Buckeye Talk: Ohio State Podcast By Cleveland.com

Jim Harbaugh was hired in 2015 to fix Michigan and flip the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry back in the Wolverine’s favor and now he’s gone nine years later able to say the mission was successful. Harbaugh leaves Ann Arbor with an 86–25 record (60–17 Big Ten), three conference titles, a 3-5 record against the Buckeyes and a national title. But those championships and rivalry wins all happened over the past three years just as the program was starting to hit its stride. Now he’s gone and that can be viewed as both positive and negative for OSU. On this emergency episode of Buckey Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss Harbaugh’s decision and what it means for Ohio State. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode of Buckeye Talk provides a chance for a rapid-fire pod as Ohio State continues to work through the early stages of the offseason. Among the questions from Subtext subscribers discussed: Who's a former player we drove the bus for early and were right? Could Alabama suffer the same fate as other former dynasties following Nick Saban's retirement? Did Ohio State fail C.J. Stroud? How many OSU players will have a rating of at least 90 when the new college football video game comes out this summer? What will the pod look like as we head into the offseason? Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State enters a 2024 spring with five quarterbacks on its roster in what will be the most interesting offseason the position's seen under Ryan Day. On this Tuesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis try to make sense of what things could look like. The conversation covers everything from what they think the hierarchy will be on Day 1, what the rep distribution could look like and the potential outcomes of trying to manage a room with five different personalities. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State continues to put together an impressive offseason while setting up the most interesting quarterback situation in the country. The Buckeyes had already pulled in Kansas State's Will Howard as a transfer to join a room-returning Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz while also singing five-star Air Noland. Now Noland won't be the only five-star freshman joining the room this spring as OSU has added Julian Sayin as well. Saying started his career at Alabama but Nick Saban's retirement opened the door for the nation's top quarterback to explore his options. Now he'll join safety Caleb Downs and center Seth McLaughlin as Crimson Tide players that have transferred to OSU. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss the impact of this move and what it can mean for the future of the position at Ohio State. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State just landed the best available player in the transfer portal and added him to a defense that was already trending toward being historical. The fight for Caleb once he left Alabama following Nick Saban's retirement came down to the Buckeyes and Georgia and heading into the end of the week it felt like the Bulldogs were in the lead. But then a few OSU coaches took a trip down to his home in Georgia to see the former five-star safety and did just enough to keep that from happening. Now a player it once finished second for on the recruiting trail, is finally calling Columbus his home. On this emergency episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss the impact of Caleb Downs' decision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State's 2025 recruiting class currently sits fifth nationally with most of that weight being carried by its defense. That’s a much different place than we’ve grown accustomed to seeing in Columbus under Ryan Day where it’s typically taken some time for defensive recruits to jump aboard while the offense thrives. But coming off a year where OSU had arguably the nation’s top defense, it now has proof of what it can be when talking to the nation’s top recruits. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis discuss the early success on the recruiting trail. Plus, a discussion on Alabama transfers Caleb Downs and Kadyn Proctor and the potential value each would bring to the Buckeyes if they were to come. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Day is entering a new phase of his career as Ohio State football's head coach as he's chosen to give up play-calling duties after five seasons. Day has decided to bring in Bill O'Brien as OSU's new offensive coordinator with all the responsibilities that come with that job title. That includes play-calling, overseeing the offensive gameplan and running the quarterback room. This is one of the most pivotal decisions Day has made during his tenure and on this emergency episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis break down why. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State's new athletic director Ross Bjork spoke publicly for the first time following his hiring and left quite an impression. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis gives their reactions to Bjork, OSU president Ted Carteer and the direction the athletic department could be headed in under their new leadership. Are the Buckeyes preparing for a more aggressive approach to attacking a constantly changing landscape of college sports? PLus, what does Bjorj thing of football head coach Ryan Day? That and more on this latest episode. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A ton has happened since Ohio State's season essentially ended following a 30-24 loss to Michigan. Some of it has been positive, some of it negative and some of it indifferent. But it all has an impact on where OSU could be headed in 2024 as it hopes to end its losing streak to the Wolverines and end ten Big Ten title drought. It'll do so while also entering a new era of college football with the 12-team playoff. On this Tuesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss all of those things and which ones are the most important to Ohio State. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State finished its season with an 11-2 record and a loss to Michigan for the third straight year while also failing to make the College Football Playoff for the second time of the Ryan Day era. The disappointing finish sent the Buckeyes into the offseason with a different vibe understanding that numerous changes needed to be on the horizon. On this Monday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis revisit their Mark It Down Monday statistical leaders prediction episode from last summer. Once again injuries got in the way of some predictions while others were done so by pleasant surprises on both offense and defense. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another Friday episode of Buckeye Talk provides a chance for a rapid-fire pod as Ohio State continues to work through the early stages of the offseason. Among the questions from Subtext subscribers discussed: Could Nick Saban's retirement be a good thing for Ohio State? Would Alabama and Ryan Day hypothetically make a good fit? Would Dan Lanning be a bigger threat staying at Oregon or if he would've replaced Saban at Alabama? A preview of a future conversation about the updated tiers of college football. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Day has made his second and third alterations to Ohio State's coaching staff in what could be a major makeover to the 10-man group. After choosing not to retain Perry Eliano as safeties coach, Day has brought Matt Guerrieri who originally followed Jim Knowles to Columbus as a graduate assistant in 2022 before leaving to help coordinate Indiana's defense in 2023. Now he returns as a full-time assistant coach. Plus Parker Fleming has officially been fired after another lackluster year from the special teams. After that, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis look at an offensive coaching staff that might be on the verge of its first major overhaul of the Day era. A pivotal change may be brewing and it says something about Day's growth as a head coach. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State is now living in a world where its rival Michigan is the reigning national champion. On this Wednesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis explore that reality and its impact on the program. But the question going forward is whether this harsh truth will be short-lived as the Wolverines enter a potentially pivotal offseason of their own. Ryan Day is busy trying to find the right mixture of coaches while putting together a roster capable of ending a three-game losing streak in The Game. Michigan is just trying to figure out what its next steps are as it could lose its coach and a large portion of its most important players while still possibly waiting for further punishment for a sign-stealing scandal that was revealed during the season. That plus a conversation about OSU’s later transfer running back Quinshon Judkins, who announced his commitment just minutes after the National Championship Game concluded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho

Ryan Day is expected to make significant changes to his coaching staff following Ohio State football third straight Michigan loss and the first one has been revealed. Day has decided not to retain safeties coach Perry Eliano whose contract expires after the 2023 season. This is expected to be the first of a few moves. While Day continues to figure out his 2024 staff, his 2024 roster is also still coming together as a few more players decided to return putting off the NFL for another year. Plus, Could the Buckeyes be in the market for a running back who spent the last two seasons running for 1,000-plus yards in the SEC? On this Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss all of that. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State has added a fourth quarterback to its 2024 roster in Will Howard by way of the transfer portal. Howard spent the first four years of his career at Kansas State as a multi-season starter completing 58.8% of his passes for 5,786 yards and 48 touchdowns. He led the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship in 2022 and is coming off his best statistical season in 2023. Now he’ll join a room in Columbus where the future was in question as the player now considered the front-runner to be the starter. On this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis look at the transfer quarterback from every angle. They’ll evaluate his career at Kansas State through the lens of some of his best games then discuss how he fits into Ohio State’s offense and what things could look like with him under center. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The calendar year has turned and the Ohio State football program has shifted its focus toward preparing for the 2024 season. The defense took significant strides in 2023 and could be in a prime position to build on that success going forward depending on the decision of a handful of players eligible for the NFL Draft On this Thursday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss what that unit could look like in 2024. The trio go through all 11 spots and decide whether they think the potential starter is already on the roster or could be eventually occupied by someone OSU gets from the transfer portal. Thank you for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the second time in the Ryan Day era, Ohio State has brought in a quarterback from the transfer portal with the idea that he could one day be its starter. Day's first transfer quarterback was Justin Fields from Georgia in 2019, now he's brought in Will Howard from Kansas State to join a battle that will include Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz and five-star freshman Air Noland. On this emergency episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis break down the addition of Howard and how it impacts OSU's quarterback room. Plus a look at Day and what a decision like this could be signaling in how Day is approaching a vital offseason. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The calendar year has turned and Ohio State has shifted its focus toward preparing for the 2024 season. Offensively that could mean spending the next five months making drastic improvements to a unit that didn't play up to standard for the first time under Ryan Day. On this Thursday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss what personnel changes could be coming because of that reality. The trio go through all 11 spots and decide whether they think the potential starter for that spot is already on the roster or could be eventually occupied by someone OSU gets from the transfer portal. Thank you for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're almost a week removed from Ohio State ending its season with a loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl while its rival Michigan is preparing to play in a National Championship Game against Washington, which also joins the Big Ten next year. It's a new world to live in where a fan base isn't completely confident in what the future will look like heading into Year 6 under Ryan Day. On this Wednesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis provide a space for the Subtext subscriber to express how they feel about the future of the program using four distinct questions: How do you feel about the direction of Ohio State under Ryan Day? How do you feel about Ohio State's chances of winning an expanded Big Ten next season? Watching Michigan and Washington play for a national title next week makes me feel What should Ohio State's bare minimum College Football Playoff performance be going forward? Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph

A lot has happened since Ohio State closed out its season with a 14-3 loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. On this Tuesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gilliss are here to break it all down. Among the topics discussed: How Michael Hall Jr. declaring for the NFL Draft impacts OSU; Expectations for Ohio tight end transfer Will Kacmarek; Looking at the losses of Bryson Rodgers and Noah Rogers to the transfer portal and the state of the wide receiver room; Who will replace Jesse Mirco after the punter entered the transfer portal and; Reacting to Michigan and Washington reaching the National Championship Game and what it means for Ohio State’s standing as it enters Big Ten expansion and a 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices