Buckeye Talk: Ohio State Podcast By Cleveland.com

Ohio State's 2025 recruiting class currently sits fifth nationally with most of that weight being carried by its defense. That’s a much different place than we’ve grown accustomed to seeing in Columbus under Ryan Day where it’s typically taken some time for defensive recruits to jump aboard while the offense thrives. But coming off a year where OSU had arguably the nation’s top defense, it now has proof of what it can be when talking to the nation’s top recruits. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis discuss the early success on the recruiting trail. Plus, a discussion on Alabama transfers Caleb Downs and Kadyn Proctor and the potential value each would bring to the Buckeyes if they were to come. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Day is entering a new phase of his career as Ohio State football's head coach as he's chosen to give up play-calling duties after five seasons. Day has decided to bring in Bill O'Brien as OSU's new offensive coordinator with all the responsibilities that come with that job title. That includes play-calling, overseeing the offensive gameplan and running the quarterback room. This is one of the most pivotal decisions Day has made during his tenure and on this emergency episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis break down why. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State's new athletic director Ross Bjork spoke publicly for the first time following his hiring and left quite an impression. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis gives their reactions to Bjork, OSU president Ted Carteer and the direction the athletic department could be headed in under their new leadership. Are the Buckeyes preparing for a more aggressive approach to attacking a constantly changing landscape of college sports? PLus, what does Bjorj thing of football head coach Ryan Day? That and more on this latest episode. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A ton has happened since Ohio State's season essentially ended following a 30-24 loss to Michigan. Some of it has been positive, some of it negative and some of it indifferent. But it all has an impact on where OSU could be headed in 2024 as it hopes to end its losing streak to the Wolverines and end ten Big Ten title drought. It'll do so while also entering a new era of college football with the 12-team playoff. On this Tuesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss all of those things and which ones are the most important to Ohio State. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State finished its season with an 11-2 record and a loss to Michigan for the third straight year while also failing to make the College Football Playoff for the second time of the Ryan Day era. The disappointing finish sent the Buckeyes into the offseason with a different vibe understanding that numerous changes needed to be on the horizon. On this Monday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis revisit their Mark It Down Monday statistical leaders prediction episode from last summer. Once again injuries got in the way of some predictions while others were done so by pleasant surprises on both offense and defense. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another Friday episode of Buckeye Talk provides a chance for a rapid-fire pod as Ohio State continues to work through the early stages of the offseason. Among the questions from Subtext subscribers discussed: Could Nick Saban's retirement be a good thing for Ohio State? Would Alabama and Ryan Day hypothetically make a good fit? Would Dan Lanning be a bigger threat staying at Oregon or if he would've replaced Saban at Alabama? A preview of a future conversation about the updated tiers of college football. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Day has made his second and third alterations to Ohio State's coaching staff in what could be a major makeover to the 10-man group. After choosing not to retain Perry Eliano as safeties coach, Day has brought Matt Guerrieri who originally followed Jim Knowles to Columbus as a graduate assistant in 2022 before leaving to help coordinate Indiana's defense in 2023. Now he returns as a full-time assistant coach. Plus Parker Fleming has officially been fired after another lackluster year from the special teams. After that, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis look at an offensive coaching staff that might be on the verge of its first major overhaul of the Day era. A pivotal change may be brewing and it says something about Day's growth as a head coach. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State is now living in a world where its rival Michigan is the reigning national champion. On this Wednesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis explore that reality and its impact on the program. But the question going forward is whether this harsh truth will be short-lived as the Wolverines enter a potentially pivotal offseason of their own. Ryan Day is busy trying to find the right mixture of coaches while putting together a roster capable of ending a three-game losing streak in The Game. Michigan is just trying to figure out what its next steps are as it could lose its coach and a large portion of its most important players while still possibly waiting for further punishment for a sign-stealing scandal that was revealed during the season. That plus a conversation about OSU’s later transfer running back Quinshon Judkins, who announced his commitment just minutes after the National Championship Game concluded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho

Ryan Day is expected to make significant changes to his coaching staff following Ohio State football third straight Michigan loss and the first one has been revealed. Day has decided not to retain safeties coach Perry Eliano whose contract expires after the 2023 season. This is expected to be the first of a few moves. While Day continues to figure out his 2024 staff, his 2024 roster is also still coming together as a few more players decided to return putting off the NFL for another year. Plus, Could the Buckeyes be in the market for a running back who spent the last two seasons running for 1,000-plus yards in the SEC? On this Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss all of that. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State has added a fourth quarterback to its 2024 roster in Will Howard by way of the transfer portal. Howard spent the first four years of his career at Kansas State as a multi-season starter completing 58.8% of his passes for 5,786 yards and 48 touchdowns. He led the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship in 2022 and is coming off his best statistical season in 2023. Now he’ll join a room in Columbus where the future was in question as the player now considered the front-runner to be the starter. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis look at the transfer quarterback from every angle. They’ll evaluate his career at Kansas State through the lens of some of his best games then discuss how he fits into Ohio State’s offense and what things could look like with him under center. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The calendar year has turned and the Ohio State football program has shifted its focus toward preparing for the 2024 season. The defense took significant strides in 2023 and could be in a prime position to build on that success going forward depending on the decision of a handful of players eligible for the NFL Draft On this Thursday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss what that unit could look like in 2024. The trio go through all 11 spots and decide whether they think the potential starter is already on the roster or could be eventually occupied by someone OSU gets from the transfer portal. Thank you for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the second time in the Ryan Day era, Ohio State has brought in a quarterback from the transfer portal with the idea that he could one day be its starter. Day's first transfer quarterback was Justin Fields from Georgia in 2019, now he's brought in Will Howard from Kansas State to join a battle that will include Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz and five-star freshman Air Noland. On this emergency episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis break down the addition of Howard and how it impacts OSU's quarterback room. Plus a look at Day and what a decision like this could be signaling in how Day is approaching a vital offseason. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The calendar year has turned and Ohio State has shifted its focus toward preparing for the 2024 season. Offensively that could mean spending the next five months making drastic improvements to a unit that didn't play up to standard for the first time under Ryan Day. On this Thursday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss what personnel changes could be coming because of that reality. The trio go through all 11 spots and decide whether they think the potential starter for that spot is already on the roster or could be eventually occupied by someone OSU gets from the transfer portal. Thank you for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're almost a week removed from Ohio State ending its season with a loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl while its rival Michigan is preparing to play in a National Championship Game against Washington, which also joins the Big Ten next year. It's a new world to live in where a fan base isn't completely confident in what the future will look like heading into Year 6 under Ryan Day. On this Wednesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis provide a space for the Subtext subscriber to express how they feel about the future of the program using four distinct questions: How do you feel about the direction of Ohio State under Ryan Day? How do you feel about Ohio State's chances of winning an expanded Big Ten next season? Watching Michigan and Washington play for a national title next week makes me feel What should Ohio State's bare minimum College Football Playoff performance be going forward? Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph

A lot has happened since Ohio State closed out its season with a 14-3 loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. On this Tuesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gilliss are here to break it all down. Among the topics discussed: How Michael Hall Jr. declaring for the NFL Draft impacts OSU; Expectations for Ohio tight end transfer Will Kacmarek; Looking at the losses of Bryson Rodgers and Noah Rogers to the transfer portal and the state of the wide receiver room; Who will replace Jesse Mirco after the punter entered the transfer portal and; Reacting to Michigan and Washington reaching the National Championship Game and what it means for Ohio State’s standing as it enters Big Ten expansion and a 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State is ending its season with an 11-2 record for the third-straight season and a second-straight year. It’s also the second straight season where the Buckeyes head into the offseason coming off back-to-back losses one being to your rival and the other an SEC school. Only this time a 14-3 loss to Missouri may sting a little bit more given what they now must head not the offseason dealing with. On this postgame episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis react to the loss and where OSU goes from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State will close out the 2023 season with a game against Missouri in what will be the third time in the past four years that its final game will be against an SEC opponent. Only this time that game won't come in the College Football Playoff instead as just the second time of the Ryan Day era. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis give their final thoughts on the Cotton Bowl by discussing two big-picture targets: What can this game mean for Devin Brown and OSU’s quarterback situation? How does a win or a loss impact a program looking for reasons to have optimism? Then Tyler Shoemaker joins the pod as usual to provide some of the best bets of the Cotton Bowl and a few other games left to be played this bowl season. Then Nathan and Andrew rejoin Stephen as the trio gives their game picks. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State is in Dallas, Texas, preparing to face Missouri in the Cotton Bowl to close out the regular season and revealed it’ll have two important members of its offense. Treveyon Henderson and Cade Stover state that both will play on Friday. For Stover, it’s a chance to end a college career that began as a linebacker, then a defensive end before settling in at tight end where he became a John Mackey Award finalist. For Henderson, all that remains it figuring out what he will do after the game as another member of a 2021 recruiting class that has a decision to make after the season on whether he will head off for the NFL or be back in 2024. After that, OSU offensive coordinator Brian spoke with the media along with a handful of defensive players. On this Tuesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss what Nathan saw and heard in Dallas. Thank you for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State is in Dallas, Texas, preparing to face Missouri in the Cotton Bowl to close out the regular season and may be without an important member of its offense. A small portion of the Buckeyes' Tuesday practice was open to the media revealing that Marvin Harrison Jr., though in attendance is not actually participating in practicing hinting that his college career may be over. So far, he is the only Buckeye expected to opt out of the New Year's Six bowl game. After that, OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles spoke with the media along wth a handful of defensive players. On this Tuesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss what Nathan saw and heard on down in Dallas heading into Friday. Thank you for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Day revealed his criteria when evaluating the jobs of Ohio State's coaching staff every year. His evaluation comes down to how each assistant coach performs in three distinct categories/ Recruiting: “That’s the No. 1 thing. You’ve gotta recruit your position. You’re the head coach of your position. You’ve gotta make sure that room is strong year in and year out. We have a certain amount of depth at each position and then it’s your job to make sure that you have the best room in the country.” Development: “How they perform on the field. What type of production are you getting out of your unit? A big part of that is the development. If you recruit really well and then you’re developing your players are usually going to get production.” Scheme: “What do you bring schematically to the field? Are you putting your guys in a situation to be successful?” Day is heading into a pivotal offseason in terms of how his staff is structured following a third-straight loss to Michigan. There will — or at least shout be —