Shaun Wade is staying, Corey Dennis is Ohio State's new quarterbacks coach, Kerry Coombs could be back soon and the Buckeyes have started their preparation for 2020.
We discuss all of that on this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays, as we turn the page from the 2019 season and begin looking ahead to next season and some of the biggest changes and question marks the Buckeyes will have to work through in order to make another College Football Playoff run.
Starting off, we talk about the biggest news of the week – Wade's decision to remain at Ohio State for the 2020 season instead of entering the NFL draft – and touch on why that decision made sense for him, how big an impact he could make for the Buckeyes next season and who needs to step up in the secondary around him.
We also talk briefly about Chase Young, Jeff Okudah and J.K. Dobbins deciding to enter the NFL draft – and why those decisions were no-brainers for them – and why Damon Arnette gets our vote for the best of the Buckeyes' senior draft prospects.
After that, we dive into Ohio State's decision to promote Corey Dennis to quarterbacks coach, and consider the pros and cons of hiring a potential rising star who is already familiar with Ohio State's quarterbacks room but has never been a full-time quarterbacks coach before.
We also delve into the potential return of Kerry Coombs as Jeff Hafley's replacement and why that could be a home-run hire but also how he would need to adjust a different defensive scheme than he previously coached in at Ohio State.
Then, we examine some of the other big questions – and your listener-submitted questions – looking ahead to 2020, including how the Buckeyes will replace J.K. Dobbins at running back, whether that will lead to a more pass-heavy offense next season, whether Larry Johnson has the pieces to field another elite defensive line without Chase Young and where Ohio State should land in the initial (which Dan thinks people should stop calling “way-too-early”) preseason rankings.
Listen to Real Pod Wednesdays in the audio player above or on your audio streaming platform of choice (iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn), and feel free to leave us a review or let us know what you want to hear us talk about next.
