody remarked that that uh curiously all the schools that Paul fine bomb has been down on in the last few weeks are all schools that ESPN curiously does not have any rights to cover their games so uh kind of a curious uh Curious Thing there so yeah yeah I'm I'm very interested to see how much Gary Danielson likes the big 10 again when his first game is covering akan at Ohio [Music] State the Home Depot Big 10 on CBS This is CBS well more importantly Tony what are you covering this week uh well as Steve said we'll be on campus tomorrow talking to the head coach the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator um I already today have wrote about uh T Shola and that competition and what Ryan day had to say about him at Buckey huddle.com also a uh through a notebook up there with some thoughts from Chip Kelly on Julian saan and Jordan Hancock with thoughts on himself coming back second year at the at nickel and then we're dropping uh a an episode of Buckeye weekly here in the next couple of hours uh talking about some overunderwear tomorrow afternoon as well Buckeye weekly podcast Steve you know just what Tony largely said we'll be covering a lot of the same events here the next week or so we'll get back in on some position group interviews next week this was a week where they kind of shut the media out and shut out a lot of the noise and this was a heavy Work Week believe me for this team as they are preparing uh they'll they'll move toward game prep middle of next week obviously how much you're going to work on preparing to play akan but it's more about systems and this is how we're going to handle this in a game and this is how we line up and this is what we do and you know those type of things so uh dress rehearsal type stuff but uh yeah it uh we're getting there we are we are hurdling toward it at the speed of light uh what 17 days from now uh I'll be uh leaving my house at about 12 o'clock and uh maneuvering through the traffic through my back way different different ways to get into the stadium I always love for those early season games to get off and go down 15th Avenue where all the the fraternities and sororities are because it is just so much activity that people are outside side partying in the front yard of all the fraternities and sororities and that's when you know that college football's back that uh you know you've got uh all the all the people going crazy and getting ready for the game and everything and then finally get down there to the stadium get parked and go in and eat the uh the the the food whatever that is that they've got laid out uh hopefully it will not be breakfast for a 3:30 game and then uh you know uh have my traditions I I try and shoot the pregame band show go down and help out with the prospects on the track and all these different things and uh you know really looking forward to it so um yeah should be a fun uh fun season coming up and uh looking forward to that first game 17 days folks please like And subscribe on the way out uh Tony thank you so much for being here Steve you as well of course track these guys on buck nuts and Buckeye huddle Buckeye weekly and we'll see you back here next week