Real Pod Wednesdays

We discuss why College Football Playoff expansion should be good for college football and for Ohio State, plus we discuss this month's developments so far on the recruiting trail.

Show Notes

The College Football Playoff appears set to expand to 12 teams, and we're here for it.

Even though Colin previously said on Real Pod Wednesdays that he didn't think the playoff should be expanded to more than eight teams, he's changed his mind and now believes 12 teams is the right move for the CFP. Dan agrees, and we discuss why we believe College Football Playoff expansion will be both good for the sport as a whole and a net positive for Ohio State, even though there will be pros and cons for the Buckeyes.

We also discuss our one big gripe with the recommended playoff format – quarterfinals being at bowl sites rather than on-campus home games for the top four seeds – and answer listener questions about the possible impact of playoff expansion on Ohio State recruiting and Notre Dame remaining independent.

After reacting in real time (35:22) to the then-breaking news that Aaron Craft is returning to Carmen's Crew for this year's TBT, we quickly shift our focus back to football to discuss the developments so far in a busy month of June on the recruiting trail. We discuss the commitment of wide receiver Kaleb Brown (37:55) and how he could fit into Ohio State's offense as a slot receiver/H-back, look ahead to J.T. Tuimoloau's official visit this weekend (44:45) and Dan shares his takeaways from covering camps (51:10).

We also discuss the addition of graduate transfer kicker Noah Ruggles (55:46), plus why Ohio State also pursued graduate transfer wide receiver Daylen Baldwin (58:47) – before he ultimately committed to Michigan – and whether we should expect the Buckeyes to pursue another transfer receiver.

Finally, we answer a few more listener questions (1:07:20) on what we would change about the recruiting process, who will round out the Ohio State men's basketball recruiting class of 2022 and who's the most underrated or unheralded player on the current Ohio State football team (or whether there actually is one).

What is Real Pod Wednesdays?

Dan Hope and Andy Anders of Eleven Warriors bring you inside the Ohio State beat every Wednesday with a podcast covering everything you need to know about the Buckeyes.