Bucknuts.com's Steve Helwagen once again hosted his Chat on Monday night for subscribers.
Steve Helwagen
Bucknuts.com's Steve Helwagen hosted his weekly Chat on Monday night. Check out the transcript below.
Programming Note: Steve will again participate in Ohio State Buckeyes Live at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Check out The Front Row message board after 11 a.m. Wednesday for access details.
Garwood72: Thanks Steve for this format , just wondering if there's any vibes about the 2 incoming freshmen and how they are acclimating to the weight room and the off season efforts ? Basketball of course
Helwagen: A source told me this weekend that both Juni Mobley and Colin White have done very well so far as they have worked out and mixed in with the veteran players during pick-up games. There was one source that said Mobley got red hot on threes during one recent set of games. And White has definitely been holding his own as well, from what we are hearing. These two will need to pay big dividends this year with Taison Chatman out.
ButlerBuck: With Dorian Brew out of the picture for the time being, think OSU ups their efforts on Dawayne Galloway?
Helwagen: That's a good question. Dawayne Galloway is from Columbus Marion-Franklin and is ranked roughly No. 200 nationally. He has not been offered to date (at least to my knowledge) and was considering Kentucky, Penn State and others. He is due to announce a commitment on Friday. Maybe Ohio State gets involved and/or he postpones that announcement.
As it stands, they have two corners and three safeties in the class and have the potential to still add 1 or 2 more DBs. I'm not sure they will jump in on Galloway, especially if he is set to announce on Friday.
foxr2001: Saw an article ranking the B1G stadiums from best to worse in terms of environment, intimidation factor, etc. The Shoe was 5th. PSU followed by Washington, the toilet up north and Oregon were 1-4. How do you rank them?
Somewhat related questions. Of the 4 new teams, I'm guessing you've been to the Rose Bowl/UCLA. Which other ones have you been to in person? When you travel to games, does 247 pay your way? How do you decide whether to fly or drive? When flying is it every media person for themselves or do you travel together with others in the media?
Helwagen: Yeah, that may have been EA Sports' ranking of homefield advantage for the video game. I'm not sure.
I have not been to Oregon's Autzen Stadium. That's the only one of the 18 I have not been to. I'd say Ohio State and Penn State are 1-2, could be either or really. I assume Oregon would be in the next group with Washington and then I'd say Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and USC would be in the next group. Michigan State is another good one. That's probably my top 10.
After that group, probably UCLA (because of the Rose Bowl setting), Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland. The bottom four are Illinois, Northwestern (probably much better with new stadium), Indiana and Rutgers.
Regarding the travel, 24/7 typically pays for Patrick and myself to attend all of the road games and bowl games. Dave anchors the radio show from back here at home base, although he may also go to some away games and bowl games on occasion.
Basically, we drive anything up to 4 or 4-1/2 hours. So we drive Penn State, Michigan, MSU, Purdue, Indiana and Illinois. We fly Northwestern and every other Big Ten road game. Pat and I generally have the same itinerary. We try and stay at same hotels as some of our other friends on the beat and meet up with them for meals as well when we can.
abbjc42: How do you feel about our chances with Justin Hill, as his commitment is July 3rd
Helwagen: I think there is a very good chance he could be the next commitment for Ohio State, according to my sources. We will see on Wednesday, I presume.
Mstevers: Great forum: Steve how dies OSU determine how much to pay these kids. Are positions slotted like the NFL, QB, pass Rusher,Left tackle ? Do they have a salary cap guy? Happy 4th
Helwagen: Coach Day has never sat down and explained it to us. We are not privy to any of those discussions in terms of "salary cap budgeting" and how Ohio State handles it. The entire industry is just feeling its way through the dark on this. I assume each guy is his own negotiator and they figure out. I wish I could explain the entire process. But as of now, nobody in the industry is discussing exact money figures.
That's probably a good thing because if they were discussed publicly and/or among the guys that could create some resentment. Certainly, fans after a loss would not hesitate to say "We're paying this loser $300,000 and this is all we're getting for it." We don't need or want to see any of that boorish fan behavior.
RustyShackleford85: Hey, buddy. Do you think Mcnu*tt ultimately winds up a Buckeye? Thanks.
Helwagen: That is a great question. He is listed as an athlete, but I guess he could play safety or corner. It feels like Oregon and USC may have the inside track. Ohio State needs to get him on campus for a visit. That would be helpful.
He is a national top 25 player from the Cleveland area. You don't want to see him get away, certainly.
bucksgrad: Hope you and your family have a great, long weekend celebrating the 4th!
I've been reading you since the 'Buckeye Leaves' days, so I know you've seen your share of OSU ADs. How would you rank them in order of effectiveness, success or any other comments you'd like to make about them?
Helwagen: Thanks for the comments and the loyalty for over all these years. It is much appreciated.
I think Andy Geiger was the gold standard. He oversaw $250 million in projects 25 years ago with Ohio Stadium and the Schottenstein Center. He hired Thad Matta and Jim Tressel. That kind of says it all.
Gene Smith was great bringing them into this modern era and finding ways to fund everything that needed to be funded. They've stayed on the cutting edge by raising huge amounts of money and spending huge amounts of money.
Jim Jones was a caretaker for the most part. Rick Bay's stay was way too short as he quit in protest with the higher ups fired Earle Bruce in 1987. Bay would have been a great AD given the time, in my mind.
Ross Bjork has some big shoes to fill following Andy and Gene but I think he is up to it.
riders32: How many players do you expect the Buckeyes to take in this recruiting class?
Helwagen: They are up to 22 commits with one today from DL Maxwell Roy. I guess it looks like they may sign 26 or 27 players at this rate. It's crazy. They are on a roll.
Gary1971: Why can we not get a top, (5 STAR) offensive lineman.they do great at every other position
Helwagen: Well, they can still land David Sanders Jr. and that would count. Certainly, Carter Lowe fits that bill. I can't explain why it hasn't happened for a while. I know Justin Frye is working as hard as he can to do it.
Part of this is now money as well and some of it is still opportunity. Everything has to come together on all three fronts to get a top 25 or top 50 player.
jakied: What are the chances Osu closes out the '25 recruiting effort with Mcnu*tt,Hill,Roy,Sanders and Ffrench?
Helwagen: That would be one hell of a finish, I'd say. I'd also say it's unlikely. Hill seems to be a guy they are in good shape for on Wednesday.
I like where they are at on Sanders. They may be in a coin flip or worse for the rest of that group.
jonboyscum05: Lots of people questioning Justin Frye, in your opinion what is more important for him to regain the confidence of buckeye nation:
1) He lands Sanders
2) the o-line has a great year this year
Helwagen: Winning cures everything. He is the offensive line coach for the upcoming season. We know that.
We do not know if he will sign Sanders or not. So his surest way to cement his job is for the team to win big and go deep in the playoff.
If the OL doesn't come through or they don't get Sanders, it could get dicey for him. But he has worked with Chip Kelly before so that could provide some insulation. He needs a good close to 2024 for sure.
zman2: Hello Steve, I'm hearing some chatter that Florida St is trending to flip Travos Alford? Any truth to this? Would hate to lose this guy.
Helwagen: They may indeed be pushing for Alford. He can't sign for over five months. It's going to be touch-and-go with probably five or six of these commitments until then. They just need to stay on top of them the best they can.
Jimmy Smits: Hi Steve. I hate to admit that I'm finding myself less and less interested in recruiting now that we are knee deep in the NIL and transfer portal era. Do you see this from fans on the larger scale on your end? And are you personally less affected as a "fan" when we get (or don't get) a big name kid, now that a signing doesn't seem to mean as much?
Helwagen: It has been diminished because it is so easy (or much easier) to get what you need for a given year in the transfer portal. I think they will need five starters from the portal after this mass exodus that is coming after this season.
I agree that the recruiting process has been reduced to money and opportunity, pretty much. It's not as much as about people as it used to be. That has to be frustrating for the coaches who work to build relationships. That doesn't mean as much anymore.
WPBucki: Is there a way to eliminate the 247 video block, that pops up in the lower corner of the screen; but then covers the primo spot, when looking at the Crystal Ball page -- where it hides the player's names??
I logged on, and clicked onto Bill's thread; but there was so much graffiti squeezing his tag, then a handful of adds, crap and 'garbage' to find the 'beef' but I'm wondering if it is still the Bucknuts of the past, and worthwhile.
Helwagen: That involves the engineering aspect of the sites and is not something I am familiar with. I have noticed some of the same things on my mobile device. I wish I had an answer for you on it.
If you have specific issues, email support@247Sports.com
JoeZipp: NCAA has been quiet on the sign-stealing investigation. Is Bucknuts / 247 Sports hearing any rumors?
Helwagen: I haven't heard a word. You hope they can get it resolved and apply anything going forward for this season so everybody knows. It should be any time I would think.
Coyotejohn: Steve, Thank you for always being here and taking the time to answer our questions. Don't know what we would do without you. Some questions about QBs. 1) I know it is still early in the process for recruiting 2026 prospects, but should we be concerned that OSU does not yet have a QB commitment? OSU has offered scholarships to 10 of the top 12 QBs in the class. However, 8 are already committed to other schools and 3 are crystal balled to other schools. The two we have not offered are #2 Ryder Lyons who is CBed to USC (although he will be doing his two-year mission after high school and will not be available for a couple of years) and #7 Landon Duckworth who is committed to South Carolina. The one recruit who is neither committed nor CBed is #8 Jonas Williams from Illinois. Do you have any thoughts on him? 2) I know there is the possibility of poaching a commitment from another school. In fact, there was a story on Bucknuts on Saturday about ND commitment Noah Grubs (#11) having interest in OSU. He is 6'4", threw for over 300 yards per game and 49 TDs as a sophom*ore. He looks very promising. What are your thoughts on him? 3) Is it possible that the strength and depth of our QB room are partly responsible for so many top QB recruits committing so early to other schools and could this result in an occasional down year for QB recruiting? 4) What have you heard or know about Nathan Bernhard out of Ashland. He is the #16 QB in the 2026 class and at 6'5", 227 lbs, he is already bigger than Tavien St. Clair. He is working with a private QB coach and has camped at OSU but has not received an offer yet. Penn State offered him at age 15.
Helwagen: I will sift through this and do what I can ...
1, No, it's very early in the process for 2026 quarterbacks. They can't sign for 18 months. Chip Kelly and Ryan Day have offered most of the top QBs in that class and also had many of them in camp. They will get a very good one, in my opinion, whenever that day comes.
I know nothing about Jonas Williams.
2, I saw that story on Grubbs but I have never seen him play. I assume if Ohio State is trying to get him on campus they are very intrigued by him.
3, Yes, I would say the overall thing impacting QBs in 2026 is they figure, as of now, to have five QBs on scholarship already for 2025 and 2026 (at least on paper). When guys start transferring out and guys see spots available, that would help.
4, I saw Bernhard at camp last year and it was obvious he has some ability. I'm not sure where things stand with him and Ohio State right now. He definitely has the size and build you are looking for. We will see if an offer comes through for him.
Parting Shot: Thank you all so much for reading and participating. I hope everybody has a happy and safe Fourth of July week and weekend!!
