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Updates On The Buckeyes' Last Few Positional Battles · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to buck Eyes tomorrow morning for Monday, August twenty sixth.
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  Speaker 1: I'm your host, Tom Moore. The Akron game in just
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  Speaker 1: five days, the game against Michigan in ninety six days.
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  Speaker 1: We are into the first game week of the year
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  Speaker 1: for the Ohio State Buckeyes, which means we will start
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  Speaker 1: settling into a familiar routine this week. Talking to Brian
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  Speaker 1: Day and probably a coordinator or two on Tuesday. Get
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  Speaker 1: another chance to talk to Day briefly on Wednesday after
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  Speaker 1: practice in the evening, as well as a couple of
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  Speaker 1: Ohio State players, and then game day on Saturday, Bree
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  Speaker 1: thirty kickoff for the Buckeyes and Akron Zips on CBS.
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  Speaker 1: You will be there for all of that coverage all
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  Speaker 1: through the week, pregame, postgame, the whole deal. College football
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  Speaker 1: season finally here. Had a heck of a week zero
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  Speaker 1: to start the season. There is a lot to be
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  Speaker 1: excited about. Ohis State got a commitment over the weekend
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  Speaker 1: from an interior offensive line prospect, David McFadden. A bonus
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  Speaker 1: episode of that dropped on Sunday in your feed as well.
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  Speaker 1: I'll make sure you check that one out. But before
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  Speaker 1: we get into all that, Let's talk a little bit
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  Speaker 1: about some of the other issues and other questions surrounding
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  Speaker 1: this year's Ohio State program as they count down the
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  Speaker 1: day us to that kickoff on Saturday. You can be
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  Speaker 1: doing that with Ryan Day. Do thinks we've got a
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  Speaker 1: chance to talk to Ryan Day about last week that
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  Speaker 1: we really have not gotten a chance to do a
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  Speaker 1: deep dive into. They're gonna let you hear directly from
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  Speaker 1: Ryan Day on a few of the sort of lingering
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  Speaker 1: questions around this year's Ohio State team. Let's start with
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  Speaker 1: the offensive line. The offensive line was the big story
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  Speaker 1: of the Buckeye's last game back in the Cotton Bowl.
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  Speaker 1: Not in a good way, but they were the big
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  Speaker 1: story nonetheless. So what is the message from Ryan Day
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  Speaker 1: to the offensive lineman heading into this season?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, again, whether it's whatever happened last year
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  Speaker 2: is last year, But I know that the message to
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  Speaker 2: to our offensive line is we want to play. I
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  Speaker 2: want to be the hardest playing offensive line in the country. Now,
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  Speaker 2: we got to play with technique, but at the end
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  Speaker 2: of the play, like knock the line of scrimmage back
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  Speaker 2: and play with your hair on fire as hard as
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  Speaker 2: you possibly can. Because a lot that goes with the
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  Speaker 2: playing on the offensive line is a lot of communication.
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  Speaker 2: There's a lot of things that have to get into place.
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  Speaker 2: I think Seth has done a nice job of communicating,
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  Speaker 2: understands the offense better now. He takes control up front
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  Speaker 2: and brings everybody together, which is great. But to me,
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  Speaker 2: like that's it now. We could list a bunch of
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  Speaker 2: other things, but to me, you know, we got to
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  Speaker 2: move the line of scrimmage. We've got to be just
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  Speaker 2: playing with our hair on fire and knocking people back
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  Speaker 2: and playing physical. And that's to start the game, that's
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  Speaker 2: to end the game.
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  Speaker 1: As of the last time we talked to Ryan Day,
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  Speaker 1: he was not yet ready to announce the starter at
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  Speaker 1: right guard would be Taker Shibola, could be Carson Hinzman.
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  Speaker 1: That decision probably getting made right around now, and then
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  Speaker 1: we'll find out a little bit more about that a
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  Speaker 1: little later on this week. The other position where there
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  Speaker 1: hadn't really been an official announcement about a leader in
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  Speaker 1: the in the clubhouse, a starter projected starter for that
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  Speaker 1: position was at the will linebacker spot, Sonny style CJ.
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  Speaker 1: Hicks battling for that starting role. What is the situation
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  Speaker 1: right now at the will linebacker spot.
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  Speaker 2: So Sonny has really stepped up and played well. He's
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  Speaker 2: made this transition from safety to linebacker very well. I
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  Speaker 2: think he did a nice job in the spring, but
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  Speaker 2: you could definitely see as he went into the summer,
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  Speaker 2: just you know, bigger, stronger, being more comfortable closer to
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  Speaker 2: the line of scrimmage. It's different when you're when you're
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  Speaker 2: closer to the line of scrimmage, he's doing his better job,
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  Speaker 2: getting his you know, hands on on you know, on
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  Speaker 2: offensive linemen and getting off of blocks, you know, using
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  Speaker 2: a better job, doing a better job with his hands.
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  Speaker 2: I think he understands the communication, you know that the
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  Speaker 2: linebackers always have to be involved with the front and
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  Speaker 2: they gotta be involved and fitted to the back end.
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  Speaker 2: He's doing that, you know. I think he's he's you know,
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  Speaker 2: looking forward to play playing in a game and you know,
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  Speaker 2: gett an idea of what it all looks like. But
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  Speaker 2: I can tell you in practice, he's playing fast, he's
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  Speaker 2: playing violent, and I think he's you know, he does
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  Speaker 2: a nice job of taking the meeting to the field,
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  Speaker 2: being very intentional about his work, but playing really hard.
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  Speaker 1: A position where the Buckeyes had a little bit of
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  Speaker 1: an issue towards the end of last season, especially in
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  Speaker 1: that Cotton Bowl was at center Harson Hintzman wasn't Matt
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  Speaker 1: Jones filled in. It did not go great. So then
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  Speaker 1: when they added Seth maclachlin in the portal from Alabama
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  Speaker 1: in early January, it felt like, well, you know, this
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  Speaker 1: is this is not a bad option. It's at least
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  Speaker 1: at least another solid choice there. We'll see how it goes.
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  Speaker 1: And it seems like from all accounts it has gone
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  Speaker 1: great for Seth MacLachlan at Ohio State. He has won
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  Speaker 1: that starting center job, be the starting center this week
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  Speaker 1: against Akron. And when they've when guys have talked about
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  Speaker 1: Seth maclachlin, they've talked about the fact you can just
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  Speaker 1: kind of tell he's been there before. This is not
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  Speaker 1: new to him. He's a starter at Alabama for a
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  Speaker 1: number of years now. This is it's new at Ohio State,
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  Speaker 1: but it's not new to him really. So when you
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  Speaker 1: say that Seth MacLaughlin acts like he's been there before,
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  Speaker 1: how does that actually show up?
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  Speaker 2: A bunch of ways, it's just poised, it's not getting
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  Speaker 2: rattled when you know coach Bark's at you. It's saying, Okay,
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  Speaker 2: I got this, let me get it under control. It's
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  Speaker 2: seeing something in practice and being able to adjust on
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  Speaker 2: the move. It's being prepared when you walk on the field.
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  Speaker 2: It's recognizing how hard you have to play at the position. It's,
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  Speaker 2: you know, kind of all of those things into one.
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  Speaker 2: But he's got great communication up front. He talks to
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  Speaker 2: the guys. He's moving quickly in there. And when you
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  Speaker 2: have experience like he has, you know, the game seems
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  Speaker 2: to slow down at times, yet you know he seems
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  Speaker 2: to be playing it at a fast level.
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  Speaker 1: Ohio State had a pair of five star wide receivers
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  Speaker 1: in its class of twenty twenty four. You have heard
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  Speaker 1: all about Jeremiah Smith basically since the day he stepped
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  Speaker 1: on campus. He has been one of, if not the single,
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  Speaker 1: biggest story around this year's Ohio State team. But there
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  Speaker 1: is another five star wide receiver in that class. You
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  Speaker 1: haven't heard quite as much about Mile and Graham, and
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  Speaker 1: a lot of that has to do with the fact
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  Speaker 1: that he did not enroll early. He showed up in
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  Speaker 1: June so did not take part in spring practice. Been
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  Speaker 1: a little lower on the depth chart than Jeremiah Smith
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  Speaker 1: and then some other guys as well. But he did
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  Speaker 1: lose his black stripe earlier this summer. That was pretty
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  Speaker 1: quick for a true freshman. So is he someone who's
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  Speaker 1: maybe going to force his way into that wide receiver
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  Speaker 1: rotation this season?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, there was a point where he got a black
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  Speaker 2: stripe off, and I feel like he took a step
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  Speaker 2: in the right direction. When you come in in the summer,
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  Speaker 2: it is very difficult to get on the field, especially
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  Speaker 2: early in the season. Whether he does or not, we'll see.
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  Speaker 2: But if he continues to practice the way that he's
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  Speaker 2: been practicing, then he'll give himself a chance to be
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  Speaker 2: in the rotation midway through the season or later in
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  Speaker 2: the season, which is similar to some of the wide
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  Speaker 2: receivers we've had before. You know, you've seen some of
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  Speaker 2: those guys get some reps early in the season but
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  Speaker 2: then make an impact later in the season. I think
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  Speaker 2: that's probably more his path right now. Now, you know,
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  Speaker 2: he shows up and starts doing great, then you know, we'll,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we'll give him the reps he deserves. Where
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  Speaker 2: like Jeremiah is in a different situation because you know,
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  Speaker 2: he came in here in January and he was a
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  Speaker 2: little bit ahead. Anybody who comes in in January. To me,
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  Speaker 2: I don't look at him as a freshman anymore. They've
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  Speaker 2: been here, They're in the program, and we expect them
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  Speaker 2: to contribute.
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  Speaker 1: Here's one of these stories that was just an ever
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  Speaker 1: present part of the twenty twenty three Ohio State season.
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  Speaker 1: Ryan Day calling plays? Is he going to hand over
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  Speaker 1: control the Brian hartline? When is he gonna make the decision?
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  Speaker 1: He's got an offensive coordinator. Is Ryan Day just gonna
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  Speaker 1: keep calling plays? How does it impact you that story
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  Speaker 1: got beat to death a year ago. It's funny that
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  Speaker 1: since Chip Kelly showed up in Columbus, it has just
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  Speaker 1: sort of gone away. There's been no questions, no drama
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  Speaker 1: around it, no uncertainty. It's Chip Kelly's gonna be calling
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  Speaker 1: plays and Ryan Day's gonna be doing all the other
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  Speaker 1: stuff because ran Day knows he needs to be able
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  Speaker 1: to focus on all the other stuff. So with Ryan
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  Speaker 1: Day not calling plays this season, what has he been
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  Speaker 1: doing during the scrimmages, the mock game that they had
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  Speaker 1: over the weekend. What is Ryan Day doing with all
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  Speaker 1: his free time on the sideline now that he's not
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  Speaker 1: actively calling every play?
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  Speaker 2: I'm still in there right there, I'm talking and communicating.
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  Speaker 2: But in the scrimmages we've had, it's you know, it's
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  Speaker 2: been offense versus defense, so I've mostly been on the
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  Speaker 2: offensive side. Still kind of going through all those types
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  Speaker 2: of things, and there's a lot to work through this year,
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  Speaker 2: just with you know, the play clock, and then what
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  Speaker 2: I mean by that is, you know, the coast player
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  Speaker 2: communication inside of fifteen goes off. Just there's a lot
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  Speaker 2: of things that go on there and we don't really
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  Speaker 2: get notification on that. So I'm trying to, you know,
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  Speaker 2: just help Chip with that and some some communication that
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  Speaker 2: way personnel. But I'm gonna be very much involved with
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  Speaker 2: special teams. I think with a two minute warning, there's
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  Speaker 2: some strategic things that are going to go on at
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  Speaker 2: the end of half, end of game that you know
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  Speaker 2: you gotta really be involved with. But to your point,
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  Speaker 2: just overall, just looking guys in the eye, making sure
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  Speaker 2: that you know they got the right look in their eye,
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  Speaker 2: that you know that you know they they understand, you know,
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  Speaker 2: with the situation what's going on in the game. You know,
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  Speaker 2: I think that happens sometimes with young players. You know,
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  Speaker 2: they're just like playing the next play, you know, and
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  Speaker 2: that's not just how that's not how it works. We'll
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  Speaker 2: get to win the situations and so you know, all
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  Speaker 2: those things will come into play, and making in game adjustments,
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  Speaker 2: you know, be involved with on all three phases. You know,
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  Speaker 2: watching you know, the game, and a tablet to try
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  Speaker 2: to identify what happened in the last series. I think
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  Speaker 2: all those things will be happening.
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  Speaker 1: And finally, if the offensive line position, if Jeremiah Smith,
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  Speaker 1: if the linebacker position battle have not been the biggest
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  Speaker 1: stories of the year, well then it definitely would be
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  Speaker 1: the battle for the starting quarterback position. McCord started all
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  Speaker 1: twelve regular season games last year for the Buckeyes, then
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  Speaker 1: hit the transfer portal, ended up at Syracuse. Devin Brown
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  Speaker 1: started the Cotton Bowl against Missouri, got hurt pretty much immediately,
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  Speaker 1: Like in Keenholes filled in for him. But then after
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  Speaker 1: the Cotton Bowl, Will Howard committed to Ohio State in
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  Speaker 1: the transfer portal, showed up in the spring, had a
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  Speaker 1: solid spring, not solid if unspectacular spring, let's say, but
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  Speaker 1: then this fall really seemed like he took over that
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  Speaker 1: quarterback position. Seemed like he won that quarterback battle pretty clearly.
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  Speaker 1: There wasn't a ton of drama around that one this fall,
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  Speaker 1: So it feels like the Buckeye coaching staff is feeling
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  Speaker 1: pretty good about Will Howard. Feels like he certainly raises
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  Speaker 1: the floor of what this Ohio State team is going
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  Speaker 1: to be. But what's the ceiling there and what kind
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  Speaker 1: of traits does Brian Day see out of Will Howard
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  Speaker 1: that he likes that made him win that starting quarterback job.
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  Speaker 2: I see, you know, a bunch of trades there. I
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  Speaker 2: think the first trade is size. He's big, he can
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  Speaker 2: stand in the pocket, and he's strong. So I mean
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  Speaker 2: that that's the first thing you notice about him again,
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  Speaker 2: whether it's standing in the pocket with poise, I think
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  Speaker 2: that's another trait that he has that's excellent. He feels
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  Speaker 2: the rush, but he stands right in there. I think
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  Speaker 2: the next trade is just you know, his his top
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  Speaker 2: end speed. I mean, he can run twenty two miles
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  Speaker 2: an hour at that size, which there's not a lot
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  Speaker 2: of guys who can do that. So I think that's
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  Speaker 2: an extraordinary trade. And I would I would say his
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  Speaker 2: overall leadership command in the huddle is another, you know
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  Speaker 2: something that he's he's really you know, grown into in
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  Speaker 2: the last few months when he's been here. And then
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  Speaker 2: his accuracy, you know, he's been very accurate since he's
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  Speaker 2: been here, and when he knows what's going on and
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  Speaker 2: he can anticipate what's happening. I mean, it looks right,
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  Speaker 2: you just feel it, and he can hurt you, you know,
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  Speaker 2: a bunch of different ways. So you know, his ceiling,
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  Speaker 2: you know that that's that's gonna be kind of you know,
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  Speaker 2: up to how he plays this season. But you know,
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  Speaker 2: I see a player who has a lot of great
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  Speaker 2: skills that you know translates well to the next level.
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  Speaker 2: So you know, we'll see, but I know his first
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  Speaker 2: focus is on winning games around here.
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  Speaker 1: We are going to be heading into our game week
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  Speaker 1: routine now. Finally, after the longest offseason in major North
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  Speaker 1: American sports, we are finally here College football season. Cannot wait.
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  Speaker 1: There's gonna be a ton of content coming for you
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  Speaker 1: this week at pucke huddle dot com and of course
• 11:37
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• 11:58
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• 12:02
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• 12:04
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• 12:33
  Speaker 1: Huddle dot com. That'll do it for today. Thank you
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: guys all for joining us. Have a great day. We'll
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: talk to you tomorrow,