About

Founded in 1999, Bucknuts.com has grown from a small, independent Web site to one of the most well-known collegiate fan sites in the United States. Bucknuts draws millions of visitors a month and produces daily updates featuring the latest Ohio State University football and basketball news.

With an initial focus on football recruiting, Bucknuts began to grow in size and popularity in the years 2000 and 2001. The Bucknuts Radio Hour originated in January of 2000 and was soon broadcast on over a dozen stations across the state of Ohio. The radio show is now limited to online listeners and podcast listeners only with the exception of a 4 pm airing on Wednesdays on ESPN Radio in Dayton, Ohio (WING-1410 AM).

Bucknuts became a part of the Scout.com sports network in 2001 and began production on Bucknuts The Magazine in 2002. The magazine grew from a 32-page publication to a 64-page monthly production with thousands of subscribers. Bucknuts also offers members-only Website packages that offer access to exclusive online content.

Not long after separating from the Scout.com network in 2007, Bucknuts became the first collegiate fan site to affiliate with ESPN which gives Bucknuts members an opportunity to access the enormous all-sports coverage on ESPN Insider.  Now with monthly site visits averaging in excess of 2 million Buckeye fans monthly, Bucknuts plans to continue growth in all areas in the future and is dedicated to bringing you new and exciting features never before seen on an Ohio State football fan Website.

The Bucknuts Insiders

Staff and reporters

MR. BUCKNUTS—Founder, Spiritual Leader, Resident Gadfly

Mr. “B” founded Bucknuts in 1999, later acquiring JJ Huddle and founding both Bucknuts the Magazine and Ohio High. For the past seven years, he has hosted the weekly sports radio program, “The Bucknuts Radio Hour,” and files his regular irregular column, “Bucket of Bullets,” on the website where us regularly pillories the competition, taking special delight in this with “the school up north” and “the domers.”  He really did attend OSU and was once a syndicated sportswriter for the San Francisco Chronicle.

STEVE HELWAGEN—Managing Editor

Steve has been covering Ohio State athletics since 1988. He is considered one of the nation’s top authorities on Ohio State and Big Ten football. He also contributes to the Bucknuts Radio Hour, coordinates recruiting coverage on Bucknuts.com and additionally serves as the editor for Bucknuts the Magazine, JJHuddle.com and Ohio High magazine. Fully credentialed with Ohio State, Helwagen regularly files columns, including “Buckeye Grove” year-round and “Sunday Morning Quarterback” during the football season.

DAVE BIDDLE—Assistant Editor

Dave is involved heavily in Ohio State team coverage as a credentialed reporter. He also provides recruiting coverage. Biddle is one of the key contributors to the Bucknuts Radio Hour as well as Bucknuts The Magazine, JJHuddle.com and Ohio High Magazine. Biddle regularly files a column on Bucknuts.com called Bucknotes.

BILL KURELIC—Football Recruiting

Bill is widely viewed as the leading college football recruiting analyst in the region and the “dean” of college football recruiting coverage in Ohio.  Now, after two decades, he is considered the country’s premier football recruiting analyst, specializing in OSU Buckeyes football and for Midwest and Big Ten Conference recruiting.  His regular column on Bucknuts.com is followed closely by Bucknuts fans and he is a regular contributor to Bucknuts The Magazine.

DUANE LONG—Football Recruiting Analyst

Duane has been analyzing high school football talent for years, beginning formally with his publication of Ohio’s Future Stars.  Duane is the recruiting editor for Bucknuts as well as Ohio High magazine. Nobody in the nation talks with more players, coaches or watches more film on high school talent than Duane Long.  His posts on Bucknuts.com are highly respected and he is a regular contributor to Bucknuts The Magazine, The Bucknuts Radio Hour, Ohio High Magazine and its companion Web site, JJHuddle.com.

JEFF RAPP—Basketball Analyst

Jeff is one of the leading sportswriters for collegiate basketball and longtime analyst of the Ohio State Buckeyes basketball program.  He has covered OSU basketball for various media since 19093 and reported on Ohio State football as a sportswriter for OSU’s Scarlet and Gray Illustrated.  His features and columns appear on Bucknuts.com and also in the pages of Bucknuts The Magazine. 

GARY HOUSTEAU—Field correspondent & Photographer

Gary provides coverage of Ohio high school athletics and recruiting for Bucknuts.com, Bucknuts the Magazine and Ohio High magazine. He also assists with feature articles on Ohio State athletics. Some of Housteau’s best work has been photo essays of OSU prospects and OSU football games and he is a credentialed photographer for Ohio State coverage.

CHARLES BABB—Feature writer

Charles is a feature writer for Bucknuts, starting as a credentialed staff reporter nearly four years ago. He does player and coach interviews and is a fixture at press conferences and in the locker room. Charles’s specialty is in-depth profiles of his subjects.

JERRY RUDZINSKI—Commentator

Jerry was the team captain of the #1 rated 1998 Buckeyes and an All-Conference player. In addition to his radio and website work that he does for Bucknuts, Jerry has appeared regularly as a commentator or host on numerous radio and television shows throughout Ohio. He still maintains his relationships with the Ohio State program and staff.

RAMZY NASRALLAH—Sports Humor

Ramzy is of near mythic stature as a sports humor columnist in cyberspace, writing random blogs before there ever was such a term. Ramzy follows the Buckeyes and the peculiarities of NCAA college football nationwide.

KIRK LARRABEE—Webmaster, Staff Contributor, & OSU Sports Historian

Kirk became Bucknuts’ first webmaster in 1999 and maintains that position today, as well as editing the two magazines, appearing on the “Bucknuts Radio Hour”, interviewing players and filing both news and feature reports for almost seven years.

ERIC FRANTZ—Staff Sportswriter & Managing Editor, Ohio High Magazine

Eric founded MVP Sports, a Dayton-area magazine covering high school athletics. He writes for the Dayton Daily News as a special high school sports correspondent. For Bucknuts, he is in charge of design and production for all publications, serves as the managing editor for Ohio High Magazine, and regularly contributes to all Bucknuts Media Network properties as a seasoned sportswriter.

MATT NATALI—Webmaster of Ohio High/JJHuddle.com & Assistant Editor

Matt Natali serves as Webmaster, staff writer and editor of the unusually popular JJ Huddle high school website.  Ohio High/JJ Huddle is the largest state high school sports site in America and specializes in recruiting as well as covering sports throughout the year.  Matt also is assistant editor of the companion publication, Ohio High Magazine which covers all scholastic sports.  The magazine’s Player-of-the-Year and Ohio High Cup awards are coveted by athletes and high schools throughout Ohio.

ED DOUGLAS—Radio Producer

Ed serves as the full-time radio producer for both Bucknuts and JJ Huddle. His career has spanned 35 years including the position of Executive Producer and Program Director for the Ohio State Football Radio Network and for WBNS. Ed was the executive producer for three national bowl game networks.

HEATH “HEATER” SCHNEIDER—Staff Writer

Heater manages message board content as well as gathering updates from football and basketball recruits. He writes the popular “Where Are They Now?” articles that catch people up with popular Buckeyes of the past and "Heater's Skull Session" series, looking at the Buckeyes and college sports through numbers. During the football season, he has had a blog at the Columbus Dispatch's website since 2005. He is currently in the Air Force and lives in North Carolina.

“TECHNICIAN”—Contributor/Commentator

One of football cyberspaces legends, Tech emerges once a week to guide subscribers through football complexities and insights by a true program insider.

MARK PORTER—Sports Videos

Mark founded ScoutingOhio.com, one of the largest athletic video sites in the nation. He shoots, edits, and catalogues videos of high school and college sports talents and provides the finished product to the Bucknuts’ websites.