Buckeye Talk: Ohio State podcast by cleveland.com

 On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis answer questions from the Subtext subscribers. Among the questions discussed: Could Sonny Styles be a positionless player for Ohio State's 2024 defense? Who can make the most of the NFL Combine? How many points will the Buckeyes give up in the first four weeks of the season? What we need to see from OSU’s offense this...

On this Thursday episode of BUckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis look ahead to the start of Ohio State spring football practice. To do that, they are drafting the nine Buckeyes that intrigue them the most for spring, from early-enrolled freshmen, to veterans battling for jobs, to players who might be ready to take a step toward stardom. There will be a lot of OSU coverage fr...

In this conversation, Andrew Gillis and Stephen Means discuss the recent coaching changes at Ohio State. They focus on the introduction of James Laurinaitis as the linebackers coach and Matt Guerrieri as the safeties coach. They explore Laurinaitis' process of transitioning from a graduate assistant to a full-time coach and the expectations for CJ Hicks in the linebacker room. They also discuss Gu...

A college football video game is headed back into stores for the first time in over a decade with different football programs getting in on the promotion. In the wake of the news, Ohio State football was among the numerous teams to create a concept for the game's cover featuring elite players from the last decade. That sparked this episode of Buckeye Talk where Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis disc...

Ryan Day has finally finished off Ohio State football's 2024 coaching staff by promoting James Laurinaitis from graduate assistant to full-time assistant coach. Doing so gives the former three-time All-American full reign over the linebacker position just a year after returning to the program. Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss what that means for the Buckeyes going forward. The...

On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis answer questions from the Subtext subscribers. Among the questions discussed: The 5+7 model for the college football playoff is being discussed and there is a vote scheduled to approve it. What sporting events they would cover if they could go back in time. Ranking the best running backs in Ohio State history. Who will...

Ohio State is moving on from Chris Holtmann as its basketball coach opting to fire him despite having four years still left on a contract extension signed in 2022. Despite the remaining years, the decision doesn’t come as a surprise as the Buckeyes are in the midst of yet another disappointing season that looks destined for them to end on the outside of the NCAA Tournament. Ripping off the band-ai...

Ohio State continues to put together its 2025 recruiting class which ranks fourth nationally with eight commits including two from five-star recruits, On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis explore five of the most important targets left on the board and what landing them would say about the program. They also have a quick conversation about new offensive coordinator Chip...

Ryan Day pivoted to Chip Kelly as Ohio State's offensive coordinator after losing Bill O'Brien and he might have found the perfect fit. The Buckeyes' offensive personnel features plenty of players Kelly has been known to maximize in the past across multiple places in college football. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis explore the impact of Kelly as Ohio...

Ryan Day worked quickly to find a replacement for Bill O'Brien when Ohio State's new offensive coordinator left for Boston College three weeks after getting the job. The abrupt change provided a chance for Day to come full circle in his coaching career as he is expected to bring in Chip Kelly from UCLA. The two have a long-standing relationship with Kelly being Day's offensive coordinator at New H...

Ryan Day hired Bill O'Brien to run Ohio State football's offense and now O'Brien is walking away just a month after getting to Columbus. Choosing to hand the offense over to someone else was a significant step in Day's growth as a head coach. He admitted it wasn't something he wanted to do, but would have to do for the sake of the program. He thought he'd found the perfect person to hand things of...

Before the 2020 season the Buckeye Talk crew took the time to map out the college football landscape and where Ohio State fit into it. Doing so led to a deep discussion about the tiers of the sport in deciding which teams have realistic championship expectations, who could never dream of having those and everyone else in between. A lot has changed since then (even the makeup of the Buckeye Talk po...

A Wednesday press conference was supposed to be Ryan Day's first chance of 2024 to talk about all of the good things happening around the Ohio State football program over the past month or so. Instead thanks to a recent job opening at Boston College, it turned into a day filled with questions on whether Day would have to go out and make a decision about the future of his program that he already wa...

Ryan Day is entering his sixth season as Ohio State football's head coach and his coaching staff has seen a ton of turnover through the years. He's still relatively young in terms of head coaching experience but these years have shown how Day likes to go about building a staff and where his philosophy is potentially evolving. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew...

On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis answer questions from the Subtext subscribers. Among the questions discussed: How should Ohio State deploy a coaching staff in a world where you're allowed to have 15 people? Which freshman quarterback is a better fit for the Buckeyes' offense; What it takes to be a good recruiter and why Tim Walton and Brian Hartline h...

College football is in this weird place right now where a lot is going on and all of it is happening on top of each other. It's what happens when you try to combine a multi-billion dollar sport with the traditional standards of academia. It needs to be fixed and in this hypothetical scenario, Buckeye Talk has been tasked with fixing it. Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis try to fix the...

The Big Ten is expanding to 18 teams which means 17 teams are standing in the way of Ohio State's goals of winning the conference in 2024. As a way to figure out the conference’s new hierarchy, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis use this Friday episode of Buckeye Talk to discuss the new-look conference in a way inspired by a question from one of out Subtext subscribers: ‘Can we get a big ten power ra...

In this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis discuss the most important things Ohio State needs to do on the recruiting trail for its 2025 class. Among those topics is a conversation about the defensive line and offensive line recruiting. Plus a discussion on the health of OSU's NIL situation and how the 2024 roster provides proof of that. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk L...

In this episode of Buckeye Talk, the hosts discuss the recent interviews with new Ohio State players. Among the things Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss Why Will Howard’s role as a runner at Ohio State may be different from his time at Kansas State, as he emphasized his development as a pocket passer; Why Quinshon Judkins chose Ohio State and pairing with TreVeyon Henderson in...

Winter works are in full swing as Ohio State prepares for the 2024 football season. The Buckeyes are bringing back a ton of talent on offense and defense while also making some key additions in the transfer portal. But the offseason is just as much about young guys looking to turn heads in a way that eventually turns into something on the field. On this Tuesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Mea...

Ohio State's 2025 recruiting class has been busy in recent weeks as it starts to rack up the commitments. But many of those lately have come on defense which has been a positive change of pace. Now it seems the offense is getting in on the actions with a commitment from fou-star offensive lineman Carter Lowe. On this Monday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis discuss what Lowe...

Ohio State failed to live up to the standard that had been set in the Ryan Day era offensively even with what Marvin Harrison Jr. achieved. That resulted in making a few changes at key positions mixed with a few returns from guys who probably came into the season expecting it to be their last. That combination makes for an interesting offseason featuring a few position battles and a few more inter...

Ohio State is bringing back practically every major piece from one of the nation's best defenses while also bringing in a major addition by way of the transfer portal. As the Buckeyes head into winter workouts and prepare for the 2024 season, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis use this episode to dive into what things may look like. That starts by looking into Nathan's projected depth c...

Jim Harbaugh was hired in 2015 to fix Michigan and flip the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry back in the Wolverine’s favor and now he’s gone nine years later able to say the mission was successful. Harbaugh leaves Ann Arbor with an 86–25 record (60–17 Big Ten), three conference titles, a 3-5 record against the Buckeyes and a national title. But those championships and rivalry wins all happened over the...

This episode of Buckeye Talk provides a chance for a rapid-fire pod as Ohio State continues to work through the early stages of the offseason. Among the questions from Subtext subscribers discussed: Who's a former player we drove the bus for early and were right? Could Alabama suffer the same fate as other former dynasties following Nick Saban's retirement? Did Ohio State fail C.J. Stroud? How man...