The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Ryan Day on Ohio State’s Title, Chip Kelly’s departure to the NFL & Klatt makes his Super Bowl Pick

Episode Date: February 3, 2025

FOX Sports’ lead College Football analyst Joel Klatt is joined by Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day to discuss the Buckeyes’ National Championship run as well as what is next for the program. Coach Day gives his real-time reaction as news of Chip Kelly’s departure for the NFL broke during the recording. The two discuss the challenges that now come with being a National Champion like losing both coordinators and, in this current landscape in college football, tampering with rosters. Day also recounts what was going through his head as Will Howard released the deep ball to Jeremiah Smith late in the National Championship Game vs Notre Dame. Klatt wraps up the pod with his Super Bowl pick as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs go for a historic 3-peat when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles. 00:00 Opening 2:48 Recapping the 2024 Season 5:29 Navigating the CFB Calendar during Playoffs 7:27 Ohio State's Key to Success 13:31 Giving Up Play-Calling 18:44 Reflecting on OSU Title Run 22:00 Jeremiah Smith's Shining Moment 23:56 The Infamous Golf Cart Crash 24:43 New Coordinators Next Season 28:11 Chip Kelly's Departure 30:46 Tampering in CFB 36:07 Outro 39:00 Super Bowl Picks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To be able to, you know, have a beer in a few years, you know, and talk about the year that we had together is going to be special because we all started together. And this is why I started with him. And we went and did that. And what a great story. And I know so many people back home in New Hampshire are just excited for him and for the story.

It's pretty special. College football has never been better. Interest has never been higher. Believe that we are at the dawn of the golden age of college football. It was an epic day of college football. It was one of those days where you fall in. love with the sport all over again. Hey, welcome into the show, everybody.

I'm Joel Clatt. This is the Joel Clashio, and we are brought to you by Hampton, by Hilton. Got a really fun show today. We're going to talk with the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes Ryan Day after their national championship. But first, remember all the things. Number one is follow us and subscribe on the YouTube channel. We've got a lot of cool stuff up there, including our YouTube exclusive at the Joel Clash show, Understanding Football. Okay, so we dropped three videos. A lot of you only saw that first one. But we want to go out there. All three videos last week are up on the YouTube channel. So go subscribe, hit the notification button, then you're going to know when a video comes

out, get in the comments. I'm trying to get down there in the comments and answer some questions as it relates to the schematics and the videos that we release. So all three of them are up. Defensive coverages, quick game, like a quick passing game, and then drop back passing game. So get over to YouTube and check out those videos right now. Now, wherever you like to social media, We're out there as well. Agile Clatio, wherever you like to social media. But the big one, get over to YouTube, subscribe to the channel, hit notifications,

and get in the comments, and you'll be there, and those three videos are up. Okay. Now, for today's program, like I said, the Ohio State Buckeyes take down the national championship. And, man, what a run it was. And I am pleased to bring on the head coach, Ryan Day. And we welcome in the national champion

from Ohio State Ryan Day. What's up, dude? How are you doing? You're all doing good, man. You're never going to get tired of hearing that, are you? No, that's for sure. I got to tell you, we spend a lot of time around Columbus. You and I have spent a lot of time ever since you were a coordinator, just before games, a lot of big games. This year felt different. You and I both knew it. We talked about it last year in December. And this really wasn't just a 12-month thing. It was a 13-month thing, you know, really because of how late this. championship game was played. And when you started this process all the way back in December, big overarching question would just be like, what has the last 13 months been like for you? Well, like you said, it starts in the offseason when you have to start from scratch. And that's really how you have to look at it year and year out now, I believe, in college football. And it starts with the players that you have on the current roster and their retention.

And to me, that was the biggest key of this whole story, was making sure that we did that. Now, you and I have talked about it. You've talked about it some more about just having a more veteran mature team. And, you know, there's been a lot of talk about NIL and different things that come with it. But, you know, one of the real benefits of that is, you know, guys being able to stay and play longer in college because we're able to provide them with the resources that we haven't been able to do in the past. So that was great. And then the next part was the staff, making sure the right people were in the right spots. and then you add those, you know, those transfers in.

And then from there, it's about building your team. And the leadership that comes with it, you know, the spring ball, there's all kinds of things that come into play there. You know, you were at the spring game you saw, you know, we were just getting started there. Will getting started, you know, some of the guys were young. But we also had a veteran group that was there. You know, you head into the preseason and, you know,

you really want to start building towards the end of the season knowing it's a new, it's a new format. You've got to play 16 games. So, you know, that part was different. And then along the way, twist and turns to get all the way to the end and to finish the way we did. I'm just really happy for our guys, happy for our, you know, our coaches, you know, happy for our fans. But as you know, once that confetti hits the floor, it's on the next year. How long did it take?

How long did you enjoy it before there was like an eye on 2025? Well, you actually have to start it before the season ends. Well, I was going to say, you probably have to, you were probably building, yeah, you're signing kids, your portal issues. Yeah, we had 145 guys on our team the last two weeks of the season because our buses started on January 6th. How many guys had to share a locker? No, no sharing. Those guys were not in the locker room. They were actually, these are guys that, you know, some of the top recruits in the country.

You know, we've been recruiting them for four years, you know, five-star. guy, all kinds of top recruits. And they're in, you know, this area of the facility. There aren't more enough lockers because it was so many guys. It was unprecedented. So they're in the basketball gym and, you know, getting dressed ready for workout. So it was a unique time. But I think the thing that was great for them was they were able to be a part of it for two weeks. Yeah. But it was like travel, see the game so that, you know, when it comes around in the year, they're ready for it. I was going to say that that's something that we've never experienced in college football before. And, you know, that's one of those kind of unintended consequence type of

things where it's like, I bet from your angle, you look at any number of those guys, highly recruited guys, and they got to see it. You know, maybe they're not, quote, unquote, teammates with Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimo, Lua, and Emeka, Buka, and Trayvion Henderson, and Jordan Hancock, and Dinsel Burke, and Tileik Williams, you know, all these senior veteran guys, these buck guys, but they kind of were, you know, and they got to feel it and see what, how valuable is that for the guys that will now be freshmen in, you know, next fall? Yeah, there's a lot to talk about there. I think the first thing is I think we need to look at the calendar.

Oh, yeah. Starting, you know, a new semester for two weeks, you know, and still playing the last season doesn't really make much sense at all for a lot of reasons. I'm not going to get into all those reasons right now, but it's and we need to take a hard look at that, you know. Yeah. But, but yeah. So what I did was I got with our leaders, I got with their captains, and I explained

to them what was about to happen. And they were great. They said, we want them to see what it's like to be. They're part of the brotherhood. We want them to see what this is like so that when we leave, they know what the standard is and they know how we do. And it was great. Now, my message to them was, you have one job.

Don't be a distraction. Don't distract this team. And it's hard to do. The young guys. That was their one job. And even like, you know, for 145 guys on a team, you know, that time of year, the flu was going around. There's just a lot of things. Yeah, you can, all these things you think about.

And, you know, but the number one job for them was not to be a distraction. But I think they did learn from it. I think it was great for them to see it, you know, to be on the sideline for the cotton bowl and watch Jack return that and be on the sideline. As those guys were running down the sideline with them and excited, they got a chance to see that. And obviously the national championship game. So you've already touched on. just in these two answers, like everything that I want to discuss, you know. So I want to make sure I get back to all of it, and we will.

Let me go back to one of the things that you first said, and I strongly believe about where our sport is currently, because the last two national championships, and certainly you fall under this, they were not built from the outside. They were built from the inside. You know, like your core was a core of Buckeye culture, veteran players that were in your program,

being developed by you for four years. And I think that, you know, everyone talks about like, oh, you know, portal this and roster that in terms of how they're constructed and how much money, quote, unquote, that they cost. But I would make the argument, the best teams in college football are really, and in particular deep into the playoffs, teams that were able to retain their culture and where the leadership and the real, I would say catalyst of their team are guys that have been in those programs for a long period of time.

And I know that was the case for you. Yeah, and I think it was great for, you know, all young players, you know, whether they're Pop Warner, junior high, high school, you know, even some young college players to see this group of players who are playing for each other. And you can feel that. And if you listen to the interviews and you watch them on the field, they were doing exactly that. I mean, they were a team. And, you know, we wanted to be the best team at the end of the season. And I think that was, that's important because there's so much talk like you said nowadays

of the focus on the individual with, you know, what can I get out of this situation? And these guys, certainly, they had great opportunities and they did a great job with NIL. And this is all great for their careers individually. But as we all know, it's about the team. And these guys played for each other. And I think, like you said, there's so many things going on in college football right now. it's just, it really is crazy at times. But ultimately, it still came down to those timeless principles, like loyalty, teamwork,

you know, commitment, resilience, you know, all those things. And I do think having a veteran team that had been in the culture for multiple years paid off in the end because, you know, they were able to not only sustain to a longer season, but work through difficult times when they hit. Well, there's no doubt. And that's where I wanted to go with next is the length of season because you touched on that. And it's something that all the way back, you and I had a long discussion in March about, you know, what you were about to embark on. And you were uniquely aware of it, more so than the other coaches that I talk to around the country.

And I get to, you know, listen, I'm a lucky guy. I get to talk with a lot of you. And as you know, and you were more aware than others. And maybe that was your NFL background coach. possibly, and maybe it was also bringing Chip and his NFL background. But you guys, we had a long discussion, and no one else really was thinking about that around the country. And then when I sit back and look at the totality of your season, you can see times when you clearly were pulling back on the reins and making sure that you weren't peeking too early. making sure that your best football was going to be played late into the season.

Now, you can't avoid injuries here and there, but you can plan for freshness like you did with your running backs and in particular with the way and the speed that you played offense early in the year. Can you take me into your understanding of what you were about to embark on? And then were there any moments during the year that you caught yourself being like, I want to go faster or do something? something different, but I need to pull back. Yeah, it started in the offseason and looking at playing possibly 16 or 17 games.

And when you look at it from that point of view, not only that, but knowing that in the end of the season, you can be playing these games back to back to back and not having the whole really month to prepare for a bowl game and then leading into the championship game. And so we knew it was going to be a long road and just kind of went back, like you said, a little bit on some of those NFL, you know, mentalities where sometimes you can almost reinvent yourself throughout the season, but then peaking at the end of the year and keeping an eye on the snap count of each guys, each guy, because at the end of the year, those snaps matter.

And so we looked long and hard at that. You know, and I think, you know, as the season went on, I think, you know, Mick Marotti did a great job with this. I thought we were playing fast down the stretch. I thought we were fresh. And a big part of that, though, is like, for instance, just take the example, Trebion Henderson and Winchard Jenkins.

You know, the reason they were able to be fresh at the end of the year was because they weren't selfish at the beginning of the year saying, well, I only got eight carries in this game, or maybe I only got nine carries in this game. They were able to see the big picture from the jump. And because of that, I mean, you just saw in the playoffs. It was back and forth, you know, on the different plays that they made. And that's just one example.

And they were faster than everybody on the field. Like their freshness popped in the playoff. You know, like the screen pass against Texas. Texas, Quinshawn running people over in the national championship. You're 16 games deep, and these guys are out there like it's September. Yeah. Yeah. And I think, again, a big part of that was the sacrifice that both of them made saying that, you know,

I'm not going to be the one that says, I, you know, me, me, and I need all these carries because that can happen when you're on great teams. And I want the ball more. And so both of those guys allowed them to be the best versions of themselves. And then depth at all the positions is important. We went through a struggle with the offensive line, and we were able to adjust there as time went on because of our depth. Your depth is going to get challenged in a long season as well.

So you touched on the next thing I wanted to, through that long regular season, you can reinvent. Some people might say develop. Some people might say evolve. That certainly happened with you guys. You and I talked about it, and I've talked about it publicly, in terms of just the way that your defense evolved a little bit from a structure standpoint, philosophy standpoint, the way the offense evolved a little bit during the course

of the season. And yet, I don't think people give the right thing the credit. And bear with me here, because I believe that one of the only reasons that that was allowed to happen is because you first made the most unselfish move of all of them. So Quintan, Travion, they were sharing carries and they were doing things for the bigger picture. You gave up play-calling duties all the way back, you know, 13 months ago in December. And this is, I've said this publicly, so this is not just because you're sitting here, you know, with me. Your superpower was calling plays. You were the best playcaller in college football, you know?

And you and I have talked about this. I would watch every sequence of the way that you went about it and attacked people. And you gave that up in order for the best of, you know, bigger picture. My question then would be, could you guys have developed, evolved, or reinvented yourselves to the point that you did if you didn't have the CEO seat and you were still in the minutia of calling place? Probably not. Probably not. But I also think, you know, I was able to go back and forth a little bit as well, you know, involved in every special team's meeting, you know, midway through the season, much more involved, you know, on the other side of the ball on

defense and then able to kind of come back. And then also I just think like being able to jump from position to position and sitting down in some of the position meetings and talking about what the expectation of the job description for that week was. I think we really got into a great rhythm in the playoffs with that where, you know, I would go through and everyone's got a job to do. But really identifying what that job was. And during position meetings, you know, I'm able to jump around from meeting to meeting and

have, you know, quick conversations with everybody and then bring everybody together where when I was in the quarterback meeting room and just going through all those types of things and it takes away from that part of it. And when we say do your job, like my job is the head coach is to do that to bring everybody together, look along the horizon and see what's coming because the soldiers are in front. They're fighting. You know, you're going to be looking at the horizon to see what's coming next. And I think that allowed me to do that. Did you enjoy it? I don't think anyone's asked you that yet because I know you love to call in plays. I mean, you're, you know, you're a ball coach deep down.

Did, did you enjoy this seat, this different view and the view of the horizon? I enjoy winning a national championship. There were really great moments, just connecting with the guys, good moments, bad moments, you know, all the above. It's like being part of a family, you know, being a brother, being a dad, being an uncle, being a colleague, you know, I think that allowed me to do that and bounce around. But I felt like in the playoffs, I was able to spend more time on the football because there was no school and we had more time together.

And that was my favorite part of the year for sure. So from the outside looking in, and it's painful not to be involved in the play. I would love to call those games. But we don't got those contracts, so I'm not around. But sitting there and I'm watching. and I want to go back to the Tennessee game because to me... Before we go there, Joe, I just... One other thing I just wanted to add that, I think, is important.

And I think you can appreciate this. Like, the other thing about this format is, you know, it's not necessarily important to win the eye test anymore. Like, winning the games is good enough. And certainly, obviously, when you get to the playoffs, it's win and move on. where that had been part of the equation much more in years past. So, you know, you just win the game, you know, you don't have to win the eye test,

which is always bizarre to me anyways, because, you know, what does that really mean? Like what other sports you have to win the eye test? And, you know, the CFP. I don't know. Yeah, it's what I'm like, the CFP would say that that's part of what they look at. And it's like, that's really hard sometimes to grab onto. So, you know, now you're up by 28. You're trying to score, you know, another touchdown to go up for,

and it's like, okay, what does that really have to do with what's going on right now? And this year, we were able to, you know, play some depth, you know, get the win, move on, you know, and not always have to focus on the eye test. And I thought that made a difference as well. So if whatever that's for it. No, I mean, I think that that's good insight. And maybe it plays into what I was about to ask about that Tennessee game because from the outside looking in, it looked like, you know that moment when it's like, oh, you're only two,

two turns from the Rubik's cube being solved. Now, full disclosure, I can't solve a Rubik's cube, but I've seen it done, right? And when you see it about to happen, you're like, oh, man, that's really cool. And you see it come to fruition. That's what the first quarter against Tennessee felt like from the outside looking in. It's like, oh, there it is. Like, everything clicked. My question would be, is that the way it felt to you?

Or was that just a game where you finally saw everything that you've been working for? or like come to fruition? Well, I think when we came out of the tunnel and saw a percentage of orange in the crowd, it could have gone one or two ways there. Now, we still had a whole bunch of Ohio State Buck guys in the stadium, but there was a little bit of feeling like, you know, okay, you know, this is our stadium right now.

And the way that our guys came out of the tunnel, I said, okay, we're going to win this game. We're going to build some momentum. You could just feel it. You can see it in their eyes. And then it just built momentum from there. And the guys played with great confidence. And then it just kind of went from there.

But we had to create our own momentum at that moment. And I felt like we did. How much did you lean on those veterans? Because you guys had moments of adversity and tough moments throughout the year, you know, whether it was losses or injuries, you know, to key guys. Really can, you know, when Seth goes down, it's like, dang, like that can devastate teams. injuries can. Losses can devastate teams. Specific losses can really devastate teams. And yet, you guys just kept coming back and bouncing back and you would be better right after

the adversity every time. Does that speak to some of those core guys and those veterans? Yeah, we knew that there was going to be those storms along the way. And one of the things that we talked about was, you know, building a foundation early in preseason camp. I think we've talked about this and that if that foundation was built the right way, when storms came, we were going to be able to withstand the storms because they were coming and you don't know what they're going to be and when they're going to come. But when they came, we were able to withstand them. And a big part of that, like you said, was our leadership. And the seniors and the captains, you know, they were strong along the way. And ultimately, they were the ones that were going to be, you know, the ones

that steered the ship. And I felt like there was a lot of moments this season where, you know, you could really see that. You could tangibly see that. And the same message was being spoken by the coaches across the board and also, you know, also by the players. And it was buy-in and a lot of loyalty there. So there's one last thing that I want to ask you about the season. And if you don't mind, I want to also like look forward and keep one eye, you know, on the horizon, if you will. I'd love to go back. And it's third down. Notre Dame is like fighting. and I give them a ton of credit because you guys had thrown some serious haymakers at them, and they just kept fighting and fighting and fighting.

And I think Marcus has done a really good job with that Notre Dame program. But here they're fighting, they're fighting. And now it's third down. It's a one-score game. It's the fourth quarter of the national championship. Can you explain what it felt like for you when that ball was in the air headed to Jeremiah, and you realize like he's open and we're going to win? Well, you know, when you're up 31 to 7, you look at the clock, you start doing the math.

Yeah. Like, we got a chance to win a national championship here. You start, like, doing the math and the clock on it, you're like, and we, you know, we probably, I guess, could have been more aggressive. I thought the reverse call that we made to a mecca there was a good call. And we got a chance to, but it's just, it's just not the way it works. For whatever reason, it's just not the way it works. And so we're in a battle back and forth. And, you know, we wanted to at least even.

some clock on that drive. But, you know, we're on the headset. We're talking through the situation, third and 11 with a possibility. And the one thing that Will did a great job of all season was he could get us into multiple calls. Yes. Huge deal for a quarterback. It's one thing when it comes from the sideline.

It's another thing when your quarterback can do it quickly. And so we were hoping to get one-on-one coverage on the outside. If we didn't, you know, we would probably have thought about something else. But once we got the one-on-one coverage on the outside, we felt like. we had a chance, we were going to be aggressive. And, you know, I, we had said this in a meeting. We said, you know, if we're in a situation like this, and we all sat in a room and said,

if you have Jeremiah Smith one-on-one to the field with the game in a line, would you take that chance? And everybody in a room, yes. And that decision was already made. And it was just a matter of going to do it. We had spent a lot of time on that play, on that route, against that style of corner. And you could even see a mech on the sideline

during one of the videos. He was talking about that exact. leverage that exact play and then those guys were able to execute it but there's a great picture on the sideline of that ball in the air and you can see our entire sideline looking up at the ball saying he catches his ball we're going to be national champs and what a great time and then the golf cart crashes i mean i don't know it was more stressed in the in the golf card or when i was on the field during that throw i i feel so bad for that that that girl like, you know, because that's all that anyone's watching after the game is,

is her running into the wall with that golf cart. And I heard somewhere where you were like, she was incredible on the field, driving you in and out of people and getting even to the tunnel in the first place. It was, it was great. When someone said they actually caught it on film because I was saying to myself, no one's going to believe this if I pulled them.

We just a national championship and we just crashed a golf cart into a wall, go into the press conference. And Will's laughing in the back and Cody's laughing in the back. And whenever someone said, I think they got it on film. I said, oh, boy, this is going to go viral. And it did. And it did. Oh, that's great.

Okay. So now you're about to deal with what everybody that reaches the mountaintop deals with. And you can go all the way back. You know, at Ohio State, urban lost Tom Herman after the national championship. And Nick lost like a who's who of coaching every year. You know, think about all the coordinators he went through on both sides really because he even lost Kirby. and he won his first national championship with Jim McElwain. And then all the way through Sark and Kiffin and all of those guys.

Kirby lost Dan Lannning after a national championship. And that's what happens. You guys then become the apple of everyone's eye. And Jim's going to move on. And I've heard reports now that Chip is going to get an opportunity to go back to the National Football League, possibly with the Raiders, if I'm not mistaken. So, you know, navigating that. You know, that's going to be kind of your next era as a national champion head coach in college football.

Yeah, there's no question. And, you know, like, you're excited for guys. You know, Justin Fry's got a great opportunity to go into the NFL. And, you know, these opportunities come up when you win a championship like this. These guys are great coaches and they have a chance to, you know, do different things. And that's part of it. Like you said, you know, now you got to adjust and you got to, you know, figure out, you know, move these, puzzle pieces around. The good news is we're at Ohio State. You know, so we, we have some really

good opportunities to hire some great people and fit them in with some people who, you know, really good young coaches and really good coaches that are, that are just rising stars here, I think, in the profession and some guys with great experience. And so, you know, this is going to be part of the deal. We knew that. I knew that right after the game. It was going to happen like this. And so you have plans in place, but, you know, we're going to make sure we take our time and find the right guys because, you know, it's Ohio State. And so you have an opportunity to get the best. And there's always that speculation because of your background in the National Football League.

But, you know, I've seen interviews where you talked about that desire to leave a legacy above even this championship. You know, you've talked about Woody Hayes being the only one that's won multiple championships at Ohio State. And you want to do that. So, you know, I know you well enough to know, like once you set your mind to something, it's like, well, that's what's going to happen. Yeah. And, you know, I, I need a few weeks, dude, just to catch my breath, though. You know what I mean?

Or I put the pedal of the medal because, you know, we got to get this staff right. And then I do need a little bit of time because, you know, even since the game, there's been a lot. We had, you know, recruiting. We were on the road doing different things. Got to make sure we get the staff organized. I mean, you've been on, you know, with Kelly Clarkson and Jimmy Fallon. I mean, you've been all over the place. Yeah.

Yeah, we've got to recharge a little bit, but that's all right. And like you said, you know, once you, you know, recharge and then it's all systems go, and then you move forward. And we got a really good group of guys coming back, coming a really good group of guys coming back. It's exciting. Our staff, you know, all the above. So, and spring ball is going to be different. I mean, that's the other thing for us, because, you know, some of these, we just got done playing two weeks ago.

And spring ball starts the second of the last week of March. So. Right. But we also have young guys who need the ones. who need the work. So it's going to be unique this year. Yeah. I would love, you know, now that, and again, it's just kind of breaking as we're recording this about Chip.

So what did it mean for you, you know, to have them with you to reach the mountaintop? Because you guys go way back. And everyone has talked about it. We talked about it for a long time. You know, he was your coach. You guys had known each other all the way back, you know, to when you were a youngster. What did it mean to you to do this with him? That was great.

It was great. And, you know, we talked about it, the fact that, you know, we had a really good group here. And, you know, the dream would be to win a national championship. And then, you know, he decides whether he wants to stay or have an opportunity to go to the NFL. And it's exactly what happened. And, you know, just to be able to, you know, have a beer in a few years, you know, and talk about the year that we had together is going to be special because we all started together. And this is why I started with him.

And we went and did that. And what a great story. And I know so many people. back home in New Hampshire, just excited for him and for the story. It's pretty special. And I think the job he did, because your offense was so talented, I think it's going to be overlooked what you guys were able to do, you know, but like we'll set the Ohio State record for completion percentage. You know, I think that's one of those like overlooked things. Like, wait, wait, really? Did he really? It's like, you guys did some incredible things on offense,

you know, obviously, yes, because you were talented. But even with some of the guys, I don't think people would have expected that out of Will Howard when he transferred from Kansas State. He really grew as it went on you because he got better every single week. Best football was in the playoff by far. And he just had such a command. And I don't know how else to say it when it's fourth and three, he's going to get four. But he's also very, very intelligent. I mean, like I said, he was carrying multiple plays on the line of scrimmage.

He was a leader. And then the huddle. The huddle was there for a lot of reasons. But one of the huddle was that we had such a great leader in Will that he was looking those guys in the eye and they were breaking the huddle and they believed in him. Yeah. When we didn't play as fast as we normally did, efficiency was, was something we talked a lot about and I thought we played with much more efficiency this year.

Yeah, and that huddle was important once you lost those guys on the interior. So he has some of those, you know, and Donovan pops out and you got those new guys in the interior and he's got a chance to look him in the eye on every snap. I don't feel that bad for your new coordinator on each side of the ball because they're going to have the best player in college football. at their disposal on each side with Caleb and with Jeremiah. And that kind of leads to this next question. And I don't know if you've seen Matt Ruhl touch on like,

I don't know if I'm going to do a spring game. Matt Ruhl says at Nebraska, because I don't know if I want to just have some sort of showcase, you know, to showcase my talent so that someone can come along and try to poach those players. And unfortunately, that's the reality in college football right now, which is a sad and unfortunate reality because it's blatantly against the.

rules to tamper with another roster. I would just kind of like ask you, you win the national championship. And yet there's there's continually this this kind of anxiousness of like, well, we got to retain. We got to retain the roster. Do you think it would help to have just one transfer portal? Or is this all about enforcing the tampering rules that exist? Well, to go to your first question.

about the transfer portal. I think, you know, like for us, if we didn't have the second transfer portal window, that is very, very difficult because, you know, we're trying to make decisions about next year, yet our year isn't even done yet. So that affects your current roster. And it's just messy. So, you know, I think you've got to have two, you got to have two points unless you're, going to finish the season sooner.

But if you're finishing the season on January 20th, you can't have just one portal window. Well, I do think we should finish sooner, personally. You know, because like you said, you're playing with next year's players, you know, as freshmen. That's messy. Yeah. And guys are getting done a month earlier. And so there's just a lot to go through there. To go back to your topic about tampering.

And I'm not talking about tampering. I'm just saying in general, one of the biggest problems we have in college football right now is enforcement. And again, I'm not talking about tampering. I'm just saying in general. Yeah, any rule. You're just saying any rule. Any rule right now. Because the enforcement just isn't there.

And I think there's a generation right now of young coaches that are coming up in this profession that are saying, why do I follow the rules? You know, integrity. Sure, we all have integrity. But there needs to start becoming some sort of penalties for breaking the rules. otherwise, you know, I don't know. We're just going to have a generation of young coaches that just see what's going on across college football and continue to do that and have a disregard for annual. And so, again, I'm not just talking about tampering.

I'm just saying in general. No, I mean, you and I have talked about that. And candidly, I've had opinions about certain things. And you brought that up. And I got to tell you, it just made me think so much more about. it. You know, because it's, we always talk in specificity in college football and like these finite issues and we're like, well, you know, this is what we need to do for this specific issue. But, but in reality, you know, the fixes are probably bigger than that. One of them is just

candidly like enforcement because the only way that we're going to clean things up from an integrity standpoint across the board, whether it's competitively or in recruiting, is enforcement. Yeah, because if you make a rule, but you can't enforce it, then you have no structure. Yeah, then it's not a rule. That's a suggestion. Right. So we're putting these band-aids and patches and different things on them, and we continue to move on, and that's fine. The product's great.

But, you know, I just, I said this a few years ago. I want to look up in a few years and not recognize what's going on. But I think we still have an obligation to do things with integrity. and to raise young men to do things the right way in this profession. And so I just think that that's of utmost importance. And again, I'm not just talking about one rule. I'm just saying in general. And I think the structure has to be looked at across the board.

Yeah. Well, listen, that would be a whole other hour. So before we open that Pindor's box, I'm just going to thank you for joining us. Listen, I'm happy for you. actually just one last one last one. And I wanted to ask you this because I knew you when you first got to Ohio State and just as an offensive coordinator. And then as a first year head coach, you know,

you take over after Urban retires and you have that great team in 2019 that was just a really great football team. And I would be fascinated to hear what you today would tell that coach about the last five years, six years. And just say like, what would you tell him? I think the first thing I would tell them is trust your instinct. Trust your instinct. And trust the process.

The results give you some feedback. But trust the process. Coach the team. Like just coach the team. Don't get caught up and everything else that's going on. on, just coach the team and make the best decisions you possibly can, focus on the players, and make sure that you have the right people in the right seats at the end of the day, because you're only as good as the guys around you.

I'll tell you what, you know, as the longer you coach, sometimes the simpler it gets, right? It's like you try to block it all out. A thousand percent. Because, you know, really, the best answers are always the most simple. They're not easy, but they're always the most simple. Well, listen, I appreciate you doing this. I know that you've been on the tour, and so I'm glad that you stopped with us. I really am.

And I look forward to coming in in March and seeing next year's version of the Ohio State Buckeyes. It's kind of one of the things I do every single year, and I can't wait to see this next young crop of Buckeyes and what we're going to get next year. No, I appreciate you, Joel. And I appreciate what you do for college football. You know, really, you do an unbelievable job. so thank you. You got it, bud. Have a good one. All right. Take care, man.

All right, there he goes. That was really fun. And I, again, thank you to coach for taking the time here to record that show with us. And right when we were recording is when all of that Chip Kelly news came down. So glad that we were able to ask coach about Chip Kelly, headed to the Raiders. So a big one. So now Ohio State is going to have to come up with a new defensive coordinator with Jim Noel's going to Penn State, a new offensive coordinator with Chip Kelly. heading to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Something tells me they're going to get someone good. I touched on it right there with coach. I mean, would you like to coach Jeremiah Smith? Yes. Would you like to coach Caleb Downs? Yes. So those will be coveted positions for the Buckeyes and for Ryan Day as they move on. Hey, remember, I touched on this to begin the show.

We have the YouTube series up. Understanding Football, the schematic series that you have wanted is up. And we're going to continue to put out video. videos in this series. We've got three up there. So make sure you go subscribe to the channel and hit the notification button. You'll know when everything drops and you can get into the comments. I'll try to get into those comments and explain things that maybe you don't understand. You can ask questions as well as give us your feedback on what you would like to see next in our series because really the sky is the limit as we continue to break down the sport that we all love right

there on the YouTube channel. So get on over there and subscribe. Next order of business. We're going to have our first. mock draft. That's right. Mock draft season is here. So the next episode of this program will be February 12th. We're going to take kind of the Super Bowl off and we're going to come up with our next drop on February 12th. That's next, what is that, Wednesday. And that will be our mock draft 1.0 at the Joel Clashio. So now that we've seen the Senior Bowl and some of that news is filtering out, we've got some of our big boards filtering out. We're going to have a mock draft. So that's next week. And that leads me with my final thing here on this episode of the show, we will not be with you before the Super Bowl.

So here we go. Super Bowl, what is it now? 59. Super Bowl 59 as the Eagles and the Chiefs take each other on. I know everyone's disappointed that the bills aren't in there. I get it. I've been talking with people. Although I got to tell you, I'm a little biased in this regard. I would have loved to see Josh Allen because I think he's a tremendous player, but I'm never going to turn down an opportunity to watch Patrick Mahomes play football. I love. watching that guy play football. Does he get a favorable whistle at times? Sure. Sure, he does. But is he brilliant? Yes, is he probably one of the two or three best in the history of the game? Absolutely. And I think that that will be further cemented this year. I think that the Chiefs win. This is a better

Chiefs team overall, and Mahomes is more healthy than he was a year ago. So I think that they're going to get the job done. I get it. The Eagles are playing great. I think Jalen Hertz is tremendous. I think Seekwon Barkley is having an incredible year. And in a lot of ways. I mean, he's having one of the great modern running back years that we've ever seen. I think he's been absolutely tremendous. So is it going to be difficult? Yes. Steve Spagnola, though, if you leave him and Andy Reid out there with an opportunity for two weeks to game plan and they've got Patrick Mahomes and that defense, I think that the Chiefs win. So I'm going to take the Chiefs, I think the Chiefs win it by seven. I've got 2720. The Kansas City Chiefs

become the first team in the history of the National Football League to three-peat. Chiefs are winners in my book. That'll do it for us here on the Joel Clashow. Big thanks to Hampton by Hilton. Big thanks to Ohio State and Ryan Day for joining us on the program. Get over to YouTube, subscribe to the channel. Make sure you do that and get in the comments for that understanding football series. I think you're really going to enjoy it and enjoy the Super Bowl, everybody.