Ohio's Best Buckeyes By County: Central Ohio

Matt Gutridge — Thursday, July 23, 2026 - 10:10

Two years ago, we scoured the country for Ohio State's best players by state. This year, we’re taking a deeper look into our great state and the best players from each county in Ohio. This four-part series breaks up the state into four segments and identifies the best players from Central, Eastern, Southern and Northern Ohio.

We start the series off with the 18 counties in Central Ohio that have produced players on an official Ohio State roster. To be exact, 750 Buckeyes are from Central Ohio. Let's shine a light on the best Ohio State players from these counties and share some other facts about Central Ohio's finest players and schools.

Note: There are 20 counties in Central Ohio, but Holmes and Morrow have not had a Buckeye listed on an official Ohio State roster.

County Info
Founded: 1805 Location: West Central Seat: Urbana

Champaign (11 Players)

Best Player: DB Greg Rogan

Greg Rogan started 10 games during his freshman season of 1984 and finished his Buckeye career with 40 starts, 238 tackles, 10 interceptions, five fumble recoveries and 12 TFL. Against Iowa in 1986, Rogan had a 31-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the Buckeyes' 31-10 win over the Hawkeyes in Columbus.

Urbana High School is the only Champaign County school officially listed on an Ohio State roster. However, Buckeyes from Christianburg, Mechanicsburg and Woodstock were on Ohio State's official rosters between 1922 and 1931, but their high schools were not listed.

County Info
Founded: 1818 Location: West Central Seat: Springfield

Clark (29 Players)

Best Player: FB/E/QB Jim McDonald

The Springfield native was on Ohio State's roster during the 1935, 1936 and 1937 seasons. For each season, the All-American was listed as playing at a different position. During his senior year, McDonald was a co-captain of the team and earned All-American honors and halfback and All-Big Ten honors at quarterback.

McDonald was also a three-year starter on the Buckeyes' basketball team and was the team's captain for his senior season. The Philadelphia Eagles selected the multi-talented McDonald with the second overall pick of the 1938 NFL Draft.

Another Clark County noted player was WR Dee Miller (1994-98). Walter "Mule" Elder and R.W. Wallace are the only players from Clark County not from the city of Springfield. Elder's hometown was recorded as Selma and Wallace's New Carlisle.

Springfield High School's Vasean Washington is the only Buckeye from Clark County on this year's official roster.

The other Clark County schools on an official Ohio State roster are Public, Springfield Northeastern, Springfield Shawnee and Springfield South.

County Info
Founded: 1811 Location: East Central Seat: Coshocton

Coshocton (5 Players)

Best Player: RB Karl Sturtz

Karl Sturtz was on the roster during the 1948-1950 seasons, and he had at least 21 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown during his Buckeye career. His score came against Minnesota in a 48-0 blowout win at Memorial Stadium in 1950.

The latest Ohio State players from Coshocton County were Bryce and Zach Prater of Ridgewood High School. Charles Campbell (1929), Larry Stephens (1959-60) and Sturtz were from Coshocton, but their high schools were not listed.

County Info
Founded: 1826 Location: North Central Seat: Bucyrus

Crawford (10 Players)

Best Player: E Cecil "Cy" Souders

Cy Souders was an All-American and All-Big Ten end in 1946 and was a member of Ohio State's 1942 national championship team. Souders was selected by the Washington Redskins in the NFL draft.

All-American and All-Big Ten offensive lineman Carl Kaplanoff played for the during the 1936-38 seasons. He was selected by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1939 NFL Draft.

Joining Souders and Kaplanoff, guard Richard Mack was the third Bucyrus High School player to earn All-Big Ten honors while playing for Ohio State. He helped pave the way for Archie Griffin during the 1973 and 1974 seasons when Mack started 22 games.

Buckeye Central, Bucyrus and Colonel Crawford are the Crawford County high schools to make an official Ohio State roster. Between 1923 and 1942, three players from Galion, Ohio were on the roster, but their high school was not provided.

County Info
Founded: 1808 Location: Central Seat: Delaware

Delaware (29 Players)

Best Player: DE Zach Harrison

Zach Harrison was graded as a five-star recruit coming out of Olentangy Orange High School. As a Buckeye, Harrison was an All-Big Ten player in 2022 and was named second-team All-Big Ten in 2020 and 2021. He finished his Ohio State career with 13 sacks and 26 TFL and was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Linebackers Rick Middleton (Delaware Hayes) and Joshua Perry (Olentangy) were All-Big Ten linebackers for the Buckeyes. During his time in Columbus, Middleton racked up 199 tackles, intercepted five passes and was a first-round selection of the New Orleans Saints during the 1974 NFL Draft. Perry had 296 tackles, 19 TFL and 7.5 sacks as a Buckeye and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 2016.

Six schools in Delaware County produced Buckeyes: Big Walnut, Delaware, Delaware Hayes, Olentangy, Olentangy Liberty and Olentangy Orange.

Current Ohio State players from Delaware County are RB Favour Akih, S Kaden Gebhardt and LBs CJ Sanna and Garrett Stover.

County Info
Founded: 1800 Location: Central Seat: Lancaster

Fairfield (34 Players)

Best Player: QB Rex Kern

Rex Kern, a Lancaster native, led his home state Buckeyes to the national championship in 1968 and was two games away from making it three straight titles for Ohio State. Known for his stellar option play, Kern led the Buckeyes to a 25-2 record during his three seasons as the starting quarterback. He was the team's captain in 1970 and was an All-American in 1969. In 2007, Kern was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Center Pat Elflein and the Boren Brothers of Pickerington, linebacker Ike Kelley of Bremen, along with Lancaster's Bobby Carpenter and Jim Cordle, are some of Fairfield County's finest. Six members of Ohio State’s 2024 national championship team were from Pickerington: Ty Hamilton, Max Lomonico, Sam Williams-Dixon, Lorenzo Styles Jr., Sonny Styles and scoop-and-score Jack Sawyer.

Cornerback Amar'e Miller of Pickerington North High School is the only Buckeye from Fairfield County on this year's roster.

Since 1970, Amanda Clearcreek, Bloom Carroll, Lancaster Pickerington, Pickerington Central and Pickerington North have represented Fairfield County on Ohio State's official roster.

Archie Griffin rushes against Michigan in 1975 (Malcolm Emmons – Imagn Images).

County Info
Founded: 1803 Location: Central Seat: Columbus

Franklin (491 Players)

Best Player: RB Archie Griffin

With 491 players listed in the official Ohio State Media Guide rosters, Franklin County has produced the most Buckeyes of any other county in Ohio. With Ohio State's campus being located in Franklin County, this is the obvious reason why. 15 players were up for the county's best, but one stood out from the pack.

Four players from Franklin County have their numbers retired in Ohio Stadium. However, only one of those three players is a three-time All-American and Big Ten selection and a two-time Big Ten MVP, Ohio State MVP and team captain; a diminutive running back from Eastmoor High School is Franklin County's best Buckeye. Yes, Archie Griffin was also a two-time Heisman Trophy winner with Ohio State.

Griffin was selected in the first round of the 1976 NFL Draft and left Columbus as the NCAA's leader in career rushing yards (5,177), the first player to eclipse 6,000 career all-purpose yards. He still holds the NCAA record for most consecutive 100-yard rushing games with 31. And he was Ohio State's third three-time All-American. In August, Griffin is being honored as the Agonis Club's Person of the Year.

The other Franklin County players to have their numbers retired in Ohio Stadium? Howard Cassady, Chic Harley and Bill Willis.

Ohio State’s 2026 roster includes 10 representatives from Franklin County: David Adolph, Landon Beal, Jake Cook, Ian Gecse, Jaystin Gwinn, Stanley Jackson Jr., Frankie McAllister, Ryan Rudzinski, Will Smith Jr. and Amari Valerio-Hudson.

County Info
Founded: 1833 Location: West Central Seat: Kenton

Hardin (6 Players)

Best Player: LB Tom Lease

Tom Lease, a Kenton High School graduate, racked up 125 career tackles between the 1989 and 1992 seasons. At the conclusion of the 1990 season, Lease was seventh on the team with 53 total tackles.

The five other Buckeyes from Hardin County were Burke Wentz, William Young, James Karcher, James Oates and Bo Hurley. Hurley was on the roster in 1992 and the four other players were on the team between 1924 and 1965.

County Info
Founded: 1808 Location: Central Seat: Mount Vernon

Knox (11 Players)

Best Player: DT Jim Stillwagon

The first player ever to win the Lombardi Award was born in Mount Vernon. Stillwagon was a two-time national champion with Ohio State and won the Outland Trophy and was named UPI's Lineman of the Year in 1970. He was a two-time All-American – unanimous in 1970 – and two-time All-Big Ten honoree. For his stellar collegiate career, Stillwagon was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Following his time in Columbus, the Green Bay Packers selected the defensive tackle in the fifth round of the 1971 NFL Draft. However, Stillwagon opted to play in the Canadian Football League where he was an All-Star in 1971, 1972 and 1974. He was also named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 1972.

Fredericktown's Ollie Cline was an All-Big Ten fullback for the Buckeyes. His time at Ohio State was interrupted by a one-year stint in the Army near the end of World War II. Before he departed for the war, Cline earned the Chicago Tribune Silver Football for his play during the 1945 season. 229 of his 936 yards that season came against Pittsburgh. The 229 rushing yards stood as Ohio State's single-game record until Archie Griffin surpassed it 27 years later.

Kolton Stover of Highland High School in Centerburg is the only Knox County player on the 2026 roster.

Gambier joins Centerburg, Fredericktown and Mount Vernon as the only places from Knox County to produce Ohio State players.

Top 10 Central Ohio Counties By Buckeye Football Players
COUNTY	PLAYERS	TOP PLAYERS
Franklin	491	Howard Cassady, Archie Griffin, Chic Harley, Bill Willis, lots of others
Fairfield	34	Jacoby, Justin and Zach Boren, Jim Cordle, Pat Elflein, Ike Kelley, Rex Kern, Jack Sawyer, Sonny Styles
Clark	29	Jim McDonald, Dee Miller
Delaware	29	Zach Harrison, Rick Middleton, Joshua Perry
Richland	27	Inwood Smith, Cade Stover
Marion	15	Charles Fazio
Ross	15	Drew Basil, Ben Hartsock
Madison	14	Dick LeBeau, Donnie Nickey
Licking	13	Jeff Uhlenhake
Muskingum	13	Chucky Bryant, Iolas Huffman

County Info
Founded: 1808 Location: Central Seat: Newark

Licking (13 Players)

Best Player: C Jeff Uhlenhake

Located directly to the east of Franklin County, it is surprising that Licking County has provided Ohio State with only 12 players. Arguably the best Buckeye from Licking County is Jeff Uhlenhake, a state title winner at Newark Catholic High School.

At Ohio State, Uhlenhake was the team MVP, an All-Big Ten center and captain of the team as a senior in 1988. He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the 1989 NFL draft and following ten seasons in the NFL, Uhlenhake went into coaching, including a stint as a strength and conditioning coach at Ohio State. He is also remembered for his master class acting role in the critically acclaimed film, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

Donald Swartz of Newark became the first player from Licking County to make an Ohio State official roster in 1952. Wide receiver Jaeden Ricketts of Pataskala represents Licking County on this year's roster.

Ohio State has had players from Granville, Heath, Licking Valley, Newark, Newark Catholic and Watkins Memorial with other notable players from Licking County being S Rob Kelly, QB Scott McMullen and OL Jim Tyrer.

County Info
Founded: 1818 Location: West Central Seat: Bellefontaine

Logan (11 Players)

Best Player: QB Tavien St. Clair

A player from Logan County who has yet to complete a pass for the Buckeyes is in position to be the best Ohio State player from this county northwest of Columbus. Bellefontaine's Tavien St. Clair is a five-star QB prospect who begins his second year with the team and will likely be second on the depth chart in 2026.

Running backs Howard Lambert (1959-61) and George Bodenbender (1962-64), also of Bellefontaine, are the only Buckeyes from Logan County to be on an Ohio State official roster three times. Other places in the county that produced Buckeyes are Bell Center, De Graff, Lewistown, Orchard Island and West Liberty.

Dick LeBeau's NFL Hall of Fame enshrinement in 2010 (Andrew Weber-Imagn Images).

County Info
Founded: 1810 Location: Central Seat: London

Madison (14 Players)

Best Player: HB/DB Dick LeBeau

London High School's Dick LeBeau's was a two-way player for Ohio State and a contributing member of the 1957 national championship team. Between 1956 and 1958, he rushed for at least 526 yards and eight touchdowns. LeBeau also had at least seven interceptions with 88 return yards as a defensive back. The Cleveland Browns selected him in the 1959 NFL draft as a cornerback, but he signed with the Detroit Lions.

In the NFL, LeBeau shined. He was a three-time Pro Bowl player during a playing career that spanned 14 seasons and included 62 interceptions and four touchdowns. He was named to the Detroit Lions All-Time Team, is honored in the Pride of the Lions and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Following his playing days, LeBeau became an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1973. He won two Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers as the franchise's defensive coordinator. LeBeau's only head coaching job was with the Cincinnati Bengals (2000-02). He was named Sporting News' Coordinator of the Year in 2008 and retired from coaching in 2017.

Another notable Ohio State player from Madison County was Donnie Nickey. He was a graduate of Jonathan Alder and was a captain on the 2002 national championship.

The 14 Buckeyes from Madison County came from London, Plain City, Range, South Solon and West Jefferson.

County Info
Founded: 1820 Location: North Central Seat: Marion

Marion (15 Players)

Best Player: OL Charles Fazio

A Buckeye from Marion County has never earned All-American or All-Big Ten honors and many of the players saw limited playing time. Due to this, offensive lineman Charles Fazio gets the nod as Marion County's best Buckeye as he is the only player from the county to earn four varsity letters when he played in Columbus between 1945 and 1948.

Earl Johnson was an offensive lineman from Prospect, Ohio and the first player from Marion County to make an official Ohio State roster. The 6-3, 243-pound lineman was on the team for the 1931-33 seasons and he's the only player from Marion County not from the city of Marion.

The other 14 Buckeyes from Marion County were all from the city of Marion and played high school football for Marion Catholic, Marion Harding or Marion Pleasant. WR Devlin McDaniel (2013-16) was the last player from the City of Kings to suit up in the scarlet and gray.

County Info
Founded: 1804 Location: East Central Seat: Zanesville

Muskingum (13 Players)

Best Player: OL Iolas Huffman

Iolas Huffman of Chandlersville, Ohio did not play football in high school. His first appearance on the gridiron was with Ohio State. He was a lineman for the Buckeyes between 1918 and 1921 and was a two-time All-American (1920, 1921) and All-Big Ten honoree in 1920. Huffman was captain of the first Ohio State team and his blocked punt that was recovered for a touchdown against Michigan was a key play that earned the 1920 Buckeyes their first chance to play in a Rose Bowl.

Ohio Counties With Most Current Buckeyes
COUNTY	PLAYERS
Franklin	10
Cuyahoga	6
Delaware	4
Hamilton	4
Hancock	3
Summit	3
Tuscawaras	2

Huffman also played three seasons of baseball for the Buckeyes as the team's catcher and led the team in stolen bases for the 1921 season. Following his playing days in Columbus, Huffman played in the early days of professional football with the Cleveland Indians and Buffalo Bison.

Charles "Chucky" Bryant of Zanesville High School was another standout Buckeye from Muskingum County. Bryant was an end for Ohio State for the 1959-61 seasons and led the team in receiving in 1960 and 1961. His acrobatic 23-yard touchdown catch against Duke in 1959 was the game-winning score in the 14-13 victory. When his Ohio State playing days ended, Bryant was the program leader in career touchdown receptions with nine. He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the 1962 NFL Draft and played two seasons.

Offensive lineman Julian Goines-Jackson of Zanesville High School is a current player from Muskingum County on Ohio State's roster. Former walk-on linebacker Logan Hittle of Tri-Valley is the associate athletic director of name, image and likeness for the Buckeyes. Other high schools from Muskingum County to produce Buckeyes are Rosecrans and West Muskingum.

County Info
Founded: 1810 Location: South Central Seat: Circleville

Pickaway (5 Players)

Best Player: FB Harold “Champ” Henson

Champ Henson played for the Buckeyes for the 1972-74 seasons. As a sophomore in 1972, Henson led the NCAA with 20 rushing touchdowns scored. He was sidelined for the 1973 season after a knee injury and split time with Pete Johnson during his final season in Columbus in 1974.

Henson finished his Ohio State career with 308 carries for 1,335 yards and 36 touchdowns. The Minnesota Vikings selected the Teays Valley graduate in the 1975 NFL Draft.

A.W. Marion (1923-24) of Circleville was the first player from Pickaway County on an Ohio State roster. John Dunlap of Williamsport was on the 1926 roster. The latest players from the county were Tony Cooper (1983-84) of Circleville High School and Josh McDanel (2001) of Teays Valley.

County Info
Founded: 1813 Location: North Central Seat: Mansfield

Richland (27 Players)

Best Player: G Inwood Smith

Inwood Smith went 3-0 against Michigan and his teams outscored the Wolverines 99-0. The Buckeyes also won the Big Ten title in 1935 and had an overall record of 19-5 between 1934 and 1936 with Smith on the line. The Cleveland Rams reached out to the All-American and All-Big Ten honoree about playing in professional football, but the man from Mansfield declined and began his post-football career with Westinghouse Electric.

Lexington High School's Cade Stover was with the Buckeyes for the 2019-2023 seasons. As a senior, he was named to the All-Big Ten team and was also the Big Ten Tight End of the Year. The Houston Texans selected Stover in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he is now entering his third year in the league.

Since 1970, the high schools from Richland County represented on Ohio State official rosters are Clear Fork, Lexington, Mansfield Senior, Ontario and Shelby. (Note: Chris Rietschlin is from Crestline, Ohio and is counted as one of the 27 Buckeyes from Richland County, even though he attended Buckeye Central High School, which is located in Crawford County.)

County Info
Founded: 1798 Location: South Central Seat: Chillicothe

Ross (15 Players)

Best Player: TE Ben Hartsock

Unioto High School's Ben Hartsock won a national championship with Ohio State in 2002 and finished his Buckeye career with 57 receptions for 515 yards and five touchdowns. He was an All-Big Ten honoree in 2003 and selected by the Indianapolis Colts in 2004. Hartsock played for the Colts, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets and Carolina Panthers between 2004 and 2013.

Drew Basil was on Ohio State's roster for the 2010-13 seasons and was the team's kicker between 2011 and 2013. The Chillicothe High School alum made 90 percent of his field goals during the 2013 season, which ranks second all-time at Ohio State. His 12 consecutive made field goals in Ohio Stadium is good for third all-time and Basil is fourth on Ohio State's all-time career extra points made list.

Chillicothe, Kenston and Unioto are the high schools from Ross County to produce Buckeyes, with those players coming from the towns of Bainbridge and Chillicothe.

County Info
Founded: 1820 Location: Central Seat: Marysville

Union (11 Players)

Best Player: OL Eugene Kile

Eugene Kile was a guard for the 1929-31 Buckeyes. According to the 2024 Ohio State Media Guide, Kile earned two varsity letters with the football team. After his playing days, Kile was a project engineer for Republic Steel and was on the board of directors for the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers.

The only other players from Union County to earn varsity football letters at Ohio State were recent linebacker Gabe Powers and center Terrrence Cochran (1965). Marysville, Milford Center and Richwood are the places from Union County that have produced Buckeyes.

Better Know a Buckeye: Tucker Smith is A Late-Blooming, Well-Rounded Offensive Lineman Built for Development As A Guard with Ohio State

Josh Poloha — Thursday, July 23, 2026 - 08:35

Better Know A Buckeye is our look at every member of Ohio State’s 2026 recruiting class and how they became Buckeyes as they prepare to begin their OSU careers this fall.

The only non-early enrollee in the cycle for Ohio State, Tucker Smith was a late bloomer in the class, earning 12 Division I offers, the majority of which came in 2025.

Tucker Smith

Size: 6-5/280
Position: IOL
School: Sandra Day O'Connor (Glendale, Arizona)
247 Sports Composite: ★★★
Composite Rank: #607 (#47 IOL)

Background

Back in March 2025, Smith's life changed forever when he received an Ohio State offer. Less than a week later, the Arizona offensive lineman committed to the Buckeyes, becoming the third offensive lineman to commit to OSU in a one-month span.

“I’ve been to a lot of schools over the last year,” Smith told Eleven Warriors of his decision. “Those visits have helped me sort through the decision-making process. Ohio State is just an incredible school. I also have family nearby. I am very proud to tell people I am going to be a Buckeye.”

Smith chose Ohio State over the likes of Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Iowa State, Kansas State, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Purdue, USC and Washington, among others.

He was locked in with the Buckeyes following his commitment, as he didn't visit any other school from the time he committed in March to the time he signed with the Buckeyes in December.

Smith played all across the offensive line throughout his time at Sandra Day O'Connor High School, including center, guard and tackle. He was also a high school wrestler during his time at Sandra Day O'Connor.

pic.twitter.com/Z7IaKNPz0M
— Tucker Smith (@TuckerSmith77) September 13, 2022

Scouting Report

At 6-5 and 280 pounds, Smith does well both in pass protection and run blocking. On the latter, he has great agility and does an outstanding job getting to the second level.

Not only is Smith strong at the point of attack, but he also shows good bend and has the quickness to put opposing defensive linemen on the ground. His fluidity allows him to adjust well to moving targets, and he's shown time and time again that he plays through the whistle, blocking opponents onto the ground until he's told the play is over.

“I just want to finish blocks every play,” Smith said. “I want to be known as a physical player who finishes blocks. I want to get better at everything. I'm excited to get coached by the best at Ohio State.”

Depth Chart Outlook

The transition from high school to college is tough enough for the majority of offensive linemen, but with Smith not arriving at Ohio State until June, the 2026 season will be one in which he develops and adds to his frame off the field. If that goes well, he could potentially begin to contribute on special teams as a sophomore in 2027; he likely won't play a significant role along the offensive line until his third season at OSU in 2028.

While Smith profiles as an interior offensive lineman at Ohio State, he has the frame to move to tackle if needed, if that's how the depth chart moves forward for more playing time in the future. That said, he’s expected to begin his Ohio State career at guard.

Player Comparison: Marcus Hall

While Hall will always be known for his hand gesture while leaving the field in Ann Arbor in 2013, he provided even more than that during his time at Ohio State. That said, it all came after a couple of years of development.

The 6-5, 315-pound offensive lineman played 10 games during his first two seasons in Columbus, the latter of which he redshirted. Hall then recorded five starts at right guard while also serving as the backup left guard in his fourth season as a Buckeye.

Hall became a full-time starter as a redshirt senior, starting all 12 games at right guard while playing in 827 of 837 snaps from scrimmage in 2012.

Smith could follow the same career path as Hall in Columbus as long as he develops his game. Hall started 17 games for Ohio State, all of which came in his fourth and fifth seasons with the Buckeyes.

The fact that Smith has experience all over the offensive line – much like Hall did – should increase his chances of earning playing time as an upperclassman after contributing on special teams during his first couple of years at OSU.

Skull Session: Bill Connelly Gives Three “What-Ifs” for Ohio State to Win the National Championship, Beanie Wells Describes the New “Michigan Man” and Thad Matta Joins Jim Tressel’s Podcast

Josh Poloha — Thursday, July 23, 2026 - 04:55

Welcome to the Skull Session.

In six days, Ohio State will be talking to the beat writers at Big Ten Media Days. In 14 days, the Buckeyes start training camp.

This offseason seems like it has flown by.

Have a good Thursday.

WHAT-IFS. While ESPN's Bill Connelly sees Ohio State as a Big Ten title favorite and ranks the Buckeyes No. 1 in his SP+ rankings entering the 2026 season, he also handed out "what-ifs" for 21 different teams to potentially win a national championship this season.

Atop the list, OSU has three what-ifs:

If ... the portal delivered a pass defense. Matt Patricia inherited the best defense in the country (per SP+) last season and, if anything, improved it. But the Buckeyes' defense lost four top-40 NFL draft picks and seven picks in all. With four of his top five linemen and six of his top nine defensive backs gone, coach Ryan Day added two transfer ends, two tackles, two corners and two safeties. At least one of those in each position needs to become a stalwart in the lineup.

If ... Jeremiah Smith has batterymates. In Smith, Ohio State returns maybe the most-talented player in the country. But Julian Sayin's next two targets in 2025 (both high draft picks) are gone, and only two other returnees caught even five passes last season. Between veteran Brandon Inniss, four veteran transfers and blue-chip youngsters Chris Henry Jr., Jerquaden Guilford and Legend Bey, a lot of players will need to thrive in more important roles.

If ... new OC Arthur Smith can pick up the pace. Ohio State played at the second-slowest tempo last season (31.4 seconds per play) and averaged the third-fewest drives per game (9.9). It kept things calm and organized for Sayin, but when things turned urgent in their CFP quarterfinal loss to Miami, the pace never picked up, and the Buckeyes never produced the urgency necessary to deliver a comeback. With regular-season games against Oregon, Indiana and Texas, and a hopeful playoff run in its future, Ohio State should see a few more close-and-late situations this season. If all Smith does is improve the tempo when it needs improving, that's probably a net win.

Those are three of the biggest question marks Buckeye Nation has discussed throughout much of the offseason. They were also three of the biggest priorities for Ohio State this offseason that Ryan Day and Co. did their best to answer.

We'll see how it plays out, but the Buckeyes have put themselves in a good position for all three of those what-ifs.

NO LIES DETECTED. On "The Script" podcast with Cardale Jones, Dave Holmes and Beanie Wells, the trio discussed some of the events that have taken place at Michigan lately. Specifically, the sign-stealing saga and everything that has followed.

"There was this thing, it was talked about, you know, being a Michigan man, where it held so much regard, you have so much respect," Wells explained. "Well, that Michigan man certainly disappeared because now that Michigan man is a cheater. He's a liar. He's a schemer. He's a scammer. Like nobody wants to be a Michigan man anymore. It no longer has that same regard as what it once did."

With the podcast episode debuting on July 15, Wells predicted that Warde Manuel would no longer be the athletic director at Michigan for long.

"Mr. President, your ass is about to get impeached," Wells said.

Five days later, Michigan announced that Manuel would step down as the university's athletic director at the end of 2026.

TWO GOATS, ONE PODCAST. On Jim Tressel's latest "It's All About the Team" podcast, he had Thad Matta on to discuss all things college athletics, but more specifically, Ohio State. Throughout the 72-minute podcast, the pair discussed plenty of topics, and ended it with how they believe college athletics can be fixed, and even talked about a potential Super League.

Here are some of the most relevant topics that were discussed:

The Moment Matta Knew His Future In Basketball Was As A Coach, Not A Player

"My first ever open gym at Butler University was in August. And back then the Indiana Pacers would come and workout with us like really the month of September. Would open gym with us every day. And the first game I ever played in, I checked it up to this 6-7, 195-pound rookie named Reggie Miller. And I remember walking back to my dorm room, I looked myself in the mirror and said, 'You are not going to the NBA. You got to become a coach.'"

He later explained that he wanted to coach in the Big Ten: "My dream, my goal was to coach in the Big Ten. I wanted to play in the Big Ten but I wasn't good enough, so I wanted to coach in the Big Ten."

Tressel Explains Why Sports Provide So Much More Than Just Playing Games

"The value of sport is what it prepares you to do outside of sports. We've lost our way given the current state of affairs. That value of being that teammate, staying a little extra after practice, being a good role model, being there when it's tough. (You) learn lessons when that helps them – everything's not going to be perfect. You're going to have times when it's not going well."

Matta Describes What Makes a Great Strength and Conditioning Coach

"The greatest strength coaches I ever had were when (players) hated them for 59 minutes and then hugged them at the end. Because that means he got the most out of them."

Matta and Tressel Discuss Coaching Now Being A 365-Day-Per-Year Job

Matta: "Now you practice in the summer in college basketball. There's no dead time with your guys."

Tressel: "I don't know who came up with that rule because they did that in football, too. I think they wanted coaches to never have a day off the whole year or something."

Matta: "It was insanity. It really was."

Matta Discusses What's Most Important in Coaching, Leadership and Building a Team

"It's knowing your guys. And knowing – OK, a team goes on a 12-0 run, you take a timeout. Do I relax them and calm them down, do I rip them, do I make substitutions?"

Tressel Talks About Learning From Players Being Critical to Build a Team

"(Learning from the players) is so critical. So many leaders go in and they want to pontificate about all the wisdom they have and so forth. But learning the people who have lived it – now they have to be the right kind of guys – is so critical to learn from the people that we are trying to serve, lead and build into a team."

Matta on his First Year at Ohio State

"I went in, kind of as the young country boy, kind of naive. I had no idea how powerful Ohio State is. I had no clue in terms of the magnitude of what that university is.

"My first year was maybe one of the funnest years. ... That year helped me as a coach because it loosened me up because we weren't playing for anything (because we had a postseason ban). As time went on, I was a coach who wasn't afraid to lose, I was going to play to win. That year helped me a lot in terms of setting the tone.

"I go back to our last game of the year, we're playing Illinois, they're 29-0. We were supposed to have Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook at the game. I remember telling the coaches on Thursday, it was a Sunday afternoon game, 'Look, we just have to devise a game plan to keep this game close with these guys in the stands.'

"We hang around, hang around. With 12.3 seconds to go, we take the timeout. I'll never forget, we're down two, I turn to my staff and I said what should we do? 'Go down low to (Terence) Dials, go down low to Dials, go down low to Dials.' I said, fellas, do you really want to play the best team in college basketball for five more minutes? I said I'm going to go for the win, we're going to shoot a three. And Matt Sylvester made the shot.

"You think about defining moments in your coaching career – making calls to win games or whatever. ... It kind of solidified or stamped our program and from there, Ohio State basketball kind of took off."

Matta on What Made Greg Oden, Mike Conley and the 2006-07 Team Special

"The thing that made that group special was Mike Conley. I'll never forget, he and Greg came in and they were normal guys. We had really good players to go with them but that was one of the biggest challenges – I felt nervous when Greg Oden got there. I was like, what if I screw this up? And Greg came into my office when he first got there and said coach, whatever you do, just please coach me. I want to be the greatest, I want to be the best.

"Those guys took a chance on us and I'm forever indebted to them for choosing Ohio State like they did."

Now that's some good stuff.

SONG OF THE DAY. "Old Man" – Chase Johanson.

NO JOSHIN’, JUST LINKS. The 2026 Jazz & Rib Fest takes over downtown Columbus this weekend ... NHL to produce and distribute local game telecasts for Columbus Blue Jackets ... A Minnesota town now boasts the world's tallest nutcracker ... Erling Haaland's World Cup performance sparks a Viking-coded "babygirl" meme ... France becomes first European Union country to ban social media for kids under 15.

Five-Star Running Back David Gabriel Georges Commits to Tennessee Over Ohio State

Dan Hope — Wednesday, July 22, 2026 - 17:34

Ohio State recruited David Gabriel Georges as aggressively as any prospect in the 2027 class, but that wasn’t enough to land his commitment in the end.

The five-star running back committed to Tennessee on Wednesday, handing the Buckeyes their most disappointing recruiting loss of the 2027 cycle as Carlos Locklyn misses out on his clear-cut top target in the class.

pic.twitter.com/AenPSLpEKw
— David Gabriel Georges (@DavidGG27) July 22, 2026

Ohio State pursued Gabriel Georges for nearly two years, offering him in August 2024, and it was clear by last summer that the Canadian running back was Locklyn’s prospect of choice in his class. The Buckeyes went to great lengths to try to land Gabriel Georges, sending their entire offensive coaching staff to visit him at Baylor School this spring, reportedly offering him more than $1 million per year in NIL money and even offering his high school teammate, unranked safety Jordan Darren Djila Tchuisseu.

Tennessee, however, reportedly offered Gabriel Georges a deal in the range of $2 million per year, according to On3’s Chris Low. The Volunteers were also able to offer proximity to his high school, which is located less than two hours away from Knoxville in Chattanooga, Tennessee, along with a faster path to a starting job.

As such, Gabriel Georges decided to be a Volunteer, sending Ohio State back to the drawing board at running back, where the Buckeyes don’t currently have any commits in the 2027 class.

Buckeyes must now reset the board at RB

While the reward of landing Gabriel Georges would have been massive, as he’s the No. 10 overall prospect in the 2027 class and the reigning MaxPreps National High School Player of the Year, the risk of going all in on a singular prospect at a position is that it leaves the Buckeyes without a clear plan to fill what’s now a gaping hole at running back in their 2027 class.

There are four running backs with Ohio State offers in the 2027 class who remain uncommitted: Landen Williams-Callis, Caden Waye, Asa Barnes and CJ Cowley. That said, Williams-Callis and Barnes are scheduled to make commitments within the next two weeks from groups of finalists that don’t include Ohio State, while Waye and Cowley’s recruitments have gone quiet in recent months.

The most likely flip target for Ohio State is Florida State commit Jayden Miles, the only running back other than DGG that made an official visit to Columbus this summer. Given that he committed to the Seminoles just one day after his official visit to Ohio State concluded, however, it’s quite possible the Buckeyes missed their chance to land Miles – the No. 28 running back in 247Sports’ composite rankings for 2027 – by choosing not to take a commitment from any other running back as long as Gabriel Georges remained on the board.

Ohio State is unlikely to make the same level of financial commitment to any other running back in the class that it would have made to Gabriel Georges, given that DGG was clearly the back the Buckeyes valued most. But even a significant chunk of that money could be enough for Ohio State to make a late run at another top running back in the class. With less than five months to go now until signing day, however, Locklyn and the Buckeyes must work quickly if they're going to make that happen.

Ohio State still has plenty of young talent at RB

The good news for Ohio State is that the Buckeyes will still have plenty of talented young running backs on their roster next season. Bo Jackson and Isaiah West are only sophomores, so they’ll both be back in 2027, assuming neither transfers. Legend Bey, who the Buckeyes signed after another intense recruiting battle with Tennessee, is another budding star in the room who should be at Ohio State until at least 2028.

Sophomore running back Anthony “Turbo” Rogers was a top-100 prospect in the 2025 class, while freshman Favour Akih was a four-star prospect in the 2026 class, giving the Buckeyes five underclassman running backs on scholarship who all still have at least four years of collegiate eligibility.

Ohio State also has another potential future star in its running back pipeline in Elijah Newman-Hall, the third-ranked running back in the 2028 class, who’s already been committed to Ohio State for more than a year. Gabriel Georges’ commitment to Tennessee will likely increase the Buckeyes’ efforts to add another top running back in the 2028 class to pair with Newman-Hall.

Gabriel Georges is a special talent, so the impact of losing him can’t be dismissed solely based on the rest of the talent in the room. And even with that talent, Ohio State can’t afford to skip an entire cycle at running back, especially when acknowledging the reality that transfer attrition is always a possibility in the modern era of college football. But the Buckeyes’ future at RB is far from bleak even without DGG.

Skull Session: Julian Sayin Ranked As College Football’s Fifth-Best Quarterback, David Gabriel Georges Makes His Commitment Tonight and 19 Buckeyes Make the East-West Bowl 1000

Dan Hope — Wednesday, July 22, 2026 - 04:55

Welcome to the Skull Session.

Northwestern gave media members an inside look at the ongoing construction of its new football stadium on Tuesday, and former Ohio State/new Northwestern offensive coordinator Chip Kelly was dressed for the occasion:

The latest at new Ryan Field, set to open Oct. 2 when Northwestern hosts Penn State. pic.twitter.com/49JSEZ8ord
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) July 21, 2026

Chip Kelly. Purple vest. Hard hat. Football guy. pic.twitter.com/34NcAEaSqn
— Sammy P (@spshoot) July 21, 2026

Have a great Wednesday.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S FIFTH-BEST QB. After surveying roughly three dozen coaches, general managers, personnel directors, scouts and front office staffers from around college football, The Athletic’s Antonio Morales and Sam Khan Jr. ranked every projected starting quarterback in the FBS from No. 1 to No. 138.

Ohio State’s Julian Sayin was one of eight quarterbacks who earned a spot in Tier 1, which The Athletic categorized by the following description:

The best of the best. They have a strong combination of proven production and elite traits and are among the Heisman Trophy frontrunners. Coaches want to build their teams around them.

Despite being the only returning Heisman finalist from last season and the reigning national leader in completion percentage, however, Sayin was only ranked as college football’s fifth-best quarterback behind Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, Oregon’s Dante Moore, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and Miami’s Darian Mensah.

Khan and Morales wrote that deciding where to rank Sayin was “one of the most polarizing debates,” as they received “a wide range of opinions as to whether Sayin is an elite quarterback or just a product of Ohio State’s system and the talent around him.”

“He’s just a game manager. Overrated,” a Big Ten general manager said. “Not a guy who can win them the title.” Meanwhile, an ACC front office staffer said, “I think people are criminally low on Sayin. I think Sayin is a top-two or -three quarterback, and anyone else who doesn’t have him there is wrong.”

Personally, I agree with the unnamed ACC staffer. Outside of Fernando Mendoza, no quarterback in all of college football was more efficient than Sayin last season – and that was as a first-year starter who had played zero meaningful snaps at the collegiate level before last year. He’s not as athletic as Chambliss and Moore, but no quarterback in college football is more consistently accurate, and the narrative that he’s merely a game manager overlooks how excellent he was throughout the regular season a year ago.

That said, if I’m Ryan Day, I’m showing him the quote from the Big Ten GM first. Sayin already has a chip on his shoulder because of how last season ended, and opinions like that should only fire him up more to lead Ohio State to a national championship, which would be the ultimate way to prove his doubters wrong.

DGG’S DECISION DAY. The most anticipated recruiting announcement of the summer will take place this evening when five-star running back David Gabriel Georges announces his commitment to either Ohio State or Tennessee at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Gabriel Georges has been Ohio State’s clear-cut top target at running back in the 2027 class for more than a year, as the Buckeyes have focused nearly all of their recruiting efforts at the position for this cycle on landing the 2025 MaxPreps National High School Football Player of the Year. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, tonight’s announcement appears likely to be bad news for Ohio State, as several national recruiting insiders have made predictions over the last few days that Gabriel Georges will commit to Tennessee.

Commitment tomorrow at 5h30pm EST https://t.co/C8LotAZn6k @247Sports @TomLoy247 @BaylorSchoolFB @ErikKimrey @jay_agenor
— David Gabriel Georges (@DavidGG27) July 21, 2026

Assuming tonight’s announcement goes as expected, it will be the most disappointing loss of the 2027 recruiting cycle for Ohio State. There’s no denying that, as Carlos Locklyn made it no secret how badly he wanted DGG in his room and the Buckeyes don’t have a clear Plan B at the position after going all in on their top target.

That said, Ohio State shouldn’t be accused of not trying hard enough to win this recruitment. The Buckeyes have been as aggressive as they’ve ever been in any recruiting battle with their efforts to court Gabriel Georges, sending their entire offensive coaching staff to visit him at his high school this spring and reportedly offering him an NIL deal worth more than $1 million per year.

But there is a limit to just how far Ohio State will go in bidding for a high school prospect. According to On3’s Chris Low, Tennessee is offering Gabriel Georges a deal in the range of $2 million per year. The Volunteers can also promise Gabriel Georges the chance to compete for an immediate starting spot in 2027, which the Buckeyes can’t because Bo Jackson, Isaiah West and Legend Bey – who Ohio State landed after another highly publicized recruiting battle with Tennessee – will all be back at Ohio State next season, assuming no transfers.

Even without Gabriel Georges, Ohio State has one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, led by loaded classes along the defensive and offensive lines and another five-star wide receiver in Jamier Brown. That said, the Buckeyes will need to go back to the drawing board quickly and figure out how to fill the absence of a running back in their class if Tennessee is DGG’s pick tonight.

19 OF THE NATION’S TOP 1000. After 25 Ohio State players were selected in the last two NFL drafts, the Buckeyes have plenty of draft prospects on NFL scouts’ radars once again entering the 2026 season.

The Shriners Children’s East-West Bowl (formerly known as the East-West Shrine Bowl) released its annual 1,000-player preseason watch list on Tuesday, identifying the top 2027 NFL draft prospects it’s watching from all levels of college football. Nineteen draft-eligible players from Ohio State made the list.

1️⃣9️⃣ Buckeyes land on the 2027 @ShrinersBowl 1000 Watch List. pic.twitter.com/nt3LRRwmj9
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) July 21, 2026

On the offensive side of the ball, Sayin is joined on the watch list by wide receivers Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Inniss and Devin McCuin, tight end Bennett Christian, and offensive linemen Austin Siereveld, Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinzman and Phillip Daniels.

They’re joined on the list by 10 defensive upperclassmen who are expected to play major roles for Ohio State this season: defensive ends Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Beau Atkinson, defensive tackles Eddrick Houston, James Smith and John Walker, linebacker Christian Alliegro, cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. and safeties Earl Little Jr., Jaylen McClain and Terry Moore.

While Jeremiah Smith is Ohio State’s only slam-dunk first-round pick for next year’s NFL draft, all 19 of those players have a legitimate shot at being NFL draft picks next spring, giving the Buckeyes a real chance at having double-digit draft selections for the third year in a row.

Ohio State is one of 10 schools with 19 or more players on the East-West Bowl 1000. Texas Tech leads the way with a whopping 27 players on the list – though one of them is Brendan Sorsby, who won’t actually play for the Red Raiders this year after he was ruled ineligible for gambling – followed by Indiana (22), Miami (22), LSU (21), Ole Miss (20), Texas (20), Texas A&M (20), Notre Dame (19), Ohio State (19) and Penn State (19).

SONG OF THE DAY. “Hells Bells” – AC/DC

HOPE YOU’RE STILL READING. The Angels fired ‘The Baseball Spy’ after he filmed Rockies coaches (wonder where he got that idea from) … Wetzel: Michigan could have run this investigation through AI instead … SEC ejects legendary Finebaum Show caller from media days … Karl Ravech, Tom Pelissero among ESPN layoffs in latest round of cuts … Who are the glow-in-the-dark Cosmic Chili Peppers? Meet the baseball team coming to Columbus.

Skull Session: Ohio State Favored to Win It All in EA Sports College Football 27 Simulations, OSU Has the Second-Best Offensive Line in the Country, and Ryan Day and Jaylen McClain Earn Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Nods

Josh Poloha — Tuesday, July 21, 2026 - 04:55

Welcome to the Skull Session.

First-time Skull Session-er, long-time 11W writer – well, almost four years, to be exact.

With Chase Brown taking a well-deserved week off, I'm helping fill in for one of the many legends on here and am extremely grateful for the opportunity.

But enough about me, let's get to it.

Have a good Tuesday.

IT'S VERY NICE. Simulations and video games aren't real life, we all know that. But it's still nice to dream – and could even be a tool to kill time as we wait for college football season to kick off.

With that, USA Today's Jordan Mendoza simulated the 2026 season on EA Sports College Football 27 to try and guess the results of the upcoming season.

In the 100 simulations, 21 different teams won the national championship, 18 of whom are Power Four programs: Six SEC, five Big Ten, five ACC and three Big 12. Notre Dame (independent) and Boise State (Pac-12) were the two exceptions. For some context, Indiana did not win the national championship a single time in the simulations before the 2025 college football season a year ago.

Ohio State led the way, winning it all 22 times, the only team with at least 20 national championships throughout the 100 simulations. Oklahoma (17), Miami (13) and Ole Miss (10) were the only other teams in double digits. The Buckeyes made the CFP 85 times and reached the national championship game 57 times.

That sounds good to me.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS. With Ohio State returning four of its five starting offensive linemen from 2025, the group is expected to be one of the Buckeyes' strongest units in 2026.

While there could still be some shuffling around as the fifth starter (and his exact position) has not been determined yet, Phillip Daniels, Carson Hinzman, Luke Montgomery and Austin Siereveld are all returning as starters for the 2026 season, while Ian Moore, Joshua Padilla, Gabe VanSickle and Jake Cook are competing for that fifth and final starting nod up front.

Even though the fifth starting offensive lineman hasn't been determined yet, CBS's Blake Brockermeyer ranks Ohio State's O-line as the second-best in the country, with Georgia atop the list.

Ohio State's offensive line struggled down the stretch in 2025, but the Buckeyes return a dependable group with 89 career starts and the right mentality to bounce back in 2026.

The strength of the unit is the interior, anchored by Carson Hinzman, who has logged nearly 2,200 career snaps. Hinzman is a steady, dependable player who excels in pass protection and thrives in Ohio State's zone-running schemes.

Returning starters Luke Montgomery and Austin Siereveld boast more than 2,500 combined career snaps. Montgomery is a tough, blue-collar player, while Siereveld slides inside from left tackle and should provide a boost to the running game. Based on last season's tape, he's one of the nation's better run blockers.

Phillip Daniels returns at right tackle with more than 1,000 career snaps. He's a physical player who can struggle against speed and quickness off the edge, but he has a high ceiling and I expect him to take a significant step forward this season. It wouldn't surprise me if Daniels eventually becomes the highest NFL Draft pick of the group.

Ian Moore is expected to earn the starting job at left tackle despite having fewer than 300 career snaps, making him the biggest wildcard on the line. Like most teams, Ohio State has very little proven depth behind its starters.

Going into preseason camp, Montgomery and Hinzman are locked in as Ohio State’s starting left guard and center. If Moore wins the competition and is named the starter, he would start at left tackle and move Siereveld to right guard. If Siereveld stays at left tackle, Moore could challenge Daniels at right tackle, while VanSickle and Padilla are each candidates to start at right guard.

If Ohio State leans on its experience up front and the offensive line learns from its failures from the Buckeyes' final two games last season (both of which were losses), it could be an O-line that OSU can lean on throughout the season.

THE PEOPLE. THE TRADITION. THE EXCELLENCE. Ryan Day, his players and his football program are doing great things on and off the field. The latest example of that was on Monday, when Day and Jaylen McClain were named Allstate AFCA Good Works Team nominees.

Honoring those whose impact goes beyond the game.@ryandaytime & @Jaylenmcclain08 have been nominated to the 2026–27 @Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. pic.twitter.com/DdcDaEVEF6
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) July 20, 2026

Established in 1992, the AFCA Good Works Team recognizes college football student-athletes and coaches who demonstrate exceptional commitment to community service, academics and athletics. The program honors players who utilize their platforms to strengthen communities and support causes that are important to them.

From Ohio State’s news release:

Off the field, McClain started Everyday Legends Foundation, a foundation started and operated by Jaylen McClain, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering youth and strengthening underserved communities. Additionally this summer, he put on the inaugural Jaylen McClain Youth Football Camp which focused on leadership, skill-building, and confidence for young athletes. He also has been an active volunteer in seasonal outreach efforts, including holiday toy drives and Thanksgiving turkey donation initiatives.

Coach Day and his wife, Nina, established The Nina and Ryan Day Resilience Fund: Established with a $1 million donation to The Ohio State University, this fund focuses on research to identify risk factors for mental illness and cultivate resilience. The Christina and Ryan Day Fund for Pediatric and Adolescent Mental Wellness: Created in partnership with Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Kids Mental Health Foundation, this fund provides free "Day Time Break" curriculum kits to classrooms, teaching young students how to manage stress and boost mental health.

The Good Works Team will be announced in September and will consist of 22 student-athletes (including one team captain) and one head coach.

Rooting for good players and coaches is awesome; rooting for great people is even better.

“A PERFECT STORM.” Ohio State's schedule is loaded this season; there's no doubt about that. It's a slate that includes home games against Illinois, Oregon and Michigan and road trips to Texas, Iowa, Indiana, USC and Nebraska.

Given the 18-team Big Ten, there will be years when OSU has a loaded schedule (this season) and years when the Buckeyes don't have as tough a conference slate.

During an appearance on The Bobby Carpenter Show last week, the Sporting News' Bill Bender discussed the challenges of Ohio State's tough schedule this season.

"Well, I think we're going to continue to see an imbalanced schedule," Bender said. "There will be years where Ohio State misses these (elite) teams, but it's just a perfect storm on their schedule this year.

"I haven't seen a schedule this difficult," he continued. "I'm not saying they're going 9-3, but if they were 9-3 with that schedule, much like Texas was last year, I think they would have a very legitimate argument to get in the playoff."

When you factor in Ohio State's regular-season schedule and also include a potential Big Ten championship game and the 12-team CFP, this could legitimately be the Buckeyes' toughest schedule ever.

Are they ready for the test? We’ll start to find out in six-and-a-half weeks.

THE CAPTAIN. Bruce Thornton certainly made a name for himself during the NBA Summer League.

The 31st pick in the 2026 NBA draft (first pick of the second round), Thornton averaged a team-high 18.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, a team-high 4.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game in five Summer League games for the Houston Rockets. The Buckeyes’ all-time leading scorer and first-ever four-time captain shot 39.1% from the field and 40.6% from beyond the arc on 6.4 3-pointers per contest in a team-high 31.4 minutes per game.

Granted, it's only the Summer League, but Thornton will look to carry that momentum into the preseason and prove that he belongs in the rotation as a rookie on a team that is an NBA title contender.

Columbus might be far from Houston, but Thornton certainly has a bunch of fans who will be rooting for him in Buckeye Nation, no matter where he plays.

SONG OF THE DAY. "Coast to Coastin" – North to Nashville

NO JOSHIN’, JUST LINKS. All of the incredible images from the 2026 World Cup in one place ... Over one million fans celebrate Spain winning the World Cup in Madrid ... Hundreds of newborns in Peru have been named for rising stars such as Norway’s Erling Haaland ... Rare identical quadruplets born in Australia ... FDA says Taylor Farms lettuce parasite test was a false positive.

Investigation Finds “Weaknesses in Accountability, Organizational Structure, Oversight, and Reporting” in Michigan’s Athletic Department

Dan Hope — Monday, July 20, 2026 - 11:48

Jenner & Block’s investigation into the culture of Michigan’s athletic department identified “serious concerns” that university president Domenico Grasso described as “unacceptable.”

While Michigan declined to release the direct documents from the investigation into its athletic department, citing “the privacy of the members of our community who participated,” the university issued a news release on Monday summarizing the investigation’s findings.

Michigan commissioned an investigation by Jenner & Block, a Chicago-based law firm, in late 2025 to investigate allegations of an inappropriate relationship between football coach Sherrone Moore and executive assistant Paige Shiver. After firing Moore for that relationship in December, Michigan expanded that investigation into a culture review of its entire athletic department.

Per the university’s release, Jenner & Block conducted 350 interviews of nearly 300 witnesses, including coaches, athletics staff, athletes, university leaders and human resources personnel. Jenner & Block received information from more than 90 individuals through its investigation hotline and reviewed more than 20,000 documents over the course of its investigation.

According to the university, the culture review identified three overarching areas for improvement for Michigan’s athletic department:

Leadership accountability: Ensuring leadership at all levels consistently follows through when misconduct is identified.

Organizational structure: Addressing weaknesses in investigations, human resources, compliance, and oversight.

Reporting culture: Reducing barriers to reporting concerns and fostering an environment where employees and student-athletes feel comfortable raising issues.

The investigation did not find evidence of “widespread” misconduct throughout the athletic department, according to the university. However, “the culture review found that weaknesses in accountability, organizational structure, oversight, and reporting created conditions in which misconduct was not always addressed consistently, promptly, or in accordance with University expectations.”

Specific to Michigan football, Jenner & Block’s culture review found that “the football program’s prominence and organizational structure created unique oversight challenges.”

“The culture review concluded that existing oversight mechanisms were not sufficiently effective and recommended strengthening leadership oversight, clarifying responsibilities, enhancing reporting relationships and improving compliance processes,” Michigan wrote in its release.

Although the Wall Street Journal reported last week that Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel raised concerns about Moore’s relationship with Shiver in August 2024, the investigators did not find that any current Michigan employee had “direct, contemporaneous evidence” of Moore’s relationship with Shiver until the university launched its investigation into Moore.

That said, the investigation “identified failures to quickly and effectively act on allegations of wrongdoing by Athletic Department employees” by Manuel, who will step down as Michigan’s athletic director at the end of 2026 following the investigation.

Michigan president Domenico Grasso described the issues uncovered by the culture review as “serious concerns that require immediate action.”

“These include failures in accountability; structural deficiencies; weaknesses in our reporting and support systems; and concerns about retaliation,” Grasso said. “This is unacceptable. We have significant work ahead to restore Michigan Athletics to its standing as a model program not only on the field, but also off the field.”

In response to the investigation, Michigan plans to develop a formal implementation plan focused on strengthening the athletic department in six key areas: strengthening its compliance office, enhancing human resources operations, establishing consistent investigative policies and procedures, improving processes for reporting and escalating concerns, strengthening athletics leadership and organizational structure, and expanding student-athlete health and wellness support.

1. Compliance Function
The University will strengthen the independence, visibility, and authority of its compliance function to reinforce institutional accountability. This includes evaluating the creation of a C-suite officer for Compliance to lead the Ethics, Integrity, and Compliance Office and reviewing reporting relationships so Athletics Compliance has greater institutional independence while continuing to support the Department of Athletics.

2. Human Resources Function
The University will strengthen the accountability and independence of the Athletics human resources function by reviewing reporting structures and implementing enhanced hiring, onboarding, and offboarding practices. Additional reforms include incorporating student-athlete feedback and key performance indicators into coaching evaluations, strengthening performance management, establishing a formal progressive discipline policy with clearly defined expectations and termination protocols, and using exit interview data to identify organizational trends and opportunities for improvement.

3. Policy Changes
The University will establish consistent investigative policies and procedures based on best practices, including standardized investigative protocols, documentation requirements, and expectations for truthful cooperation with investigations. The University will also evaluate policies governing investigators’ access to relevant information and work-related personal devices, when appropriate, in connection with credible allegations of misconduct.

4. Escalating Misconduct
The University will strengthen processes for identifying, reporting, evaluating, escalating, and documenting concerns involving student-athlete health and safety, NCAA compliance, human resources matters, and other significant issues. Reforms include establishing clear reporting expectations, defined investigative pathways, formal escalation procedures for matters involving senior leaders, and centralized documentation and tracking of investigations and their outcomes.

5. Athletic Department Leadership and Structure
The University will strengthen leadership accountability and departmental cohesion by clearly defining the responsibilities of Sport Administrators, enhancing oversight across all athletics programs and reinforcing expectations regarding accountability, integrity, and zero tolerance for retaliation. Additional actions include evaluating whether football should have a dedicated Sport Administrator, increasing regular reporting on the status of compliance matters and investigations to the president and Board of Regents, formalizing cross-department collaboration, requiring regular all-staff meetings, and increasing engagement with all athletics programs to ensure consistent oversight and support.

6. Student-Athlete Welfare and Health
The University will further strengthen its commitment to student-athlete health and wellbeing by expanding access to confidential medical and mental health resources, implementing mandatory coach training on student-athlete mental health, nutrition and eating disorders, evaluating the creation of a dedicated eating disorder support team comprised of dietitians, physicians and counseling professionals, and regularly assessing student-athlete wellness and nutrition needs to guide future improvements.

Michigan is also exploring the possibility of creating an Athletics Board that would advise the university on matters related to its athletic department.

Investigation came after years of scandals in Ann Arbor

The recommendations come after a host of scandals within the Michigan athletic department in recent years.

Moore was arrested shortly after his firing for entering Shiver’s home without permission, and pleaded no contest to charges of trespassing and malicious use of a telecommunications device in March.

Last August, the NCAA found “overwhelming evidence” that Michigan football conducted an illegal sign-stealing scheme from 2021 to 2023 under the leadership of former analyst Connor Stalions, which resulted in fines of approximately $30 million against Michigan. Another major scandal involving Michigan football in recent years was the arrest of former co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss, who was indicted on 24 federal charges in March 2025 for allegedly obtaining unauthorized access to personal information and intimate photos and videos of thousands of college athletes.

The NCAA also found that former coach Jim Harbaugh’s program committed recruiting violations during the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a four-year show-cause penalty against Harbaugh. Harbaugh, who left Michigan after the 2023 season to become the head coach of the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers, later received another 10-year show-cause penalty for his involvement in the sign-stealing scheme.

Michigan’s controversies in recent years haven’t been limited to the football program, as men’s hockey coach Mel Pearson was fired in 2022 after an investigation into his program revealed a toxic culture and potential violations of university codes. Former men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard was suspended for five games in 2022 after he struck a Wisconsin assistant coach during a postgame handshake line.

Warde Manuel Stepping Down As Michigan’s Athletic Director At End of 2026

Dan Hope — Monday, July 20, 2026 - 09:30

Warde Manuel’s tenure as Michigan’s athletic director will conclude at the end of 2026.

Michigan president Domenico Grasso announced Monday that Manuel will step down as Michigan’s athletic director at the end of the calendar year. Grasso said Manuel will remain at Michigan as a special advisor to the president.

Monday’s announcement came as Michigan released a report on the internal investigation it commissioned into its athletic department following the December firing of former football coach Sherrone Moore for an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Per the report released by Michigan on Monday, a culture review of the Michigan athletic department by independent law firm Jenner & Block found that Manuel “demonstrated important leadership strengths, particularly his commitment to student-athletes,” but “at the same time, it identified failures to quickly and effectively act on allegations of wrongdoing by Athletic Department employees.”

Grasso said he “will be launching a national search” for Michigan’s athletic director following Manuel’s resignation.

Manuel will leave his post as Michigan’s athletic director after an 11-year tenure leading the department that’s been marred by a multitude of scandals in recent years.

While Michigan’s release did not address specific details uncovered by the investigation, The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Manuel raised concerns about Moore’s relationship with executive assistant Paige Shiver dating back to August 2024. Moore was not fired for the relationship until this past December; Moore was subsequently arrested for entering Shiver’s home without permission, and pleaded no contest to charges of trespassing and malicious use of a telecommunications device in March.

Per Michigan’s release on Monday, Jenner & Block’s culture review of Michigan’s athletic department “found that weaknesses in accountability, organizational structure, oversight, and reporting created conditions in which misconduct was not always addressed consistently, promptly, or in accordance with University expectations.” Specific to the football program, the review “concluded that existing oversight mechanisms were not sufficiently effective and recommended strengthening leadership oversight, clarifying responsibilities, enhancing reporting relationships and improving compliance processes.”

On the field of play, Michigan has had some major successes under Manuel’s leadership, including a football national championship in 2023 and a men’s basketball national championship this past season. But Manuel drew ire from Michigan fans for his failure to retain the Wolverines’ best coaches, as men’s basketball coach Dusty May followed Harbaugh in leaving Ann Arbor for the professional ranks immediately after winning a national title.

With Manuel’s impending departure in January, Michigan will have a new athletic director, football coach and men’s basketball coach in a span of 13 months.

“I am very proud of all the successes and accomplishments of our athletic department over the past 11 years. We have tremendous coaches and professionals who support our outstanding student athletes every day,” Manuel said in a statement. “I am happy President Grasso asked me to stay on to work with him to implement the recommendations for continuous improvement. I promise everyone I will have more to say about my decision at the appropriate time.”

A former Michigan football player, Manuel signed a five-year contract extension with Michigan in December 2024. Per the terms of his contract, Michigan would have had to pay Manuel 36 months of severance if it fired him. His decision to step down and stay on as a special advisor, however, suggests that Michigan and Manuel reached a financial settlement before Monday’s announcement, though the financial terms of his departure were not disclosed by the university.

LJ Smith Ready to Play College Basketball, Confident He’ll Make Immediate Impact at Ohio State After Reclassification

Dan Hope — Monday, July 20, 2026 - 08:35

LJ Smith is looking to accelerate his development by enrolling at Ohio State one year early.

The five-star guard was originally a member of the 2027 recruiting class when he committed to the Buckeyes in November. Last month, however, Smith decided to reclassify into the 2026 class and become a Buckeye this year after completing his high school education early.

Smith, who played for one of the nation’s top high school basketball programs at Oak Hill Academy last season, felt like he would gain more by starting his Ohio State career this season rather than playing another year of high school basketball.

“I was just ready to come get better at the college level and develop my game,” Smith said last week in his first interview session since arriving at Ohio State. “During the winter, I was just worried about school ball at the time at Oak Hill, just staying in ’27. Spring came around, playing AAU ball, I felt like I was done with high school, ready to go to college. So I'm hoping to get better there.”

Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said conversations with Smith about a potential reclassification started at the end of his junior season at Oak Hill, but the Buckeyes felt at the time that Smith would benefit from staying in high school for his senior year. After a strong AAU season this spring, however, Ohio State decided that Smith would be able to help the team in 2026-27 and reinitiated those conversations.

“There had been some conversations even going back to, I'll call it, towards the end of his high school season that, ‘Hey, this could be a possibility.’ It was initiated by them. We had some initial conversations. Then it really kind of shifted to, ‘Hey, we think maybe that's not best right now,’” Diebler said after Smith’s reclassification in June. “So those conversations started happening again later in the spring, and we watched him in Memphis with his AAU team and felt like he could come in, have an impact, add value to the roster as it had formed.

“In order for this to work, everybody had to be on the same page. And so it just took kind of a transparent dialogue to get to that point. And once we realized everybody was on the same page, ‘Hey, this is good for him, it's good for us,’ then it was, ‘All right, how do we get this done?’”

“I was just ready to come get better at the college level and develop my game.”– LJ Smith on enrolling at Ohio State a year early

Smith isn’t likely to be an immediate starter for Ohio State. Returning star John Mobley Jr. and Cal transfer Justin Pippen are in line to be the Buckeyes’ starting guards this season. Duquesne transfer Jimmie Williams might be first in line to join them on the court in three-guard lineups, while Ohio State’s other five-star freshman, Anthony Thompson, will play the three in bigger lineups.

But Smith – who averaged 33.1 points per game as a sophomore at Lincolnton (North Carolina) High School before averaging 16.8 points per game in EYBL play for Oak Hill last season – is capable of giving the Buckeyes an immediate scoring spark off the bench with the upside for his role in the backcourt to grow as his freshman year progresses.

“He's got a high basketball IQ, and he's talented, and he's got a skill set that'll translate right away,” Diebler said. “In my mind, it's, hey, there's a baseline level of impact that I'm expecting, and then leaving room for this ceiling that he's ultimately going to push up.

“I'm expecting him to impact winning. And from there, what that looks like, how much that is, time will tell. But I think there's no question, he wouldn't be here if we didn't feel like he was going to have an impact on this team.”

Smith, who says Buckeye fans “should expect buckets” when they see him play this season, believes he already has a college-ready ability to shoot and score the ball, but thinks the physical development he’ll get at Ohio State will make a big difference in his game.

“I felt like if I just got bigger, stronger, faster, my game would take a big leap,” said Smith, who is now ranked as the No. 51 overall prospect in the 2026 class but was ranked as the No. 25 composite prospect in the 2027 class before his reclassification.

Having been on campus for roughly a month now, Smith believes he’s already more physical on both ends of the court and faster than he was when he arrived at Ohio State. He acknowledged that his first few practices were challenging, as the Buckeyes were already a couple of weeks into their summer practice schedule when he joined the team, but he’s quickly started to feel more comfortable.

“The first couple days, it was a little rough getting adapted to the physicality and the speed, but now it's starting to slow down, and getting a little bit easier for me,” Smith said.

“There's no question, he wouldn't be here if we didn't feel like he was going to have an impact on this team.”– Jake Diebler on LJ Smith

Diebler has been impressed by how quickly Smith has gotten acclimated, especially considering how recently the plan came together for Smith to reclassify.

“The first couple weeks for him, I think, were moving a little fast. That's one of the common things he and I talked about, just the game was fast, the speed was fast. And I think we're starting to see it slow down for him a little bit,” Diebler said last week. “He had to jump in after everybody else had a couple-week head start. So I've been impressed with the consistency he works at. He shows up every day, he brings it. I know he's sore … I know he's feeling we've thrown a lot at him, but he can handle it. And I think that's exciting for what's to come.”

Given that he should still be in high school, some growing pains should be expected for Smith in his first season at Ohio State. But Diebler’s made it clear that the Buckeyes wouldn’t have brought Smith in early if they didn’t think he would make the team better this season, and Smith is confident that’s exactly what he’ll do.

“I feel like I'm going to make a great impact,” Smith said. “No matter what my role is at the time – being a great teammate, coming in, playing defense, rebounding, getting my teammates involved – I feel like I'm going to make a great impact.”

Skull Session: Jake Ballard Hosted Rob Gronkowski On His Ohio State Visit, Ohio State Has Four of ESPN’s Top 15 Prospects in 2027 and Pat Narduzzi Says the ACC is Better Than the Big Ten

Dan Hope — Monday, July 20, 2026 - 04:55

Welcome to the Skull Session.

Chase Brown is off this week for a well-deserved vacation before Big Ten Media Days, so I’m back on Skull Session duty for today, Wednesday and Friday, while Josh Poloha will fill in on Tuesday and Thursday.

Let’s have a great week.

“HE HAD A GOOD TIME.” Former Buckeye tight end Jake Ballard had a front-row seat for one of the most infamous recruiting visits in Ohio State history.

While talking about the best players he played with in his NFL career during his appearance on last week’s 12th Warrior Happy Hour, Ballard revealed that he was the player host for Rob Gronkowski’s recruiting visit to Ohio State in 2006 – a visit forever immortalized by the now-iconic photo of a hungover Gronk standing next to former Ohio State reporter (and current Columbus Blue Jackets team reporter) Jeff Svoboda on the sidelines at Ohio Stadium.

Ballard, who was an Ohio State freshman at the time, said part of his responsibility as Gronkowski’s host was making sure he enjoyed his trip to Columbus, but downplayed his role in what was undoubtedly a fun night for the future NFL great.

“I don't know if that was the night I had him or a different night,” Ballard said in reference to the night before the game Gronkowski was pictured at. “I haven't talked to Gronk in forever, but I saw him on a podcast just talking about that picture, and he said that some of his boys who he's friends with took him out that night. But, you know, you're supposed to show those guys a good time, and I took him around and introduced him to people and girls and he had a good time. But I had football the next day, so I was just like a driver or a chauffeur taking him to places.”

While Gronkowski ended up going to Arizona instead, Ballard and Gronk reunited when the New England Patriots signed Ballard in 2012. And even though Ballard had helped the New York Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl just a few months before, the first thing Gronkowski wanted to talk to him about was his trip to Columbus six years earlier.

“I walk in this facility with these guys I just helped beat in the Super Bowl, and Gronk's one of the first person I see and he yells like, ‘Oh, it’s my host!’” Ballard recalled. “And I hadn't really talked to him much (since his trip to Ohio State), but eventually I talked to him, I was like, ‘Why didn’t you come to Ohio State?’ And he's like, ‘Well, you know, I just loved Arizona and the weather and all the girls out there. And I just wanted to get away from the East Coast.’ I'm like, ‘OK, that's why you went to Arizona, I guess.’”

Gronkowski’s trip to Columbus was just one of many stories shared by Ballard about his Ohio State and NFL careers during his hourlong conversation with Eleven Warriors and our 12th Warriors. To watch our full conversation with Ballard and participate in future 12th Warrior Happy Hours with Ohio State greats, sign up to become a 12th Warrior today.

THE WORLDWIDE LEADER IN TOP-15 PROSPECTS. Four of the top 15 prospects in the 2027 recruiting class are committed to Ohio State, according to ESPN.

ESPN ranks defensive end commit DJ Jacobs as the No. 3 overall prospect in the country, behind only Texas Tech defensive tackle commit Jalen Brewster and Texas cornerback commit John Meredith III. ESPN also ranks Jamier Brown as the No. 11 overall prospect and No. 2 wide receiver in the 2027 class, Marcus Fakatou as the No. 13 overall prospect and No. 2 defensive tackle in the class and Caden Moss as the No. 15 overall prospect and No. 4 offensive tackle in the country.

No other school has commitments from more than two of the top 15 prospects in the ESPN 300. ESPN also ranks all four of those prospects among its top 25 prospects regardless of recruiting class, and Ohio State is the only school with four commits on that list as well.

No program in the country has more players on ESPN’s top 25 players regardless of class ranking than Ohio State @DaviddJacobss @jam1erbrown @MarcusFakatou @Caden__moss

The future is bright in Columbus.

Full rankings: https://t.co/9aiiZPk9Dj pic.twitter.com/xjX1BArATB
— Billy Tucker (@TheUCReport) July 17, 2026

Jacobs and Fakatou headline a star-studded defensive line class for Ohio State that also includes four-star prospects Wyatt Smith and the Buckeyes’ most recent commit, Karlos May. Moss headlines a six-deep offensive line class for the Buckeyes as Ohio State has placed an increased emphasis on the trenches in this year’s recruiting cycle. Brown is set to be the 10th five-star wide receiver to sign with Ohio State since 2019, continuing a trend of elite recruiting at the position for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State could add a fifth top-15 prospect in ESPN’s 2027 rankings if five-star running back David Gabriel Georges, who ESPN ranks as the No. 14 overall prospect in the 2027 class, commits to the Buckeyes on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., when he’s scheduled to announce his decision between Ohio State and Tennessee.

YOU SURE ABOUT THAT, PAT? During a radio interview with Atlanta radio station 680 The Fan at last week’s ACC Kickoff, Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi made a bold and dubious claim: The ACC is a better conference than the Big Ten.

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi isn't backing down.

"This conference is better. It's better than the Big Ten." @JohnMichaelsU @Pitt_FB pic.twitter.com/B6CHlgRcv2
— 680 The Fan (@680TheFan) July 17, 2026

“Coming from Michigan State, spent eight seasons there as a defensive coordinator, coming to Pitt in 2015, I said it then, I said it now, after about two years in the league, I said, ‘This conference is better.’ It's better than the Big Ten. It's got more skill,” Narduzzi said. “And I just think up and down the East Coast, I just think there's so many players in our area where in the Big Ten trying to get players up there to come up north and now it's got a little West flavor to it, but I've said that for years and I'm going to stick to my guns. And you look at our record in bowl games against the SEC and the Big Ten, you look at our record in the regular season, I mean, we don't have a losing record. We have a winning record against those teams.”

Narduzzi’s argument unravels quickly once you actually look at the record like he requested. As it turns out, the ACC actually did have a losing record (2-4) against the Big Ten last season. Narduzzi’s Panthers have gone just 1-6 against Big Ten opponents in his 11-year tenure as Pittsburgh’s coach.

While the Big Ten has won three straight national championships, the ACC has won just three College Football Playoff games in the last six years – all by Miami in last year’s CFP, where the Hurricanes ultimately lost to Indiana in the national championship game.

As for Narduzzi’s claim that the ACC has “more skill,” the Big Ten has twice as many first-round NFL draft picks as the ACC (32 to 16) over the past four years and 83 more total NFL draft selections (236 to 153) over that same span.

His suggestion that Big Ten teams have a harder time recruiting top talent also fails to hold water, as the Big Ten currently has eight composite five-star commitments in the 2027 recruiting class compared to just four for the ACC (all to Miami), with a 28-to-10 advantage in top-100 composite prospects.

Looks like Narduzzi is blinded by conference pride.

SONG OF THE DAY. “Party Rock Anthem” – LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett, GoonRock

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Ohio's Best Buckeyes By County: Central Ohio

Champaign (11 Players)

Best Player: DB Greg Rogan

Clark (29 Players)

Best Player: FB/E/QB Jim McDonald

Coshocton (5 Players)

Best Player: RB Karl Sturtz

Crawford (10 Players)

Best Player: E Cecil "Cy" Souders

Delaware (29 Players)

Best Player: DE Zach Harrison

Fairfield (34 Players)

Best Player: QB Rex Kern

Franklin (491 Players)

Best Player: RB Archie Griffin

Hardin (6 Players)

Best Player: LB Tom Lease

Knox (11 Players)

Best Player: DT Jim Stillwagon

Licking (13 Players)

Best Player: C Jeff Uhlenhake

Logan (11 Players)

Best Player: QB Tavien St. Clair

Madison (14 Players)

Best Player: HB/DB Dick LeBeau

Marion (15 Players)

Best Player: OL Charles Fazio

Muskingum (13 Players)

Best Player: OL Iolas Huffman

Pickaway (5 Players)

Best Player: FB Harold “Champ” Henson

Richland (27 Players)

Best Player: G Inwood Smith

Ross (15 Players)

Best Player: TE Ben Hartsock

Union (11 Players)

Best Player: OL Eugene Kile

Better Know a Buckeye: Tucker Smith is A Late-Blooming, Well-Rounded Offensive Lineman Built for Development As A Guard with Ohio State

Tucker Smith

Background

Scouting Report

Depth Chart Outlook

Better Know A Buckeye

Player Comparison: Marcus Hall

Skull Session: Bill Connelly Gives Three “What-Ifs” for Ohio State to Win the National Championship, Beanie Wells Describes the New “Michigan Man” and Thad Matta Joins Jim Tressel’s Podcast

The Moment Matta Knew His Future In Basketball Was As A Coach, Not A Player

Tressel Explains Why Sports Provide So Much More Than Just Playing Games

Matta Describes What Makes a Great Strength and Conditioning Coach

Matta and Tressel Discuss Coaching Now Being A 365-Day-Per-Year Job

Matta Discusses What's Most Important in Coaching, Leadership and Building a Team

Tressel Talks About Learning From Players Being Critical to Build a Team

Matta on his First Year at Ohio State

Matta on What Made Greg Oden, Mike Conley and the 2006-07 Team Special

Five-Star Running Back David Gabriel Georges Commits to Tennessee Over Ohio State

Buckeyes must now reset the board at RB

Ohio State still has plenty of young talent at RB

Skull Session: Julian Sayin Ranked As College Football’s Fifth-Best Quarterback, David Gabriel Georges Makes His Commitment Tonight and 19 Buckeyes Make the East-West Bowl 1000

A First Look at Ohio State’s 2027 NFL Draft Class, Led By Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin

Skull Session: Ohio State Favored to Win It All in EA Sports College Football 27 Simulations, OSU Has the Second-Best Offensive Line in the Country, and Ryan Day and Jaylen McClain Earn Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Nods

One of One: There Will Never Be Another Ohio State Player Like Bruce Thornton

Investigation Finds “Weaknesses in Accountability, Organizational Structure, Oversight, and Reporting” in Michigan’s Athletic Department

Warde Manuel Stepping Down As Michigan’s Athletic Director At End of 2026

Investigation came after years of scandals in Ann Arbor

Recounting Four Years of Constant Scandal for Michigan and Its Football Program

Warde Manuel Stepping Down As Michigan’s Athletic Director At End of 2026

Investigation Finds “Weaknesses in Accountability, Organizational Structure, Oversight, and Reporting” in Michigan’s Athletic Department

LJ Smith Ready to Play College Basketball, Confident He’ll Make Immediate Impact at Ohio State After Reclassification

Five-Star Freshman Anthony Thompson Embracing High Expectations, Already Showing Potential to Be Ohio State Star

Skull Session: Jake Ballard Hosted Rob Gronkowski On His Ohio State Visit, Ohio State Has Four of ESPN’s Top 15 Prospects in 2027 and Pat Narduzzi Says the ACC is Better Than the Big Ten

Rob Gronkowski Addresses Picture of Him Looking Hungover at Ohio Stadium in 2006: “All That Water I Drank Got Me Feeling Like That”