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Just sayin': In case you wondered too.

Google AI: Ohio State has a massive, exclusive long-term apparel contract with Nike, meaning team members, coaches, and staff must wear and use Nike gear-including jerseys, cleats, and shoes--for all official team practices, games, and related athletic activities. Even if an individual player signs a separate Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) endorsement deal with a competing brand like Adidas (as star receiver Jeremiah Smith did), that outside agreement only applies to personal off-the-field marketing. During official Ohio State games, practices, and team functions, players are strictly required to wear Nike products.

Ohio State’s Passing Game Had a YAC Problem in 2025 – And Fixing It Could Define the Buckeyes’ Offense in 2026​

For the first time in the transfer portal era, Ohio State added a wide receiver from the transfer portal – two, to be exact. It also added a new wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator.

Part of that was due to the attrition that happens in today's college football landscape, but Brian Hartline taking his talents to South Florida also played a part. However, another reason is that Ohio State needs to have a more explosive passing attack, one that generates more yards after the catch.

In 2025, Ohio State had 3,755 receiving yards as a team. Only 1,595 of those yards came after the catch (5.1 YAC/reception), per Pro Football Focus. The Buckeyes were the 15th-worst Power Four team in that category. After averaging 5.2 YAC/REC during an undefeated regular season, OSU averaged only 4.7 YAC/REC in its two postseason losses (4.0 vs. Indiana and 5.3 vs. Miami).

It's the worst OSU has been in that category throughout an entire season since 2020, when it averaged 4.5 yards after catch per reception.

Only five Buckeyes had more than 100 yards after catch last season, led by Jeremiah Smith, whose 378 YAC were tied for the 50th-most in the country. While 10 Ohio State players averaged more than 5.0 YAC/REC, only two of those players had more than 100 yards after catch, and none were a wide receiver who had more than six receptions.

The Buckeyes had two of the best receivers in the country (a top-four pick in the 2025 NFL draft and arguably the best player in college football in both 2025 and 2026), yet Ohio State’s pass-catchers didn’t make many game-changing plays after the catch.

Top Five Buckeyes in Yards After Catch in 2025
For comparison's sake, Indiana and Miami – the only two teams to beat Ohio State last season and the national championship matchup – had 1,712 yards after catch (5.9 YAC/REC) and 2,384 yards after catch (6.7 YAC/REC), respectively. Malachi Toney led the country in the statistic, with 841 (7.7 YAC/REC).

"It's something that's definitely an emphasis point," Day said. "I think we've been solid at it, but I certainly think we can get better."

Smith agreed. After he had 491 yards after catch (6.5 YAC/REC) as a freshman in 2024, those numbers dropped to 378 and 4.3 in 2025. However, it was a problem for the entire group, not just for the star wide receiver.

"We really had no guys that had juice when they had the ball in their hands," Smith said in the spring. “I am always trying to find ways to get better. This offseason to really try to advance my IQ of the game, be better at yards after the catch. That really is the biggest emphasis in our wide receiver room this year, especially a goal for us.”

Given its importance for Ohio State’s passing attack to take another step and reach its full potential, the Buckeyes have been focused on improving in making plays after the catch since the beginning of the offseason. Hiring Cortez Hankton to replace Hartline was the first step in doing so. A college wide receivers coach since 2012, Hankton has a proven track record of developing receivers who gain yards after the catch.

YAC/REC of Teams with Cortez Hankton as WRs Coach Over the Last Five Years
"It's a part of my personality, just in terms of who I am and what I've coached over a number of years," Hankton said in March. "And it was something I felt like we could improve on. And so when I came in, Coach ironically said, 'Hey, this is an area where I could feel like we can improve.' And so I felt like it was right in my wheelhouse."

Ohio State's wide receivers have taken notice since Hankton came to Columbus in January.

"Just making guys miss. That's really it. Running through a soft shoulder," Smith said of how Hankton has coached him to gain more yards after catch. "Coach Hankton does a good job of showing me clips and stuff like that about how to run through a soft shoulder and making guys miss. I feel like that's something y'all gonna see from me a lot this year."
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johnson2443 said:

This is a shocking DL to have on one college team let alone a high school.

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No joke, that's not even fair. I'm not sure what you even do about that at the HS level. Run a screen 80% of the time?

Buckeyes are different

Geesh, Skenes has disintegrated before our eyes

Fungo Squiggly said:

Fucker is still 10 games ahead of me and I’m actually trying. That’s how bad I am at this.

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I’ll send you my 5 on IL for Ohtani.

Captain Buckeye said:

I think many forget this OL did pretty well until the last 2 games of the year.

I think Moore, Montgomery, Carson, Austin, Daniels.

That’s a very very good interior and if we recall there were most issues through the right guard spot the last two games not at tackle. Fastest way to a QB is through the A gap. If we have a strong interior we’ll be in a good spot.

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Agree that is the best line on paper. Daniels seems like if you read between the lines hasn't had the best offseason and the coaches are trying to motivate him.

Victory Vaka lost his Western Kentucky scholarship while grieving mother's death; now he's suing to transfer​

The former Western Kentucky defensive lineman is suing the NCAA for the right to use his final year of college eligibility at another school​

Former Western Kentucky defensive lineman Victory Vaka filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on Wednesday seeking a temporary restraining order that would allow him to transfer to Middle Tennessee or another school, his attorney Darren Heitner tells CBS Sports.

Vaka filed the lawsuit in a chancery court in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and is seeking an injunction allowing him to join another program after his scholarship was non-renewed in May. The lawsuit argues he'd suffer irreparable injury, loss or damage without temporary injunctive relief.

Vaka, a redshirt senior who transferred in from Texas Southern, flew home to California in early April to grieve his mom's death. Vaka told CBS Sports he always planned to return to Western Kentucky for the 2026 season. Nine days before his mom's funeral in May, he received a call from an assistant strength coach. Vaka said the coach provided him a summer workout plan and told Vaka he was expected back in June.

A few weeks later, on May 27, the Hilltoppers informed Vaka they were canceling his scholarship due to his failure to report with the rest of his team.

That designation of a "failure to report" prevented Vaka from entering the transfer portal under the NCAA's aid-and-reduction-or-cancellation exception.

Vaka was set to graduate in the fall. He had one remaining year of eligibility remaining. But with no ability to transfer, Vaka was left with no way to play his final season.

Vaka's agent, Jaykwon Jefferson, said multiple FBS schools would sign Vaka today if he were able to enter the portal. Western Kentucky filed a legislative relief waiver on Vaka's behalf. But the NCAA denied it and a subsequent appeal, leading to Vaka's lawsuit.

The 6-foot-3, 335-pound DT is a journeyman in college football terms. He's played for four schools and said he hoped Western Kentucky would be his last.

Looking back at the situation, Vaka said he could have communicated better. Other than Western Kentucky flying Vaka back to campus in mid-April and his call with the strength coach, the two sides had no communication between Vaka's mom's death and the staff asking him to report in late May.

Vaka said he told the staff at the time that he thought he could return in June, but offered to come back sooner to prevent his removal from the roster.

The unique situation ​

Western Kentucky did eventually help Vaka file a legislative relief waiver, but that process puts the Hilltoppers in a situation where they basically had to file a waiver against themselves, per CCHA Law partner Paia LaPalombara, because NCAA rules only allow schools to cancel scholarships under limited exceptions

"It's very unique," LaPalombra said. "The institution is filing a waiver essentially against itself. So, they're filing a waiver in support of a student athlete that is going against something that they ultimately said that they're not going to do -- (enter him into the portal)."

Vaka wasn't a high-profile transfer -- he played 171 snaps in 2025, and WKU signed him for $2,000 a month, per Jefferson -- and his text with the GM in May indicated the Hilltoppers were worried about Vaka maintaining his weight.
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Google AI: Defensive lineman Victory Vaka is a college football journeyman who has been associated with multiple programs throughout his collegiate career, with tracking documented on the Victory Vaka Profile on 247Sports.

College Football Career & School List

• • BYU Cougars: Committed in April 2021 and enrolled in January 2022 before later entering the transfer portal.
  • College of the Canyons: Transferred to the junior college program in August 2022, spending two seasons there.
  • Northern Arizona Lumberjacks: Played one season with the program.
  • Texas Southern Tigers: Played the 2025 season as a defensive lineman for Texas Southern.
  • Western Kentucky Hilltoppers: Transferred to WKU ahead of the 2026 season. However, his status became the center of a major national controversy and legal suit after WKU revoked his scholarship following a family bereavement.

Just sayin': This player was a Power 4 caliber recruit, had offers from top tier schools, and actually committed (and then decommitted) to both Texas A&M and Colorado before committing to BYU. The guy has a chronic case of the "transfers". With that being said; yeah, it does appear that he got the "shitty end of the stick" at WKU and should be given the opportunity to transfer to another school.

Peter Burns was in the Sandusky showers

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Ohio State’s defense has the talent; now it needs a leader​

With a defense full of new faces, Jermaine Mathews Jr. can’t just cover his side of the field. He has to hold the whole secondary together as a leader, while taking his own game to All-Big Ten, and maybe even first-round heights.

very championship defense has one. Not always the biggest star, not always the highest draft pick, just the player everyone else looks to when things start going sideways.

Ohio State had several over the last two seasons. Caleb Downs organized the secondary, Sonny Styles brought the physicality and emotion, and Davison Igbinosun never backed down from an opponent’s best receiver. The veterans set the standard, and the younger players followed.
Now almost all of them are gone.

The Buckeyes still have talent, plenty of it. Devin Sanchez might become one of the country’s best cornerbacks. Earl Little Jr. arrives after an All-ACC season. Jaylen McClain looks ready for an even bigger role. Terry Moore has played at an All-ACC level in the past. And the freshmen and sophomores fill nearly every position room with upside.

But upside isn’t experience. Experience, or at least players with experience at Ohio State, isn’t something the Buckeyes have much of anymore. That’s why this defense may ultimately ride or die with Jermaine Mathews Jr.

The one player who has seen almost everything​

Mathews has taken a different path than many recent Ohio State stars. He wasn’t a five-star recruit who walked into Columbus expecting to start immediately. Instead, he earned trust piece by piece.

As a freshman, injuries forced him into meaningful snaps before anyone expected. He responded by looking comfortable against some of college football’s best receivers. The following season, he became one of the first defensive backs off the bench on a national championship team, learning behind veterans while quietly building confidence.

By 2025, there was no more waiting. Mathews started every game, handled weekly WR1 assignments, and became exactly what every defensive coordinator wants at cornerback: dependable. Sometimes that’s the highest compliment a corner can receive.

When quarterbacks stop throwing your direction, highlight plays naturally disappear. Fans notice interceptions, coaches notice receivers being erased from the game plan. Mathews became that kind of player in certain games, but now he becomes something even bigger. The leader.

Matt Patricia’s defense may depend on him more than anyone realizes​

Matt Patricia’s scheme asks defensive backs to communicate constantly. Corners have to understand leverage, disguise coverages, exchange responsibilities after the snap, and make adjustments before the offense even reaches the line of scrimmage.

That becomes much harder when half the secondary is learning new roles. Mathews isn’t.
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11W Forums

305Buck 6 hours ago
After Adam Gorney called his shot yesterday on Gaige Weddle to Ohio State, Chad Simmons calls his shot today for Casey Barner to Ohio State.
Said Ohio State continues to set the pace here and noted that Barner has visited 3 times already and is very comfortable with Matt G, Walton and Matt P.

Five-Star Ohio State Wide Receiver Commit Jamier Brown Returns to Wayne High School After Offseason Transfer to Big Walnut​

Brown, the No. 4 wide receiver and No. 25 overall prospect in the 2027 class, spent the winter and spring at Big Walnut and ran track for the Golden Eagles, winning the Division II state title in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.42 seconds. Now, however, Brown is back at Wayne, where he became one of the state’s top high school football players over the last three years.

That said, it’s unclear whether Brown will be eligible to play for the Warriors this season. While Brown received a transfer exception from the OHSAA to compete in track and field for Big Walnut this spring, an OHSAA official told the Columbus Dispatch last month that he would have to reapply for another transfer exception to play football for Big Walnut after the first five games of the season. Now, Brown will have to go through the eligibility process again after transferring back to Wayne.

Brown’s return to Wayne will only be for five months, as he plans to enroll at Ohio State in January to begin his Buckeye career as a midyear enrollee.

pnuts34 said:

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Swing for the fences, this kid is going to be a star at the next level if he puts in the work. JL has to have all chips pushed into the middle on this one.

Finally got around to watching his film and some camp clips. Holy guacamole this kid is a stud. Best RB commit we've had that I've watched film on since...Dobbins maybe? Gotta hang on here (we should, he seems as solid as it gets), this kid is an electric bell cow...sounds like an emo alt rock band, but you get the picture.

Tomateaux Quinoa Gumbeaux said:

I thought it was the screams coming from the locker room showers

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don't forget the rhythmic slapping sounds.

Out here in Cali, In-N-Out Burger always has a very long line. My favorite is the protein burger (with lettuce leaves instead of bun). Very sloppy, but that's why they make napkins. The other outstanding stop is Chick-Filet, and the lines (both in store and drive-thru) are just a tad shorter than In & Out. Both make quality meals. But my go-to is BK's jr whopper (2 for $6.00).

Woof, my experience with Toyota is that if they don't have exactly what you want, they'll send out a request, and other dealerships will respond with what your specs are. Not sure whether they trade, or just pay for vehicle. But they will work with you to accommodate your requests, though might take a little time. In a fevered market, that won't apply, as too hard to keep cars in stock to sell, but in a quieter market, they'll work with you. PS, wifey has a 2015 Highlander Hybrid, and she has refused a new car several times. Just turned 75,000 miles, but she won't part with it. But you're spot on, dealerships are selling the premium version, as they make more money on the 'extras', and won't stock the 'poor boy' models if they can help it. Good luck. PSS, am not convinced that hybrids get all that better of gas mileage. And when your 'battery deck' needs replacing, will cost you upwards of $15-20,000 to replace it. You might want to get that number before you plunk down your cash.

We're starting to hit triple digits. Should be around 107+ today. Not as much humidity as Ohio, but still the heat is oppressive. Heck, even start sweating in my garage, sorting stuff, building boxes for move. Sold golf membership last week, so don't have to play in this heat. But somehow, on the golf course, doesn't seem so bad....

Wish could look forward into time and see what might happen to the Buckeye team. Injuries, personal pathos, whatever. Team actually looks balanced to me, so picking up another player to fill a 'need' can be problematical. As in, who's going to be needed. The frontcourt looks stacked (for once), and the backcourt looks to have some talent as well. Was surprised to see how much height is on the roster. Maybe a 6'7 slasher with enough meat on his bones to help on the boards? Dunno, that's why Diebs is being paid the big bucks.

Combat sports icon, 10-time WWE champ Brock Lesnar retires​

Brock Lesnar has announced his official retirement from professional wrestling -- "and for everything else, too."

The 49-year-old Lesnar, appearing on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday, confirmed that his appearance at WWE SummerSlam on Saturday would be the last of his career. He admitted he felt he was done earlier this year at WrestleMania, when he removed his boots and gloves in the ring, but he ultimately opted for one final Hell in a Cell match last weekend in Minneapolis.

"I'm here today to let the world know [that] I am retired," Lesnar said. "Saturday was a very emotional day for me. It was kind of weird. When Oba Femi slammed me at WrestleMania, I said, 'I can't do this anymore. I think I'm done.' But the business [called], and I still had some fuel in the tank.

"Saturday, for Brock Lesnar, that's it. That's it for me in the squared circle and everything else."

Lesnar's announcement brings an end to one of the most unique and successful careers in professional sports history.

A two-time All-American and a two-time Big Ten champion, Lesnar won an NCAA Division I national championship in wrestling for the University of Minnesota in 2000 before going on to sign a pro wrestling contract.

With his devastating "F-5" finishing move, Lesnar beat Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in 2002 -- just his second year on the roster -- to win the first of his 10 WWE world championship belts. Along the way, "The Beast Incarnate" emerged victorious in two Royal Rumbles (2003, 2022), won the King of the Ring tournament (2002) and won a Money in the Bank ladder match (2019). In 2014, Lesnar stunned the wrestling world by ending The Undertaker's 21-0 streak in WrestleMania matches.

In 2004, Lesnar sidelined his wrestling career to pursue a brief NFL stint with the Minnesota Vikings and appeared in several preseason games before he was released.

In 2007, Lesnar famously transitioned into mixed martial arts, and he won the UFC heavyweight championship in just his fourth bout against Randy Couture in 2008. He retired from MMA in 2015, but he returned for one final appearance against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in 2016. He was later suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for testing positive for banned substances prior to that bout at UFC 200, and he never pursued another MMA contest.

"I was just a farm kid from South Dakota with a big dream, a big heart and a big-ass chip on my shoulder," Lesnar said. "I'm just grateful to be 49 years old and have been able to do what I did in this lifetime. I thank God and everybody that supported me.

"I want to say to the little kids, I was a little farm kid with a bunch of lint in my pocket. I had big dreams and I just worked. I think a lot of people with social media platforms see athletes doing things and they leave out the hard work. If kids just stay focused on work and putting time in, good things will happen."