The 2023 college football offseason is officially underway, and the outlook for Ohio State’s roster next season is starting to become more clear.
The 2022 college football season officially ended Monday night with Georgia’s 65-7 shellacking of TCU in the national championship game, and we start this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays by sharing our reactions to Monday night’s blowout. We can’t help but think Ohio State would be celebrating a national title right now if a couple more plays had gone its way in the Peach Bowl, and the Bulldogs’ performance against the Horned Frogs certainly makes the Buckeyes’ performance against Georgia look more impressive – though we (or at least Dan) don’t disagree with Ohio State being fourth in the final rankings.
With the 2022 season now over, though, it’s time to start looking ahead to 2023, and that’s what we spend most of this week’s show doing. First, we discuss the Buckeyes’ transfer addition of former Syracuse safety Ja’Had Carter and explain why Ohio State’s track record of limiting transfer attrition remains impressive. We also discuss the impact of Cade Stover, Miyan Williams and Xavier Johnson all opting to return to Ohio State for another season and the NFL draft decisions the Buckeyes are still waiting on. (Note: This episode of Real Pod Wednesdays was recorded before Luke Wypler and Matt Jones announced their NFL draft decisions.)
Then, we do a rundown of how Ohio State’s 2023 roster currently stacks up at every position, taking a look at where the Buckeyes are loaded with depth and where they enter the offseason with significant question marks.
Finally, we talk about the week that was for Ohio State basketball, why Ohio State’s lack of big men isn’t entirely a bad thing and how Brice Sensabaugh is looking more and more likely by the week to be a first-round NBA draft pick next year.
The full rundown of topics discussed this week:
- 0:30: Picking TCU to cover was not our best prediction
- 1:42: It sure looks like Ohio State would have been the national champion if it beat Georgia
- 4:20: Ohio State’s defensive performance doesn’t look quite as awful after Georgia carved up TCU
- 8:17: Most 11W readers think Ohio State should be ranked second, but Dan agrees with the poll voters
- 10:12: Ohio State is behind Michigan and Penn State in some early 2023 rankings
- 13:26: Why Ja’Had Carter is a valuable addition for Ohio State’s secondary
- 15:50: It’s a win for Ohio State if it loses only five transfers during the first transfer window, and none of the outgoing transfers are shocking
- 20:25: Offensive tackle remains Ohio State’s biggest transfer need by far, but the Buckeyes might be out of options in this transfer window
- 22:00: Cade Stover and Miyan Williams are back, and don’t sleep on the impact of Xavier Johnson’s return
- 27:55: Kyle McCord vs. Devin Brown looks like a real competition, and Lincoln Kienholz has promise for the future
- 32:06: Ohio State has a lot of depth to manage at running back and wide receiver, but that’s a good problem to have
- 36:53: Stover’s return makes Ohio State’s tight end depth chart look a lot stronger
- 38:10: Ohio State has lots of bodies but few proven commodities on the offensive line
- 41:42: Defensive line features strong top-end talent but some depth questions
- 44:54: Buckeyes could return both starting linebackers, but could get a coverage boost from C.J. Hicks (or Sonny Styles)
- 47:26: Ohio State needs young cornerbacks to step up, but its talent at the position is promising
- 50:10: Plenty of candidates to fill vacated starting spots at safety
- 53:40: Zed Key’s absence exposes Ohio State’s lack of big man depth, but smaller roster could be more suited to win in March
- 57:42: Brice Sensabaugh is looking more and more like a one-and-done candidate with his consistent scoring
- 1:00:36: Ohio State women’s basketball is off to its best start ever and showing lots of resiliency
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