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Can Brandon Inniss Replace Emeka Egbuka For The Buckeyes? · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to buck Eyes tomorrow morning for Monday, February seventeenth.
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  Speaker 1: I'm your host, Tom Moore. The Texas game in one
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  Speaker 1: hundred and ninety four days, the game against Michigan in
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and eighty five days. If you're planning your
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: next event, you should make it unforgettable with Grateful Griddle
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  Speaker 1: good vibes. Book your catering today at Grateful griddleoh dot com.
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  Speaker 1: So on today's show, going to be handing things over
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  Speaker 1: to my buddy Tony Gerderman and listen. You know, it
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  Speaker 1: does mean no pleasure to say anything nice about Tony,
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  Speaker 1: but he has a great new series that he's been
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  Speaker 1: posting on our YouTube channel. Wanted to share it with
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  Speaker 1: you here. One of the episodes. He's just looking at
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  Speaker 1: where Ohio State is going to turn next in that
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  Speaker 1: next man up culture to replace the many talented guys
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  Speaker 1: they have departing for the NFL. He's just kind of
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  Speaker 1: going position by position around the field. Just want to
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  Speaker 1: let you hear the first episode of it here. If
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  Speaker 1: you enjoy this one, we'll probably do a few more
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  Speaker 1: of these as sort of bonus content on here, but
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  Speaker 1: you can also find them on our YouTube channel. He's
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  Speaker 1: done a bunch already YouTube dot Com, slash bucka huddle
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  Speaker 1: the first one today. Can Brandon Innis replace a Mecca
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  Speaker 1: Abuka for the Buckeyes.
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  Speaker 2: One of the things that I've been writing about this
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  Speaker 2: month is how Ohio State is going to replace the
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  Speaker 2: many departed starters from the twenty twenty four national championship team.
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  Speaker 2: And I thought, rather than just writing about it, why
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  Speaker 2: don't we also discuss this on YouTube and throw our
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  Speaker 2: thoughts out there and get this to the audience that
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  Speaker 2: watches the videos. So up first today, we're going to
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  Speaker 2: talk about how Ohio State is going to go about
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  Speaker 2: replacing a Mecca Abuka as slot receiver. And to just
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  Speaker 2: call him a slot receiver is really under selling everything
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  Speaker 2: that he's done at Ohio State. But that is the
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  Speaker 2: position that is up for grabs right now. And when
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  Speaker 2: you talk about replacing a Mecca Abuka, just statistics wise,
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  Speaker 2: you're talking about replacing the all time leading receiver in
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  Speaker 2: Ohio State history. He has two hundred and five receptions
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  Speaker 2: more than anybody else, broke kJ Hills record finished with
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  Speaker 2: twenty one hundred and sixty eight receiving yards, which is
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  Speaker 2: second all time behind Michael Jenkins, and finished seventh in
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  Speaker 2: school history with twenty four touchdown receptions, tied with the
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  Speaker 2: Brian Robiski for that mark. So this is a guy
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  Speaker 2: who has been a producer for the last three seasons.
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  Speaker 2: Missed missed quite a good portion of the twenty twenty
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  Speaker 2: three season, and then came back for the twenty twenty
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  Speaker 2: four season. But is was it leading receiver this past season.
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  Speaker 2: Eighty one catches oney eleven yards, became just the second
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  Speaker 2: Ohio State receiver in school history to have two one
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  Speaker 2: thousand yard seasons, joining classmate former teammate Marvin Harrison Junior
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  Speaker 2: in that regard as the only receiver in Ohio State
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  Speaker 2: history with two seventy seventy reception seasons. So he's alone
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  Speaker 2: in that one. Will probably be joined at some point
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  Speaker 2: by Jeremiah Smith. But this is an idea of the
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  Speaker 2: amount of production that is being lost, and to just
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  Speaker 2: talk about their production that's being lost is kind of
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  Speaker 2: underselling a Mecca book as well. Because he's always been
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  Speaker 2: a tremendous route runner. He's a selfless guy. He came
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  Speaker 2: to Ohio State. Was playing outside receiver, then Jackson Smith
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  Speaker 2: and Jigba goes down in twenty twenty two, he moves
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  Speaker 2: inside as a true sophomore. It's like, yeah, no big deal.
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  Speaker 2: And he stepped in and put up a thousand yards
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  Speaker 2: in ten touchdowns and was remarkable as a sophomore and
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  Speaker 2: then huge things were expected as a junior. Injuries kind
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  Speaker 2: of limited him there in twenty twenty three. But a
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  Speaker 2: guy who has been a leader, who has been the
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  Speaker 2: guy who pushed the guys in front of him when
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  Speaker 2: he was a freshman, Him and Marvin Harrison came in
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  Speaker 2: and they pushed the guys in front of them and
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  Speaker 2: got them better while also getting themselves better. But he
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  Speaker 2: also learned firsthand how this needs to be done and
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  Speaker 2: how you need to grow and become a leader on
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  Speaker 2: the field and off the field. And that's something that
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  Speaker 2: he's done very very well. And you know, he blocks,
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  Speaker 2: he leads, He is a vocal leader, he leads by example.
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  Speaker 2: He's been a selfless player throughout. So that's who Ohio
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  Speaker 2: State is losing. That's who Ohio State has to replace.
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  Speaker 2: And when you look at the candidates, well, the thing
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  Speaker 2: about replacing your slot receiver. Is that Jeremiah Smith and
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  Speaker 2: Carnel Tate, You're two starting outside receivers, are both going
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  Speaker 2: to move into the slot at times when they are
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  Speaker 2: looking for when Brian Hartline, Ryan Day, the offensive brain trust,
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  Speaker 2: they're looking for a matchup with a safety or whatever,
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  Speaker 2: just looking to get one of those guys in the
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  Speaker 2: slot in a favorable matchup. So some of those snaps
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  Speaker 2: are going to go to those two guys. The next
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  Speaker 2: two guys in. The next guy in would be Brandon Ennis,
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  Speaker 2: who was basically the fourth guy this past season and
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  Speaker 2: has been in the slot his entire career. He is
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  Speaker 2: now entering his third year. Former five star guy got
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  Speaker 2: to Ohio State as a true freshman in June. That
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  Speaker 2: kind of set him behind because the earli and Rolies
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  Speaker 2: they get to go through spring and they get to
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  Speaker 2: experience life as a true freshman, and Brandon Innis didn't
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  Speaker 2: get to do that, so he's had of been behind.
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  Speaker 2: But now this is his third year, so the time
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  Speaker 2: is now he needs to be that next guy. As
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  Speaker 2: a second year guy. This past season, Brandon Innis caught
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  Speaker 2: fourteen passes for one and seventy six yards and a
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  Speaker 2: touchdown that touchdown coming against Oregon in a big play
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  Speaker 2: at big time, in a big game way back in October.
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  Speaker 2: So he's a guy that has a really really talented
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  Speaker 2: brought runner, is quick and has burst. Saw a big
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  Speaker 2: first down catch on a third down throw against Notre
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  Speaker 2: Dame or rather yeah, a Notre Dame in the National
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  Speaker 2: Championship game. Like I said, he can get downfield, he
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  Speaker 2: can run all kinds of screen that you need. Is
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  Speaker 2: a guy that has pretty pretty darn good spatial awareness,
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  Speaker 2: which is what you want out of your slot receiver.
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  Speaker 2: And he's strong, he has a I think his senior
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  Speaker 2: year in high school he had to play quarterback, so
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  Speaker 2: he was doing a lot of running of the ball.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, he's a pretty compact guy and can
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  Speaker 2: run after the catch. Some will tell you he's more
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  Speaker 2: quick than fast, but generally those people aren't able to
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  Speaker 2: catch him either. So he's a guy that can make
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  Speaker 2: some plays. But he's a different receiver than to Mecca Book.
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  Speaker 2: He's more of the true slot receiver that Ohio State
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  Speaker 2: really hasn't been able to use as much or find
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  Speaker 2: a way, and so we'll see how they do with
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  Speaker 2: him this year. But again, really crafty route runner and
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  Speaker 2: just just getting started and showing what he can do.
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  Speaker 2: So twenty twenty five could be a very big year.
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  Speaker 2: Generally is for the starting slot receiver under Ryan Day,
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  Speaker 2: under Urban Meyer, you can go all the way back,
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  Speaker 2: and that guy in the slot has tended to be
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  Speaker 2: a very productive player. So that's what Brandon Innis has
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  Speaker 2: ahead of him this year if he could win the job.
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  Speaker 2: And behind him right now Bryson Rodgers, but there's no
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  Speaker 2: nothing saying that Bryson Rodgers is going to stay behind him.
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  Speaker 2: There is a huge opportunity for the young receivers to
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  Speaker 2: come in and make a mark, although to call them young,
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  Speaker 2: like Brandon Innis is a third year guy, Bryson Rodgers
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  Speaker 2: is a third year guy, karl el Tate is a
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  Speaker 2: third year guy. Jeremiah Smith is going to be a
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  Speaker 2: second year guy, so like they're all relatively the same age.
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  Speaker 2: It's just the snaps for Innison Rodgers have not been
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  Speaker 2: nearly as high as for the previous two guys. So
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  Speaker 2: those two guys will be involved. And then you've also
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  Speaker 2: got like a mile and grand who's been a recherd freshman,
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  Speaker 2: former five star guy worked outside, probably will stay outside
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  Speaker 2: until he picks everything up well enough to move inside,
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  Speaker 2: so expect him to stay outside. They brought in two
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  Speaker 2: true freshmen in the twenty twenty five class, Philip Bell
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  Speaker 2: Dizzy Jones. Jones is a legitimate slot guy who is
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  Speaker 2: like six foot one ninety five quick runs really good routes.
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  Speaker 2: Kind of reminds me at times of Jackson Smith and
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  Speaker 2: Jigman in terms of his route running in traffic, over
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  Speaker 2: the metal, that sort of thing. Philip Bell Ryan Day
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  Speaker 2: compared him to Mecca Abuka on signing day as a
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  Speaker 2: guy who could play insider out, a bigger guy six
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  Speaker 2: five something like that, so similar in stature to to
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  Speaker 2: a Mecca Buca. Both West Coast guys. Bell from California.
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  Speaker 2: So those are kind of the candidates to replace what
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  Speaker 2: a Mecca Abuca gave the Buckeyes. They'll all be in
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  Speaker 2: in the spring now. I don't think you're gonna need
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  Speaker 2: Jeremiah Smith and Carnel Tate to do to be doing
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  Speaker 2: much in the spring, which means a lot of work
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  Speaker 2: for everybody else. And you know, getting Brandon Ennis an
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  Speaker 2: opportunity to to kind of take over the role, same
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  Speaker 2: for Bryson Rodgers. Like these are two guys that can
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  Speaker 2: establish themselves as guys who need to be nut not
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  Speaker 2: just like in the rotation, but more so we'll see
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  Speaker 2: if that happens. Brandon Ennis has always been a high
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  Speaker 2: energy guy. Whenever you see somebody scoring a touchdown, he's
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  Speaker 2: running down the sidelines celebrating. One of the first guys
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  Speaker 2: is that. As Erben Meyer used to classify players as
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  Speaker 2: energy givers or energy takers, Brandon Innis has always been
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  Speaker 2: an energy giver. So that's something that is something that
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  Speaker 2: the team is always looking for, coaches always love, and
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  Speaker 2: that's something that he definitely gives the Buckeyes. So then
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  Speaker 2: in the spring, will a loss be interesting to see
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  Speaker 2: what Bell, Philip Bell, and Dizzy Jones can do. Keep
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  Speaker 2: an eye on Turbo Rodgers, who is a running back
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  Speaker 2: who has played in the slot his past two years
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  Speaker 2: of high school O High State running backs coach Carlos
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  Speaker 2: Laughlin as a sure me and the term of Rodgers
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  Speaker 2: will you know, take no time in picking the running
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  Speaker 2: back position back up and so expect him in the backfield.
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  Speaker 2: But just another name to throw out there, I think
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  Speaker 2: in terms of the best bet to win a job,
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  Speaker 2: you're talking about Brandon Innis because he has played the
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  Speaker 2: most among the candidates, but there's going to be an
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  Speaker 2: opportunity for Bryson Rodgers to get in there as well.
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  Speaker 2: Bryson Rodgers is a guy who I think, as a
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  Speaker 2: true freshman, was very highly thought of in terms of
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  Speaker 2: his ability to the target to to catch ratio and
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  Speaker 2: percentage in practice. He had the highest basically more than
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  Speaker 2: anybody else on the team when to throw away his
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  Speaker 2: way a catch was made. So that is something that
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  Speaker 2: is certainly something to to take into account. And was
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  Speaker 2: a guy who said that they had he had the
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  Speaker 2: highest percentage, the highest target percentage since maybe like a
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  Speaker 2: Michael Thomas in practice. So when somebody says something like that,
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  Speaker 2: you take notice. And these are both guys and Innis
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  Speaker 2: and Rogers who we've seen make plays in practice. You've
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  Speaker 2: seen in us make a couple of plays in games
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  Speaker 2: when he's been given an opportunity. So those two guys
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  Speaker 2: will have a big spring. And you know, maybe I
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  Speaker 2: think Brandon and this is probably the more known quantity.
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  Speaker 2: But again, this is not a room that is so
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  Speaker 2: deep that there isn't room for a fourth guy or
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  Speaker 2: even a fifth guy stepping in Like this is a
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  Speaker 2: relatively inexperienced room. Maybe maybe a young room, but not
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  Speaker 2: a lot of bodies. So there's gonna be an opportunity
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  Speaker 2: for for a number of guys to get in there
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  Speaker 2: in that slot and see what they can do. And
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  Speaker 2: so this spring will be pretty interesting with the new quarterback,
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  Speaker 2: new new ish offensive coordinator. Certainly you can qualify Bright
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  Speaker 2: Hartline as new. He will be calling plays this season.
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  Speaker 2: They'll be calling them in the spring as well. So
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  Speaker 2: it's gonna be a learning opportunity for everybody. And so
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  Speaker 2: we'll keep talking about these new starters. And like I said,
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  Speaker 2: I'm writing about this at the buck i huddle dot com.
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: You can find it all there. But if you can
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: go ahead, if you're watching on YouTube, just go ahead
• 12:05
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• 12:10
  Speaker 2: you've not yet done so. And of course you can
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: find all of my work, all of our work at
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: buckeyehuddle dot com. Thank you all for tuning in, and
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  Speaker 2: we'll talk to you guys later.