We’re back on a Monday, and it just feels right.
Here’s the top-10 things on my mind as the offseason rolls on for both the Ohio State basketball and football programs.
Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave serve as Ohio State’s testimony for progress.
Ryan Day didn’t lie. Watching the first round of the NFL Draft was emotional for him.
The head coach saw two of his wide receivers — Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave — sitting back-to-back with their families in the greenroom in Las Vegas, waiting for their names to be called with wide receivers coach Brian Hartline in between.
It was a moment that kind of brought things full circle for Day, remembering each of those wide receivers’ recruiting processes, sitting down, talking to the player and his family about that dream of becoming a first-round NFL Draft pick.
It’s something he’s been sitting on, trying to build ever since he first came to Ohio State under Urban Meyer. But it’s something that has started to bear fruit, watching as Wilson and Olave become the first Ohio State wide receivers taken in the first round since Ted Ginn Jr. in 2007.
“I think it’s testimony,” Day said. “We’ve talked about this for a long time in recruiting and now you’re actually seeing that happen.”
It’s something Ohio State has already started to see translate into the NFL, developing countless success stories coaches can use recruiting: Justin Fields, Terry McLaurin, Michael Thomas.
Dwayne Haskins: Ohio State’s first first-round quarterback selection in 37 years in 2019, the one Day says who set the tone for Fields, McLaurin, Parris Campbell, Olave and Wilson to make an impact at the next level.
That’s why Day was emotional watching Wilson find his home with the New York Jets and Olave find his home with the New Orleans Saints on back-to-back picks in the NFL Draft.
It’s an example and a product of what he’s built.
“It’s a very, very exciting time to be a quarterback and a wide receiver,” Day said.
But is development enough?
It’s what Day’s hanging his hat on.
“That’s a really important part of recruiting is the development,” the Ohio State head coach said. “Certainly the NIL and all the things that are going on right now are a part of it. But what really matters is their development in the end. For the guys that are focused on that and want to develop into becoming really good college players and possibly being NFL Draft picks, then Ohio State’s a great option.”
Ohio State is not exactly behind in the so-called “race” that NIL has brought into the recruiting world. With players taking on countless opportunities to promote their personal brand and receive compensation for their name, image and likeness, along with the emergence of organizations such as The Foundation or the Cohesion Foundation supporting active Ohio State players, NIL is alive and well in Columbus.
But it’s not the Buckeyes’ main recruiting pitch, at least for the football program.
That remains with development: turning the top high school talent in the country into first-round NFL Draft picks like Olave and Wilson just became or Chase Young and Jeff Okudah were.
It’s a reputation of development, turning these athletes into players who will get paid eventually (a’la Denzel Ward), one that NIL will only help instead of hinder.
It’s not something that will rear its head until much later on — I’m already planning the looking back pieces of these first NIL recruiting classes for 2024 and 2025 — but it’s definitely something to think about as the Buckeyes navigate a world that still has a lot of “gray” in it.
How has Ohio State been able to develop talent?
Since 2014, Ohio State has had 20 first-round draft picks. That’s a lot.
It’s more than both Clemson and Georgia in that time span, recording 13 and 14 respectively, in the past eight years.
But it’s not as many as Alabama’s 27, from C.J. Mosely and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in 2014 to Evan Neal and Jameson Williams, the Ohio State wide receiver transfer, in 2022.
All of these players were developed, sure. But how many were those highly-touted NFL prospects from the moment they stepped onto campus?
Let’s take a look.
Since 2014, Alabama has had 17 five-star players drafted in the first round, with seven four-star players and two three-stars: center Ryan Kelly and running back Josh Jacobs. Not including those two three-star players, who were not ranked by Rivals national, Alabama’s average national player ranking for its 27 first-round selections in the past eight years has been 36.7.
Of Ohio State’s 20 first-round draft picks since 2014, only four have been five-star players — Chase Young, Nick Bosa, Justin Fields and Jeff Okudah — while averaging a national player ranking of 77.7. However, eight of the Buckeyes’ 20 first-round selections weren’t even ranked by Rivals including seven three-star players: Bradley Roby, Darron Lee, Malik Hooker, Gareon Conely, Denzel Ward, Damon Arnette and Chris Olave.
Yep, that’s development all right.
Ohio State will have five-star players to work with. But what the Buckeyes have shown is that they will make due without if they have to.
Speaking of recruiting…
Ohio State took a big next step in the 2023 class this week.
The Buckeyes secured the interior of its offensive line with only Ohio guys, rounding out the inside with Austin Siereveld, a four-star guard out of Liberty Township, giving the class five in-state commitments out of 10 members: Siereveld, four-star safety Malik Hartford, four-star offensive lineman Luke Montgomery, three-star defensive tackle Will Smith Jr. and four-star guard Joshua Padilla.
With five secured in the class, the Buckeyes are one Ohio commitment away from tying the total of in-state players in the 2022 and 2021 class
What’s the next position to target?
The next big focus is the outside of the line.
While Montgomery could step up and take a tackle spot if needed — currently standing at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, the Buckeyes should start to shift their focus to more natural tackles such as Olaus Alinen, Salmon Okunola and Monroe Freeling.
Also, with Hartford, Cedrick Hawkins and Dijon Johnson secured in the secondary in the class, Ohio State’s focus also could be turning to the middle of the defense at linebacker, specifically Tackett Curtis, along with the defensive line,
On to basketball: Ohio State’s lineup seems set in 2022-23. Let’s take a deep dive into the numbers.
Other than Justice Sueing, who didn’t see the court much at all during the 2021-22 season due to injury, here’s a look at some deeper numbers of what the Buckeyes’ likely starters next season brought to their respective teams a season ago.
From Barttorvik.com:
Zed Key (Ohio State F/C) — 1.8 box plus/minus, 1.5 offensive box plus/minus, 0.3 defensive box plus/minus, 22.1 usage rate, 56.5 effective field goal percentage
Isaac Likekele (Oklahoma State G) — 3.0 BPM, 0.0 OBPM, 3.0 DBPM, 16.8 USG, 44.1 EFG
Tanner Holden (Wright State G) — 2.4 BPM, 3.2 OBPM, -0.9 DBPM, 27.9 USG, 50.9 EFG
Sean McNeil (West Virginia G) — 3.1 BPM, 3.1 OBPM, 0.0 DBPM, 17.2 USH, 50.2 EFG
What about the scholarship numbers for Ohio State basketball?
Let’s break it down
Freshmen: Bruce Thornton, Brice Sensabaugh, Felix Okpara, Bowen Hardman, Roddy Gayle Jr., Kalen Etzler (redshirt)
Sophomores: N/A
Juniors: Eugene Brown III
Seniors: Seth Towns (redshirt), Justice Sueing (redshirt), Zed Key, Sean McNeil, Tanner Holden, Isaac Likekele (redshirt)
Ohio State would have two other non-scholarship roster spots to work with for next season.
What would that mean for the roster in 2023-24?
With Sueing, Towns, McNeil and Likekele each having one year of eligibility remaining, the Buckeyes are looking to have another large recruiting class in 2023.
Ohio State already has secured two commitments: four-star guard George Washington III out of Louisville and center Austin Parks out of St. Mary’s, OH.
The attention now turns to possibly two more spots with players like Devin Royal and Scotty Middleton on the top of the list for the Buckeyes’ coaching staff.
A word on the Maize and Blue Review rankings.
My friend and yours Trevor McCue has been ranking a bunch of things for the Maize and Blue Review, from Big Ten logos to uniforms. But the one that caught my attention most was his ranking of the Big Ten football stadiums.
So I wanted to give you my rankings with a personal anecdote on each. And to be fair, I want to include ones that I have actually been to (even though I still think Camp Randall would crack the top five anyways).
10. SHI Stadium — Had one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had in Newark that weekend, still not a memorable stadium, even with the mile walk through campus in the dark after the game including an encounter with a deer.
9. Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium — The turtle statue on the outside is a plus, as is the cheese and crab-covered fries I had after the game, but nothing special here.
8. Spartan Stadium — Weather is always nasty and cold in East Lansing when Ohio State plays Michigan State, doesn’t matter the time of year at all.
7. Ross-Ade Stadium — Biased here because I was at THE night game in 2018, which proved to be a really cool atmosphere. Also got to ride in a golf cart: plus.
6. Memorial Stadium (Indiana) — This stadium doesn’t get enough credit. I’m biased because it was the first road game I ever covered, but also it’s a really nice place to watch a game. Also, before Ohio State played at Assembly Hall in 2019, I strolled into the stadium and was told I could walk around freely, “as long as I wasn’t a Purdue fan.”
5. Memorial Stadium (Nebraska) — This is a very, very cool place to watch a football game, especially an 11 a.m. kick, where I got to watch the sunrise from the press box. Also, the pyro is neat.
4. Kinnick Stadium — It’s the Wave. Plain and simple. Almost made me cry.
3. Michigan Stadium — Iconic, no matter if you like “The Team Up North” or not. Great stadium inside an incredible city with solid record stores. It is a fishbowl though. Also, big plus to the fancy coffee maker in the press box.
2. Ohio Stadium — I’m going to get in trouble for this.
1. Beaver Stadium — Every time Ohio State plays in Beaver Stadium, it’s a White Out. And it truly is the best college football experience I have ever experienced: trying to get work done in a rickety press box as it shakes to a sold out crowd jumping up and down. It’s unexplainable. And while I value Ohio Stadium and how cool of an atmosphere it is, a White Out at Beaver Stadium is not something to take for granted, especially with the Buckeyes likely getting another oneHalloween weekend.
Here’s the song of the week.
I don’t always write with music on. But when I do, it’s usually something like this.
Texas forever.
See you on the board.
Here’s the top-10 things on my mind as the offseason rolls on for both the Ohio State basketball and football programs.
Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave serve as Ohio State’s testimony for progress.
Ryan Day didn’t lie. Watching the first round of the NFL Draft was emotional for him.
The head coach saw two of his wide receivers — Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave — sitting back-to-back with their families in the greenroom in Las Vegas, waiting for their names to be called with wide receivers coach Brian Hartline in between.
It was a moment that kind of brought things full circle for Day, remembering each of those wide receivers’ recruiting processes, sitting down, talking to the player and his family about that dream of becoming a first-round NFL Draft pick.
It’s something he’s been sitting on, trying to build ever since he first came to Ohio State under Urban Meyer. But it’s something that has started to bear fruit, watching as Wilson and Olave become the first Ohio State wide receivers taken in the first round since Ted Ginn Jr. in 2007.
“I think it’s testimony,” Day said. “We’ve talked about this for a long time in recruiting and now you’re actually seeing that happen.”
It’s something Ohio State has already started to see translate into the NFL, developing countless success stories coaches can use recruiting: Justin Fields, Terry McLaurin, Michael Thomas.
Dwayne Haskins: Ohio State’s first first-round quarterback selection in 37 years in 2019, the one Day says who set the tone for Fields, McLaurin, Parris Campbell, Olave and Wilson to make an impact at the next level.
That’s why Day was emotional watching Wilson find his home with the New York Jets and Olave find his home with the New Orleans Saints on back-to-back picks in the NFL Draft.
It’s an example and a product of what he’s built.
“It’s a very, very exciting time to be a quarterback and a wide receiver,” Day said.
But is development enough?
It’s what Day’s hanging his hat on.
“That’s a really important part of recruiting is the development,” the Ohio State head coach said. “Certainly the NIL and all the things that are going on right now are a part of it. But what really matters is their development in the end. For the guys that are focused on that and want to develop into becoming really good college players and possibly being NFL Draft picks, then Ohio State’s a great option.”
Ohio State is not exactly behind in the so-called “race” that NIL has brought into the recruiting world. With players taking on countless opportunities to promote their personal brand and receive compensation for their name, image and likeness, along with the emergence of organizations such as The Foundation or the Cohesion Foundation supporting active Ohio State players, NIL is alive and well in Columbus.
But it’s not the Buckeyes’ main recruiting pitch, at least for the football program.
That remains with development: turning the top high school talent in the country into first-round NFL Draft picks like Olave and Wilson just became or Chase Young and Jeff Okudah were.
It’s a reputation of development, turning these athletes into players who will get paid eventually (a’la Denzel Ward), one that NIL will only help instead of hinder.
It’s not something that will rear its head until much later on — I’m already planning the looking back pieces of these first NIL recruiting classes for 2024 and 2025 — but it’s definitely something to think about as the Buckeyes navigate a world that still has a lot of “gray” in it.
How has Ohio State been able to develop talent?
Since 2014, Ohio State has had 20 first-round draft picks. That’s a lot.
It’s more than both Clemson and Georgia in that time span, recording 13 and 14 respectively, in the past eight years.
But it’s not as many as Alabama’s 27, from C.J. Mosely and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in 2014 to Evan Neal and Jameson Williams, the Ohio State wide receiver transfer, in 2022.
All of these players were developed, sure. But how many were those highly-touted NFL prospects from the moment they stepped onto campus?
Let’s take a look.
Since 2014, Alabama has had 17 five-star players drafted in the first round, with seven four-star players and two three-stars: center Ryan Kelly and running back Josh Jacobs. Not including those two three-star players, who were not ranked by Rivals national, Alabama’s average national player ranking for its 27 first-round selections in the past eight years has been 36.7.
Of Ohio State’s 20 first-round draft picks since 2014, only four have been five-star players — Chase Young, Nick Bosa, Justin Fields and Jeff Okudah — while averaging a national player ranking of 77.7. However, eight of the Buckeyes’ 20 first-round selections weren’t even ranked by Rivals including seven three-star players: Bradley Roby, Darron Lee, Malik Hooker, Gareon Conely, Denzel Ward, Damon Arnette and Chris Olave.
Yep, that’s development all right.
Ohio State will have five-star players to work with. But what the Buckeyes have shown is that they will make due without if they have to.
Speaking of recruiting…
Ohio State took a big next step in the 2023 class this week.
The Buckeyes secured the interior of its offensive line with only Ohio guys, rounding out the inside with Austin Siereveld, a four-star guard out of Liberty Township, giving the class five in-state commitments out of 10 members: Siereveld, four-star safety Malik Hartford, four-star offensive lineman Luke Montgomery, three-star defensive tackle Will Smith Jr. and four-star guard Joshua Padilla.
With five secured in the class, the Buckeyes are one Ohio commitment away from tying the total of in-state players in the 2022 and 2021 class
What’s the next position to target?
The next big focus is the outside of the line.
While Montgomery could step up and take a tackle spot if needed — currently standing at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, the Buckeyes should start to shift their focus to more natural tackles such as Olaus Alinen, Salmon Okunola and Monroe Freeling.
Also, with Hartford, Cedrick Hawkins and Dijon Johnson secured in the secondary in the class, Ohio State’s focus also could be turning to the middle of the defense at linebacker, specifically Tackett Curtis, along with the defensive line,
On to basketball: Ohio State’s lineup seems set in 2022-23. Let’s take a deep dive into the numbers.
Other than Justice Sueing, who didn’t see the court much at all during the 2021-22 season due to injury, here’s a look at some deeper numbers of what the Buckeyes’ likely starters next season brought to their respective teams a season ago.
From Barttorvik.com:
Zed Key (Ohio State F/C) — 1.8 box plus/minus, 1.5 offensive box plus/minus, 0.3 defensive box plus/minus, 22.1 usage rate, 56.5 effective field goal percentage
Isaac Likekele (Oklahoma State G) — 3.0 BPM, 0.0 OBPM, 3.0 DBPM, 16.8 USG, 44.1 EFG
Tanner Holden (Wright State G) — 2.4 BPM, 3.2 OBPM, -0.9 DBPM, 27.9 USG, 50.9 EFG
Sean McNeil (West Virginia G) — 3.1 BPM, 3.1 OBPM, 0.0 DBPM, 17.2 USH, 50.2 EFG
What about the scholarship numbers for Ohio State basketball?
Let’s break it down
Freshmen: Bruce Thornton, Brice Sensabaugh, Felix Okpara, Bowen Hardman, Roddy Gayle Jr., Kalen Etzler (redshirt)
Sophomores: N/A
Juniors: Eugene Brown III
Seniors: Seth Towns (redshirt), Justice Sueing (redshirt), Zed Key, Sean McNeil, Tanner Holden, Isaac Likekele (redshirt)
Ohio State would have two other non-scholarship roster spots to work with for next season.
What would that mean for the roster in 2023-24?
With Sueing, Towns, McNeil and Likekele each having one year of eligibility remaining, the Buckeyes are looking to have another large recruiting class in 2023.
Ohio State already has secured two commitments: four-star guard George Washington III out of Louisville and center Austin Parks out of St. Mary’s, OH.
The attention now turns to possibly two more spots with players like Devin Royal and Scotty Middleton on the top of the list for the Buckeyes’ coaching staff.
A word on the Maize and Blue Review rankings.
My friend and yours Trevor McCue has been ranking a bunch of things for the Maize and Blue Review, from Big Ten logos to uniforms. But the one that caught my attention most was his ranking of the Big Ten football stadiums.
So I wanted to give you my rankings with a personal anecdote on each. And to be fair, I want to include ones that I have actually been to (even though I still think Camp Randall would crack the top five anyways).
10. SHI Stadium — Had one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had in Newark that weekend, still not a memorable stadium, even with the mile walk through campus in the dark after the game including an encounter with a deer.
9. Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium — The turtle statue on the outside is a plus, as is the cheese and crab-covered fries I had after the game, but nothing special here.
8. Spartan Stadium — Weather is always nasty and cold in East Lansing when Ohio State plays Michigan State, doesn’t matter the time of year at all.
7. Ross-Ade Stadium — Biased here because I was at THE night game in 2018, which proved to be a really cool atmosphere. Also got to ride in a golf cart: plus.
6. Memorial Stadium (Indiana) — This stadium doesn’t get enough credit. I’m biased because it was the first road game I ever covered, but also it’s a really nice place to watch a game. Also, before Ohio State played at Assembly Hall in 2019, I strolled into the stadium and was told I could walk around freely, “as long as I wasn’t a Purdue fan.”
5. Memorial Stadium (Nebraska) — This is a very, very cool place to watch a football game, especially an 11 a.m. kick, where I got to watch the sunrise from the press box. Also, the pyro is neat.
4. Kinnick Stadium — It’s the Wave. Plain and simple. Almost made me cry.
3. Michigan Stadium — Iconic, no matter if you like “The Team Up North” or not. Great stadium inside an incredible city with solid record stores. It is a fishbowl though. Also, big plus to the fancy coffee maker in the press box.
2. Ohio Stadium — I’m going to get in trouble for this.
1. Beaver Stadium — Every time Ohio State plays in Beaver Stadium, it’s a White Out. And it truly is the best college football experience I have ever experienced: trying to get work done in a rickety press box as it shakes to a sold out crowd jumping up and down. It’s unexplainable. And while I value Ohio Stadium and how cool of an atmosphere it is, a White Out at Beaver Stadium is not something to take for granted, especially with the Buckeyes likely getting another oneHalloween weekend.
Here’s the song of the week.
I don’t always write with music on. But when I do, it’s usually something like this.
Texas forever.
See you on the board.
