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Should semipro/college players be paid, or allowed to sell their stuff? (NIL and Revenue Sharing)

:lol:

"The government is going to help"

One of two things is happening: 1) the CFB powers that be have finally paid enough money into the lobbyists to buy some legislation OR 2) said lobbyists are just taking the money and the politicians are making it look just credible enough to keep the con going.


I'm going to go with the second option.
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Cincinnati Reds (2025 is our year! Haha thats actually funny)

I find this very interesting.

"47-46, fourth place, NL Central (3½ games behind third wild card)

Weakness: Bullpen and big bat


Best match: Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians

With a sneaky-deep farm system, the Reds could put together the sort of package to convince Cleveland to move Kwan, a two-time All-Star who in his four seasons ranks fifth in wins above replacement among all outfielders, behind only Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Kyle Tucker and Julio Rodríguez. Kwan's bat-to-ball and defensive skills in left field are elite, and with free agency not beckoning until after the 2027 season, sandwiching him between TJ Friedl and Elly De La Cruz strengthens a Reds lineup that could use an offensive infusion.

If the cost to acquire Kwan is too high, other good options exist, chief among them Marcell Ozuna, the Atlanta slugger whose swing was built for Great American Ball Park. With a rotation that includes All-Star Andrew Abbott, Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Chase Burns, the Reds are a terrifying postseason opponent. Another bat would buttress the rotation and give Cincinnati an opportunity to turn potential into its first postseason series win in three decades."

One of those corner issues possibly solved?

He'd be a big help but what's the cost?
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P Nick McLarty (National Champion)

Ohio State Punter Nick McLarty More Physically, Emotionally Prepared in Second Season After Arrival From Australia​

By Andy Anders on July 10, 2025 at 11:51 am @andyanders55
Nick McLarty

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Nick McLarty’s first year in America didn’t go as planned.
When the 6-foot-7 Australian with a leg more powerful than a crocodile’s bite came to Ohio State, the expectation was that he’d start as a freshman. Ryan Day named him the team’s top punter before the Buckeyes’ Week 1 game against Akron.
But consistency issues and the culture shock of the college game kept McLarty on the bench for all but two of Ohio State’s 49 punts in 2024. Walk-on and fellow Aussie Joe McGuire won the starting punter job and booted the other 47.
McLarty could have been discouraged, embittered. Instead, he chose introspection and a growth mindset.
“There was expectations with coming in and playing and starting, and I know stuff got said and it was awesome for me and it was awesome back home, but the harsh reality was I wasn't ready,” McLarty said in April. “I think now it's a stepping stone to see how far I can push myself and I think this year is a great opportunity to see how far I can take it.”

McGuire returns alongside McLarty in 2025, but with the lessons he learned from last year and an offseason he’s attacked with fervor, McLarty hopes to challenge his close friend to be Ohio State’s punter.
“I don't think I was emotionally ready, I don't think I was physically ready,” McLarty said. “I think being able to see the back end of the season and what it took from the team and especially someone like Joe, he had to step up. And he was ready for it obviously, but he had to take on the responsibility of what Jesse (Mirco) left and all that sort of stuff. So yeah, it's a great opportunity with what we have this year, healthy competition, which is always nice as well.”
When McLarty arrived in Columbus last summer, he brought with him tape of punts with hangtimes and distances reminiscent of Buckeye greats like Tom Tupa, Andy Groom or Cam Johnston, the latter another Australian.

McLarty flexed that muscle occasionally in preseason camp during practices open to the media, the best of his punts easily clearing the best of his counterparts. But there were also plenty of mishits mixed in, exaggerated by the power in his right cleat. The operational speed required to ensure that his punts weren’t blocked was a major adjustment from Australian rules to American football.
“Physically, the big issue for me was speed, operation time,” McLarty said. “Joe did a phenomenal job at the expectations of getting that lower. And a big thing for us is not getting blocked, we haven't been blocked in four years, five years. So for me to come in and change what I was doing and speed it up, there was a real sort of personal conflict where I wanted to be the best punter I could possibly be, but that was conflicting with the speeds they wanted.”
Nearly 10,000 miles separated McLarty from his home in Melbourne. He was adjusting to a new country, new customs, finding new friends, all as a first-time college student, while grappling with the on-field pressures he faced as an Ohio State football player.
“It was definitely an emotional toll,” McLarty said. “Without your family, it's definitely hard. Time zone differences don't also help the situation. At that time, it was 16 hours, so I would wake up and they would be going to sleep or vice versa. So it was definitely emotional, and the actual stress of trying to keep up with what they wanted also was a mental toll. Fortunately, I had a lovely lady called Nicole Kraft, who was one of my teachers, and she got me in contact with some pretty cool people. So I worked with some sports psychologists and all that sort of stuff to work on that mental side, which was far more important for me than the actual physical side.”
“I don't think I was emotionally ready, I don't think I was physically ready.”– Nick McLarty
McLarty’s two punts last season averaged just 32.5 yards, although he felt gamedays were the least of the pressures he faced. He played before large stadiums in Australian rules football and had his mental mettle tested by his coaches in practice.
“It actually didn't feel that bad because the pressure that they put you under in practice is so much more intense than what it is on the field (in a game) and they're trying to put you in the worst possible situation in practice,” McLarty said. “So when it comes time to perform in-game, you do your job. That's the blessing about being at a school like Ohio State, everyone around you, scout team, those that are on your team and against you are the best players in the country.”
McGuire, for his part, averaged 42.1 yards per punt in 2024 and bashed a 51-yard boot in the College Football Playoff national championship game against Notre Dame. He enters his junior season, presenting a significant hurdle to playing time for McLarty over the next two years.

It left McLarty with a choice this offseason: Either stick it out with the Buckeyes or transfer somewhere else with a better guarantee of playing time. He chose to bite down on his mouth guard and stay the course.
“I just sort of had to change my mindset and think about truly what I wanted to be,” McLarty said. “If I wanted to be at a school like Ohio State, which had high expectations, or go somewhere else. But with that, I just had to commit to it. So I just had to work with Coach (Rob) Keys. John Ferlmann, our long snapper, I live with him now, but we work every night to make sure that what we're doing is game-like and making sure that the speeds that we go out in practice are faster than what it is in-game.”

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Game Thread For the Natty vs ND, “One More, Then Forever”, Jan. 20th, 34-23 Buckeyes!

Sidenote: I would pay money for someone to cut a single video together of the highlights from all the games of OSU kicking NDs ass (90s-present).
For your viewing pleasure:


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2025 January through Fall Camp BMW Thread

didnt know where else to put this so im....

ARE THE BIG TWO BACK? Ohio State is the defending national champion. Michigan won* it the year before. Oregon may have claimed the Big Ten crown last season, and Penn State might look the part this fall, but let’s be honest – this conference still belongs to the Buckeyes and, I hate to write it, the Wolverines.

In a way, "The Big Two" are back.

That’s the premise of a recent feature from The Athletic’s Joe Rexrode, who traced how Ohio State and Michigan reclaimed center stage in the sport – and how Michigan State, once a legitimate threat to both, slowly faded into the middle.


It wasn’t always that way. In the 1950s and 1960s, Michigan State was a prominent member of the Big Ten’s elite, winning national championships, churning out future head coaches and consistently beating Michigan. The Spartans went 14-4-2 against the Wolverines during those decades. They even outdrew Michigan in attendance during the 1960s, averaging more fans per game despite the Wolverines’ 100,001-seat stadium.

But the tide turned when Bo Schembechler, a former member of Woody Hayes’ staff, took over Michigan in 1969, kicking off The Ten Year War and turning The Game into the defining rivalry of college football.


Michigan State had dominated the Wolverines in the two decades prior, but Schembechler flipped the script. During his tenure in Ann Arbor, Michigan went 17-4 against the Spartans, erasing any illusions of parity between the programs.


Then came the infamous 1973 Rose Bowl vote. After Michigan and Ohio State tied 10-10 in Ann Arbor, the Big Ten’s athletic directors had to choose which team would represent the conference in Pasadena. Michigan State AD Burt Smith – a Michigan alum – voted for Ohio State, swinging the decision and handing Bo one of the biggest grudges of his career.


While Schembechler built Michigan State’s coffin, Hayes put in the nail. After a controversial loss to the Spartans in 1974, Woody submitted information to the NCAA that led to crushing sanctions: no postseason games and no TV appearances for three years – one of the harshest punishments the NCAA has ever imposed.


Hayes’ power move came amid decades when Ohio State wasn’t just dominant on the field – it was dominating everywhere. In the 1960s, the Buckeyes led the country in attendance at over 82,000 per game, ahead of both in-state rivals. Bigger crowds. More wins. More national titles. The machine was humming in Columbus, and apart from a handful of miserable one-off seasons (see: 1988, 1999, 2011), the humming has never stopped.

The Big Ten might have grown to 18 schools and stretched across four time zones, but at its core, the story hasn’t changed. It’s still about Ohio State and Michigan and Michigan State’s role as the once-dangerous, now-faded third wheel.

The Big Two are back – and the Buckeyes never left.
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RB Isaiah West (Official Thread)

Better Know a Buckeye: Isaiah West’s Three-Down Versatility Gives Him Potential to Be Three-Star Steal for Ohio State’s Running Back Room​

By Josh Poloha on July 10, 2025 at 10:10 am @jorshp
Isaiah West

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Better Know A Buckeye is our look at every member of Ohio State’s 2025 recruiting class and how they became Buckeyes as they prepare to begin their OSU careers this fall.
The St. Joseph’s Prep-to-Ohio State pipeline that started with Kyle McCord and Marvin Harrison Jr. making the trek from Philadelphia to Columbus continued in the 2025 class with Isaiah West and Maxwell Roy. Today, we take a look at one of those two Buckeyes and why West could be a future player to watch in Ohio State’s running back room despite his three-star recruiting rating.

Isaiah West​

  • Size: 5-10/213
  • Position: RB
  • School: St. Joe's Prep (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
  • 247Sports Composite: ★★★
  • Composite Rank: #60
  • Overall Rank: #733

How He Became A Buckeye​

When West visited Ohio State in May 2024, he had not yet received an OSU offer. West had been committed to Kentucky since March, but the trip to Columbus was an important one for him, as he had to prove to new running backs coach Carlos Locklyn that he deserved that offer. From that moment forward, West became a priority target for Locklyn and company.
Two days after returning home from the visit, the running back decommitted from the Wildcats, which made all signs point to West eventually being part of Ohio State's 2025 class.
Following an official visit back to Ohio State in mid-June, West committed to the Buckeyes. The trip to OSU was the only official visit West made following his first visit to Ohio State, ensuring his commitment and love for the Buckeyes and Locklyn.
He became the second running back in the Buckeyes' 2025 class, joining Bo Jackson, with Anthony “Turbo” Rogers later joining them in the class.

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2025 tOSU Offense Discussion

Haven’t looked through this thread to see how much this may have been said but, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a noticeable drop off in play calling from Chip to Brian. Brian can recruit like nobody and can develop very well but playing chess with an offense is a different skill set. Every year when we see weaknesses in the season I look back at my scarlet colored glasses and say to myself that I should have seen those weaknesses more clearly in the offseason.

For me, this year the biggest concerns are OC and the D Line. I think we will noticeably miss the 2 NFL running backs we had too but I think we can manage. Again, it all comes down to creativity in the play calling. That’s such a huge thing.
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