Ohio State continues to identify talent in the 2027 recruiting cycle that the coaching staff believes could make for future Buckeyes. On Monday, the Buckeyes identified another blue-chip prospect when they presented four-star tight end Mason Oglesby (New Palestine, IN / New Palestine) with an official scholarship offer.

Interestingly, the offer comes just days after Oglesby announced his top six schools which included Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Purdue, North Carolina and USC. While it may be late in Oglesby’s recruitment for Ohio State to be just now entering, there is no denying the Ohio State offer comes with a certain level of prestige that Oglesby would be tough to ignore.

Ohio State has its work cut out in this one, if it is going to jump some of his other finalists, but Ryan Day and the Ohio State coaching staff have pulled off crazier things.

Oglesby is the No. 19 ATH in the 247Sports Composite and he is the No. 344 national recruit. He is also the No. 8 recruit out of Indiana.

brodybuck21 said:

2 things I was thinking about changing

minimum innings pitched from 18 to 27

expanding playoffs from 6 to 8 teams

thoughts?

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I'd say yes to both

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Congratulations and welcome back home boys:

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brodybuck21 said:

Little over 2 weeks until the draft. Please let me know if you cant make it and the floor is still open to any rule change requests

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2 things I was thinking about changing

minimum innings pitched from 18 to 27

expanding playoffs from 6 to 8 teams

thoughts?

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DZ83CK said:

Sad news is his mom Kara has passed. RIP

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Article here: https://apnews.com/article/kara-braxton-dies-liberty-shock-82f3f4a771c41c5ec93d8e1c302c14cb

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Top Performers​

Mitchell Melton, DE, Virginia​

45 tackles, 10 TFL, 5 sacks, 3 FF, 1 INT, 3 PBU

No Ohio State transfer had a better year in 2025 than Melton, who took full advantage of his one and only opportunity to be a starter at the collegiate level. After battling injuries and playing sparingly in five years at Ohio State, Melton emerged as one of the ACC’s top defensive ends at Virginia.

Pro Football Focus graded Melton as the 20th-best defensive end in the FBS (85.8). Also per PFF, Melton tied for the 15th-most quarterback pressures among FBS defensive ends in 2025. He earned ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks after leading Virginia to a pair of overtime wins with seven tackles and a forced fumble vs. Florida State and two sacks with another forced fumble, a pass breakup and five total tackles at Louisville.

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Melton, who played in the Hula Bowl in January, will look to parlay his big season with the Cavaliers into an NFL draft selection.

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AHHH, THAT’S INTERESTING. Jeremy Fowler, Jeff Legwold, Roman Modrowski and Katherine Terrell released a 2026 NFL draft confidential ahead of this week’s NFL combine. In it, the ESPN writers shared results of polls from NFL executives and scouts at the Senior Bowl, Shrine Bowl and Super Bowl regarding “three big questions about the class.”

One question stood out to me while reading: Who is the best prospect in the class, regardless of position? Arvell Reese received the most votes with five, followed by Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with three, Caleb Downs with one and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with one.

When it comes to who the best prospect is in the 2026 class regardless of position, that honor based on our polling goes to Reese. The Ohio State linebacker/edge rusher was a multitask player in the Buckeyes' defense, boasting athleticism, physicality and walk-in starter ability as a three-down player. He has enormous potential as an edge rusher to go with his vast array of off-ball abilities.

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I love Reese, but I still have a hard time viewing him as the top prospect in the draft. Maybe his performance at the NFL Combine will change my opinion (more on that in a moment), but his lack of elite production this season — particularly down the stretch, when he didn’t record a tackle for loss or a sack in the final five games — makes his status as the top prospect, and the comparisons to Micah Parsons, feel a bit overblown to me.

Then again, I am someone who repeatedly claims Caleb Downs is destined for a Hall of Fame career in the NFL.

Maybe that, too, is overblown…

… Nahhhhhh.

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NCAA Tournament Outlook​

When I first picked up my pen (opened my laptop) to write this weekly feature, my angle was that Ohio State needed a signature win and was running out of time to get one. But signature isn't the right word, really. A victory at Iowa is exactly what the Buckeyes need right now, but one can't call that a signature win. The Hawkeyes aren't even ranked.

So let's toss the semantics and my brain's overwhelming need to create an attention-grabbing story hook aside. Bluntly, what the Buckeyes need are Quad 1 wins. Those are determined by the NCAA's NET rankings. A top-30 team at home, a top-50 team at a neutral site and a top-75 team on the road are considered Quad 1 opponents. I don't explain that enough here for something that's not common knowledge.

Ohio State is 0-9 in Quad 1 games right now. Take your pick of bubble teams that the Buckeyes are competing against; they have Quad 1 victories. The last four teams in according to the Bracket Matrix – an aggregate of 112 expert bracket predictions – are Missouri, Santa Clara, TCU and New Mexico. Each of them has a Quad 1 victory, even Santa Clara, which plays in the WCC. Missouri has four.

Two Quad 1 opportunities are set at the Buckeyes' feet this week: at Iowa (28th in the NET) and a home tilt with No. 8 Purdue (sixth). Two vanquished opponents can help their case for the NCAA Tournament by moving up in the NET rankings: Wisconsin if it jumps from 32nd to 30th, and Northwestern if it jumps from 79th to 75th.

Ohio State is the second team out in the matrix, but the first team out is USC, which the Buckeyes beat head-to-head, so effectively, they are the first team out. ESPN's Joe Lunardi has OSU ahead of the Trojans as his first team out. Ohio State is the second team out behind VCU according to CBS Sports.

The Buckeyes have a higher NET ranking than each of the teams listed ahead of them on the bubble so far in this article. Those Quad 1 wins are the missing link. Scooping one up this week is necessary, unless a big run in the Big Ten Tournament is on the horizon. Speaking of:

Big Ten Outlook​

Ohio State's matchup at Iowa on Wednesday carries more than just NCAA Tournament implications: The winner of that game will take control of the No. 8 spot in the conference standings, the last spot that gets a double-bye through the first two rounds of the Big Ten Tournament.

Indiana trails the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes by one game for that coveted eighth spot, while UCLA is just one game ahead. A win over Iowa would give Ohio State a head-to-head victory against the Bruins and Hawkeyes, with OSU and the Hoosiers facing each other in their regular-season finale on March 7. Owning those tiebreakers could make the difference for a free entry to the third round.

A first-round bye is already secure for Ohio State, being five games ahead of that cut line with four games to play.

The top four teams in the conference get a triple-bye through to the quarterfinals. Michigan is 2.5 games clear of anyone in the conference, with Illinois, Nebraska, Purdue, Michigan State and Wisconsin all within 1.5 games of each other in the battle for seeds two through six. The Buckeyes are all but out of contention for a triple-bye, currently three games back of fourth place.

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Johnson has the speed to drop into coverage and the size and physicality to create havoc in the run gaps and backfield when called upon. Whether it's on the ball or off of it, the linebacker has the athleticism to make plays all over the field.

When it comes to chasing down an opposing ballcarrier, Johnson not only has the instincts and quickness to chase the player down, but the explosiveness and hard-hitting ability to create turnovers as well.

While he must improve his tactics as a pass-rusher, Johnson will be a do-it-all linebacker once that happens. His physicality, athleticism and proven playmaking ability should turn him into a lethal player and the next star linebacker for Ohio State.

Man arrested after engaging 'in sexual performance with vacuum cleaner' at resort: cops​

A man was arrested after he allegedly engaged "in a sexual performance with a vacuum cleaner" while at a resort.

According to a statement issued by the Osceola County Sheriff's Office , 51-year-old Kevin Dale Westerhold of Oviedo, Florida was taken into custody after an alleged incident involving a vacuum cleaner.

Per the statement, deputies responded to the Windsor Hills Resort in Kissimmee, Florida last Thursday after receiving reports of a man exposing himself in front of a residence.

Witnesses provided statements and a cell phone recording of a partially clothed male engaged in inappropriate conduct.

Documents obtained by WKMG state that witnesses provided recordings on a mobile device that allegedly shows the suspect "engaged in a sexual performance with a vacuum cleaner."
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