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How The 2026 NFL Draft Will Impact Ohio State Football Recruiting · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Buckeyes Tomorrow morning for Monday, April twenty seventh.
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  Speaker 1: I'm your host, Tom Moore. The ball State game in
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  Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty one days, the game against Michigan
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  Speaker 1: in two hundred and fifteen days. Our friends at Grateful
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  Speaker 1: grittl Columbus's favorite food truck. They are now on Uber eats, Grubhub,
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  Speaker 1: and Ordash, So just search for Grateful Grittle there or
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  Speaker 1: check out gratefulgriddleoh dot com for more. Right on today's show,
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  Speaker 1: you're going to to hear a little bit from Ryan Day.
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  Speaker 1: We had a chance to talk to him on Friday afternoon.
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  Speaker 1: He was actually in New Hampshire doing an event involving
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  Speaker 1: children's mental health. That is a cause that is near
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  Speaker 1: and dear to his heart as well as his wife Nina.
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  Speaker 1: They were back in their hometown of Manchester, New Hampshire
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  Speaker 1: to talk about that. So before we get into the
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  Speaker 1: football stuff, get a little little chant to hear Ryan
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  Speaker 1: Day talk about that and has worked to spread his
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  Speaker 1: mental health initiative beyond Columbus and now to New Hampshire
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  Speaker 1: and potentially even beyond that.
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  Speaker 2: I think for us in Columbus with the kids' mental
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  Speaker 2: health Pavilion downtown and nationwide Children's and the Kids' Mental
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  Speaker 2: Health Foundation. It's an example because one of the most
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  Speaker 2: important things right now in mental health is we all
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  Speaker 2: know at any age, but certainly with adolescents and teenagers
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  Speaker 2: access and so not many cities or parts of the
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  Speaker 2: country have what we have. And so you know, I
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  Speaker 2: know that a lot of folks are flying in to
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  Speaker 2: learn about how things are done here in Columbus, how
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  Speaker 2: things are down to nationwide, children and the Kids' Mental
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  Speaker 2: Health Foundation is really spreading the word on this to
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  Speaker 2: explain what that is.
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  Speaker 3: And so with our daytime breakhits.
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  Speaker 2: That have gone out to over a million students in
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  Speaker 2: classrooms worldwide, you know, it's a chance for us to.
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  Speaker 3: Send the resources out, but we want to even do
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  Speaker 3: more than that.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we want to be the example of what
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  Speaker 2: other cities can do, because no matter where you are
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  Speaker 2: across the country, when you talk about young people, this
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  Speaker 2: is an issue is access. So it's an area where
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  Speaker 2: a lot of times philanthropy is is important. So the
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  Speaker 2: more that we can spread the word on what's going
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  Speaker 2: on here and hopefully some other cities grab onto this
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  Speaker 2: and it cantinue to build but a big part of
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  Speaker 2: that is spread in the word.
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  Speaker 1: It was a whirlwind day or two for Ryan day Thursday,
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  Speaker 1: being in Pittsburgh for the first round of the NFL
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  Speaker 1: Draft where four buck Eyes were selected, and then flying
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  Speaker 1: over a night into Manchester, New Hampshire. So he was
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  Speaker 1: asked to sort of just to describe the event, the
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  Speaker 1: whirlwind of that whole thing, and especially that night in
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  Speaker 1: Pittsburgh getting a chance to see four of his players
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  Speaker 1: drafted in the first round. You can hear in his
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  Speaker 1: voice as he sort of gets going into this answer
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  Speaker 1: exactly how much it meant to him.
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  Speaker 3: It was exciting night for sure.
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  Speaker 2: First off, logistically Pittsburgh with this draft was probably the
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  Speaker 2: best logistically that we've had. Just the operation, getting in,
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  Speaker 2: getting out the green room, everything about it really flowed.
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  Speaker 2: It was a great night weatherwise, The crowd was excellent,
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  Speaker 2: and obviously it went great for us. You know, starting
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  Speaker 2: with Carnell, I just can't be you know, more excited
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  Speaker 2: for him. You know, now we get a chance to
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  Speaker 2: play with Cam war What a great opportunity for him.
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  Speaker 3: And then and we got the guys in the NFC East.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we got Rvel, Caleb and and Sonny just
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  Speaker 2: just great. And and the cool thing in the green
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  Speaker 2: room last night was, you know, we we had a
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  Speaker 2: group together in the corner and it was just a
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  Speaker 2: lot of excitement, a lot of screaming and yelling that
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  Speaker 2: Brian Hartline came back, Brandon Nis was in the room.
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  Speaker 3: Noan Bowdo was in the room.
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  Speaker 2: So you know, between those families, you know Kate McDonald
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  Speaker 2: which you know we hope he gets gets drafted today,
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  Speaker 2: which we expect him too early here in the second.
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  Speaker 2: But but just just I mean that whole area of
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  Speaker 2: the green room was all buck eyes last night. It's
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  Speaker 2: a lot of celebrating and and and the cool thing,
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  Speaker 2: you know as a coach is when you shake you know,
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  Speaker 2: a father's hand like Lorenzo Styles and you see you know,
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  Speaker 2: or Gary Downs and you say mission complete because you know,
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  Speaker 2: when it starts, we talk about everything that's going to happen.
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  Speaker 2: And then as a coach, you got to fall through.
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  Speaker 2: And then to see them drafted and walk up, put
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  Speaker 2: the hat on and hug the commissioner is a great moment.
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  Speaker 2: And so it's everybody involved. Mcmaratty certainly he has such
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  Speaker 2: a heavy hand in this and you know, to see
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  Speaker 2: some guys, you know, shed some tears over all this
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  Speaker 2: it's it's what coaching is all about. But then to
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  Speaker 2: wake up and get here like one point thirty in
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  Speaker 2: the morning and then making a difference here, whether it's
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  Speaker 2: you know, Caleb downs or maybe there was a kid
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  Speaker 2: in the back who's you know, down on his luck
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  Speaker 2: that maybe he learned.
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  Speaker 3: Something here today.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, that's what it's what our responsibility is as
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  Speaker 2: coaches is to try to make an impact.
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  Speaker 3: On people and and that's it.
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  Speaker 2: So it's been a busy you know, forty eight forty
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  Speaker 2: eight hours, I guess, but it's been a good one.
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  Speaker 1: Then the question is what does this mean for the
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  Speaker 1: football program at Ohio State? Just sort of a big
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  Speaker 1: picture question here. Obviously, four guys going in the top
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  Speaker 1: eleven of the first round, that's something that no what
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  Speaker 1: had done since nineteen sixty six. That is pretty impressive.
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  Speaker 1: But what does it mean for the Ohio State program
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  Speaker 1: and where it is right now?
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  Speaker 2: I think for for all the guys, and we just
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  Speaker 2: had our exit meetings coming out of the spring. You know,
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  Speaker 2: I try to say to these guys, listen like you're
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  Speaker 2: in the program because we think you can play here,
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  Speaker 2: the question how fast are you going to play here?
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  Speaker 2: And when you look at guys like Sonny Styles or
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  Speaker 2: rvel Ree or Caleb or Carnell, you know, you say
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  Speaker 2: to yourself, you guys have a chance to be first
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  Speaker 2: round draft picks.
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  Speaker 3: The question is how fast.
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  Speaker 2: It's our job to surround these guys with everything they
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  Speaker 2: need to be successful. It's up to them, and they're
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  Speaker 2: they're you talk about self motivated that they're the ones
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  Speaker 2: that push it. But when you talk about you know,
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  Speaker 2: let's just say Sonny Styles for example, or our bill.
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  Speaker 2: You know, as the head coach, you know, I got
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  Speaker 2: to give them the best position coach. I feel like
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  Speaker 2: James Aurnight is the best linebacker coach in the country.
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  Speaker 2: I feel like Matt Patricia is the best defensive coordinator
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  Speaker 2: in the country.
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  Speaker 3: I feel like.
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  Speaker 2: Mcmurroady is the best strength to the conditioning coach in
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  Speaker 2: the country. Like it's our job to surround them with
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  Speaker 2: everything they need, or my job to surround them everything
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  Speaker 2: they need to be sexsful successful.
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  Speaker 3: It's their job to go put it on the field.
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  Speaker 2: And so I think when you look at the development
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  Speaker 2: and I think, you know, when you look at the
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  Speaker 2: guys that we've had draft in the first round, there's
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  Speaker 2: a lot of them that were three year guys, so
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  Speaker 2: you know, in that third year they really turned it
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  Speaker 2: on out. It's not always fun to know that they're
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  Speaker 2: not going to be back for their senior year, but
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  Speaker 2: that's part of it, and we're proud of what they've done,
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  Speaker 2: and we're proud to say that these guys are ready
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  Speaker 2: to go onto the NFL, because it's not just getting
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  Speaker 2: to the NFL.
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  Speaker 3: As being able to stay once they're there.
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  Speaker 2: And to hear the feedback of general managers and head
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  Speaker 2: coaches saying that some of the best interviews they've ever
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  Speaker 2: had with young men or some of these guys that
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  Speaker 2: got drafted last night is rewarding and no one that
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  Speaker 2: we're doing the right thing.
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  Speaker 1: You think of the NFL draft as being something where
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  Speaker 1: the impact is that guys are leaving the program, but
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  Speaker 1: the draft, of course, in a positive way, can also
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  Speaker 1: be impactful in terms of the guys who are coming
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  Speaker 1: into the program because, of course, I'm guessing that's something
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  Speaker 1: that they talk about quite a bit in recruiting. When
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  Speaker 1: you go to an Ohio State game, right after the
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  Speaker 1: recruits come down, the ramp. That's always when they play
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  Speaker 1: that video where they show all those Buck guys getting drafted.
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  Speaker 1: That is not a coincidence. That is part of the
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  Speaker 1: recruiting pitch every single time a player comes to Ohio
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  Speaker 1: Stadium for an Ohio State game. So I think the
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  Speaker 1: impact there is that it is not just talk. It's
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  Speaker 1: not just well, if you come here, maybe you can
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  Speaker 1: be a first round draft pick. There is some real
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  Speaker 1: world examples, now even more that you can point to
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  Speaker 1: you and say, look, come here, this is what we
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  Speaker 1: told those guys and this is what happened.
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  Speaker 2: I think that we specialize in developing the elite athlete.
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  Speaker 2: It starts with a mindset, then the school, the expectation,
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  Speaker 2: playing in front of the bright lights, producing being in Columbus,
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  Speaker 2: which is very much like being in an NFL town.
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  Speaker 2: We have twelve million fans, so like the attention that
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  Speaker 2: they get. They have to move different, they have to
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  Speaker 2: act different. But then when you look at excuse me,
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  Speaker 2: you look at both sides of the ball. You're in
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  Speaker 2: an NFL offense NFL defense. So you have to learn
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  Speaker 2: schematically how to play in the NFL so you can transition,
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  Speaker 2: but also so that when personnel evaluate our guys. They're
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  Speaker 2: watching him in the schemes like Arvell is a great
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  Speaker 2: example of that. He was on the ball and off
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  Speaker 2: the ball. Pretty easy to see in a four down
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  Speaker 2: he's going to be off the ball, and a five
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  Speaker 2: down he's going to be on the edge. And that's
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  Speaker 2: what best utilized him. Watch what we did with Caleb
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  Speaker 2: inserting him in different things this year. That helps with
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  Speaker 2: all of it. But it also and to me, this
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  Speaker 2: is the thing that nobody talks about enough, is what
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  Speaker 2: Mick does in the weight room. And it's not just
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  Speaker 2: you know, the strength gains. It's the discipline, it's the
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  Speaker 2: mental approach. It's the leadership and the mindset. And we
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  Speaker 2: all know how important that is. And so you know
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  Speaker 2: during the recruiting process, you know, we talk about it
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  Speaker 2: and you heard me say the other day on a podcast,
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  Speaker 2: like you come in want you know, looking to be
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  Speaker 2: a first or second rounder? Well, not everybody is, but
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  Speaker 2: it's the mindset, Like that's the expectation.
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  Speaker 3: Again, we expect to win every game. Does it always happen? No?
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  Speaker 3: Does everybody become a first second rounder? No?
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  Speaker 2: But the mindset is that way and that's been here
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  Speaker 2: for a long time. A lot longer than I've been here.
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  Speaker 2: I also think the last part of it that is
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  Speaker 2: important is the stability. I think when you have stability,
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  Speaker 2: you have the ability to develop people at high level.
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  Speaker 1: And finally, a little something else, not recruiting, but a
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  Speaker 1: little forward looking news that Ryan Day made on Friday,
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  Speaker 1: just updates on the guys that missed springball. There were
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  Speaker 1: four running backs that missed time during the spring, Bo Jackson,
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  Speaker 1: Isaiah West Legend, Bay Turbo Rogers, Safety or a little
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  Speaker 1: for example, missed the spring game. Got all sorts of
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  Speaker 1: guys around the field who we either saw for not
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  Speaker 1: none of spring practice or just only parts of spring practice,
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  Speaker 1: but not at the end. The good news is in
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  Speaker 1: all of those cases, every single one, according to Ryan Day,
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  Speaker 1: those guys are going to be back not just for
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  Speaker 1: fall camp, but well before that.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I just met with Sean and Nick over this, and yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it's it's you know, looking at all these things, like
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  Speaker 2: meeting with these guys, they're all gonna have full summer.
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  Speaker 2: So there's nobody on there's nobody in the team that
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  Speaker 2: won't have a full summer. So you know, I wish
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  Speaker 2: we had those guys for the spring, But I think
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  Speaker 2: we did the procedures at the right time.
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  Speaker 3: Make sure that they have a full summer. That was
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  Speaker 3: the most important thing.
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  Speaker 2: So you know, whether they were labrooms or meniscus or
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  Speaker 2: those types of things, you know, we got those things
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  Speaker 2: clear up fixed up. Next few weeks will be important
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  Speaker 2: for them to get strong and then we hit the
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  Speaker 2: thing at the end of May run and then have
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  Speaker 2: a strong June July, and then preseason will be important
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  Speaker 2: because you know, we all know we've got to start
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  Speaker 2: fast next year.
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  Speaker 1: So you go, some good news on the injury front
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  Speaker 1: for the buck Eyes. We'll be back at the Woody
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  Speaker 1: quite a bit over the summer, and then as they
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  Speaker 1: head into fall camp, we're going to be talking about
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  Speaker 1: all that for you. We'll be talking about it on
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  Speaker 1: the Buckeye Weekly podcast feed. We'll be talking about it
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  Speaker 1: buck Eyes tomorrow morning. You can find us on YouTube
• 10:29
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• 10:31
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  Speaker 1: us a five star rating, interview on your podcast platform
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  Speaker 1: of choice, and also if you're on YouTube, it's a
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• 10:43
  Speaker 1: second on your end ends up making a big difference
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  Speaker 1: on ours. We really appreciate it, so thank you guys
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  Speaker 1: all for doing that. That'll do it for today. Thank
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: you guys all for joining us. Have a great day.
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  Speaker 1: We'll talk to tomorrow