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USA Today
8 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN names Ohio State football's x-factor in 2025
Every college football season, there are some things a team can feel pretty good about as known commodities. For Ohio State, it's almost a lock that receiver Jeremiah Smith is going to have a huge year, and you can also bank on safety Caleb Downs being a difference maker on defense. Aside from that, there are a lot of new starters and things that we just don't know. For instance, how will the defense retool? Can the new quarterback be productive enough to give the Buckeyes a chance at some pretty big things in 2025? What about the running game that lost two fantastic options from last year? All of those and more need to be answered this fall and will go a long way towards what type of year Ohio State has. But who, of anyone, might be the X-factor for the Buckeyes and make the ultimate difference between a good year and a great one? It's a good question, and trying to figure it out is just a best-guess type of scenario, but ESPN was up for the task in trying to identify who that is when it identified an X-factor for every one of its top 25 teams heading into this coming season. For Ohio State, that X-factor is Purdue transfer tight end Max Klare, who should grab the starting tight end spot after having a very, very productive 2024 season for the Boilermakers. "The Buckeyes landed the top tight end in the transfer portal in Klare, who arrived in Columbus from Purdue, wrote ESPN's Jake Trotter. "Klare caught 51 passes for 685 years and four touchdowns during his sophomore season, easily leading the Boilermakers in those three categories. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Klare figures to give the Buckeyes a dynamic target over the middle of the field, nicely complementing receiver Carnell Tate and All-American wideout Jeremiah Smith. Klare's presence should also give Ohio State's new starting quarterback -- whether it's Julian Sayin or Lincoln Kienholz -- a playmaking security blanket early in the season. With Smith set to command attention on the outside, Klare should find plenty of favorable matchups operating inside." It's a good point by Trotter. With arguably the best receiving group in college football, and perhaps the best weapon in the game with Jeremiah Smith, Klare could be left open a lot on check-downs and across the middle. And with a new quarterback, he could be like a warm glass of milk as a safety valve when needed. It could result in a huge year for Klare. Of course, there are other guys or things that could be an X-factor, especially on defense or in the running game, but I like ESPN's thoughts on Klare being a difference maker, even more than many might think in 2025. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
USA Today
9 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Ohio State football will be near bottom of returning production in 2025
Ohio State lost a lot of players to the NFL at the end of last season, 14 total drafted to be exact, just one shy of an NFL draft record. But as they say, programs like the Buckeyes don't rebuild, they reload, and that should be pretty close to correct for OSU in 2025. In fact, according to ESPN's SP+, Ohio State is rated as the No. 1 team heading into the fall. However, if you look at what the Buckeyes lost, it might not be as easy as some believe. If Ohio State is going to be a Big Ten and College Football Playoff contender, it'll have to overcome being near the bottom of the league and pretty far down the national scale in returning production. ESPN recently dropped its Big Ten preview, and used metrics to rank Big Ten teams in their returning production both in the conference and nationally, and Ohio State is quite far down the list, further down than I can remember in a long time, and it's at key positions. Ohio State will be ushering in a new quarterback, a brand new backfield, and an overhauled defensive line, just to name a few areas of concern. Again, the thought is that the talent and at least some experience are still there, but this team is far from the experienced one we saw last season. So, where exactly is Ohio State ranked in returning production? In the Big Ten, the Buckeyes land at No. 14 with 48% returning production according to ESPN. Nationally, the Buckeyes are No. 92, much closer to the bottom of the total number of FBS teams, at 136. Illinois has the most returning production in the league, followed by Rutgers and Wisconsin. Here's a look at each Big Ten team and where they rank in returning production, both in the Big Ten and nationally. It's always interesting to see how experienced teams that aren't generally near the top of the Big Ten do during the season, but if you simply take that into account, you would think that Illinois or Rutgers could surprise some folks this year. We'll see if that happens. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
USA Today
15 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Notre Dame sees another Indiana wide receiver Jerquaden Guilford commit to Ohio State
Recruitment still open 100% but it's some programs showing big time love 👀This top 10 and decision might have to come earlier than expected 😳 Unfortunately for Notre Dame, one of its recent teams that have given them problems, Ohio State, continues to do a great job recruiting to state of Indiana. The Buckeyes on Friday won out the recruitment for Jerquaden Guilford, the states top ranked wide receiver in the 2026 recruiting cycle according to the 247Sports Composite . A Fort Wayne native who never received an offer from the Irish, but had scholarships from Georgia, Indiana, Michigan and Ole Miss. You have to wonder why Notre Dame opted not to offer Guilford, as he's clearly good enough to play for them. Maybe it was a fit inside the program, as the Irish have passed on numerous in-state prospects who could have been difference makers. Over the last few cycles, the Buckeyes have won out with Mylan Graham, Ian Moore, Joshua Mickens, and Caden Curry, all top Indiana prospects. In the Irish's 2026 class, there are already five receiver commits in Kaydon Finley, Bubba Frazier, Devin Fitzgerald Brayden Robinson and Dylan Faison. This could very well have been a cause where the Irish liked who they already had in the fold, which would make perfect sense. There is an argument to be made that Guilford's size and skill set was similar enough to Fitzgerald's, which is why they passed. What should worry Notre Dame fans is the fact that 2027 in-state 5-star receiver Monshun Sales could be leaning away from the Irish as well. You can't let a player of his caliber leave the state, even if he is a national recruit. Notre Dame has offered, but Sales social media has been very pro-Ohio State. Hopefully the Irish can win out on this battle, as they continue to lose top in-state prospects to the Buckeyes. BREAKING: Four-Star WR Jerquaden Guilford has Committed to Ohio State, he tells me for @rivalsThe 6'2 195 WR from Fort Wayne, IN chose the Buckeyes over Ole Miss, Michigan, & Indiana'Fast life, fast livin' Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions. Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Colin Cowherd names the top college football programs of today. Where is Ohio State?
College football has seen more changes than the price of gas these days, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. In order for the best programs to keep up, they have to embrace Name, Image and Likeness, the transfer portal, direct revenue sharing, and anything else that comes their way. Oh, and you still better have a good coaching staff and be able to recruit among the best. Ohio State showed that it can compete in that environment last season by taking home the College Football Playoff national championship in the inaugural 12-team playoff, but can it continue to do so in the future? There's a further expanded playoff most likely on the way, along with many other changes that are still to come, so it'll be important for the Buckeyes to get out ahead of everything to continue to be one of the very best in the country. Colin Cowherd recently discussed this very topic and tried to come up with the college football programs positioned the best moving forward. He used the same metrics and things that teams have to embrace and be creative with in the ever-changing environment we're in. With all of that in mind, Cowherd likes where Ohio State is, so much so that when rattling off the five best college football programs right now, he chose the Buckeyes as No. 1 with a close second-place going to Georgia. Beyond that, he likes Texas, Oregon, and Notre Dame to round out his top five, then threw in Alabama at No. 6, followed by Penn State and Michigan. Have a listen and watch yourself to hear Cowherd heap praise on Ohio State as the best program in college football today and in the near future. Even though we've seen Ohio State struggle landing some of its extreme priorities this year in the 2026 class, it is still recruiting at a high level with everything in place to continue to be one of the best college football programs nationally, just like it has been for years. And yes, for once, Cowherd agrees. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
WATCH: Recruiting video of latest Ohio State 4-star receiver commit Jerquaden Guilford
In case you missed the news of the day, Ohio State landed one of its coveted wide receiver targets on Friday when 4-star 2026 wide receiver Jerquaden Guilford announced his verbal commitment to the Buckeyes over a hard-charging Ole Miss program. He makes the fifth receiver recruit for Brian Hartline and OSU, and one that seemed to be teetering on heading away from OSU after his announcement was postponed earlier in the month. Guilford was also a former Penn State commit back in December before opening things back up. We like to share a little film of each Ohio State football recruit by mining for it by checking out our friends at Hudl, and we think you'll like what you see with Guilford when you check out some of the highlights from his junior season. He looks smooth, seems to get separation easily at all three levels of the defense, and clearly has top-end breakaway speed and length that could result in significant development once he gets into a program that can utilize his gifts appropriately. Ohio State would seem to fit that bill. Guilford makes the 21st commitment in the 2026 class for the Buckeyes as they look to put the final touches on another top ten, potentially top five recruiting cycle. Related News: Ohio State football 2026 recruiting commitment tracker Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
