Takeaways from the First Week of Preseason Camp

Preseason camp is in full swing at Ohio State, and we’ve had plenty of access to the Buckeyes over the past week as a result.After watching a portion of the first two practices and attending four interview sessions at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center over the past week, we reconvene on this week’s Real Pod Wednesdays to discuss the biggest things we learned from the first six days of camp.We start by talking about what we heard during Jim Knowles’ interview session on Tuesday, when he made several eyebrow-raising comments. Should Ohio State fans be worried about the Buckeyes’ cornerback depth? Knowles said only 25% of his defense has been installed so far; is that a cause for concern? And is Knowles setting expectations too high by saying the Buckeyes should have a top-five defense?Following about 25 minutes of conversation about the defense, we shift our attention to the offense and discuss what we heard during offensive line and running back interviews. We also highlight a few players who seem to be building momentum so far in camp – including Tyler Friday and Julian Fleming – and discuss our favorite “Dayisms” from Ryan Day’s first press conferences of the preseason.Later in the show, we discuss the pros and cons of CBS and NBC replacing ESPN as Big Ten TV partners (41:00), our favorite outfits from hotel check-in (58:07) and what the past week of wins both on the recruiting trail and on the court mean for the present and future of Ohio State men’s basketball (59:58).