Andy & Ari On3 - NCAA President Using Common Sense | What's Next for Oklahoma, Ohio State with Departing QB's

Episode Date: December 6, 2023

In what seemed to be a normal Tuesday, NCAA President Charlie Baker sent a letter to schools that actually made sense regarding the future of NIL for student athletes.This episode is sponsored by Rhoback, makers of the most comfortable hoodies, Q-zips and polos on the planet. Visit Rhoback.com and use the code STAPLES for 20 percent off your first order.Thank you to George Stoia III from Sooner Scoop joining the show today, for more of George's work covering all things Oklahoma Sooners, head on over to Sooner Scoop today! https://www.on3.com/teams/oklahoma-sooners/Another thank you to Spencer Holbrook from Lettermen Row for joining today's show as well. To keep up-to-date on Ohio State's Quarterback situation, head on over to Lettermen Row today! https://www.on3.com/teams/ohio-state-buckeyes/(0:00-5:13) Intro - Congrats to Iowa's Phil Parker!(5:14-21:43) NCAA President's Letter(21:44-42:24) George Stoia III from SoonerScoop joins(42:25-1:03:43) Spencer Holbrook from Lettermen Row Joins(1:03:44-1:05:05) Conclusion - Dear Andy Tomorrow!Want to watch the show instead? Head on over to YouTube! https://youtu.be/95p-R2Lv8Gk

Welcome to Andy Staples on three. Happy Tuesday and congratulations to one of our favorite people to watch in college football. You may not have heard of this guy if you're not a Big Ten fan, if you're not an Iowa fan, but this is one of the most important people in the sport. And this is someone who is working miracles on a daily basis. And finally, he got the recognition he was due. That's right. Phil Parker, Iowa defensive coordinator, wins the Broyles Award for the nation's best assistant coach. Phil Parker isn't just the nation's best assistant coach. He is the nation's best coach. I realize Nick Saban has won all these national titles, but Nick Saban has managed to win all these national titles while having usually an incredible defense and often an incredible offense, but at least an adequate one of both. In fact, they're always above average in both.

Phil Parker runs a defense that allows Iowa to do something like win 10 games despite having an offense that can barely pass the 50-yard line in most games. He is a worker of miracles. Like, the Broyles Award is probably not enough. Sainthood is probably more appropriate. Somehow this guy gets up every day knowing that his head coach, Kirk Ferentz, and Kirk's son, Brian,

the soon-to-be former offensive coordinator of the Hawkeyes, are actively plotting against that side of the ball. So the defense is going to have to do all the work. And the defense does the work every day, every single time. It shows up even against much better teams. The defense shows up. Phil Parker's group never fails. They're going to play Tennessee in a bowl game.

The total on that game is 35 and a half. It's going to go under. Tennessee runs a really high powered offense. Doesn't matter. It's going under because Phil Parker is on the job. Phil Parker makes $1.4 million a year. He is drastically underpaid. He should make $6 million a year.

And probably most of that should come out of Kirk and Brian's salary. Because Phil Parker is the one keeping the whole operation going. I'm so glad he won this award. There is no assistant coach doing more for his program than Phil Parker is doing for Iowa. They should build him a statue. But at least he got the award. At least he got the recognition he is due. And I want to be one of the many to say congratulations because the people who've watched this sport for the last few years, trust me, we know what a job you're doing, Phil Parker. And you're going to get a

new offense coordinator opposite you next year. Perhaps the offense will become functional. I mean, I don't even want to, I don't even know what a functional offense might look like opposite this incredible defense that Phil Parker puts on the field every day. Like just an average offense. I think Iowa might make the 12 team playoff if that happens. If so, Phil Parker deserves even more money and more awards. Next year, if this defense is as good and the offense stays bad, but Iowa still wins double-digit games, let's forget the Broyles Award.

Let's give them the Eddie Robinson Award. Best coach in America. Because it's hard. It is hard to play good defense when your offense keeps putting you in terrible positions. Now, this is where we give some credit as well to LeVar Woods, the special teams coordinator at Iowa, and to Torrey Taylor, the Iowa punter, who I think Phil Parker probably, if we're being honest here, he and Torrey Taylor just need to all get a beer together and say, we're carrying this whole team.

It hurts. Our backs are tired. But we've carried this whole team. But congratulations to Phil Parker in all seriousness. I am so glad that he won the Broyles Award. He probably should have about five of those by now. But that is a great performance again by his defense. And my Christmas wish for you, Phil Parker,

is that you get a functional offense on the other side. Just so we can see how good your defense really is. Because I think it would look even better. Can't wait. So on a day when much deserved recognition came down. Also, shocking news. Absolutely shocking news. I don't normally get into the NCAA stuff. I don't normally get into the rules stuff on this show because I find that it bores you to death. Really. We've done it a lot in the past and people just kind of check out. They say they care about this stuff, but most people really don't. They just want to watch the games and they want to know if their team won or their team lost or the playoff selection

committee screwed their undefeated power five champ out of a spot in the playoff. They want to know if their team won or their team lost or the playoff selection committee screwed their undefeated Power Five champ out of a spot in the playoff. They want to know that. They're not as worried about the minutia of the rules. That said, what happened Tuesday was incredibly significant. So we probably do need to radically re-envision the top subdivision of college sports. So you've got the FBS, 133 schools. Some of them make a lot more money than others what charlie baker is suggesting is a new subdivision where these schools would be allowed to create their own rules and schools would actually be

able to make nil deals with the players themselves they wouldn't have to go through a collective and there'd be a buy-in basically so what he's suggesting is somewhat of a super league. Because the buy-in, here's how it would work. At least half your athletes must receive at least $30,000 a year placed in a trust. And they can access it as the schools see fit. And those payments must comply with Title IX. But again, remember I said the schools would be allowed to make NIL deals with the athletes as well, according to this letter that Charlie Baker sent to the schools. This is a radical departure from everything we've ever seen from the NCAA. It's full of common sense,

which is something we're not used to seeing out of the NCAA. It looks like someone looked at all of the issues facing the schools and the NCAA, the lawsuits they've been facing, dealing with players trying to get status as employees. It looks like they looked at that and said, how could we create a system that might get all these people off our backs? And I was shocked. Now, it's all theoretical. The schools would have to approve this. And if you followed this long enough, you know how that usually goes, that somebody says, well, we can't do this and we can't do this you can't do this and all and they never actually get anything done it never goes anywhere but

it might have to go somewhere now they might have to do something like this but it's just so incredible after years of watching the schools and the NCAA, which is run by the schools, dig their heels in, no matter what, to try to keep the athletes from getting more money. Every time they went to court, same argument. If we give them money, it'll destroy everything. Now you have the president of the NCAA saying, you know what? It's not going to destroy everything. In fact, this may actually work. This may be a way to make this work in a less stupid way than it works right now. Because right now it's kind of dumb if we're being real about it. We've spent the last few days talking about the transfer portal. We've spent the last few weeks talking about giant coaching buyouts and

coaching salaries. And then we have these coaches like Dave Doran at NC State turn around. He makes millions of dollars saying, you guys need to donate to the collective. And you got Jim Moore at Connecticut saying, I don't want to hear any complaining unless you're donating to the collective. It's crazy these millionaire coaches have to beg donors to give money to this group that will then pass the money along to the players instead of just giving it to the school to pass along to the players. But the only thing you can do if you go to the school is they'll give it to the coach or they'll build a facility or they'll give it to an associate athletic director who, well, we don't really know what that guy does. So that's part of the problem, which you could potentially alleviate if you let the schools just do NIL deals with the players themselves. You don't have these third

party collectives, which sometimes represent the school's interest. Sometimes they don't. It is really amazing college sports ability to recruit the middleman. But this would attempt to eliminate that. It would also attempt to pass more of that money along to the athletes. You know, it's not an official revenue share like you would find in a CBA, but it would essentially be the school sharing a larger portion of their revenue with the athletes. So Jim Harbaugh, who has been advocating for that revenue share, he'd be happy. It's really interesting. The buy-in aspect of it makes it really interesting because there's a lot of schools that can't do it.

And you know what? That's okay. If they can't afford it, don't do it. But don't attempt to compete with the schools who can and don't drag them down because you can't. So what would this look like? Remember, this is football. And I'll get to why it's just football in a second.

It would be another subdivision, and these teams would play each other, but they also could play other members of Division I. So I would say, most likely, if I were to guess which conferences could afford this sort of buy-in, it would be the schools of the ACC, the Big 12, the Big 10, and the SEC. That would be your Super League. And if they could afford that buy-in and chose to do it, they would mostly play one another, but they wouldn't have to just play one another, which you think about it, if those schools all just played one another, things could get pretty hairy for Indiana and Vanderbilt. You're not going to win many games.

Well, this would allow them to schedule some wins. So that stays more status quo. It also allows those dollars to trickle down to the schools that don't have as much. But that's not why Charlie Baker is suggesting this. Charlie Baker is suggesting this because he wants the NCAA to remain in charge of those schools rather than them break away and form their own governing body. And here's why. If they were to break away and form their own governing body. And here's why. If they were to break away and form their own governing body, they could theoretically form their own men's basketball tournament. Now, a men's basketball tournament involving those four leagues would be

pretty interesting. You could have a pretty big tournament. It would not be as interesting as March Madness. You'd never have St. Peter's beating Kentucky. You'd never have UMBC beating Virginia. You'd never have Northern Iowa beating Kansas. But it would make money, and because they'd only be splitting it 60-something ways, it would probably make them each more money than they get now from the current men's basketball tournament.

The current men's basketball tournament does have the possibility of Cinderella and upsets that we love. It's a magic formula that makes it one of the best sporting events in the country. It also funds the NCAA. And so if you're Charlie Baker, you want to make sure that the NCAA continues to be funded. Because if it's not, it becomes something entirely different. And the only way to do that is to have a Division I that includes all those big schools and the ones that make Mark Madness fun. So how do you keep them all together?

Well, you let the big schools govern themselves, but under your umbrella. And does this change the lawsuit situation? We didn't talk about it on the show because, again, all this stuff tends to make your eyes glaze over. But I have to pay attention to it for work. And I remember very late on the night of November 3rd, when everybody's worried about what's going to happen in Alabama LSU the next day, what's going to happen in Bedlam the next day. There was a decision in a federal courthouse in Oakland, Claudia Wilkin, the judge who's heard all of these cases against the NCAA,

the antitrust cases, House versus the NCAA, former Arizona State swimmer filed suit saying the schools colluded. heard all of these cases against the NCAA, the antitrust cases, House versus the NCAA, former Arizona State swimmer, filed suit saying the schools colluded to keep athletes from getting NIL deals for years and years. And those athletes are owed damages. They're owed back pay. Well, Claudia Wilkin on November 3rd certified the class. It essentially put the NCAA and the schools on the hook for billions of dollars in damages. They're going to have to settle this case because they're going to lose if they go to court and it's going to cost a fortune. It's going to cost a fortune to settle, but they know there could be more after that. They know there's still this march toward athletes

trying to get employment status, which may still happen. Like all of this that they're trying to do, maybe 10 years too late to stop that. But this actually, if you look at it, if it works out the way it seems to be laid out in this letter from Charlie Baker, might actually be a better financial deal for most of the athletes than being employees who then negotiate a collective bargaining agreement. We'll see. They may wind up being employees anyway, and all of this may be moot. But it is very interesting to see the leader of the NCAA do a complete about face to embrace common sense, to suggest something that gives more to the athletes rather than tries to keep it away from the athletes.

That whole trust fund thing, at least half the athletes at least thirty thousand dollars practically they're not capping it you can give as much as you want that's a floor ncaa used to work in ceilings and now they're working in floors that's a big difference now naturally everybody wants to know what's the catch. The catch may just be that this is Charlie Baker's Hail Mary because realistically, he was hired because he's a former governor of Massachusetts. He's an experienced political operator. He was hired to lobby Congress for a bill that would save these people from themselves. But that's not coming. And I think he realizes that.

I think he understands that bill isn't coming. So he's trying to figure it out. And his job is as the president of the NCAA, so he's trying to figure it out within the confines of the NCAA. Now, normally something like this, this is really big. This is big picture. You'd ask around, you'd run this by some people. I talked to one of the athletic directors who is one of the people you would run this sort of thing by. Most people in college sports were completely blindsided by this,

did not know this was coming. This AD was one of them. Found out about it on Twitter. Ross Dellinger from Yahoo was the one who obtained the letter at first and published it. So naturally, athletic directors, coaches, everybody else wondering, what's the catch here? And it might just be the NCAA trying to survive. It might be a way to maybe stop the lawsuits. and it might just be the NCAA trying to survive. It might be a way to maybe stop the lawsuits,

maybe stop the march toward employment status. But it's interesting because this AD said to me, time will tell, but put a pin in this day. We will see how this plays out, but given the crap we're already dealing with because of their past practices, the NCAA's past practices, their future is now clearly in question. So maybe the schools, with all the money, just want to break off and do their own thing. Maybe that's the whole goal. But maybe they negotiate this new subdivision.

And maybe they decide only members of that subdivision can play in the college football playoff. Who knows? There's going to be a lot of hashing out, but this whole, this letter changes the tone of everything because we used to think we knew where the NCAA stood. And that was squarely in the way of athletes getting more. But now?

Maybe a complete change of tone. It's about time. The question is whether it's too late. All right, enough governance stuff. I know how you feel about it. We are going to talk about the players on the field. Of course, they might be playing somewhere else next year. We're going to go deep into a couple of transfer portal moves,

looking at a couple of teams that have quarterbacks leaving, that have other players leaving, and probably are going to have a bunch coming in. Oklahoma, which lost Dylan Gabriel to the transfer portal, and Ohio State, where Kyle McCord just went in the transfer portal. We're going to talk to George Soria from Sooners Scoop about the Sooners. We're going to talk to Spencer Holbert from Letter Monroe about the Buckeyes. But first, I'm going to tell you about Roback. As you can see, I am wearing my Roback performance hoodie right now. It is the most comfortable garment I own. It is one of five performance hoodies that I rotate very frequently because I love them.

They are soft. They are comfortable. They hold up great in the wash. They are great for They are comfortable. They hold up great in the wash. They are great for a cold day, but on a warmer day, I can roll up the sleeves and they feel great too. Also got polos, Q-zips, joggers, shorts, and now for the colder, colder days, fleeces. Roback has it all. So go to roback.com, R-H-O-B-A-C-K.com. Use that promo code staples for 20% off your first order. Roback.com, promo code staples for the most comfortable

hoodie you will ever wear and Q-zips and polos and joggers and shorts. Rowback.com, promo code Staples. All right, now it is time to delve a little deeper into the transfer portal. One of the biggest moves of Monday was Oklahoma quarterback Dylan Gabriel heading into the portal. This is his second trip through the portal. Remember, he went from UCF to Oklahoma with a brief pit stop at UCLA where he was committed.

But then once Caleb Williams went to USC, Gabriel replaced Caleb Williams at Oklahoma. Could he replace Caleb Williams again at USC? Well, maybe that's a possibility. Oregon seems like a possibility. Could he go follow his former offense coordinator, Jeff Levy at Mississippi State? A lot going on with Dylan Gabriel, but also with the Sooners. Why did Dylan Gabriel enter the portal? Why did a bunch of other players enter the portal? And what are they going to do next? Because they took a lot out last year.

Sounds like they're going to be as active this year. George Story III from Sooner Scoop joins us. We welcome George Story III from Sooner Scoop joins us. We welcome George Story III from Sooner Scoop. And there has been a lot of news in Norman. Tons of transfer portal comings, well, goings, I guess, coming into the portal, going from Oklahoma, but none bigger than quarterback Dylan Gabriel, the Sooner starter the last two years. He is on the market. George, how expected was this and how did the timeline work for Dylan Gabriel to decide, okay, I'm going to the portal? Yeah, Andy, it was one of those things that I think a week ago, we would have been shocked by

that. But I think over the weekend, we kind of heard some rumblings. And look, at the end of the day, it kind of makes sense when you think about it from Dylan's perspective and where this thing is headed in college football in terms of NIL and having the opportunity to go make, honestly, a buttload of money. We'll see what he's offered. I know some of the figures out there is going to be around a million, $2 million to go play for some of these programs. And the honest truth is the writing was on the wall here at Oklahoma. I mean, Jackson Arnold is somebody that committed to Oklahoma two years ago,

five-star recruit, one of the best quarterbacks in the country in his class, somebody that is the future here at OU. And so it made a lot of sense for, I think, everyone involved. Dylan can go out, play one more year. It'll be his sixth year of college football. Go play for a big program, compete for maybe a national title, maybe become the all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns in college football,

which I know is a goal of his. And then OU can move on to Jackson Arnold in what they believe is going to be the next great quarterback at Oklahoma. So look, do I think this was a decision that going into the year Dylan was going to do? No, I think that his intention was to probably go to the NFL.

But the way the season played out, how well he played, and you look around the country in terms of NIL and the money that's being thrown out there, he'd probably make a lot more money going to say an Oregon or a USC or some of the other schools that have been thrown out there than he would being a late round draft pick or going undrafted because that's honestly where his draft stock is at. So I think this was a decision that was made probably in the last

couple of weeks. He looked at his options financially and said, hey, why not stick around one more year, go to a big program and make a lot of money and also hand the keys off to Jackson Arnold. So you used the unit of measure in that answer. And it got me thinking of that Saturday Night Live skit a few weeks ago with Nate Bargetzi as George Washington, where he's talking about his dream for America. And we will call 2,000 pounds a ton. But sir, what will we call 1,000 pounds? Nothing. So George, I ask you this. Exactly how much is a buttload? Millions. And that's the market price, Andy. That's what's crazy is these guys that are going in the portal. And it's not just quarterbacks. I mean, I think some of these defensive linemen that are in the portal or are going to be

in the portal, these schools are paying a lot of money for. And I do think that somebody like a Dylan Gabriel that has the experience that he has and is, in my opinion, the best quarterback in the transfer portal right now, some schools going to offer him a million, million and a half, two millions, maybe more. I mean, that's the number that I know Matt Rule threw out there at Nebraska. What was it? A couple of weeks ago. And I do think that he's going to be able to leverage that because he's going to have

so many schools calling him. And one of the ones that we've heard is Oregon. And we all know the type of NIL money that Oregon has. They can play with just about anybody in that game. And so I do think Dylan's going to be able to get a lot of money. And it's not one of those things that Oklahoma doesn't have the NIL money. Oklahoma's done one of the better jobs in the country, NIL money. They're just preferring to give it to somebody like Jackson Arnold, who's going to be here two or three more years. Well, and that's what I'd like to have you

explain that to the folks, because I think this is something that people kind of miss sometimes in situations like this is like, how can you let Dylan Gabriel leave? Because if you keep Dylan Gabriel, it means Jackson Arnold probably leaves. Yeah, and that's the world we live in, is when you have somebody of Jackson Arnold's caliber who could also go just about anywhere in the country. I think a lot of schools would take him right now, even though he hasn't played a whole lot of football yet. That's what Oklahoma is dealing with is do you want to lose Dylan Gabriel and lose one year of him, which he could be incredible next year. He could go win the Heisman Trophy or at least compete for it and help you compete for a national title. Or do you want to lose a guy in Jackson Arnold who they believe can be a Heisman contender, be just as good as Dylan Gabriel, if not better? I mean, he definitely has the tools to be a great quarterback in terms of what he can do with his

arm. And you get to have him for two, maybe three years. And that was always the plan. I mean, they were trying to redshirt him this year to keep him for four years. I think he's going to be too good for that. But obviously, Dylan goes down in the BYU game and they have to burn it. But this is a situation where Oklahoma feels very comfortable handing the keys to Jackson Arnold. I mean, he committed to Oklahoma, like I said, two years ago. I believe in some industry standards, he was ranked as the number one quarterback in his class. I mean, he's a guy that can do a lot of different things and is the future of this program. And it's been known for his class. I mean, he's a guy that can do a lot of different things and is the future of this program.

And it's been known for a while. I mean, Brent Venable said back in training camp, we know this is Dylan's last year and we have to get Jackson ready. So this has always been the plan for Oklahoma. I know there's some people out there like, well, how can you get rid of Dylan Gabriel? This was, I don't think it was them pushing him

out the door necessarily. Dylan knows what was going on. He knew the plan. And he even said on the radio today, he went on the local radio here in Oklahoma and said, don't think it was them pushing him out the door necessarily. Dylan knows what was going on. He knew the plan. And he even said on the radio today, he went on the local radio here in Oklahoma and said, hey, Jackson's ready and we all know it. And I'm excited to see what he can do at Oklahoma. So I think this, again, was something that was good for all parties. Yeah. And I think we're going to see this in a few different places where you have somebody who has a COVID year and the coaches can't really account for that as they recruit. Like they have to recruit as if

you're going to leave when you're supposed to leave. And that person has an opportunity. Like, you know, I look at Dylan or, you know, Dylan Gabriel situation and I look at Michael Pennix Jr. and Bo Nix, like they could have gone to the NFL last year and they would be on rosters right now, but I think they're in a better position to go to the NFL now. And Dylan Gabriel, I think about, you've mentioned Oregon, USC is obviously a potential option.

Ohio State has a job opening right now. These are all places where I'm envisioning him in their offense and I'm like, ooh, that would be fun. Yeah, exactly, Andy. And I think that he is going to end up going to one of those major programs and with the 12 team playoff next year, there's a good chance he's going to get to play in that. And I think that that's part of why he wants to do this. And I think it does come down to, it's not all about the money for Dylan Gabriel, but I'm sure he looks at it and says, well,

how much money would I make as a seventh round draft pick versus, and being on probably a practice squad for an entire year versus getting to play one more year of college football, compete at a high level and maybe make $2 million in NIL. I mean, you're talking about doubling what your salary would probably be as a rookie quarterback for a team that probably doesn't envision you being a starter anytime soon. So I think him putting it on the back burner and also saying, hey, maybe I can even improve my draft stock another year. Especially look at what Bo Nix has done at Oregon. I think it's a perfect example.

If you go to Oregon and you have a type of year that Bo Nix has had, and you're sitting in New York next year, maybe winning the Heisman and possibly competing in the playoff, why would you not do that if you're Dylan Gabriel? Well, Kalen DeBoer can call up and be like, listen, I know how to coach lefties. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I'm sure that's part of his thought process.

I mean, it's the same thing. I don't think he's going to end up at Mississippi State with Jeff Lebby. I know that that was the- That was my next question because that is kind of the obvious connection. I don't think that's going to happen. I think Dylan knows that that's a project

down in Starkville. And whereas, like you said, he can go to an Oregon or Ohio State or USC and plug right into a team that can compete, one, for a national title, and two, has the weapons around him. I mean, imagine him going to Ohio State with the type of wide receivers that they have there and the type of offense that they run. Whereas, look, he's obviously very comfortable with Jeff and had a great year this year. But the reality is that Mississippi State, that's a program that if they get to bowl eligible, that's a big win next year. And I think Dylan has bigger aspirations than that. I also don't know what Mississippi State's NIL situation is, whereas, again, in Oregon, Ohio State, USC,

some of those bigger programs are going to be able to pay up immediately. So let's talk about the other guys from Oklahoma who are in the portal. There are quite a few names. There's some surprises, but I'm not sure I was terrifically surprised by anybody. But, you know, two backs, Marcus Major, Tyree Walker, Key Lawrence, the safety, those are the ones that feels like they had the most playing time contribution and are now moving on. Yeah, it's an interesting group because I think most OU fans and media look at it and say, well, they're not really losing a ton of production. I think Tawie Walker is one, obviously, a guy that came in and as a walk-on

from a JUCO school, somebody that really made a name for himself this year, but he got banged up towards the end of the year. It's also Gavin Sawchuck's show moving forward. I mean, that's the reality is that they ran him a lot more down the stretch. And you also look at who they're bringing in in their recruiting class. They're bringing in the number one running back in the country in Taylor Tatum, somebody that they believe can come in and help them day one. So that's why you're seeing guys like Atawi Walker, Marcus Major, even Daylon Smothers, a true freshman, three running backs go in the portal for Oklahoma. They feel really good about the young guys that they're bringing in and also the guys that are returning and Gavin Sawchuck and

Javante Barnes. So I think that that's part of it. I think you look at Savion Bird started a few games at guard for Oklahoma. That was one that I think some people thought was a surprise, but really had an up and down year, got benched several times, ended up getting beat out by a true freshman, Caden Green at left guard. So I think they, again, feel good about maybe some of the younger guys. And Savion is definitely somebody that I think just needs some new scenery. And then you mentioned Keith Lawrence at safety was a starter for part of the younger guys. And Savion is definitely somebody that I think just needs some new scenery. And then you mentioned Keith Lawrence at safety was a starter for part of the year and then ends up getting benched in the Bedlam game

and really didn't see the field the rest of the year. And you talk about Billy Bowman possibly coming back, somebody that they think can be an all-American safety. Next year, you got Peyton Bowen, the five-star freshman that played a lot this season. So they feel really good about their depth there. So again, it's a lot of guys that have entered the portal for Oklahoma. I think some of them is processing in terms of trying to get guys room so that they can go out and get different players in the portal. And they do feel really

good about this portal class in terms of what they're able to go get talent wise. And I do think that they also feel really good. I mean, they've got a really large recruiting class coming in. I think it's up to 27, 28 different commits right now coming in for next year. So they really like the guys that they're bringing in on the recruiting trail. And they're also going to be pretty active in the transfer portal. Yeah. It was a case last year where they use the portal pretty well and seriously upgraded their talent, especially on defense. But they are now going to the SEC where they're going to need even more talent, especially on the line of scrimmage. Where do you see them focusing their shopping within the portal? I think you need to look at Texas A&M. Obviously, they're losing their defensive line coach,

Elijah Robinson. He's going to Syracuse to be their defensive coordinator. There's a lot of guys on that Texas A&M defensive line that Oklahoma finished second in their recruitment. And if some of those guys enter the portal, I know there's already been a couple out there to go in the portal. I think Oklahoma is going to be really involved there. I think you also look at Chris McClellan going into Florida. He's a local kid, played at Owasso High School in Tulsa, somebody that Oklahoma recruited a couple years ago. I wouldn't be shocked if that's a name to watch. And then I just think across the country, there's just several guys, whether it's at Michigan State. I know they have several guys that Oklahoma started to follow and maybe connect with. Thor Griffith, the defensive lineman from Harvard. He is somebody that I know

Oklahoma has reached out to. I wouldn't be shocked if he visits OU. So I think that they've got their eyes set on several defensive linemen. And I think they're also kind of waiting to see if any more guys enter. We all know that with the bowl games and the playoffs, sometimes guys don't enter to a little bit later. And so I think Oklahoma is being patient, but you're right. They're definitely going to look at the defensive line. That's what they did last year. I mean, they brought in a Dejan Terry from Tennessee, Jacob Lacey from Notre Dame, two guys that could technically come back next year. And I think they're recruiting them to come back for maybe a fifth or sixth year, uhondell Bothroyd from Wake Forest on the edge. So you've got a list of guys that they were able to get last year in the portal up front. And I

think they're trying to go big again because they do have a nice recruiting class coming in up front when you talk about David Stone and Danny Okoye, two guys that are really highly recruited in this class on the defensive line. But you want to go out and get some experience, especially because OU is losing some of those guys up front that they got last year. Well, and how do they feel? How did Brent Venables and his staff feel about their talent level as it stands now with these freshmen coming in? I think they feel really good. You look at what they did this season, they were much improved. Every statistic defensively, they improved. I think offensively as well, they were very efficient compared to what they were

last year. And that's part of why you see them just elevating from within in terms of staff members and the new offensive coordinator and Seth Luttrell and Joe John Finley as co-OCs is they feel like they have a lot of momentum heading into 2024, and they feel like they can compete in the SEC. But they also know they have to go get a little bit more talent, a little bit more experience, because that experience goes a long way. I mean, you talk about some of the guys that I mentioned earlier, Dejan Terry, Rondall Bothroyd, Jacob Lacey. They played a lot of the snaps this year, and they were all from the portal. And so while I think they feel

really good about the talent level that they're bringing in, it takes time. Some of those freshmen, it takes time for those guys to develop and be ready for the game as well as they've been recruiting. They know that they need some experience to help fill that gap before those guys are ready. Well, an offensive tackle, that's a position where guys are going to the NFL, a more standard situation where Tyler Guyton is the one the scouts just drool over, and then Walter Rouse, I believe, is out of eligibility. But how do they replenish there? That's a great question. That's the other spy. It's offensive and defensive line, which is probably a lot of the programs around the country right now are looking for offensive and defensive linemen. But you mentioned Walter Rouse out of eligibility did a really good

job for Oklahoma this year, probably better than a lot of people anticipated at left tackle coming from Stanford. And so they're going to have to go out and probably get at least three or four guys on the offensive line. They lost several in the portal, like I mentioned, Savion Bird, Nate Anderson. You lose Andrew Rehm, the starting center for the last three years. He's going to be headed to the NFL as well. And so you're talking about bringing back Caden Green, Jacob Sexton, two guys, two freshmen that played a lot of football this year. But you have to replace a lot too. You have Troy Everett, the transfer from Appalachian State. He'll probably slot in at center. And then you're

looking at trying to replace that right guard spot and right tackle. And I know they've already started reaching out to several tackles in the portal. I know Spencer Brown from Michigan State, one of the highly coveted tackles in the portal, JC Davis from New Mexico. So I bet they're going to be very active in terms of trying to replace that because they have some young guys, Andy, but it's a lot of guys kind of like the defensive line that haven't played a lot of football. So if you can go out and get maybe one of those super seniors that have played at a power five program, or even a JC Davis, who I know NFL scouts really like from New Mexico. If you can go get somebody with some experience and somebody that has a lot of, a lot of upside,

sort of like Walter Rouse this last year from Stanford, you can plug him in for one year, then you're sitting in a really good spot. Yeah, and those are the hardest guys to get. But Oklahoma seems to have done a good job on both lines of scrimmage, taking guys out of the portal and either being able to plug them in right away

or if they have some eligibility and they came from the group of five level, like the ascendant starting center, developing them. Yeah, and that's what Bill Biedenboe, the offensive line coach, really prides himself on. You look at the production that he's had. I think he's had more offensive linemen go in the NFL draft in the last 10 years than I think any other offensive line coach in the country. So he's somebody that's what Walter Rouse came to Oklahoma. He, you know, he was considering OU in Nebraska and I think Nebraska

actually offered him more NIL money, but he chose Oklahoma because of Bill Biedenboe. And so I think that's something that he definitely prides himself off. I know Todd Bates, the defensive line coach as well, very highly regarded in terms of what he was able to do both at Clemson and now Oklahoma, helping some of these guys get to the next level as well. So I think that that's really helped them. When you have two coaches that are so highly respected, like a Todd Bates and Bill Biedenboe, it's a very attractive destination, especially for guys like a Spencer Brown, like I mentioned, or Walter Rouse this last year, that might be on the fringe of being drafted. And then they can come to a place like Oklahoma, play on the biggest stage,

and get developed into somebody that can improve their draft stock. So how excited are folks locally for the start of the Jackson Arnold era against a pretty good Arizona team that I would assume they're bringing most of their people to the bowl game. Yeah. Yeah. Well, look, I think that people are very excited. Let me just put it this way. Last year, all off season, all we heard was, well, when's Jackson Arnold's going to start? He's going to definitely beat out Dylan Gabriel halfway through the season. So now that it is finally his time to take over, I think people are super pumped. And I think OU fans were disappointed

in not getting into a New Year's Six Bowl. And a lot of people thought they should have when you look at their resume. And I think they look at the matchup and they're like, Arizona, what kind of matchup is that? You're playing in the Alamo Bowl, which isn't as big of a stage and all that. But I think as soon as we found out that Dylan Gabriel was leaving and that Jackson is likely going to start the bowl game, I think people got a lot more excited, especially because look, Arizona is a good football team. You know, winners of six in a row. Jetfish has got that program headed in the right direction.

I don't expect them to have almost any opt outs. I don't think they've had a ton of guys hit the portal. So I think that it's going to be a really good test for Oklahoma. And it's going to be interesting to see test for Oklahoma. And it's going to be interesting to see what does OU's offense look like? They have a whole new play caller in Seth Luttrell. Is it more of what Jeff Lebby was doing this year? Or is it more of the air raid and what Seth Luttrell was doing at North Texas and North Carolina, Indiana, Kansas, all the places that he's coached before looks a little bit different. And obviously, Jackson's been learning Jeff's system all year. So what does it look like to get 15 practices and prepare as the starter in an

offense that he hasn't really played in yet? So I think people are pretty excited for the game. Well, and you should be excited too, because you can get a breakfast torta at La Pavaria. And that's what really matters here. Yeah, you and Eddie will have to pick that up. You absolutely will. You've drawn a very good bowl assignment. I don't care what the Oklahoma fans think about being left out of the NY6. You're going to do all right for yourself, George. Thank you so much, and have fun in San Antonio.

Awesome. Thanks for having me, Andy. We will see if Oklahoma can get the right mix of talent out of the portal to be completely SEC ready by next season. But another program that has players moving into the portal and is probably going to take some pretty significant ones out of the portal is Ohio State. The big news on Monday, Kyle McCord, who was last season's starter for the Buckeyes at quarterback. He's in the portal now. They're shopping. Spencer Holbrook of Letterman Row joins us to talk about who they might get.

Will they get a quarterback? Will it be a starting quarterback? Will it be a backup quarterback? Will somebody already on the roster win that job? And also, what else are the Buckeyes looking for in the portal? Here's Spencer. We are joined now by Spencer Holbrook of Letterman Row. That is on 3's Ohio State site.

And the Buckeyes have had an interesting last few days. Spencer, the starting quarterback, Kyle McCord, in the transfer portal, presumably the Buckeyes shopping for a new quarterback. So we talked to Pete Nacos yesterday, and he said that according to the sources he talked to, that McCord essentially was trying to get confirmation from Ohio State that he'd be the starting quarterback in 2024. Ryan Day wasn't quite ready to give that, and then McCord put his name in the portal. What is your understanding of how that situation went down? I would say that's an accurate reading, Andy, of the situation

and just what has transpired here in the last 48 hours. You know, ears started to perk up on Sunday when Ryan Day was noncommittal to Kyle McCord as his 2024 starter, making sure that he kind of kept that open for a competition. And Kyle McCord has one year of eligibility remaining. So it's not a situation where he can probably afford to go in and just compete for the job and potentially not win it, and then he'd have to sit out in red shirt and then go another year. So he's got one more year to get to the NFL.

Ryan Day has a pivotal season coming up next year. He can't just guarantee the job to somebody if he's not 100% sure that he's going to be the best option for Ohio State moving forward. And I think this is a mutual understanding that maybe it's time for a first start just because, again, Kyle needs to play and needs to be the starter somewhere. That just couldn't be guaranteed to him at Ohio State. So I think Pete's probably got the inaccurate reading there. So what does this mean for Ohio State now? Because Devin Brown is a redshirt freshman. He was the backup this year.

Lincoln Kineholz is a freshman right now who it sounds like they like quite a bit. Are they shopping for a veteran quarterback in the portal? Do they want to roll with who they have? They are 100% shopping for a veteran quarterback. Now, is that a starting caliber quarterback, or is that a glorified GA who's going to guide the younger guys is the question. What Jack Tuttle was for Michigan, basically. Yeah, or what Tristan Jebbia was this past year for Ohio State.

From Oregon State, they brought him in knowing that you can play in an emergency role, but you're a glorified assistant. So that is the question here is, is there somebody in the portal who is better than Devin Brown and Lincoln Kineholes and Aaron Nolan, but also who is an upgrade from Kyle McCord? You can't take a guy who's basically the same as what you just had in Kyle McCord, because then you're running it back in year one with a guy when you could have ran it back in year two with a guy. So that's a big question for Ryan Day, who now has to answer that in the most pivotal year of his coaching career. Is Devin Brown good enough? Is Lincoln Kineholz good enough? Is it okay to take this into the spring and then put it out there that you need a quarterback after

the spring cycle and you can potentially get a guy to come in after the spring? Or do you want to see what Devin Brown and Lincoln Kindles can do in bowl practice and see if you've got something on your roster already? It's a pivotal decision for Ryan Day, one that he can't really wait on, but also one that he needs to be patient with to make sure he's making the right decision. So who in the portal fits that description? So let's review what you just said. with to make sure he's making the right decision. So who in the portal fits that description? So let's review what you just said.

Needs to be an upgrade from Kyle McCord. Needs to be better than Devin Brown and Lincoln Kineholz. And so much better that maybe a lack of eligibility going forward isn't the deciding factor. Because Lincoln Kineholz is a true freshman this year. Devin Brown was a registered freshman, so there's quite a bit of eligibility left with those guys. So are we talking about Riley Leonard from Duke, Dylan Gabriel maybe from Oklahoma, Cam Ward from Washington State? Who are we talking about, do you think?

Yeah, those are the names that everybody seems to want to link to Ohio State, but the question is are those guys good enough to win a national championship Ohio State doesn't want to compete for a national championship it wants to win one and Dylan Gabriel was good enough to get Oklahoma uh to to a good spot this year but not a great spot uh Riley Leonard was struggle with injuries but also uh I think he's a better runner than he is a passer um and so I'm just not sure if he particularly fits exactly what Ryan Day wants in a quarterback, especially after the prolific passers that he's had in the program. Kim Ward, the flashes are, wow, NFL quarterback flashes. The down-to-down consistency I don't think is there right now.

And maybe that could change if he got to Ohio State. But those three guys in particular, can they win you a national championship? I'm not sure the answer is yes. And so again, the standard is to win a national championship, beat Michigan, win the big 10, win a national title. They haven't lived up to that. And that's why it's so pivotal for Ryan to do that next year. So you have to start asking yourself which quarterback gives you the best chance now and into the future. And I'm just not sure if any of those three in particular are good enough to get the job done for you if you're Ryan Day. One guy we haven't mentioned yet is Aaron Noland, who is a commitment that Ohio State has had.

He committed back in April. He's going to sign next week with the Buckeyes, or at least is expected to. He's from the Atlanta area, was a highly sought after recruit. He's obviously a top 100 player in the country. Would he potentially have a chance? I think it would be very difficult for Ohio State to hand the keys over to a true freshman in as pivotal of a season as next year will be. Because yes, they will probably make the 12 team playoff, whether you and I are playing quarterback because of the talent on the roster, but that's not the goal here. And Ryan Day knows that's not the goal. You have to beat Michigan and you have to go compete and

probably try to be very close to winning a national championship. Ryan Day understands the stakes of the next 12 months with where he is in standing with Ohio State. So I'm not sure if handing the keys over to a true freshman is the correct call here. And I'm not thinking that's what they will do. Now, if he comes in and looks like Trevor Lawrence, then who's to say that he can't win the job eventually. But to say that he has a chance to win the starting quarterback job, I'm just not sure if that's in the cards right now. I would be happy to be wrong. And Ohio State would love to have a three-year starter quarterback from true freshman to junior year and then a first-round pick. I'm just not sure if that's in the cards for Ryan Day in such a pivotal offseason.

You know, thinking about what you just said with the talent on the roster, I do wonder if the idea of an opening at quarterback for Ohio State might draw somebody maybe we're not even talking about yet into the portal. Is that a possibility that maybe – because we know a lot of these guys reach out behind the scenes, players, coaches too, but players definitely reach out behind the scenes to get a gauge of who might be interested. I feel like this is one of those if someone were to get an inkling that Ohio State is interested, then they might throw their name in the portal yeah I agree with that 100 because this is the

Ohio State starting quarterback job I think there's only one starting quarterback job in the country that competes with this and it's the USC starting quarterback job so uh it is one of the most sought after positions no matter who you are in the country and so to think that Ohio State could put a help wanted sign out in front of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and not draw attractive suitors, then that would be the wrong way of thinking because Ohio State will do that. If it has an opening, I'm sure players will want to take that opening. And so you wonder if the Buckeyes continue to string this out and make it known that they need a quarterback in the portal, if Devin Brown doesn't look great in bowl practice, if Lincoln Kineholz doesn't look like he's that they need a quarterback in the portal. You know, if Devin Brown doesn't look great in bowl practice, if Lincoln Kynholtz doesn't

look like he's ready to take a step in year two, you know, fresh out of South Dakota from his freshman season coming in in June, maybe he's not ready. The options would be probably more than just what you see in the transfer portal. And that's not meaning Ohio State would go tamper, although there are probably a couple players around the country that I would tamper for, you know, that level of quarterback. But if it's known that Ohio State needs a quarterback, the options, I think, will be more than just what's in the transfer portal right now. There will be people who understand how big of an opportunity that would be for them to take that step.

Speaking of opportunities, how big of an opportunity is this bowl game against Missouri for Devin Brown? Because this is a Missouri team that is very excited to be here. This is not a case of a team that's like, oh, we're disappointed. Everybody's going to opt out. One, they have really good players who are definitely coming back next year, but also some of their older players probably play just because they've not been in this spot before. Yeah, yeah, and I think that's one of the things that's got Ohio State fans all of a sudden excited about a Cotton Bowl when they weren't really excited

is the opportunity for different guys to be seen on the field who you just haven't seen, and Devin Brown leads the pack there. So much fanfare about Devin Brown, the number one player in On3's 2022 rankings, the guy that everybody thought could be next up if Kyle McCord took the step and made it to the NFL, and then Devin Brown could step in the next year, or Devin Brown could even beat him out this year, and it was a close competition. So I know that Ohio State is excited to see what they have in 33. I know that the fan base is excited to see what they have in 33, but that doesn't mean that it's just going to click and magically appear as though he's going to be the next first round guy. He's got to go earn it in bowl practice. And Lincoln Kynholtz is a guy who came in,

like I said, in June from South Dakota, really low level football and immediately impressed. Ohio State was blown away by the way Lincoln Kynholtz attacked his first year on campus. So I would not sleep on that. But I do think that for Devin Brown, this is not a put up or shut up moment because you're going to get to compete with whoever they bring in if they choose to bring in one, if you choose to stay. But I do believe that this is his moment to kind of seize that job and show everybody that he can be the next in the lineage of Ryan Day quarterbacks. So let's pull back to the big picture here because the last time you and I talked

was right after the Michigan game, Ohio state had lost. You're trying to figure out where does Ryan day go from here? How, where does the program go from here? What does it say that they don't have a succession plan, a quarterback or did not feel comfortable enough with the quarterback that played against Michigan a few weeks ago to say he's going to be the guy next year? I think this, you can look at it two ways. You could say the program's in a little bit of disarray and maybe they're at a crossroads here, or you can look at it and say

Ryan Day is not really going to mess around anymore. And he's really going to be aggressive with the way that he attacks this off season because Kyle McCord was very good this year. He was not great, but he was very good. 3,100 yards, 24 touchdowns, just six interceptions. The magical drive against Notre Dame coming up so close against Michigan being 37 yards away from the number one season of the college football playoff. When you put it that way, it makes it kind of go into perspective a little bit. But he didn't feel comfortable enough to just completely say, yeah, he's our starter because we have to evaluate everything. He has said that. He said it on Sunday after when we talked to him ad nauseum. You will evaluate everything when the season ends the way that it did.

And that's what they're doing. They're evaluating the roster, the coaching staff, their personnel decisions, their coaching decisions, their philosophies. They are in full evaluation mode right now to make sure that they are maximizing Ohio State. And it's not about what's best for certain players. It's not about what's best for certain coaches. It's about what's best for Ohio State. And that's not even about Ryan Day. It's about Ohio State. And so I think that it shows a little bit of a reinvigoration for Ryan Day to kind of attack everything in a new way this offseason and make sure that they're maximizing the logo, maximizing the brand, and maximizing the program they have the keys to. Because three in a row to Michigan can't become four, and you have to make sure that you're maximizing everything or else it will become four. And when you go into an offseason with new members of the conference, you're going to Oregon next year, a new college football playoff format.

You've got to replace a couple of things on the offensive side of the ball. Like you have to make sure that you're maximizing it all. And I think that's what this signals for Ryan day. So let's talk about the other guys who jumped into the transfer portal. It's mostly guys who haven't played a lot or who had injury issues, but Julian Fleming is not one of those guys. He was the number one receiver recruit in the 2020 class he has contributed at Ohio State probably not at the

level that he was expected to I you know we I was thinking about who they've got Jeremiah Smith coming in obviously is quite special people are thinking he might be near the level of Marvin Harrison Jr. by the time he gets done at Ohio State. And then you've got younger players who stepped up this season that, you know, Carnell Tate comes to mind. It feels like maybe there was going to be a squeeze in that receiver room. Yeah, I would agree with that. You know, Carnell Tate kind of split time with Julian Fleming a little bit this year and made Julian's role a little lesser than it was in 2022. And that's okay because Carnell's a really good player who's going to have a great career at Ohio State. But Julian put four years in at Ohio State. He's become one of the best blocking wide receivers that Ohio State has seen in a long time. He was a great teammate,

great presence in the locker room. And now I think that it's just kind of time for Julian to find a new way to be productive at the college level and try to get to the NFL. It might just be time for Ohio State to move on with the younger guys that it's got in the room who are really talented and go with that youth movement almost in the wide receiver room. Now, if Emeka Ibuka comes back, then you've got your leader and a youth movement. You can kind of get the best of both worlds. But even if he doesn't, you've got that youth movement in the wide receiver room, a bunch of five-star guys who are ready to take that next

step. And Julian Fleming's ready to take the next step in his career to try to get to the NFL and be productive somewhere else. Because the production just wasn't there this year. It could have been, but it really wasn't. And so I think it's good for Julian to get to almost spread his wings a little bit, find a new spot, try to be productive somewhere and get to the next level. What are the chances that Emeka Bukka comes back? I think they're better than people on the outside are giving credit for right now. I think there's a decision to be made there with a lot of guys. The way that the Michigan game is sitting with some people, it's not sitting well.

And so there's a lot of decisions to be made. Nobody's opted out of the bowl game just yet. I know Mayan Williams declared for the NFL draft, but he was already declared out for the season. The fact that nobody immediately jumped on and said that they were opting out of the bowl game and sitting out and going straight to the NFL gives you reason to think that there's some decisions being made, conversations being had. I still wouldn't expect Marvin Harrison Jr. to be one of those guys who returns by any means, but there are a lot of decisions to be made. And I think number two is one of the biggest decisions on the roster. Because if Emeka Ibuka comes back, you're talking about a wide receiver

core that has a leader and some five-star guys who can take that next step under Emeka Ibuka's leadership. And then you're talking about still one of the best receiver groups in the country. Now, you guys talked to Ryan Day recently, and he was talking about what he's looking for in the transfer portal that, you know, they don't want to go willy nilly into it, but they do want to be selective and they do want to be active. What are they shopping for most in the portal? Well, I think it starts with quarterback, because even if you don't bring in a surefire starter, you're probably going to bring in another veteran like you did with Tristan Jebbia this year to be a glorified assistant coach or another voice in that room who's seen things and done things at the college level. So I think you're talking about a quarterback one way or another.

They're going to be aggressive on the offensive line, but I think every program in America wants offensive linemen from the transfer portal. That's not a secret. You're looking at tight end where they lose Cade Stover. So you might want a veteran there. And then the defensive side, it's almost just selective upgrades. Wherever you think you can upgrade and not upset the apple cart in the room, I think you're going to look at it if you're Ohio State on the defensive side. Defensive tackle, you could lose Tyleek Williams and Mike Hall.

Defensive end, you could lose JT Tuimoloa and Jack Sawyer. If those guys decide to leave, you need depth there. Linebacker, you're losing both your starting linebackers. There could be a need for a veteran presence there. Safety, if it's the right fit, I think the Buckeyes would take one. But corner, maybe not so much because they're pretty well set there. So I think it's defensive wide. Everywhere on that defense, you can see some portal activity.

And then on the offensive side, it's where everyone else wants to get better. Right. It's the offensive line. It's the potential of a talented quarterback who's just too good to pass up. Well, it's amazing to me. It sounds like within the program there was rumbling that something might be happening with McCord, but it feels like outside it was just, whoa. Were there signs in the days between the Michigan game and Monday that something was up? Well, I think it's just – I'll start here. It's life at Ohio State because everyone else looks at this and says 11-1.

Again, you were 37 yards away in the final seconds against Michigan from winning the Big Ten and being the number yards away in the final seconds against Michigan from winning the big 10 and being the number one seed in the college football playoff. And the difference between being the number one seed and going to the cotton bowl for consolation prize and your quarterback leaving was 37 yards on the road against the number one team in the country now. So the margins are way too fine for Ohio state to sit back and be comfortable with anything. And so when Ryan Day talked about the progress that Kyle McCord had made, but still wanted to see more from him, he talked about it all season. The progress was there, but you still want to see more. The

progress is made, but there's still meat on that bone that you've got to get to. And then Sunday, it all kind of came to a head where he was asked straight up, is Kyle McCord your starter for 2024? That noncommittal answer really started to get some people's ears perked up, and myself included. And you kind of wondered if something was coming. I didn't expect it to be the Monday morning at 645, the first day of the transfer portal. I'll be the first to admit that a little flat footed there getting out of bed on Monday morning. But it is something that maybe in hindsight you could have seen coming, but it's still a pretty big shock to the system when you're 66% completion percentage quarterback who just led you to 11-1 record and

so close to the college football playoff, just decides that he's ready for a new chapter and now you've got to go find your new quarterback. It's definitely a shock to the system. So what's the timetable for the other players who are making decisions, and not just about the NFL, but making decisions about whether they're going to play in this Cotton Bowl? Yeah, Ryan, they said that there was a team meeting Sunday night with the players to go over the bowl schedule and the bowl practice schedule that they were going to lay out. There's going to be ongoing meetings this week and into next week about, you know, what options are not just for transfer portal guys, for NFL decisions, for bowl opt outs.

A lot of guys getting draft grades back here in the next couple of weeks, and that could determine some things. I think that it's just a fluid process, right? You've got to almost be patient with these guys, because if you start to push them, maybe you push them away to the NFL when you don't want to. If you start to push them too hard, maybe it's your time to leave. Maybe guys want to, you know how that is to push pull. So I think the Buckeyes got to be a little careful here. They're going to try to get some of these juniors to come back and go all in on a 2024 run. But that doesn't mean that everybody's going to reciprocate those feelings.

And so I would say it's probably in the next week or two that you're going to start to hear some of these decisions be made. Does it feel like Ohio state is in this position every year where there are lots of juniors who could potentially go pro? Does it feel like there could be more gone or more back than usual this year? I think I would lean more toward the more back discussion. Like Donovan Jackson is a prime example, a guy who was a preseason All-American who kind of didn't play up to that

standard this year along that offensive line. If he comes back, they'll bring four starters back on the offensive line. You know, they'll have a new quarterback, of course, but Travion Henderson still doesn't have a full season under his belt of full health. You know, could he be a guy who thinks, what could a full season do for my NFL draft stock? If he wants to improve that,

could he come back behind that four offensive lineman and carry the load for Ohio state guy like a Mecca Abuka, can he come back and be the leader? And then the defensive side, did you end the season on the note that you wanted to, did you end your Ohio state career the way you wanted to JT to him all out? Ohio state means a lot to him. Jack Sawyer is a central Ohio kid. It means a lot to him. Are those the kind of guys who make those decisions and kind of spearhead the movement that we saw in Ann Arbor last year? And we saw in Ann Arbor after the 2020

season where, you know, Aiden Hutchinson led the charge in 2020, said enough is enough. Comes back in 2021 and gets the job done for Michigan. Zach Zenter and Blake Corum did the same thing in 2022 for Michigan. You know. It's not enough. We're coming back in 23. Could Ohio State see that type of movement this year? I'm not going to count it out, but it's also the talent level there with all of those guys. You're talking about some guys who could potentially be first-round picks

all deciding to come back. That's a tough proposition, but it's not something that I'm completely ruling out because the way that this season ended, I don't think anybody's satisfied. It's going to that I'm completely ruling out because the way that this season ended, I don't think anybody's satisfied. It's going to be very interesting. And like you said earlier that they're playing Missouri in the, in the bowl game and as excited as Missouri is about it adds a layer of intrigue to this.

So I can't wait to find out who's lining up to play for the Buckeyes against Missouri. Spencer, thank you so much. Thanks Andy. Always appreciate it. That's it for the show. Thank you so much for joining us. It was a pleasure. And now I get to ask you one of my favorite questions of the week, and that is to send me your questions. Wednesday is a Dear Andy show. Your questions are the stars. So hit me up on social media, Andy underscore Staples on Twitter, Andy underscore Staples on Instagram,

or you can email me your question, andystapleson3atgmail.com. There's a lot to talk about. We've got the transfer portal. What the heck happened with the playoff committee? The NCAA letter. I know I said that stuff makes your eyes glaze over. This one's pretty interesting. There's a lot to talk about.

So Andy underscore Staples on Twitter or Instagram. Hit me up, andystapleson3atgmail.com. And don't be afraid to turn your camera on yourself to ask that question. We love seeing you ask the questions as well. So send them in. We'll talk to you on Wednesday night.