Good BAD Morning: The NFL Combine, Bo Jackson's potential, and denim preferences
Recapping everything Bill and Doug put out last week
Hey, BAD subscribers, it’s fellow subscriber and BAD contributor Nick Taylor here with another weekly newsletter. Look for this each Monday morning with links to all the coverage from the previous week.
The Buckeyes are on pace to make history at the NFL Draft this April, with four possible Top 10 picks. With so many players projected to go early in this year’s draft, Bill and Doug went to the NFL Combine to cover the impressive class of Ohio State players preparing to begin their NFL careers. While in Indianapolis, Bill and Doug put out plenty of great content, including podcasts and articles. This newsletter is your guide to everything released over the past week so you don’t miss a thing.
My article pick this week
Mike Vrabel on Arthur Smith; Brian Hartline's draft legacy; Alabama teammates on new Buckeyes : NFL Combine notes
INDIANAPOLIS — Mike Vrabel is ready to fire off some tweets if Ohio State’s offense isn’t humming this fall.
It’s nice to see Mike Vrabel take some time to answer Ohio State-related questions. When asked about Arthur Smith, Ohio State’s recent offensive coordinator hire, Vrabel—unsurprisingly—spoke highly of his friend and former coworker.
My podcast pick this week
NFL Combine Show: How elite Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles are as prospects; Arthur Smith insight; Whatcha jeans habits (Subscriber only)
With Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese being projected as Top 12 draft picks, I loved hearing Bill and Doug discuss how James Laurinaitis could be following in Brian Hartline’s footsteps when it comes to producing high-end NFL talent.
Reminder: You can access the audio for our subscriber shows on Apple Podcasts or Spotify by being a subscriber and following the steps listed here under the heading “subscriber-only podcasts.”
Other podcasts this week
Ohio State’s Bo Jackson and can he avoid the Buckeye Curse for Year 2 running backs? Bill and Doug discuss Bo Jackson and whether the Cleveland native RB will be able to follow up his 1,090-yard freshman campaign with similar or greater success as a sophomore. Check out the video at the top of this newsletter.
Around the Shoe: Ohio State at the NFL Combine; best Buckeye transfer addition; was Troy snubbed? Bill and Duog are joined by Dave Biddle of Bucknuts and Juck Miletti of Buckeye Huddle. They discuss Buckeyes looking to make a splash at the NFL Combine. They also look at where Ohio State quarterbacks landed on ESPN’s top 100 college quarterbacks of the 2000s. Lastly, they discuss Buckeye transfer portal adds for 2026. As a scarred fan, I was happy to hear Connor Hawkins’ name in the discussion for most impactful transfer additions.
Ohio State NFL Combine report: A Caleb Downs-Ezekiel Elliott comparison, Davison Igbinosun and more Bill and Doug talk about how impressive Davison Igbinosun has been in his interviews and his potential to be the highest drafted Ohio State cornerback since 2020. Doug also shares why he thinks positional value is overstated in how teams and the media view draft prospects.
Big Ten crushing SEC in elite talent at the 2026 NFL Combine This was some Northern college football talk, as Doug and Bill pointed out how many of the best prospects at each position are from the Big Ten — and not many are from the SEC.
Sunday Soundoff: A last look back at a 2025 Ohio State defense filled with athletic unicorns (Subscriber only): Bill and Doug went back to one more round of combine talk and wondering if, with all these combine stars, should the Buckeyes have been even better on defense? And that’s when they were already the best in the country.
Other articles this week
What the history of 1,000-yard freshmen tells us about Ohio State’s Bo Jackson heading into 2026 Bill breaks down some historical data on running backs to help contextualize Bo Jackson’s freshman season and what variables could affect his success going into his sophomore season.
Honoring and remembering the late Rondale Moore among the greatest individual performances ever in beating the Buckeyes A tribute to Rondale Moore after his tragic passing. I think anyone who saw the Buckeyes lose to Purdue in 2018 will never forget that game: the Tyler Trent game. Rondale Moore had 170 yards and 2 touchdowns in that game leading the Boilermakers to victory in storybook fashion.
Ohio State’s Sonny Styles, versatile and smart, begins his NFL Draft journey at the combine Bill writes about Sonny Styles’ journey to becoming a top linebacker prospect in this year’s draft. In the article Bill includes the two clips that Sonny said he would show NFL teams to showcase what he brings to the table.
Arvell Reese is ‘the best player in the draft,’ and it’s too bad he didn’t get to show it more at Ohio State Arvell Reese is deservedly getting lots of buzz and attention from NFL draft analysts. He will be one of the first players to have his name read at the draft in Pittsburgh this year. Doug breaks down what he will bring to his new NFL home and why Ohio State fans might feel like his college career was too short.
An Ohio State TE first at the draft; Joe Royer’s journey; Terry Moore insight: NFL Combine notes Bill and Doug write about Ohio State’s tight ends and how Will Kacmarek and Max Klare will become the first pair of Buckeye tight ends to be selected in the same draft.
Ohio State basketball might make March interesting after all The men’s basketball team finally got the win it had been searching for all season, knocking off No. 8 Purdue on Sunday, and Bill was there to take it all in. Jake Diebler is now 3-0 against Matt Painter!
Sonny Styles and other Buckeyes destroyed the NFL Combine: How does that make you feel about the 2025 season? Going along with the Sunday Soundoff, Doug shares stats from Sonny Styles’ dominant performance at the NFL Combine.