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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.
Note: This transcript was AI-generated and has not been edited for errors.
[Dan Hope]
Welcome into Real Pod Wednesdays. I'm Dan Hope, joined by Andy Anders here as we are now getting into the summer, the heart of the offseason for Ohio State. Spring football is complete, the transfer portal movement is very likely complete for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes adding a couple more players this past week. Getting a kicker from Ball State, Jackson Corville, who could potentially challenge Jayden Fielding. Getting a backup long snapper, Grant Mills from North Carolina.
Not able to find that right fit at defensive tackle, so Ohio State gonna have to work on building its depth with what it has at that position, but otherwise a very successful offseason in the transfer portal for the Buckeyes. High hopes ahead for the Buckeyes, and that's what we're gonna spend this week's show talking about is kind of what we're looking forward to. Now that spring ball is over, as we kind of look forward to the rest of 2025 for Ohio State, we certainly encourage you all to continue basking in the glory of winning the national championship for as long as you want.
Don't move on too quickly because runs like that don't happen every year, but there's a lot for Ohio State fans to look forward to as well as 2025 continues. A lot certainly on the field in a few months of the season starts, but even some stuff off the field in the summer over the next few months, so we'll get into that. As we talk about looking forward, do want to start just with some show news.
Andy's gonna be on vacation here coming up. I've got some vacation coming up here as well, so we're gonna be taking a little bit of a break here from Real Pod Wednesdays for the next several weeks, try to recharge a little bit as we get into this quiet time on the calendar and kind of figure out what we want to do going forward in terms of the podcast, video stuff that we're doing over at 11warriors.com, working on bringing some new ideas for video content to life hopefully this summer, and so we hope you stay tuned with us over on 11warriors.com, over on 11warriors YouTube channel, lots more content to come as the summer continues, but we are going to take a little bit of a break from Real Pod Wednesdays for weekly episodes every Wednesday to kind of recharge a little bit, experiment with some different things on the video side, and we hope that you all will continue to follow us over there. Certainly looking forward to producing some fun content here this summer, but also trying to get a little bit of our energy back, Andy, as we gear up for what should be another very exciting season of Ohio State football ahead.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, I'm kind of excited to kind of take a step back and look at some of the ways, and we've already talked about it too, obviously, off air, some of the ways we can improve what we do on the video side. Life is always a constant cycle of change and doing new things, trying new things doesn't necessarily mean that Real Pod Wednesdays is going to be gone forever or anything like that, but just even like opening up different avenues of what we can do, visual storytelling is something I think I'd personally be pretty fond of looking into, and so, yeah, just kind of figuring out how to deliver the best product, the best and most engaging thing.
I think we have some plans to involve our viewership a lot more, you guys who listen to us and we're so grateful that you've supported us all this time, those loyal listeners that we have, and yeah, I'm pretty excited about the new direction that things could take, but we're going to kind of evaluate a lot of that as we take our vacations and get our juices back over the next few weeks.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, and for those of you who listen to the podcast, we'd love to hear what do you guys want to see more of from us, not even just Andy and I, but just all of us at 11 Warriors, certainly going over to the comment section over on 11warriors.com, we're always checking those out. Just let us know if there's things that you want to hear us talk more about this summer, if there's things that you want to see from us, whether it be on the video side or anything else we're doing, audio, anything else we're doing at 11 Warriors, we certainly love to hear your feedback. And as Andy said, those of you who listen regularly, we really appreciate you and look forward to continue to bringing you content across a variety of different avenues as we move forward here.
But as mentioned before, there's a lot to look forward to, not just for us with what we're doing at 11 Warriors, but for Ohio State football fans in terms of what the year ahead could bring. And certainly this past year, particularly the end of it, really the start of 2025, but the end of the 2024 season was about as exciting as it gets if you're an Ohio State football fan. But certainly I think there's going to be a lot to be excited about in this year ahead.
I think maybe the biggest thing that Ohio State fans are anticipating right now is that a committee on infractions hearing that Michigan has in one month before we get back to any football. I think a lot of Buckeye fans are wondering what might happen to Michigan when it finally has its day in court with the NCAA one month from now. And it's kind of been a wait and wait to kind of figure out what's going to happen there, but started to see some movement on that front this week.
Reports coming out that Sharone Moore is going to have a self-imposed suspension of two games this season. Interestingly enough, that coming less than 24 hours after Michigan President Santa Ono announced that he would be leaving Michigan for Florida, not necessarily connected to the scandal. We don't really know that if this football stuff has anything to do with an academic decision.
But I mean, at the same time, I mean, you think about it, you know, there were two Ohio State presidents in recent memories whose departures from Ohio State were partially driven by scandals that happened on the football side. So, you know, it's certainly, you know, people might, you know, we could talk about immigrants and say, you know, football versus the grand scheme of a university. You know, how much does it really matter?
Well, for schools like Ohio State and Michigan, it does matter. So, you know, not sure if that has anything to do with Santa Ono's departure from Michigan. But it does feel like, you know, these things starting to come out this week, like, OK, like we're getting closer to that point of something happening.
And now the question is, what's going to happen? You know, because we still really don't know. Like, it still feels like anything is possible.
Like, could Michigan and the NCAA come to some kind of resolution and get a slap on the wrist because the NCAA has lost a lot of its power and has gone away from postseason bans in recent years? Sure. Or could the NCAA bring down the hammer as kind of that last, like, statement?
Because, you know, this this could kind of be the opportunity for the NCAA to kind of try to make a statement and say, we still have power. Obviously, Ohio State fans are more invested in this scandal than maybe the average person still is a couple of years later. But I think there's still a sense around college athletics that not just Ohio State, not just Michigan State, but the sport in general wants to see Michigan get punished for this because they view it as cheating.
They view it as a blatant violation of the rules, what Michigan was doing in terms of Connor Stallions and his in-person scouting scheme. And so I think any decision, you know, any punishment the NCAA doles out certainly will be challenged by Michigan. But I think there'd be a lot of support for it throughout the rest of the sport.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, I mean, what Michigan did and a lot of what's come out about the scandal and the time since it all unfolded there, the end of 2023. And it's been such a revelation, I think, to people. But also you see the severity of it, I think, in the Connor Stallions documentary that came out and just untangling what felt like a web of lives from him.
And, you know, you might never know how deep it ran, but I think definitely on the Ohio State side, right, a lot of people want the hammer to drop. And I think maybe the hammer should drop for this because this is like you look back in the past at other NCAA scandals that were kind of silly, maybe. I don't know if silly is the right word, but kind of just not like to use the Ohio State example, right?
Selling team merchandise for tattoos, that doesn't give you any on-field benefit, really. It's improper benefits off the field. It was an NCAA violation that your head coach then lies about briefly.
But this is something that gave Michigan an actual competitive advantage for multiple seasons that it did its best to, it feels like, lie and cover up the extent of. I mean, to act like and take the approach from a lot of the leadership that was there when this scandal was perpetrated and to hear them talk about like how, oh, you know, Connor was, they almost wanted to pick Connor as this like fringe guy that wasn't that involved with coaching staff, that coaches didn't really have much knowledge of this and everything. And it's just the cycle of that really makes it feel like Michigan's been kind of laughing at the NCAA and trying to skirt around its culpability throughout this process.
And I think for that reason, I do expect the NCAA to make a statement. And also for the reason you said, you know, we talked about it off air that the NCAA, it's felt its power slip and slip and slip and slip the last five years since NIL really was coming about and not having any guardrails around that. The Big Ten and the SEC really trying to take full control by the reins and steer the direction of the sport going forward of college football.
All this stuff that's been done and the leadership vacuum that was there at the NCAA with the previous regime for a while. Right. All this stuff, the NCAA has seen its power decrease over the years.
And at the same time, it's throughout multiple phases of the scandal. It really feels like Michigan has kind of felt like it could outsmart, outfox the NCAA in certain respects. I think that there will be severe punishments for this, and I'm curious to see what they are.
I have my own opinions about maybe what they should be. I think you and I both agree that vacating wins in a lot of scenarios feels a little silly. But I also, again, go back to that competitive advantage thing of it gave them a real leg up on the field.
This was something that seriously impacted the results, wins and losses of games. And so some sort of punishment in that name does feel appropriate. But then again, Stallions was out of the system when they actually won their national championship in 2023.
He had been fired already. So there's a lot of back and forth on this, of course. And we have some very dedicated forum posters that are some of them are famous now at Eleven Warriors that have done so much digging on this, too.
And I think this when the sanctions finally come out, for better or for worse, whether it's a slap on the wrist or the hammer dropping, I think it's going to be it's just the end and the culmination of a year's long saga at this point.
[Dan Hope]
Certainly going to be a lot of Ohio State fans following those developments closely, certainly on our forums over at Eleven Warriors. And we'll have lots more coverage of all of that as it unfolds this summer. We'll also have a lot of coverage of Ohio State football recruiting as it unfolds this summer, as we're getting into the heart of that recruiting season for Ohio State.
Coaches are out on the road this month evaluating prospects. And then June is really the big month for recruiting now for college football, as they'll welcome a ton of prospects to campus to participate in camps. They'll also welcome a bunch of their top targets to campus for official visits.
And then typically in tandem with that, you tend to see kind of a wave of commitments across the country. And I think particularly at Ohio State in recent years, that June-July period has been a very fruitful time for Ohio State on the recruiting trail. So it's going to be fun to see what Ohio State is able to do there this summer.
I mean, they've already got a lot of momentum right now on the recruiting trail coming off this spring. Just landed another top wide receiver this past weekend, Chris Henry Jr.'s teammate Caden Dixon-Wyatt, which basically fills out their wide receiver class. Maybe they could add one more, but they're in a really good spot there at wide receiver.
They've already got a five-star safety in Blaine Bradford. They're off to a great start on the offensive line. And lots of intriguing players coming to campus this summer.
I mean, I think, you know, some in-state guys like Sincere Johnson and Favor Aki are certainly going to be on commitment watch this summer. And then, you know, they're going to be, you know, doing some big game hunting with some more five stars, too. You know, Braylon Womack, you know, if they could land Braylon Womack at safety to pair with Blaine Bradford and Simeon Caldwell, that would be an absolute home run.
You know, certainly on the offensive line, I think Felix Ojo is going to be a big, big visitor this summer. Ohio State kind of deadlocked in a battle with Texas for that five-star offensive tackle right now. They'd really love to land him.
You know, P.J. Dean's a guy they seem to have some momentum with on the defensive line. Carson Baker, another running back, they seem to have some momentum with, along with Favor Aki. And there's always some surprises.
You know, there's usually, you know, this summer wave of visits, usually there's somebody who maybe we're not expecting going in, who ends up, Ohio State's able to win them over and may end up getting a big commitment. So it's going to be fun to watch all that unfold this summer.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, we all love to follow Ohio State recruiting, right, and, you know, building the future, all this stuff. It's always an exciting part of the summer and, frankly, one of the, you know, summers such as Delta of press availabilities is, I guess, the word I'm looking for. We don't always get to talk to many players or coaches during these May, June, July months before preseason camp and then we get to August and it's like pedal to the floor, football season's here, let's get after it.
But those June recruiting camps are a nice kind of breakup of that, where we get to get out and see and meet some of the talent Ohio State is cultivating or even see some prospects that even if Ohio State isn't ultimately in their recruitment that heavily, you see some pretty impressive, pretty impressive, impressive guys. I mean, I remember watching Emanuel Iheanacho at last year's recruiting camps and just such a hulk of an offensive line prospect, you know, that those kinds of guys, it's fun to get out there and evaluate and you get a chance to talk to some assistants and kind of see what they're hearing, see what they're feeling, talk to them just even casually about how offseason preparations are going. I do want to say, you know, the way Macquarie's run at safety, man, to be, to have what they already have in that class and to be hosting Braylon Womack over the summer, potentially adding so much talent, I mean, Ohio State, I feel like the last few seasons now has really started to get an even bigger core.
They already had a great core of elite recruiters on this coaching staff, but the wins that Macquarie has had, what Tyler Bowen has done since arriving to campus, I think this June and July is emblematic of kind of a staff wide growth on the recruiting front for Ohio State. And again, they were killing it already. They were signing top five class after top five class under Ryan Day, but it really feels like the standard that Brian Hartline had set for, you know, Day's entire tenure of signing these top flight receiver classes.
We've seen Tim Walton do that now with the corners. We've seen Macquarie do that now with the safeties. Keenan Bailey has built a ridiculous tight end room.
We've talked about time and time again, you know, and again, Tyler Bowen. So to see that, I think, again, that this summer recruiting camps and visits are emblematic of an even better direction. Ohio State is moving on the recruiting trail right now.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, it feels like there's no weaknesses on the staff right now in terms of building out, you know, a high level recruiting staff. It feels like even some of these moves, whether it was, you know, Justin Fry moving on to the NFL and replacing him with Tyler Bowen or, you know, moving on from Perry Eliano a couple of years ago, bringing in Matt Guerrero, a lot of those moves have been kind of built around continuing to enhance what they're doing on the recruiting front. And of course, you know, that all starts with Ryan Day and assembling that staff.
And, you know, we just saw the contracts this past week, more than $11 million in total salary for the assistant coaches once again this year. So expectations are certainly high for what all those coaches are going to deliver, both in terms of on-field results and on the recruiting trail. We'll see the on-field results starting in August, but we'll see, we'll get a better, clearer picture of those recruiting results here over the next few months.
I think the other thing we're looking forward to this summer, maybe us more of an average fan, but Big Ten Media Day is hitting Las Vegas this summer. That's going to be a lot of fun. I think, you know, certainly for us, Andy, I mean, I'm sure there are bound to be some Ohio State Beach shenanigans, and I think it's going to be fun to see, you know, usually somebody, somebody, if these big events, some, somebody maybe goes a little bit overboard and you feel like throwing the whole media contingent in Vegas has the potential for some fun stories.
[Andy Anders]
Absolutely. You know, I'm always right in the middle of, if there's, if there's fun to be had, I'll be there. I've never been to Las Vegas.
So I'm pretty excited for this trip. I don't expect to go blow all my money at a casino or anything, but definitely we'll be having some fun. And that's one of my favorite parts too of working this beat is those trips that we take.
A lot of times it's bowl trips. We don't usually get a lot of time at road games for like, it's mostly work. Like it's very much business trips a lot of the time when we go to road games.
And then the enjoyment of it is like, you get to see a cool stadium. Maybe you haven't seen before or you've been to and enjoy and just that whole game day experience is one of the main reasons I love this job, of course. But it's also fun to have that available, maybe a night or two available to go and cut loose with some fellow members of the beat.
I have a lot of people I would consider friends that work at other Ohio state outlets. I know maybe people out there think we all compete with each other. Maybe we all have a disdain for each other.
But most, I would say 90% of the people that are colleagues of mine on this beat, and that includes you, Dan, I enjoy hanging out with, having some fun with. So that part of it is like just exciting. And it might not be exciting to anyone listening, but it's exciting for us.
And I'm excited to take in Vegas. And I think maybe there is a level of excitement, too, for the fans of, hey, you get to watch Big Ten Media Days at more of a destination than maybe Indianapolis and it being in Lucas Oil every year.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, I mean, frankly, I was kind of surprised when this got announced, where it almost felt like there was not a lot of excitement from the beat about this. And I'm like, to me, like, I mean, I'm not a drinker, like I'm not a big gambler. But like to me, like, yeah, like Vegas will be fun.
Like I've never, like you, I've never been to Vegas. I've heard good things. So, you know, I'm excited to get the opportunity to check it out while also certainly doing a lot of work as well, covering that event for 11 Warriors.
And I think, you know, the thing that's always exciting about Big Ten Media Days, it feels like the unofficial kickoff to the football season. So we're still a little more than a couple of months away from that. But, you know, you kind of know, like once you get to Big Ten Media Days, then that means we're about to get into camp and we're really on that ramp up to the football season.
And, you know, it's going to be an extremely exciting football season this year, because, I mean, you're always going to be excited when you're coming off of a national championship. But let's be honest, if Grambling was Ohio State's first game on the schedule, the season opener just would not be as exciting as it is when Ohio State is starting its season with Texas. And I mean, I think that's the whole month of August, I think, is going to just feel like a buildup to Ohio State versus Texas.
I mean, does a season opener get any bigger than this? I mean, if we're being honest, like this could be a one versus two matchup. It's a rematch of what was arguably the best game in college football last year, the Cotton Bowl, which, of course, is a game that's going to live on in Ohio State lore for decades to come because of Jack Sawyer's scoop and score.
You know, you've got a potential very high profile quarterback matchup with Arch Manning, who's I mean, you could probably say the two biggest stars of the sport going into the year are going to be Arch Manning and Jeremiah Smith. You've got that Julian Sane, Arch Manning quarterback matchup. You've got the, you know, maybe it may be a smaller story in the national scape, but you've got, you know, Hero Canoe switching sides and Ohio State, you know, dealing with, you know, its concerns at defensive tackle, while one of the defensive tackles it would have relied on is playing for the other team.
I mean, there's just so many storylines for this game. And, you know, I know, you know, I think everybody out there like is hoping this will get that, you know, 7 30 PM under the lights, primetime kickoffs. If we're being realistic, it's probably going to be a noon game.
I mean, but Fox has the first two picks at a big 10 schedule, and it would be crazy not to pick this game. I mean, it's, it's, it's game of the year type game in week one. So, I mean, unless some backroom deal is brokered, Oh, Fox is going to pick this game and it's going to be a noon game, but I still think it's going to be a phenomenal atmosphere at Bashu because, you know, the, the excitement for this matchup in the first game after winning a national championship should be incredibly high in Columbus.
It also works out well that it's that week, there are no NFL preseason games. So a lot of those Buckeyes from last year should be able to come back. You would think they're going to do something to probably celebrate the national championship before or during that game as well.
So it's just going to be such a spectacle and I can't wait to be back in Bashu, Andy, at the end of August for that game.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah. They still haven't hung the, uh, the placard. I don't know what you call them, the years in the shoe of the national championships, and so I wouldn't be surprised if that were unveiled during that game, I think that'd be very fitting.
Um, I really feel the weight of the Texas game has already been felt this off season, uh, and through spring practice, I think, you know, you look back at what Ryan day said about coming into the spring, they wanted to rest a lot of guys and take it easy. And then they got a couple of weeks in and he completely flipped his mindset on that and was like, we play Texas week one, there's no, you got to put the foot to the floor, you got to get these guys ready. And I think that'll especially be prevalent in preseason camp.
And even at big tip media days, as you start talking to people, there's going to be such an impetus on getting this new quarterback broken in, getting this new offensive line to gel, uh, all the new pieces you have on defense getting settled in and ready to be productive. Even guys you feel confident about that haven't played before, um, at least been starters before. There's a lot of that that's going to be happening over the next few months for Ohio state, especially though, as we hit August and really get into the grind of season preparations.
And, uh, you know, I, I go back to, you know, when they played Notre Dame week one, a few years ago, uh, it was the same thing. You just felt that intensity and that urgency throughout the off season. So I think it'll even make August all the more interesting to cover this team.
Uh, and then nothing like a marquee matchup in the shoe with it rocking. I identify with the fans, you know, wish that were probably a night game, but like you said, realistically, it's going to be a noon game, so I'm not going to let it take away from my enjoyment of that experience, that it's not a night game, I'm going to embrace the noon atmosphere, uh, because it will still be a great one in the shoe, like you said. And I mean, it's just two of the biggest brands, the biggest entities in college football clashing in week one.
Uh, so, I mean, this is one of the best season openers you could possibly imagine, uh, for Ohio State and far from the last marquee game they'll play. And I think that the first one outside of obviously Michigan that you circle on the schedule, really going forward from that Texas game is the Penn State game. Penn State coming to the shoe.
Um, and for, not only do I think both of us are very high on what Penn State can be this year. Uh, they have a lot of talent coming back, going to have an amazing backfield, uh, going to have an amazing defense as usual, but that defense is also going to be coordinated by one Jim Knowles, who left Ohio State to become a Penn State Nittany Lion, returned to his home state of Pennsylvania, uh, and, and coach, and the, you know, more has come out about the rift that I guess you could say formed between, that formed between Ohio State and Jim Knowles. Um, there will certainly be no love lost for the fans, even with how he rebuilt Ohio State's defense into a national title, you know, fueled the national title team. Uh, had the best, you take what was the end of the Kerry Combs tenure and the mess that that was, and you become the best defense in college football and go win a national title, but to then days after that national title, a week after that national title jump ship, you know, I think there is going to be a lot of, uh, uh, there's going to be a lot of emotions tied up in that for fans, for players, I imagine too, uh, who might, you know, might understand that he had to do what was best for his situation, but also by the same token, you're still even this thing you built, uh, over the last three years and, and forcing the team to change systems and there's the separate storyline of does Jim Knowles have insider information on the Ohio State offense?
Obviously he has insider information on the Ohio State offense, but how much of a boost can it give Penn State as he, you know, levies that information and realizes maybe I did this that worked in practice against this offense, can I now implement that at Penn State, does Ryan Day have change-ups in the back pocket or Brian Hartline have change-ups in the back pocket to, to throw at Knowles in that game, there's a lot of storylines tied up in that and on top of it, I think we expect it to be a top five game again, like it was last year. So, um, I'm very excited. I think after the Texas game that it's just another marquee big game.
I'm really excited to cover there, uh, in midway through the season.
[Dan Hope]
Lost in that ESPN story you mentioned, I think, you know, a lot of the focus was obviously I want Jim Knowles said about why he left Ohio State, but you mentioned kind of that inside knowledge. One of the things was mentioned in that story was, you know, him basically giving Drew Auer his scouting report that he had of Drew Auer last year and kind of pointing out his weaknesses, what Ohio State players thought of him and, you know, kind of using that to help him improve this year. And so, uh, certainly, you know, I think he can bring some of that to Penn State, but it goes both ways too.
I mean, Ohio State has spent the last three years practicing against Jim Knowles defense. So, you know, Ryan Day and Brian Hartline are going to know some of the flaws of Jim Knowles defense. And, you know, we, we, you know, one of the reasons that's at least been speculated for why Jim Knowles wanted to go to Penn State was he wanted to really get back to run in his scheme and Ryan Day went in mid season and kind of told him to change his scheme because it was not working out the way it was supposed to.
So do I think that Ohio State will probably have some ideas about things it can do to take advantage of Jim Knowles' defense? I think they certainly will have some things they're cooking up and we'll see if that ultimately works. Like you said, I mean, I think Penn State is a very, very real national championship contender this year.
Uh, you know, we'll see. I mean, it's, it's kind of like we talked about Ryan Day last year, you know, if James Franklin can't get it done with this team, is he ever going to do it? You know, I think this is kind of their year, their best opportunity.
And so, uh, you know, they're, they're going to be a very intriguing team to watch, but yeah, I mean, I think you, you look at this year's schedule in the shoe. I mean, you've got two big, big games there, but you circle the Texas game and the Penn State game. And I, and I think, and I hope the Penn State game might actually get that primetime treatment it deserves.
It's, it's been a Fox staple in recent years, but if you think about Fox having the first two picks in the TV draft, they're going to pick Ohio State, Texas. They're going to pick Ohio State, Michigan. That leaves the door open, you know, NBC to come in and swoop up that Ohio State Penn State game, or maybe CBS and that, that free 30 slot, but you'd like to see it get that home night game treatment.
And frankly, I think if you're Ross Bjork, if you have any influence on those picks at all, you should be pushing for that. Cause the fans really want that, that marquee home night game. We saw how great the atmosphere was.
Every time I've talked to Ross Bjork since then, he's consistently brought up that game as being the best atmosphere we've seen in the shoes and shoe in years. And game day atmosphere is like a big, big point of emphasis right now for Ross Bjork and that athletic department. So you would think they're gonna want that marquee home night game at some point this, this season to show that off.
And if it's not the Texas game, then you'd think it would be the Penn State game. So hopefully that game does get that treatment that it deserves because I think that game is going to be a banger. And then of course, at the end of a regular season, you got that Ohio State versus Michigan game that everyone's going to be looking forward to that.
You know, Ohio State fans certainly hoping they can finally get the bragging rights back in that series as even winning a national championship did not quiet Michigan fans down about Ryan Day and about how Michigan has owned Ohio State and Ryan Day, which it has, especially this, this past year when Ohio State had a huge edge on paper, uh, ended up suffering a 13 to 10 loss in that game. And, and this year's Michigan team, uh, should be better than last year's team, at least on offense. You know, some of that's going to depend on whether Bryce Underwood lives up to the hype.
But you would think, I mean, Ohio State never should have lost to a Michigan team that had as anemic of a passing offense as it did last year, but you know, Michigan's passing offense should be better than that this year. I also think their defense will still be really good. They, they, they won't have Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham.
So maybe you'll have more success if you run the ball 25 times up the middle of this time, although that still would not be my game plan, uh, at all. But, uh, you know, I still think that Michigan defense is going to be really strong, one of the better defenses in the country. And so that's going to be a war, you know, and that's going to be for, for all the goodwill Ryan Day has built up.
That is still the one box that he has to check to truly win over everybody and truly, you know, prove himself as one of college football's elite coaches. I mean, winning a national championship gets you there, but the one thing that still haunts him, the one narrative he's still got to shake is the narrative that he can't beat Michigan. And so, you know, that game, no matter what happens in the first 11 games, uh, that, that game is certainly going to feel like the biggest game of the year because, uh, short of winning a national championship, uh, there's nothing that anyone associated with Ohio State, Ryan Day, players, fans, you name it.
There's nothing short of winning a national championship that anyone wants more than finally beating Michigan.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's great to see Ohio State, yes, went and won a national title, did all this stuff, but the rivalry still means that much, right? The rivalry is still healthy and intense, and it should be the game every year that is most looked forward to, most anticipated, most important for Ohio State.
And I think Ryan Day is treating it that way. And, you know, there's a whole other podcast we could do about the Michigan game, about why the last four years have happened, we have done entire podcasts after those losses. And we probably will do another one at some point.
Absolutely. Plenty of off season to go here. Exactly.
So, uh, there's a lot of things you can talk about with the Michigan rivalry and why it's gone the way it's gone. I, the one thing I'll say now is I, I, I think the college football playoff run, I hadn't really reflected on it until recently about how maybe there are lessons to take from the national title run to then apply to the Michigan game. And I think what Ohio State, a lot of the things Ohio State did so well in that CFP run was Ryan Day getting back to his roots of what made him great.
When he first arrived at Ohio State, the aggressive offenses, the aggressive play calling, the emotion on the sidelines, that identity with his players. And the team just played so much more free in the college football playoff. Um, it, it really feels like in so many ways, a mental hurdle for the program.
Right now, John Cooper in the nineties got made fun of a lot for viewing the Michigan game is kind of like any other game, right? I think there's an argument to be had that some of the inverse has happened in recent years with Ohio State, that there's so much emphasis placed on it, that they go in and change what they've been doing. What's been working all year, running the ball off the middle 25 times, like you said, against the, you know, two, one of the best defensive tackle tandems in the country, uh, 13 NFL draft picks precisely.
And, uh, doing that instead of airing the ball out and taking advantage of the weapons you have and all these other things, you know, that is to me, a conversation to be had later of the mental makeup. But I think there's a lesson for this from the CFP in that whether it's, it might not be de-emphasizing the Michigan game, but at least changing the approach of like, how do you play as loose as you did in the CFP while still having the stakes of that game that it has.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah. If anything is going to allow them to play more confidently, it should be winning a national championship. So, you know, I, I think even Ryan Day kind of alluded to that, you know, last week when he was talking about some of, you know, if, you know, you can, you can overthink things and then, you know, you can choke, you know, I mean that, you know, uh, there was certainly no better example of that than what happened against Michigan last year.
And so I, I agree with you. I think, you know, there, there is, like you said, it's, it's not just any other game in terms of what it means, but like, I, I think it might serve Ohio state better to just say, okay, this is what we do well. Now let's do it really well in this game.
You do, you don't need to, you don't need to not, you don't need to have a completely different game plan for that game. You just need to play it well. And I think, you know, like you said, like you said, you know, if you can take anything away from a CFP, you know, you did that against four of the best teams in the country.
So just, just do that. Keep, keep that same mentality and you're going to have a good chance. And so, uh, we'll, we'll see at the end of November, you know, how that ultimately plays out, uh, plenty of other intriguing games on the schedule too.
You got, you know, Ohio state going to Washington on September 27. That'll be Ohio state's first game against Washington as big 10 foes. Uh, you've got the first Illibuck game in eight years, uh, on October 11 at Illinois.
And that that's, that's an interesting game because a lot of people think, you know, Illinois could be this year's Indiana. I think, uh, Bert's built a good program there. He's, he's got a lot of talent coming back and, and they're kind of at like dark horse potential CFP team in the big tenants.
So that could be a really interesting game, uh, in, in Champaign. Uh, you got a week after that, you go to Wisconsin camp Randall, you know, another one of those fun stadiums to go to, you talk about game day atmosphere. That's certainly up there.
And you, you got Luke fickle who, you know, he's got to make some things happen this year or his seat could get pretty hot. So, uh, you know, that, that could be a big game on both sides there on October 18. And then, you know, I think the rest of the home slate, probably the one that jumps out the most to me is UCLA.
Uh, maybe a game that wouldn't have jumped out a few weeks ago, but it does now because it'll be Niko Iemaliava's return to the shoe. Obviously a rough night for him back in December when he was Tennessee's quarterback. Now he'll be making the trip back to Columbus as UCLA's quarterback after transferring there last month.
And what will be the first Ohio state UCLA game as big 10 foes. So Andy, outside of the big three games, we already talked about what, what game on the schedule are you most looking forward to this season?
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, it's, it's, it's camp Randall. Like you said, I just love that, uh, atmosphere. And I've been to, I've been, I got to experience it for the first time, 2023, they played there.
Uh, my first year at 11 warriors, uh, on that road trip. Now that that road trip was spoiled for, for, uh, some other reasons that it was, uh, I was, I had just been broken up with, uh, before, uh, before we went on that one in 2023. Uh, but I still remember the game day atmosphere of camp Randall.
It lived up to the hype. I love that stadium. Uh, one of my favorite in the big 10.
So pretty excited to go back to that. I think that matchup and, uh, seeing where Luke fickle and his team are at, at that point of the season, and can he start building toward the success he needs, like you said, to keep his job, to keep his seat from getting hot. I mean, this is a fickle business, uh, that he works in.
So, uh, it, it is a big year for Luke and to see where his team is at, at that point to see camp Randall will be packed and loud. It always is when Ohio state goes there.
[Dan Hope]
Um, I'll be, I'm very excited for that game. I remember Andy, just like cursing him a backseat of my car as I'm driving. And I'm like, what is going on?
But, uh, fortunately camp Randall brought him some joy. I remember us getting some good, uh, cheese curds up in Madison.
[Andy Anders]
So yeah, shoot. I forgot. We got to go back to that place.
[Dan Hope]
We definitely got to get some cheese curds. Uh, you're up, you're up in Wisconsin. So definitely got to do that.
I think for me, it is, it is, it is Illinois. And one of the reasons why is Illinois is because I, I, I, it's the one of the traditional big 10 stadiums, uh, going to Seattle to Husky stadium will also be a first for me, but, but, but for Illinois, I got so close to seeing a game there literally in, in 2020, I had just gotten to my hotel in, in, in Champaign, Illinois. And, and we get the text that the game had been canceled due to a COVID outbreak at Ohio state.
And so I literally, the next day, there was no game, but I'm like, okay, before I drive back to Columbus, I'm going to at least like go to the stadium and check it out. So I like parked near the stadium. I like walked around, like took a picture of the Dick Buck get statue.
And I'm like, okay, I'm going to go home now. But like, uh, after coming so close to seeing a game there five years ago, I'm excited to, cause there's actually been twice. There was actually, I was supposed to go.
Back when I was a philanthron, I think back in 2013, and then something came up and I was unable to make that trip. So like two times now, I, I, I have been close to going there and it's like crazy to me that I'm going into my ninth football season at 11 warriors and I still haven't covered a game at Illinois. So I think for me, like that, that's, you know, the road trip, uh, you wouldn't maybe necessarily think of that being the one that stands out.
But I think for me, that's probably the one I'm looking the most forward to this year, because one, I think it's going to be a really good game. And two, uh, it'll be a first for me to actually get to see a game there. So, uh, definitely looking forward to that one again, so much to look forward to this season with a, you know, great schedule on tap, of course, year two of a 12 team college football playoff.
And, you know, year one was so much fun, especially for Ohio state fans, but just even just the whole buildup to the playoff. I mean, we talked about it a lot last year about, you know, how much fun it was going to be. And I really think it proved to be that.
Yeah. You know, the first round wasn't, wasn't great. I mean, there were a lot of blowouts and hopefully, hopefully those early round games will get a little more competitive going forward.
You know, we'll see, you know, time starting to run out here, but we'll see if maybe some changes are made to the seating, uh, to maybe create some more competitive matchups in those early rounds. But I still think year one of a 12 team CFP was a big win and I'm really excited, uh, to watch year two of it and certainly excited to watch, uh, the players that Ohio state is going to have this year, because I mean, it all starts with you got maybe the two best players in college football and Jeremiah Smith and Caleb down. So if you're an Ohio state fan and you're not excited to watch those two, then I don't, I don't know how you couldn't be because I mean, Jeremiah Smith, I mean, you've talked about it before, Andy, it was like, how much better can this guy get in year two?
Cause I mean, if you, you look recent history, whether it's Marvin Harrison Jr, Emeka, Buka, uh, Jackson Smith and Jigba, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson. Traditionally year two has been the year that these guys have taken off, but none of those guys rewrote the record books and, and made the play of a game of a national championship game as a freshman. So it's fun to think about like, is there truly another level this guy can get to?
And like, if he gets to that level, are we talking about him winning the Heisman trophy? Like it's going to be really fun to watch this guy. Isn't it?
[Andy Anders]
A hundred percent. I've said it too. I, I think he gets to another level this year.
That's the thing. It's like, even just getting another year older and we know how much of a weight room warrior he is. He's twice been named an iron Buckeye already by the strength and conditioning staff.
This is Jeremiah Smith is so dedicated, um, to his craft, to improving his game, to getting that 1% better each day that coach speak. We always hear, right? I really think there is, uh, another level he can get to where he, he could even challenge if he stays healthy all year, challenge Ohio state single season records for some receiving categories.
Like there's definitely some breakable ones, uh, that I think Jeremiah is, is well capable of it. And yeah, year one to year two jump is usually the biggest jump a player takes in his college career. It's just that obviously Jeremiah already entered at such a high level.
It's hard to fathom. Like, can he get better? And it's like, yeah, I really think so.
I think it's, it's much harder for us to sit here and talk about like how that happens or fans or, but I think Brian Hartline and Jeremiah Smith have a real plan of action of, okay, yeah, you did great last year, but here, here's some areas where you can actually get better and improve and, and refine your craft and run a CRISPR route here. Run a, you know, even training those motions time after time. Like it, it's so there's a lot of skill involved in playing receiver that obviously Jeremiah came in with a lot of, um, and there's areas of his game that you look at and say, okay, well, it's hard to get any better at this, but he is, I do expect him to get to another level this year.
And when that happens, I think he can be, he can emerge as a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah. If there's one thing you should know about Brian Hartline and, you know, why he's so good at, uh, developing receivers. Yeah.
He's, he's never going to let his guys get complacent. I mean, I think Jeremiah could have 2,500 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns this year, and he'd still be talking next off season about all the areas. Jeremiah has got to get better.
And that's, that that's just how Brian Hartline coaches. And that's why he gets one great wide receiver after another, because he, he pushes those guys, uh, to be perfectionists at their crafts. And that's certainly the goal for Jeremiah is to just keep getting that 1% better every day.
And if, and if he can do that, uh, we could see some special things from him this year. Certainly from Caleb Downs as well. I mean, it's going to be fun.
I mean, just watching the Matt Patricia defense in general is going to be fun to see, you know, in that Texas game, there's probably going to be things we haven't seen all off season that we're going to see from him in that game, because they're not going to want to give too much away until that first game comes. And it's going to be fascinating to see what kind of wrinkles Matt Patricia froze out there for his first game as defensive coordinator. But it all starts with Caleb Downs.
I mean, we've heard Matt Patricia talk about, you know, when he had Patrick Chung in new England and all the different things he did with him as kind of a centerpiece of that Patriots defense. And I think he's going to be able to use Caleb Downs in a lot of similar ways. So, you know, I mean, I mean, I've said like, I mean, I think Jeremiah Smith could win the Heisman Trophy.
And I think Caleb Downs could be the defensive player of the year. I think they are the two best players in college football, in my opinion, at least going into the season. And it's going to be so much fun to get to watch those guys again.
I mean, the guys who, in my opinion, on a loaded, loaded team were the two best players on a national championship team. We get to watch them again.
[Andy Anders]
Absolutely. And I think you complement that with, it's always fun to see, like, it might not be fun from a coaching staff perspective, but it's always fun to see so much turnover and so many new faces that could emerge as stars next to those two. Seeing Carnell Tate now go from being the number three receiver to the number two receiver.
What kind of jump does that bring with Brandon Inniskin emerging as the slot receiver, delivering on his five-star talent? What James Peeples, you know, I'm really excited about. And that J.K. Dobbins running style, getting downhill, chopping the feet, but also great cutting ability, very shifty. Seeing what the new makeup of this offensive line is like and feeling like that could be a real strength for Ohio State this year. Max Clair, you know, coming in and doing what he did at Purdue and adding in another weapon to that arsenal, plus everything else Ohio State has going at tight end where Jelani Thurman can get to. You get to the defensive side and the questions along the defensive line will be interesting to see how they unfurl throughout the year.
But expect to at linebacker, I'm really excited about what Peyton Pierce and Arvell Reese can be in this defense. And Sonny Stiles is going to take another step too. It's like, again, he did so well at the end of the last season and was the defense's most improved player.
You still forget it'll only be his second season as a linebacker. He's going to take another jump and be the block goer or two. What they do with Jalen McClain and Malik Hartford.
I think there's going to be a lot of creative things in the secondary. And then, you know, this group of corners and what Lorenzo Stiles Jr. has showed in the spring. There's a lot to be excited about in terms of the newness with this team with those two returning stars.
And I think that's what makes. There's always something that makes a given Ohio State team exciting. That's the nature of being one of the best teams in the country, year in and year out.
I think that blend of you have those two big time proven stars and then a bunch of new guys that have to show their metal and maybe take some jumps. We're never going to fill out this team. And not least of all, of course, the quarterbacks to, you know, what Julian Sane or Lincoln Keenholz becomes.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, there's a lot of players on this team that have the potential to be breakout stars. I mean, you just ran through a lot of them, but there's a lot of, a lot of talented players on this team who, in many cases, they're going to be playing a bigger role than they did last year. Again, where about be a Julian Sane or a Jermaine Matthews Jr. Or Orville Reese or a Edric Houston, you know, or you got some new guys from a transfer portal like Max Claire. I'm certainly, I mean, I'm intrigued to see, you know, but you know, the tight end storyline is one, it feels like gets talked about a lot in the offseason. Like, are they finally going to use a tight ends? But like, you don't bring in Max Claire to not throw the ball out of a tight end.
So like, I'm intrigued to see, like, can Max Claire have a historic kind of season for an Ohio state tight end? Like, I'm, I'm excited to see that. Like, you know, I'm excited to see, you know, how, you know, those, those linebackers, like you talked about, I mean, you know, Sonny Stiles, can he become an all-American kind of player?
You know, Orville Reese, Peyton Pierce, how good can they be? I mean, Jermaine Matthews is a guy who, for me, kind of stands out as maybe like the breakout star for this year. I think just based on what we've seen from him over his first two years, I think he's been ready to be a star in that secondary.
Now he's going to get his chance and I think he will be. And so, you know, it's just, it's just going to be a lot of fun. And, you know, we still got, you know, a few more months to go until we actually get to see those guys play.
But I think, you know, getting to watch this spring, it showed there's still a long way to go for this team. A lot that this team still has to work on in, in the summer. And, you know, a lot of that process is going to start up again soon.
Players getting a little bit of time off right now. You know, Ryan Day said it last week. You know, he wanted those guys to get away for a little bit.
Uh, you know, get some time with their families because, you know, it was such a long season and then they went right into, you know, classes and winter workouts and spring practice. But I mean, same time you just saw yesterday, you know, Caden Dixon-Wyatt posts a picture, uh, of him and Chris Henry Jr. And Julian Sane and Lincoln Kienholz and Jeremiah Smith and, and Carnell Tate and Brandon Innes and Max Claire all out there getting in work. So, you know, I think you got a lot of guys on this team who just love ball to where even if they get a few weeks off, they're still out there trying to find ways to get better.
And, you know, that should give Ohio State fans a lot of excitement because, you know, if, if, if this team can live up to expectations, if, if a talent can come together, anything is possible. Again, I think fans would be smart to, you know, continue to soak up that national championship. Don't like move on too quickly.
Don't be like, uh, that's in the past now, because like runs like that aren't going to happen every single year. So like enjoy it while you can until the next season starts. But, uh, there, there's a lot to look forward to, uh, for 2025 as well.
And I think, you know, we're, we're really excited, uh, to see how that all unfolds, uh, you know, in a few months when the season starts up again. So, you know, in the meantime, again, lots more to come on 11warriors.com and 11warriors YouTube channel. Uh, again, we're going to take a few weeks off here on real pod Wednesdays, kind of, you know, reevaluate, you know, what, what we want to do here going forward on the video and podcasting side and take a little time, uh, to recharge here, uh, during some of these quieter weeks.
But, uh, you know, we'll be back in full force soon and, uh, very excited, uh, to continue covering, uh, this Ohio state football team as we get, uh, closer and closer to the 2025 season. So for now, he's Andy Anders. I'm Dan Hope.
Thanks for joining us and we'll catch you again soon.