Ohio State Call-in Show 81 — Presented by FanDuel Hosts: Garrison Gaddy & Denzel Jones | OhioStateVOCFB Friday night call-in (7 p.m. ET). Season-opening week energy, Week 2 Texas talk, updated Ourlads depth chart walk-through, and player-by-player takes. 00:00–1:15 — Open Welcome to the Ohio State call-in show. Plugs for vocfb.com, vocfb.com/shop (hats, koozies, hoodies), likes/subscribes, and the call-in/chat link. Standard Friday format: Ohio State first, college football landscape second. 1:15–5:00 — Texas chaos and Week 2 confidence Garrison frames an “eventful week” around the Longhorns: Arch Manning noise, a disgruntled father threatening to “expose everything,” a starting returning linebacker dismissed for conduct detrimental to the team, and Steve Sarkisian saying Texas lost the CFP game because they were fatigued. Denzel’s reaction as an Ohio State fan: loves the chaos. Practice throws from Manning “look terrible.” Defense looks disjointed. Hopes the father actually exposes something. On the fatigue excuse: even if Texas scores on that goal-line play they’re only tying it, and Ohio State’s offense was still moving. “Could you imagine if Ryan Day said that? He’d get dragged through the mud.” Follow-up jab: were they fatigued in Week 1 last year too? Sarkisian take: average head coach. Fired a top-3 defense’s coordinator, didn’t hire an OC, comes from a tree where the HC calls plays. Home record under Sark (cited ~20-1) against weaker home slates. Spread predictions: Denzel: 12–13 points, leaning 12–13. Garrison: 14 (two scores). Ohio State still the FanDuel underdog unless Week 1 goes badly for Texas. Denzel: “I’ve never seen Ohio State lose there.” Plan if they cover big: jump a Texas Space later that night. Lou Holtz RIP aside and “Ryan cry over Lou Holtz” chat comment. Clip window: 1:21–4:55 (Texas mess + spread calls + “if Day said that”). 5:00–8:30 — Tangent: fake 49ers player Unrelated but football-adjacent viral story. Guy posed as a 49ers player, scammed ~26 women out of $1.3 million (loans after they ran out of cash). Practice videos: pulling a wheeled sled backward while holding a football. Some actual 49ers followed the content. Hosts: scamming is illegal and he should go to jail; the videos and the dollar amount are still hilarious. “Do better research.” 8:30–11:20 — Julian Sayin: “dog in him,” captain, command Brandon Inniss (via camp/scrimmage comments): there were times Sayin told the offense what needed to be said. Fourth-and-go in a Saturday scrimmage — Sayin hits the throw, receiver catches it, Sayin is screaming. “He got that dog in him.” Garrison: the earlier “hoorah” criticism was never about on-field play. Sayin now looks comfortable as the leader and captain (could barely put the honor into words). Denzel trusts Inniss as a straight shooter; hopes the relationship tightens after a couple of missed deep shots in camp. Expects more swag, more command of the offense. Both want designed/RPO keepers: five rushing yards a game would open the run game because safeties can’t crash. 40-time guesses: Denzel 4.89 at best, more like 5.1–5.2 “Brady slow” if he won’t pull it; chat (Ed) also 5.1. Arthur Smith later (19:03): Sayin “doesn’t feel like a young player… sees the game so well… so smart I have to pull him back and let everyone else catch up.” Third OC in Sayin’s time at Ohio State; staff giving him checks and full command at the line. Clip window: 8:50–11:10 (Inniss quote + “dog” + run-game plea). 11:20–14:50 — Legend Bey must play / Heisman chatter Chat (Ed): “Bay must play.” Garrison set the number at 2.5 touches per game. Jeremiah Smith has said Legend Bey will at least be at the Heisman ceremony. Usage debate: not a true every-down back at ~190–195. Need slot/RB hybrid (Curtis Samuel / Percy Harvin / Deebo / Malachi Toney package) — jet sweeps, slants, returns, occasional QB. Hosts want him at 200–205. Denzel: if he’s touching it at RB, WR, and returner (and even a gadget QB snap), Heisman talk becomes real. Elite athlete; screens/slants/crossers aren’t complicated. Side note on DGG (stiff, one-cut, already NFL-built physically, still learning RB technique). Tennessee comparison: don’t run him into the ground like Ohio State did with Zeke/JK. Clip window: 11:26–13:10 (Heisman + how to get him the ball). 14:50–19:00 — Bo Jackson respect and 2026 projection Montana in chat: most excited for the whole team, but if one player — Bo Jackson, “disrespected by many.” Hosts agree. Ohio State had to raise the NIL ante to keep him. Freshman-record context (JK Dobbins marks). Missed his high-school senior year; last year he still looked like a high-school body. Now bigger. Michigan shows fixated on ESPN top-100 and Bo vs. Jordan Marshall. Garrison: Marshall is very good; the national lean toward Bo still lives in Wolverine crawls. Projection (Denzel): 1,200–1,300 yards, more explosive, work on finishing the long runs he used to break but not score. “At least five” TDs (none from distance last year). Shoulder rather than the previous injury. Isaiah West’s offseason jump (15 lbs, still twitchy) will push him. Last year he didn’t feel threatened by James Peoples/CJ Donaldson; this year he has to show out. Complete back: receiving, blocking, top-end 10- and 20-yard runs. Frustration that goal-line TDs went to CJ Donaldson last year (“Coach Lock, you messed up his stats”). 19:00–21:00 — Scheme additions, Patricia defense Offense: Smith giving Sayin more. Defense (Kenyatta Jackson Jr. comment): Patricia installing “everything.” Returning pieces at each level let them add wrinkles that weren’t there last year. Denzel more excited about defense: fewer household names than last year’s first-round cluster, so more blitzes, twists, and chaos. Linebackers and DBs should be fun. Devin Sanchez “going to be crazy.” Caden Curry was underrated a year ago. 21:00–42:00 — Ourlads / “Our Lands” depth chart walk-through Garrison pulls the updated chart and they agree/disagree position by position. WR Chart: Chris Henry Jr., Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Inniss; backups Brock Boyd, Devin McCuin, Kyle Parker. Hosts: don’t think it starts that way. Devin McCuin starts; Henry works in. Ryan Day rarely hands a true freshman the keys in Week 1 (JJ exception historically). Kyle Parker their pick as top “backup” receiver if Legend isn’t in the slot mix. OL Ian Moore LT, Luke Montgomery LG, Carson Hinzman C, Austin Siereveld RG, Phillip Daniels RT. Both fired up. Interior of Montgomery / Hinzman / Siereveld called best in the country (Montgomery top-5/10 G, Hinzman top-5 C, Siereveld top-10 LT / top-5 RG). You don’t move Siereveld inside unless you believe Moore is as good or better at tackle. Daniels the athletic freak who needs to stay technically clean. Depth: Sam Greer film is “nasty” (want that edge without flags). Gabe VanSickle (Denzel’s West Michigan / Coopersville guy) didn’t look great in his first start vs. Miami last year; should be better. Padilla, Cook, etc. solid. TE Nate Roberts (true soph, starter; lots of fullback last year) over Hunter Welcing (Northwestern portal) and Mason Williams (Ohio transfer). Unknowns besides Roberts’ toughness. Hosts would rather have found a LB to play FB and keep Roberts at TE. Big-bodied room. Curious how Arthur Smith uses them — not expecting a TE-spam attack. QB Sayin locked. Nervous energy that Luke Fahey is “pushing” Tavien St. Clair. Hope it’s coach-speak / a kick in the pants. St. Clair has the tools (6-4, ~230–240, can run, elite deep-ball accuracy); intermediate “money ball” still the question. Fahey is a gamer who faced far better high-school competition. If St. Clair hits, “cooking with hot grease.” RB Bo Jackson, Isaiah West, Ja’Kobi Jackson — all built similarly (~220). Wear-down group; defenses will be tired of tackling them in the fourth quarter. Ja’Kobi not ready for a full load but earned spring-game love; give him some burns. Legend Bey the change-of-pace/explosive piece. DL Ends: Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Beau Atkinson / Bo Agbason grouping unsurprising. Interior: John Walker III and James Smith listed; no Eddrick Houston. Hosts want Houston over James Smith. Houston finally bought into DT, now 300, film popping. Walker the space-eater (UCF tape; down to the 300s). Behind them: Zion Grady, Qua Russaw, Will Smith Jr., true freshman Khary Wilder, Epi Sitanilei, 6-7 Jason Moore (redshirt junior who’s been passed; “maybe this is the year”). LB Christian Alliegro (Wisconsin) and Payton Pierce listed as starters. Denzel: Riley Pettijohn on the field by halftime of Texas — too good to keep off. Alliegro solid but not as complete. Tarvos Alford pushing. Garrett Stover one of the five fastest on the team and huge. Cincere Johnson: body is there, hasn’t clicked in reports yet. Eli Lee forcing the most fumbles in practice. “CTE boys” nickname (Drewski) — some listeners mad, hosts give comedians free range. Secondary Chart: Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Devin Sanchez outside; Jaylen McClain and Terry Moore; Earl Little Jr. at nickel. Dream / “if I were DC” lineups: Denzel lean: Sanchez and Dominick Kelly outside, McClain + Little at safety, Timmons at nickel (Timmons buzz is unusually loud for a freshman defender). Start-of-season practical: keep Mathews (came back for a final year; Day won’t bench him lightly), Sanchez opposite, McClain/Little safeties, Timmons or Mathews at nickel. Lots of interchangeable pieces (Leroy Roker III will play, Blaine Bradford, Cam Calhoun). Cam Calhoun comments showed “great self-reflection.” Garrison still has a prodigal-son caveat (left, spent it, came home to the robe). Comparison to an older Michigan-to-Ohio State transfer (Zach Boren’s brother era)
