Offensive lineman Micah Smith from Vero Beach, Fla., is one of the country’s top offensive line prospects in the class of 2026. Smith, who went to the same high school as Ohio State’s 2025 cornerback Tarvos Alford , is also very interested in the Buckeyes. Up to that point, Smith had been to Ohio State nearly half a dozen times. Bucknuts met with Smith again to discuss Ohio State’s 34-23 win over Notre Dame, the Buckeyes winning the national championship and the play of the Ohio State offensive line. One young draft-eligible player that Ohio State fans would love to see return in 2025 would be running back Quinshon Judkins. Judkins rushed for 1,060 yards in his first season, sharing time with TreVeyon Henderson, who also rushed for over 1,000 yards with 1,016 yards. Judkins was fresh off a three-touchdown performance against Notre Dame in the national championship game, where he electrified the crowd with a 70-yard run.

Judkins will have to make a decision. CBSSports.com’s draft rankings rank him as the No. 5 RB on the board and the No. 98 overall prospect. Henderson, an incoming senior, is ranked No. 4 at RB and No. 61 overall . Those rankings would put Henderson in the late second round and Judkins in the third or fourth round. Returning for another season could allow Judkins to raise his profile. Judkins was non-committal when we approached him after the final. He was all smiles after his big night on college football’s biggest stage. Ryan Day, finally, won the national championship. His Ohio State team was easily one of the biggest stories of the college football season from start to CFP finals, and attracted as much attention as any team in the country . Ratings from the 2024 campaign reflect that, as the Buckeyes played in four of the 10 most-watched games of the regular season. Only Georgia matches that number with three appearances on the rankings. This year has been one of the craziest in modern college football history, with countless unpredictable twists and turns en route to the first 12-team playoff. There were plenty of surprises and top-five battles headlined many weekly rankings in a season that will go down as the longest in the sport’s record books. Nielsen ratings measured the most-watched games of this exciting campaign, and several regular-season contests were tied with CFP games and championship games in the rankings .