Buckeye Talk: Ohio State podcast by cleveland.com

Latest Episodes:

Ohio State's defensive recruiting standard, with Justin Scott in and Marquise Lightfoot out Jul 04, 2023

Show notes

Justin Scott committed to Ohio State on Sunday, and Marquise Lightfoot picked Miami over the Buckeyes on Monday. It was two major defensive decisions as the Buckeyes try to get back to their old standard of recruiting on the defensive side of the ball.

On this Tuesday Buckeye Talk (Happy 4th) Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means break down the state of talent acquisition on defense.

That starts with a long look at the decision of top-20 player and 310-pound defensive tackle Scott to choose the Buckeyes.

Then it's onto edge rusher Lightfoot picking the Hurricanes over Ohio State.

In that are long debates about the recruiting of defensive line coach Larry Johnson; of what the Buckeyes have done lately in the Chicago area (where both Scott and Lightfoot are from); and about the last time Ohio State landed a player like Scott.

The last part of the episode then focuses on comparing Ohio State defensive recruiting in 2024 to previous OSU defensive classes. And it outlines the major defensive targets still on the board for the Buckeyes, when they are scheduled to commit, and who the Buckeyes are recruiting against.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

Does Ohio State need to throw more often? Mark It Down Monday Jul 03, 2023

Show notes

On this Mark It Down Monday, the statistical prediction is a little more complicated. Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means aren't looking at an individual stat -- they are marking down what percent of plays for the 2023 Ohio State Buckeyes will be pass plays, and how many will be run plays.

To do that, they look at run-pass OSU percentages of the recent past; they compare the OSU passing game to other successful throwing teams like Washington and Tennessee; and they wonder how much Brian Hartline calling plays, the presence of a quarterback competition and other factors will affect the run-pass balance.

And then they mark it down. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

Where Ohio State is 20 years ahead of Michigan Jul 01, 2023

Show notes

On this weekend Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises is talking about the new national focus for Michigan, which has reportedly instituted a Beat Georgia practice period.

Doug theorizes (0:30) that means Ohio State is 20 years ahead of Michigan in being a national program.

Then he (11:35) compares the top-10 wins in the histories of the two programs and what that tells us about their national ambitions and success.

Finally (24:16) it's what a bit of a Georgia focus by the Wolverines would mean for the Ohio State-Michigan game.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Weird that it's this short, eh?

The most dominant part of Ohio State's offense Jun 29, 2023

Show notes

What is the single most dominant aspect of Ohio State's offense? On this Thursday Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means give their answer to that question from an Ohio State text subscriber.

Doug is back from vacation (0:30) and ready to jabber, and that means everyone needs to be ready to give and defend their answers.

First Nathan (3:13), then Stephen (21:02), then Doug (48:38).

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk.

Are Ohio State and Michigan destined for overtime in The Game in 2023? Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Ohio State and Michigan have played only one overtime game -- the 2016 classic that sent the Buckeyes to the playoff. Could they be destined for their second such outcome in The Game in Ann Arbor on Nov. 25? Tyler Shoemaker, Buckeye Talk's resident oddsmaker, joins the show to discuss his preseason power rankings. That includes a razor-thin margin for the regular-season finale at the Big House.

Tyler also discusses why Ohio State's offense remains so highly ranked despite many preseason questions, why the Buckeye defense is expected to be better and what his numbers say about the rest of the Big Ten Conference. While Tyler's numbers are meant to be compared to betting lines, what do they tell us about what we expect from the Buckeyes for reasons beyond the cold, hard numbers?

Discussion topics include:

• (1:30) Tyler explains the TSI and how he tweaked his system for 2023.

• (6:00) What the TSI predicts for Ohio State

• (7:45) Why the OSU-Michigan rankings caused Tyler to double-check his numbers

• (9:00) Why Tyler's numbers still predict OSU to have the nation's best offense despite new QB, offensive line questions, etc.

• (17:15) What TSI predicts for Ohio State's defense, and why

• (23:30) How TSI accounts for teams like Michigan that outperform their recruiting rankings

• (28:00) What TSI predicts for The Game against Michigan

• (36:30) How Ohio State's strength of schedule affects its win-loss prediction

• (43:00) How a Drew Allar breakout would affect Penn State relative to its expectations and other predictions around the Big Ten

Predicting Aaron Scott, KJ Bolden, Eddrick Houston and more to complete Ohio State's 2024 recruiting class Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

With two more commitments from last weekend's batch of official visits, Ohio State now has 16 for its 2024 recruiting class. How large will that class grow -- and more importantly, who will be in it? Stephen Means gives Nathan Baird his predictions for what could be one of the highest-rated Buckeye classes in recent history.

• (2:00) Did Ohio State need commitments last weekend to build momentum into the summer?

• (4:00) Is the Glenville pipeline to OSU "reopened" or was it simply not flowing for a while?

• (8:30) How crucial is the Bryce West commitment, and where is his long-term fit in this secondary?

• (11:00) Does OSU also need a commitment from Aaron Scott to call cornerback recruiting a win for this cycle?

• (12:30) Does landing West help OSU also get a commitment from Scott?

• (14:30) What is the best comparable for Demarion Witten as an OSU tight end?

• (16:00) Why did Ohio State need a two tight-end class for 2024?

• (17:45) Discussing Buckeye Talk Subtext subscriber survey results on offensive and defensive recruiting.

• (25:30) Who is the class' most important commitment so far?

• (26:30) What is the biggest recruiting "win" so far for this class?

• (29:20): Must underrated commitment to this point?

• (31:00) Toughest battle ahead to hold on to an existing commit?

• (32:15) Biggest positional need still unfilled?

• (36:45) How large will this class be, and why will OSU take that many?

• (38:15) Why does Stephen think the Buckeyes will get both KJ Bolden and Eddrick Houston from Buford, Georgia?

• (43:00) What are the fall-back options at safety if Bolden is unavailable?

• (46:30) Is edge rusher the biggest remaining need for this class and who will fill it?

• (50:00) Why is this trending to be a linebacker-heavy class?

• (52:20) Does OSU need two highly ranked offensive tackles in this class?

• (55:30) Predicting the final pieces of the class.

Does Ohio State need a big-time sack leader this season, and who could it be? Mark It Down Monday Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

Jack Sawyer and Mike Hall Jr. tied for the Ohio State team lead in sacks last season with 4.5. The year before, Haskell Garrett led the team with 5.5. In the last full season before that, Chase Young led the Buckeyes with 16.5.

That's quite a drop off.

So who will lead the Buckeyes in sacks in 2023, and how many will they have? Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means make their predictions on the latest Mark It Down Monday on Buckeye Talk.

(0:30) Does Ohio State need more sacks as a team to succeed?
(16:44) Discussing the candidates to lead the Buckeyes in sacks
(40:40) Marking down sack predictions for 2023

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

Ohio State-Michigan 2016 and a stunning revelation on the rewatch: Buckeye ReTalkables Jun 23, 2023

Show notes

It's time for another Buckeye Retalkables, and up on this episode of Buckeye Talk is Ohio State vs. Michigan from 2016, as the No. 2 Buckeyes hosted the No. 3 Wolverines.

This was Jim Harbaugh's second year as a head coach in the rivalry and the Wolverines, with a veteran team, had a real chance coming into Columbus. The Buckeyes prevailed 30-27 in double overtime thanks to Curtis Samuel, and in victory Urban Meyer considered this a legendary win for the Buckeyes.

More than six years removed, what do Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means think now?

There are all the usual ReTalkables categories, but this episode is really about two major revelations. Plus, there's some good Nick Bosa talk.

Thanks for listening to another ReTalkables on Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

Tavien St. Clair commits as Ohio State wraps up camp season Jun 22, 2023

Show notes

Ohio State's summer camps wrapped up with a big commitment Wednesday. Bellefontaine's Tavien St. Clair completed his rise to the top of the Buckeyes' 2025 quarterback board. Stephen Means reports on how this commitment came together, what kind of player St. Clair is and how he fits in with the program's long-term quarterback project.

Stephen and Nathan also discussed former OSU 2024 quarterback commit Dylan Raiola's transfer from Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona, to Buford, Georgia. Not only is that the back yard of his future college program, Georgia, but it is the high school of two major OSU targets in the 2024 class. Where does the Buckeyes' pursuit of safety KJ Bolden and defensive end Eddrick Houston stand?

Finally, Stephen looks ahead to another round of official visits -- particularly a huge weekend for OSU's battle for two cornerbacks.

Which young Buckeye will be Ohio State's 100th first-round draft pick? Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

Podcasting and text surveys shouldn't feel like homework, but for this edition of Buckeye Talk, they sort of did. So instead of only looking at the past, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird are also predicting the future of Ohio State in the NFL Draft.

The last section of this episode is the top 16 picks in the Ultimate Ohio State Draft from the text subscribers. Where are they similar and different to what Doug, Nathan and Stephen did on their two episodes of the Ultimate Draft?

But the first two parts of the pod look at when Ohio State will get to 100 first-round picks. The Buckeyes currently lead all colleges with 90 first-rounders. When will No. 100 come -- in 2026? 2027? And which Buckeye could be that No. 100?

Doug also has an idea for holding the NFL Draft in Columbus, and the guys look at whether 10 first-rounders in three years would be a stretch or in line with OSU draft history.

And then no more Ultimate Draft talk after this. For now, thanks for indulging in this exercise and thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Buckeye Talk: Ohio State podcast by cleveland.com

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected