The Ohio State Buckeyes just won a National Championship, but there’s still plenty of uncertainty surrounding what this team will look like in 2025.
Ohio State reloads year after year by recruiting at a high level and utilizing the transfer portal to fill key needs. Once again, the Buckeyes will be replacing their starting quarterback in 2025. Ryan Day has done a solid job of transitioning from one quarterback to the next, but not everyone is confident about this year’s outlook.
Known for his hot takes, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum isn’t feeling great about Ryan Day’s team heading into the 2025 season.
“I’m going to say it right now, I think the Buckeyes are overrated,” Finebaum said recently. “I think you’re overrated today because I think Julian Sayin is a good quarterback, but I don’t know if he’s ready to take on what you have to do to win a National Championship.”
Julian Sayin Max Klare. pic.twitter.com/VR8eyOS2Tx
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 12, 2025
Ohio State had a terrific run last season after their loss to Michigan. That championship team was led by standouts like Caleb Downs, Jack Sawyer, TreVeyon Henderson, and Will Howard. The Buckeyes return Downs this year, along with star wideout Jeremiah Smith—giving them two of the best players in the country.
Still, more leaders will need to emerge for Ohio State to get to where they want to be
The Buckeyes have an ongoing quarterback battle between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz. Sayin, a former five-star recruit with a high ceiling, is expected to win the job. He may experience growing pains early in the season—but that’s not when Ohio State needs him to be at his best. The Buckeyes will need him at his best closer to the expanded College Football Playoff, where they will expected to be in the mix again.
While the 2024 roster featured a wealth of NFL-ready talent who decided to return that helped secure the national title, the 2025 squad may not be quite as loaded. Still, Ohio State has the pieces to compete for another championship—and they’ll be in the national spotlight once again.
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Arch Manning is preparing for his first season as a starting quarterback in college, and already, his grandfather is predicting that he will return to Texas after the upcoming campaign. Manning's grandfather, of course, is former NFL quarterback and College Football Hall of Famer Archie Manning. Per an article from On3's Nick Schultz, Archie Manning told Texas Monthly that while he hasn't had conversations with his grandson about his future beyond the 2025 season, he believes that Arch Manning will be back with the Longhorns for the 2026 term. When asked if his grandson would declare for the 2026 NFL Draft after the upcoming season, Archie Manning said, "Arch isn’t going to do that. He’ll be at Texas." Of course, Archie Manning knows his grandson better than just about anyone. Yet, at the same time, should Arch Manning have a stellar year at Texas, it's entirely possible he could head to the 2026 NFL Draft. Arch Manning, the 6-foot-4, 219-pound redshirt sophomore from New Orleans, is one of the biggest stories in college football as the 2025 season inches closer. Manning saw limited duty in 2024 as a backup to Quinn Ewers, but when Ewers got injured, Manning went 2-0 as a starter and played well. In 2024, as Texas went 13-3 overall and reached the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff, Manning completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 939 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 108 yards and four scores on the ground. Earlier this week, the preseason Coaches Top-25 Poll placed Texas at No. 1, followed by defending national champion Ohio State at No. 2. In the 2025 season opener, the Longhorns will travel to Columbus to face the Buckeyes in what should prove a galactic matchup. Even though it's his first year as a starter, Manning is one of the early favorites to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy. He's landing on preseason lists as a first-team All-American. Manning is also getting buzz as one of the top picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. That's assuming Manning declares, which he is eligible for, given this will be his third season in college. Manning joined Texas after playing at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. Within the 2023 class, multiple recruiting services rated the five-star Manning as the No. 1 national prospect, along with the No. 1 quarterback and the No. 1 player coming out of Louisiana. Should Manning lead Texas to a national championship this season, and he's projected as a top-five pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, it would be understandable if he departed the Longhorns for the pro ranks. Then again, maybe Manning loves being in college. Maybe he loves Austin, Texas. And he's earning big dollars in NIL.
According to Nick Harris of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue suffered a bone bruise in his heel on Thursday. Blue was stepped on during practice, initially looking at an ankle sprain. Thankfully, the MRI came back with some positive news. “Cowboys RB Jaydon Blue’s MRI revealed a bone bruise in his heel after it was stepped on in today’s practice, according to a @startelegram source,” Harris said via X. “No ankle sprain. Good news for the young back who has emerged as an offensive playmaker in camp.” Blue previously told Harris that an ankle injury was what he suffered. Questions about the running back’s availability for Saturday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams are now present. Something to watch as kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from SoFi Stadium. Dallas took Blue in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, hoping to address its running back situation. Blue played his college ball inside the Lone Star State, suiting up for the Texas Longhorns. Plenty of guys at the position have come out of Austin and found quick success. Blue is hoping to be the next one. For now, there is an injury for him to deal with. No exact timeline has been provided per a report or by a team official. Hopefully, Blue is able to get things cleared up quickly and get his first taste of the NFL before Sept. 4’s season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. More on Jaydon Blue, Cowboys running back situation Running back was a position the Cowboys needed to desperately figure out this offseason. Rico Dowdle, the team’s leading rusher, was no longer on the roster. Behind Dowdle, Dallas did not have much else. A nice mix of veteran presence and youngsters was needed. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders provide the former, while Blue was a part of the draft class alongside Phil Mafah. A combination of those four figures to be on the opening night roster. Exactly how head coach Brian Schottenheimer splits up the carries is not yet known. Blue’s injury certainly does not help the situation. Cowboys players, in general, have been going down throughout training camp thus far. Making sure everyone is healthy will be critical heading into the season. Especially an explosive back like Blue, someone who can change the outcome of any game in just the snap of your fingers.
The Padres announced they’ve optioned JP Sears to Triple-A El Paso. They recalled reliever Sean Reynolds and will go with a nine-man bullpen in the short term. Sears will spend at least 15 days in the minors unless he’s brought up to replace a player going on the injured list. San Diego acquired Sears alongside Mason Miller in last week’s massive deadline deal. The 29-year-old southpaw made his team debut Monday night. He allowed five runs in as many innings on 10 hits and a walk against the Diamondbacks. Sears took the loss in a 6-2 defeat. He’d carried a 4.95 earned run average over 22 starts with the A’s. Monday's performance pushed his ERA to 5.12 across 116 innings. It’s a bottom-10 mark among pitchers to log at least 100 frames. Sears had the highest home run rate among that group, offsetting his nearly league-average 20.3% strikeout rate and solid 6% walk percentage. This is the first time in two-and-a-half years that Sears heads to the minors. He broke camp with the A’s in 2023 and has been in the majors since then. Sears has also avoided the injured list for that entire time. As a result, he’s tied for fifth in MLB with 87 starts since the beginning of the ’23 season. The durability is the big selling point, as his production (4.62 ERA/4.56 SIERA) over that stretch is that of a fifth or sixth starter. The demotion shouldn’t have any impact on Sears’ service trajectory. He has already surpassed the three-year mark and will qualify for arbitration next winter. He’s under team control for three seasons beyond this one. While he’ll probably be back up at some point this year, it may require an injury elsewhere in the rotation. San Diego optioned Randy Vásquez over the weekend. They have a four-man rotation of Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and deadline acquisition Nestor Cortes. Darvish and Cortes will get the ball for the next two outings. San Diego is off Thursday and could turn back to Pivetta and Cease on extra rest for their first two games of the weekend series against the Red Sox. That’d point to the series finale on Aug. 10 as Michael King’s return date. King threw 61 pitches in what is expected to be his final rehab start on Sunday, via the MLB.com injury tracker. He’d be on six days' rest for his first MLB appearance since he went on the injured list in late May with a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder.
The Golden State Warriors’ offseason continues to revolve around one question. Namely, what happens with Jonathan Kuminga? Golden State currently has just nine players signed to standard contracts, and the Kuminga standoff is slowing the rest of its roster moves. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report reported that the Warriors are keeping Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II in a holding pattern until Kuminga’s situation is resolved. Malcolm Brogdon and Seth Curry remain on the team’s radar, with Javonte Green also a possible addition. The Kings and Suns have both explored sign-and-trade deals for Kuminga, but the Warriors haven’t been impressed with what’s been offered. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints noted that those talks haven’t reached a serious stage, and there are no other known suitors at the moment. Warriors Stuck For Now? Cap expert Yossi Gozlan explained in his Third Apron column that Golden State is “probably stuck” until the Kuminga situation plays out. The Warriors are believed to have deals in place with Horford and Melton, but those signings can’t be finalized while Kuminga is still unsigned. If Golden State uses its taxpayer mid-level exception, it would be hard-capped at $207.8 million — opening the door for a rival with cap space to swoop in and make Kuminga a near $30 million per year offer the Warriors couldn’t match. Gozlan views a sign-and-trade as the most practical solution for both sides. If Kuminga re-signs, Golden State would likely aim for a deal in the $22–23 million per year range, which would allow the team to use the taxpayer MLE and add three more players on minimum contracts while staying below the hard cap. For now, all signs point to Kuminga remaining with the Warriors to start next season, but the impasse continues to hold up the rest of Golden State’s plans. More NBA News Rumors
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