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

Stephen Means (00:04.238)

Welcome back to Buckeye Talk. I’m Stephen Means. That’s the fun Christ. And that is Andrew Gillis. We talked with a bunch of people on Monday and for the Tuesday podcast, we talked about what we talked about with the offensive people. And now we’re talking with actual coordinators, Matt, Patricia. We also talked with Lorenzo Styles, Sonny Styles, Kenyatta Jackson and Caden McDonald. Stefan, I thought from a player perspective, this group was a little more informative.

that maybe the offensive guys were, I don’t know. Were you expecting that given? And obviously there was some star power like JJ. I JJ JJ. Right. He’s always going to like fire everything when he steps in front of a microphone. But I thought all five of the people we talked to Monday evening gave a lot of insight into things that matter for not just really the Miami game, but in general, our house, how house they might approach things defensively going forward.

Stefan Krajisnik (01:02.571)

Yeah, it was a really informative session. All the players were pretty into it and giving us details on stuff and also talking about random stuff like Katie McDonald got two questions about his glasses and his collection of glasses. And he was he was in good spirits talking about some of that stuff. So yeah, I thought I had a blast on Monday and I talked to some of these defensive players. And I also think part of that too is like.

Everything about the offensive session was like, Hey, what’s about to happen here? And everything about the defensive session was like, you guys are really good. How do you be even better in the playoffs? So I think maybe big picture there’s, better spirits and how we talk about and ask questions toward the defense than the offense, I suppose.

Stephen Means (01:36.41)

Yeah.

Stephen Means (01:46.15)

So you asked Lorenzo about Malachi, Tony and that match up. What does he have to say about what is essentially Miami? Listen, all sunny south. Listen, these other receivers are good, too. And it’s like, that’s fine, Sonny. There’s only one receiver who has over 600 receiving yards on their team. So there’s levels to this. What did Lorenzo have to say about the match? Because he was kind of talking like that, he’s taking that match up personally.

Andrew Gillis (02:14.316)

Yeah, well, so I had two questions for him. The one that I followed up on, which just was the second one, which I thought was interesting, was when I asked him, like, hey, like, does he compare to anybody that you guys have played? And he said, no. You know, so like he talked about the ways that they use him and how they get him the ball, you know, how athletic he is. Like, it’s an interesting matchup because like, think we’ve talked about this before, like,

Stephen Means (02:26.49)

Mm-hmm.

Andrew Gillis (02:43.384)

I don’t know, like when you talk about Malek High Tony and what he does well and what he, you know, where I guess you would poke holes in Ohio State’s defense, it would probably be there, right? You know, so I think when you talk about that matchup, you know, I have the exact quote here. He’s like a go-to guy for them. He’s quick, he’s fast, he has a good skill set, and I’m excited for that matchup. I think they’re well aware.

of what happens. don’t think it was Lorenzo. I think it was Kenyatta who said their offense flows through him or he’s the engine of that offense. I think it was him who kind of gave that quote. like they are well aware of like what makes that Miami offense go or not go. And Malachi Tony in number 10 is a big part of that. you know, I think they’re ready to kind of just prove that they can shut someone like that down because in terms of skill position players like

I don’t know, like how would you guys compare him to Elijah Surratt or Ryan Wingo or some of these other guys? And I think, I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but I think the answer would be like, he’s different and he’s just used in a different manner than maybe some of those other guys were like Elijah Surratt’s not, you you’re not worried about him jet sweeping it all over the field.

Stefan Krajisnik (04:06.979)

Yeah, so, rats. Yeah. So that’s kind of a traditional outside, you know, back shoulder type guide. Omar Cooper is kind of probably. Well, what could be, was probably the best slot guy that they faced this year. Obviously he got banged up in that game, but also Indiana doesn’t use him in the way that Miami uses Malachi Tony, right? Malachi kind of reminds me just in terms of the way they move him around and the way he’s kind of involved in the backfield. It reminds me a little bit of like when the dolphins were really humming with Tyreek Hill and the different ways that they would try to use him.

Stephen Means (04:34.189)

Mm-hmm.

Stefan Krajisnik (04:36.439)

That’s maybe a bit of a comparison I think of. I don’t think he’s as fast as Tyreek Hill was in his prime, but that’s kind of a comp that comes to mind.

Stephen Means (04:50.521)

I think he’s going to be good prep for Zion branch. Zachariah branch. She designs the safety because they’re kind of the same concept. Like neither one of them are just kind of route you up down the field. It’s more just let’s get the ball in this guy’s hands as much as humanly possible and as many ways as possible. He’s. You guys remember when Rondo Moore was at Purdue?

It’s that. And we know what happened when Rondell Moore played Ohio State now. Granted, this secondary is better in this defense is all all around better, but it’s just like Kenyatta Jackson called him their gadget guy. And ironically enough, Rondell Moore was a freshman in 2018 when he did that to Ohio State. So I just that’s an interesting comp, but it’s just. It’s not hey, Lorenzo, can you cover this guy when he’s down the field? I almost. And we’re going to again, we did like.

sides of the ball breakdowns later in this week. And obviously, we talked about this matchup in listening to them talk about it and then also thinking more about it. I actually don’t think this is a terrible matchup for Lorenzo Styles because of how they use Malachi. Tony, if he was just if this was Omar Cooper to your point, Stephanie, yeah, I would be a little bit more concerned because Omar Cooper is a more traditional slot receiver in the sense is he’s just going to run routes and they’re to get on the ball. Sometimes it’s going to be.

short passes and then he’s going to turn it into something. They’re going to send him down the field. You’re worried about Lorenzo styles from a downfield cover aspect. I don’t think you’re worried about Lorenzo styles, his ability to make tackles in the open field. I don’t even think you’re worried about his ability to cover like short routes, which is why he’s a nickel and not an outside cornerback. So, yeah, sure. If it’s Malachi, Tony, if we get to next Wednesday and all of sudden Miami is just running slot fades with Malachi, Tony 15 times, I’m really go. No.

There’s a problem. But if they use Malachi Tony the way they have for the first 13 games of the season, I actually don’t think it’s a bad matchup for Lorenzo Stout. He almost is of the people they would put at nickel. Perfectly. It’s why you would use a nickel safety over a nickel corner, because he’s not just a threat in third and long situations. He’s a threat when it’s first and 10 and it’s second and six because they just want to get the ball in his hands.

Stefan Krajisnik (07:05.047)

Yeah. And it’s, probably like, it’s probably not fair to even just say it’s a Lorenzo styles matchup at that point. It’s, very much, it becomes kind of a team effort, right? think Caleb downs has a big role in slowing down a guy like Malachi, Tony, and the way they use him. Arville Reese could have, you know, a big role in the way they do that. Even, you know, Kenyatta was talking like, like you said, Gillis, like, know, Kenyatta has got a bit of a, if they do a jet sweep, like there’s stuff that Kenyatta can do to affect that play as well. Right. And that’s why I think what’s interesting, another guy that we talked to is.

I think Kaden McDonald, I would maybe label him the most important player for Ohio State’s defense in this game. Cause if you can shut down their running game, it life becomes a whole lot easier for some of the other guys to say, okay, we just got to hone in on Amal and Kite Tony. If we do that, then there’s nothing that they could do. If, if Kaden’s, you know, having an uncharacteristic or uncharacteristic poor game or something like that. And all of a sudden, you know, Miami’s running the ball down Ohio State’s throne. It’s like now our of all recent sunny styles and Caleb Downs, they got a whole nother thing to worry about and helping out there.

That’s what some of those explosives with with different things to do with Malachi Tony become maybe a bit more of a threat. So, yeah, I thought, thought talking to Kater McDonald was interesting because I think he’s going to be a huge piece and what this defense does frankly throughout the rest of the playoff. Cause a lot of the teams that they face or could face have some, you know, multi-dimensional offensive attacks, right? Like Alabama’s maybe the only team I would say is, is really one dimensional in the fact that they really struggle to run the ball, but they can throw the ball.

everybody else can kind of do a little bit of both at least to a decent extent. And that’s where it kind of becomes important to have Kaden McDonald playing his best football. also just really cool to hear Kaden McDonald talk about, like, I think a lot of guys win awards and it’s like very, you know, humbling experience, very cool. I like, I think that stuff means the world to Kaden McDonald and not in the sense of like, he feels like he’s arrived. I think there that it drives him more.

But I think he also understands the magnitude of like what it means to win those awards. And I think that would kind of give me excitement of just like, he just got more affirmation of like how good he is. Like, all right, keep doing it in the playoff. And that’s, that’s a scary thought if you’re Miami. Also, by the way, you mentioned Rondale Moore, Jeff Brahm name coming up in the Michigan thing. That’s interesting.

Andrew Gillis (09:18.838)

Not now. I can’t do that now.

Stefan Krajisnik (09:21.013)

It’s like it’s it’s just it’s exactly it’s exactly like Auburn hiring Hugh Freeze and being like remember when he was at Ole Miss and he beat that Batman team? That’s that’s like that was the first thing I came to mind is like hey he beat Ohio State remember?

Stephen Means (09:30.008)

Yeah.

Stephen Means (09:35.63)

Yes, I don’t have the mental capacity for Michigan stuff right now. I came in down with such a. He’s he’s very confident, but when he talks about his successes, it’s there’s like a. You can’t believe I cannot believe I’m doing this. I cannot believe I did this and he’s just so appreciative of it, whether you ask him about my petition, his relationship there.

Stefan Krajisnik (09:39.939)

Okay.

Stephen Means (10:01.719)

He brought it up a bunch of different times, which I think is going to in all seriousness, if they beat Miami and it’s Georgia and Ohio State, that storyline is going to be so interesting because part of the reason Caden McDonald is a buck guy is because like he was he’s from Georgia. But go look at some of the defensive linemen, defensive tackle, specifically Georgia had when Cade McDonald was coming out of high school. He just didn’t be.

He’s undersized in comparison to guys like Jordan Davis and on down that list that he just did not physically as big as those guys are. And that’s what Kirby Smart likes. And as a result, Ohio State was able to go get a diamond in a rough out of Georgia. And now he’s turning and it’s going to be so fascinating if he gets back on the field with Georgia and the fiasco ball. And it’s like you didn’t want me. And this is what I turned into. Meanwhile, Larry Johnson believed in me.

And in three years, I’m a first round draft pick in the best defensive lineman in the Big Ten. And I’m the first defensive tackle since Jim Stillwagon 55 years ago, which he brought up. No one said that to him. He brought it up to us. It was like, I his name on the Outland Award Trophy. And I started to look it up and I was like, yeah, now it’s it’s real. like, I might be able to be the first dude in 55 years to be a unanimous All-American. That was the gracious part, Andrew. That was the man. This is a cool. This is a 21 year old kid who’s just like

Man, you know, got a pretty good thing going on here. I’m really appreciative of it.

Stefan Krajisnik (11:30.371)

Should we all put on glasses when we’re talking about Kater McDonald? Is that the only right way? Mine are just blue light. Not to brag, but I have 20-20 vision.

Stephen Means (11:34.435)

Yes.

Stephen Means (11:39.851)

have nothing close to that. Yeah. Don’t get your glasses, girl. I’m shit.

Andrew Gillis (11:42.382)

Yeah, I have contacts. So I’m dead here.

Stefan Krajisnik (11:46.019)

Come on, we gotta get some Ray-Bans to Gillis, get some kind of sponsorship deal.

Stephen Means (11:49.901)

What’s crazy is…

Andrew Gillis (11:50.358)

Yes, please. Yes, yes. I would love a Ray-Ban sponsorship. That would be wonderful.

Stefan Krajisnik (11:52.833)

Hahaha

Stephen Means (11:54.842)

These are bands. Yeah, got a band and these are prescription glasses. My mother is constantly like, where’s your glasses? Where your glasses? I’m like, Mom, I’m outside. I’ll be OK. You save me. You gave me a towel talk. Actually, you know, at media day, I might just go up to him and wear my glasses outside. I don’t really wear my glasses on public. I used to in high school a lot, but that was the gracious version of Caden McDonald. It was so humbling and like, man, this is this is the cool stuff that makes you feel good inside.

Stefan Krajisnik (11:55.639)

There we go.

Stefan Krajisnik (12:03.363)

Saving them for Kata McDonald talk.

Stefan Krajisnik (12:10.359)

There you go.

Stephen Means (12:22.509)

And then you ask him about Mark Pletcher. says Miami, they’re a good team in the ACC. Yeah, this is where the glasses got come up. Yeah, the guy Black’s got to go on. Yeah. And black eye black on. But you know, it’s all about us. I feel like the preparation I put in, I feel like I won’t be blocked. So whatever they got for us, we’re coming. And then he gets asked by Andy Anders a follow up of when you felt like you couldn’t be blocked. And with the

Stefan Krajisnik (12:27.453)

This is where the glass has come off. Now we’re talking. Now we need like the eye black.

Andrew Gillis (12:30.2)

Yeah, yeah, glasses off.

Stephen Means (12:51.393)

most serious tone I think I’ve ever heard from Caden McDonald. He’s staring down Andy Anderson goes my whole life.

Andrew Gillis (13:06.84)

See, think so we misinterpreted that. I read that a different way. I didn’t realize that as I didn’t view that as like serious. I just thought it was like matter of fact. I just thought like I didn’t think he was like, nobody can touch me. I think he just like said, but like I think Andy like asked him like, you know, when did you reach that level of confidence? It’s like it’s a fair question. Like, when did you reach that level of confidence? Like, I won’t be blocked. Was it this year?

Stephen Means (13:19.149)

I thought it was both.

Stefan Krajisnik (13:20.984)

I thought it was.

Stephen Means (13:22.849)

I thought it was both.

Andrew Gillis (13:35.776)

And Kayden just goes, yeah, my whole life.

Stephen Means (13:37.689)

No, no, no, no, no. OK, go rewatch it because you did you you didn’t.

Andrew Gillis (13:39.744)

No, I will rewatch it, but he just said it. He said it in such a manner that wasn’t just it wasn’t like a I’m the biggest baddest MFer in the valley. It was like a nobody’s ever been able to block me. And

Stephen Means (13:44.983)

Yeah, because you’re focused on what he’s… because you’re focused…

You’re focused on what he said. It’s not about that he said my whole life. It’s the pause.

Andrew Gillis (14:00.052)

Yeah, but he looked, I mean, he just said my whole life and then he looked at the guy who asked him the question. So I don’t think it was like a staring thing. I just think it was like a, yeah, this is just the way it’s always been. So why is this nuts?

Stephen Means (14:03.863)

Yeah, with the face. You know what? If I’m Andy Andrews.

Andy Anders. Andy.

Stefan Krajisnik (14:11.319)

That’s just nose tackle to nose tackle.

Stephen Means (14:14.037)

Andy Anders got a chance to get the feeling that for 13 weeks. Centers and guards have had.

And he didn’t even have the eye black on yet.

Stephen Means (14:29.139)

of you’re not going to and you’re right, but you’re right, Stefan. That’s the point, though, right? Is part of the reason why teams can’t run on Ohio State is that they can’t get past this kid. They can’t get past 98. And if they do get past 98, Sonny Stiles are very recent. Caleb Downs and Jalen McClanner that are cleaning everything up. That’s such a rarity. And you and also you did all this work to get past number 98 that you get to the second level and you’re tired and you can’t even make a cut. And it’s like, it’s OK. Number two numbers.

zero, number eight, number 18. Now we’ve got it. Got this handle. But it seemed Cade McDonald and Lorenzo Styles in two different ways were, think, perfect people to talk to Monday evening ahead of getting to Dallas, because they are the two guys who I think have the matchups that are ultimately going to decide whether or not Miami can move the ball next Wednesday. And because if Mark, if they can’t run the ball between the tackles, Mark Fletcher doesn’t matter if.

Malachi, Tony’s going to have touches because that’s how they get him the ball. This is not a situation where like. Oh, it’s Denzel, Boston versus Davis and Ibn Osin. And either Denzel, Boston gets the ball downfield or Denzel, Boston doesn’t get the ball at all. Malachi, Tony, I would assume is going if it’s going to have at least eight to 12 touches. Next Wednesday, if Lorenzo Styles. Keeps those eight to 10 to 12 touches.

under 55 yards and none of those touches end with him in the end zone. I think Lorenzo Stiles won the match up.

Andrew Gillis (16:06.52)

So say that was just does not let a number so zero touchdowns and what.

Stephen Means (16:10.902)

under 55 total yards.

Andrew Gillis (16:16.118)

Interesting.

Stefan Krajisnik (16:16.873)

If that’s the case, Miami might not score.

Stephen Means (16:19.417)

Because that means you just they’re not empty calories. But when you’re talking about a guy who has a high usage already, if it’s not turning into legitimate production. OK, like he’s going to get the ball because they’re going to hand it off to them. They’re going to get it to him on short stuff and then bubble screens and then pop houses and stuff like that. So this is not hey, Lorenzo Malachi, Tony’s not allowed to touch the ball on Saturday. It’s hey, Malachi, Tony isn’t allowed to do something explosive with the ball on Saturday.

Andrew Gillis (16:48.721)

So he has scored touchdowns in the game against Notre Dame, scored twice against Florida State, twice against NC State, and then once in the last three games at Virginia Tech, at Pitt, and at Texas A &M. So for those counting at home, has five touchdowns in his last four games. The games in which he did not have 55 combined yards were the Florida game on September 20th. They won. Miami won that game 26 to 7. He had 40 yards receiving.

Stephen Means (17:16.515)

Mm-hmm.

Andrew Gillis (17:17.07)

Uh, the, had one 35 receiving and 14 rushing in their loss to Louisville. Uh, he had over the, uh, he had 69 yards in their 26 to 20 loss to SMU. had 26 combined yards in a win over Syracuse. And he had 31 combined yards against Texas A &M. So what is that? Three times one, two, three times this year that he hasn’t gone over.

Stephen Means (17:21.977)

Mm-hmm.

Andrew Gillis (17:46.318)

55 yards.

So, and to be fair to Miami, guess he did just do that, but if Miami scores 10 points against Ohio State, they’re gonna lose. Yeah.

Stephen Means (17:49.473)

Yeah. And also I’ll think.

Stephen Means (17:57.688)

That’s the right. That’s the difference. It’s like all those times you counted either don’t have a defense. Actually, nobody has a defense near Ohio State’s or how it’s flirting with history defensively. And none of them have the offense that Ohio State has because even I mean, Indiana still had to score 13. That’s the new score, at least 13.

Andrew Gillis (18:13.934)

Yeah. Like even if like even if you could map out a scenario where like, like Mark Fletcher ran for 172 yards and 10 yards a carry, he had a 56 yard run. Even if you take away that 56 yard run, he was averaging 7.25 yards a carry. So like he was still running the ball well. But even if he does that, like, and you shut Tony down, I don’t I don’t think that Miami is going to be all that successful.

Stephen Means (18:28.653)

They didn’t give him the ball enough.

Stephen Means (18:39.029)

I think Mark Fletcher, Malik, I Tony need to combine for at least 250 yards. For Miami to win this football game. And that’s an exaggerated number, but like essentially they have to be at their very best in this game for Miami to win that football game. OK, that’s like the matchup people we talk. Good.

Stefan Krajisnik (18:55.715)

I do want to say, guess you kind of have to take into account that I’ll say at least two of the field goals by Miami were affected by the conditions. There was one field that just wasn’t even close. So it’s like in a dome, would you say that same game as, you Miami scoring 16 points that, you know, that’s a little bit of a different conversation. Scoring 16 points against Ohio State’s evens actually kind of impressive in the context of this year, but also do I think they have the success moving the ball?

against Ohio State like they did against Texas Stadium to get into vehicle range? That’s a whole nother question.

Stephen Means (19:27.705)

Right. Because Indiana has allowed 22 red zone attempts this year and they’ve turned into six touchdowns and 11 field goals. Texas Tech has allowed 22 as well, and they’ve turned into 13 touchdowns in five field goals, which I do think is intriguing.

If Texas Tech somehow pulls off getting out of the other side of the bracket and the Ohio State is facing, it’s like, OK, Texas Tech doesn’t give up a lot, but you can score in the red zone if you get there. Unless you’re going to play a bunch of tight ends and then Ohio State 24. It’s tied for third with San Diego State, so it’s third amongst power for schools. 24 attempts in the red zone, only eight touchdowns, only eight field goals. So just because you get to the red zone doesn’t mean you’re going to end up with points if you’re out of state.

Let alone field goal rates. OK, so those are the two people we talked to that I felt like were matchup conversations. Let’s take a break and do what Stefan loves to do here on Buckeye Talk.

Stephen Means (20:37.495)

And we’re back here. I talked to you question. And you girls, I’m laughing because as soon as I said that step on like perked up in his chair, ready to talk.

Stefan Krajisnik (20:48.195)

Yeah, I paused for a sec because I couldn’t think exactly what you were talking about and then I realized what you were talking about. said, hang on, I gotta sit up here a little bit.

Stephen Means (20:54.169)

No, that was great. This is like, yes, time to talk ball. So. Let’s ask, let’s do Kenyatta first. And that conversation is essentially Sonny Styles telling Kenyatta Jackson, he’s too good for him to allow himself to be held by offensive linemen. I don’t know what to do with that statement.

Because it felt like between Sonny Styles, Kenyatta Jackson and Matt Patricia, when we’re going, hey, Kenyatta, you’re literally getting tackled to the ground. I don’t know. Like, what do you do? And like the coaches, obviously, they’ll send a film in and and fight on his behalf behind the scenes. And the best you can do is tell your player, hey, just keep playing hard, just keep playing hard and we’ll keep fighting for you. What they’re going to do. But this wasn’t a hey, just keep playing hard. It was like

I got hold held coach. Well, why are you putting yourself in a position to get held? Get off the ball quicker. Use your technique better like it was almost like shame on you for being tackled by an offensive lineman.

Stefan Krajisnik (22:06.019)

And I think that’s the right way to approach it. It’s completely, well, yeah, no, I don’t even mean like that’s how you approach it in front of a microphone, but like, I don’t know, like what are you gonna do? Argue with the ref every play? It’s probably not gonna get you much.

Stephen Means (22:07.929)

You do?

Andrew Gillis (22:08.9)

Anything else is going to get you in trouble.

Andrew Gillis (22:19.852)

He did say he yelled at the ref in Indy. He said, I said something I shouldn’t have, but.

Stephen Means (22:22.489)

I mean, because it reached the point.

Stefan Krajisnik (22:22.851)

True. I thought the best kind of like the best like tension. I don’t even know if it’s like tension breaker, but just like Kenyatta saying this and then Tim May being like, well, what about when you’re getting bear hugged and then Kenyatta just kind of starts laughing. It’s like, we all see it, dude. We all see it.

Stephen Means (22:35.308)

Yeah.

Stephen Means (22:38.937)

It reached a point a couple of weeks ago where it was like, come on, man, you just got to do something here. listen, it goes both ways. Calls get missed all the time. Like, Matt, Patricia said it. There’s 70 plays in a game. Every single play is not going to go your way. But some of the holes were like. Really? Like, it’s not at all. There’s just nothing there.

Stefan Krajisnik (23:00.343)

Have we seen Patricia really get into it with the ref this year? don’t, not that I, like for like defensive coordinator on the sideline sounds like disaster waiting to happen. And it kind of hasn’t been the case, which like no one, no one, Matt Patricia’s personality, I guess it kind of makes sense. He’s not, he’s not like that, but I imagine he probably told the refs in India a couple of things. And Ryan, we’ve seen Ryan Day with the refs. I’m sure he told a couple of things.

Stephen Means (23:23.465)

I for starters, the fact you know, that Matt, but knowing Matt Patricia’s personality, he’s not like that. That’s not a sentence you would have said in January. It’s just not. I’ve said it a couple of times. The I don’t know if I’ve ever been around in person, a human being whose personality versus his his perception could be polar opposites the way that Matt Patricia and it’s

Stefan Krajisnik (23:32.579)

Yeah, that’s true. That’s true.

Stephen Means (23:53.824)

It has me so fascinated by what the heck happened in Detroit, man, because seriously. It’s if there are probably people in Detroit, if we talked about my petition, they’d be like. What?

Andrew Gillis (24:08.12)

Do you not remember the Michigan fans that were also that double as Detroit Lion fans when Matt Patricia got hired? They were like, ha ha ha Ohio State screwed.

Stephen Means (24:17.017)

But we thought it was not a great hire. We weren’t like fans of it. it was. But now we’re sitting here like, yeah, man, you know, not Patricia’s not that guy. You know, he’s a very he’s a jolly old guy. He’s the guy that came down, hugs and gets his black. It’s black face stuff stuff on his head on his beard. He’s that guy. He’s the guy hugging his players. And he’s the guy who came into the Woody and like revamped the entire computer system because he’s still a nerd at heart. You know, he’s a nice guy.

Andrew Gillis (24:20.76)

Yeah.

Stephen Means (24:47.603)

So it’s it’s crazy to see. But yeah, I’m just telling Kate and McDonald Gillis like, yeah, man, don’t get held.

Andrew Gillis (24:56.248)

Yeah, I think like because so the funny thing is I was thinking about it. I was like, if you’re if you’re Matt, Patricia or Larry Johnson and you’re in that situation and Kenyatta comes to you and he starts complaining. Coach, you’re holding me, coach, you’re holding me, coach, you’re holding me. Like there’s only so much you can do, like you can lean on the refs like if you’re Patricia, Larry, Ryan, you can, you know, submit tapes and say like, what the hell was this like?

Stephen Means (24:56.985)

I don’t know, it’s unreasonable man.

Andrew Gillis (25:26.156)

You’re you’re you’re letting our dude get yet Barrow again, like those calls get missed all the time to a degree like there it feels like you could probably look at like every couple of game every game or every couple of games and be like, hey, there was a blatant DPI. So you guys watch the the Ravens Ravens Patriots game the other night, like Marlon, every tackled the receiver and Marlon was like, get them and like looking around and there was nothing and it’s like like, look, I’m not trying to like.

Look, I’m not trying to defend refs here, but like refs are going to make mistakes. So you just there. There is an element of like you’re going to have to live with a missed holding call every once in a while. And like. You don’t want to tell Kenyatta this is crap. You should be furious like I think you just got to tell him like, hey, man, you got to be better than this. And then behind the scenes, Matt, Patricia, Ryan Day, Larry Johnson, whoever they got, they start yelling. They start talking to refs. They start yelling at refs. They start talking to Big Ten. They start smitten clips. They they do.

Stephen Means (25:59.071)

I sound like a zebra defender right now.

Stefan Krajisnik (26:00.269)

Standing up for the roughs.

Stephen Means (26:19.767)

No, yeah.

Andrew Gillis (26:25.634)

They’ll do the work for you behind the scenes. just, you just, you gotta tell them like, amen.

Stephen Means (26:30.093)

No, I also listen, just listen, this is still an Ohio State podcast. And I understand where fans are coming from, because it’s been a thing right for two years now about Ohio State doesn’t get holding calls, Ohio State doesn’t get bad.

Andrew Gillis (26:39.128)

Didn’t Jack Sawyer not get a holding call in like all year? Yeah.

Stephen Means (26:42.049)

Yes. And like Ohio State players don’t get pass interference calls. Right. Which is why I like I think. Brandon and it’s got one against Penn State and they got taken off because they called it a different penalty instead. That will happen on that same play. And then he and then Max Clair got a pass interference call later in that same game. And even Joe Clatt was saying that is officially the first time all year. How has it has gotten the pass interference call. And you hear that you go on who are the receivers again?

You mean to tell me nobody. Has held on to JJ or Cardinal for too long this year, like nobody’s done that. And so I understand where Ohio State fans are coming from, where it’s not personal, it’s not a vendetta against Ohio State. But. When it’s starting to stack up and to your point, Gillis, your fans are able to go, man, it’s been four months. Since Jack Sawyer and JT to him, although I’ve gotten a holding call.

It reaches a point where I understand where a fan base is kind of frustrated with it and.

Stefan Krajisnik (27:42.563)

and it contributed to you losing a game. It’s easy to look past that when you beat Minnesota by 50, you’re like, all right, I don’t care that they didn’t call a holding call against Minnesota, but it’s like, I don’t know, crucial third down against the number two team in the country. You don’t get the holding, I understand.

Stephen Means (27:45.281)

Right, because I mean

Stephen Means (27:49.677)

Yeah.

Stephen Means (27:57.562)

Yeah, especially in a world where that game came down to Fernando Mendoza made one or two extra plays. What if he wasn’t in position to make those plays because Kenyatta Jackson either didn’t get held and so maybe he got a sack or a bare minimum, got enough pressure that Fernando Mendoza doesn’t complete the pass or he gets a holding call. So instead of a 40 hour completion that honestly can flip momentum in a game like that, Indiana sees laundry and now they’re going 15 or 10 yards the other way.

And those things do start to matter a little bit more than you use. It’s why, you know, sure. Did Ohio State not score in the red zone in the Fiesta one twenty nineteen? Yes. Should they also be upset about a Sean Wade targeting call and about a scooping score that took points off the field off the board? Yes. I think you can be angry about both of those things.

Okay, let’s talk about our favorite thing to talk about and that’s why wasn’t our vel Reese allowed to pass rush and I didn’t get called on to talk to Matt Patricia, but Stefan Doug and Bill Did a lot of heavy lifting when it came to the conversation and it started Stefan with you because Sonny Styles I asked him just about how over we’ve seen like the attention he’s getting now opens things up for everybody else But it was what he got asked later

talking about and it’s kind of got started with the third and long stuff and him calling it the fun down and you could even see him smiling while talking about these things and Sonny Styles gave his answer.

Stefan Krajisnik (29:29.975)

He was smiling and looking in the back of the room where Matt Patricia was standing. He was looking at Matt Patricia.

Stephen Means (29:34.251)

Yes. And you get called on first for Matt Patricia and you, don’t even know if you were planning to ask this, but you immediately go, I don’t know if you just heard what Sunny styles was saying, but take the floor, Stefan, what’d you ask? And we’ll start there in terms of why isn’t our Val Reiss being used as a pass rusher as much as he was in September and October.

Stefan Krajisnik (29:56.577)

Yeah. The whole kind of fun down thing that the sunny styles was talking about on third down was it sounds a lot like him and Arvel kind of have free rein. I’m sure Caleb downs is kind of in this too, to kind of do what they want to do. That’s something that started, you know, back in the spring with, Matt Patricia kind of seeing the flexibility and versatility of those two linebackers and the different things they can give you. I think we obviously knew it was sunny and kind of what he did in the tail end last season, you throw in Arvel this year is kind of a breakout star in college football and.

Stephen Means (30:09.39)

Mm-hmm.

Stefan Krajisnik (30:26.371)

You’re screaming at your TV, watching some of these games thinking, Hey, it’s third and six. Why aren’t one of those two guys, you know, coming out to the quarterback? Why not both those guys coming out to the quarterback? Why is our bell Reese dropping back so much? And, and then, yeah, like you mentioned, Doug and bill both kind of followed up to asking about specifically the usage of our vell and, and, know, I don’t have the numbers right in front of me. Cause my, frankly, my wifi has been great. So don’t want to pull up PFF cause that can really slow down a laptop, but

Stephen Means (30:54.104)

I have.

Stefan Krajisnik (30:55.971)

Like there were games early in the year where it was like he would have like eight, you know, pass rush snaps or something like that. And now it’s like, or, was more than that. And now it’s down to eight, however it was that it’s just like, it’s, it’s felt like the numbers have dipped in terms of how much they’re setting our bell at the quarterback. And I think it’s kind of this balance now of Matt Patricia learning. Not, guess learning isn’t the right word. Cause he’s been coaching football for longer than I’ve been alive, but like it’s in terms of Ohio state specifically is learning.

Okay. We’ve shown now all year what our release can do. How do you balance that with continually using that versus utilizing just the threat of that? And there’s a balance that comes with it. And it kind of feels like they’ve taken more of the conservative approach in the last few weeks, as opposed to early in the year. Hey, let’s let we got to establish it. Now they had that they have established it. They’re kind of using it more of a threat. And I think Matt Patricia, the way he talked, it kind of felt like, Hey, I maybe need to step on the gas a little bit more. I see what you’re seeing.

Stephen Means (31:54.756)

So here’s his answer to the question. The question is essentially, hey, man, how do you balance? You know, it’s third long. Arvel is a threat versus just like he’s a threat and he dropped versus he’s a threat and he actually. Russia’s and the answer was a lot of stuff we attacked early in the season now, I think teams have kind of seen enough film on it. So a lot of times they’ll slide to his spot where he is or they’ll try to make sure they have him accounted for in different ways.

But that’s great. That gives opportunities for other players on the field. I think his impact has been great. His role, his flexibility, the way that we’ve been able to utilize him is super special. He’s really showcased what he can do and how he can impact the game, which is all which has been awesome to see. But we are seeing some of those game plan things that offense is due to handle when you have an impact player like that. Offenses has to adjust. They have to do something. We’re going to try to stay in that front for

And we’re to try to stay in front of that for a little bit. By game pressures, Gillis. Texas, he had five. And I’m just doing the power for the FPS games, cramming, had zero, and so they didn’t need to send anybody on blitzes against Grambling, Ohio to Washington to Minnesota, three Illinois for Wisconsin, three Penn State, three. And then this is essentially every game after Penn State, he has three total.

And one came against UCLA and two came against Indiana. But across like five games. And we’re going to talk about this, too, on Friday. So you’ll hear more about this conversation. But this is just what what Pat Patricia had to say about this. Is our bell race the threat enough, Andrew? Or is there a step above that Matt Patricia can take to combat the fact that.

Really, the entire back half of the season teams have accounted for the fact that they need to know where eight is at all times. And maybe it’s part of the reason why Caden Curry has 11 sacks or Kenyatta Jackson has six and a half sacks or Caden McDonald has been so dominant on the interior. It all kind of flows through our very research, such a threat that whether he does something or not, you have to pay attention to him or.

Stephen Means (34:20.621)

Does my petition need to do something more to turn that threat into something tangible again?

Andrew Gillis (34:25.634)

Well, you know, Matt Patricia talked about staying ahead of the curve basically, and basically being like, Hey, you know, we need to, you know, we need to figure this out. We need to, we need to be ahead of what teams are trying to do. Like the threat of him has definitely impacted how teams protect. They slide to his side. They make sure they have a different, an extra block around that side. They make sure he’s accounted for. Like, so it’s happened.

but there also just comes a time of like, yeah. And, Matt Patricia said this, you just have to let him go. And you just have to say like, look, he’s, he’s maybe your best pass rusher. Like you gotta let him, you gotta let him go. You gotta let him just whether look, if he gets double teamed, cool. Like that’s fine. Might not be fine for our overall Reese, but it’s fine because Kenyatta Jackson’s one-on-one on the other side, you know,

or Kaden Curry who bumps down, you know, and he’s going over the shoulder of the guard, over the three tack, he’s got a one-on-one matchup too. And it’s like, you know, there is an element of just like, look, offenses are gonna adjust to his side, but who cares? Like offenses are gonna do what he does, but who cares? When you were saying that, I thought of a YouTube video, there’s a very famous like YouTube

YouTuber, I guess, in the sports realm. name is John Boyce. And he did a video about Barry Bonds a couple of years ago. Barry Bonds had a 609 on base percentage. And a lot of that was because teams just said, not a shot. We’re just going to intentionally walk in. So he ran the numbers and ran like all these statistical calculations and was like, what would have happened if Barry Bonds didn’t have a bat? Like if Barry Bonds showed up and nobody knew that he had a bat, what would have happened?

and they just pitched to him normally. And he figured out that Barry Bonds would have basically been the same player because people were so afraid of Barry Bonds and he would have had the highest on base percentage in history. And I say that not to compare Arval Reiss to Barry Bonds, but to say sometimes the threat of something is just as good. And I think Matt Patrice has to tow that line between.

Andrew Gillis (36:53.038)

Look, man, we just got to eat this one. Like we can’t not send Arvel Reese on a pressure on third and eight. But we also just have to we also just have to understand that he might get double teamed. You know, could you try to scheme him open? Yeah. But could you try to scheme him in a manner? Could you send him on a stunt? Can you send him on blitz? Can you know, could you send a blitz or whatever? Could you could you try those things? Of course. But Arvel Reese is not going to go a whole game without getting double teamed at least a handful of times.

And I think if you’re Matt Patricia, that’s okay for you because you’re looking at it going, I think Kenyatta Jackson and Kaden Curry and Ken MacDonald can win these one on one matchups and they have to because that’s what it does. So yeah, the threat of our Arvel Reese is definitely a unique kind of wrinkle to this offense. But I like, I do think there is a time where it’s like, man, I don’t care if they’re double teaming them, triple teaming them, if they’re putting the best offensive lineman on him, if they’re running away, it doesn’t matter at a certain

point and my pictures said this like you have to let your players do what they do best.

Stephen Means (38:03.158)

I walked away from Sonny and Matt Patricia talking about this wishing that we could sit down with Sonny, Matt, Patricia and our values for three hours.

Because we got two of the three people side on this because you are right stuff. It comes back to. It’s not just a hell no go out there and do whatever you want, but.

Stephen Means (38:29.506)

It goes back to what they were talking about the office is about the IQ of this defense. And I think it’s more like we talk about the athletic system and just the natural talent of these guys. But the IQ of a lot of these guys are so high. That Matt Patricia can go, we’re going to show you this and, no, Sonny and Arville figured out sometimes Sonny is going to go on the blitz, sometimes Arville is going to go on the blitz, sometimes both. Sometimes they’re all going to drop.

Sometimes it’s going to be Caleb down. And so you almost would want to have a conversation with we can throw Caleb in this conversation because he becomes a linebacker essentially in third long situations. But what they’re looking at in terms of how they decide what each of them is going to do in a given play, because if they’re at a point where 14 games in, they’ve been given this level of freedom to decide on the fun down who is doing what between those three, then I think

This no longer becomes a, Hey, Matt, why won’t you let our veil do something? And it becomes a, our veil, what’s going into when you decide it’s necessary for you to rush the passer and go be our Valriesse versus you allow the threat of you being our Valriesse to be the thing that you do on a given snap. And that’s a

X’s and O’s conversation if you could ever have one. And the good news is we’re going to have a whole media day on Monday. And so if somebody wants to go do that, we can do that. Any other thoughts that we have on the defense?

Stefan Krajisnik (40:02.627)

I did think an interesting line in talking about all this from Patricia was the line saying, I don’t think you ever want to not make sure your good players are doing the things that they do well. And it’s kind of like when we talk about offense, we say put the ball in your best player’s hands. And I think that’s kind of the balance you have to have here of, okay, the threat of Arvel doing what he’s best at.

you have to sometimes remind yourself, let Arvel do what he’s best at.

Stephen Means (40:35.79)

Do we think that because obviously you can’t put the ball in a defender’s hands is I guess the question is, do we think that Matt Patricia giving them the free will to choose what they want to do is the equivalent of putting the ball in JJ and or Cardinal’s hands? By the. Yeah, or it’s like. We’re not going to say you have to do this or this. It’s listen, here’s your options. I’ve given you guys the tools.

Stefan Krajisnik (40:51.843)

Yeah, or Malachi tone.

Stephen Means (41:03.706)

It’s like with Kenyatta Jackson, right? Earlier this year, when he was talking about how he went and sat down with Matt Patricia about wanting to use his pass rush moves more, not just being a guy who was just setting the edge and Cajun in a quarterback. And Matt Patricia’s answer wasn’t, well, it depends on this, this and this and this. was like, yeah, you can do whatever you want. Just don’t go past the quarterback. And what’s happened since he said that? So I do think there is just an element of.

Matt Patricia installed what he installed and you work within those that scheme and within those principles. What you do within those principles are just reading and reacting and just being you. So if Arvo Reese, if the answer to why does Arvo Reese only have three. Pressures in the last six games. If the answer to that question is because I don’t know, the. He keeps showing me as a job in coverage, and so that’s what I want to do. OK.

Cool. So what does it look like when the picture shows you you should do what you did against Texas?

Stefan Krajisnik (42:09.379)

It’s almost kind of like that. Do you remember the deep ball rant that James Franklin had a couple of years ago where I think a reporter was just like, I don’t know. Do you sometimes tell Joel or like just, throw the deep ball and, James, James Franklin kind of defensive. And he was like, I’m just going to tell him to do something just to do something. like, I don’t know. There’s Matt Patricia sometimes getting the heads and go, Hey, just, just go after it. And maybe that, you know, maybe that’s a part of this balance too of just, I do love though, like

Stephen Means (42:17.658)

Throw it anyway. Yeah.

Stephen Means (42:30.605)

Yeah, yeah.

Stefan Krajisnik (42:34.945)

This all is, is this conversation is so possible because they also have killed downs and sunny styles around them because they’re so smart to like, I would imagine Caleb can kind of see what our bell’s doing and he can kind of adjust based on that. And I think you have to have a lot of pieces in place to do what Ohio State does. And it’s like, yeah, that’s why they maybe have the most, I would say probably have the most sophisticated defense in the country.

Stephen Means (42:42.35)

Mm-hmm.

Stephen Means (42:56.408)

And it’s the communication like what about Patricia? Tell us a lot in fall camp, like his ability to communicate. When you have due to have free will, they have to communicate what they’re doing right. You can’t kiss like, I mean, we do it right. And what we do is like we have a budget every day. It’s like, OK, we have kind of some free will about how we want to attack stories and how we want to do stuff. But you have to communicate what you are doing.

Because if nobody communicates and then we end up with nothing on the site, we’re all going to be looking at each other like, what the heck is it? Yeah, because nobody communicated anybody about anything. If they don’t communicate, it’s just in our voices like, I’m just going to on a blitz and Sonny’s like, oh, I’m just going to on a blitz and Caleb’s like, I’m just going to go on a blitz. Well, then all of sudden, the middle of the field is open. Or, oh, I’m just going to drop back. Well, I’m just going to drop back. I’m just going to drop back. Well, then Carson Beck is just sit back there chilling with no pressure on him.

So it’s the communication aspect of it, but it’s just a fascinating conversation of.

You got 11 guys out there who might be some of the smartest people you’ve ever met when it comes to football. And they’re all working in unison. And you can see it if you watch games of pre snap. Caleb communicate to this guy, Arvel communicate to this guy. Jaden McClain communicate to this guy, even like the defensive lineman you see Kenyatta Jackson giving signals out there. There is a level of sophistication to this defense that I think is made possible because yes, Matt Patricia is very good at this and spent a lot of time in the NFL.

But he also has a bunch of NFL players at his disposal who are very quick to pick up stuff. And so to your point, Stefan, what are the conversations like in between these series of Matt Patricia going like, hey, what you see there? OK, well, I saw it this way. It’s the same relationship that Ryan Day has with Julian saying of, OK, why did you do this versus this? I did it because X, Y and Z, and then they go sit on an iPad and look at it and say, OK, well, that is what you saw.

Stephen Means (44:58.382)

Cool. Let’s adjust with it like this. And that’s what happens when you are developing NFL players.

Andrew Gillis (45:00.973)

Yeah, so.

Yeah, like it’s it’s. But I just like I’m not saying you were saying this, I like. Just to add on to that, it’s not just like, they’re good, it’s like, hey, they’re all experienced and they’re really smart and. Yeah, well, like, I don’t even know if it’s like football geniuses. Well, but but but but here’s what I would say.

Stephen Means (45:15.578)

They’re football geniuses.

Stefan Krajisnik (45:20.611)

Arvo’s not that experienced though. That’s what makes this all the more impressive.

Stephen Means (45:23.266)

Yeah, he’s he’s just smart. He’s super, super smart.

Andrew Gillis (45:28.202)

Right. But I guess here’s what I would say to that, though, is like he’s still been a college football player for three years. Like this isn’t like first year Arvel Reese, second year Arvel Reese. Like like there is one starter on the defense who’s not NFL draft eligible, and it’s Jalen McLean and like everybody else is like Caleb Downs, third year guy. We I mean, started as a freshman. Everybody raved about how smart he is. Davis and Ibn Osin, fourth year guy.

Stephen Means (45:39.928)

Yeah, but what about Jamie McLean?

Andrew Gillis (45:56.6)

Lorenzo Stiles, fifth year guy, Jermaine Matthews, third year guy. Like all these guys that we’re talking about are there. I think that’s what makes this partially unique to is not just that, like, they’re really friggin good. It’s that they’ve been around for a while. So it’s like they have still played like they haven’t, you know, like there are a lot of guys on this defense that just hadn’t started before this year. Like, I don’t know, Kate McDonald wasn’t like lacking for, you know.

college experience when he stepped into the starting lineup. And I think that was something that I was probably a little too hasty to just dismiss was like, hey man, like yeah, our overall Reese hasn’t started, but he’s a third year guy. Like the idea of playing college football to him is not crazy. He did it last year. Like Kaden is a fourth year guy. Like all of these guys are just their veteran, their experience. They know what’s going on and you don’t have to handhold them with hey,

Stephen Means (46:40.26)

No.

Andrew Gillis (46:50.914)

This is what cover four means. This is what the, Hey, this is what this stunt. No, you can tell them, Hey, you can just, you can go. And these guys all know it because like how many, how many transfers are on this defense? Caleb Downs, Davidson, Nick Binoza and Taiwan Malone. Everybody else has been together for three years, three plus years.

Stephen Means (47:12.186)

I mean, Taiwan Malone’s been here for three years now. So he’s always David. But still, but even like, yeah, you’re saying that. But at the same time, that’s not the way they lost eight starters off of last year’s defense. We can’t do the like, oh, their experience. Yes, they’ve been in college for a while, but just being in college is they didn’t play a lot of football until this year, especially in the roles they’re playing now. I think. You have to look for what these guys are in recruiting. And now we’re having a recruiting conversation. You like this is

Andrew Gillis (47:14.478)

Right exactly exactly and

Stephen Means (47:42.725)

They’re not just smart because they’ve played a ton of football this season. Caleb Downs is a football genius. Sonny Styles is a very, very smart football player. Arvel Reese is a very, very smart football player. Even the corners are very even the corner. That’s not it. But you know what I mean? These are very, very, very highly intelligent football players. And so now I want to have a three hour conversation with Mark Pantoni about

Is that a prerequisite? At Ohio State, and that’s not to say that there are programs who are looking for stupid players, but we know what high IQ. Sport looks like, regardless of what sport we’re talking about, right? We we we can look at LeBron James and be like, OK, yeah, he’s got all this physical talent that he has, but he’s also like a supercomputer between the years. And so is that a prerequisite? Mecca, Bucca, come on, man.

How many conversations last year did we have with the Mecha-Buka?

Stefan Krajisnik (48:46.249)

He was scheming up, he was scheming up the championship winning play on the sideline.

Stephen Means (48:50.658)

the freaking side. I remember America’s first year as a starter and he was talking with us after the Notre Dame game. And I literally walked up to somebody and went, I feel like I just went to wide receiver school. that’s that’s CJ Stroud, man. He used to break stuff down here in a way that was like, my, that’s incredible. So I almost wonder, is this a prerequisite for Ohio State’s defense offensively, too, because we’re talking about the defense right now?

Yes, you need guys who can do a bunch of different things and who can be versatile, but play a bunch of different positions. Who’s the kid? Rembrandt Andrew, who’s in the class like you. Roxanne Rembrandt. Yeah, there’s some versatility there. But also, I don’t know if you sit down in front of a whiteboard with this guy, would he be able to break down football at a level where when he’s learning these things, when they’re installing things, they pick it up quick? That’s the impressive part. Matt Patricia has been here

Andrew Gillis (49:30.062)

Braxton Rembert, 65200 pounds.

Stephen Means (49:49.583)

for 12 months and the way that they picked up on his NFL level defense is quite something. And they’ve been able to apply it so well that in game 14, Matt Patricia is like, yeah, man, they can do what they want out there. Just don’t go past the quarterback. Can every defensive coordinator country say that about their team? It’s like, yeah, you can do whatever you want. Just don’t go past the quarterback.

Just as long as you do the basic part of your job, you can do whatever the heck else you want out there. And that’s that’s that’s intriguing to me. And I don’t know if we have enough time to get into that because Ohio State plays a football game and in less than 10 days at this point. Six one four three five three one five two weekly trial three ninety nine after that. That’ll do. Merry Christmas.

to everybody and safe travels if you’re traveling with your family. Happy holidays to everybody. Stefan’s actually not celebrating Christmas right now because Serbian Christmas is later in January. Well, I’m not saying that you can’t, but I’m just letting people know.

Stefan Krajisnik (50:43.841)

Yeah, happy holidays.

Stefan Krajisnik (50:51.703)

I can still say Merry Christmas Merry Christmas to people. For informing the Buckeye Talk audience of Serbian culture. I love it. I respect it.

Stephen Means (50:59.61)

Yeah, listen, people. I want people to get to know us as human beings, man. That’s OK. But yeah, Christmas will have our offense versus defense pod day after Christmas will have our defense versus the offensive pod. Get the Texas one, four, three, five, one, three, one, five. We’re actually going to get a chance to watch a little bit of practice on Friday. So we’ll bring you some notes off of that, which listen, there were actually stretching. I’m just going to be real with you. But I don’t know, there might be some of the early enrollees in the building. They haven’t added any

Andrew Gillis (51:00.952)

January 7th, yeah?

Stefan Krajisnik (51:02.893)

Sorry.

Andrew Gillis (51:09.464)

Uh-uh.

Stephen Means (51:29.176)

portal guys yet because the portal is not technically open yet.

Stefan Krajisnik (51:33.847)

Yeah, they have not spoken to any transfer or thought about any transfers yet.

Stephen Means (51:37.934)

They have not officially spoken to any transfers yet. What they’ve done unofficially is none of my business. And that goes.

Andrew Gillis (51:46.146)

Yeah, it’s going to be one of those things with portal opens January 2nd and magically 130 whatever teams are going to have multi-year deals with million dollars in place.

Stephen Means (51:52.507)

Magically at 12 at 1207 Hayes Fawcett is going to be saying breaking jazz Coleman is

Andrew Gillis (52:00.078)

Hayes was gonna have 400 tweets at 1201 AM or whatever time it.

Stefan Krajisnik (52:00.321)

Ohio State, also.

Stefan Krajisnik (52:04.405)

Also, Ohio State, yet to announce any contract extension for players.

Stephen Means (52:08.726)

I really hope they don’t start doing that.

Andrew Gillis (52:12.524)

Nico Iamaljava has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Bruins.

Stephen Means (52:15.033)

because

Stefan Krajisnik (52:15.831)

Jeremiah Smith will be the highest paid receiver in Ohio State history.

Stephen Means (52:19.436)

I just, I’m, that bar is so high. I just, what are we doing, man?

Cause the whole point of why NFL teams do that is because somebody contract was running out. They were going to be a free agent. They’re not doing it for.

Stefan Krajisnik (52:35.863)

I’ll respect it if a team like Texas A comes out, because they did the Mario Craver highest paid receiver in program history. If Texas A comes out and signs Marcel Reed to an extension and says second highest paid quarterback in program history behind Johnny Menzel, then I will respect it.

Stephen Means (52:55.002)

Oh, everything doesn’t. Everything doesn’t need to be a social media post. Like nobody was expecting Jade Maiava if he was not going to go to the NFL to not be a USC Trojan next year. Like we would nobody even thought about that until they put out that post. It’s like he was he was he going to leave? Meanwhile, not employees still not employees.

Stefan Krajisnik (52:56.065)

If we start telling the truth, I’ll respect that.

You

Stefan Krajisnik (53:15.733)

Everyone’s available.

Stefan Krajisnik (53:20.919)

non-employees.

Stephen Means (53:21.562)

They can get rev share, but they’re not technically employees. So if they’re not employees, why you need to announce their signing resigning anyway. Six one four three five oh three three one five. Enjoy the next two pods. They are very long and very detailed. And I thought we had a lot of fun with that. And then on Sunday we land in Dallas. We’re going to go live. We’re to be ranking the quarterbacks. The eight quarterbacks left in the college football playoffs. Come join us on the YouTube live show. We’ll do that not long after we get to Dallas and then we’ll hit the ground running.

We had a media day next week. And before you know it, December 31st, we’ll be here in Ohio State. be playing Miami in the Cotton Bowl, 614-350-3315 for Stefan Kreisnick and Andrew Gillis. I’m Stephen Means. Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. Talk to you guys later.