As Ohio State begins preseason practice Thursday, the surest of things is that lots of people say Jeremiah Smith (above) is the best college football player in the nation. Jeff Gilbert writes for Press Pros.

They said it for all the nation to hear at Tuesday's Big Ten Media Days in Vegas...Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are not resting on last year's national championship. This is a different team (Caleb Downs, above), and they want to win a different championship. Read Jeff Gilbert....

Gabe Cupps and Devin Royal battled on big stages in high school. Cupps transferred from Indiana this year to help the Buckeyes get back to the NCAA Tournament. Big men Brandon Noel and Christoph Tilly are also new to the team with the same goal. Part 5 and the final piece of a summer series on the building of the 2025-2026 basketball Buckeyes.

A pair of Buckeyes heard their respective opportunity to be professionals on Monday...infielder/hitter Tyler Pettorini to the Phillies...and hard-throwing reliever Blaine Wynk was drafted in the eighth round by the Chicago White Sox.