It’s Ohio State-Michigan week, which also means that it’s one of the few times each football season that sports talk radio in Cleveland shifts its focus from the Browns to the Buckeyes.
That includes at ESPN Cleveland, where Monday’s episode of The Really Big Show dedicated some time to talking about Ohio Stat’s top-five win over Indiana on Saturday. But while most fans have been reveling in the Buckeyes exacting revenge on Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti — who had some choice words for Ohio State upon being hired by the Hoosiers — hosts Tony Rizzo and Aaron Goldhammer took a different approach.
“Will Howard putting out the cigarette or whatever for Cignetti — just, dude, beat Michigan first before you start,” Rizzo said.
“He is so not a Buckeye,” Goldhammer interjected. “It’s amazing.”
“I did not like that,” Rizzo continued. “Dude, you’re a hired gun. You’ve been here five months.”
“He’s running around screaming, ‘Google it, Google it,” Goldhammer added.
“What is that?” Rizzo asked.
The co-hosts proceeded to argue over how good Howard actually is — Goldhammer said he was mid-level quarterback, while Rizzo has a slightly higher opinion of the Kansas State transfer, believing that he can help quarterback the Buckeyes to a national championship. As is often the case in sports talk radio, the conversation only spurred further disagreement, with producer Nick Paulus stepping in to defend Howard’s honor.
The Really Big Show hates Ohio State quarterback Will Howard stay classy @ESPNCleveland.
Educate yourself on what Curt Cignetti said about the Buckeyes. pic.twitter.com/etsCfV7YcH
— The Scarlet and Gray Podcast (@TheSG_Podcast) November 25, 2024
.@HammerNation19 doesn’t think Will Howard is a great QB and @NickPaulus lost his mind…
Do you agree with Nick or Aaron??? pic.twitter.com/wWUA7nBVS4
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) November 25, 2024
While one could argue how good Howard is or isn’t — although “midlevel” seems a bit low at this point — the idea of him not being a true Buckeye because he arrived via the transfer portal seems a bit archaic. By this point, free agency has been a familiar part of college football for years now. And if Howard can help lead Ohio State to its first win over Michigan since 2019 on Saturday, the last thing anyone in Columbus will care about is how long he’s been on campus for.
That’s not to say every Buckeyes-related conversation this week needs to be a pep rally, but criticizing Howard as a “hired gun” missed the mark here. If nothing else, give ESPN Cleveland this: no one will accuse Cleveland’s radio home of Ohio State football of being in the tank for the home team.
[ESPN Cleveland]
