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How Many Buckeyes Will Opt Out Of The Cotton Bowl? · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Welcome to Buckeyes Tomorrow morning for Monday, December eleventh. I'm your host tom
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  or at the Cotton Bowl game against Missouris in eighteen days, the game against
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  Michigan in three hundred and fifty five days. We get inspiration for this show
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  from a lot of different places. You do enough of these shows, you
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  have to find inspiration from a lot of different places. The inspiration from this
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  one came from a text from her buddy Mark Gifler from bucke Huddle dot com,
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  who said, quote, I put out a tweet this week about guessing
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  the starting eleven on offense for the Cotton Bowl, and someone requested a podcast
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  about that today. We are going to fill that request because this is one
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  of those things where towards the end of the year you would assume, like,
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  yeah, you go to a pretty good sense for who's going to be
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  play, you know, starting because you've seen a whole year of these teams.
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  You know who's hurt, you know who's not. Well. It's a
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  little more complicated than that this time of year, what with the transfer portal
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  potential opt outs, which we still have not heard any of yet from the
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  Ohio state side, and all the other different factors that go into these kinds
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  of decisions. So today we're going to be trying to take a run at
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  who is going to be starting for a house date in the cotton ball.
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  We're doing that with our buddy Tony gerdaman Ifuckheadle dot com. Tony. This
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  is a surprisingly difficult exercise for a bunch of different reasons. Yeah. First,
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  I like the aspect, the make a wish aspect of this that we're
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  doing, like somebody has thrown this out, please do this podcast. We're
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  like, okay, we will do this for you. We will fulfill that
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  that wish. But so much of this is going to be educated guessing.
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  And I don't I'm never gonna say uneducated guessing. I will just say guessing.
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  I don't want to throw. I don't want to throw cast dispersions on
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  both of us, myself or you. But it is there is some aspects
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  of just expecting stuff to happen and maybe thinking maybe stuff won't and trying to
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  put all of this into a nice little gulash of a starting eleven on offense.
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  All right, Well, let's start with quarterback, because quarterback is the
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  spot where you know you're kind of contractually obligated to start, and the guy
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  who has started all the games for Ohio State this year is no longer at
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  Ohio State, so we know it's not gonna be Kyle McCord. We know
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  they can't bring in anyone from the transfer portal, and we know who the
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  number two quarterback has been all seasons. So this one feels for a spot
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  where you know it's not gonna be the guy who started every game this year.
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  This one feels like one of the easier decisions we we're gonna have to
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  make here. Oh Tom, don't ever say that. Don't ever say something
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  is gonna be an easy decision. But I would agree, And just because
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  it's easy doesn't mean it's gonna be right. I will go with I'm gonna
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  go Devin Brown, being that he is the most experienced aside from Tristan Jebya.
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  I don't I don't think we're gonna throw him into this starting mix.
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  But I do think it will be Devin Brown starting any cotton ball for Ohio
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  State. But I also expect thinking Keynols to play. You got to get
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  him out there, let him play, let him you know, if you're
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  gonna throw a bunch of practice time. Adam may as well throw some game
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  time at him as well. Just don't waste a bunch of practice and to
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  not get him involved in the game. I don't care if it's close or
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  not. In fact, I think if you have an opportunity where it's you
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  down up, you get a punt down at the seven yard line, and
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  you want to throw Li Kanktos out there first and ten from your own seven,
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  do it. See what happens, See what he can do for you.
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  You're losing two games this year, isn't going to be any different than
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  losing one because of the one that you lost. Yeah, I would,
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  I would agree with that. I think this. You know, Ryan Day
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  talked about the fact that job number one is win the Cotton Bowl. To
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  me, job number one is this is the first part of spring practice for
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  twenty twenty four and getting yourself as ready as you can to win games in
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  twenty twenty four. I think you should see both of these guys. Devren
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  Brown I would expect to be the first guy out there, based on the
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  fact that he was number two on the depth chart whenever he was healthy,
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  Based on the fact that he leads the team in pictures of Cortes tweeted,
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  you know, he would certainly expect him to be sticking around for the bowl
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  game at this point. So I think I'm expecting Devin Brown, but yeah,
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  I would. I would think Lincoln Keenholes should be getting meaningful snaps in
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  this game, not just garbage time snaps. I think I think you gotta
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  if he shows that he's ready for it during the during the bowl prep,
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  I think you got to put him out there and and just you know,
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  start putting start putting reps on film and have stuff to teach off for the
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  spring. So all right, So that's quarterback now running back and Tony.
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  Ohio States, once extremely deep running back room of five recurring starter or five
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  returning players this year is now down to two guys in the portal. One
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  guy declared for the NFL and has a season ending injury. So I guess
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  this is a question of Crevion Henderson Dallan Hayden, who is the starting running
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  back for Ohio State Tom what if they start and they both start? I
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  think the real question, the biggest question is is Trevor Is Travion Henderson playing
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  in the game? And I am going to say yes, in which case
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  I have him as my starting running back based on the you know, the
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  hearsay going around possibility that he may be returning. I'm going to buy into
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  that until I hear more of the other way, and I will say that
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  he is Ohio State starting running back with a confidence of less than of one
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  out of ten, probably four point sixty five times. You know, I
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  think it's pretty irresponsible to base your pick on hearsay. I personally am also
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  going to go with Cravan Henderson, but I'm going to do it based on
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  the scuttle butt rather than the hearsay because I'm a professional. And yeah,
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  I think I'm smack dab at a five out of ten on the confidence level
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  there, maybe five and a half, Anderson said late last week. Was
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  reported late last week that Henderson had not made a decision yet on whether to
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  return. Sure, I mean, I think he's as good a guess as
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  any right now, because if he turns pro there's no guarantee that he sits
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  out. And so yeah, I think I think he would be my pick
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  there. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison told us last Thursday he has not made a
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  decision on the Cotton Bowl. He has not made his decision on the twenty
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  twenty four season. Mecca Abuka is another person who could turn pro and could
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  opt out. We don't know yet. Julian Fleming in the portal, so
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  he is, you know, safely safely a no. At this point,
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  where are you with Ohio States three starting wide receivers. One thing I do
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  want to do is we don't need to assume just because somebody may be turning
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  pro that they won't be playing in the game like you don't. You don't
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  have to automatically opt out if you're going to turn pro early. So I
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  am going to I'm going to keep a Mecca Abuka alive and that and I'm
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  not convinced that he's turning pro yet anyway, I would be surprised if he
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  doesn't. But also I'm not expecting Marvin Harrison to play in this game,
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  so I'm going to rule him out and I'll throw one receipt, one starting
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  receiver at you, Tom, because i think I'm Meka Abuka. Whether he
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  goes or he stays, this is a game that he could use to help
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  bolster his draft stock, and so why not come back for one more chance
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  to build up those numbers one way or another, either your company or going,
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  doesn't matter. If you're going, then use this game to not necessarily
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  have the the Jackson Smith the Jigba Rose Bowl. But you can go ahead
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  and put up some numbers and be on the minds of a lot of NFL
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  people out there by playing in this game. And it's just one more time
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  to be showcased. Yeah, I think I like the idea of a Mecca
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  Abuka potentially playing again. I'm with you. I'm not expecting Marvin Harrison to
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  play. We'll see how that decision final gets made and get in how that
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  all shakes out, and if and when we hear about that, we'll of
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  course let you know. But yeah, I'm with you on a Mecca at
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  BUCA. I think Carnel Tate would be my second choice for a wide receiver.
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  And I think I don't know if I'm going off the board or if
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  this is the chalk pick here. I think you get a senior captain Xavier
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  Johnson. I think he gets the start. You know, you throw him
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  in the slot. Maybe, I mean you kind of have you know,
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  Tate's you could play any three you know, any of the three in the
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  slot, but you know, throw a Buka outside, throw Tate outside,
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  and put Xavier Johnson in the slot, and you're going to see a bunch
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  of other guys during the course of the game as well. But that would
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  be my guess. Any disagreement, there no no disagreement. And really,
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  from what I've been saying in terms of a mecca at Buka's draft stock,
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  him wanting to play or him showing what he can do outside, it would
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  also help him. So that fits right in line with that. Yeah,
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  I think if those three are available, that is your starting trio obviously,
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  with the Xavier Johnson in the slot, unless they go, you know,
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  with it with two tight ends, in which case, now we're just talking
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  semantics, but I'm with you on those three receivers for sure, all right,
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  So tight end? Now, Kate's over draft eligible. Will kids over
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  play in the in the Cotton Bowl? Will Cats over play in the twenty
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  twenty four season for Ohio State or in the NFL. That feels like that's
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  sort of really the only real question here because if not, you sort of
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  have your pecking order after that. So Tony, why don't you spoil a
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  surprise. Is Kate's over going to start in the cotton bowl or not.
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  It's it's uncaptain like Tom to opt out, and even more than that,
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  it's on farmer like to opt out. Farmers don't have the option of opting
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  out. They've got to work every day. They've got to be in the
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  fields, they've got to be in the barn, they've got to be with
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  the animals. They can't just take a day off. They can't take a
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  ball off Tom. If they take a ball off, people don't eat right.
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  So I don't see Kates dover opting out of this one. I see
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  him finishing out his career playing with his brothers, doing what a captain does.
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  Replaced the old Iowa sticker with an O n F sticker on the back
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  of the Ohio State helmet. Ohio State needs farmers. Yeah, I would.
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  I'm with you. I think Kates Dover plays another at least one more
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  game for Ohio State. I do think there's a legitimate conversation about whether he
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  turns pro or comes back. He's the kind of guy you could see coming
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  back. You know, he's he's getting drafted somewhere, but you could see
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  him coming back for one more year at Ohio State, and you know,
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  with with the realities of modern college football, that is a much more appealing
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  option than it used to be. If you're not, you know, projected
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  as a first round pick, that's that becomes much more of a legitimate question
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  that used to be. So we will we will see on that, But
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  yeah, I would I would expect Kate's dover to be there. If not,
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  it's g Scott And I think you're going to see a decent amount maybe
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  of Joloannie Thurman at least some Jolanni Thurman kind of on the same you know,
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  because Joe Royer is in the transfer portal, So Jolannie Thurman would probably
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  be your third tight end at this point, even with Kedsti over there.
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  And I think sort of on the same, you know, in the same
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  way that I would be in favor of playing Lincoln Keenhols, even if he's
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  not the starter. I think you got to get Johnnie Thurman a bunch of
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  work because Johnnie Thurman's gonna have a much bigger role, I would guess in
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  next year's Ohio State offense. So all right, So that's tight end,
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  offensive line, offensive line, was a position, you know, the position
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  group where there were maybe some of the most questions all year. This might
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  be the position group where there are the fewest questions. For this one.
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  There's only one guy who is definitely out of eligibility. That's Matt Jones.
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  I don't think he's getting to opt out. And I don't know that there's
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  anyone else. I mean, Donovan Jackson could turn pro. I don't know
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  that. I'm expecting that. I mean, what do you think about the
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  Ohio State offensive line? Is it going to be the same five guys it
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  has been all season? Or is there going to be a shuffle there somewhere?
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  Yeah, and it has been the same five guys in every single game.
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  And just because people were projecting down Donovan Jackson to be an early entrant
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  after this year, before the season, like, you don't have to stick
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  with that. You can watch and see how the line played and see that
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  nobody here should be turning pro early. So I do expect everybody to play.
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  I expect Donovan Jackson to return, although we have been disappointed or surprised
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  by other players offensive linemen in the recent history leaving early when they probably shouldn't.
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  So perhaps those cautionary tales will help out the decision making this time around,
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  But yeah, I expect all five to play. If Matt Jones opts
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  out, then you're setting a brand new precedent on who should be opting out
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  because it used to be the top of the first round, you know,
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  the first rounders. And then you would just be like, well, if
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  you play on play in the NFL in the future, you should not play
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  beyond the regular season if it's not the playoffs. And I don't think that's
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  where we necessarily need to go. Yeah, and you know, I don't
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  Donovan Jackson did not have a great season this year. I mean, you
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  can go through if you want to look at the PFF ratings, you'll get
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  one kind of impression of his season. But I think he's a He's not
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  leaving to be a first round pick. If he leaves to go, I
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  don't you know. I think there's a pretty good argument to be made for
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  him to come back. And you know, we have been, as you
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  said, we have been surprised by offensive line decisions before. I think if
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  Luke Whipler had things to do all over again, he might make a different
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  decision because that one was one that surprised everyone, not just us, but
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  the coaching staff as well. And he's been he was inactive on Sunday for
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  the Browns and has played in I looked it up. He's played in three
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  games, and I think all on special teams and not on you know,
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  has not has yet to take a snap on offense this year. And boy,
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  I think the ohe State offense looks a little better year if Luke Whipler's
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  your center and Carson Hinzman doesn't get thrown in there a year earlier than everyone
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  was sort of expecting. So you would think there's probably a you know,
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  like you said, a little bit of a cautionary tale there that may maybe
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  hang on, try and put another better year of film out there before you
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  go turn pro. But we'll see, you know, Luke Whipler shoud make
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  it more than I am this year, so I guess I can't. I
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  can't be too critical. He is, you know, and has a has
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  a four year contract and all that, so you know, there are arguments
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  on both sides of that. But yeah, I think I think I'm with
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  you. I'm expecting the same five offensive linemen probably as usual. So that
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  is the offense. We will probably do a defense show at some point this
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  week. That's a whole separate conversation. There's because there's a lot of interesting,
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  interesting draft decisions and opt out decisions coming, especially on the defensive line.
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  Across the line, you could see anywhere from all four of those twenty
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  twenty one defensive lineman turn pro to maybe only one or two. We'll keep
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  an eye on that for you and probably come back with another show on that
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  a little later on the week. We're also gonna be talking to the Buckeyes
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  a little later on this week, probably get a better sense from a lot
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  of them on where this is sort of headed for them and for various different
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  guys. We keep an eye on the transfer portal, be keeping an eye
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  on recruiting. Early Signing Day now just nine days away, so it's going
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  to be a very very busy couple weeks at buckey Huddle dot com. Tony
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  and Kevin and I covering the team, Mark covering recruiting, Ross and Devin
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  and Mickey and Justin covering x's and o's making you a smarter football fan all
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  at Buckeye Huddle dot Com. That will do it for today. Thank you
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  guys all for joining us. Have a great day. We'll talk to you tomorrow.