Buckeye Talk: Ohio State podcast by cleveland.com

Allatoona, Georgia tight end Bennett Christian took matters into his own hands when the NCAA instituted a recruiting moratorium during the coronavirus pandemic. He made his own visit to Columbus and committed to the Buckeyes soon after -- though he waited to announce the decision on his birthday a couple of weeks later. Christian joined Buckeye Talk to discuss the factors that went into that decision, his relationships with coach Ryan Day and tight ends coach Kevin Wilson, and who else he is trying to bring on as the second tight end in OSU's 2022 class. He also talked with Stephen Means and Nathan Baird about why he believes Ohio State is a destination for tight ends and what role his faith played in his recruiting decision. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, the big Wednesday pod isn't quite as big as usual. But it's instructive. As everyone waits for what's next from the Big Ten, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means took a crack at ranking every major college football team in tiers, but with a purpose. The exercise was intended to shed some light on how the 14 Big Ten programs might be thinking about playing football this fall, based in part on their standing in the college football landscape. So Doug assigned a tier to all 65 power conference teams, and Nathan and Stephen offered up where they believe Big Ten teams fall. From regular national title contenders to programs that are just bad, the guys ranked them all. Listen, disagree and enjoy. And thanks for making Buckeye Talk part of your day. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Tuesday Buckeye Talk Podcast from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means eagerly dive into a new mock draft from Bleacher Report draft analyst Matt Miller. He released a three-round 2021 NFL mock draft on Monday, and six Buckeyes were included. The guys discussed all six of those Buckeyes and compared them to past OSU draftees while deciding if they should be projected to go higher or lower. They also talked about the Buckeyes who didn't make the 96 picks in this mock, including one surprising omission in particular. Draft talk is always fun and this was a good look ahead for another group of future Ohio State pros. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Buckeye Talk podcast for Monday, Nathan Baird and Doug Lesmerises split things in half. The first part of the pod has nothing to do with the debate and discussion over when the Big Ten might play football again -- it's talking about favorite gameday memories, what was missed most on a Saturday with no Ohio State football, a Buckeye to look forward to seeing play in the 2021 season, and that annoying chicken wing guy from Nebraska. Then, the second half of the pod is all that other topic, the one everyone has been talking about for the last month -- what's up with Big Ten football? Nathan and Doug took seven questions around the latest news and speculation on that topic. So, if you're sick of that, then just enjoy the first half of the pod. If you want more of that, enjoy the first half of the pod and then stick around. Either way, thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to a new feature here on Buckeye Talk. Get ready for Buckeye ReTalkables, a new series in which Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means watch an old Ohio State game and then break it down. The guys, with the help of text subscribers, came up with a variety of categories named after Buckeyes like Jim Tressel, Maurice Clarett, Kenny Guiton, John Cooper, Ted Ginn Jr., J.T. Barrett, Bill Davis and Tim Beck. The first game up is Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech in the 2015 season opener in Blacksburg, with Cardale Jones starting at quarterback for the defending national champs. The conclusion from this pod? This first game represented a lot of what that 2015 season would be like. This game is on YouTube in its entirety, so you can watch that before or after listening, or just let the guys relive the game for you. Either way, thanks for joining us on this first version of Buckeye ReTalkables. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discussion continues around the Big Ten decision to cancel fall football. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Way back in the first week of April, Buckeye Talk's Nathan Baird and Stephen Means drafted starting lineups for a hypothetical Ohio State football spring game. We asked our text subscribers to vote on who came out on top, and by a 105-12 margin, they gave the edge to Team Baird. Stephen vowed that day to find rosters and play out the game on Xbox 360 to determine once and for all who had assembled the better collection of talent. For a brief respite from the roller coaster that is the extended Big Ten offseason, Baird Bunch and Means Machine finally faced off in a living room in Dublin on Wednesday. The final score, like with any spring game or scrimmage, is not especially important. We tried to use the simulation to imagine what we might have learned about the Buckeyes during a normal season without the coronavirus pandemic. What would CJ Stroud and Jack Miller have displayed in their race to back up Justin Fields? Who would step up defensively and make a mark? Which of the freshmen receivers might have emerged the soonest? We know Thursday is supposed to be opening day of Ohio State. We know this fake game cannot take the place of a real season opener. Watching this awkward graphical simulation only reminded both of us how much we missed football and how much we look forward to its eventual return. You'll hear our commentary between quarters, but based on the trash talk and exclamations during the simulation, Stephen's neighbors might have assumed a real game was being played. Let's hope that happens soon enough. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A lot of ground to cover on this week's big Wednesday edition of Buckeye Talk. We covered everything from the use of anonymous sources to Justin Fields-Georgia transfer speculation to heartbreaking sports moments from our past to which fast food fry Ohio State football would be. We tried to push the nonsense towards the end but this was one of the most fun episodes we have recorded in a while after weeks of Big Ten process and non-developments. However, Nathan Baird, Stephen Means and Doug Lesmerises opened the show by discussing a major development. President Donald Trump spoke with Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren about "immediately starting" football. That sparked a day of reports, some of which suggested the Big Ten could play as early as Oct. 10, others disputing the league had any traction towards restarting before late fall. The cleveland.com OSU beat discussed how much the Trump-Joe Biden dynamic brings a new political angle to the situation, and whether Tuesday's call could potentially push Big Ten presidents and chancellors who had previously voted to cancel to reverse their decisions. That's a heavy topic, but overall this was a less serious episode that still talked a lot of football. If anything we hope it gave you a new perspective on how and why we report and write on some of the developments the way we do. As always, thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many have torn into the Big Ten and Commissioner Kevin Warren for both the decision to cancel fall sports and the continued lack of a plan for the winter or spring. We at Buckeye Talk invited our text subscribers to help the league out. Based on what we know today, and the limitations of the calendar ahead, what would be your optimal design for the Big Ten schedule? Nathan Baird and Stephen Means both lay out their preferred plans. Many of the cleveland.com Buckeye Talk text subscribers wanted to start preseason camp right away and play as many games as early as possible. Some had more unique takes on how the Big Ten should move forward. To start the show, we discussed Monday's news, including the Big Ten answering the lawsuit filed by Nebraska players by releasing the results of its cancellation vote. Also, an update on Ohio State defensive tackle Haskell Garrett, who was injured in a weekend shooting. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Monday Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, Nathan Baird talks about the protest he covered Saturday from Ohio State parents at Ohio Stadium, as they continue to push for answers from the Big Ten and for the chance for the Buckeyes to play football this fall. Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means join Nathan to discuss some cleveland.com polls about how fans are viewing the risks of coronavirus and college football, and to ask if the parents and Big Ten officials are even asking the same questions at this point. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Big Ten is discussing the idea of a November restart of the football season. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More guests this week on Buckeye Talk as Nathan Baird and Stephen Means sit down -- virtually -- with 2022 Buckeye linebacker commits CJ Hicks and Dasan McCullough. Hicks and McCullough have developed a close friendship despite having not yet met in person. They discuss how that happened, their approach to recruiting more players for the still-early 2022 class and their impressions of linebackers coach Al Washington and head coach Ryan Day. We also heard the inside story of how Hicks found out McCullough would be committing to the Buckeyes last week. But first, Stephen and Nathan discuss an even newer commitment than McCullough. Four-star defensive tackle Tyleik Williams became the Buckeyes' 19th commit for the 2021 class on Thursday. How does he fit in and what does he mean for OSU's pursuit of the nation's No. 1 ranked class? Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Buckeye Talk episode from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises is joined by Ralph Russo, the national college football writer for the Associated Press. They discussed whether other leagues will be able to play college football this fall; whether a January plan for the Big Ten will work; if Ohio State will have any negative long-term effects for not playing this fall; how AP poll voting will work in the fall and the winter; and if there might be a combined poll at the end of it all that rates the fall and winter teams together and awards a combined national championship. It's a great conversation with Ralph, and thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NCAA granted a free year of eligibility to fall sports athletes for 2021, meaning seniors now could come back as seniors next season. How will that work? What decisions might the Ohio State football program and the Buckeyes players face as a result? While things remain up in the air for this season, on this big Wednesday Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means dove into what the starting lineups for next fall could look like. How much might they be affected by players who were expected to be gone, and how much influence might a winter football season now have on that? There's a lot to go over, so thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means of cleveland.com look at the Associated Press preseason top 25 rankings released Monday and talk about how many Buckeyes should make the preseason All-American team. Nathan is a voter on both of them. Then came a breakdown of winter football (led by the Big Ten and Pac-12) and fall football (with the SEC, ACC and Big 12 still planning to play). How does the quality of the teams planning to play in the winter or spring compare to the teams planning to play in the fall? How big is the gap? Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will the Big Ten Conference pull off a football season in the winter or spring? If so, will Ohio State's best players participate? With so much uncertainty in the air, the Buckeye Talk crew at cleveland.com puts their names on predictions for whatever season might unfold after the first of the year. Perhaps more intriguingly, they gauged the interest of their Buckeye Talk text subscribers -- henceforth known as Ded Eds, for reasons explained on the show. Are they interested in a winter or spring season at all? What if Ohio State plays but without many or most of its NFL Draft-bound stars? Are Buckeye fans committed to whatever season unfolds, or would a compromised season also hamper their enthusiasm for their team? Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means predict what they believe the Big Ten will do, and what that in turn means for the Buckeyes with big decisions to make. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Big Ten reaffirms the cancellation of fall sports in a letter from commissioner Kevin Warren See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Big Ten will not play football this fall, and does that mean Justin Fields will never play football for Ohio State again? If so, he left a fleeting glimpse of a growing leadership presence with his national media appearances over the past week. Will that enhance his legacy at Ohio State, or does it become one more tantalizing "what if" for Buckeye fans to mourn into the offseason? Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means opened Friday's daily Buckeye Talk with a discussion of how Fields changed as a person over his year in Columbus, They also argued about how good Ohio State might still be in a winter or spring season if Fields decides to pursue professional opportunities. (For that matter they also disagreed about what decision he might make on that.) From there the guys discussed how SEC fans would react to a canceled season compared to how Big Ten fans reacted, whether the cancellation makes it more likely Ryan Day seeks a future in the NFL and more. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State player and parent-led initiatives to convince the Big Ten to reconsider its cancellation of the fall football season began as soon as the announcement came down a week ago last Tuesday. Prior to early Wednesday evening, the Big Ten had not responded to those concerns. When Commissioner Kevin Warren broke his silence with an open letter the Big Ten Community, he emphasized that the decision of the presidents an chancellors was final and "would not be revisited." So we finally have closure on the fall, or do we? Nathan Baird and Doug Lesmerises discuss what else the Big Ten can do to repair its image right now and how much blame for this rollout that Warren deserves. Rather than spend the whole podcast rehashing the past week, your cleveland,com crew looks ahead to the other big decisions that will follow this one. First up: will the Big Ten go for Ohio State coach Ryan Day's plan for a season beginning in January? Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means are back for the big Wednesday Buckeye Talk as the Big Ten and Ohio State continue to attempt to figure out the next step for football. The guys talked about: Randy Wade's planned visit to Chicago, as the father of OSU cornerback Shaun Wade hopes to organize a Friday protest Ohio allowing high school football to continue while the Buckeyes aren't playing The future of Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren Whether any other schools would consider a January schedule The long-term ramifications for Ohio State The correct way to eat onion rings And there was news on the recruiting front, as the Buckeyes landed a top-100 player at linebacker in the Class of 2022. Thanks for listening to the latest Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this Buckeye Talk episode from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen offered some advice and asked for some help. First, the guys addressed how the Big Ten and commissioner Kevin Warren have handled the last week since the announcement that fall football was canceled for this conference. It ... hasn't been great. But what should Warren do about it now? They had answers. But they didn't have great answers on where to go next with the podcast as uncertainty continues. So the call went on the text subscribers for what they wanted, and the guys went through some of their answers. The Big Ten is in limbo right now, but Buckeye Talk marches on. Thanks for listening. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barring a reversal from the Big Ten Conference, we can no longer predict whether Ohio State would have won a national championship in fall 2020. However, we can debate what would have happened if the season had been allowed to play out without the influence of the coronavirus pandemic. So that's what Nathan Baird, Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means did on their usual Monday edition of the daily podcast. All three Cleveland.com staffers gave their four seeds for the College Football Playoff, their national championship matchup and the eventual national champion. They also asked their Buckeye Talk text subscribers to do the same, and you would probably not be surprised to hear they overwhelmingly expected a special season for Ohio State. We also talked about whether a championship means more for the Buckeyes right now if it goes through Clemson or Alabama, why a six-team playoff seems like an increasingly sensible reform and much more. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An unexpected bonus episode of Buckeye Talk, as a planned interview with the parents of two highly-rated Ohio State freshmen about what's happening in the OSU football program after the cancellation of fall football in the Big Ten, turned into a pod opportunity. On this Sunday episode, Doug Lesmerises talks with Monica Johnson, the mother of offensive tackle Paris Johnson, and Gee Scott Sr., the father of receiver Gee Scott Jr. Among the topics: What they would like to see the Big Ten do Any concerns they have about their sons' futures Their belief in how Ohio State has handled things Why they supported the Buckeye Pledge and didn't see it as a waiver What they think of a January football season Their thoughts on the idea of a players' union or association What they think the outcome of this will be Enjoy the extra episode and thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The plan for this Saturday pod was to finally get out to listeners a great interview with film breakdown analyst Diante Lee, a California high school coach who last month offered a great view of Ohio State's single-high safety defensive plan from last year. Lee's breakdown caught the eye of Doug Lesmerises, and their interview was ready to go -- and then the Big Ten football season started to crumble. So the interview was pushed back but it still matters because Ohio State football will take the field again at some point, and whenever the Buckeyes are out there, their defensive strategy will be important. But first, Doug opens the pod with the news of the letter that Ohio State football parents sent to the Big Ten. What did it say? Why was it sent? Could it possibly bring back fall football for the Buckeyes? Doug talks all about that before it's time for some film study. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a live Buckeye Talk episode for this Friday, as Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means try something new. Instead of taking questions from their text subscribers over text, the guys welcomed those subscribers onto a live Zoom call and let them fire away with questions. It'll give you a break from only hearing the voices of Doug, Nathan and Stephen; give you a look at what other Ohio State fans are thinking about; and dive into the continuing saga of what no fall football will mean for the Buckeyes in the short-term and the long-term. Thanks for listening. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Big Ten canceled fall football on Aug. 11 and may try to play in the winter or spring. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is there reason to hope that Ohio State football could still have a meaningful football season that includes it's best, NFL-bound players? Ohio State coach Ryan Day thinks so. On this Wednesday Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means run through the plan that Day unveiled on a Zoom call with reporters Wednesday. What does it entail? Would Justin Fields be a part of it? Would the Big Ten go for it? Could Ohio State still win a national title doing it? The Buckeyes seem to be throwing their weight behind this plan, so you need to know what it entails. It's been a crazy week, so thanks for making Buckeye Talk part of it. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Big Ten Conference on Tuesday canceled football for the fall. Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means discuss the historic decision and what it means for Ohio State football, and they read the texts of anguished subscribers. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com on this day no one will forget. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, that was something. On this Tuesday Buckeye Talk episode from cleveland.com, Nathan Baird, Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means run through the entire crazy Monday in Big Ten football, which started with thinking the season was over, and which ended with what coaches and players want maybe affecting the decisions of conference presidents. You lived it. It was nuts. So buckle up and let Nathan, Doug and Stephen take you through it. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back for another Mark It Down Monday, as cleveland.com's Buckeye Talk crew debates how many Big Ten games Ohio State will win this season and which opponent is most likely to spring an upset. But first -- will there be a season at all? That question never seems to go away due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nathan Baird, Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means discuss the events of the weekend, when the Big Ten slowed down its preseason football practice schedule and a meeting of university Presidents led to speculation the season might be in jeopardy. The gang debates how soon the Big Ten needs to make a decision and what factors could affect the decision. Then comes Mark It Down Monday, where all three predict the Buckeyes' record during the coming 10-game Big Ten-only schedule. How will COVID-19 affect and potentially interrupt the process? Which teams are most likely to beat Ohio State and why? All three cleveland.com staffers go on the record with their predictions -- and tally up the votes from our Buckeye Talk text subscribers as well. As always, thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk -- now five days per week! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Friday Buckeye Talk episode from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird continue to react to what's happening in college football and how it affects the Ohio State Buckeyes. At some point soon, they'll get back to episodes with specific themes, but for now, the news come fast and furious. First, Doug and Nathan dive into the three major Big Ten opt-outs. The three best non-Buckeyes in the league aren't playing in 2020, so what does that mean for Ohio State's schedule, and are the Buckeyes looking at the kind of easy stroll through the season that Clemson usually has in the ACC? Then, Ohio State captains released a letter in support of Ohio State's handling of the coronavirus and the school's safety precautions around COVID-19. What does that mean for the program and the possibility of any OSU opt-outs? Then, a final quick look at the Ryan Day-Jim Harbaugh kerfuffle and how it's viewed in Michigan. Thanks for joining another busy Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State football gets a new schedule and opens preseason practice See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Buckeye Talk Thursday episode from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird discuss a report from Bucknuts about what happened between Ryan Day and Jim Harbaugh on a Big Ten coaches call, what Day told the Buckeyes about it, and what it might mean for the Ohio State-Michigan game on Oct. 24. Just listen to understand what they're talking about. Plus, Ohio State held its first preseason practice on Thursday morning. Who are some players to watch? How are precautions about COVID-19 affecting practice? And what has Day told his players about opting-out? Lots to discuss, so thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the big Wednesday episode, and there's a lot of news to discuss after a barren offseason. The Big Ten announced the new 10-game schedule for conference teams on Wednesday, and Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird went through every aspect of it. First, Doug grilled Nathan on the Ohio State-Michigan game moving to Oct. 24, and whether that's a good thing or not. Then, Doug and Nathan welcomed in Purdue beat writer Mike Carmin to discuss the Boilermakers, who were the one new team added to the schedule as a Week 3 opponent. Then, Doug and Nathan talked about the new unity message from the Big Ten players, and how it differs from demands made by Pac-12 players. It's a big Wednesday Buckeye Talk, with a new season to analyze. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this extra Tuesday Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird talk about Ohio State football's seven new captains, and what the Buckeyes had to say about the 2020 football season. On Tuesday, reporters spoke to OSU players for the first time in 11 weeks, as Justin Fields, Wyatt Davis, Josh Myers, Shaun Wade, Tuf Borland, Jonathon Cooper and Justin Hilliard were elected by their teammates and put on a conference call. Doug and Nathan talk about the vibe from the players about how a fall season might work, what they think of the Michigan game, and their reaction to Pac-12 players trying to unite. It's actual player talk! And it's Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Tuesday Buckeye Talk episode from cleveland.com, Nathan Baird and Doug Lesmerises do football for half the podcast and food for half the podcast. Football: Could the Big Ten move the season up to Aug. 29? Could Jameson Williams emerge as a major threat at receiver? Who are true freshmen who could potentially break out? When should the Ohio State-Michigan game be scheduled? Food: Discontinued fast food items we miss. Thoughts on BBQ in Ohio. Explaining the new bracket of 32 chain restaurants created by Doug for text subscribers to vote upon. Football and food -- it's just another Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On another Mark It Down Monday we begin our big-picture previews of the 2020 college football season. Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means make their predictions on what will stand up as one of the season-long topics of conversation for the Buckeyes. Will Justin Fields win the 2020 Heisman Trophy? To answer that, the Buckeye Talk crew breaks down the full list of contenders and what dynamics are in play for helping a player win the Heisman Trophy. What players could break through the quarterback bias to earn support at other positions? Finally, will Justin Fields be able to overtake co-favorite Trevor Lawrence of Clemson to win the trophy, or will Lawrence bounce back after not being a finalist in 2019 to claim the hardward? Also always, we also polled our Subtext subscribers for their three-man ballot and shared the results of the fan vote. We appreciate you listening to Buckeye Talk, coming at you five days a week throughout the offseason. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Preseason voting conducted by cleveland.com reveals Buckeyes as Big Ten favorite See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time for the 10th annual Big Ten preseason poll from cleveland.com, where conference writers from around the league are gathered and asked to vote on predicted preseason standings, the league champ and the preseason offensive and defensive players of the year. There were 34 voters this year, and on this Friday Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird analyze all the results. Was Ohio State a unanimous pick in the East? Who won a close race in the West? Is there a darkhorse pick to watch that emerged in the voting? Who got votes in the player of the year balloting? It's a pleasure for cleveland.com to conduct this balloting, and then bring you the breakdown of a poll that the rest of the Big Ten will be talking about. Thanks for listening. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time for another rapid fire Buckeye Talk episode, although there is some news to deal with off the top. On this Thursday episode, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird address the first major college football star to announce that he won't play this season, no matter what. That's Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley, a potential first-round pick, and Doug and Nathan discuss the decision-making process for players and whether some Ohio State players could do the same. Then it's on to discussing how to handle "negative" coverage around the coronavirus; whether the Big Ten should change its mind and play the MAC this season; TV shows we have binge-watched lately; how the playoff committee will handle voting if teams play a different amount of games; and there's another Tate Martell question, which never gets old. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this big Wednesday Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird imagine a reality that Ohio State fans wouldn't want to consider -- What if Justin Fields played for another team? Thanks to an idea from a text subscriber, Doug and Nathan discussed worlds in which the Buckeyes had to swap starting quarterbacks with opponents. Who would win the game then? Would Fields on Penn State or Michigan or Georgia or Wisconsin mean a loss for the Buckeyes? The question is fanciful, but it frames a discussion about just how much a starting quarterback means to Ohio State and how much the rest of the talent on the OSU roster lifts up any QB who plays for the Buckeyes. There's a history lesson about Ohio State quarterback rankings in the Big Ten, a comparison of Fields to Russell Wilson, and another discussion of OSU backup quarterbacks. Plus, Doug and Nathan go into the latest OSU plan about limiting fan capacity to 20 percent this fall and how that might be done and what text subscribers think about it. Thanks for making the big Wednesday pod part of your week. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can't talk about Ohio State football without talking about quarterback Justin Fields, and you can't wonder about Ohio State football without wondering about the potential and injury history of running backs Trey Sermon, Master Teague and Marcus Crowley. On this Buckeye Talk episode, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means finish up the position group previews by dealing with the quarterbacks and running backs in the same podcast. Beyond the names already mentioned, there are interesting freshman quarterbacks on the roster and interesting running back recruits on the horizon. The guys have covered a lot on quarterbacks and running backs over the last three months, but this is a chance to say exactly where they stand on these two groups. Thanks for making it through all the position groups, and thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a quarterback question and a coronavirus question in one. On this Mark It Down Monday Buckeye Talk episode, Doug Lesmerises, Stephen Means and Nathan Baird give their answers and entertain explanations from the subscribers on a topic that can seem straight forward but might be more complicated: Who is Ohio State's next starting quarterback? If you believe the Buckeyes will play at least one game this fall, then the answer is pretty obviously Justin Fields. If you believe football will be delayed until the spring, the answer gets fuzzier. If you believe there won't be any games at all this season, and Ohio State won't take the field again until the fall of 2021, then it's fuzzier still. That's the question and plenty of OSU fans were ready to mark down their answers. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephen Means is excited and you should be, too. On this bonus Saturday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird preview the Ohio State slot receivers and tight ends. That means a lot of talk about sophomore Garrett Wilson, who is moving from outside receiver to the slot for 2020. But there are many other interesting guys to discuss in this group -- Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Mookie Cooper in the slot, and Luke Farrell, Jeremy Ruckert, Jake Hausmann and Cade Stover at tight end. This is a fun one that the guys have been saving as they work their way through eight position group preview podcasts. This is the seventh, so thanks for going along on the ride and listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Something different on Buckeye Talk, as Doug Lesmerises is joined by Seth Richardson, the senior politics writer for cleveland.com, to talk about the intersection of football and politics. The fact that former Auburn, Texas Tech and Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville won the Republican Senate primary in Alabama last week got Doug thinking about the idea of a former Buckeye doing the same kind of thing in Ohio, so Doug and Seth covered these topics: What Jim Tressel's political career in Ohio could have been and the role he still plays in Ohio politics The political future of former OSU receiver Anthony Gonzalez, now a member of the U.S. House of Representatives The way Gov. Mike DeWine and the state government tried to use football and other sports as a rallying cry to get people to wear masks before settling on Thursday's state-wide mask mandate Doug also started the podcast with two text subscriber questions, including one on whether Tressel's forced resignation was the best thing to happen to Ohio State football in the modern era. It's a different type of Buckeye Talk, but a bonus Saturday episode is coming with more hard-core football talk. Thanks for trying this one out. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State plans for preseason football practice to begin Aug. 7 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shaun Wade may have been a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft if he had turned pro after last season. Instead, he's back for a fourth year at Ohio State as one of the best cornerbacks in the nation. On this Buckeye Talk episode from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises, Stephen Means and Nathan Baird continue their position group previews with the cornerbacks. Wade is a sure thing, Cam Brown and Sevyn Banks are expected starters, and Tyreke Johnson and Marcus Williamson are veterans who could play roles in the secondary. And, of course, Kerry Coombs is back coaching the secondary as the Buckeyes' defensive coordinator. After this, there are only two more position group episodes left, so make sure you're catching all of them to get a full look at the 2020 Ohio State football roster. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It happened -- Buckeye Talk made it through the entire 12-game Ohio State schedule, previewing each planned opponent from Bowling Green to Michigan. As Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means finish the schedule with this big look at the The Game, the schedule has already changed, with the Big Ten moving to conference games only. So those Bowling Green, Oregon and Buffalo previews in April and May were for games that aren't going to happen. But for now, Ohio State vs. Michigan is still in the plans. On this episode, Michigan beat writer Aaron McMann kicks things off with an hour-long interview with Doug on Jim Harbaugh, defensive coordinator Don Brown, the uncertain Michigan QB battle, where the Wolverines' recruiting stands, how a young offensive line will look and how good the UM skill position players might be. There's a lot of off-field and on-field knowledge on the Wolverines dropped there. Then it's on to an hour of rapid-fire questions from text subscribers, only about Ohio State, Michigan and the rivalry, as Doug, Nathan and Stephen give more on their thoughts on how Michigan might ever make this thing competitive again. It's the opponent that matters the most to Ohio State fans, and the preview is finally here. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time to preview Ohio State safeties and special teams, as Doug Lesmerises, Stephen Means and Nathan Baird break down Josh Proctor and Marcus Hooker on the back end of the defense, and then discuss Drue Chrisman, Blake Haubeil and a veteran special teams group that should be an edge for the Buckeyes. That's the latest in our position group preview series on Buckeye Talk, but first on this episode, Doug and Stephen go over the commitment of 2021 cornerback Jordan Hancock, a top-100 player who was once committed to Clemson. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Mark It Down Monday, predictions will be marked down. But first, a new recruiting class and strategy will be analyzed. Doug Lesmerises is hosting this one, but Stephen Means and Cameron Fields are bringing the recruiting expertise after spending the last couple months talking to the most important rising juniors that Ohio State is targeting in the Class of 2022. On this Buckeye Talk episode, while Nathan Baird is on vacation, Stephen and Cam talk about the three players committed to the Buckeyes in 2022 so far; they pick the most important player that Ohio State has to land in this class; they predict the player who will provoke the fiercest head-to-head battle with another program; they talk about what they've learned about OSU assistants from the 2022 prospects; and finally, they mark down their predictions for the next players to join the class. Ohio State is still finishing off the 2021 recruiting class, but it's already time to dive into 2022, so listen up and Mark it Down. Thanks for making Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com part of your day. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices