Another 5-star wide receiver, preseason rankings and what Ohio State could still need from the transfer portal: Buckeye Talk podcast

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- This Friday episode of Buckeye Talk is brought to you solely on behalf of the texter community, which delivered questions about practically everything under the sun.

Among the topics discussed by Stephen Means, Stefan Krajisnik and Andrew Gillis:

• What kind of Ohio State quarterback battle is happening in 2025;
• What will OSU still need to address in the spring portal window;
• Is another five-star freshman wide receiver already turning heads;
• An early prediction of where Ohio State will be in the preseason rankings;

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk.

Read the automated transcript of today’s podcast below. Because it’s a computer-generated transcript, it may contain errors and misspellings.

Stephen Means (00:04.691)

Welcome back to book I talk I’m Stephen means that’s the fun question. I ask Andrew Gillis. This is your Friday pod. We’ve seen two practices, talk to two position groups. And now we’re going to answer a bunch of questions from our tech subscribers get the text 614-350-3315 which is thought to be the best way to end the week. That’s not true. I’m just going to be honest with you guys. I sent them a plan. I sent Stefan and Andrew plan and then I got excited and essentially executed all three parts of that plan in one podcast and that was not

supposed to happen. So now as a result, we’re asking our textures to bring us questions. They always bring us good stuff. It’s fine. It worked out because we’re getting questions from our textures and keeping them involved. But this is happening because Steven made a mistake and Steven Holmes' mistake.

Stefan Krajisnik (00:47.426)

Also, if the Texas have any ideas for the next pod to let us know.

Stephen Means (00:52.201)

Well, no, I have an idea for that one. I mean, sure, you can. They do have a good one, but I don’t want to use it right now. I’m banking up a bunch of these ideas that the textures have sent for when we need stuff to talk about in May. And they have sent some good ones. But starting off from the 513, which senior from last year will be missed the most this year? Andrew, we’ll start with you. What senior do you think is going to be missed the most?

Andrew (01:16.384)

Yeah, this was a really difficult question because there’s a lot of different answers to it. And I think there’s a lot of right answers to it, not just because you’re to miss a lot of seniors, but because I think it depends on how you frame the question. Look, I went with Jack Sawyer, I think in terms of on field ability, in terms of what you are losing and like what is kind of next in line.

I think defensive end, we’re kind of looking at going, okay, there’s not a clear, all American heir apparent, right? It’s like when you lose Denzel Burke, it’s like, okay, cool, we got Devin Sanchez coming, right? Like, this is fine. So I think in terms of on-field play, I think in terms of that aspect, that’s a big loss. But then you also have to factor in the leadership and...

what he meant to not just the team, but like the program as a whole in four years and what he meant really to, you know, a lot of different things. mean, you know, we kind of looked at it at the time and was, we’re like, this is kind of crazy that Ohio state, the only time they choose to fight against Michigan was after the game. And well, it was Jack Sawyer who was leading that charge. It was Jack Sawyer who had the play of that game.

that should have been the kind of defining moment of his Ohio State career. And then he just said, you know what, fine, I’ll do it myself. And he did it later in the playoff against Texas. Like on field, off field, leadership. just, Jack Sawyer to me is a player that is just irreplaceable. And I think a lot of Ohio State fans would probably agree in saying that it’s certainly of the Ryan Day era and maybe even of the last like 25 years or so.

Jack Sawyer is probably one of their favorite players and one of the players they like watching the most.

Stephen Means (03:11.743)

mean, that’s a strong take. We’ve got a pod for that coming in May, but in the past 25 years, I don’t know, man. He was like.

Andrew (03:19.254)

I mean, like in terms of favorite, like, I don’t know, man, like people, people love Jack Sawyer and that kind of goes into my off the field part too.

Stephen Means (03:24.391)

I mean, I’ll...

That’s great. He also lost the game. You’re not supposed to lose four times in a row. So.

Andrew (03:34.786)

He didn’t lose that game. He did everything he could to win that game.

Stephen Means (03:39.859)

He did. What about the three other ones? And I’m saying, I love Jack. So I’m not, just saying the conversation we’re going to have with Jack, we’re putting them in rare air where you start to have to pick guys apart because we’re trying to differentiate guys. And so that’s, that’s going to be the argument against Jack is as awesome as he has been and as connected to this program as he’s been and as linked with Ryan day as he is, there’s going to be other names we bring up on a pod, that pod where

They are all those things too. And they also didn’t lose four straight games to Michigan where they were the favorite in all four of them and heavy favorites and at least two of them. But it’s a good answer. And it’s one of the answers one because of what he’s meant to the program, but also because we, we think we know what’s going to happen at defensive end this year. But anytime you see nine sacks leave your roster, you have to find a way to replace those nine sacks.

Stefan, who’s your guy?

Stefan Krajisnik (04:41.14)

My answer was also going to be Jack Sawyer. And I think the next question is where I’ll maybe go into that a bit more. So I’m for the sake of discussion. This week has made me wonder if the coaches could answer this question, if the answer would be Will Howard, because I think their life would just feel a lot easier. And the reason like, the reason I’m not sure if that’s the right answer is because I think Julian saying is going to be everything that we think he’s going to be like, I think he’s going to be a

Stephen Means (04:52.339)

Yeah.

Stephen Means (04:55.977)

Yeah.

Stefan Krajisnik (05:08.068)

Has been contender. think he’s going be a great quarterback. I think he’s going to put up numbers. Like I, I think he’s going be awesome, but it’s very clear that what these coaches are looking for in the quarterback competition is something that they wouldn’t have to look for if Will Howard was back another year. Now the discussion is if, if Will Howard wasn’t a 50 year guy, would he have reached that level yet? Like there’s, you know, we’re, there’s a lot of hypotheticals that go into this shout out to the sec. But I think in this realm and just like.

take it on the surface. If this team had Will Howard, I think the coaching staff would feel a lot more comfortable. And there’s probably some questions that we asked that I what questions would we have about the offense? Like, okay, like, they’re replacing two all American running backs. I mean, that’s fine. You got your quarterback back and you got two of the best receivers in the Big Ten and the third receiver who we think is going to be is one of the one of the one of the best receivers in the Big Ten.

offensive line, you’re have to move some things around. But if you have quarterback already figured out, you have a veteran guy who just won an ad for you coming back, you’re probably feeling pretty good. So I think the correct answer because of how the roster shakes up is Jack Sawyer. But I think the other answer of like what the coaches would tell you might be will have.

Stephen Means (06:26.025)

Just for the sake of throwing another dame out there.

think they’re going to miss Donovan Jackson.

because of...

I go watch the last four games of the season. That’s why you’re gonna miss Don Jackson Also, he was elite guard play. I think they’re gonna miss Jordan Hancock as a football player I Think they’re gonna miss Lathan Ransom as a football player

But I guess this is a conversation of Jack and Will is what it sounds like. I think it’s Will because they keep talking about this. They have immortalized Will Howard. I don’t know.

Stephen Means (07:11.645)

I feel like there’s been moments where you hear people talk about Will Howard and I can hear myself becoming a hater.

He is he he’s the most important quarterback. And I wrote this Thursday morning for the site, Cleveland, that comps, that’s OSU. This dude is literally the deciding factor for the 2025 quarterback battle. And everything that he is in this world where the standard at Ohio State has become, hey, we had three straight Heisman trophy finalists, three straight first round draft picks. We recruit five star quarterbacks, elite quarterbacks, talents, and we develop elite quarterback talents.

The dude who was absolutely none of those things is the most important one of them all because they won a national championship. Because, and I was having this conversation with somebody yesterday before we left, he validated the entire Ryan Day experience because think about some of the conversations we were having this year, right? Can Ryan Day win the big ones? Can Ryan Day win matchup games?

Is Ryan Day really the quarterback developer people think he is or did he just so happen to have three generational talents? Generational strong, JJ’s generational. Did he just so happen to have three surefire NFL talents back to back to back? So is it more about the talent or is it about him? Well, Will wasn’t a top 50 recruit. Dwayne Haskins, it took him till year three because JT Barrett was here, but he was also like a top 70 recruit in that 2016 recruiting class. Justin Fields was

Literally the second best quarterback, excuse me, the third best quarterback prospect of all time when he came out of high school behind Vince Young and Trevor Lawrence. And Georgia just kind of fumbled the way they handled that. So he was in the portal ready for him to go get him. We can say what we want about how CJ Strauss was a late bloomer by the end of things. He was the third best quarterback in his recruiting class behind DJ or young Leye and Bryce Young, AKA Clemson in Alabama’s future starting quarterbacks.

Stephen Means (09:14.715)

One of which won a Heisman Trophy and was the number one pick in the NFL draft. So was it talent or was it him? Well, Will Howard was some three star kid from Downing Town, Ohio, Downing Town, Pennsylvania. He went to Kansas State. We were saying whether Kyle McCord had a better season than him last year. No, not we, sorry. Not we, as in we. Mostly Andrew and Jimmy, which again.

More Jimmy than Andrew. So if we had to rank it, it was Jimmy number one and number two and number three. And then Andrew’s number four and then significant gap. And then that’s where Stefan and I were on that tile.

Andrew (09:51.842)

Yeah, there you go.

Andrew (09:55.628)

Yeah, I was gonna say I was like, don’t know how much I ever really compared McCord and Howard like because everybody was like, he led the ACC in passing. It’s like, well, he also threw a billion passes. Yeah, it’s like, all right, man. Like I was like, I much remember being on the come on. That’s a group stat.

Stephen Means (10:03.359)

8,800 passes like that would help you. Right, but the point of right, but the whole point of it was that was that was always going to be a conversation regardless because Kyle McCourt’s playing college football still and you essentially moved on from him while he still had eligibility left. So any doubts you had about Brian Day, whether you’re talking about quarterbacks development or just whether or not his idea of what Ohio State football is works.

got validated because of this dude. And he was only here for 12 months. So imagine if he had another 12 months, what could have happened? Especially when his best weapon is only 19 years old and has a lot of room to grow still. So it’s Will Howard because.

I mean, this is not a competition. They’re also not really calling it a competition right now. They’re just focused on individual development, but it just feels like.

My revelation after two days of hearing Ohio State’s head coach and quarterbacks and quarterbacks coach talk was. Regardless of what public perception is about the quarterback battle throughout history, whether you’re talking Justin Fields, CJ Stroud, Howard last year. The guy still has to go earn the job. Well, how does he earn the job? If it feels like he’s already won it from a talent standpoint, ask Will Howard.

So yeah, I give up man. Apparently Will Howard is way, way more important than some of the other super stupid, talented quarterbacks they’ve had here. But that’s what happens when you win a national championship. From the 937. From the couple practices you guys saw, is there any position you think needs to be addressed in the spring portal? Or is it more situational death pieces that they will be after? Essentially what they’re asking is, we’ve seen two days of practice, Stefan, who needs portal help still?

Stephen Means (12:03.167)

because we have to remember Ohio State was trying to be in the middle of a championship run while the portal was open. So while they did get some pieces, I don’t think they’re necessarily done adding pieces. Now they’re operating off of a 105 scholarship total.

Stefan Krajisnik (12:17.9)

Yeah, this, this will kind of tie back to the last question of why I thought maybe Jack story would be the right answer because I think the defensive line needs bodies. And I think they need some big bodies in there because it is specifically defensive end. Like Steve and I were watching them go through some drills during it was one of the two practices and we’re both like, man, like that. There’s not a lot of people there. And also the people that are there aren’t.

Like you kind of forget Jack and JT were very physically like intimidating. Like they were big human beings. Like they went out and got Logan George and we’ll see what kind of impact he has, but he’s not like, he’s not that big. Like he’s not even close to Jack or JT like level sizes. I remember when we saw him in Atlanta, we were like, Whoa, like that guy’s very small. He’s, he’s gotten bigger in this time at Ohio state, obviously going from an FCS school, but like there, there’s still some more to be desired there in terms of size and like,

I know we’re all high on CJ Hicks and what he can do, but also like he’s, you know, he’s still kind of molding himself into being a defensive end. that Ohio state needs people and they need physically intimidating people to kind of add to that room, even if it’s just for depth piece. So that’s what’s interesting about this spring portal is. And you guys will maybe mention some other positions where they kind of need some, pieces. Ohio state, as we’ve talked about in the past has used the portal to basically just fill needs.

And or take the best player if he’s there. Like they took like, sure. Safety was a bit of a need. You were also going to take Caleb Downs if you have the chance to get a Caleb Downs. Like sure. Running back was maybe a bit of a need. You were going to take quench on Jenkins. If you had, if you had the chance to take quench on Jenkins, like I don’t know if there’s going to be a player of that caliber in the spring portal cycle. We usually don’t see that, but they’re going to have to go get someone I think on the defensive line, if nothing else to have some more bodies in practice.

And that in the interior constant, kept talking about defensive end, but like even on the interior, like they don’t have a ton. Like you mentioned in the past, even losing hero canoe was a pretty big deal because you lost some depth there. Like even if you go into portal and get your number five interior defensive lineman, there’s still use. There’s still value to that. So I think the defensive line as a whole, you’re going to have to go get, you know, maybe one or two guys from the spring portal side.

Stephen Means (14:42.579)

The ends need bodies just for the sake of bodies. I think the tackles have bodies. They don’t have playable bodies right now. Right. I think that the ends do have playable bodies. think between Kenyatta Jackson, Cade and Curry and CJ Hicks, I think that they’re fine in terms of playable people, especially if CJ Hicks is going to be used in a maybe different way than we’ve seen defensive ends be used in the past year.

Stephen Means (15:15.967)

This is a really important spring for Jason Moore and Will Smith and Taiwan Malone, because I think that would change my opinion on the defensive tackle depth. Joshua Mcken’s also is not as I don’t think he’s participating in the practice right now. And I think Zion Grady is going to play. So again, they need bodies for the sake of bodies. It’s like it may be not on game day, but you to get through practices right while the defensive tackle room. I think they need guys to step up.

between Tywan Malone, Jason Moore and Will Smith. And if they’re not going to do it, then I do agree with you, Stephon, then they need to find someone in the portal who will because those are two guys who are entering year three and then Tywan Malone, I think is entering year four or five. I think it’s his third year here, but it’s fifth year of college football. And it’s kind of time for you to be something if you’re gonna be something here.

Stefan Krajisnik (16:09.944)

Yeah. Let me, I want to say something real quick about the defensive ends. Doesn’t relate to the question, but, I noticed that when we were doing interviews on Wednesday, I think it was walled, Julian saying was talking maybe in the background, the defensive ends kind of stayed after practice and we’re going through some drills and eating curry was like step by step, like explaining a drill to like Logan George being like, you do this. Like it was literally like the step, the drill included, like taking like four steps around like a big medicine ball.

And getting career like step by step was like demonstrating how to do it. So in this conversation of leaders that we’re having, maybe he’s a guy who hasn’t played a ton, but maybe as emerging as a bit of a leader, at least kind of in that defensive end room, because he’s been around maybe more so than the other guys. So kind of like a little nugget to maybe hold onto there.

Stephen Means (16:57.375)

feel like speaking of guys who were working after practice, Fahim Delane hanging around doing extra work, Quincy Porter, Quincy Porter is large. That is a large person. He was sticking around doing extra work. Devin Sanchez was sticking around doing extra work. Caleb Downs obviously, these are, I’m mentioning people who in the same vein that Stefan is talking about, who maybe have been either their newcomers here or they just haven’t played a ton.

who are kinda stepping up right now and showing some things, I think that matters. So extra work stuff matters. It’s not the whole story, but it matters a little bit. Andrew, what’s your position group?

Andrew (17:37.23)

I think defensive line is probably it. So I’ll give two real quick. think offensive tackle I’m intrigued by right now. mean, we talked about this in our YouTube videos and we wrote about this like Austin, Sarah Veld right now is the team’s fourth tackle. And I think we’ve all kind of agreed. And I think it’s pretty clear that

Owen Yawa is going to be the left tackle and Philip Daniels is probably going to be a right tackle. And then Ian Moore is going to be a backup to one of them. And then he’ll be the swing if you need him. But I don’t think it’s crazy to explore fourth tackle and see if Sarah Veld can just earn a job on the interior and have him focus on the interior because tackle depth is a little dicey because you start to think like

Okay, you you lose a tackle. Like if you lose Daniel’s, then it’s like, okay, well we have Owen Yawa and we have Ian Moore. And then you’re kind of at slim pickings and you don’t really want to be there. I think fourth tackle, I think that might be something you can explore. Cause then you can just have the interior of Carson Hinsman, Luke Montgomery, Tegra Shibola, Josh Padilla, Austin Sirvel, Gabe Van Sickle. You’ve got six there. You’ve got a too deep of interior guys.

and you feel probably pretty good about where you’re at there, but I don’t know if you feel that way about tackle. So depth, I think is pertinent to tackle. And then the other one that I’m just curious about is like, does this team go get a quarterback? Like does this team go get Tristan Jebbia 2.0? You you find a guy. I know, I know, but I was curious. I’m throwing it out there.

Stephen Means (19:23.283)

I said name one position, dude.

Andrew (19:29.312)

I guess you could be, you know what, guess you hadn’t gone yet. I do, I guess you hadn’t gone yet. I thought, yeah, I thought, yeah, you know what, that is fair. So I’m just going to say offensive tackle. I’m going to say fourth offensive tackle. And I said nothing else.

Stephen Means (19:29.405)

I get that, but like, I just...

Stefan Krajisnik (19:30.136)

Second straight pod where Gillis is struggling with this.

Stephen Means (19:40.479)

Hey Andrew, throw it to the flat. Yeah, but the post just throw it to the flat

Andrew (19:47.82)

Look, man, if the post is open, it’s open. Hit it.

Stephen Means (19:52.029)

And then we lost the game because Andrew threw an interception.

Andrew (19:57.582)

I did forget you hadn’t gone.

Stephen Means (20:00.435)

I don’t know what the pitch is offensive tackle because you’re essentially asking someone to come here and be a backup. And I don’t know if that’s always available in the spring port. Cause it’s a, it’s a fine line. have to walk where it’s, they have to be Ohio state caliber, right? They have to be this level of player, but also they’re probably not going to start. So why would a player who’s Ohio state caliber,

come here knowing that they’re probably not gonna start. That’s why it’s true. They need an offensive tackle. I just don’t know what the pitch is, which is why Austin Cerevelle just cross training at offensive tackle and why Tegra Shibola will be cross training at offensive tackle and guard and why they just need Carter Lowe to maybe be a top 100 recruit who is good enough to be in the two deep in year one. just, cause it’s a.

It’s the one place where it’s a hard line to walk of we need a guy who’s actually good enough to one day play here, but he’s probably not going to play here in year one. Would you sign up for that? If you were an offensive tackle, probably not. You’d go somewhere where you’re going to start, especially in the spring window when it seems a lot more older guys who are in the later parts of their career. yeah, they need a quarterback just because you got three dudes who are

not legal, be able to go to the bar and buy a cocktail. You you just need, you need another adult in the room. I think Lincoln’s 20, but he might be early 20. I don’t know. But yeah, you just got three young guys in there. I think they should explore safety.

Stephen Means (21:50.715)

even if it’s just for depth because I don’t know how deep a room is that.

right now, right? I think it’s Caleb Downs and a bunch of maybes. So I think it’s worth exploring it. And I only went into that one because Andrew decided to throw the post and throw an interception. So blame Andrew for why I had to do a second one. Okay.

Couple more from the 8-6-0 basic question. But from these, we’re gonna group these two because this is just going to be the end of the quarterback conversation that we’re gonna have for the rest of the spring here because there is no competition right now. it’s, we’re gonna give ourselves an aneurysm if we keep trying to find new ways to talk about something that doesn’t exist right now. But from the 8-6-0 basic question, but from what limited practice you guys have been, I’ve seen so far.

Is there any reason to think that this is a true quarterback battle like Kyle McCord versus Devon Brown or Joe Burrow versus Dwayne Haskins? Or is it Sand’s job essentially? And then from the 6-1-4, how confident are you guys that Sand is the starter?

Stephen Means (23:02.985)

Step on you first.

Stefan Krajisnik (23:05.428)

I’m like 8.5 out of 10 confident that Julian saying is going to be the starting quarterback for this team. I would say it doesn’t feel like as much of a competition as those examples that you mentioned. And maybe it feels more like a younger version of Will Howard versus Devin Brown, where there’s a pretty clear favorite, but the second guy is going to do his part to make it. Try to seem interesting.

Stephen Means (23:12.136)

Okay.

Stefan Krajisnik (23:33.624)

I think it’s probably the best way I would describe it.

Stephen Means (23:39.455)

I think this is 2021. It’s not quite 2019 with Justin Fields because that was just, yeah. Five star quarterback versus Matthew Baldwin. We know how that’s gonna go.

It’s 2021 Julian Sands, CJ Stroud, Tavon Sinclair, Kyle McCord. But I think Lincoln Kienholz is a better position. Jack Miller, because he’s a year older. He’s played in a meaningful game before, though. Again, we throw that out. Nobody’s holding the Missouri game against Lincoln Kienholz. And if you are, that’s very weird. But I just think it’s that where we know who’s going to be the guy.

but the other guys have some intriguing factors about them that would allow them to make this interesting. But it feels like, here’s how we talked about it with CJ. CJ’s in the lead. So if Kyle and Jack have a good day, they tie. They get back even. But all CJ’s gotta do is have another good day and he’s back in the lead, right? So you gotta do twice the work to get ahead of where CJ was. That’s how I look at this battle, in terms of a talent. The leadership aspect of it, I think they’re all equal,

None of them are like Will Howard. None of them are very vocal people. In fact, I Tavia might be the most vocal. So that’s going to be a development for all of them. But if we’re just talking sheer talent and ability to move the offense down the field, Julian is in the lead. Let’s just say Lincoln has a really good day today as you guys are listening to this on Friday and they go through practice number three. Okay. He’s even with Julian. But if Julian has a good day on Monday, he’s back in the lead.

Right? And what if he has another good day after that and a good day after that? But if also Lincoln’s having good days, he’s already a step behind. So he’s gonna take two steps to get ahead of them. That’s how I view this battle.

Andrew (25:33.614)

Yeah, the second part for me, I’m at like, probably like an eight or a nine as well. So I’ll say eight and a half. think Stefan’s right on the money there that Julian saying is going to be the starter. And, know, I’m kind of looking at this battle. Like. If you listen to Buckeye talk and get our texts, you know that over the summer they host these like summer camps and they have all these kids from various classes come and they compete. Right. One of the things that.

you kind of learn pretty quickly is who draws the coaching staff’s attention and, you know, like who is, you know, working for that offer or, know, kind of who had, who maybe has it in the bag. And I think of a kid like Braylon Womack is a five-star safety in the 2026 class, Ohio state, by the way, in the mix with him, I think they’re in the top four. so we’ll, we’ll see how that goes for the five-star from Mississippi, everybody knew he was going to get an offer from Ohio state.

He just worked out at Notre Dame. He comes down to Columbus to work and to compete with the corners. And he told me that the coaches wanted to see him compete and they wanted to see him work and they wanted to see him go through drills up close and they wanted to see it and they wanted to see him show that effort. And I’m kind of thinking that’s kind of what this is like. I think that

Yes, it’s technically a true quote unquote quarterback battle. I think they just want to see Julian say and compete. I think they want to see Julian saying have something to lose and play not to lose it. Right. I think that’s what they’re what they’re after. I think, you know, when, when you talk about who the quarterback is going to be, I really haven’t heard many fans, maybe members, anybody who thinks that

Julian Sane is not going to be the starting quarterback, but I think Ohio State’s coaches just, they want to see the battle. They want to see him go into that competition with a, no, I’m going to prove that I’m the best. So I guess in that way, it is a battle. I just think it’s, you kind of have an idea of who’s going to come out ahead. So I feel pretty confident that it’s going to be Sane.

Stefan Krajisnik (27:50.21)

And tape to kind of draw the comparison to last year again, Tavian St. Clair is probably gonna have some good moments in the spring and maybe we’ll have like a Julian saying S discussion about him in August where we’re like, well, what if he’s the backup? I’m sure that’ll happen at some point.

Stephen Means (28:07.091)

You guys can have that by yourselves on here. I’m not doing it. I’m not gonna do it. I’m out. I’m done with the quarterback competition. I’ll see you guys in August when Ryan Day names the starting quarterback because again, the earliest he has ever named a starting quarterback was August 16th. So I am assuming sometime around that time is when he names the starter. It’s not competition. It’s they’re just, they want him to develop as leaders and

develop as individuals and then they’ll lock in on a competition this summer. Let’s take our first break here on Buckeye Talk and then we’ll come back with more questions from our texters.

Get the text 614-350-3315, two week free trial, 399 after this. News analysis, and also you get to ask very, very high level questions like this from the 440. Do you have the impression that OSU will try to replicate their success of Trevion Henderson and Quince John Judkins as two complimentary backs this year? Do they have the personnel to do it?

I think Stefan, we all think the answer to the first part of that is yes, that’s what they’re going to do this year. At least that’s what Carlos Lachlan would like to do this year. Do you think they have the personnel to do it and put names on them? Who are the people?

Stefan Krajisnik (29:28.1)

I think they have the personnel to do that, but instead of with two people, I think they’re going to do it with three to where I think James people’s gets a quinch on workload and then Travion’s workload gets divided between CJ Donaldson, maybe getting like, you know, 70 % of what Travion had. And then, you know, someone like Bo Jackson getting 30 % of what Travion.

So I think in the aggregate, you’re going to replace it. And I think it’s going to be done in a way where you can still keep James people’s fresh, but there won’t just be a second. I think it’s going to be second and third guy. And that makes me wonder if maybe running backs also another one of those spring portal positions where you get another body, but the position is actually kind of shaken out better than I thought. Cause I think Bo Jackson’s coming along quicker than some people expect that. I think Sam Williams Dixon is still very much in that mix. You’re going to get turbo Rogers, TC Caffey’s coming back from injury. like you’ve kind of got.

players that probably aren’t going to play a ton for you, but they can at least fill out the room a bit. So I think when we talked about this team, you know, pretty immediately after the championship game, we were talking about running back being a, a place where maybe you need some more depth just because of how young you are. But I’m starting to feel a bit more confident about that room and maybe CJ Donaldson being a bit more first tile and an athletic, because of the, way he’s reshaped his body at Ohio state, changes the way I think about that.

I’m pretty confident in that group and I think it’ll be three, three and a half guys that fill up that Trevion-Quintenchan dynamic.

Stephen Means (31:03.209)

Do you agree with him, Andrew, that they’re going to use three guys consistently?

Andrew (31:08.014)

Yeah, I actually think that’s a pretty astute point by Stefan. I think you look at the running backs and like the talent that you’re losing. And I think there’s kind of an interesting dynamic here. think you, yes, to answer that question in the 440, yes, you will try to replicate the success with Trevion and Quinchon. The personnel, mean, are Trevion and Quinchon the second and third best running backs in the NFL draft?

Like are they the second and fourth, third and fourth?

Stefan Krajisnik (31:38.562)

You could talk as NFL prospects. You could talk me into Travion being the best one to be quite honest with you.

Andrew (31:43.054)

Yeah, and like, but.

Stephen Means (31:45.727)

for what running back is in this day and age, yeah.

Andrew (31:48.736)

This, yeah, and this isn’t the podcast to do that, but I guess that’s my point. So I think, you know, I don’t know if you have the personnel necessarily to just say we have the best running back on the field at any given time. Like we have a running back that, you know, is, can, can run over anybody. They can do whatever we need them to do. I, don’t know about that, but I definitely think you’ll be able to have a lot of success with those three. Cause those three I think are going to be pretty good. obviously starting with people’s Donaldson and then Bo Jackson. And it’s like,

You know, Carlos Loughlin said the other day that, you know, he’s looking at running backs that can do different things that can bring you different skill sets that can have a varied, you know, a varied backfield in terms of traits. And I’m, I’m curious to see how they may be mapped this out. think they really like turbo Rogers too. Like I know he’s going to be late. I know he’s going to show up in the summer. so that’s obviously going to put him behind the eight ball a little bit, but like,

They like him running between the tackles as well, but I think he’s going to be a speedster on the outside. Like they’re going to have the backfield to do a lot of good things. I just don’t know if, Hey, we’re, we’re going to have, you know, 2000 yard rushers that both average, you know, one’s going to average seven years of carry. One’s going to average like almost six. Like we’re going to, we’re really going to be able to load this up. I don’t know about that. The talent, but

I do think they’re going to have a lot of success trying to diversify and trying to replicate this split backfield success.

Stephen Means (33:30.687)

Yes and yes. They are gonna try to do it and they do have the personnel to do it. I mean, we can talk about numbers later, but yes, I think they have three good running backs. fact, maybe they get the four. Maybe, and that’s depending on where Sam Williams-Dixon is and his development. From Lily in the 614, this one was fun. Just he’s a college student at Ohio State right now. I’d love to jump on the Quincy Porter hype train as well.

He’s in my math class. I still can’t believe I go to class with these guys, especially since I’ve grown up being a fan. He definitely looks the part of a future star OSU wide receiver. It also doesn’t help that the class is small and cramped with as many desks as possible. Quincy Porter’s like six foot four. So imagine that small desk. I was wondering when you’d think he’d have a starting job and who you would think would be playing around him. So in terms of playing around him, a lot of these guys are young, so there’s a sense that.

I think Stefan Quincy Porter can have a starting job as early as next year and he’ll just play opposite of Jeremiah Smith. Now, Chris Henry Jr. is going to have something to say about that, but I think he can.

Stephen Means (34:43.774)

I’m buying some stock in Quincy Porter, but here’s my question for you. And I’ll use Quincy Porter, we can throw Mylon Graham into this conversation, we can throw Bryson Rogers into this conversation. Over or under 200 snaps for whoever wide receiver four is at Ohio State this year.

Stefan Krajisnik (35:07.94)

Probably under, because I think there’s going to be a lot of guys who kind of compete for that number four spot and get a ton of reps where they kind of.

steal reps from each other, I guess. So I’m going to go under on that to answer your question. think starting spot next year is very reasonable. I mean, listen, Ohio state recruits five stars as well as any school in the country, right? They’re consistently one of the best recruiting schools throughout college football history. Steven, you know better than me, is this the quietest like five star Ohio state’s ever gotten like

This dude’s a stud and it’s just like, yeah, you’re in a room where every other guy is a five star stud as well. So sorry, not sorry. You’re going to have to wait your turn a little bit. And it just so happens that one of those five stars is a generational talent who is a sophomore. So you have to wait another year before you can get rid of them. I think he’s going to have a starting spot next year. I think he’s going have a pretty big role this year, but I think because of the competition for the fourth spot, I don’t know if he gets over 200.

And maybe some of that depends on how many games they end up playing, but I would take the under. I don’t think that’s a bad indictment on Quincy Porter though.

Stephen Means (36:25.981)

Yeah, he is the quietest. He was the number 23 player number five wide receiver. And I don’t know why it’s so quiet because he also like spurned Michigan in route to his commitment to Ohio State. So that alone should get you some bonus points in terms of how much you.

Stefan Krajisnik (36:40.484)

It’s because of Jeremiah Smith. It’s because of Jeremiah Smith.

Andrew (36:42.306)

Well, I think well, there’s a few things too. think so. I remember exactly where I was when he committed. was I was like, hey, guys, I’m going to a wedding this weekend. I’m a groomsman in this wedding, so I’m to be pretty tied up. If anything happens, you all got it. And then like literally like 20 minutes later, Quincy Porter, like canceled a visit to Michigan and committed to Ohio State. So like that was I remember exactly that he I remember exactly what it was. It was I believe it was on a Friday and

Stephen Means (36:44.735)

Yeah, that’s because of DIY.

Andrew (37:12.606)

He commits and he was always a top 60, top 50 player. He was not the 23rd ranked player in the country for a long time. He only became a five star after he signed with Ohio State. Like he was in the fifties, I think, when he officially signed and

think he was in the fifties when December rolled around and Ohio State started their playoff run. like, to be fair, there wasn’t like the notoriety that you would see with some other guys, like, you know, a guy that’s been, you know, the number one recruit, like a De’Korian more, or, you know, a Chris Henry Jr. Like somebody who’s kind of always been that number one receiver in the class. He was just never at that, like recruiting ranking until recently. So I think that’s

partially why because like for no Brown is a really good receiver in this class Dallas Wilson’s a really good receiver Jamie French like there was a lot of really other good receivers who were higher rated than he was I think at one point in time and he only recently shot up the rankings he was always like I said a high four-star top 50 top 60 recruit but the five-star didn’t come until later

Stephen Means (38:34.047)

Physically seeing him in person, I mean, I’m gonna be real with you. I’ve seen a lot of these wide receivers in person because they’ve all been through Ohio State at one point or another. That’s a mis-evaluation.

Stephen Means (38:50.431)

Jamie French, 6′1″, 185. These are the top 50 recruits who were receivers in that 2025 recruiting class. Jamie French was number 44, number nine overall. He’s 6′1″, 185. Dallas Wilson, he’s number 35 player, number eight wide receiver. He’s going at Florida. He’s 6′3″, 195. French is at Texas. Caleb Cunningham, number 32 player, number seven wide receiver in the recruiting class. He’s at Ole Miss. He’s 6′1″, 190. Vernell Brown, 5′11″, 170. He’s number 30 player, number six wide receiver.

the first of the five stars that I’ve been blessed so far. He’s at Florida. His dad, think works at Florida as well as a Florida alum. He’s 511 170. Taylor Taylor is at Georgia as a five star wide receiver number twin player number four wide receiver in the country. He’s 61 173. Jerome miles. Now they now we’re cooking. Jerome miles is at Texas and he’s the number 19 player number three wide receiver. He’s six three, two 15. You want to host a six three, two 15 number four.

Colleague Lockett, he’s also at Texas. Good for Texas, two top 50 receivers. Number 18 player, number two wide receiver. He’s at Texas, he’s a six foot two, 175. And then De’Corey and Moore, 5′11″, 182, he’s the number four player, number one wide receiver. He’s at Oregon. And this is all, with all due respect to De’Corey and Moore. Quincy Porter, six four, like 205.

Stephen Means (40:13.021)

I get it. The Corian Moore is a speedy little guy, which is exactly why he’s at Oregon. I think he’s in the perfect place to maximize what his skill set is. Listen, dude, we just watched multiple years in a row where the big fat receiver who’s as fast as a little guy can run routes with anybody and is a matchup problem. That’s the best receiver in the country. I’m not saying Quincy Porter should have been the best wide receiver in his recruiting class, but

What it sounds like to me, Andrew, is people were late on the evaluation of Quincy Porter, which is why his climb stopped at 23, when it does sound like, based off the human being I’ve been watching running around the Woody, the first two practices of the year, I’m sorry, he looks like Jeremiah Smith’s body double.

Stephen Means (41:04.967)

I know you’re explaining. No, no, no. You’re explaining what happened. Yeah, you’re explaining what happened. He was a late bloomer in terms of his arrival on the scene and people getting eyes on him. Cause I remember the last couple of months of his high school career, he started doing stuff and then he went down to the all American bowl and he was doing some wicked stuff there. And now he’s a five star recruit. I think that’s a mis-evaluation.

Because there’s no way I saw what I’ve seen the first two days of, and they didn’t do much. You just, it’s just eye test. And so much of recruiting rankings is eye test and testing numbers and what you’re doing in camp settings when there aren’t pads on. I just saw this kid with pads on. And if JJ got abducted for two series against Ohio university and they had to throw Quincy Porter on the field, I’d be like, okay.

See you next week, JJ.

Stefan Krajisnik (42:03.684)

The, when Nick Saban got a player and he magically went from a three star to a four star or four star to a five star, when Brian Hardline signs a wide receiver, he should go from top 20 to top five. Like let’s just, let’s speed it up.

Stephen Means (42:15.219)

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

Stefan Krajisnik (42:23.364)

This is true.

Stephen Means (42:26.015)

He doesn’t offer a large bank of them. So I’m not talking about, there’s 30 guys who deserve to jump up. No, he offers like 10 to 15 guys. If Brian Hartline offers a kid at this point, and I think you can do the same thing with LSU, just to a lower degree. But if this man offers a receiver, just jump him up 50 spots and figure it out later. Just whatever. If he’s 250, move him to 200. If he’s 50, take him. Just take him.

Stefan Krajisnik (42:50.948)

And if you’re an NFL GM, yeah. Like if I’m an NFL GM and I’m looking at a receiver, like, I don’t know, like let’s say next year there’s a receiver out of Texas. You’re like, all right, should we draft this guy? Go, go to, go to two, four, seven or on three, go look at his offer sheet. I know it was three or four years ago. Go look at the offer sheet. If Ohio state’s on there, Brian heartline’s name is on there. Just go for it. I don’t care what he did at Texas. There’s, there’s something there.

Stephen Means (43:08.531)

You

Stephen Means (43:14.367)

If you get offered by Brian Hartline, you automatically go from a day three to a day two pick without ever doing anything.

Stefan Krajisnik (43:21.408)

Hahaha

Stephen Means (43:33.265)

Only those schools and if USC gets his act together, they can rejoin the list. But in the meantime, only, I’m just saying.

I was watching him do some stuff on the Monarch on Wednesday after practice. I’m just like, how are there four wide receivers they think are better than this kid? That doesn’t look real. To answer the question though, I was looking at wide receiver four, because that was the original question here. Andrew, how many snaps over under 200 for wide receiver four in 2025? Whoever it is.

Stephen Means (44:15.839)

Okay, I’m taking the over two in the last four years since Ohio State’s wide receiver for legitimately could have and should have been on the field. I didn’t include 2020 and because that was Jackson Smith the jig, but they also only played eight games. So of course it wasn’t going to be over 200 snaps Marvin Harrison, Jr. Played 255 in 2021. It’s a huge difference between him and then we’re Garrett Chris and Jackson were but he played 255 and a lot of that came in the Rose Bowl. So he might not have been over 200.

Xavier Johnson in 2022, he did play over 200, he 206 snaps. Cardinal Tate in 2023, and some of this was because of Mecca missed some games with injuries and whatnot, but he played 292. So that’s the most of a wide receiver for who also fits the description of what Quincy Porter would be if he’s wide receiver for the bigger outside receivers who could play X for you, that’s him and Marv. And then Brandon in his last year only played 194 snaps. It felt like he played more, but it was a lot of special teams being a.

Pump return specialist, so that’s why the numbers at 200. I think it is.

Stephen Means (45:23.911)

I want to say over, but the problem is I don’t know quite yet how competitive Ohio State’s games are going to be yet. Right? Like why receiver four is not playing more than five snaps against Texas. Why receiver four might play more than 40 snaps against Grambling State and Ohio the next two weeks. But I guess until we see what this team is, are they going to be a team that’s a juggernaut and beating everybody by 21 plus points? Then why receiver four is going to play a lot of football?

But if they’re gonna be in some slugfest along with the fact that as like we saw last year, their plan slower during the regular season, then there’s just less snaps to go around. And so we’ll be looking at the end of the year and going, whether it’s Quincy Porter, whether it’s Milan Graham, whether it’s Bryson Rogers, man, that guy should have played more, but there was just not enough snaps to go around, which is why, Lilly, I love this question because it’s both about what is possible for Quincy this year, but also in the future.

Cardinal Tate’s probably not going to be here and there is an open starting job. And I think it’s going to be between him, Mylon Graham and the incoming freshmen, then Chris Henry Jr. to see who takes that job.

From the 734, this is more of a personal question. What do you guys love about?

Stefan Krajisnik (46:40.14)

Also good luck to Lily in her math class and Quincy.

Stephen Means (46:44.051)

Yeah.

Stefan Krajisnik (46:49.302)

I love to know like which math class that is because there some college math classes are brutal man.

Stephen Means (46:57.759)

I think it’s math recitation. I don’t know. I’m not good at math. I don’t know what these are. I don’t know. was, I

Well, I mean, the amount of math I need to do in my career, can use the calculator on my phone. So yeah, good luck. Good luck in your math class, And to Quincy, apparently.

Stefan Krajisnik (47:17.346)

Yeah, to listeners who are in math classes and your teacher and or professors telling you that you’re not always going to have a calculator in your pocket when you get to the real world, you will.

Stephen Means (47:27.423)

You they still tell them that?

Stephen Means (47:31.709)

this a lot. Yeah, it’s absolutely I can change the calculator on my iPhone to like the scientific calculator. So I really have a calculator on my phone. It was like when they told you I’ve never pressed the button.

Stefan Krajisnik (47:31.714)

lying

Stefan Krajisnik (47:42.66)

How often do you use scientific calculator for your shit, Stephen? He accidentally clicked that one time. He was like, nice.

Stephen Means (47:48.604)

Yeah!

Stephen Means (47:52.637)

Yeah, all right, back to the normal one now.

Stefan Krajisnik (47:55.3)

7 plus 3.

Stephen Means (47:59.785)

Yeah.

Stephen Means (48:38.687)

You just presented a scenario where Quincey Porter is cheating on his math test.

Stephen Means (48:48.531)

So now you’re presenting an example where Lily is cheating on her math test.

Stephen Means (48:57.321)

So now everybody’s cheating on their math test. Wow. Lil, you see how much Andrew cares about you. Stefan, like you. No. Yeah, shout out to you guys in the math classes out there, keeping the world spinning. From the 734, what do you guys love about your job? What’s the ups and downs? Do you guys have any hobbies outside of your job? If so, what do you guys do and how do you find time covering a college football team and enjoying?

your hobbies. Well, in Andrew’s spare time, he alleges that there are college students coming academic atrocities out there.

Stephen Means (51:50.601)

So find what you love and hate about your job.

Stephen Means (52:39.807)

Yeah. Yeah.

Stephen Means (53:04.626)

one.

Stephen Means (53:30.495)

with work.

Stephen Means (54:14.247)

yeah, that’s not why I’m a journalist though. It’s like, it’s like, it’s why I’m a sports journalist, but it’s not the reason I’m a journalist. That’s, that’s two very different things. Cause journalism isn’t just sports. and yes, I am a sicko. I can watch sports all day. Like I’ve really, I’ve literally gotten done doing sports, turned on more sports. My girlfriend’s like, I’d be like, aren’t you tired of sports yet? And I go, you do it. She does this when I’m working more than when I’m not working, watching sports. And she’s like, you need to stop working. You do realize.

Even if I didn’t do this for a living, this would still be on the television right now. Understand that. It doesn’t change what’s on the TV screen. It just changes how I have to react what’s on the TV screen. I love what I do because I like telling stories and I love college football more than basketball because college basketball is just not a good product to me, I don’t think. It’s entertaining in terms of

March Madness and that type of, but the actual product of basketball is not that great to me. But I like college sports because you’re literally watching a human being grow up. You know, you meet a lot of these and that’s what’s so cool about this era of football players that just left Ohio State. I met Jack when he was 15 or 16 years old and now he’s a fully functioning adult about to go off to the NFL having.

realized some of his dreams that he had back then, but in other ways lived out some of his biggest nightmares, right? And going through that, I like watching people’s journeys and I like, you know, telling the story of people. And so that’s why I’m a journalist. I’m a sports journalist because it’s fun because the other parts of journalism can get a little like real life journalism has its, it’s sad.