This is the pinnacle of the Mendoza experience. He looks like a star quarterback dreamed up in a lab: 6-foot-5, 236, respectable mobility, good arm, rarefied accuracy, all the while sounding like few star quarterbacks who have come before. He is, to hear those in his orbit tell it, the most unfootball-like of adjectives: "goofy."

Ryan Day had to hire Matt Patricia last season after Jim Knowles left for Penn State, but the defense continued to dominate. Ohio State finished 1st in total defense and 7th in rush defense.