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LGHL Ohio State fans are excited to see what these two new starters can do this season

Ohio State fans are excited to see what these two new starters can do this season
Matt Tamanini
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


COLLEGE FOOTBALL: APR 13 Ohio State Spring Game

Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

You ask, we answer. Sometimes we ask, others answer. And then other times, we ask, we answer.

Throughout the year, we will be asking and answering questions about various
Ohio State teams, the players, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33, or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.



This week at LGHL is “Players to Watch Week”, so for our weekly fan survey, we asked Buckeye Nation which players they were most excited to watch this coming season. We broke it down into two categories, returning starters and guys who didn’t start (at least not for OSU) last year. And now, the results are in.


As always, if the guy you would have picked wasn’t included, please feel free to head down to the comments and write him in. Also, while you’re at it, since they are sponsoring this article, you should go to FanDuel Sportsbook and put some money on your selected player to win the Heisman, or maybe make a bet on the NBA or Stanley Cup Finals. It’s your money, do whatever makes your heart happy.


Question 1: Which Ohio State returning starter are you most excited to watch this season?



Yeah, this is a no-brainer, right? Like, I love Caleb Downs, but no one gives anywhere close to the entertainment value of Jeremiah Smith. Every time I think that we have seen the most incredible thing that he will ever do, he not only one-ups it, he 12-ups. The dude is a beast, he is an animal, he is an alien, and thank Woody, he is a Buckeye!


Question 2: Which Ohio State non-returning starter are you most excited to watch this season (other than Julian Sayin)?



This one was interesting to me. On a lot of levels, it makes sense because James Peoples is a running back and Max Klare is a tight end, so they will have the potential to have a flashier impact on the team by virtue of being offensive skill players. And don’t get me wrong, they are perfectly acceptable answers, I just kind of thought it would go a slightly (but probably not entirely) different direction.

I had kind of thought that someone like Kenyatta Jackson, Jr., Arvell Reese, or even C.J. Hicks would contend for the top spot here, since they have been with the program for a while and have long been players who generated excitement and anticipation. While Jackson and Reese are slotted in to be starters, Hicks has moved from linebacker to defensive end, which will hopefully allow him to display his superhuman athleticsm.



Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. This survey was brought to you by FanDuel.

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LGHL You’re Nuts: Did Ohio State men’s basketball do enough in the transfer portal?

You’re Nuts: Did Ohio State men’s basketball do enough in the transfer portal?
Connor Lemons
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


NCAA Basketball: Santa Clara at Gonzaga

James Snook-Imagn Images

The Buckeyes enter 2025 under the radar, but with a higher floor than last year.

Ohio State looks just about done in the transfer portal after adding four players who opted to leave their old programs and come to Columbus. Jake Diebler and his staff also added three freshmen — A’mare Bynum, Mathieu Grujicic, and Myles Herro.

After missing the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season, Ohio State had no choice but to make the necessary reinforcements that will take them back to the big dance next year. Did they do enough?

Last week, Connor and Justin debated how John Mobley Jr. can improve next season as a sophomore. 53% of the readers sided with Connor, who said Mobley could be a little more consistent next season on a game-to-game basis. 44% went with Justin, who said Mobley could improve his two-point shooting percentage. The final 3% said that neither of those things are an issue for Mobley.

After 207 weeks:

Connor- 94
Justin- 87
Other- 20

(There have been six ties)


With half of the roster back from last year and the other half made up of new faces, we can assess the talent on the team, fit the pieces together, and try to figure out how good the 2025-2026 Ohio State Buckeyes might be.

The question of “did they do enough” is subjective, and depends on your expectations as a fan. If you expect Ohio State to make the Final Four, you probably have higher expectations for the offseason than someone who just wants to see the Buckeyes make the NCAA Tournament first.

If you think the team needs to be much, much better from last season, you probably expected the coaching staff to chase much better players than someone who thought the team was pretty close to making the NCAA Tournament last year.

So “did they do enough” is up to interpretation of what you think Ohio State needs to accomplish this season. But with that said..... did they do enough?

This week’s question: Did Ohio State men’s basketball do enough in the transfer portal?


Connor: No

NCAA Basketball: Kansas at Baylor
Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Long story short, Ohio State was not an NCAA Tournament team last year, and the additions they’ve made so far this offseason are not enough to convince me that the program will take a substantial step forward this season. There’s a non-zero chance one of Ohio State’s incoming transfers doesn’t even play, another one played in four games last season, another at a small mid-major program and the final is 7-foot tall but averaged fewer than five rebounds per game.

Last season Ohio State’s biggest weakness was rebounding and post offense. Between Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart, the Buckeyes got 11.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game from their primary centers. Both of those guys are gone now, and Christoph Tilly — a German-born center who last played for Santa Clara — has entered the fold.

While Tilly has been a pretty consistent shooter in three college seasons — he shot between 53.5% and 55.4% each year — he’s never been a great rebounder for his size. Despite being seven feet tall and weighing 240 pounds, Tilly only had three games last season with double-digit rebounds, and averaged 4.9 per game.

As a team, Ohio State finished 13th in the Big Ten with 33.7 rebounds pre game last season. With Stewart and Bradshaw gone and Tilly taking their place in the starting lineup, I’m not fully convinced that the Buckeyes got better in that area. Josh Ojianwuna is massive and also a very good rebounder, but his return from knee surgery is ongoing, and it’s possible that he doesn’t even suit up for Ohio State this season.

To sum up a long answer: no.

Ohio State could not afford to take chances on players like Gabe Cupps and Joshua Onjianwuna — but they did! If Tilly isn’t a great rebounder and Ojianwuna is not fully healed, then who steps in at center? Ivan Njegovan?

This should probably be a better team, but I’m not sure how much better.


Justin: Yes


I think the Buckeyes did enough in the transfer portal this offseason because you have to take everything into account.

First of all, they returned the three players that had to return. Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr. and Devin Royal are the big three that are returning to Columbus for the 2025-26 season. That is over 40 points per game in production that they can plug back into the lineup.

Now, when it comes to the actual portal, they added a starting-level center, a starting-level power forward, and depth at the guard position. The one concern is the starting three spot and adding another wing, but there is a chance that they did add that.

The Buckeyes missed on Darrion Williams from Texas Tech, but added international prospect Mathieu Grujicic, an 18-year-old freshman who can play multiple positions. The obvious concern is his adaptation to the collegiate game, but he played at the highest level of Euro ball and has a versatile enough game to adapt easily, as long as he gets enough offseason time to get comfortable with the team, the system, and college life.

If Grujicic can play more than they expect and become a legitimate fixture in the lineup, he can play the role of backup wing to Devin Royal and sure up the depth for the Buckeyes, and maybe even start at times when they want to play smaller.



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