Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison runs for a touchdown against Michigan State during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
This will be my Buckeye report for the week (sorry bout missing last week!) but I wanted to open with something else even more important to me. That is the message of Christmas. I wish you all a Merry Christmas! I and Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We remember Him and His message of loving and forgiving all of God’s children! Merry Christmas and may God and His love be with you all always!
The Ohio State Buckeye Report, December 25th, 2023
Men of the Scarlet and Gray
The news across the heart and soul of Buckeye sports has been big the past two weeks. Football news has been the headline grabber as usual, even without a game being played. The transfer portal has been at its most wild for the Buckeyes followed by plenty of big recruiting news that makes Ohio State fans wish it were August 2024 already!
Devin Brown, the Buckeyes, and the Cotton Bowl
The Buckeyes are gearing up for the Cotton Bowl and the quarterback expected to start the game is making sure his teammates have a Merry Christmas today. Devin Brown gifted the entire football team with JBL Bluetooth speakers. Brown said a couple of weeks ago that it was time to burn the boats and he wants his teammates happy when he debuts against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl.
And since Christmas is a season of hope, here’s a long shot but great one for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Portal Proceedings
Kyle McCord
While it first looked like Kyle McCord was going to Nebraska, the news of Dylan Raiola going to the school of his family had McCord head to upstate New York. With stories swirling about McCord wanting his starting job guaranteed for 2024 and more NIL money, it’s clear that the Ohio State program and he were on different paths. With the split now finalized I wish for only the best for McCord at Syracuse. Football fans (myself included) need to make sure we give these young men more understanding and less harshness as they navigate a complex industry that they put their bodies on the line for and try to make as much as they can from it too.
Chip Trayanum
Trayanum was a little bit more of a surprising transfer. He’s heading to Kentucky and I think the main lure for him was that he could be promised to be RB1 for the Wildcats. He was sharing carries at Ohio State and he won’t have to do that in Kentucky. Buckeye Nation wishes only the best for a hard-working team player and Ohio native.
Julian Fleming
Wide Receiver Julian Fleming is projected to head to Big Ten foe Penn State. A return to his home state would mean the Buckeyes would go up against a teammate next Fall in State College on November 2nd.
Many Ohio State transfers aren’t going far from Ohio State. Offensive lineman Victor Cutler is headed to Louisville, Ryan Turner is going to Boston College, Kye Stokes and Evan Pryor are taking a short drive don I-71 to Cincinnati. Jakob James is headed to Toledo and Reid Carrico is going to West Virginia. Defensive lineman Omari Abor is going a little further away to SMU while Jyaire Brown, Joe Royer, Will Hartson, Cam Martinez, and Parker Lewis are all undecided.
The Class of 2024
The Buckeyes have the 5th-ranked recruiting class heading into 2024 behind Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and Miami. Ohio State was after quality over quantity. They led college football with five 5-star recruits in their class. The Bucks recruits average second-best in the country.
The class is led by wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Myles Graham, both five-star recruits. Followed by defensive back Aaron Scott, defensive end Edderick Houston, and quarterback Air Noland, also all five-star recruits. All are expected to contribute early for the Buckeyes in 2024.
Other well-known recruits in the class are Garrett Stover, cousin of current star tight end Cade Stover and the brothers Devontae and Deontae Armstrong who look to bolster the Buckeye offensive line.
Basket Bucks
Men
After an awful loss to Penn State the Buckeyes rebounded by beating UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic and then beating New Orleans at home to get to 10-2 before they take on West Virginia in Cleveland on Saturday to close out 2023.
Women
The women defeated Grand Valley State and then lost a heartbreaker to #2 UCLA before bouncing back with a victory over Belmont. They are 10-2 and close out the year in Ann Arbor against that team up north on Saturday.
Hockey Bucks
Men
The Men’s Hockey Bucks are off until they hose Mercyhurst on Saturday, December 30th. The struggling Buckeyes are 5-8-4 on the season and currently last in the Big Ten.
Women
The Women’s Hockey Bucks are off until they visit Minnesota on January 12th and 13th. They are 16-2-0 and still the number-one team in the nation.
