Chat Wrap: Bolden's big decision; Miami's house of cards; Scott's troll job

Bucknuts.com’s Steve Helwagen hosted his weekly Chat on Tuesday morning on The Front Row message board. Check out the archive below.

Programming Note: Steve will participate in Ohio State Buckeyes Live at 11 a.m. Friday. Check out The Front Row after 11 a.m. Friday for access details.

ButlerBuck: Perhaps the worst Power 5 football team switches conferences and throws the entire college football world for a loop.

If the Big 12 is getting nearly $32 million per year, could Washington and/or Oregon be willing to take $35 million to be in the Big 10? If they join for the 5-6 years of the next agreement, they could always switch back out west when the time is up if the rest of the Big 10 doesn't give them a full share the next time around on the negotiations.

Helwagen: Interesting question. There is a thought that USC and UCLA need some partners out West. But the money has to make sense. Every school you add takes money away from Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and the schools putting on the show. Is that really necessary? There needs to be a compelling reason.

ButlerBuck: What exactly makes a conference a 'power 5' conference? If the Pac 12 gets stripped, how can they say that a conference with Oregon State, Washington State, maybe Arizona State gets an automatic bid to the next round of the CFP?

I hope the people that negotiated that deal had the foresight to include language that would remove a shrinking conference and maybe replace them with a rising one.

Helwagen: I don't think there are any guarantees. The four highest ranked conference champions get the four highest seeds. The six highest ranked conference champions are guaranteed spots then six at-large spots fill out the 12-team field. If a diluted Pac-12 produces a 9-4 league champion, they may not get in if there are six conference champions ranked higher.

It's all going to work out.

Jimmy Smits: Hi Steve. How are you feeling about Stewart, Houston, (maybe even Lightfoot) recruitments? I’m having PTSD induced flashbacks from our pursuit of Damon Wilson/Keon Keeley/Mateo Uiagalelei from last year.

Helwagen: They are probably toss-ups, to be honest. Eddrick Houston announces Aug. 23, there are 2 Crystal Balls for Ohio State. Others involved are Clemson, Georgia, Alabama and USC, what a list.

Dylan Stewart doesn't have a date yet, lot of people picking South Carolina for him, so we'll see. (As we write this, Stewart has committed to South Carolina.)

Hey they'd be great to have, but if not it's all going to be OK.

Sergeant_buckeye: Steve, with all the chat of other schools finding ways to pay for kids to take unofficials and getting them on campus a handful of times and the rumors of other media outlets putting out misinformation regarding recruiting, do you think Ohio states strategy of remaining the program of high integrity is the right approach? Do you feel like Ohio state should prioritize winning at all costs like the other schools, even if it means bending the rules?

Helwagen: No, I'm not sure what you gain by "cheating" or "bending the rules." It seems like Ohio State is doing everything it can to win and operate within the spirit of the rules.

If you cheat, you run the risk of getting caught and going on probation. Who wants that? If you can't do it within the rules, what good is it to win via breaking the rules? I don't see where you gain anything from that.

Too risky if you ask me.

Todd2854: I feel confident, 99.8654% confident that the staff will get one of Sherrell, Shelley or White. What are your thoughts on getting one of those three and do you buy into the hub on the staff being content on just taking two kids? (Think I might have started that hub lol)

Helwagen: I will be honest I have been a bit disconnected from what's happening with these guys the last couple of weeks. I will try and stay on top of it. Not sure if Shelley or White have made visits yet or not. I think they could add White and then if they get one of the blue chippers it would be a three-man class. If not, they aren't reaching on a third guy.

ButlerBuck: OSU announced two OL members retiring this week to bring OSU down to 85. If Glover comes to OSU, will he enter this year as a grayshirt or would they move someone off of scholarship this close to camp?

Did OSU recruit Glover hard in high school?

Helwagen: OSU did not recruit Glover that hard in high school. He committed to Northwestern in Aprll 2022, so he didn't come to OSU camp last year and he was off their radar.

Not sure how Ohio State would plan to fit him in. Maybe somebody else gets riffed here at the 11th hour. Perhaps another player who has little to no chance to help the bottom line this year or next year. Or maybe he agrees to pay his way this fall and enroll in January. This is, after all, a situation he created by pulling out of NW in July after the scandal broke.

bucksgrad: Hi Steve. Thanks for making time for us again!

Great reporting (actual journalism) in your post & interview w/Carollo B1G Officiating Supervisor, at Media Days, talking about the 'reversed' targeting call on Marvin.

I hadn't realized the stripy had the choice 'on the field' to call either 'targeting', 'personal foul' or 'personal foul with targeting'. Seems pretty easy to call personal foul with targeting every time you feel there's a potential targeting. As significant and subjective as these calls are, when would you call targetting only, implying you can target, but not commit a personal foul!? What am I missing?

Helwagen: I'm not sure why you would call targeting without a personal foul. If the on-field official feels it is unnecessary roughness given what happened, then they need to call that. Hopefully that is the conversation that is being had now.

A glancing blow can look bad at first blush but not as bad on frame by frame replay. Does it have the indicators with launching and going high etc.?

The only thing we know about targeting is nobody knows what really is targeting.

FRANK BEAVER: Steve & Bucknuts thank you for what you do.

The players we do not get. What happens? Why or how do we miss out?

Helwagen: Thanks for the comment.

The players they don't get, there are all kinds of reasons. Ohio State has a lot to offer as a perennial winning program, playing high profile games, great coaching, great development and results with the most first-round NFL draft picks ever.

But other schools have plenty to offer as well. It could be NIL money, it could be a quicker opportunity to play, it could be closer to home for the player and his family, it could be a stronger relationship with an assistant coach or head coach. There are a lot of factors at play.

Ohio State gets more than enough talent to be in the national championship hunt every year. I don't sweat one or two guys going elsewhere.

HTX_Nut: Steve, Do you think Chris Henry will reclassify as a 2025? Seems like he would be physically ready.

Helwagen: Interesting question. I suppose it could happen. To be honest, he has a great frame but he does need to get in the weight room and pack on some muscle. But watching him at OSU's camp, he is a stud for sure. I'm not a big believer that kids should reclassify. They should take that time, enjoy their lives and keep working. Making all about football and getting to one level just to get to the next level, that takes some of the fun out of the journey, to me. Let the kid be a kid. He will be much better for it socially, emotionally and athletically in the end.

OSUfan321: Hey Steve. I know the coaching staff is trying different things to get the defense back on track. This might be a dumb question but do you think it is possible they move Knowles down on the field?

Helwagen: No, I think he needs to be up top so he can see the personnel groupings as they come in and out and make the immediate call on what they need to do to counter it. That's one thing. You can also see everything much better up top to make adjustments. That's my take.

EricJ338: With Jaylen McClain committed and with osu recruiting KJ Bolden how many safeties were we trying to commit this year? IF Bolden does not pick us having 1 safeties in this class doesn't seem good with a safety driven defense.

Helwagen: Good question, we just had an update on Bolden who is No. 11 overall nationally. He'd be a great get. He is announcing Saturday night.

They took three safeties in 2023 with Malik Hartford, Jayden Bonsu and Cedrick Hawkins so they have numbers at that position. You can be deficient one year and as we saw with Ja'Had Carter you can always go get a Power Five starter if need be.

BAS1: Looks like Miami’s big NIL donor is under investigation and his biz isn’t doing well. Do you think we will be seeing Lightfoot flip? Bill seemed to think this was a possibility regardless, but now….

Helwagen: That would be a good thing, obviously because you can't have enough big guys who can run and make plays. I saw some of the reports on that. Their ridiculous house of cards is coming down (again).

ButlerBuck: With the way kids flip back and forth, have you ever seen one who flipped either to or from Ohio State and then publicly admit he made a bad decision? One that flipped, then ended up transferring to either that school or OSU before his career was finished? Do those type of players tend to be productive on and off the field?

Helwagen: Yeah, I get the spirit of your question. You do read about kids who wish they had signed out of high school with the school they ultimately transfer to. Lorenzo Styles Jr. could be an example of that. He could factor in this year's OSU-Notre Dame game.

My memory is not the greatest, so I can't think of anybody who transfered here or there and flourished at the school he could have signed with out of high school. There was a coaching change at Michigan that led Justin Boren to come back to Columbus and play at Ohio State.

BuckeyeSalsero: Would Oregon, Washington, Florida State, & Clemson be a good thing for B1G? Or is that just too many schools if it were to happen? What are your thoughts?

Helwagen: They are up to 16 now and that would make 20. You can only play half of them in one season. Does it feel like you're even in the same conference? I just don't get the rationale for watering down your brand with other schools and limiting your per school payout. The networks will only give you so much money. What's the advantage? There can only be one champion per sport every year. 3-4 teams could make the playoff. What advantage am I missing if Ohio State doesn't make more money by adding schools to the Big Ten?

BuckeyeSalsero: Not sure if you watched any of the Carmen's Crew games...But if you did, who should be back next year? I liked many of their players on the team this season but I think they might need an upgrade with some of the guards. I like CJ Jackson but I hope he's not there next season.

Helwagen: It was on ESPN pay per view. I didn't watch one second of it. TBT is only interesting if there are a smattering of star players. I saw some of the Nati-Beers game last night and it was a clankfest. Don't know and don't really care.

BuckeyeSalsero: Was Ohio State surprised at all with Jontae Gilbert's decommitting? What did you here on this situation?

Helwagen: I just think he lives down in Atlanta and is being pushed and pulled in different directions. Not a surprise at all. Perry Eliano can't spend 15 minutes a day on the phone with the kid every day. There's a limit to what you can do from 5 states away.

Let him have his visits and his process, maybe he ends up back in the fold once he sees what is really out there.

JoeZipp: With the 2023 class, do you see any commit totally outplaying their star rating like we have seen in the past? Obviously, Marvin is the most recent and perfect example of this. Dawand Jones was the lowest ranked in the 2019 class.

As a side note, I think punters and kickers should have their own star ratings instead of treating them like any other position player. No one really knows what we are getting from a 3 star kicker/punter versus a 2 star. A 5 star kicker would be one that can hit from 50+ at 50% rate or better. As we all know, kickers can win games!

Helwagen: Cool question, to hear Ryan Day talk about it, it sounds like OL Luke Montgomery, CB Calvin Simpson-Hunt and QB Lincoln Kienholz have all come in and performed well as true freshmen. Simpson-Hunt was ranked 89th nationally, while Montgomery and Kienholz were in the 100s.

I think Josh Padilla and Austin Siereveld are guys who could be multi-year OL starters, too.

In 2024, they have six guys ranked top 100 out of 19 commits. Of ones outside the top 100, I like LB Garrett Stover, CB Bryce West, OL Ian Moore and twin OL from St. Ed's with Deontae and Devontae Armstrong. I like all of them. This is a class that could produce a ton of future starters across the board in my opinion.

32BukI4ever: Steve, with Scott joining West, Lockhart, Stover, and McCain in a stellar DB class, does it make Bolden take a harder look and possibly swing him to the Buckeyes?

Helwagen: Potentially, I think Scott and West will be working Bolden as hard as they can without being a nuisance. I guess we will find out this weekend. I think Georgia will be hard to beat. He would be a great pick-up and would be featured in OSU's defense, maybe even as a true freshman after some guys leave this year.

foxr2001: I'm of the belief that we need to promote Laurinaitis to position coach so he can be involved in all aspects of recruiting. Assume you also feel this is the way to go. How would you handle this? Tell him to wait until there is another coaching change? Force a coaching change such as getting rid of Parker Fleming (or demoting him to analyst or some other type of role for special teams)? Have him wait until LJ retires and then move Knowles down to DL coach and promote Lauritaitis then? Have him wait until the NCAA starts allowing another position coach?

This is not so much a reaction to losing KVA as it is a response to Knowles admittedly not being much of a recruiter.

Helwagen: I agree that Laurinaitis needs a fulltime coaching spot and not just a support job, which does have its limitations. I have no real opinion on what Ryan Day could/should do to make that happen. That has to be his call based on the personalities involved and what they bring internally. He must have his reasons for why things are structured the way they are.

For anybody outside that building to make a snap judgement that so-and-so doesn't pull their weight, we honestly have no real idea what those people do day in and day out. It could be a case where Day views Fleming, for instance, as indispensable. I can't honestly say. From the outside, it's easy to lob grenades and make assumptions. But this is a case where we don't know what we don't know.

Special teams is an important animal unto itself. Probably 5 punts, 7-8 kickoffs, 3-4 kick returns, 2 field goals, 6-7 PATs, 6-7 punt returns. That is a lot of situations that each require their own special touch. That's 30 plays a game. I don't have a problem with a coordinator running all of that.

Believe it or not, that's how Luke Fickell got his foot in the door in 2002. And things worked out pretty well that season, right?

foxr2001: Second and somewhat off the wall question, do you think its possible to predict what players are injury prone? I'm thinking once a player has been injured, their chances of having a new or recurring injury go up significantly but I have no data to back that up. Do you think there are ways to predict concussions based on such things as type of playing field the player practices and primarily plays on (e.g., field turf vs grass) and the player's position?

Helwagen: I think players who have had concussions can be prone to more of them. And I'd agree that once a player gets hurt, it can be more likely for that player to get hurt again.

Injuries are a part of the game. We never get the full story on injuries. Last year's running back roulette was crazy, as an example. You never knew until gametime each week who would play and who would not.

All you can do is teach the players best practices to protect themselves from concussions and other injuries. Hope they are minimal and develop your depth so they are ready when their number is called.

foxr2001: Last one: was Aaron Scott being the ultimate troll by making scUM fans believe they had a good chance of landing him or did he really have an almost equal interest in scUM?

Helwagen: That is a really interesting question. He said after the announcement that he did not know earlier that day if it would be OSU or not. He said a few weeks back he was really leaning to Michigan, but that changed in the last few weeks.

But counter that with the idea that the family all had OSU T-shirts on under their jackets and then they probably passed out 50-100 more T-shirts to everybody who was there to celebrate the decision.

Getting 50-100 T-shirts done in various sizes is not an easy or cheap thing to do. So if he was picking Michigan, somebody was eating 50-100 T-shirts and probably $1,200 or more in costs. I don't think that's something you do lightly.

Either he really was conflicted or they did the best job anybody has ever done to keep everybody guessing on what the final decision was going to be. Take your pick. He's going to Ohio State and ultimately that's all that matters.

shoe4osu10: Between the 2014 NFL draft and the 2020 NFL draft, Ohio State had 7 (if my calculation were correct) 1st round players selected at the CB position. Some were even dubbing us DBU. Since the 2020 draft, we have not had any 1st round CB picks. Why the drop off in production? Can Day produce 1st Rd CB picks?

Helwagen: Recruiting. From August 2018 on Urban was a lameduck coach and I'm not sure Day valued defensive recruiting as much as he needed to his first two years. That has obviously changed and they are landing top 100 defensive guys, too, now. Plus, they had revolving door of DB coaches and coordinators. You need great teams and continuity to land great players ... as well as strong NIL packages now (ha ha).

It's all about the talent level of the material you put into the blender. That's commensurate with the product you're going to get out.

BAS1: Especially with Stewart gone. As of now, we're 0 for 2 years at edge.

Helwagen: Good point. They got Joshua Mickens in the 2023 class and we'll see how he pans out. He was ranked in the 100s nationally. Eddrick Houston can still change this and make an impact in the 2024 class.

Parting Shot: OK, kids, thank you for reading and participating. Glad I could plow through them today after missing last night.

We have interviews with Ryan Day and 3 quarterbacks on Wednesday, then can watch practice on Thursday with interviews with Jim Knowles and the LBs, then interviews with Tony Alford and RBs on Saturday, then interviews 4 days next week and another practice viewing next Friday.

I'm committed to being at OSU for 7 of the next 10 days so don't touch that dial.

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