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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, Dan Hope joined by Andy Anders as we are now less than one week away from Big Ten Media Days. We are just over two weeks away from preseason camp. So the start of Ohio State football season is almost upon us.
Are you getting that excitement, Andy?
[Andy Anders]
I am. You know, this is when I said it in our group chat earlier. This is when the gas pedal hits the floor for us next week.
You know, we'll get back from Big Ten Media Days, we'll be moving, camp will start up and that's when it all starts rolling. You know, August, it's kind of, summer's kind of lax. There's not a whole lot going on necessarily.
Not a lot of news hitting the cycle in June and July. Once August comes, once Big Ten Media Days comes, it's full bore until, you know, the football season's over, basically. So it's an exciting time.
It's always the most stressful time as, you know, in this job, but that's why you do it, you know, when I'm in Ohio Stadium on a game day and breathe in that air, you just have that moment of like, man, this is why I do this, you know. So I am overjoyed for football season coming up and excited to just keep the coverage going.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, we will have full coverage of Big Ten Media Days coming to you on next week's episode. We'll be recording right from Lucas Oil Stadium to give you some coverage of the Buckeyes who will be speaking in Indianapolis next Tuesday before our next episode of Real Pod Wednesdays. But on this week's episode, we are going to have a little fun with an exercise that Colin Hoss Hill and I started several years ago on the original lineup of Real Pod Wednesdays.
Griffin Strome and I kept it going and now Andy Anders. We did do it for basketball, but we're going to do it for football now. Our annual preseason team draft where we're going to go head to head against each other drafting 11 on 11 lineups, both offense and defense.
We're going to pick 44 players in total, and we're going to kind of try to outmaneuver each other to try to put together the best possible team of Buckeyes to go against another team of Buckeyes. And then we'll have a poll up on 11warriors.com where you guys can vote on who had the best team. Looking back at last year, Andy, Griffin, he got 71% of a vote against me, so you've got some big shoes to fill.
I have not fared particularly well in these drafts over the years, so it's up to you to try to keep that going.
[Andy Anders]
Well, you've got the benefit of experience on your side. Me and Griffin are buddies going back, and I was always impressed with his drafting skills, so I'm hoping that I can live up to the reputation of being that guy to undermine your selections.
[Dan Hope]
It is interesting just looking back at last year's picks really quickly to just see how some of them played out. Marvin Harrison Jr. went number one. That was no surprise, and certainly he lived up to being that number one pick.
You look back, Carson Hinsman went in the top 10 last year, even though he was a first-time center. He went above the likes of Denzel Burke, Mike Hall, Jack Sawyer, Cade Stover, Leif and Ransom. I'd be surprised if Carson Hinsman goes above Denzel Burke and Jack Sawyer this year, but I guess you never know.
You look back, a guy like Tyleek Williams went all the way down to 24th, where Griffin was able to snap him up. It's always interesting to look back and see how some things changed. Josh Proctor got drafted after Jihad Carter, because at the time we were thinking Jihad Carter was going to be Ohio State's starting free safety, not Josh Proctor.
It's always interesting to see how things play out, look back on it a year later and see what would have changed. I've been going into this draft, of all the years we've been doing it, this might have been the hardest year for me in terms of setting my draft board, because this team has so many good players. Usually there's like, okay, these are like three, four, five guys I really want on my team.
But this year, there's like 15 guys I really want on my team, so I'm really fascinated to see how this plays out, to see whether my board ends up mirroring yours in terms of how this draft plays out, or if I have to make some adjustments on the fly based on you throwing me some curveballs.
[Andy Anders]
Right. You know, I don't want to reveal too much strategy or anything, but of course, a lot of this is going to be based on positional scarcity, I think, and that's going to dictate, you know, you might be surprised to see some guys go as low or as high as they do. That's always a thing with these drafts, and the thing about this team is certain positions are really deep.
And so there's some stars on the team that might fall a little bit, at least I know on my draft board, compared to where I'd like, if I were ranking Ohio State's players 1-50, they'd go much higher. But I might draft them later because maybe that position is a little more stacked than certain others. So that's going to play a big factor into this, and I'm just excited to get it started here.
[Dan Hope]
To refresh you all on the format for this draft, we're each going to make 22 picks. We each have to draft 11 players on offense, 11 players on defense. The criteria are we each have to draft one quarterback, five offensive linemen, and five offensive skill position players.
So you can draft two running backs if you want, you can draft two tight ends if you want, you can't draft two quarterbacks just to take a quarterback from the other team. It has to be a realistic lineup that you would run an offense with. Defensively, same thing.
You have to draft at least three defensive linemen, at least two linebackers, at least four defensive backs. The other two are up to your discretion. So if you want to run a more traditional 4-3, you can do that.
If you want to run the nickel-based defense that Ohio State currently uses, you can do that. If you want to have your jack linebacker in there, you can do that too. So a little bit of flexibility, but some ground rules to kind of keep this thing on the rails.
So, Andy, I've got Google flip a coin up here. I'm going to give you the honor of calling heads or tails, and then I will flip it.
[Andy Anders]
I was captain of my JV team in football as a sophomore. And my saying was always, tails never fails. So we're going tails.
[Dan Hope]
And it is heads, which means I get the choice of whether I get the number one pick. And honestly, this is a tough choice because, again, there's not that clear cut. This guy's for sure the number one pick.
You think back to years when there was Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud, it's like, you're taking the number one pick. You can't pass it up. This year, I could go either way, but I am going to go ahead and take the number one pick.
And I'm going to go ahead and take Caleb Downs because I think there's a few guys I could have considered here, but it goes back to what Andy said in the intro about the depth at each position. Safety, there's not a whole lot of depth at safety on this team. Caleb Downs might be the best player on the team, might be the best safety in the country.
So he's the one guy that I really did not want to miss out on.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, that was my number one pick, too. Not going to lie, right at the top, probably combination of talent, positional scarcity just makes too much sense, I think. So for me, he was number one choice that popped right in my mind.
And speaking of positional scarcity, that's going to dictate my pick at number two. I'm going Donovan Jackson. I think that's the only surefire offensive lineman on this team where everyone's going to look at and say that's the anchor.
And for a really thin offensive line room, I think it's important to kind of set that. Now there's a lot of directions to go at three, I think, because I wanted to get an early offensive lineman off the board. Obviously Caleb Downs was at the top of my list.
I think at this point, all the directions I can go, it always makes sense to just go best available for me. I think Emeka Bukka, people may be sleeping on what he can be this year, but this is a guy who's proven in the past he can be a super productive receiver when healthy. Even with all the hype around Jeremiah Smith, he's going to be the top guy in that room, which is always a lead under Brian Hartline.
So I'm getting the offensive side of the football first, which is odd given how defensive driven we both think this team is going to be. But for me, I think Donovan Jackson, for the positional scarcity, and then Emeka Bukka, I think might be the best player available after Caleb Downs is now off the board.
[Dan Hope]
Two very good picks there, cannot argue with those. Donovan Jackson would have been one of my next two picks. So I had a feeling you were going to do that since you are an offensive line guy, but I wasn't sure.
I knew it. It's tough now. I'm already like, okay, there's like three or four guys here that I'm really considering with these two picks.
I'm going to start out, if you gave me two chances to take Denzel Burke and I didn't take Denzel Burke, then that would be kind of off-brand for me. Because I've said several times I think Denzel Burke is the best player on this team and one of the best players in the entire country. And so I'm not going to pass up the chance to take Denzel Burke when I get a second chance at it.
And so I got to go with Denzel Burke there. And then with my second choice, I've made the mistake in this draft too many times of letting my opponent get the top two or more offensive linemen. So I'm not going to make that mistake again.
So I'm going to go ahead and take Josh Simmons to ensure that Andy does not get both of the left side of the offensive line.
[Andy Anders]
Good choices. Denzel was next on my board right after Emeka. And you know, cornerback I think is a sneaky position in this draft, which is why my next pick is Jordan Hancock.
I'm not sure who's next up at that nickel spot. It's probably Jermaine Matthews, but as far as like surefire guy to play that slot spot, if you want to stick with the base formation of Ohio State's defense, I think Jordan makes a lot of sense. I think Jordan's obviously a fantastic player, but just the variety of skills he can give you and again, kind of the scarcity of that nickel position made that make a lot of sense for me.
Next, I'm going to go D-line and a lot of great guys to choose from there, but I want to kind of establish an anchor to get after the quarterback because you know, that's the modern college football game, right? You got to protect the quarterback, get after the quarterback, have a great quarterback. Jack Sawyer, I think is the defensive lineman I'm most high on.
I have not been shy about that opinion, even dating back to last year, you know, being the cool guy who was in on the Jack Sawyer hype before everybody else, you know, not to pat myself on the back too much, but I got to stay on brand with that one. So went to two offensive selections in my first two, this time two defensive selections with Jordan Hancock and Jack Sawyer.
[Dan Hope]
Good choices there. I didn't see the Hancock one coming, I will say, but I get it because you're right. Like he's the guy, like that slot position, he's the guy, you know, can play it.
So I totally get that pick. Jack was in my kind of my next group of three. So if you had gone a different direction here, good chance I would have taken him.
But my next two picks, I almost took Will Howard with my last pick. I'm going to take Will Howard now. I mean, he's the most likely starting quarterback on the team.
It's the most important position on the team. So I'm not going to go any longer without taking Will Howard as my quarterback. And then I'm going to bet on the upside here.
You already got Emeka Buka. I got to take Jeremiah Smith. I mean, if he's as good as he looked like he can be this spring, he could be one of the best wide receivers in the country.
I don't want you to have both Emeka and Jeremiah on your team. So I got to go with Jeremiah Smith.
[Andy Anders]
Jeremiah is an excellent pick. There's a couple different directions I'm thinking of going at this next thing here. What do I want to do with this?
Hmm. All right. So I think it's a must that I draft Latham Ransom fairly high since you already got downs and that's the other starting safety and we're uncertain about the depth behind those guys.
Some people that maybe have some upside, but I think I need a cornerstone at that safety position in the secondary. I think Latham Ransom makes a lot of sense here. That was a note I had on my draft.
It's like if Dan gets Caleb before you, you need to remember to draft Latham. So I'm going to go Latham Ransom here and then follow it up with really, I think, solidifying that offensive line because again, positional scarcity makes too much sense. Seth McLaughlin, I think, is next up on the board.
There's an argument maybe to be had with Josh Fryer, but for me, I think that cornerstone and the guy who's going to be sending the protections for Ohio State, I really like that into your tandem of Seth McLaughlin and Donovan Jackson for me. So those are my next two selections.
[Dan Hope]
Well, I'm going to have to respond to that. There's four surefire offensive linemen on this team. I want to get at least two of them.
So I will take Josh Fryer with my next pick. That way I get both of the starting tackles and feel pretty good about that. And now I'm in another spot where it's like, okay, there's three or four guys here that I could go with, but I'm going to go for a guy that some people think is the best NFL draft prospect on this entire team.
I mentioned earlier he fell too far in this draft last year. You could argue he's fallen too far again. I don't want him to fall any further.
So I am going to take Tyleek Williams to anchor my defensive line.
[Andy Anders]
Great idea. Tyleek would have been my next D lineman off the board. And when you talk about interior guys, I think that's the best place to go.
Definitely a buyer's market here on the offensive linemen, and it might confuse some people to see so many linemen drafted this high. I got to get a tackle. So I'm going Tegra Shibula and I'm playing him a tackle.
I think that makes the most sense, I think, outside of the other tackle options you have behind the starting tandem of Josh Simmons and Josh Fryer. Tegra's probably the best fit, has played the position in the past, and seems to have more upside than maybe some of the guys backing them up. And I can't let you get Tegra, put him at guard, and leave me with no other options to tackle.
So that's going to be my next selection for sure. I think next then I'm going to go with, let's go with a little bit of a linebacker here. Sonny Stiles, I'm really high on what he can do around the defense this year.
There's a lot of versatility there. And while his positional scarcity isn't as high as others, given that you also have C.J. Hicks in that role, potentially a linebacker, I just think Sonny's upside what he can provide. Not just at that spot, but maybe moving around the formations of the defense a little bit.
Really high on what Sonny can do this year, and he's just a player I really wanted on my team because I'm really sold on what he can bring.
[Dan Hope]
Well I didn't think JT to Amolaw would still be here at the 16th pick. So I'm going to go ahead and take JT to Amolaw. You've already got Jack Sawyer, so this gives me two of the top three defensive linemen on the team as I now pair JT to Amolaw with Tyleek Williams.
And then I'm going to go Travion Henderson again. I think really good value getting him at number 17. As you talked about before, you know, they have two really good running backs.
That's why neither of them went earlier than now, but I can't let Travion Henderson fall any further than 17.
[Andy Anders]
Totally fair. The tricky thing I was thinking of doing earlier was taking both Travion and Quenshawn and plugging them into a two running back system.
[Dan Hope]
I was a little worried when I did it. I almost took one of them off my previous pick because I'm like, if Andy wants to be mean, I'm giving him the opportunity to do it right now.
[Andy Anders]
I was right there, but it was like, okay, I need to get Lathan and so I can't take both. That was the thought process earlier and then I didn't do it with the last two selections, I guess either. But Quenshawn Judkins then has to be my response so that you can't do that to me.
I was gonna do it.
[Dan Hope]
Like, I was like, I'm hoping that he will not go that way because I almost did it there. I'm like, should I just take them both and then give him JT? I'm like, oh, I won't be that mean.
[Andy Anders]
Yes. All right. So we're gonna take Quenshawn there and I don't have an outside corner yet.
So I'm gonna go with Davison Igbenosin. The best run defending corner I've ever seen play at Ohio State, maybe. I mean, you talk about over 50 tackles as a corner.
It's pretty ridiculous. And also, he's gonna take another step this year, I think. People forgetting he was only a second year player last year.
And I think year two to year three, you guys usually take a pretty huge jump. So Davison Igbenosin to give me my number one corner back.
[Dan Hope]
Two great picks there. Those could have been my two picks as well. So I think you got those right.
I don't want to risk letting you get three of the top four corners. So I'm going to go ahead now and take Jermaine Matthews Jr. to pair him with Denzel Burke. And I feel really good about that pairing.
And then another one here where there's a few different guys I could go with. But I am going to go with Cody Simon. Let's go with Cody Simon.
Get the anchor at Mike Linebacker for the middle of his defense.
[Andy Anders]
Great choice there. And a guy, I think, again, positional scarcity. There's other Mikes on the roster.
And I think the guy now left for me at Mike is going to have a really good year this year, in my opinion. I'm not going to draft him just yet. But there's a couple guys you could really plug into that Mike spot anyway.
But for me, I think now that both running backs are off the board, we each have a receiver. I'm going to go ahead and get my number two weapon out there. And it's tough to choose between Carnell Tate and Brandon Innes.
Definitely both great arguments to be that next guy up. I know the coaching staff is really high on what Carnell can provide and obviously have more reps last year. But I actually think Brandon Innes is going to have a bigger year.
I think that he's so explosive as a player after the catch ability is great, which is awesome when you're talking about gathering those yards. So for me, Brandon Innes is my next pick. Get a second weapon for Devin Brown to throw to when I eventually draft Devin Brown because obviously you already took Howard.
So we're going to then go to there's some options here for sure. Kind of looking through what I want to do. I haven't addressed the interior of the defensive line yet.
I think that's kind of the one position that is left out there for me. So I'm going to go ahead and take the other starter. You already took Ty Leake.
I'm going to take Ty Hamilton and pair him with one of the other depth guys later. But I think Jack Sawyer and Ty Hamilton give me a pretty solid foundation to go up against your picks of JT and Ty Leake there.
[Dan Hope]
Good choices there. Ty was the other guy I was strongly considering at my last pick. So I had a feeling I would not get him to my next pick, but I was hoping.
I mean, you know I'm a big Brandon Innes guy, so I can't fault you for that selection at all. I totally agree with you that I think he's a guy that could have a huge year. With that being said, I'm going to go ahead and get my other starting linebacker now as well.
And I'm going to go ahead and get CJ Hicks to ensure that you cannot get both Sonny Stiles and CJ Hicks. I will take CJ Hicks, and that fills out my starting lineup at linebacker. And then a couple different routes that I could go here.
You took Seth McLaughlin, so I need a center. So I'm going to go ahead and take Carson Hinsman before you can take him to potentially play guard.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, those are great selections. You know, I was hoping you were going to say Josh Padilla there for a second since Hinsman slid over. And maybe I could just slide in and take Hinsman real quick.
But that was a clear choice, I think. And some versatility there too, right? Can play either center or guard on the roster.
So there's some stuff there. Like kind of I got Taker for that same reason, sliding him over to tackle. So then later select what I'm going to do now, Luke Montgomery, and put him at right guard.
Taking kind of, I think that's a pretty decent quartet to serve as the main foundation of my offensive line. And then we're probably going to have a little more of a low-grade pick at my last tackle spot later here. Or maybe I could even slide Luke out, depending on what's available.
But we're going to have Donovan Jackson, Seth McLaughlin, Luke Montgomery, Taker Shibula. I'm happy with that. I'm happy with the upside of that offensive line.
You know, some potential there. Now, where do I go next? I think, oh, I'm going to take Malik Hartford here and round out my tandem at safety.
Because I think there's a clear delineation between him and whoever's next. Positional scarcity-wise, I think pairing him with Lathan makes a lot of sense because he's more of a free safety. Lathan's more of a strong safety.
So Malik Hartford is my next choice.
[Dan Hope]
He would have been one of my next two choices. So smart pick there. I was very worried if I didn't take Karnel Tate with my last pick, I was going to lose out on him.
So I won't take that risk any longer. I will take Karnel Tate. I think he's the best player on the board at this point, pretty clearly.
So getting him to pair him with Jeremiah and give me two weapons with a ton of upside at wide receiver. And then the second pick, now we're getting to the territory where there's a lot of different directions I could go here. I'm thinking about what I need most to fill out my roster here.
I am going to go ahead and take the team's likely starting tight end, and I will take G. Scott June. Great selection.
[Andy Anders]
He was number one on my board as far as what's left. I was probably going to take G next, simply because... Figured.
Clearly the team started next year. Clearly the team started next year. And I think as far as starters left on the board, that might have been really the only one.
So that was definitely a great selection there. Kind of looking at the other holes I need to fill on the team now. And I think I'm going to go ahead and take Caden McDonald here and pair him.
Well, maybe not actually. Because I want Ty to play the three of the one. So might actually pocket that one.
And let's see who else on the board. Questions, questions, questions. I mean, the thing is, there's just...
I feel like a lot of the best players are off the board now. Yeah.
[Dan Hope]
Kind of sifting between the weeds. We are definitely in backup territory now. We have taken all 22 projected starters.
And really, every player who's really in the mix for a starting job is now off the board. And so now we're really in a matter of, okay, who are the best second teamers we can get to fill out our rosters?
[Andy Anders]
Right. And it's just like at certain positions, I could go either way on two guys where we both need one. And it's like, scarcity-wise even, there's not a lot of choices left.
I need another outside corner. I am thinking about Lorenzo Stiles Jr. But I like him better at nickel. And I already have Jordan Hancock.
I could slide Jordan Hancock out. That's an option. Or, because Jordan has played outside.
Or I could play Lorenzo outside. Or I could go elsewhere for an outside corner. There's other guys.
You know, I think I gotta make a decision here. So I'm actually gonna just go ahead and pull the trigger on Caden Curry. Get my second defensive end to go with Jack Sawyer.
I am, it's close between him and Kenyatta. Splitting hairs a little bit there. But I like Caden's versatility.
I like his motor. I think I'm a little higher on what he can achieve this year. So I'm gonna go ahead and snap him off the board.
And then take Gabe Powers to play the mic for me with the next pick. Really kind of rounding out some of the defensive spots here. And, you know, in case you want to play a three linebacker set, want to go ahead and make sure I have the other guy I want at the position.
[Dan Hope]
All right, well, thanks for telling me you were almost gonna take my nose tackle and my nickel corner. So I'm gonna go ahead and take Caden McDonald and Lorenzo Stiles Jr. So there you go.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, perfect. Perfect. Perfect.
See, now I reveal too much sometimes when I talk.
[Dan Hope]
You did.
[Andy Anders]
I'm a loud thinker. And this is where I said, you know, the experience factor is playing a part in here. And now the pressure is back on me.
I will say less this time since less seems to be more in this scenario. And this time I'm just gonna go ahead and take Bryson Rogers to play my third receiver spot. And we'll get Jelani Thurman to be my starting tight end.
I think what he can do this year, again, I like upside here. I'm trying to think of that like, you know, what can be with some of these guys. And I think Jelani, all the pedigree with his recruiting, everything.
I'm big on what he can do in year two, even playing behind G a little bit. And so that's my next selection there. And I've got my full arsenal of weapons now for, again, the eventual Devin Brown pick that's gonna be made later.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, those are smart choices because I was considering the possibility of taking Jelani Thurman and going to tight end offense. So that was a smart choice by you to take Jelani Thurman there when you did. We've kind of reached the point in the draft now where it's really just about filling holes.
Basically, what I need to do here is I need to round out my offensive line. And so I'll take Austin Searville since he is the best guard available. And then trying to figure out who's now the best available after Austin Searville based on the fact that, you know, you have taken both Tegra and Luke and I've moved Carson Hinsman to center.
I think you mentioned Joshua Padilla before. I think he is the best choice to round out my offensive line. So I'm going to have a very Josh heavy offensive line because I've got Josh Simmons, Joshua Padilla, and Josh Fryer.
Maybe we'll have to go back to calling Josh Jimmy Simmons like we did for about two weeks last year.
[Andy Anders]
It's the charge of the Joshes, the fighting Joshes up there. Oh, it's so funny. All right.
I've only got three starting spots left open or four. I've got four left open. One of them is reserved for one of my last two picks.
So we're going to go ahead and take Jason Moore to pair with Ty Hamilton. And, you know, Hiro Kanu was the other debate here at 3Tech. I don't think there's anything revealing about saying that.
But Larry Johnson talked about Jason Moore taking the biggest jump this spring among defensive linemen. The length that he provides, the pass rushing presence, I think he's going to give as that guy who was sort of a tweeter coming out of high school between D-end and D-tackle. Like Jason Moore to play that 3Tech.
And I think he'll play well off of Ty Hamilton, who's just a physical wall of force in there, kind of a stump to use some old terminology. And then, you know, I've got to fill one more tackle spot here. And it's, you know, kind of the next guy up is either George Fitzpatrick or Zin Mahalsky.
And I think I'm a little higher on George Fitzpatrick. I'm going to go with George Fitzpatrick to complete my offensive line. The idea of this, you know, there wasn't going to be 10 good offensive linemen to take.
Obviously, you know, we've both now got our fives. But this is, you know, I think I'm happy with a solid four other than George. No offense to him, but that's the feeling I have.
If I have those four other solid guys, I can have one who's like, I don't know, you know. So that's my third to last pick, George Fitzpatrick.
[Dan Hope]
That would have been my choice as well. I mean, I definitely did not come into this draft expecting that Hiro Kanu would go undrafted. He's the highest rated player on my board, but, you know, I've already taken all my defensive linemen.
So, you know, like you said, it was really a matter of, I actually had Hiro rated ahead of Caden McDonald on my board. But because I took Tyleek, I wanted Caden to play that nose tackle position. And so that's why I ended up going with Caden over Hiro.
But he's definitely a player I would not have anticipated would go undrafted. But I think it reflects the fact that there's kind of three guys that are really close together there in that backup defensive tackle rotation between Hiro Kanu, Caden McDonald, Jason Moore. Who ultimately plays the most among them is to be determined.
But I think we're going to see all three of them in that rotation in some capacity this year. I've got three more spots to fill. I'll go ahead and start out by grabbing my second defensive end in drafting Kenyatta Jackson Jr. Pretty self-explanatory pick there. Him being the number four defensive end on the roster. Certainly not upset about getting him at the 40th pick. And then I need to get my final skill position offensive player.
There's a couple different options I could go here. I could go Will Kaczmarek and play a two tight end offense if I want. But I'm going to go ahead and bet I'm a freshman upside again.
And I'm going to take the other five-star freshman wide receiver, Mylon Grant.
[Andy Anders]
Now I was interested to see what you were going to do with that last weapon spot. Whether it be a receiver, whether it be a tight end. Jaden Ballard, you know, kind of like out there.
Do we know what he's going to be? Every offseason it seems like this is the year Jaden Ballard could get involved. But then there's all these talented youngsters.
It's like, you know, a lot of directions you can go with that last spot, you know. But I've already got a pretty nice trio established to receive for myself, you know. So I think there's only two spots left to draft for me.
I'll go ahead and take Devin Brown. I've been saying it ever since you took Will Howard. I was going to draft him.
It was a given because that's the next guy up. Although there is an argument for Julian Sagan here.
[Dan Hope]
Because I was very unsure about what I was going to do if you took Will Howard. I was having that debate before we started this draft of do I take Devin Brown or do I take Julian Sagan? Because we're hearing such good things about Julian.
It would have been a tough choice for me. I think I would have gone the same route you did in taking Devin Brown. But that would have been a tough choice for me.
I was glad I didn't have to make it.
[Andy Anders]
And, you know, I'm on record saying earlier this offseason, you know, I had very high praise for Julian Sagan, we'll say, where I thought he could be the starter eventually this year. I think the end of spring, some of that hype kind of fizzled out around him being this year the guy. I think long term, Julian Sagan is going to be a superstar.
But this year, I think Devin Brown's experience, if he can stay healthy, and I'm not writing him off yet in the quarterback competition overall, there's still a non-zero chance he could beat Will Howard. And so I think all that consideration for me made Devin the choice. My last spot is at corner.
Really, it's a debate between Calvin Simpson Hunt or one of the freshmen. And I'm going to go with Calvin Simpson Hunt. His athletic upside, really strong, the length, the speed, you know, track star in Texas, all this stuff.
I think he's next after sort of that core group of outside corners that we've discussed. The top four guys, really, because I think Jordan would slide out before Calvin would play. But that's, I think, as far as what's left at corner, that's who I'm going to pair with Davis and Igbenosin on the outside.
And I think I'm pretty happy with how my secondary turned out still with Davis and with Jordan.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, I mean, the depth at corner is like, I felt like, you know, as long as we each got, you almost threw me a curveball there, because if you would take it, like, I would have thought about the same thing if I was in your shoes, take Lorenzo, push Jordan outside, then who's then going to take it to be a slot corner. What I probably would have done was drafted Calvin and moved Jermaine into the slot, because we've seen Jermaine play some of that nickel. So that's probably what I would have done.
I think it would have ended up being the same six corners anyway. But I think our lineups will reflect a more realistic in terms of what positions guys are actually going to play in Ohio State secondaries this year with Jordan and Lorenzo being the inside guys and Denzel, Davis and Jermaine and Calvin being the outside guys. Last pick for me, I guess, got to draft my second safety.
You know, you were smart to draft Malik Hartford for sure, because, you know, I think this is definitely one of those spots where there is a drop off there in terms of that fourth guy. And that's why we're waiting until the last pick of the draft here. You know, the question is, do you go with Keenan Nelson Jr., who's got some experience playing at South Carolina?
Or do you bet on a younger guy like a Jaden Bonsu or a Jalen McClain? I think that's kind of a coin flip. But given the fact that Keenan Nelson Jr. has started games in the SEC, has some experience actually playing, I'm going to go with that. So I'm going to take Keenan Nelson Jr. to round out this draft.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, awesome selection. You mentioned the nickelback stuff. I think the other option, sneakily, might have been a three linebacker system with Arvell Reese.
That was a thought that also occurred to me if I had to go there was put, obviously I have Gabe Powers at the bike, but either he or Cody Simon. And then I imagine Sonny and CJ were going to split them up to the two of us. And then you could kind of sneak Arvell in there as that third linebacker if you needed it, if your nickel depth or corner depth was lacking.
That was the other thought I had. But overall, I think honestly pretty even how these teams turned out. And maybe that's a sunshine look for me because I think you've got a pretty good roster over there too.
I'm happy with my team, but there were some picks you got where it's like, okay, yeah, that was maybe an oversight of my part.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, Andy, I feel pretty good about how I came out of this. I mean, I got the starting quarterback most likely in Will Howard. I got one of the top two running backs in Travion Henderson.
I feel like a ton of upside in my receiving core with Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, Mylon Graham, able to get the likely starting tight end in G. Scott Jr. Offensive line to have both starting tackles, I think that's huge. I feel better having the starting tackles and some backups on the interior offensive line than I would have the other way around.
So I feel good about what I got there on the offensive line. Defensive line, I think it's pretty much a coin flip between our two teams. We both got two of the top four guys and two of the next four guys.
I like what I have, JT, Kenyatta, Tyleek, Caden, McDonald. But to say one is really better than the other, I think it's pretty much a push there. I'm happy to get two of the top three linebackers in Cody Simon and CJ Hicks.
That very well could be the starting linebacker tandem. So I feel good about having that too. Corner, I feel really good about it because we've said a lot of times, Jermaine Matthews Jr. would be starting for any other team in the country. So I think that outside pairing is elite. You do have an advantage at that nickel spot because Lorenzo's very unproven as a nickelback. We think he can be a good player at that position, but he hasn't actually played it yet at the collegiate level.
So I definitely have a little bit of a question mark there at the nickel spot, but still felt like he was the best guy. And then to have Caleb Downs in the back end, I mean, to have Denzel Burke and Caleb Downs, that's a really good feeling for the secondary. A couple of question marks there, Lorenzo Stiles Jr. and Keenan Nelson Jr., but when you got Denzel Burke, Jermaine Matthews, and Caleb Downs, you're still going to feel pretty good about what you got in the back end.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, I think overall for me, the weapons on offense pretty strong. I like the upside of a lot of those choices that I got. Travion and Quenshawn's kind of splitting hairs between the two of us.
I don't think Devin Brown is a bad player to have at quarterback at all. Obviously, Will Howard has the better chance of being the starter, but Devin Brown's still in the thick of that competition, as we've talked about. For me, I think that he's going to have guys to throw to.
When you talk about Emeka, when you talk about Brandon Innes, I think Bryson Rodgers has a lot of upside and will get involved in the rotation this year. There's a reason they worked hard to keep him from entering, or to get him back from the transfer portal, I should say. Jelani Thurman there at tight end, even though G.
Scott's the clear starter, I think in terms of athletic upside at that position specifically, I think Jelani Thurman might have a higher ceiling for his career. Who's to say if that plays out this year, but it could. Offensive line, I think, and bias toward myself, right?
I think I'd take overall my offensive line group over what you got. Even getting the two starting tackles, I'll admit, pretty big. My biggest hole is going to be that second starting tackle with George Fitzpatrick, but that interior man, Donovan Jackson, Seth McLaughlin, and Luke Montgomery, could very well be the starting trio on the inside.
And if not, I got the guy who will be probably that other part of that starting trio to play right tackle in Tegra Shavola, who I think could have as much upside at that position this year as Josh Fryer, personally. Maybe not at right tackle specifically, but as an offensive lineman in general, and what he can give you at right guard if Luke ends up playing better. You can always, if Luke factors in more of his attack hole and Tegra is more of a guard, there's some versatility there on that right side.
And I think the upside of that right side of the offensive line is really good. So I'm pretty happy with what I got there on my front five. Defensively, again, you could take either D-line here.
Like you said, we both got two of the top four guys. I think there's a lot of what Jason Moore, Caden Curry, and for Sonny Stiles, I think that's just a dynamic weapon to move about formations and really mess with offenses. That's how Ohio State, I think, is going to deploy him in a lot of spots this year.
There's a good chance he could win out that starting linebacker spot. It really feels like a toss-up to this point in the offseason between he and C.J. Hicks. You have C.J., I have Sonny, who I think that position is a coin flip, but I really like what Sonny can provide across the whole of defense. For me, I think my biggest depth strength overall over your team is at safety, just because I have two that you can feel good about. Caleb Downs is probably maybe the player you feel best about on the defense, but what can Keenan Nelson provide in that back end? Who's to say?
So that safety spot is where I feel pretty good as well with the defense. Jordan Hancock locking it down at nickel and kind of playing off that tandem too. I mean, the middle of the defense and the secondary are really good for me, I think.
Davison Iguenosin is a fine number one cornerback to have in Calvin Simpson. Maybe the biggest question mark on my defensive side, just because it's really unproven entering his second year, but this was a guy that the staff got in on early on the recruiting trail or earlier, was kind of overlooked by some schools, and then he was a late riser down the stretch of his recruitment because of that athletic upside, where maybe he didn't show as much on the field early in his high school career, but a guy that has a great athletics profile to play that cornerback position. So if he's taking a big step in year two, I like my value there, although who's to say how much he's going to see the field this year behind that starting four, or starting the top four, starting three, and then Jermaine, that is there.
So I think my strengths really are at safety, comparatively along the offensive line a little bit. I've got some good weapons. I think there's a pretty good balance to my roster, but I think for me, it's a pretty tight race between the two of us.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, I feel good about my team. Sounds like you do too. So we're going to have to leave it up to the readers to decide.
We'll have to see. Our guy, Garrett Codge, he got early access to the video game. Maybe he can make us two rosters and simulate a game, and we can see whose team would win.
I'm not sure how editable the rosters are in this new game, but maybe Garrett can figure that out for us. But yeah, if you're not watching this on 11warriors.com, go over to 11warriors.com. We've got a poll there at the bottom of our article outlining this entire draft where you can cast your vote.
I don't know, I'm feeling pretty good. I feel pretty good about my shot at redemption, but I haven't gotten a lot of love from the readers the last few times we've done this, and so we'll see how it goes. The reason why we do this exercise, it's a lot of fun for us.
It's a little more fun this time of year when there's not a whole lot going on than just speculating about the same things we've talked about over and over again. So we have a lot of fun doing this. But I think the other thing that it does, at least in my mind, is it kind of forces us to think critically about the depth of this team.
Because it's easy to just spin everything and put a positive bow on everything. But when you have to actually strategize of building a team, then it really makes you think about the facts. Like, oh yeah, this team is loaded with defensive linemen.
This team has got tons of talented wide receivers. At safety, they could be an injury away from being a concerning situation. Offensive line, they could be an injury away from being a concerning situation, particularly at tackle.
I think that when you do a draft like this, it's kind of a good way of making you really think about where this team is really strong and where they still got to fortify some depth coming up here in preseason camp.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, it's a great exercise for that. We talked about positional scarcity, of course, and it really does force you to think about those things. And also value to the team just overall.
Sometimes you're going to take that guy because it's thin at a position, but also it does also make you look at just who's the best available, who's going to be important for the team this year, and set that depth chart that you believe is going to give you the best advantage, I guess, in the poll that we'll get all the votes on here soon. But I had a lot of fun drafting these teams coming up with my draft board and kind of strategizing about it. Like I said, the experience advantage, I think, played a part for you, but I think I've got a good chance to keep up the winning streak for the non-Dan Hope side of Real Pod Wednesdays.
We're in the anti-Dan Hope camp just for a single day when this post goes up. So I'm excited to see what the results are.
[Dan Hope]
Well, we hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did. Again, go vote and we'll see who has the bragging rights next week when we come at you from Indianapolis with coverage of Big Ten Media Days. We're really looking forward to that.
So thanks again for watching this week. We hope you'll join us again next week.