Two new Ohio State commitments and what Will Howard can tell us about Tavien St. Clair’s potential: Buckeye Talk podcast

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State’s been busy on the recruiting trail even with the start of the 2024 season.

Over the past two weeks, its top-rated 2025 recruiting class added two more members putting the class at 26 commits. That makes it the largest class of the Ryan Day era passing his 2020 class which held 25.

On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis break down the latest additions and what they bring to the class. Then they have a lengthy conversation about five-star quarterback commit Tavien St. Clair and how his growing superstardom is preparing him for the SU spotlight. Plus, a look at two 2026 five-stars who may reclassify and who Andrew thinks could commit to Ohio State next.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk.

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

Stephen Means (00:07.563)

Welcome back to book I talk I’m Stephen Means and that’s Andrew Gillis. This is a recruiting pod. Haven’t done one of these in a little bit, but Ohio State’s had some movement on the recruiting trail. The number one class in the country were 312 .6 points and an average star rating of 93 .59. That average star rating is actually second to Alabama with 94 .16, but overall number one class in the country with 26 commitments. If they don’t get another commitment, Andrew.

This is the largest class of the Ryan Day era surpassing that 2020 class at a 25 commitment for five stars, 18, four stars, three, three stars. And amongst those four stars, they added a couple of new guys. Let’s start with J. McFadden because that’s happened, I think about a week and a half ago coming off of us talking with Justin Fry who kind of previewed it without previewing it because he can’t really talk about it, but tell us more about J. McFadden.

Andrew (01:00.992)

Yeah, Javon McFadden, he was the. Okay, they needed that one type of offensive line commit, right? Because you got to remember this was just a couple of days. I think it was just a week after David Sanders chose Tennessee over Ohio State. you know, offensive line recruiting was not exactly in the greatest place. I still think it’s in the greatest place. But David Sanders Jr. Commits to Tennessee a week later, Ohio State gets Javan McFadden.

I think this is a really solid addition and I know, you know, some people might not want to hear that or some people might be upset by that. I think this is a really solid addition. Now he does play on the interior. That’s where he’s projected to play the number 407 player in the class for the two four seven composite, the number 25 interior offensive lineman. You know, you look at this kid and you see a lot of size on the interior. You know, this is a player to me that can

play either guard spot. You it sounds like with he and Jake Cook, there’s a little bit of interchangeability there. Jake Cook can play center, another commit in this class. He can play center. You have McFadden, it sounds like can play guard. Now you have Carter Lowe, they can play a tackle. So you’ve got three guys in this class with McFadden that kind of have their set positions now. State would obviously love to add another tackle and that’s where David Sanders Jr. would have came in. But with McFadden…

You I think that this is pretty, a pretty nice addition because again, you, you needed size on the interior. You needed bodies. And frankly, I think, you know, he’s one of those players where you go, well, he’s the 400th. Why do we care about this guy? He’s not all that ranked and blah, blah, blah, blah. His offer list was pretty impressive. He had an offer from Georgia. He had an offer from Miami. He had an offer from Michigan. He had an offer from Oregon. He had an offer from Tennessee and.

Like he had some big time offers. Now obviously schools pursue him to varying degrees. I don’t believe any of those schools were in his kind of final short list of schools, but that’s a big deal. I think when schools like that take notice. So I think this is a solid addition. I really do. I think it gives you something on the interior in this class. Now you have cook and McFadden up the middle and we’ll have to see where this goes, but you know, this was a commitment that Ohio state

Andrew (03:22.782)

needed really badly and this was a commitment that I think Justin Fry needed really bad.

Stephen Means (03:35.595)

So with Jay Vaughn, obviously the number 407 player, number 25 interior offensive lineman, as you stated, pretty impressive offer list. It’s all over the place, 29 offers. With him and Jay, I know with Jay Cook, they’re gonna play him at guard because I haven’t seen them even when he was here over the summer doing workouts with Justin Frye, doing anything tackle related. Carter Lowe is a tackle. Can Jay Vaughn McFadden be like a Luke Montgomery type of guy where maybe they test him out at tackle early in his career before moving him in?

Or is this just strictly because 65 300 is nothing and then the scoff at right for a guy who’s 17 18 years old could they start him at tackle like they did with Luke Montgomery or is this strictly he’s going to be a guard when he gets here and that’s already kind of the deal here.

Andrew (04:08.203)

Yeah.

Andrew (04:18.4)

No, I think you could. I think you absolutely could. You know, I would like to see his arm length first. You know, I want to see kind of how his arms stack up. You know, I was out to visit Maxwell Riley on one of the recruiting trips that I was on recently, and he’s like six, four, six, five as well. But he admitted like he’s like, look, I got short arms to play tackle. He’s like, I’ll play tackle if Ohio State needs me. But I’ve also talked to them about playing tackle, guard and center. So that comes into consideration, too. So I want to kind of.

I kind of want to get the low down on Javin McFadden and kind of see like how long his arms are, you know, if he can play that tackle position, because that is a big deal at the college level, right? You know, at the high school level where you can just kind of bully people, doesn’t really matter. But that is a big deal when you’re talking about arm like that’s why NFL teams go nuts for it at the combine. Whenever you see guys with long arms, it’s like, OK, this is a big deal. So I think you can try him at tackle just because he does have that size.

You know, you’re not you’re not going to play. I know Clemson did it last year. You’re not going to play a six foot to six foot three guy at tackle. That’s just not going to be the way that you win football games at a high level. So, yeah, I think you can absolutely play him. I know he’s played left guard at Riverdale Baptist. He’s from Upper Marlboro, Maryland. So we’ll see. But I don’t think tackle is necessarily off the table with McFadden, because I think that he he does have that requisite size.

You watch his tape. think he’s got the requisite athleticism to you know, that’s important. You know, it’s not he’s not one of those like big bowling ball bruisers type of players. I think I think he actually does have some you know, kind of quick space in short athleticism that you could really like as a tackle. So yeah, I would probably bet he plays on the interior, but I don’t think tackle is necessarily off the table here.

Stephen Means (06:07.817)

That’s Jayvon McFadden, the third offensive line commitment in this class. We’ll see. Obviously, they’re not done. At least they’re not trying to be done. And maybe we can get the Mike and the Bo’s. As a matter of fact, yeah, let’s have a conversation about Mike and the Bo’s really quickly, because I think that’s worth having right now. Mike and the Bo’s, the Alabama native who has strong Ohio ties. You’ve missed out on David Sanders. Obviously, he’s going to go to Tennessee. But if between now and signing day, they somehow fix

Flip Micah DeBose in number 193 play I believe in number 21 also tackled the country at least by that 247 rankings I don’t know where he is in the composite but 138 in the composite if you can flip that guy from Alabama who right now is on your tail Trying to snatch the number one ranking in the country from you right now It’s Ohio State and Alabama number one and number two if you get that if you somehow flip him and you pair that with Carter Lowe Jake Cook and J Bob McFadden

Andrew (06:45.688)

138 in the composite.

Stephen Means (07:04.907)

What’s our opinion of Justin Fry’s 2025 recruiting class for the offensive line and comparison to maybe how we were feeling about it directly after the Davis Sanders miss?

Andrew (07:15.402)

It’s certainly on the up and up. I think that that I think it has to be at that point, right? Like like Mike DeBose, I really, really like Mike DeBose. Like I said before, I’ve watched him a lot, you know, just because there was a lot of tackles that they were interested in, you know, kind of over the course of this summer. And, you know, Jackson Lloyd was one of them. Another Alabama commit. The kid from California.

Like they were, they were interested in David Sanders, obviously. And I think David Sanders, he just, he looks so fluid. He was, he was number one, but I really liked to Bose to the point where I thought to Bose might be their second best option. And I know the rankings might not bear that out. So we’ll see. I think that, I, you know, I’m going to put my scouting hat on there. I really like Micah to Bose. think he’s physical. I think he’s aggressive. I think he could play left or right tackle.

I think he’s got incredibly strong, like upper body. just watch him play and he just like flips dudes over. It’s kind of crazy. I think what this would do is it would change the narrative a little bit about Justin Fry going into a 2026 class that frankly, Ohio State has to do well offensively on the offensive line, I should say, because on the offensive line in 26.

We have talked about it. There are so many players from the state of Ohio that are really good, right? That are, that are just out there for the taking. Maxwell Riley is one of them. You have Sam Greer up at Hoban. You’ve got a couple of interior guys up in Northeast Ohio. There’s another kid, Adam Guthrie there. Like there are really good players in the state of Ohio upfront. And that is where you have to make your money. So if you can pair that 25 class,

with the 26 class that should just be a layup for Ohio State. Maybe not a layup, maybe just like a short range jumper. Like that should be the impetus here, right? Because you have Carter Lowe, who’s a top 50 prospect to tackle. I mean, I really like Carter Lowe. I think he’s a great tackle. You know, he just he’s fluid. He’s athletic. He’s got the things that you want in kind of a modern day tackle, especially for Ohio State. Then you add Mike DeBose.

Andrew (09:34.816)

And all of sudden you got a really, really great tackle tandem. One of the best tackle tandems of any program in the country at that point. And then you look to the interior and you’re like, okay, well, we’re taking a chance on an Ohio kid who has completely changed his body in the last year and is taking, you know, kind of a rise up the rankings here because again, he’s lost a lot of weight. He’s put on good weight.

He’s really, really done the things that he has to do to transform himself from a Louisville football player, like an ACC football player to, this kid can play at Ohio State. This kid is a big 10 football player. And then you take Javan McFadden, both those guys are six foot five, like 300 pounds ish. Now you’ve got something cooking on the interior and that doesn’t include maybe a guy that we have no idea yet. Right. Like Steven, when we were doing these recruiting pods last year, we had no idea who gave Vance Hickle was. Right. We didn’t know who he was. He was committed to another program. We

Why would we care about Gabe van Sickle? Then all of sudden Ohio State shows interest and they flip him. He shows up to Ohio State and I think he ended up as a top 300 prospect. So there might be a guy out there too that we don’t know about. like this can be like all is not lost with this tackle class and with this interior offensive line class for Ohio State and for Justin Fry. So landing Micah DeBose, not only is he a good football player,

But it definitely makes the rest of the class just look so much better because you can stomach taking, you know, a top 50 player and top one 25 player top one 50 player into Bose as your tackle tandems. And then you’ve got a low four star at a high three star that might become a four star. And then maybe even you take another three star, you can deal with that. If you have, you know, four, four stars or three, four stars and a three star in your class.

because you like the projections there, right? Offensive line projections are so weird and so unique. So I mean, it could be debose or it could be another tackle that you have to flip, but they have to add another tackle. In my opinion, I think you look at maybe where this program is heading on the offensive line in terms of scholarship counts. Josh Simmons might not be here next year. If the NFL noise is real, Josh Friar is not going to be here next year. You have Carter Lowe.

Andrew (11:49.772)

but you don’t really have this, here’s the clear next choice at tackle. And I’m not even saying it would be one of these freshmen, but you gotta build depth at that position. And I just don’t know if they have that yet. So, Mike DeBose or any other tackle, that’s the impetus over these next couple of months.

Stephen Means (12:04.939)

That’s that offensive line the wide receiver room also got a little busy over this past week and obviously we saw what Jeremiah Smith was doing on the field and so did Chris Henry jr. The number one player in the 2026 class he saw it as well and it’s like hey I can do that and Marvin Harrison jr. Is going on Twitter. Hey, I did that so it’s cool. I did that I’m doing it and I could do that past present future is those interesting which is and this is just a random point and I think I might write about this one day not this week, but just

The last three Ohio State ex receivers, Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jeremiah Smith. Not bad, not bad at all. Speaking of wide receivers, Phillip Bell out of California committed late on Saturday night after Ohio State’s 52 to six win over Ohio State. It felt like that one’s been going towards the Buckeyes favor for a while and it was a matter of when and not necessarily if. J. Andrew, tell us more about Phillip Bell.

Andrew (12:59.704)

Well, first off, real quick, it wasn’t just Chris Henry Jr. It was Kaden Dixon Wyatt, Chris Henry Jr.’s teammate who’s a top 150 receiver. So yeah, the receiver recruiting, that train ain’t stopping anytime soon as long as Brian Hartline’s here. Philip Bell, the number 184 overall prospect for the Dear Listeners of Buckeye Talk that listened to our postgame pod. They heard me go silent in the last couple of minutes of that podcast because Philip Bell decided that, hey, it’s West Coast time. It’s still 730.

Stephen Means (13:04.041)

There you go.

Andrew (13:27.832)

realizing it’s still East Coast time. So he committed it like 1045 Eastern time. But the number 19 overall receiver in the composite rankings, he pledges to Ohio State. This is another really significant addition. asked Tavian about him, Tavian St. Clair, when I went to go see him play on Friday night. And one of the things that Tavian said is like, he’s just a playmaker. He’s just I’ve been pushing for him for a really long time.

He like playmaker was the word I think he used like two or three times in that answer. You know, obviously the quality competition you have no concerns about. You look at where he’s played, you know, I watch his film played in the slot a lot. He’s played out wide. He can do a lot of different things. And I think as you get to this Ohio State receiver recruiting class, which we will get to in a second, there’s a trend forming here. And with Bell, though,

I think you like that versatility and Stephen, I know you’ve been talking to people in the building who, you know, kind of view a certain current Ohio state receiver is kind of maybe a projection for him. you know, with, with Philip, I just, again, a really down, a really talented football player who he just rounds out your class because I think he needed for the way that things were trending. Mecca is going to be gone at the end of this year is Jayden, like Jayden Ballard’s a fourth year senior.

You never know what the transfer portal is going to be. Carnel tape might be a three and done. Jeremiah Smith is going to be a three and done like you’re you’re kind of projecting all of these like high end players. Brandon and this is going to be a starter. You would assume next year is he going to be a three and done like you start to look at all these players and go, yeah, maybe we should just start projecting three years instead of four. So you got to keep building with these classes. And now that you have four, I think you like where you’re at. And I think you like the talent that you brought in.

Stephen Means (15:25.931)

Cardinal take is gonna be a surrender. I saw enough. I saw enough on Saturday. He didn’t even have to do. I understand Jeremiah Smith kind of stole the show on Saturday, but I saw enough that that catch and run. That was a very simple just curl and Cardinal take turned it into a 24 yard, excuse me, 34 yard touchdown. I’ve seen enough that kids not gonna be here after next season. So here’s Ohio State’s wide receiver class right now. Quincy Porter.

Andrew (15:28.559)

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Stephen Means (15:51.787)

The number 49 player number eight wide receiver in the country out of New Jersey. He’s the only top 100 recruit in this class. You got Phillip Bell, number 184 player, number 19 wide receiver out of California who we’re just talking about. And Amekabuka, that’s the name that got thrown out there. I had somebody ask me over the summer, we were just having a conversation and he asked me to say, my wishlist if Ohio States, if I was in charge of making Ohio State’s wide receiver class.

for the 2024 class and I could get anybody I wanted. If I pick them, they’re gonna say yes. I said at the time, Quincy Porter, he had just committed, because I just like that size. I like that variety that Brian Hartlis starting to build into that room. I said, Philip Bell, De ‘Corian Moore, and I said, Bodpen Miller. And I said, Bodpen because he’s more of a long -term project and it will get to why I’ll, in a second there, he’s a long -term project.

Jack, he’s an Ohio guy too, so you know he’s not going to go anywhere. How that what they’ve ended up in with is obviously Quincy Porter and Phillip Bell, who I’ve already mentioned here. Then you’ve also got Bob Pinmiller, number 515 player, number 79 wide receiver in the country, who when I say he’s a project, I mean like he’s not even playing wide receiver right now at his high school. Yeah, right. He’s not going to officially start playing wide receiver till he gets here. So that’s really a long term prospect. Jack and then Desi Jones out of New Jersey, same high school as the Sean Stewart, the safety they have committed.

Andrew (17:04.728)

Yeah, he’s playing quarterback for his high school team.

Stephen Means (17:16.714)

Number 290 player and the number 40 wide receiver in the country. That’s your list right now. This go ahead, Andrew.

Andrew (17:23.736)

I was going to say, well, the thing that impresses me and the thing that stands out to me a little bit notably, there’s some serious size coming in with Ohio State’s receivers. Quincy Porter, 6 ‘3″, 190, and these are their 247 listed heights and weights. 6 ‘3″, 190. Phillip Bell, 6 ‘2″, 195. Desi Jones, kind of the smaller prospect there. He’s six feet tall, 180 pounds. Podpenn Miller, 6 ‘4″, 180. Then you go to the 26 class. Chris Henry Jr., six foot six.

Like there’s some there’s some serious size coming in. They’re not recruiting, you know, five, 11, you know, the six foot receivers. They’re bringing in some serious guys in. And again, I’m not sure how accurate some of those things are, but I know that like Bodpen’s a really tall receiver. I’ve seen him. I’ve stood next to him. Chris Henry Jr. is really, really tall. I seen it. I stood next to him. They’re bringing in some really, really significant pieces on the outside that are big. And that just interesting to me.

Stephen Means (17:58.49)

you

Andrew (18:21.944)

Just interesting to me that I think you have some versatility with these guys where the outside receiver, you know, is typically that, he’s that, you know, six foot three, 200 pound, 215 pound guy, the inside receiver, six foot or smaller, like Ohio State’s bringing in an interesting class where I think you’ve got some size. And I think that that allows you to do a couple of different things whenever they get to campus.

Stephen Means (00:00.828)

when you’re trying to be on the fly like this.

So I’m glad you brought up Chris Henry Jr. the number one player in the 2026 recruiting class six with five to a five in terms of the size you’re talking about. That’s just variety, right? There was a point where, and I remember asking Brian Heartland about this as a way to talk about Marvin Harrison Jr. back in 2022. Hey man, you seem to have a type. He’s like, what’s my type? Well, six one six foot.

195 to 205 pounds guys who can kind of move all over the place and who I was describing at the time were Chris Olave, Garrah Wilson, Jackson Smith and Jigba, and Emeka Buka and Julian Flemming. They’re not all the same player, but their physical makeups in terms of size and weight are the same though. Obviously even there, if you look at them personally, some guys were six foot two five very differently than other guys, right? I think that’s a fair thing. And then you had Marvin who was six foot four, 205 pounds. It’s like, you have not had a guy like that.

Other than Benjamin Victor who was good, but he’s not a first round draft pick. What does that mean? Well, it means you’re gonna be a two time All -American, Belen Nikof award winner, Belen Nikof award finalist, Heisman Trophy finalist, and number four pick in the NFL draft. That’s what that means. It doesn’t mean every guy who comes in this building that’s six foot four, 205 is going to be all of those things, though Jeremiah Smith might be, and Chris Henry Jr. might be, right? But also Quincy Porter’s got that size as you’re talking about.

There’s guy like you brought in Noah Rogers in a 2022 class. He was kind of bigger like that. So it’s just variety. You’ve got the Mecca, Bucca, you’ve got the Marvin Harrison, Jr. They got the Garrett Wilson and Jackson, but Brandon, this looks very different than carnal tape. Carnotate looks very different than Jeremiah Smith. But the point I wanted to bring up with Chris Henry Jr., because when you look at this 2025 wide receiver class, it looks very similar to 2022.

Stephen Means (01:47.134)

where it’s not a bunch of guys where you’re expecting them to be on the field in year two. And that’s what happens after you’ve had back -to -back years of classes with guys expecting to be on the field in year two. In 2020, you brought in Jaxs, respect the Jigba, G Scott, Mookie Cooper, and Julian Fleming. Jaxs, respect the Jigba, ends up being a starter in year two. Julian Fleming is a rotational player in year two. And by year three, both of those guys are starters, essentially. 2021, you brought in Emeka, Buka, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Jaden Ballard. Two of those guys ended up being guys who were

clearly on a three and done trajectory. Yeah, Macabuca got hurt, which threw that off, but Marvin Harrison Jr. and Macabuca both get on the field in year two. So because of that, you probably can’t stack that again in 2022. And that’s how you end up with Kojo Antwi, who is now in his third year in the program and still kind of developing in the background. Caleb Brown and Caleb Burton and Key Angres have all moved on to new programs, but none of those guys ever made an impact at Ohio State. And I don’t think people looked at the 2022 class as a failure. It was more of a developmental class. So what do you do?

2023 carnell tate and you’ve got brandon and it’s bryson rogers and noah rogers noah rogers transferred back home to nc state He’s from north carolina, and I think his brother was playing at nc state. So it wasn’t all that a shock carnell tates a starter in year two brandon and this is a coach starter in year two and really would have been the starting slot had a Mecca hookah going pro But it’s fine. He still has a role and he looks very awesome in it so far and bryson rogers even as a guy who was maybe a more developmental guy as the guy who was maybe the closest thing to jaden ballad in terms of

Maybe not in year two, but let’s check in on year three and year four. He even pushed to get on the field on Saturday, right? And then you follow that up with Jeremiah Smith, who’s already a starter in year one and Mylon Graham, you’re expected to maybe make a push to be at least a co -starter in year two. You probably can’t follow that up with the chlorine more and Jamie French and all those guys. And so what do you get instead? You get Bob Pinamilla, get Desi Jones, you get Quincy Porter, you get Philip Bell, guys where…

Let’s check in on them and they’ll get here in 2025. Let’s check in on them in 2027, right? When there’s an open window, when Cardinal Tate may be gone, when Jeremiah Smith is entering his final year, when Brandon Ennis is entering his final year. And what are you doing 2026? You’re right back at it with Chris Henry Jr. however,

Stephen Means (04:01.042)

They’re at four. They probably need it four for the sake of room depth.

Is there a chance this group gets to five if Chris Henry Jr. decides to leave school?

Andrew (04:15.502)

Yeah, if he decides to leave school early, yes, because you’re not telling Chris Henry Jr. No, right. Like this is it’s not like he if he was an uncommitted player. Yeah, you’re still pushing for him. Yeah, you’re still going after him. But he’s also the number one player in the class of 2026. Right. Like this is not.

the number 118 player is like, actually I’m 18 and I’m a junior so I can do this. Right? Like this is not the way that this is working where it’s like, you know what? He’s uncommitted. He’s number 120, whatever player we already have these guys. We’re not going to bring in five in the same recruiting class. We’re good. No, no, no, no, no. Chris Henry Jr’s that good to where you’re pushing for him, whether he’s uncommitted, whether he’s committed to Ohio state, whether he’s committed to another program, you would still try to be flip him.

Still trying to be flipping him. You know, I know Oregon is really trying to push for Chris Henry Jr. Right now, like other schools are not leaving him alone. So this is something where, yes, it could get to five. And it’s a conversation that, you know, maybe we’ll be having soon about J ‘Kim Stewart, the five star defensive lineman in twenty twenty six, where it’s like, man, Ohio State’s already got a really loaded defensive line class for twenty twenty five, but you’re not going to look.

Watch the king sort walk through the door and tell me no. me why should he start coming to the building and tell me no. Watch Chris Henry Jr. Walk through that door one one pattern and tell me no. Tell me that you’re going to tell him no. So yes, absolutely. These kids are just that talented to where you push for that. That’s what you have to do when they’re that good.

Stephen Means (05:59.326)

J ‘Keeam Stewart, the number three player in that 26th class from the top defensive lineman in the country. I think it’s a pretty much and when and not if that two of the top three players in the 2026 class are going to be 2025 class members. By the time we get to signing a Jackson Cantwell out of Missouri, the number one tackle in the country, he seems to be the only one where I’m not sure how much Ohio State is in on him. So that’s part of why I’m not as privy to what’s going on with there. Jackson Cantwell might just be the number one player in 26th class.

because two of the other three guys in the running for that are no longer in that class. But Jaquem Stewart, I know he announced a couple of days ago, he’s got two big announcements coming. Maybe one of those is just like, hey, here’s my top five or something like that. Maybe the other one is, hey, I’m also going to be a senior this year. Which, I mean, I’ve seen him in person. He could be a senior this year, very much so. He’s very much, yeah, he’s anybody that’s 6 ‘6″, 270.

Andrew (06:46.924)

He could be a freshman in college right now. Like, he’s one of the biggest human beings I’ve ever seen.

Stephen Means (06:52.258)

Then the thing with him is it’s what’s interesting is LSU Obviously is always going to be in the mix with highly rated kids from their backyard He’s from Louisiana, but USC is also in the mix and so after USC beat LSU over the weekend He’s like retweeting all this USC stuff

Andrew (07:05.474)

I was gonna say his Twitter page is all USC right now.

Stephen Means (07:08.274)

Yeah, well, mean, that’s what, listen, I mean, clearly he was watching the game like the rest of us are, also the fact that USC is in the mix, if he’s willing to go that far away from home, he’s definitely willing to come north. And it probably helps that LeHalen Clark is from Louisiana, who’s the GA in Larry Johnson’s defensive line room. He is important. There are a few GAs on this staff this year. There’s one in Drew Hart, who’s in the defensive back room. There are a few.

Andrew (07:10.988)

Yeah. absolutely.

Stephen Means (07:35.526)

GAs and QCs on this coaching staff this year who are what Kenan Bailey was when he was a GA and QC of he is a little bit more important He is more valuable than his paycheck to Ohio State to be quite frank about it He’s just taking the necessary steps to be he’s gonna be an assistant coach somewhere one day He’ll be a position coach. He’s just taking the necessary steps But in the meantime of taking those necessary steps He’s also helping Ohio State probably go into some areas and make some waves in a way that quite frankly They weren’t making waves before Nick Saber retired

but also having a guy on your coaching staff probably helps with that as well. I think it’s interesting with Chris Henry because Chris Henry is going, if he does in fact reclassify, which I think is becoming more and more of the expectation, he just watched Jeremiah Smith as a true freshman do what he just did in his first game as an Ohio State football player. And Chris Henry is probably the only other player in the country right now that I would look at and go, you can do that on day one.

And so when Chris Henry’s in the building and it’s very clear that Ryan Day and Chip Kelly and Will Howard are trying to feed Jeremiah Smith the ball, not only does it help you win a football game, not only does it hammer home how we feel about Jeremiah in terms of how good he is, it’s a great message to send to the number one player in the 2026 class who you’re trying to show, if you come here and take care of business, you, Chris Henry, not every receiver, but you, Chris Henry, you can come do this as well.

The opportunity wasn’t there from Marvin to do this. And Marvin went on a pod, I think a couple of weeks ago, and he mentioned this from the moment he became a starter at Ohio State, he did nothing but dominate, which is very factual. His first start was the Rose Bowl and he had three touchdowns. So yeah, he did nothing but dominate. He didn’t have a chance to do what Jeremiah Smith did on Saturday as a true freshman because he had three first rounders in front of him. He had the NFL offensive rookie of the year in front of him and Gary Wilson and Chris Olave and Jackson Smith, the jig, but the room wasn’t quite set up the same way.

Jackson at the gym, but couldn’t do that in 2020 because one the year was short, but then also Garrett, Chris, Jameson Williams were in front of him when he was a true freshman. Cardinal Tate and Brandon and this couldn’t do what Jeremiah Smith was doing on Saturday. Could they have who knows? I don’t know if they could have have not, but the with Jeremiah Smith, there was a combination of opportunity and also just being that good. And could Chris Henry Jr. opportunity plus Chris just being that good.

Stephen Means (10:02.622)

be on the table for Chris Henry Jr. if he reclassifies. Who knows? But what I do know is he was in the building on Saturday and got to see what it looks like. If you come in here as a guy who might be a generational talent and take care of business, you can have six catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns in your debut as an Ohio State football player.

Andrew (10:19.276)

Yeah, it’s because it’s not just the situation of the room, right? Like, like, obviously, like, like it had, you know, Jeremiah Smith reclassed or something. And he had been here last year. Like, Jeremiah Smith might have been in their top three, not just because. Yeah, not not just because, well, Julian Fleming, like, you know, solid, but not, you know, NFL first round pick. He’s just that good. And I think that that’s part of this conversation, too, where it’s like.

Stephen Means (10:23.528)

Mm

Stephen Means (10:32.83)

He would have started over Julian Fleming. 100%.

Andrew (10:47.978)

You know, man, you can have Garrett Wilson and Chris Alave and JSN in the room, but you might also have a Marv right behind them. And if one of them is a Marv, you’re starting the better one, right? Like you’re going to start some.

Stephen Means (11:02.248)

Well, no, I mean, you had more of and you didn’t start more. That’s a that’s the point I’m making is Marvin. Marvin probably could have done as a true freshman with Jeremiah Smith. It’s just opportunity. It has to be both. It has to be the opportunity. Plus you just being that good to do so. Marvin was awesome as a true freshman. He just had Garrett Wilson in front of him. So you just wait your turn a year. And then what do you do? You get on the field immediately as a starter and do nothing but dominate. I wonder.

Andrew (11:05.544)

R – Sure.

Stephen Means (11:31.518)

If Jeremiah Smith, if he had showed up in 2021, would it have been the same pathway? I know for a fact, if Marvin Harrison Jr. had showed up today, he could have done what Jeremiah Smith did on Saturday. I am wondering if Jeremiah Smith, if he had showed up in 2021, would his situation as a true freshman look very similar to Marvin Harrison Jr.? Well, we’re hearing about it, but just because of what the room looks like, he doesn’t get the opportunity until the Rose Bowl, and then he shows out. Essentially what I’m saying is I’m taking the long way to say it.

I think if you put Jeremiah in Marvin’s shoes, he just has Marvin Harrison Jr.’ career. While if you put Marvin Harrison Jr. in Jeremiah’s shoes on Saturday, he just has the start that Jeremiah Smith has.

Andrew (12:12.332)

Yeah, I don’t hate that comparison at all. I do think though that like we’re talking about Jeremiah Smith already being one of the best receivers in the country. So it’s like, yeah, the opportunity might not be there. You might make your own opportunity if you are, if you show up as a freshman and you’re one of the best receivers in the country, you might make that own opportunity. So I understand what you’re saying about opportunity, but you can open the door might not be open, but you could take a crowbar to that door and open it up yourself.

Stephen Means (12:20.488)

For sure. But all, but, but, but, but again.

Stephen Means (12:38.162)

No, for sure. But one had a vault door and the other one had a, that’s what I’m saying. That’s what makes Chris Henry Jr. If he reclassifies interesting because he is walking into what Marvin would have potentially walked into because next year it’s going to, the starters are going to be, and the starters would have been this, this year and Mecham Buca not coming back. Jeremiah Smith would have been your ex receiver Cardinal Tate at Jersey and Brandon. And this is going to be your slot.

Andrew (12:42.03)

Yeah, yeah, 100%. Yeah.

Andrew (12:52.332)

Yeah, absolutely.

Stephen Means (13:06.174)

And those are going to be two pretty established guys who I think have first round potential. So can Chris Henry Jr. Do to your point, make his own door. Can he make room for himself in that situation where quite frankly, I don’t think people are going to be looking at Brian Hartline crazy if he doesn’t write this. Like I don’t think people were looking at Brian Hartline crazy in 2021. It’s like you’re hearing all this good stuff about Marvin Harrison Jr. But he’s not getting on the field this year.

Because of what the room looked like where a Mecca and Bucca was the only proven and there was a bunch of other guys you just had questions about it was reasonable to be like Hey, how come Jeremiah is not getting on the field if he wasn’t getting on the field? that’s what I’m saying. It’s Jeremiah Smith. Yes, it’s generational But there’s rooms had generational for a while now. They’ve almost made generational look normal So but because of his opportunity We got to see everything from day one and I’m just wondering

which path if Chris Henry Jr. does decide to reclassify, does his freshman year look like? Is it similar to Marvin in 2021 or is it similar to Jeremiah Smith in 2024? And I don’t think either way it’s going to make me look any differently at Chris Henry Jr. in terms of being more negative about where his career is going to go. just think sometimes the opportunity is not available to you the same way it is somebody else. But those are the two latest additions to Ohio State’s recruiting class. Phillip Bell.

Four star wide receiver from California, Jayvon McFadden, four star interior office, Wyman from Maryland. Plus a small conversation about Chris Henry Jr. and J ‘Kim Stewart, two guys who there’s already been some talks of maybe they’re reclassifying and do those talks get louder and louder as the high school season continues. We’re going to take a quick break and then we’re going to talk about a trip Andrew took twice this week to go see a five star quarterback about 45 minutes away from Columbus, Ohio. We’ll talk about that more when we come back from the break.

Stephen Means (15:02.75)

And we’re back here on Buckeye Talk. I’m Stephen Means, and that’s Andrew Gillis. Andrew, you did some driving this week, right? You went to a small town of Belle Fountain. Belle Fountain, I’ve been working on it guys, Belle Fountain. That’s how you say it, Belle Fountain. You went to go see Tavon Sinclair, the number six player, the number two quarterback in the country, which is just crazy. A year ago, that dude was barely a top 300 recruit, and now he’s a number six player, number two quarterback in the country. As he’s risen up in terms of

His stature in the 2025 recruiting class. So has his profile within his hometown. And I know you and Landon are our correspondent. We have been out there multiple times this week, talking with guys around Tavian, talking with Tavian. I just want you and you’re working on a story about just Tavian and this guy who was essentially a superstar that his town is not used to having. Walk us through what you learned about Tavian this week and just what.

The point of why we spent two of the last five days last week out there hanging out in Tavion’s world before you watch the house they play on Saturday, which he also did as a visitor.

Andrew (16:12.6)

What did I learn about Tavian? Well, I think I learned, you I talked with a couple of people out there, you know, just, I said, you know, you kind of think this train’s going a hundred miles an hour. And this person cut me off and went, no, it’s going a thousand miles an hour. I think the level of superstardom in Bellfountain is pretty significant with Tavian. I think that that’s a fair thing to say.

Maybe this is the story headline, the Beatles of Bell Fountain, because like everywhere he goes, people want to see him when they play. I believe they played Sydney in week one players for the other team. Like if you remember that story about the dream team back in like the 90s where they would beat the snot out of other teams, players for the other team were walking up to like Michael Jordan, everybody taking pictures with them and like asking for them to sign their jerseys.

Players for the other team walked up to Tavian and asked for a picture with him. And after the game on Friday, a game that he didn’t play that well, frankly, and the offense really didn’t play that well, frankly, there were fans from the other team, like high schoolers or middle schoolers or elementary schoolers that like walked up to him and would like, hey, best of luck at Ohio State. Like we’ll be rooting for you number nine. And they like gave him a high five and then like ran away. Like it is a, it is a story that is encompassing more than just Belfont too.

Because it’s not just Bellfountain that’s involved in this story. Like, yes, it is a really cool story that you have a kid who’s, know, from 50 minutes away from Ohio State’s campus, who’s a five star quarterback. It’s also the surrounding communities from Bellfountain. Like, you know, there were, there are people there that are not from Bellfountain, like that traveled to their games that just want to see him play. They’re not even Ohio State fans. They just want to see him play. There are Ohio State fans that I spoke with.

who traveled solely there to see Tavian play. It’s a really unique kind of story because, know, there’s a lot that is good about it, you know, where it’s like, hey, look, this is a really cool story. Like this school hasn’t had a division one football player in decades. And not only do they have one now, Tavian is one of the best high school football players in the country. And I don’t mean at quarterback. He’s just one of the best high school football players in the country.

Andrew (18:34.882)

But more than that, it’s the town and it’s Tabian, but there’s also the level of, he has to have a security guard now because of how crazy things have gotten just in terms of the way that he’s approached. And they’re not overreacting to that. He’s treated like a college quarterback in high school. I think that that’s probably the most succinct way to say it. He’s got somebody to say, hey guys, a couple more questions and.

Stephen, we’re in the press conference for Will Howard on Saturday and Jerry Emig, the SID is going, hey guys, two more for Will and you know, then we’ll get him out of here. And that’s kind of what’s happening with Tavian and he’s a senior in high school. And it’s, it’s a really cool, unique story just because, you know, there’s a lot of good, but there’s a lot of craziness that comes with being this level of player. And I think the thing you learn is, is how well he’s handled it. I don’t think any of this has fazed him. And frankly,

I think this is really going to help him when he gets to Ohio State kind of dealing with this craziness because it’s not just, hey, he’s, dealing with a lot of fans. Like he’s dealing with media. He’s dealing with fans. He’s dealing with people from other cities. He’s dealing with everything. And I think when he gets to Ohio State, yeah, he doesn’t have like the, you know, the IMG Academy background or, the background of a school that has four thousand kids in it where there’s just a level of craziness everywhere.

I think he’s going to have a pretty good understanding of it when he gets to Columbus.

Stephen Means (20:08.008)

So that leads me to my next question. How is he handling all that? Because Ohio State football’s quarterback is famous. Historically, they’re famous. Whether it’s Troy Smith, Terrell Pryor, Braxton Miller, Cardell Jones, JT Barrett, Kenny Guyton. He was a backup quarterback and people loved him, right? Justin Fields, Dwayne Haskins, C .J. Stroud, Kyle McCord, and now Will Howard. Will Howard’s getting his first taste of that. And it’s interesting watching him adjust to a different level of attention. But.

You can also see, Wilhars also 22, 23 years old. So he’s an adult dealing with that. CJ Stroud walked into it at 19 years old. Justin Fields walked into it at 19 years old. Braxton Miller was 18 when he walked into it. McCord was 20, 21 years old when they walked into it. And it’s interesting to see how they all handle it, right? CJ has always been a very, tell it how it is person. And sometimes that was to his benefit and sometimes it was to his detriment in terms of this space, right?

Kyle McCord may be a little bit more stoic, right? A little bit more professional quarterback. You could tell he grew up around a quarterback father and whatnot. And so people would question how much he cared, right? So was almost the opposite. One guy you thought he cared too much and the other guy you don’t think cared at all. But that’s just how this goes. It’ll be interesting to see how people maybe react to Will Howard when things go through their own roller coasters, right? Because Will Howard looked good on Saturday, but he’s gonna have a bad game. It happens, right? It’s football. You’re not gonna play.

Andrew (21:27.746)

They will, yeah.

Stephen Means (21:33.15)

Elite for 16 straight games. You have a bad game. It’s going to be one day. Interesting to see how he handles it. But so far he does seem to be a little bit more of an open book. But again, he’s 23 and he’s not new to this situation. It’s just more height now. Tavian to your point, Andrew is from Ohio. And so in that in itself already brings attention because he’s an Ohio state level football player from the state of Ohio. He’s a quarterback which comes with his own level of attention. He is a highly rated quarterback from Ohio.

So that comes with another layer of attention. He’s a highly rated quarterback from Ohio in a small town that’s not used to producing players of this magnitude. So a year ago he was under the radar and now he’s not. Now everybody wants, he’s the talk of the town. It’s him and a kid from Michigan. He is the radar. He is now the eye test. How does he seem to be handling that? Because it does seem to be a good sneak preview for how he’ll handle it.

Andrew (22:19.692)

He is V -Radar. Yeah.

Stephen Means (22:32.026)

if he were to ever win the starting job at Ohio State.

Andrew (22:35.758)

actually really well, think maybe even better than you might expect in a situation like this. You know, just in in speaking with people, I just the level of kind of fame that he’s had is pretty unprecedented, obviously, as you stated, like after their first game, you know, dozens and dozens of people were trying to interview him and take pictures with him and, you know, autographs and stuff like that. And everybody has said the same thing and

There are certain times as a journalist when you’re writing a story or you’re reporting a story or something, people will tell you a line and you kind of think it might just be lip service. And I don’t think it’s lip service because I’ve heard a similar refrain from people from last year when I went out for the first time to see him play in September to now. I’ve heard it from people that deal with him on the football side. People would deal with him on the school side. People deal with him on any aspect.

The same refrain as I’ve heard.

he’s the same kid. Like he’s just the same kid who just so happens to like have more Ohio state gear now. That’s kind of what what the the phrasing is that I have gotten and and I think he’s handled it really well. And, you know, I mean, it’s hard when you’re when you’re that level of prospect and you’ve got, you know, fans kind of pawn at you and you’ve got, you know, just other the other teams chanting overrated whenever you throw an incomplete pass.

Which, by the way, on Friday night, he threw they were backed up at their own end. He threw an incomplete pass and then he took a sack and the other teams chant and overrated. And then he threw a 91 yard touchdown pass, which I thought was pretty funny. Like there’s there’s a lot of pressure that comes with this. And I think he’s handling it pretty well being under the microscope just in terms of, you know, how how he approaches things. mean, he’s never rude to people like the fans that come up to him, like especially like the kids as what somebody pointed out to me is like whenever there’s a kid that comes up to him, he will always make time for them.

Andrew (24:34.36)

Like he will always talk to them and always kind of reach out to them. You know, he’s great with them. The media, he’s always been really friendly. You know, I mean, I, you know, I know that he’s treated like a college quarterback now, but he’s always been really great to us. And it’s like, you’re at a point now where this is just what his life is going to be like as a college player. He’s just doing it at Belmont high school. And when he walks off the field, fans are going to be screaming his name.

And fans are going to be asking him for autographs and fans are going to be asking to take a picture with him. fans are going to be asking him to stop for just one second because they want to say hi. And media is going to be trying to talk to him. And, you know, there’s going to be pressure and there’s going to be people booing him. Sometimes there’s going to be people cheering him sometimes. And yeah, it’s going to be like. Expanded when you get to Ohio State, you’re under the national microscope at that point when you’re at Ohio State, but he’s doing this at a local level and.

I think it’s really preparing him. I genuinely believe this, that when he gets to college, he can look at this and go, well, that was just a dry run for what I’ve had and what I’m going to experience at Ohio State. He’s the last thing I’ll say. I’m kind of drawn back to what Josh Fryer said a week and a half or so ago at his media availability, where he was getting asked about the criticism the offensive line took and the motivation and things like that and this and that and the other. And he said, somebody asked him,

How would you describe being an Ohio State football player? And Josh said, when it’s good, it’s really good. And when it’s bad, it’s really bad. And I think that that is probably a good exemplification of maybe what can happen. And I think Tabian’s kind of running a little bit of a speed run of that right now at the high school level.

Stephen Means (26:24.574)

So let’s close with this because we have to talk about this game because you’ve seen him play football now. think seeing him throw at a camp in the middle of June and you’re throwing on air is very different than a seven on seven tournament. And that’s even much different than real football, which Ryan Day will even tell you seven on seven is not real football. He’s listed at six foot four, 225 pounds and he’s 18 years old or 17, depending on what his birthday is. It’ll be 18 years old when you get there. Is where? yeah. OK, well, there you go. Happy, happy belated birthday, David.

Andrew (26:47.342)

He’s 18. He’s 18 already. He’s 18 right now.

Yeah

Stephen Means (26:55.742)

6 ‘4″, 225 and he’s 18 years old. Will Howard is 6 ‘4″, 235 and he’s 23 years old, depending on when his birthday is. And if it’s already passed, happy belated to you too, Will Howard. And if it hasn’t, well, happy early birthday to you, Will Howard.

Similar sizes and when you watch tabian on film maybe a similar playing style right can Has a bit of an arm on him can run but he’s not a running quarterback, but he can use his legs a little bit as We watched will howard in that sample size on Saturday And of course we can maybe watch we’ll get 11 more opportunities and maybe 15 depending on how the season goes We just got done talking about hey Chris Henry

You look at number four out there on offense that can be you one day. I am wondering if there are elements to how we saw how state using Will Howard on Saturday. If that is the Tavion Sinclair offense, if he’s ever the starter, let’s just imagine whether he wins the job as a true freshman in 2025 or he spends two years sitting behind Julian Sand. Whenever he gets on the field, if he goes on to win this job, is Will Howard already showing us what Tavion, what the offensive looks like?

with Tavi and Sinclair at the controls.

Andrew (28:12.332)

No, because I think Tavian is going to be able to move a little bit like Will. I think that that’s going to be part of the game. I said on the podcast that I think they need to move Will more. I think they need to move him outside the pocket more. I’m not saying you need to run him against Akron and Marshall and everybody, but I think you need to move him around the pocket more. And I think that that’s going to be part of Tavian’s game. Yes. I think Tavian projects is a better passer. And that’s why I think that I say no, because Will, we…

I think solid is probably the best way to put that, but I don’t think when you talk about Will Howard, you just go, whoa, what a laser show, right? Or, man, I’ve never seen a quarterback this accurate. And I don’t mean to disparage Will Howard because I think he’s a pretty solid quarterback. But I think Tavian, like I think the upside there is, yeah, OK, this guy has the arm talent to be an elite level quarterback. He has that.

that arm talent that you see from first round quarterbacks. And we just don’t know if Will Howard is there yet. Now, Will Howard, can he get there? Maybe. Yeah, like he’s got the size. He’s got the running ability. I think we saw some really nice accuracy on on Saturday. Is the team going to take a shot on that? We’re going to have to find out where that’s the question we’re going to see throughout the course of the year. But with Tavian, the size is there, right? Like, I mean, you said it, he looks different physically.

I made the joke like somebody when I was standing on the sideline with them, when I showed up last September, he looks way different than he did when I saw him in February. And he looks way different now than when I saw him in February. So he just looks like a different human being. And he’s really kind of evolved his game to a different level. So, yeah, I think the the high level throwing ability is different. And I think that that’s why I say no, because I think you’re going to be able to do more things with Tavi and St. Clair.

than you are with Will Howard. And again, that’s not a knock on Will Howard. That’s just, think Tavian Sinclair might be like a really, really high level first round pick one day. Like that’s in his range of outcomes as a prospect and as a player. And he has accuracy, he has arm strength, he’s got mobility, and he’s just, the ceiling is higher. And that’s, I mean, that’s where you have to go with it because I think he might be able to stretch the ball downfield.

Andrew (30:32.686)

more than more than willed it. That was where that 91 yard touchdown came kind of rolled around the pocket a little bit. And then he just threw it on the move through a dot down the sideline. It was just right, right on the money to his receiver who went like 40 yards or whatever it was left for the touchdown. That’s I mean, he’s got all the skills, the mechanics are great. And the high level ceiling is very, different with Tavian St. Clair than it is with Kyle McCord or Devin Brown.

Stephen Means (31:07.006)

So how states got three of the top 10 players in the country? Devin Sanchez, number five player top cornerback, Tavon Sinclair, who were, as we mentioned, number six player top, number two quarterback. And then Naeem Hofford, number nine player, number three cornerback in the country. The number one class in the country. It’s, it’s, Tavon is going to be fat and a fascinating prospect to watch because he does have all the tools and it’s how quickly can he put them to good use on Ohio State footballs from four Ohio State football, but also in 2025.

there’s a chance that there’s a five -star quarterback who was also considered the best quarterback in his recruiting class might be taking over the range. so with Tavion, I think it’s a conversation of, a conversation of, excuse me, interesting prospect. How quickly does the light come on? But then how quickly is there an opportunity for us to see it? And maybe we don’t see that until year three, or maybe we see it in year two, but it’s going to be interesting because it’s Ross is going to have some turnover. Last thing that’s before we close out here, two questions, one positive, one negative in terms of tone.

Andrew (32:05.564)

boy.

Stephen Means (32:06.11)

First one, who should fans be on the lookout for as a potential next addition to Ohio State’s 2025 class? Or if you wanna go 2026, you can go there too.

Andrew (32:15.022)

I’m going to go 2026. I look at Albert Hill, the corner from Northeast Ohio. He goes to Hoban. He’s a five -star corner. He was number 16 over the weekend. I don’t know if that has changed yet, but he’s a five -star corner, the number one corner in the class, the number one player in the state of Ohio. What have we talked about that is so impressive with Tim Walt?

how he can go down to Texas and all these other places in the country and grab five star players and grab high level corners. I think Albert Hill, who was on campus this past weekend, I think Albert Hill is a really, really high level player. And I think we might be in line for a commitment this fall. I am curious to hear about that. I want to keep my eye open on that. I think Albert Hill, think we’re keeping an eye out for that one because again, this is an Ohio kid.

He’s a five star. Ohio State’s really been pushing for him. mean, truthfully, you’re talking about a kid where it’s like, all right, well, you have a five star kid from the state of Ohio. Who do you feel safer with, Tim Walton or Brian Hartline? You feel really it’s a question where you’re like, I don’t know, but you’re feeling really good about it either way. So I think Albert Hill, again, he’s got really, really good size. He’s got good length. I think that Albert is going to be the next addition to the class.

We’ll see when that comes, but I’m going to stamp it right now. And I’m to say over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to get one from, from Archbishop Hoban. And that’s going to make that game. play Hoban plays Ignatius, I believe in like a couple of weeks and I’ll be there for that game. And that’s going to be loaded with Ohio state prospects.

Stephen Means (33:56.382)

18 player top player in Ohio now that Chris Henry is gone and the number one cornerback in the country. I just think the 2026 class the top wide receiver in the top cornerback or technically from Ohio. That’s not the Ohio man. There’s talent in Ohio. Okay, so that’s the most likely next commitment. 26 commits in a 2025 recruiting class and obviously they’re from all over the country. Anybody that you should be worried about even if it doesn’t actually happen just someone to keep an eye on.

Andrew (33:58.286)

18.

Stephen Means (34:26.108)

heading into the fall of OK, some teams are starting to poke around there. Can Ohio State hold on to this guy through signing?

Andrew (34:34.008)

There’s a couple people that I think are, you know, teams are starting to poke around on, but the most notable one is Nahim Offord. You know, I haven’t heard anything. I checked in on this. I haven’t heard anything, you know, negative necessarily right now about this, but we’ll see with what happens with Nahim Offord. know, Oregon’s pushing really hard. He’s going to be at that Oregon, Ohio State game. So that tells me nothing’s imminent.

right? Like if you know, if there was a flip coming, I don’t think you’re going to schedule a visit to a school, you know, a month out and then flip schools and they go like I would anticipate this might go to signing day when the heme offered the five star corner out of Birmingham, Alabama. But Oregon’s been pushing really hard. They’re going to host them on a visit. I know Auburn has been pushing really hard. Sounds like Alabama has tried to get back into that mix. I don’t know if Alabama is going to get into that mix.

It just kind of sounds like Alabama is just kind of out of it right now. But we’ll see how these next couple of weeks play out. But yeah, those are the two with Nihim Offord. It’s Auburn and it’s Alabama to keep an eye on. So we’ll see. We’ll see how these next couple of weeks go with him. I keep an eye on Zaheer Mathis. We’ll see. He hasn’t been on campus in a couple of months. mean, just whatever kid doesn’t take a visit to campus, that’s notable to me.

Just keep an eye out on him. I’m curious to see kind of how that situation plays out. So those would be the two that I would tell Ohio State fans to keep an eye on more specifically offered. I think there’s a little bit more noise with offered right now. I think when you look at maybe the national perspective, think somebody on some recruiting site, I think put in a crystal ball for him to flip. I don’t know. However, you want to value those things right now. But there is smoke behind this, right? I think that there is.

enough to where you could say these programs are pushing and it’s not a, this is nothing, or it’s not a, how cute they’re, making a run at Ohio State’s five star. You know, this is, this is, this is a very real possibility that I think Oregon or Auburn flips. I don’t want to say that it’s just one school. So yeah, I’m keeping an eye on offered over these next couple of weeks and couple of months, frankly, I think this might extend into December. So we’ll just see how this plays out.

Andrew (37:00.108)

And I think the interesting thing about this too, Ohio State has two corners committed. They’ve got Devin Sanchez, the five star out of Texas, and they’ve got Naheem Offord. Now I know they recruit their defensive backs versatile. Everyone I spoke to at corner, Fahim Delane told me, they view me as a safety or a nickel corner. Or the St. Francis kid who I just spoke with, whose name is escaping me right now, I just spoke with him. safety nickel corner. Deshaun Stewart.

the safety in this class safety nickel corner that they like versatility on the back end so it’s not necessarily you know a horrible thing but. You have to have Sanchez who has shut down his commitment you’re good there they get him offered and that’s it so he offered you lose him I understand you got a great player in Devon Sanchez you might only have one corner in a couple of weeks or a couple of months and that’s just notable and I’m curious to see how that plays out.

Stephen Means (37:55.678)

I’m gonna tell you right now, there are some people inside that building. As long as they get Devin Sanchez, they’ll figure the rest out. That’s not me just saying that flippantly. That was said to me. As long as Sanchez signs with Ohio State in December, they will figure it all out. And that’s not devaluing the Heme offer. It’s not devaluing maybe flipping the.

Andrew (38:05.358)

What’s that line? We do not care.

Andrew (38:19.16)

Yeah, it’s.

Stephen Means (38:24.434)

Dorian Brew close to signing day. That’s not devaluing anybody else. It’s just telling you what they think of Devin Sanchez that he might be what Jeremiah Smith is in the wide receiver room, especially if he’s going to be walking into a situation where all three of your starting cornerbacks are going to be gone. So there’s a chance he could win the job next year. But anyway, OK, we don’t have to turn this to a Devin Sanchez conversation because I want to do that later on. I think he deserves his own pot because I think he’s that.

Keeping an eye on to hear math is keeping an eye on the heme offer, keeping a high on Elbert Hill as guys who could be in or out of the class. I think that the heme offer one is going to end up turning into the. You just it’s just going to be what it is. It’s just going to cause migraines and headaches between now and signing day. He just seems like the guy that it has circled around of the Ohio State guy. You got to keep an eye on and it might end up being nothing. And one day in the spring or in the fall or wherever, whenever we can talk to him, he could do what Jeremiah Smith said and go. I was never flipping. I don’t know where that came from, but it just does seem like.

It’s the one where you gotta keep fighting even though you don’t know if you’re actually fighting to lose him or not. You know, if that makes any level of sense.

Andrew (39:28.96)

He is the most modern day recruiting story that I think Ohio State has right now.

Stephen Means (39:32.508)

That was a better way of putting it, the way I put it. Where you going this week, Andrew? I know you were out at Taven, St. Clair, and Belle Fountain last week. Where you headed this Friday?

Andrew (39:40.27)

We don’t know yet. That’s the exciting part. I’m working it out. I’m mapping out the schedule. I had a few to be determines on the schedule. I want to see how the first few weeks played out. Stay tuned to Buckeye Talk. I guess that’s a good plug for our subtext service. 614 -350 -3315. I will text everybody where I’m headed. I will text quotes. I will text comments. I will text thoughts. Whatever I can send, will. That’s exactly what I’m to do after I figure out this podcast, actually, with Stephen. I’m going to figure out what game I should be attending.

You know, there’s a list of games that I mapped out a couple of weeks ago. There’s a couple trips that I’m thinking about taking that we’re going to see if we can fit it into the schedule. I look, man, it’s a busy time of year. So, you know, you got games to cover, you know, only got a limited number of days where you can make a trip like this happen. So we’ll we’ll see what what is coming down the line for us here. But yeah, I will I will let the subtextures know where I am headed on Friday.

Stephen Means (40:36.99)

614353315 two weeks free trial 399 after that. will wrap up a recruiting pod as you’re listening to this pod. We’re back inside the Woody talking with Ryan Day, talking with Chip Kelly, talking with Will Howard. The plan this year is we’re getting day every Tuesday at noon. We’re gonna get Howard on Tuesdays at noon as well after day. And it seems like we’re gonna be alternating coordinators. We got Jim Knowles last week, we’ll get Chip Kelly this weekend. And obviously on Wednesday evening, we’ll get a batch of players.

before Ohio State plays Western Michigan on Saturday. Stephane will rejoin us on that pod as well. 6 -0 -4 -3 -5 -0 -3 -3 -1 -5 -2 -week free trial, 399 after that. That will wrap up this recruiting pod. Ohio State, the number one class in the country, 26 commits. That includes three of the top 10 players in the country and four five -star recruits, you include Riley Pettijohn, the five -star linebacker out of Texas, into that mix. He was in town as well over the weekend. But that will wrap up this part for Andrew Gillis. I’m Stephen Means. That.

was buckled up.