The Buckeye Weekly Podcast

The Buckeyes secured a bunch of experienced players out of the transfer portal, save for freshman cornerback Dominick Kelly out of Georgia. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tom Orr and Tony Gerdeman discuss their expectations for Dominick Kelly this year and why his signing was so intriguing by the Buckeyes.

Epi Sitanilei was a late arriver last year as a true freshman for the Buckeyes, but he has since added weight and strength and is getting ready for his first spring camp at Ohio State. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss their expectations for Epi Sitanilei this season as a redshirt freshman for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has big expectations for quarterback Julian Sayin in year two as a starter, but as Day said recently, you can't just assume your starting quarterback is going to return. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss Ryan Day alluding to the fact that Julian Sayin could have asked Ohio State for more money but he wanted to make...

The Buckeyes didn't just go the portal for their new impact players. Some of them will be among the returning players stepping into new roles. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss which returning Buckeyes who have yet to earn starting jobs prior to this season will have the biggest impact on defense in 2026.

The Buckeyes didn't just go the portal for their new impact players. Some of them will be among the returning players stepping into new roles. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss which returning Buckeyes who have yet to earn starting jobs prior to this season will have the biggest impact on offense in 2026.

It is not unusual for true freshmen to impact the Buckeyes each year, but it is rare for that freshman to be an offensive lineman.  In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tom Orr and Tony Gerdeman discuss offensive tackle Sam Greer and wonder if he can be the exception to the rule in 2026.

The Buckeyes must replace All-American linebacker Sonny Styles this year. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss how the Buckeyes will go about replacing starting linebacker Sonny Styles in 2026.

Can a three-loss Ohio State football team make the College Football Playoff in 2026? In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tom Orr and Tony Gerdeman tackle this listener question, which has a couple of qualifiers along with it as well.

Why is coverage of Ohio State basketball lacking? Why does the media continue to give a pass to the men's basketball program when more pressure from the media might raise the standards of a middling program? In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr address a listener question about men's basketball coverage -- or lack thereof, as well as an overall lack of int...

The Buckeyes added a couple of receivers via the transfer portal in hopes of replacing the production of Carnell Tate. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss their expectations for UTSA transfer wide receiver Devin McCuin in 2026 for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State had one of the slowest-paced offenses in the nation in 2025 -- and by far the slowest of the College Football Playoff teams.  In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr answer a listener question about the Buckeyes' pace of play and if things would be better for Ohio State if they increased their pace on offense in 2026.

Ohio State and Alabama are scheduled to play a home-and-home series in 2027 and 2028, however, there are rumblings that the Crimson Tide could be looking to back out of the series. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr address this possibility and discuss why it's happening now. They also talk about the Georgia series down the road and what can help save th...

In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tom Orr and Tony Gerdeman continue their position-by-position series looking at some concerns for the Ohio State football team. In today's episode, they discuss the Buckeye defensive ends.

The Buckeyes must replenish a number of losses at receiver in 2026, and one of the options in doing that could be redshirt freshman Phillip Bell. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss what their expectations are for Phillip Bell this coming season.

Ohio State must replace two-time All-American Caleb Downs at safety this year, which is a monumental task. How will the Buckeyes do it? In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss how the Buckeyes will attempt to replace Caleb Downs and who will be involved in making that happen.

The Alabama football program has been very kind to Ohio State through the transfer portal over the years, sending the Buckeyes players like Seth McLaughlin, Caleb Downs, and Julian Sayin. Defensive tackle James Smith is the latest. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss their expectations for James Smith in 2026 with the Buckeyes.

What are the biggest concerns at running back for the Buckeyes in 2026? In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss some concerns for the Buckeye backfield as spring practice approaches.

Ohio State must replace Unanimous All-American nose tackle Kayden McDonald in 2026. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tom Orr and Tony Gerdeman discuss how the Buckeyes will go about replacing one of the most active defensive tackles in Ohio State football history.

A freshman cornerback has been in the two-deep for the Buckeyes each of the past five seasons. Can Jordan Thomas keep that streak alive in 2026? In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tom Orr and Tony Gerdeman discuss the expectations for Jordan Thomas as a true freshman in Ohio State's defense.

If players can leave on a whim for any number of reasons, is there still a point in purposely redshirting any longer? In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss this topic from a viewer and wonder what a pending change in the rules could do for the prospect of redshirting.

One of many keys to victory that Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has talked about over the years is winning the "middle eight," which entails outscoring opponents over the final four minutes of the second quarter and the first four minutes of the third quarter. Those two possessions can swing a game in either direction, which is why it is a focus for the Buckeyes and every other program in college...

The Buckeyes went into the transfer portal and brought in a productive play maker in Florida State safety Earl Little, Jr. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss what to expect this season from Earl Little in this Ohio State defense.

The Buckeyes signed four talented wide receivers in the 2026 recruiting class. The lowest-ranked among them is Brock Boyd, who has also been the most productive in big-time Texas high school. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss the expectations this season for Brock Boyd and wonder if he's being overlooked by Buckeye fans and others.

The Buckeyes will be asking more of sophomore defensive end Zion Grady this year, but what is a realistic expectation for him in 2026?  In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss Zion Grady and his role in this year's defense and what they are expecting to see from him as a true sophomore.

In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss three concerns facing the Ohio State offensive line as spring ball approaches next month.