Michelin star from behind bars?

Inmates at an Ohio prison with a penchant for cooking whipped up a five-course meal over the weekend and served it to members of the public in a first for the state.

Almost 60 people dined in the Grafton Correctional Institution’s garden space, where the very fruits and vegetables they were munching on for the groundbreaking meal were grown by prisoners.

The unique experience was made possible thanks to the prison’s EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute, which offers six-month culinary courses to incarcerated people at 652 prisons and jails around the country, setting them up with the skills and certifications needed to work in a fine dining establishment.

Founder Chef Brandon Crostowski said the program was born out of the belief that “every human being, regardless of their past, has the right to a fair and equal future” — an ideal that was felt by all for the momentous meal.

“They’re not looking at me as a number. They’re looking at me as a person,” Greg Sigelmier, 40, an inmate at GCI, told the Associated Press.

A long rectangular table adorned with a white linen cloth, bouquets of flowers and fresh bread was placed between the two gardens, dubbed the “EDWINS’ Garden” and the “Hope City Garden.”

Guests from the local community were offered a beet salad with goat cheese and greens to start, followed by a kale “purse” with farmer cheese.

Next, they were treated to roasted salmon topped with a béarnaise sauce and braised garden greens. Roasted lamb with tomato provencal followed.

Dessert included a corn cake with blueberry compote and Chantilly cream.

Each course was paired with a mocktail, one of them named the “botinique” — soda with a thyme-infused honey syrup and lemon.

Almost all the bites were grown in the prison garden.

“Working together as the community that we are and at the end getting to eat the food, it’s the best part. You should see the faces on these guys when they’re eating just the regular chicken noodle soup that we just all worked together. It’s incredible,” 28-year-old Efrain Paniagua-Villa said.

Cooking was not foreign to Paniagua-Villa — he routinely made meals with his mom and sister before his incarceration — but the task has served as a fruitful pastime.

He said cooking with EDWINS has helped fill the gap that was left when he began his stint in prison 2 1/2 years ago.

The incarcerated men in the EDWINS culinary program at GCI are serving a variety of sentences from short to life and range in age from 20 to 70, according to the organization.

Some of the men will have the opportunity to graduate from the program and apply to work at many restaurants in the Cleveland area upon their release.

“Many of our guys that live here are going home, so they’re going home to be our neighbors. We want our neighbors to be prepared to be law-abiding citizens, and that’s what this program is about. It’s not just about teaching guys how to cook or how to prepare food,” said GCI warden Jerry Spatny. “

This gives them reentry level skills so that when they go home, they can be successful in that environment.”

Ohio State coach Ryan Day brought some clarity Tuesday to what the depth chart might look like when the Buckeyes take the field on Saturday afternoon.

He announced that Tegra Tshabola will start at right guard, although the Buckeyes will roll players along the line in the season opener against Akron. Day also said that Sonny Styles will start at will linebacker, beating out C.J. Hicks, but Ohio State expects Hicks to play major snaps this season.

And there’s also a piece of expected news that nevertheless is worth emphasizing: Breakout offseason star Jeremiah Smith, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2024, is slated to start right away at wide receiver.

Here’s our prediction of what the depth chart will look like in Week 1:

Quarterback

Starter: Will Howard
Backup: Devin Brown

Howard was named the starter on Aug. 16, but Day noted on Tuesday that Brown will get the backup reps against Akron. Brown apparently beat out freshman Julian Sayin and redshirt freshman Lincoln Kienholz to be second-team QB. Saturday’s game will be Howard’s to win, though, and Brown is expected to get some snaps.

Running back

Starter: TreVeyon Henderson
Backup: Quinshon Judkins

Day said that position coach Carlos Locklyn hasn’t decided which running back will start, but both Henderson and Judkins will play. In reality, it doesn’t matter who takes the first snap, because both will play a lot. Day said they haven’t figured out what that snap count will look like, but there is a minimum number they want to get for both running backs. That carry number could look different week to week, but we should get a first look at how they play together Saturday.

Wide receiver

Starter: Emeka Egbuka, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate
Backup: Brandon Inniss, Bryson Rodgers and Jayden Ballard

Day has tried to keep the Jeremiah Smith hype down all summer, but it’s been hard to watch the former top-ranked recruit and not see how good he is. On Tuesday, Day finally went on record and said that Smith will start on Saturday, alongside Egbuka and Tate. The Smith hype could explode with a big day against the Zips.

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Tight end

Starter: Will Kacmarek
Backup: Gee Scott Jr.

Day didn’t touch on tight ends on Tuesday, but it appears Kacmarek and Scott will be the top two. I’m leaning toward Kacmarek as the starter, because of his blocking prowess, but also his additional growth as a route runner. Scott will play often, as well. The biggest question going into Week 1 is whether Jelani Thurman will get key game reps, or see more time in a backup position.

Offensive line

Starters: Left tackle Josh Simmons, left guard Donovan Jackson, center Seth McLaughlin, right guard Tegra Tshaboloa and right tackle Josh Fryar.
Backup: Left tackle George Fitzpatrick, left guard Austin Siereveld, center Carson Hinzman, right guard Luke Montgomery and right tackle Zen Michalski

The offensive line seems to be in a better position than it was before preseason camp, and Day credited that to the sickness that hit the position group. That forced Ohio State to go deeper into the lineup, and it resulted in more confidence. Tshabola was the right choice at right guard, as his athleticism should work well with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s run game.

Defensive ends

Starter: JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer
Backup: Kenyatta Jackson Jr., and Caden Curry

Tuimoloau, Sawyer, Jackson and Curry have been the top four defensive linemen since last season. Mitchell Melton is a player to watch, because he’s the fifth guy on the list, but how many snaps he gets will be the question.

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Defensive tackles

Starter: Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton
Backup: Hero Kanu and Kayden McDonald

McDonald had a great offseason and really solidified himself as the second-team 3-tech defensive tackle. Jason Moore and Tywone Malone Jr. are two other players who could crack the rotation with a strong first month of the season.

Mike linebacker

Starter: Cody Simon
Backup: Arvell Reese

Reese made one of the biggest jumps of anybody during camp. The staff has raved about him, and I expect we’ll see more of him this season than we expected coming into camp. Gabe Powers will still get reps, but it appears Reese is in a good position to back up Simon.

Will linebacker

Starter: Sonny Styles
Backup: C.J. Hicks

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles made sure to specify that he considers both Styles and Hicks as starters. But the most interesting thing Knowles said is that there may be times Styles moves to mike and Hicks plays will, to give Simon a rest. Ohio State has that much faith in Styles.

Cornerbacks

Starter: Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock and Davison Igbinosun
Backup: Jermaine Mathews Jr., Aaron Scott Jr. and Calvin Simpson-Hunt

I expect Lorenzo Styles Jr. to get playing time with the second team in some capacity, but he was hurt during the camp portions the media got to see.

Safety

Starter: Lathan Ransom and Caleb Downs
Backup: Malik Hartford and Jaylen McClain

This could be the best safety duo in the country — Ransom and Downs don’t leave the field as long as the starters are out there. Hartford and McClain, also with Jayden Bonsu, are the leaders for the second-team reps.

Special teams

Starters: punter Nick McLarty and kicker Jayden Fielding

Last week, Day announced that McLarty, the 6-foot-7 newcomer from Australia, will start at punter. Fielding should take kicks, again, after making 16 of 20 field goal attempts last season.

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(Photo of Jeremiah Smith: Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch / USA Today)

Ohio State is a massive favorite ahead of its 2024 season opener.

The No. 2 Buckeyes are 50.5-point favorites against Akron. Saturday’s game will be first time since a 2019 road game against Rutgers that Ohio State is favored by more than 50 points.

Ohio State will kick off against the Zips at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Ohio Stadium.

Here’s the latest betting information for Ohio State vs. Akron Saturday.

What is the Ohio State vs. Akron spread?

Here’s the Ohio State vs. Akron spread according to some of the major sportsbooks:

• DraftKings: -50.5
• FanDuel: -50.5
• BetMGM: -50.5

What is the Ohio State vs. Akron over/under?

Here’s the Ohio State vs. Akron over/under according to some of the major sportsbooks:

• DraftKings: 58.5
• FanDuel: 58.5
• BetMGM: 58.5

Ohio State against the spread: Do the Buckeyes cover?

Ohio State covered seven of 13 games during the 2023 season including in its losses to Michigan and Missouri

Akron against the spread: Do the Zips cover?

Per Covers.com, Akron covered four of its 12 games in 2023. Each of those were losses: Ohio, Central Michigan, Indiana and Temple.

When is Ohio State vs. Akron?

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m., Aug. 31; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

What channel is the Ohio State-Akron game on?

Ohio State will kick off at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS.

Is OSU vs. Akron streaming?

The Buckeyes’ matchup against Indiana will be available on any platform that offers CBS such as YouTubeTV, Hulu Live and Fubo TV, which offers a free trial.

Paramount Plus will also stream any college football game televised on CBS.

Ohio State football schedule 2024

• Aug. 31: Ohio State vs. Akron; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
• Sept. 7: Ohio State vs. Western Michigan; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
• Sept. 21: Ohio State vs. Marshall; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
• Sept. 28: Ohio State at Michigan State; Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan
• Oct. 5: Ohio State vs. Iowa; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
• Oct. 12: Ohio State at Oregon; Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon
• Oct. 26: Ohio State vs. Nebraska; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
• Nov. 2: Ohio State at Penn State; Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
• Nov. 9: Ohio State vs. Purdue; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
• Nov. 16: Ohio State at Northwestern; Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
• Nov. 23: Ohio State vs. Indiana; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
• Nov. 30: Ohio State vs. Michigan; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

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