Ohio State Football 2024: In-Depth Preview with Kevin Noon

all right we're talking Ohio State football on the ourlads football network ourlads football YouTube channel and when we talk Buckey football Kevin noon joins the show how's it going Kevin going well thanks for having me all right Kev so I know you made the uh the recent transition to Buckey huddle.com as assist as associate editor tell me a little bit more about how that's going yeah just great over at Buckeye hudle uh you know we got a great team of of Veteran in insiders from uh the Ohio State beat all came together to form Buckeye huddle and you can check us out there uh you can also find me on Twitter at Kevin noon as well but you know team coverage recruiting coverage all that we we've we've got you I mean the uh home of the original southern swing all of that is at Buckeye huddle now awesome and uh this is gonna be an awesome year in college football because there's a playoff so we're anticipating a wild ride uh this season should be a lot of fun and Ohio State is once again in good shape uh it's not about now well if they don't win this last game of the season against Michigan it's over we got no chance we're gonna be ended up fifth or sixth uh not that Ohio State won't beat Michigan this year but that's just you know if that's what happened over the last few years now Ohio State can get in and still find a way to make noise and win a championship the way it usually is in most other sports leagues so I'm glad that college football's kind of caught up a little bit we'll find out exactly how that affects all these football teams including Ohio State so but bottom line is the Buckeyes talent-wise look to be as good as any in college football from what I see yeah they they may have the best defense in college football this year they may have the best running back room in college football this year they certainly had the most exciting first year wide receiver in college football this year with Jeremiah Smith I mean there are lot of things that are are you know in Ohio State's favor now we know that we can talk about all of this stuff in August and then you get into September October November and and and things change but uh you know Ohio State certainly has a veteran Laden team with uh players up and down the roster at key positions but it's really going to come down to you know spoiler alert it's going to come down to quarterback play and I think it's going to come down to offensive line and the one position that's still seems to be a little bit up in arms is uh is Right Guard but uh you know if Ohio State's able to get some good play out of whoever it names the starter spoiler alert probably going to be will Howard and gets good play out of out of the offensive line I mean the only team out there that really is poised to sit there and compete with Ohio State in in the Big 10 schedule is Oregon and we're going to get the opportunity to see that maybe up to three times this year with Ohio State going out there October 12th the potential of seeing them in Indian ianapolis in the Big 10 championship game in early December and then whatever you know the we we don't have a history of these bracket makers for college football we don't know if they have a sense of humor or not no so that is a great point and again that contest is October 12th uh up in Eugene so that should be a lot of fun uh that's the great that's the fun thing it's it's it's confusing for a lot of fans and analysts all this new pack 12 teams especially with some of those big 12 teams moving into the Big 10 in the SEC and even in the ACC but the fact is that uh it's still a lot of fun to have these matchups that we're just not used to having you know sure Ohio state has played Oregon before we've just seen it recently you'll get those at large I mean those uh you know those uh uh out ofc conference matchups early in the season once every few years but now it's like oh this is kind of cool we get to go to Oregon USC they come here every year that that's uh that's kind of fun yeah I mean it certainly adds to the list of of schools that people are going to have to get out there to go see and everything else and um you know for me I've been to every I've been to every Big 10 School except Oregon so I'm going to be able to knock that one out this year October 12th I'm originally from the West Coast but you know never really left Southern California all that much but uh had the opportunity to go out to Washington 2007 I think it was a long time ago that's all I remember it was it was it was quite some time ago but uh yeah I think that it's fun to be able to to to change up some of the road trips I know that you know no no offense to ruter in Maryland but I think people were like you know kind of getting tired of being going out and doing that but before rers and Maryland joined you know we could have said that about Indiana and and and Purdue yep yeah uh and and and overall the schedule is actually pretty good early it kind of gives Ohio State an opportunity to kind and I kind of Iron Out The Kinks things like that even a Buy in there they don't expect much of a uh much competition before the Iowa game on October 5th unless something happens with Michigan state that we're not expecting because Jonathan Smith is an excellent coach so you never know and it is on the road but it does look like things should be interesting because those are back-to-back games because Iowa being at home and then right after that having a travel to Eugene you do get the buy after that then the typical Penn State game so that matchup is still on schedule as is Michigan so Ohio State doesn't have any breaks there they're going to get state they're going to get Michigan other than that though those are pretty much like the four you got high is going to have four tough matchups everything else looks like it's pretty academic like they should be able to win those matchups no problem and so really if they even just come out of these four matchups two and two which I Doubt's going to happen I think they're too good for that so let's just say three and one but let's just even say two- two and a two and two Ohio State team is probably still good enough to make the postseason right people have to go into it's not the full NFL mindset 11- six is not a great season you're not playing 17 games but 10-2 isn't going to wreck you might wreck Ohio State fans because they certainly have been feeling the pressure three straight years not getting to the Big 10 championship game three straight years of the wrong outcome against the hated rival and everything else but reality is is that a major team out of the P4 that goes 10 and two is not going to be out of the play off plain and simple I've had people try and make arguments with me nine and three I you know I I don't know I mean I guess I guess if you're nine and three and you lost to three top five teams in the nation or something then maybe have a conversation but but one loss isn't going to knock you out but then again where that game against you know Ohio State Michigan is the week before the Big 10 championship game and everything else it's probably not you know probably not the energy you want to going into November with that's true that's true and and again good point because uh you know those are four in the regular season you still have to worry about that championship game because if you go into that championship game with two losses then that's probably a game where hey you lose that you're out uh and and I would think that that would be a pretty tough matchup unlike the way the system was in the Big 10 before where if Ohio State or Michigan gets to the championship game it's a walkover you know what's gonna happen that's not going to be the case anymore okay so let's talk about the team now so I'm G to pop up uh while we talk the r the ourlads updated uh depth chart for high state I'm sure actually I'm sure this is uh probably going to need an update uh but espe College depth charts obviously a lot harder to follow than the NFL at this time of year um but I tell you's at quar at on the offense with quarterback as you mentioned a very important position and will Howard uh has an awful lot of experience in big games and and he is a he's one of those really good college quarterbacks that you don't expect nothing at the next level but he's one of those guys that you do feel can Captain and win a champ National Championship with a team as loaded as Ohio State yeah Ohio State doesn't necessarily need CJ strad this year to be able to win at all now just imagine if Ohio state had CG St this year but uh I I think there a lot of people in Houston that would have uh you know some issues with Ohio State trying to take CJ back but you know will Howard brings the element of a true running quarterback and it's not that he's going to be out there all flee to foot per se but you know he's he's a he's a he's a big body at 235 down a little bit I think he was close um I think he was like cheeseburger away from 250 at one point but I mean he's going to be like I think it's like 233 235 he's somebody who's going to be able to help Ohio State in its issues that it's had with third and short fourth and short third and goal fourth and goal some things there because you look at Kyle McCord before him and Kyle McCord while he was not adverse to the Run he wasn't the most gifted at running the ball either that's something that will Howard can do and I think that it's fair to say that Kyle McCord may have a little bit more arm Talent than will Howard but I think will Howard has more experience I think will Howard is going to be able to process the field a little bit better and maybe not have to worry about making these throws into into double coverage I think that you know Ohio State runs a quarterback friendly system under Ryan day and now under Chip Kelly that as long as you go through your reads there's probably going to be somebody out there open it's just a matter of connecting with them so I'm not as concerned about will Howard if he is named the starter which we all believe is going to be the case that he is going to be underwater at any point and just you know really lacking because people want to especially Ohio State critics want to come out and talk about how K State was ready to move on from will Howard to go with the younger guy and how can Ohio State win with this guy well just watch because they're going to win a lot of games with this guy yeah and by the way that kid that they've decided to uh uh push out Howard out for is a really good Prospect so it had this is what transferred this what the portal is all about really and this is why it works this is how it works I know there's a lot of ways it doesn't but this is the way it does work hey let that kid play at Kansas State he should play he he's that talented he should start but how it should also start and this gives an opportunity to do that without sitting out or any of that stuff so and maybe win a National Championship which of course would be a lot harder at Kanas State um who is the next in line by the way who is it Devin Brown is there someone else that's like the next like whether it's well next year of course there's going to be an opening so do we know who that quarterback's going to be next year next year I really think it's going to be Julian S uh the uh the true freshman who technically is a transfer from Alabama he did sign with Alabama he did get to unpack his boxes and put a couple of posters up on the wall before Nick Sabin left and he ultimately transferred to Ohio State and they going to be people who are going to notice I'm not talking about Devon Brown and I'm not talking about Lin and Keen Holtz it's a lot of times it's just about timing it's about timing and I think that Julian saan is there at the right timing for that position Devin Brown yes has had a little bit of experience Lincoln Keen hold's even less I mean the last memory that people have of both of them was a pretty offensive disastrous cottonball game against Missouri that I think a lot of Ohio State fans have tried to put out of their memory so you're looking at a situation of where you have this young guy in saying who's going to be pushing the guys who are above him in terms of of of Elder Statesmen and I don't think that Devin Brown nor Lincoln keenholtz really are going to have the body of work to be able to hold off somebody like Julian saying so you see here on the depth chart Ohio state has five scholarship quarterbacks which is very rare which is I mean it's going to be more rare moving forward with the transfer portal and everything else I think that we see two of them leave but Ohio State also will be bringing in Tavian St Clair who according to at least one of the services is the number one player overall so you know don't don't be shedding any tears for Ohio State and its quarterback woes that can be coming in the future that'll be just fine no I don't think they will be uh okay so by the way you mentioned Chip Kelly so I've got to ask you about that because that is interesting how that works and you know life and uh Chip Kelly's now under Ryan day so what do you think about what you've heard so far and how dramatically the offense might change if that dramatically I don't think it's going to change dramatically I think one of the things under Chip Kelly though is that he has some run schemes that maybe Ryan day didn't necessarily as as a former quarterback himself and wanting to sling the ball all over the place may not have you know think about as much so I think that we could see maybe a little bit more of a of a balance in run pass uh especially since chip will be the play caller and it's you're not it's not going to be a case of Ryan going back to old Ryan tenden we see all of that so I think that that is going to probably be the biggest change but you got to remember that chip and and Ryan kind of came through the same pipeline I mean chip is older than Ryan but you know that that Southern New Hampshire Mafia of of going through all of that so there's there's a lot of there's a lot of familiarity and there's a lot of trust and I think it was really going to take the perfect situation there let's let's not forget that there was like two weeks that it was not Chip Kelly it was O'Brien before he ended up backing off and taking the Boston College head coaching job I mean Ohio State having a chance to either have Bill O'Brien or Chip Kelly I mean that just that that that that's gonna have to be like a a Jeopardy answer at some point because that's just you know that's just kind of unheard of of how that was going to to work out but I think that all things I'm hearing from inside the program is that chip is fitting and just fine chip is really happy he's not having to go to the luncheons and and and and shake hands and do all of the donor stuff that you have to do as as as as a head coach and he's able to focus more on football and the players and I think that that is going to I think that's going to put a lot more pep in a step well let's talk about the balance that we should see based on just that running back room you talked about Henderson is already uh one of the top running back prospects uh that's uh we're probably going to see in the draft this year and then they go out uh Ohio State and add in quishon Judkins uh who you know he's not he doesn't have the the the notability of some of these other players in the country even though he's with an SEC school and a popular SEC school but it's still all miss and I think there's a lot of college football fans that may not realize how good Judkins was and should be this year yeah sometimes it's easy to get caught in the orbit of Lane kein I think that when Sean Judkins got caught in the orbit of Lane kein and maybe we weren't talking about him enough uh me having friends who are Old Miss Alum I watched a lot more Old Miss than I you know than I would normally admit um but yeah a onew punch of Henderson and Judkins and I'm not saying who's one and who's two I I mean is going to be devastating for for Ohio State out there they're going to put a lot of defensive coordinators you know at you know at their at their wits end because you know they they they're similar yet they have enough differences too to where you're not just necessarily going out there and it's like well we just it's it's two of the same um you know funny story Quinn Sean Judkins was one of the most powerful players on the EA college football 2025 game because of this spin move uh they ended up fixing that in a patch and taking the spin move away from him of being so devastating and he was joking about he's like I never even got a chance to play as myself with the spin move to see what it was all about but I'd certainly heard of it but you know and then there's a pretty you know a pretty pretty sizable jump down in terms of experience with a couple true freshman and James peoples and Sam Williams Dixon they both look really good during fall Camp okay I mean how much you know how much do you rely on these guys remember you have will Howard as a runner too I think that James peoples is probably a little further along but you know it's it's a running back room that you're kind of done at four because TC Cathy who's listed fifth actually is out with uh with an ACL he will miss season at this point so um you know Ohio state has kind of flirted with the idea of maybe giving Caleb DS a couple of carries at running back at some point I don't know if that was just hey we're just putting it out there to make you have to think about it or if there was something to it because it was around the time of the TC caffy news um but you know you if Trevon Henderson is able to stay healthy which has been a challenge in his career uh because he kind of has a little bit of a violent running Style just you know susceptible to picking up some injuries if they can stay healthy in that position you know you can give me that three-man rotation of Henderson Judkins and peoples and um you know I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna show you a lot of yardage a lot of broken ankles and a lot of touchdowns yep uh and by the way you mentioned people so since Judkins and Henderson are more than likely G to be gone uh does peoples is he the guy as you mentioned with Saiyan is it saying in peoples as the lead backfield next season I think so I mean Ohio State obviously will be bringing in um you know more running backs for you know for this season they you know bringing in somebody with the name a famous name who should probably be going to Auburn Bo Jackson will be coming in as a out of out of Cleveland as as part of their two-man running back class that they have along with Isaiah West out of uh out of Philadelphia but uh yeah peoples will will definitely have a head start on everybody and even Williams Dixon I you know maybe maybe you try to red shirt them but what I've always said as a top team if you red shirt a player you're not red shirting him for you you're red shirting him for his next stop because if you're having to red shirt him and you go to the point of having to play all five of those years I mean maybe he isn't necessarily what you know what it is that you're used to having and and so I don't I don't think that red shirting really serves a a huge benefit outside of maybe quarterback or some some of these positions that have so much mental learning and everything else that it just you know like running backs you don't generally red shirt because it's you know run to the light and and and and they do it and pick up your blocking schemes and and that blocking schemes may be the thing that short circuits some running backs but uh but yeah I'm not red shirting either of them if I'm if if I'm Carlos llin new Ohio State running back coach all right well let's talk about uh you already mentioned uh Smith Jeremiah JJ Smith so does he prefer to go by JJ or Jeremiah I think he's cool with with with with with JJ but I mean he's he I've had the chance to interview him through the years covering his recruitment I mean he answers to Jeremiah too great right great kid I mean you know one of the biggest aliens in terms of football players that I've covered in a long time and he's a great kid so I mean he's got it all going on got the full package and this should not be a surprise to see the top wide receiver Prospect and the top prospect overall in the class pick Ohio State knowing the Buckey's uh Legacy of wide receivers especially just recently so egbuka though he's the man he still should be the man this year uh which and let me ask you so we know how good auka is and and and Smith is coming in with all this Fanfare uh do you think Smith winds up really exploding this season as early or do you think it may take him a little time and there are some other receivers that are probably ahead of him on the pecking order I am not going to bettig get Jeremiah Smith in any way shape or form I mean do that at your own at your own risk he is he is special and that's not to take anything away from auka but sometimes people don't get as excited about the inside receiver so you know and I think we're going to see abuka play outside a little bit but I mean he certainly is your slot guy uh you know we saw some glimpses of Carnell Tate last year I think that he's going to be special I think that Brandon Enis who especially if if Iuka slides outside at some points I think Brandon Enis can eat from uh you know at the slot position a player that we're not talking about as much is milin Graham who did not he was not an early enrol he didn't get to enroll until the start of summer uh this this this year so he didn't get the benefit of a spring practice but getting the opportunity to watch five practices like we have I've had the opportunity to really uh like what I've seen out of Graham and I think he is somebody who could uh could could bully his way into into the starting uh rotation at some point to be quite honest I think he I think he's really good but then then you know you run into a case with like Jaden Ballard I mean he's he's been in the program what feels like 10 years is this going to be the year that he's going to be able to break through Cojo anwe was very highly decorated coming out of high school he kind of ran into a brick wall of of of the Garrett Wilson and Chris olves and Marvin Harrison jors and guys like that and that has made it very difficult for some of these guys to break through but Marvin Harrison is now in Arizona so there is going to be opportunity out there but you know I think we're going to see a lot of it going to Iuka and Jeremiah yeah I mean just taking a look at the depth chart these top nine here the majority are underclassman I mean you got auka and Ballard everyone else underclassman and then it includes the two true freshman as well as a Richard freshman and yet on on on most teams that would be an issue but not here uh because they're so talented so um all right so that so Tate's though Tate's the guy that you think though could be almost like a breakout as far as uh you know this offense we talked about him even last year Marvin Harrison Jr came out and said that that Carnell Tate was further at that point of like the beginning of the Season than than than Marvin was at that point of the beginning of his sophomore year so Marvin really believes in in Carnell Tate and I know Carell Tate really believes in Carell tap will will will Howard believe in Cardell Tate it's going to be a matter is the quarterback going to be delivering the ball at that point again you're not you don't have 18 out there you don't have Marvin Harrison Jr out there that if you're not throwing it 14 times to him targeting them 14 times that's criminal so I think that there is going to be an opportunity here as Ohio State schedule is not necessarily that difficult in the first six games yeah I mean you know we did kind of mention Michigan State we don't know what jonath Jonathan Smith is is going to be able to do there bringing a lot of his Oregon State team with him but I think Ohio State's going to have a lot of games where it can go to the lab and try and figure some things out before it gets into a rather difficult second half of the Season yep all right so it's it really though I I'm I would guess you would agree with me here what might have been holding back Ohio State over the last few years against Michigan is the offensive line and uh you look at the offensive line talent-wise and you do have I mean everybody of course talking about Donovan Jackson uh and then you do have the Alabama transfer mclin uh who was having snap issues last year I'm sure he's sick of hearing about that uh I don't know how he's doing in practice uh I was I'm guessing he's doing much better but uh yeah so Jackson is like the guy uh but tell us about the rest of the line is this in is this an improved line or is this still a questionable uh po potential position for the team it's an improved line but still there's still a real question mark at Right Guard as I've mentioned and we'll get into that in a second Josh Simmons at left tackle he was a transfer from San Diego State last year I think at some points early in the season he was drinking from a fire hose I think he really kind of rounded into shape as the season went on and I think that he's going to be pretty strong at left tackle I mean obviously that is you know your your Cadillac position on the offensive line you want your left tackle to be there uh you kind of mentioned Donovan Jackson a player who had a decision to make about coming back or not coming back he came back I I it's going to be a rare day that I'm going to sit there and advocate for an offensive lineman to leave I think that you know getting the Reps in college are important um because you're generally not going to be able I don't care how good you are in college to step right into a position and be able to own it and you're going to be having guys on your heels at all times Seth MC glockman at Center you know he's been he's been trained at Center he's been trained at guard a little bit it looks like he is going to be the starting center at this point we look at Right Guard you got Tegra chabola he's in the mix as well as Luke mcgomery but keep an eye on Carson hensman the backup center I think he could also be in the mix at guard and and honestly if you told me I had to push my chips in on one of the three I think it will be Carson hensman who will be your starting Right Guard but we don't know that yet Ohio State doesn't put out depth charts so that always makes finding a depth chart online that is that is you know 90 % right is you know when you find that you better bookmark it and save it forever because it's hard to find depth charts for Ohio State and then um Josh frier at right tackle I think he's pretty solid there I prefer frier as a guard I I don't think I don't think he moves as well in space as I would like my tackles to move but uh you I think he's pretty solid there but you know I think a big concern as you sit there and you look at the twos is Ohio state gets uh very inexperienced in a Hur and it's it's just as important it is having one through five to be money you need six seven and eight I mean obviously you'd probably like to go to 10 you'd like to have a backup for everybody but let's be realistic if if you're if you're eight deep on your offensive line you're you're you're living well yeah I mean just looking at it wow it just it just sticks out all of these I just talked about underclass at wide receiver I mean you don't want to I don't care who you are see you could have a you could have a uh um uh some you can have it the way we just talked about it at wide receiver because that's different I mean these kids they can stick out individually one-on-one matchups out there it's just way skill positions is in football but in the trenches as you said you have to have that experience and there's a lot of inexperience here just looking at you know sof even though most of it's in on the bench as you said there one sophomore here on the start as far as the starting unit is concerned but everything else really is mostly sophomores freshmen a couple of Juniors so uh we'll find and is there a there a blue chip guy uh that is on the bench is there anybody that they recruited over the last uh recycle or two that is supposed to take that next step I mean I think Luke Montgomery is close to that position right now um I think Tegra chabola was he was a four star I mean you have him listed there I mean again he could end up starting some games I don't know he might start the season they've just been really dodgy on that but I still think it's going to be hensman okay um they're waiting on a decision this weekend from a five-star offensive tackle um David Sanders Jr but I think he's probably going to end up going to Tennessee unless something changes here they have had some issues with their offensive line recruiting and I know that any Ohio State fan that is watching this right now is like yes yes I know because that has been an issue I mean where they do land at Donovan Jackson you know they miss out on other ones and and you know Ohio state has made a change at offensive line coach a couple years AO ago when it brought in Justin fry and a lot of fans are getting a little antsy that that fry hasn't been able to have that answer but I think Ohio State's depth on offensive line really builds when Ohio as a state high school players are are produced that go there and that's what it's going to be in the the next class Ohio is going to have a ton of great offensive linemen okay and Ohio State Should land all these guys but I really expect Ohio State going into the 20 five season to maybe even have to go to the portal for two guys I think it's I think it's going to be that type of year to go out and get a couple of one-year rentals but we're also going to be getting into a situation of where it appears we're going to be going to 105 in terms of scholarships and how that's going to work yeah I don't like the uh the way it's going to affect Walk-Ons that's I I I don't think anybody's happy about that uh so we certainly hope they figure something out uh but uh anyway I guess that's another story for another day uh and then there's the tight end position that appears just on paper to me just appears to be like night and day from last year which St so is that the case are they is there a little bit of an issue there or is there somebody ready to pick up you know the the uh the mantle so to speak well I think that we're going to see you know you have the right four names listed there G Scott Jr is going to be kind of your first guy and I think he's more of your skilled pass catcher I mean he was a former five-star wide receiver that just really was not necessarily able to I mean he was at the upper end of his his his his weight threshold so um you know he's he's had some issues he's had some maturation things to go through I mean he's a great kid don't get me wrong but he's had a lot of learning to kind of go through to get to that position your fourth teamer Patrick gerd I think you're going to see in there in in uh in 12 Personnel he's going to be your blocking tight end he's going to do some things there but I think you see him right off the bat and you're 12 will cast Merck uh he's the transfer from Ohio University I think he's somebody who they're starting to really trust in terms of having him out there in in both like 11 and 12 personnel and then galani Thurman is like your blue chipper he's the one that everybody is just waiting for the light bulb to go on and um I think that he's going to be like you know he's going to be everything that Stover was and potentially more and uh it's just a it's just a matter of everything kind of slowing down for him as he's still you know trying to learn what it takes to be a Collegiate player okay and by the way you said did you say gird was the blocking tight end yes okay make sure I got that okay all right so that's offense let's now take a look at the defense which is just as if not even more talented than the offense and matter of fact I probably is isn't it I think the defense is more talented than the offense what do you think yeah this is going to be a team that's going to like under Jim nolles year three just the Personnel that's there just what they what they were able to go out and add from the portal and some things to an already devastating defense I think that this is going to be at worst a top 10 National Defense and I think it very well in a lot of categories could be a a top one defense I think that it is I mean the the thing that is so scary is that there is depth at every position too I mean it's not a case of that you look at it and you're like well from 1 to 11 they're great but from 12 to you know from 12 to 22 it's it's it's not great no they're they're they're solid 1 to 20 at worth if not all the way to 22 well that's going to help and uh give us an education here because uh of course we're familiar with a lot of these named players so we'll go through that quickly of course but finding out who that next wave is is going to be really important so all right let's start up front then I mean wow I mean these guys are all talented for their own individual reasons so um let me let me let me make sure I can pronounce his name right so JT Tui Mo Loa loau tuy moow tuy Mo you were you were right there I mean it took me a week to sit there and just I'm just like saying it as I'm walking around the street tuy moow tuy moo just just so it becomes you know second nature yes tuy moow okay so anyway the fact is uh he seems to be the guy that has the biggest ceiling even though it's very talented four he does but you know the the thing is is that Jack Sawyer at the end of 23 was outplaying everybody he was playing his best football because Ohio State keeps talking about wanting to run this Jack position and and we've all heard of what the jack is you know the rush end whatever that kind of has some different responsibilities well last year they put jack Sawyer back at defensive end like a true defensive end and it took him it took him a little bit of time but then he was when he got going I mean he played very well Tu amoa on the other side he has huge games as well the last two games against Penn State he's been a game wrecker he has been an absolute game wrecker but will Ohio State be able to get consistency out of these two guys and it's it's you know it's one thing to sit there it's like oh we're counting on two and a half sacks from the two of them and everything else Ohio State you know I think one of the biggest things Ohio state has to work on this season are are forcing turnover getting home some of these other things that you know they're so close to to making these things happen they're make putting a huge emphasis on on the turnovers and I think that they were starting to get home more on the on the pass rush but I think that the one two of Sawyer and tuy moolo hour are are are fantastic and then Ohio State's interior line might get overshadowed a little bit what with what Michigan is returning I mean Michigan's interior line is just it's next level but when you look at Tai Hamilton and Ty leek Williams I mean obviously Ohio State lost mik Hall to the draft but you're bringing back you know so I would have said they had three starters really at uh you know on the interior line but when you've got a one-w of Hamilton and Williams guys that have a ton of experience under their belts I mean this is just a great line and then you can go to the you can go to the twos and I I agree with how the twos are lined up they're more or less you know you got Curry and you got kinata Jackson who I think could probably be starting at there's what 17 other big 10 teams I think they could probably be starting at about 16 of them um and then you Kaden McDonald who is a little bit of a different body from what Ohio State normally does Ohio State doesn't normally have a lot of ones kateen McDonald is very much a one and then you got hero canoe as your three Tech and then you even get to the next level edric Houston he's a true freshman five-star kid I think he's somebody that we see wrestle away some some some meaningful snaps Mitchell Melton he is the jack in the in the defense so you know what what ends up coming out of that but Taiwan Malone who's listed as a third third team knows he was playing at Old Miss but he was playing baseball and football he gave up baseball last year I mean and I've talked to I've talked to the coaches about it you know they were still teaching him to become a full-time football player he is now so you know I could see some scenarios where he and canoe are out there where where McDonald may not work as as well being more of a one being a 330 guy which is not normally how Ohio State lines things up but they're in great position with another with another one technique in this recruiting class so maybe we could see some uh some Evolution and then Jason Moore who you have at 13 D tackle he's somebody who came in who was kind of you know was was he a big Edge or was he was he interior he's grown into being an interior guy we haven't really had a chance to see him but he's looked good in Fall okay so then with and again this is just a guess but I think it's a logical guess that all four starting linen will be gone and so you mentioned Curry uh and who knows you Curry does have what at least one more year of Eligibility so Curry and Jackson could both be gone I mean if Ohio State wins a national championship Okay Kevin slow down don't be such a homer but if Ohio State wins a national championship I think we're going to see a mass Exodus of players that are draft eligible and that's not a I don't like Ohio State I think you can look at 2015 as kind of a cautionary tale Ohio State wins the title in 14 with a bunch of true sophomores they get into 15 and everybody's kind of got their own agendas and everything else and granted this was pre nil and you can you know make some money with nil but you know not you're not making NFL money with nil all right let's uh talk about those that linebacking uh unit so uh Hicks and Simon and then Styles uh is is also really more like a starter right so um yeah who's who's the lead guy there you know Simon is the guy with all the experience I mean and the fact that it says graduate next to him should should should say all you need to know there I mean Simon was somebody who was the third linebacker for Ohio State last year be because they had uh ikenberg and they had Chambers who are both gone now but he was your third guy when they had to drop into 4-3 uh they would still bring him out in some obvious situations he has all the experience he is going to be your guy CJ Hicks is somebody instead who he came in as a star top 15 National type of player number one in Ohio you know this kid was just born to be a buckeye they called him Captain Buckeye during his uh recruitment um this is going to be a big moment for him because there's a lot of talent behind him so you need to make the most of it I mean I think one of the things for CJ Hicks is sometimes he doesn't play Under Control he needs to play a little bit more under control but uh he's got all the talent in the world and then you know as we talking about Sunny Styles it's it's hard to imagine him on any sort of two I think it's just everything is just based on matchups and what's out there and I mean I think with sunny he is better the closer he plays to the ball I mean I just don't necessarily want him getting out there in coverage I think he's out I just don't think that is where you're utilizing his his best talents so he's real so that's why even though some people might consider him a safety he really is better off as a linebacker in my opinion now according according to his family I mean maybe they feel different maybe according to a coach they feel differently but I think he I would like to see him as a standup end I would just like to sit there and say you know pin your ears back and go get them I mean I think that would be that would be clutch I mean and maybe may you know maybe we'll see that but you know we're he's third year player so I mean we could be at the end of Sunny Styles we don't know and then then kind of going behind that arel ree he's um you know one of the first Glenville players to Cleveland Glenville players to go to Ohio State since Glenville kind started getting players again they have a lot of high hopes for him just got to keep him healthy Garrett Stover BR cousin cousin of Cade Stover he is uh you know I think he's still kind of learning the position he was a safety in high school they started to move drop him down to linebacker I think he's going to need a little seasoning and the gay Powers you know he's he's you know an interesting study there because he came in in the the Hicks class with just almost as much hype and and I think that he's somebody who needs a slide down as well too but you know they don't necessarily agree pton pierce the true freshman a lot of uh a lot of high thoughts on him and then Court Williams actually medically retired oh okay no more Court Williams all right and then that secondary Ohio say always has a good secondary and this is no different but uh I guess they depending on how the season goes they might be looking to compare this secondary to uh some of the best that's how talented it is so we we've seen Burke there now for the last few years and boy is it going to be something I mean the corners that are coming out of this draft especially just between Ohio State and Michigan are just going to be amazing so uh who's gonna go high who's gonna go higher could a quarterback get become the first pick of the draft if there's not a quarterback there maybe that's how talented these kids are maybe but you know the thing is it's like you know Corners are there's such there's such a you know such an emphasis on Landing corners and Ohio State is in in great position obviously Denzel Burke gets a lot of the the first mentions I mean he is somebody who he came in in a very talented Corner class to Ohio State and I don't think many of us predicted that Burke was going to be the first one to emerge then you have davidon osen igb as they call him at at your corner position he is somebody who I I've seen do a lot of work on his technique when he first came in really handsy really really handsy he's still very aggressive which maybe is just a nice way of saying handsy he's still very aggressive out there but uh you know he's turning heads and then of course you got Jordan Hancock Ohio state has kind of changed you know in its 425 it used to be that it's fifth defensive back was a little bit more of a safety now we're seeing more of a case of where it's a little bit more of a corner in a lot of ways and I think that Hancock is somebody who gets forgotten about and you know do that at your own detriment I think that Hancock is a player who can make a lot of big plays as I mentioned a little earlier in the show Ohio state has not been great at takeaways and that is something that is a you know a major point of emphasis I think it's going to be a lot easier to jump routes with the rest of this defense because of you know you're going to have a lot of faith and everybody that's out there on the field with you and to have Caleb DS uh join Denzel Burke in the same secondary uh is as good as it gets uh so DS comes over from Alabama and he is one of the top uh recruits from last year a couple years ago so talk about I mean you've seen some really good safeties at Ohio State talk about how good he could be he could be really great I'm really looking forward to getting a chance to see him we've not had a ton of opportunity again we've been in practices oh he was back here for the spring game but you know I I really want to see it when when the stakes are high and with him out there but I certainly watched his clips from when he was at Alabama and he is you know he's fantastic he's going to make lean Rand that much better lean Ransom I think when he got hurt last year we saw Ohio State's defense suffer a little bit at that point and that's not taking anything away from anybody that was stepping in for him at that point Malik Hartford I think it's just more of a case of uh they're just they're so deep they are so deep right now and yeah you can look at the twos and I could sit there and say young young young young young but Germaine Matthews I I said on his first day of college he's going to be a star by the time it's done I feel the same way about Malik Hartford I think Calvin Simpson hunt uh at corner out of wa waxah hatchee Texas he is somebody that we're not talking about enough Lorenzo Styles Jr is a little bit of a question mark for me because he came over from Notre Dame where he was playing on offense he's playing on defense here I just need to see more of them at at that point so you you look at this list and then and then Keenan Nelson Jr I mean I don't you know you bring in somebody else via the portal um I don't know where he fits at this point he's not somebody that I necessarily have ever even thought of to be quite honest and then you look at the true freshman and you know Aaron Scott junor and and Bryce West were both five stars uh you got you know Jaylen mlan they're really high on Jaylen mlan uh you know I've heard you know anybody I talk to is like Do You Hear What Jaylen mlan did today no why don't you tell me miles lockart was a former offensive player in high school he's moving over to defense but they're going to be good in the secondary what's going to be important is getting out there and having situations to where you can roll your twos and threes out in meaningful minutes just so when you lose when you lose almost your entire starting secondary Downs will have at least one more year uh you're not completely in the weeds I mean it's but this is typical for Ohio State to have this much talent in the secondary and uh it doesn't mean it all works out but the more of these fantastic uh prospects that you have the more chances that they're going to develop so um it there's just usually I I I have a conversation with an analyst an Insider and I'll say all well G give me your breakout player or two and I and I kind of already know who they are because they've kind of talked about it during the interview but with with our conversation it seems like you could pick out about six or seven guys maybe even more that could be breakout candidates uh not necessarily true freshman but guys that yeah you know what maybe they're ready so would would Matthews be one of those guys and we can kind of start there and maybe give us give me like a few guys that you think could be breakout candidates I mean I think I think Matthews is already done enough that he's broken out to me but you know maybe not to you know maybe not to the general public I mean again I'm watching very I'm watching differently a lot of times as covering the team and everything else but I mean I think both he and Malik Hartford are certainly guys that are on that trajectory I think that when you look at the defensive line of guys I think edrick Houston is going to be some that you're going to be talking about he's a three and done for sure you know I think at I think at uh at linebacker I think Payton Pierce is somebody it's going to take him a little bit of time because you know just it takes time to to grow into into a Collegiate player but I think that they already got that there I think Aral ree I think that he's somebody if he can stay healthy I think he could be pushing for a little bit of time to give you know Cody Simon a bit of a of a breather okay and then on offense uh we didn't have to even mention Jeremiah so give me a give me a couple of guys that stick out as breakout candidates here yeah I I'll say James peoples at running back I think we're going to get a see a healthy dose of him just because of the depth issue I mean honestly even with a loss of TC caffy James peoples was going to be the number three running back just that's just how it was going to be so uh but I think we'll see him really step up I think that uh you know Ohio state would be in better position if galani Thurman is on this list of gelani Thurman at tight end would be able to step up and and and seize a bigger role uh you're not letting me take Jeremiah Smith and I'll Pro I won't take milin Graham at this point but I I say keep an eye on Luke Montgomery on the offensive line I think in a lot of ways he's already kind of broken through um I don't know if I see him in the starting five but I think he's definitely number six okay and then and and Tate even though uh he's not a a you know a nobody or a young player that hasn't played the fact is though he could be maybe the biggest breakout just because nobody's even looking at him right now with all that depth Ohio State wide receivers the last couple of years the Marvin Harrison and now everybody's talking about BBA and JJ Smith but Tate's a guy that could really break out and be a star is that do is that how you feel about him absolutely he's gonna be a Frontline guy he's gonna have to be a Frontline guy I mean I guess I mean because you right you got abuka on the inside we know what he is but every year when it's like auka is going to break out you know you got Marv you got whatever happening there so he hasn't necessarily been able there but I think Carnell Tate I think I I'm not going to sleep on Brandon inis either I think that you know both those guys are out of The Talented South florid Express 7even on seven program you know these you know South flid express guys produce plain and simple okay and then how is the Special Teams looking this year the punting and kicking game yeah that is you know that is a question right there I mean they brought in a 6' s austral and Nick Mardy um he is still kind of learning the the Nuance I mean don't you know you're not just supposed to kick it as hard as you can you know angle it and spin and everything else uh you sit there and you look at uh at at at the at the place kicking I mean obviously everybody's going to go back a couple of years ago and remember what happened and missing the 50 yard against Georgia to go to the championship game uh that's going to be important I don't think Ohio State Ohio State's going to have to do a lot of field goals I think it's going to be a lot of Point afters but you know they should be fine there um I just think that it it's it's going to be really important for them to find you know some consistency at punter and then on top of that you know return Ohio State doesn't necessarily do a lot of returns it's a lot of fair catching and everything else um if that's you know if we see if we see Jaden Ballard out there we know that what it's going to be but you know Ohio state is so deep in in weapons why not try to run a couple back why not uh okay so give me a prediction what are you thinking about this year's team uh again playoffs are a a lock unless anything strange happens uh but um that's kind of an easy one so do you think that from what you've seen so far and I know we haven't played any games yet we'll talk during the season at some point hopefully but do you kind of get a feel that this is a championship team that they got the makeup of one I am much more comfortable saying this is a championship caliber te team then I am going between 11-1 and 12-0 and trying to sit there you say 12-0 and then you're a homer you say 11-1 and then your fan base is like why do you not have any faith in the team but yes this this is a championship caliber team uh but I have seen Championship caliber teams under Urban Meyer lose to Purdue lose to Iowa you have to bring it every week at least as we talked about earlier in the show we're in a different world 11 and one certainly doesn't knock you out of anything but uh you know I I will I want that first week that first round by in a big way if I'm one of these teams if I'm one of these coaches that's true be able to to I mean and and we hear the thing during March Madness we hear during March Madness well this team that played in Dayton that had to play in the first four they're you know they kept their momentum going or whatever but yes I'm not I'm not trying to piss any basketball guys out there but there's just football and basketball very different in terms of of the rigers that are there and basketball you know world class athletes don't get me wrong but I don't want to necessarily play an extra game where I have you know 13 players that are spending extra sessions that you know in the in the in the in the in the med room and everything else I want let's just enjoy the Saturday and watch football and get to it Sunday start game planning so I mean that's really that's really what it is but Ohio State's biggest challenge obviously is going to Oregon uh October 12th I think that's going to be the the big one there I think that Ohio State going to Penn State in November that one is got its own challenge Ohio state does very well against Penn State through the years but Ohio state does not it Ohio state has a 6314 win but they're not a lot of 6314 wins against Penn State and I think Penn State team has some issues this year but for whatever reason Ohio State just plays them T plays them tight and then of course the end of the season Michigan who I don't think Michigan's going to be all that great this year I think I agree talking about a nine and three eight and4 type of team but we can go back to the John Cooper era where much much more inferior Michigan teams came in and not only beat Ohio State but beat them pretty badly so you know you can never take anything for granted yeah no I I agree it's looking uh like those are the three teams to to watch in the Big 10 Penn State Oregon Ohio State but there'll be there'll be a surprise or two and um you know we don't know about Wisconsin uh we don't know about uh I mean I don't think anybody really knows what to expect out of USC uh you know everybody's expecting them to kind of be down but you don't know so um but anyway this is what's going to be fun really looking forward to this and it's going to be a great following uh college football this season and again you've got the big me kickoff podcast uh that uh you're and when when that starts rolling what is that like a weekly deal that you do I want to I want to do it three times a week but I just busier and busier so I'm GNA promise everybody one and if you get two be happy and if you get three be thrilled but you can you know you can definitely follow me at Kevin unor noon on on X or Twitter or whatever it is and I will try to have a schedule on there of what I'm going to do but you know I think once we get into games and I get excited about what I have to talk about you know you get me talking and you can't get me to shut up so yeah I've noticed that's okay that's what we want here it's an interview uh what do we have here just noticed we had a question why does it feel like last season was the last great NCA season there a lot of people with a lot of lot of fears of of the new playoff and you know I know a lot of people are not happy with you know with nil and the transfer portal and everything else this is this is what we're seeing today is not football of 10 years ago maybe not even five years ago so I mean and you know and I'm I'm not necessarily trying to get into her in 78s head here but you know we're also saw a a big movement in in conference realignment two teams going to the SEC four going to the to the Big 10 I mean it's it's not different I mean or it is different it's not what we grew up with it's not going to be watching the Rose Bowl and seeing Ohio State and USC or or or what what have you so there is a lot of a lot of change but I I I I tell people that are ready to punt on the sport I'm like we've not even seen a game yet this season while just give it a shot I mean if it stinks you know there there is this NFL that would love to have your attention so I mean there's a lot of stuff out there but I I I can I can understand what Heron 78 is saying yeah I I I think though it again I really believe that when that playoff uh kicks off I think it's going to be one of the biggest spectacles that Sports has had in years and and that's when you're really going to know whether or not uh the NCAA is still great uh I I I I think they needed it because you talk about the Rose Ball I think the rose Ball's already been tainted because of the fact that it wasn't like it was before when it was just it was kind of cool you did have the big 10 and the Pack 12 and they would face each other but now everybody just cares about getting everybody once the four 14 playoff happened that's all anybody cared about if you didn't make it well you saw what happened a couple years ago when Ohio State played in the Rose Bowl I mean some of the top players didn't even decide to play and that's the Rose Bowl and they sat out so um and I'm not pointing Ohio State players I'm just pointing out that this is happening all over and so I think that we've already seen that kind of decline a little bit that maybe the playoff will juice it back up maybe it's exactly what we need so yeah I think the playoff is going to add a lot and I think that you know I I sit there and you know being a paid sports Rider it's amazing some of the stuff you get paid for just sit around and think about the playoff and I'm just like okay I think that this is going to be exciting and I know that there people are like 12 is such a dumb number well wait a year and it'll be 14 but people wanted to be eight or or 16 or whatever and you know we're we're we're just we're just dragging until we get to Super conferences that's just G to be what it's gonna be I mean right now we're just living in the uh the interim times that's just going to be what it is and I think they just need to rip the Band-Aid off and get there but you know not that's not going to happen you know I think the next step is going to be what happens with FSU and Clemson against the ACC in the court systems or in mediation if they're able to come up with anything but I think anything that you're seeing right now is not necessarily going to be what it is and no five years I mean and I feel that maybe I'm even shooting too far out at that point yeah i' I've mentioned that as well it's uh just just look at the NFL and that's what college football is going to be it's going to be like the NFL and I'm okay with that because like you said I don't think anybody likes that in between part which is what we're in we're in that kind of holding pattern we know where we're going we just haven't gotten there yet um and I think it'll be better in a way but hey nothing we can do hand are tied let's just enjoy the season and uh if you're an Ohio State fan just enjoy the fact that you're going to be in a in a playoff system and there's not going to be complaining about politics and and and what have you uh it's all going to be about performance now and you're going to be there and you're probably this program is probably going to be there you would think as long as Ryan day is the coach is going to be there every year and then it's just going to be up to the team to go out and prove it on the field and that's all you can ask for so you just you chip in a chair in poker I mean that's kind of what you want to hear if you're if you're one or you're 12 and you're in the playoff I mean let's remember 2014 the 14 playoff Ohio State's four goes on Beats Alabama beats Oran National Champion so y anything can happen and so that's what's that's what's going to be fun about the 12 we're going to get an upset in there we don't know when it's going to happen could be this year next year it's going to be a big upset and that's what we love about sports and we're going to love about part of what we're gonna love about the playoffs so Kevin a great talking to you this was awesome as always and I look forward to talking to you again during the season absolutely