Kirk Herbstreit sarcastically downplays additions of Ohio State transfers Caleb Downs, Will Howard, Quinshon Judkins

Kirk Herbstreit isn’t buying into the buzz around Ohio State‘s roster. During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” the ESPN analyst explained why he believes there’s no more pressure for this team to succeed than past OSU teams.

“At the end of the day, when was the last time Ohio State took the field with a shortage of talent,” Herbstreit said. “The last 10 years, Ohio State has had NFL players all over their roster. I don’t look at this roster — I really don’t — and go, ‘Oh my God, they have Caleb Downs!’ Holy cow, Ohio State’s serious this year.’

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“This year, they got Will Howard, who was going to get beat out at Kansas State. ‘Holy cow! They got Will Howard!’ ‘Oh my God, they got [Quinshon] Judkins, who was a backup at Ole Miss.’ He’s not going to start at Ohio State. TreVeyon Henderson is. So, it’s about, are they going to come together? It’s about, are they going to be a team?”

It’s undeniable that Ohio State has boasted a treasure trove of talent the past decade. With standouts such as Marvin Harrison Jr., Justin Fields, Chase Young and Ezekiel Elliot passing through the program, Ohio State is one of the premiere talent factories in the country.

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However, it’s difficult to overstate the skill on OSU’s 2024 roster. As Herbstreit mentioned, the team added all-conference players in the transfer portal, including safety Caleb Downs, quarterback Will Howard and running back Quinshon Judkins.

Alas, not all of Ohio State’s talent is from the transfer portal. The team also returned 61% of its production from last season, including cornerstone pieces such as WR Emeka Egbuka, safety Denzel Burke and defensive end Jack Sawyer.

Even if Ohio State has more talent than usual this season, Herbstreit believes the team needs more than star power to win games.

“Look at that roster in 2015. That was the year they played Michigan State at home, and everybody got mad they didn’t give the ball to Zeke Elliott,” Herbstreit said. “They ended up getting upset by a backup quarterback at Michigan State.

“That team was maybe the best roster I’ve ever seen… So, the point is, they’ve had pretty good rosters. It’s not like they went from having an average roster to all of a sudden, buying a big, rich roster.”

On Saturday, Ohio State will kick off its season against Akron at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on CBS.