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Ohio State Football Insider: Buckeyes' Offensive Line "Walking On Water" · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Buckeyes tomorrow morning for Wednesday, September 2nd. I'm
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  Speaker 1: your host, Tom Moore. The Ball State game in three days.
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  Speaker 1: The game against Michigan in 87 days. Thanks again to
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  Speaker 1: our sponsors, Jeff Rubies of Columbus, the award-winning upscale steakhouse
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  Speaker 1: All right. Joined by Tony Gertemann of BuckeyeInsiders.com. Tony, it
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  Speaker 1: is game week. We are officially in in-season mode now.
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  Speaker 1: That started with a press conference with Ryan Day on Tuesday.
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  Speaker 1: And we have been, between you and I, to, I
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  Speaker 1: don't know, hundreds, probably not thousands yet, but it feels
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  Speaker 1: like it at times, of these midweek press conferences. Coaches
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  Speaker 1: are always hesitant to talk too, you know, to get
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  Speaker 1: too far out of their skis about anything about their team,
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  Speaker 1: especially before the season, before you know what's going on.
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  Speaker 1: That's why I was a little bit surprised to say
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  Speaker 1: that to hear that Brian Day say that the offensive line,
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  Speaker 1: and what Arthur Smith has the offensive line doing, has them, quote,
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  Speaker 1: they're walking on water right now. Tony, that seems good.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I never heard that before in terms of an
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  Speaker 2: offensive line.
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  Speaker 1: I heard about a guy doing it a while ago,
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  Speaker 1: but that was more than a few seasons ago.
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  Speaker 2: Generally with the offensive lines, they've been playing on the
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  Speaker 2: splash pad. They're out there playing in the water. But basically...
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  Speaker 2: what this means. It's just like they're very excited. They're happy.
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  Speaker 2: They're skipping along. Everything that Arthur Smith has them doing,
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  Speaker 2: whether it's just the mentality of it. I ended up
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  Speaker 2: asking Carson Hinsman about the walking on water thing. And
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  Speaker 2: one of the things that he ended up talking about
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  Speaker 2: was just the violence that they're excited about playing with,
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  Speaker 2: which is an offensive line. Sometimes with a lot of
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  Speaker 2: zone blocking, it's It's seen as softer than the power
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  Speaker 2: running attack, but regardless of what your preference is, they
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  Speaker 2: plan on getting after it, and Arthur Smith has just
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  Speaker 2: brought that to them, and they want to get downhill,
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  Speaker 2: and they want to do all this stuff, and that's
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  Speaker 2: the plan, but as Ryan Day says, until we see it,
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  Speaker 2: we won't know, but he seems very, very excited, at
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  Speaker 2: least with the fact that he knows everybody's going to
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  Speaker 2: be playing hard this year.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you have a veteran group there, and They
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  Speaker 1: continue to not have officially named an offensive line, so
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  Speaker 1: we did the little dance with Carson Hinsman where, you know, hypothetically,
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  Speaker 1: if Austin Searveld was playing right guard this year, and hypothetically,
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  Speaker 1: if Ian Moore was playing left tackle this year, the
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  Speaker 1: interior of that offensive line, Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinsman, and hypothetically,
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  Speaker 1: Austin Searveld, that is a veteran, veteran group. That is
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  Speaker 1: a group that has played together. They played together in
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  Speaker 1: 2024 during that playoff run. They have played together for
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  Speaker 1: quite a while. This is, you know, last year everyone
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  Speaker 1: was talking about Indiana having all these veteran guys and
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  Speaker 1: what a huge advantage that is. Man, the interior of
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  Speaker 1: that Ohio State offensive line is really, really tested.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, you're exactly right. They've been tested, and that's one
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  Speaker 2: of the things Ryan Day said. They've had their ups
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  Speaker 2: and downs. They've come through it. They've faced all of
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  Speaker 2: the adversity. Nothing that they see is going to be new,
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  Speaker 2: whether that's stunts or– somebody like a dominating nose tackle
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  Speaker 2: like Caden McDonald, whether it's a quick defensive tackle or
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  Speaker 2: a big dominating defensive tackle and any kind of scheme.
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  Speaker 2: They've seen it all. They've experienced it all. They've been
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  Speaker 2: able to now come through it and be better prepared
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  Speaker 2: for it and then also handle the coaching that Arthur
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  Speaker 2: Smith is giving them. They can have high-level conversations. This
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  Speaker 2: is not you're plugging in well. This five-star freshman that
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  Speaker 2: we went and bought from whatever high school, we've got
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  Speaker 2: to get a return on the investment, so he's got
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  Speaker 2: to get in there now. But now everything just moves
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  Speaker 2: as slowly as he does. When you've got all of
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  Speaker 2: these veterans, you can move much faster in terms of
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  Speaker 2: the teaching, the implementing, the correcting, whether it's after practice
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  Speaker 2: or at the end of a half. So all of
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  Speaker 2: this lends itself to, yes, everything that they're saying. There's
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  Speaker 2: a reason a head coach is excited about having an
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  Speaker 2: experienced interior coach of your offensive line that wants to
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  Speaker 2: set the tone, that is going to be tasked with
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  Speaker 2: setting the tone, and that you know you have seen
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  Speaker 2: in fall camp so far be able to set the tone.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and you would assume that's going to help Julian
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  Speaker 1: Sane quite a bit because quarterbacks don't like pressure off
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  Speaker 1: the edge. Quarterbacks really don't like pressure right in their
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  Speaker 1: face up the middle. You would assume a big, strong, veteran, proven,
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  Speaker 1: tested interior of the offensive line is going to limit
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  Speaker 1: the amount of pressure he gets off. right in his face.
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  Speaker 1: We'll learn a lot more on September 12th in Austin,
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  Speaker 1: Texas about exactly how well that's going to go, but
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  Speaker 1: it feels like you're set up reasonably well there for that.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and you've got guys who have not just played
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  Speaker 2: their position, they've played other positions. Carson Hinsman has been
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  Speaker 2: center and guard. Luke Montgomery has played both guards. He
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  Speaker 2: played tackle early in his career, played some heavy tight end,
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  Speaker 2: played tight end and defensive end in high school. Not
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  Speaker 2: that that matters here, but And Austin Searveld, we know,
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  Speaker 2: can play wherever. So as Hansman said, hypothetically, if it
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  Speaker 2: is Austin Searveld at right guard, there's a lot of
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  Speaker 2: reason to like those three in there. They're all American candidates.
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  Speaker 2: They've all been around forever. They all have multiple starts.
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  Speaker 2: Leek Montgomery, I think, is the only guy who last
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  Speaker 2: year was his first season as a full-time starter. And
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  Speaker 2: Austin Searveld has been mixed in. And we know all
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  Speaker 2: of this. But basically, if you could design an offensive
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  Speaker 2: line heading into the season. And I'm not saying the guys.
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  Speaker 2: I'm just saying situationally. If you can design it and
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  Speaker 2: you can't have everybody back, even though they could have
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  Speaker 2: if they wanted to.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: If your big move is, well, we want to get
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  Speaker 2: somebody in at left tackle because we really like him
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  Speaker 2: at left tackle, so let's take that established left tackle
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  Speaker 2: and let's put him over into the gap that we
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  Speaker 2: decided to create by not bringing everybody back. This is
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  Speaker 2: as close to an ideal situation without knowing any names
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  Speaker 2: or anything. that you could have. You had an offensive
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  Speaker 2: line that was very good last year, fell short in
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  Speaker 2: some certain circumstances. They're aware of that. They were part
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  Speaker 2: of it. They're back. They understood where they fell short.
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  Speaker 2: And now they want to prove that they've learned their lessons.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know if you're going to get to it.
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  Speaker 2: You probably will. But the individual awards stuff, the Joe
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  Speaker 2: Moore thing, there are those goals, but those are not
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  Speaker 2: the goals that matter right now. Everything is team-focused. And really,
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  Speaker 2: that's what you want from just the interior of your
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  Speaker 2: offensive lines. We are setting the tone, and everything that
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  Speaker 2: we get from this season starts here. And as long
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  Speaker 2: as you do what you're supposed to do, and you
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  Speaker 2: do it well, and you dominate, everything else can happen.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and the Joe Moore Award thing was interesting, because
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  Speaker 1: Harrison Hintzman got asked about that. And that's one of
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  Speaker 1: the very few awards that no one at Ohio State
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  Speaker 1: has won before. And it's a unit award. It's not
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  Speaker 1: an individual award. It's the best offensive line in the country.
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  Speaker 1: And Ohio State's never won that. Going through all the
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  Speaker 1: other awards, individual awards, it's like, man, I think they've
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  Speaker 1: won just about every other one. And Carson Hinsman was
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  Speaker 1: asked about that. And that's one of those, like, nice
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  Speaker 1: to have, but that's not what they're thinking about right now.
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  Speaker 1: That's a result of the process that gets them to
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  Speaker 1: all their other goals.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. And it's like what every head coach has said.
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  Speaker 2: If you beat Michigan and you win a Big Ten championship,
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  Speaker 2: everything else is now available to you and everything else
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  Speaker 2: being a national championship. But, yeah, if you do all
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  Speaker 2: of these things, you will be recognized. People are going
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  Speaker 2: to go, oh, oh. And even if you don't, sometimes
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  Speaker 2: schools still get recognized. But, like, obviously– If you're setting
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  Speaker 2: the tone and you're running the ball, you're balanced like
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  Speaker 2: Ryan Day says they will be, you're going to get
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  Speaker 2: some credit for that. And also you're going to get
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  Speaker 2: some people stumping for it. And there's no reason that
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  Speaker 2: they shouldn't be a real contender for the Joe Moore Award.
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  Speaker 2: And it is a sizable trophy. And Carson Hinsman did say,
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  Speaker 2: you know, it would be nice to have, that's not
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  Speaker 2: what the focus is, but he would love to see
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  Speaker 2: some construction that would have to go on in the
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  Speaker 2: trophy room to be able to get this thing in there. Because,
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  Speaker 2: I don't know, it's about the size of a, like
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  Speaker 2: a dining room bureau type of thing.
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  Speaker 1: It's a Google set tells me it is seven feet tall,
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  Speaker 1: six feet wide and weighs approximately 800 pounds. So.
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  Speaker 2: That's the size of an offensive line minus all of
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  Speaker 2: the weight.
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  Speaker 1: It feels like something that like you bring home from
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  Speaker 1: the fair over the summer and your mom has like
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  Speaker 1: just cleaned your room and is like, where are we
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  Speaker 1: going to put this?
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  Speaker 2: And it's like the one thing you never want to
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  Speaker 2: have to move. Like, no, we're not moving because I
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  Speaker 2: don't want to have to move that.
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  Speaker 1: The one thing, one thing that did move this year,
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  Speaker 1: boom transition. Austin Searveld, left tackle to right guard. The
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  Speaker 1: reason is because of Ian Moore. You're bringing back four
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  Speaker 1: starters on the offensive line, and Phillip Daniels being the
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  Speaker 1: other one at right tackle we haven't really talked about.
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  Speaker 1: Ian Moore is the new face at left tackle. Austin
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  Speaker 1: Searveld was very good last year. All year we've been
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  Speaker 1: hearing this is very likely how this is going to go.
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  Speaker 1: And that tells me a whole lot about what they
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  Speaker 1: really think about Ian Moore and what he could.
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  Speaker 2: Bring this year. 100% that they've been wanting to do
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  Speaker 2: this because they want to get Ian Moore on the field.
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  Speaker 2: And as Carson Hinsman said, hypothetically, if it was Ian Moore,
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  Speaker 2: he's now a third-year player. He stepped up against both
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  Speaker 2: Purdue and Miami last year. There was no letdown. Those
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  Speaker 2: are his words. He's made plays when his number's called,
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  Speaker 2: which is the task of any Ohio State football player.
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  Speaker 2: who is, whether you're in the game or not, you
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  Speaker 2: need to be ready. And he has been. And so
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  Speaker 2: I thought it was interesting because the question was kind
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  Speaker 2: of framed around building trust and how do you trust him?
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  Speaker 2: And he's like, basically, he said, it's a big thing
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  Speaker 2: for me to trust him, but it's a huge thing
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  Speaker 2: for him to trust me because Carson Hinsman is the
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  Speaker 2: one making the line calls and the protections and sliding
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  Speaker 2: and this and that and so when you've got that
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  Speaker 2: left tackle that trusts you completely that's also going to
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  Speaker 2: allow you to trust him and basically all the stuff
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  Speaker 2: that he's seen in practice and seen in games they
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  Speaker 2: all seem to be pretty okay with Ian Moore there
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  Speaker 2: even Austin Searveld basically has already you know that ship
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  Speaker 2: has sailed in terms of being the left tackle. So
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  Speaker 2: I don't know. The only mystery here now is, is
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  Speaker 2: it real? Are they going to do what they say
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  Speaker 2: they want to do?
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  Speaker 1: Well, and Austin Searveld said last week he really hated
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  Speaker 1: right guard when they moved him over there. And now
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  Speaker 1: he's okay with it. And I'm sure some of that
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  Speaker 1: is he feels comfortable over there. But also, if you
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  Speaker 1: didn't trust the guy that they were replacing you with,
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  Speaker 1: I think there would be a very natural, why do
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  Speaker 1: you not have me? I showed you last year I
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  Speaker 1: could do this. There is a lot of, you know,
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  Speaker 1: this is the time of year when it's very easy
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  Speaker 1: to say, oh yeah, we believe in this guy. But
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  Speaker 1: everything they're doing is showing you, both players and coaches,
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  Speaker 1: they're showing you that they really do believe in this.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and one of the things Ryan Day said last
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  Speaker 2: week was that there's no excuses, there's no, basically there's
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  Speaker 2: three things that you can't justify mistakes or excuse them
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  Speaker 2: or whatever. And if things weren't going well for Ian Moore,
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  Speaker 2: and you're going to ask Luke Montgomery and his perhaps
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  Speaker 2: last season, Carson Hinsman in his last season, perhaps Austin
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  Speaker 2: Searveld's last season, to just accept that? I don't think
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  Speaker 2: they would do that. Offensive linemen like to talk, as
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  Speaker 2: we saw with Carson Hinsman today. And they will let
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  Speaker 2: you know how they feel. And if things weren't going well,
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  Speaker 2: I'm sure more than one person would step up, especially
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  Speaker 2: if you're a captain, and say, look, this is not
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  Speaker 2: working out. And frankly, a player shouldn't have to because
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  Speaker 2: the coaches should see it. But if the players weren't
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  Speaker 2: 100% behind somebody, there'd be some conversations.
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  Speaker 1: Right. And, again, everything you're seeing is telling you that
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  Speaker 1: what they're saying is what they really believe. So we
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  Speaker 1: will find out a whole lot more on Saturday than
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  Speaker 1: the Saturday after that. But one Saturday at a time,
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  Speaker 1: we've been waiting nine months for the season to get here.
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  Speaker 1: The season is finally here. Hallelujah. The season is finally here.
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  Speaker 1: We will be there. We will have a long day
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  Speaker 1: for you on Saturday at Ohio Stadium. It is Senior Day,
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  Speaker 1: believe it or not. Jim Trestle being honored and inducted
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: into the Ring of Honor. Maurice Claret going to be
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: the pregame victory bell ringer. Alumni Band Day. Oh, yes,
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  Speaker 1: and there's a football game happening as well. So going
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  Speaker 1: to be a lot to talk about and a lot
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  Speaker 1: to learn there. We will have a long, long day
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  Speaker 1: of coverage for you at youtube.com slash at Buckeye Insiders.
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  Speaker 1: That'll do it for today. Thank you guys all for
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: joining us. Have a great day. We'll talk to you tomorrow.