Ohio
Who should be College GameDay’s guest picker for Ohio State vs. Indiana football? Here are options
COLUMBUS — ESPN is sending College GameDay to Columbus for Saturday’s battle between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Indiana.
Making the trip to a matchup between two of the best teams in the college football was likely an easy decision for College GameDay.
Now, a tougher choice awaits. Who will be the celebrity guest picker?
ESPN has a variety of routes it can take.
It could pursue a former Ohio State player now in the NFL.
Justin Fields, a backup quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers whose team plays on Thursday in Cleveland, is an option. Wide receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, who are both on a bye, could also be available.
ESPN could pursue a non-athlete with connections to OSU.
That brings Columbus natives such as Olympic gymnast Simone Biles or restaurateur Guy Fieri into the conversation.
We asked Subtext subscribers on the cleveland.com Ohio State channel who they’d like to see as the guest picker. Here are some options they presented.
Former Ohio State football players
Justin Fields
Fields spent two seasons (2019-2020) as Ohio State’s starting quarterback. He went 20-2 with 5,373 passing yards.
Jim Tressel
Tressel spent 10 seasons as Ohio State’s coach, highlighted by the 2002 campaign in which he led the Buckeyes to a national championship.
A.J. Hawk
Hawk is a former Ohio State linebacker (2002-2005). He has a connection to ESPN as a co-host on the Pat McAfee Show. McAfee is among the panelists on College GameDay.
Garrett Wilson and/or Chris Olave
Wilson played for the Buckeyes (2019-2021) before he was taken by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The Jets are off this week.
The Saints, Olave’s team, are also off — giving ESPN and option to bring both on the show. In a 2020 win against Indiana, Olave and Wilson combined for 270 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave played together at Ohio State before pursuing the NFL.AP
Archie Griffin
The Buckeyes celebrated the 50th anniversary of Griffin’s first Heisman by unveiling a statue outside of Ohio Stadium in August. He’s the only two-time Heisman winner.
Cris Carter
OSU receiver Jeremiah Smith has spent all season breaking Carter’s freshman receiving records. The former Buckeye also spent time working at ESPN on Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown.
Cam Heyward
Like Fields, Heyward is a former Buckeye now with the Steelers. Pittsburgh plays at Cleveland on Thursday, giving Heyward an uncommon Saturday off in November.
Orlando Pace
Pace was a two-time unanimous All-American during his time at Ohio State (1994-1996). The former offensive tackle was a Heisman finalist in 1996.
Braxton Miller
Miller, a former Ohio State quarterback (2011-2015), was twice named the Big Ten’s most valuable player.
Cardale Jones
Jones was the third-string quarterback for Ohio State entering the 2014 season with Miller as the starter. However, injuries to Miller and J.T. Barrett forced Jones into the starting role. He helped lead the Buckeyes to a national title.
Cardale Jones helped lead Ohio State football to a national title in 2014.AP
Craig Krenzel
Krenzel was the starting quarterback for Ohio State’s 2002 national championship team.
Maurice Clarett
Clarett was also part of the Ohio State team in 2002, delivering one of the best freshman seasons in program history. The running back has been a fixture around the Buckeyes this season.
Celebrities with connections to Ohio or Ohio State
JD Vance
Vance was elected earlier this month to serve as the next Vice President alongside Donald Trump. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State.
Simone Biles
Biles has collected seven Olympic gold medals in her decorated career. Her football fandom is evident too as she’s married to Bears safety Jonathan Owens.
Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles was born in Columbus, Ohio.cleveland.com
Guy Fieri
Fieri is a famous restaurateur known for his shows on Food Network. He was born in Columbus in 1968.
Jason Day
Day, a professional golfer, won the PGA Championship in 2015. He was born in Australia but lives in Westerville, Ohio.
Bryce Harper
Harper, a star for the Philadelphia Phillies, is from Nevada and didn’t attend Ohio State. However, his wife played soccer for the Buckeyes.
J.K. Simmons
Simmons spent much of his childhood living in Worthington, Ohio. The actor is known for his role in various films, including, “Whiplash” which earned him an Oscar in 2014.—
R.L. Stine
Stines is the writer of the novel series, “Goosebumps.” He was born in Columbus and attended Ohio State.
Greg Oden
Oden is a native of Indiana who attended Ohio State before becoming the top pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.
Greg Oden played basketball at Ohio State for one season before becoming the top pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.ASSOCIATED PRESS
Buster Douglas
Douglas is a decorated former heavyweight boxer. He was born in Columbus.
Matt Rife
Rife is a comedian and actor who was born in North Lewisburg, Ohio.
Graham Rahal and/or Bobby Rahal
The Rahal name is famous around racing. Graham Rahal was born in Columbus and is an Ohio State fan. His father, Bobby Rahal, is a former Indy 500 champion (1986) who was born in Medina, Ohio.
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots, which features Columbus natives Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, once stopped a concert in 2021 to watch an Ohio State game.
John Legend
Legend, a singer and songwriter, was born in Springfield, Ohio.
Jack Nicklaus
Former professional golfer Jack Nicklaus attended Ohio State. His 18 major championships are most all-time.
Gene Smith
Smith serves as Ohio State’s athletic director for 19 years before retiring in June.
Patricia Heaton
Heaton attended Ohio State and was born in Bay Village, Ohio. She’s an Emmy-winning actress who appeared in shows such as, “Everybody Loves Raymond” and, “The Middle.”
Jake Paul
Paul, a YouTuber and boxer who recently beat Mike Tyson, is a Cleveland native.
GIRARD, Ohio (WKBN) – Over 100 athletes came together for the 5th Annual Trumbull County Special Olympics Invitational Saturday morning in Girard.
These athletes represent five different schools across Trumbull County to compete and spread the message of inclusion, achievement, and sportsmanship.
The Invitational continued its long-standing tradition of honoring the legacy of Randy Suchanek while celebrating the dedication and accomplishments of Special Olympics athletes throughout the region.
“You can hear all the excitement for this, for the athletes that are here today,” said superintendent Bryan O’Hara. “They work hard all year long to participate. We’ve always worked hand in hand with the rotary to get this accomplished is a lot of work behind the scenes.”
Participating schools included Ashtabula, Geauga, Columbiana, Kent-Portage and Trumbull Fairhaven
“There’s a lot of nice participation from girard students as you see behind us, and a lot of participation from the community helping out,” Girard-Liberty Rotary co-president Andy Kish added.
O’Hara added that the event keeps everything in perspective, seeing the athletes compete in the spirit of fun, along with the courage and determination that they show.
Alex Sorrells contributed to this report.
Out of prison, Indiana’s caviar king back on Ohio River to find fishing holes taken
David Cox, of English, Indiana, says once he began setting his nets again after a two-year prison sentence and a three-year ban on commercial fishing, all of his once-secret spots were taken.
Can you eat fish from the Ohio River?
In 1975, future presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, then governor of Massachusetts, bet 20 pounds of New England cod that the Red Sox would defeat the Reds in the World Series. If things went south for Boston, Ohio governor James Rhodes promised to send Dukakis 10 pounds of Lake Erie perch and 10 pounds of Ohio River catfish. The Reds ended up winning and the cod was sent to the Convalescent Home for Children, in Cincinnati.
At the time, people were still eating catfish from the Ohio without too much concern. The fish were also served at several restaurants along the river.
There were warnings in 1977
But two years later, in 1977, The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission released the results of a study of contaminants found in the tissues of Ohio River fish. They warned anglers in cities such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, Wheeling and Gallipolis that man-made chemicals known as PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, had been discovered in the river fish. Later, high concentrations of mercury were discovered in the fish, too.
Thanks to the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the environmental regulations that followed, the river is now cleaner than it was in the seventies. And it’s still teeming with a variety of fish, including catfish, striped bass, drum and black bass, among other species.
But even though PCBs were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979, they are still found in fish, since they remain in the sediment in the bottom of the river. “Organisms live in the sediment and fish feed on them,” Rich Cogen, the executive director of the Ohio River Foundation told The Enquirer. Mercury is also a big problem, according to Cogen.
So the question is: Can you eat fish caught in the Ohio River?
The short answer is yes. But it depends on what species you are eating and where along the river you caught it.
There are also very strict limitations on how frequently you should eat them, according to the web site for the Ohio Sport Fish Consumption Advisory, part of the Ohio Department of Health.
In areas of the river between the Belleville Lock, located 204 miles downstream from the river’s origins in Pittsburgh, to the Indiana border, the advisory agency currently recommends consuming Ohio River fish no more than once a month max. That area includes Adams, Brown, Clermont, Gallia, Hamilton, Lawrence, Meigs and Scioto counties.
Here’s where to check
Recommendations change throughout the year, but you can keep up by visiting the Ohio Department of Health’s Sport Fish Consumption Advisory page, which provides updated information on when certain fish, usually bottom feeders such as carp, are deemed too dangerous to eat at all.
Here’s who should take a pass on Ohio River fish
The agency also warns that people who are more likely to have health effects from eating contaminated fish, includingchildren younger than 15 years old, pregnant women and women who are planning to become pregnant to avoid Ohio River fish altogether.
Just because you have to limit the amount of fish you eat, doesn’t mean the river is a bad place for fishing, as long as you limit your intake or do catch-and-release fishing. Just make sure you have a proper fishing license before casting your line.
Have a question for Just Askin’? Email us.
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It isn’t over until it’s over. That’s the case for both the UCLA Bruins football program recruiting and for quarterback Brady Edmunds. Edmunds is currently committed to head to Ohio State but he took a visit from UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy earlier this week.
Kennedy met Edmunds on Thursday despite the fact that the quarterback has been committed to the Buckeyes since December of 2024 but could the UCLA Bruins be making a run at flipping the quarterback?
Edmunds has only had an official visit with Ohio State but could UCLA heave a heat check on the 6’5” quarterback? New UCLA head coach Bob Chesney is off to an unbelievable start to his recruiting with the Bruins and flipping a recruit of Edmunds’ caliber would be his most impressive move yet.
247 Sports has Edmunds as the No. 16 quarterback in the class, which would give UCLA a clear predecessor for Nico Iamaleava whenever the Bruins current starting quarterback decides to head to the professional level.
It’d be a full circle moment for the Bruins, as Edmunds was originally recruited to Ohio State by former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, who bailed on UCLA to go run the Buckeyes offense. Ohio State is a great spot for a developing quarterback, as the Buckeyes produce tons of NFL talent, especially at the wide receiver position, which would help Edmunds put up some gaudy numbers in Columbus.
Chesney and the Bruins have geography on their side, Edmunds attends Huntington Beach High School in Southern California, which could potentially become a factor if Edmunds views UCLA as a program on the rise that’d be much closer to his friends and family than out in Ohio.
Time will tell if Kennedy’s visit will make a difference but UCLA’s recruiting has made waves in the first offseason under Chesney and the new regime.
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