A BUCKEYE BASHING
Ohio State conquers Chicago with a 31-7 beatdown of Northwestern at Wrigley Field.
#Shoutout to patriot Youtube user Buckdubbs007. When I cast my TimeWarner cable box back into the fires of Mt. Mordor, I forgot a BTN broadcast of the spring game went with it. I also didn't plan on "a couple of beers" with coworkers at Land-Grant Brewing turning into a crippling hangover.
Needless to say I missed the live telecast, which isn't a power move when your job is writing about Ohio State sports and making crude jokes.
But Buckdubbs007 saved the day with a full upload of the game. Now it's like I was there without having to bake my pasty carcass in the sun.
Jerome Baker made the play of the day:
Check out 11W's spring practice hub for our full coverage.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE. Ohio State didn't win a title last year and lost 95% of its most-recognized players, and yet Buckeye fans showed up in droves to watch a rudimentary intrasquad scrimmage, breaking OSU's own national record.
Though the atmosphere was more relaxed than it will be in Norman, Oklahoma on Sept. 17, it's still crucial experience for a young team with contributors that last played in high school stadiums.
From dispatch.com:
“I walked up to Michael Jordan, the freshman guard, and asked him how he feels, and he said, ‘I’m really nervous,’ ” Meyer said. “You’ve got to find out how guys perform in those kind of arenas and those kind of situations. I’m extremely grateful to Ohio State — Buckeye Nation — for doing that.”
Even the few veterans were blown away by the crowd.
“That’s crazy, y’all,” quarterback J.T. Barrett said. “I appreciate our fan base. That’s crazy how many people come to watch a practice, a very basic practice at that.”
Let's hope the weather remains the same when Bowling Green heads to town on Sept. 3, which is a mere 137 days away. (Early forecast calls for sunny skies and an 81-degree high.)
JOEY BLAZE WILL BE JUST FINE. Joe Burrow put up video game numbers in high school, but he played DIII football at Athens High School. He proved to be worth a scholarship on Saturday. (Perhaps Tom Herman, who founded MENSA, knows a thing or two about quarterbacks...)
Burrow showed some mobility and also a repertoire with Torrance Gibson, a guy who originally came to Columbus to compete with Burrow at QB.
From 247sports.com:
“[Torrance Gibson's potential is] off the charts,” Burrow said. “He’s one of the fastest guys on the team, 6-4 and 215 pounds, he’s got the physical tools and with six months working as a wide receiver I think he’s doing really well. And we’re going to keep working to get some chemistry and he’ll be my favorite target here pretty soon.”
At 6-3 and 208 pounds, Burrow showed some pretty good athleticism of his own rushing for a couple of big-gainers during the scrimmage.
“(Mobility’s) always been a pretty big part [of my game],” Burrow said. “I think the media hasn’t really seen that a lot, especially in high school I tried to stay in the pocket and make some throws. But I’ve worked pretty hard at getting bigger, stronger and faster and I have a long way to go.”
It could take a couple weeks, but don't sleep on Ohio State's receiving corps. Zach Smith is going to have weapons of all calibers at his disposal by the end of the season.
HOOKER PICKS: NO FLUKE. Malik Hooker made two interceptions and recorded 10 tackles in the spring game. Look for that interception trend to continue this fall:
That fool @MalikHooker23 has a record of the most practice ints so this ain't a surprise lol
— Eli Apple (@EliApple13) April 16, 2016
Speaking of former Ohio State CB Eli Apple, please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he appears to be going through it right now:
Was just yesterday we were moving Eli into his apartment. This weekend, we move him out. So he's now a homeless unemployed college dropout
— Annie Apple (@SurvivinAmerica) April 15, 2016
I'll jus move back in the basement I'm not worried https://t.co/XRwt2NBbFY
— Eli Apple (@EliApple13) April 15, 2016
Chin up, Eli! At least you won't have pay rent, and I've heard mother's basements make creative incubators. I'm sue something will come along for him.
URBAN STOLE MY CARDALE TAKE. Don't worry, I'm not pressing charges. I'm just flattered to know a three-time national champion is among my readership.
From ohio.com:
“I think it’s the situation [Cardale Jones is] going to get put in,” Meyer told the Beacon Journal in a phone interview this month. “I think there’s going to have to be patience, an excellent quarterback coach that’s going to have to earn his trust. There’s going to have to be a great relationship there; he’s a relationship-type guy. He and [former OSU offensive coordinator] Tom Herman were very close and that took three years.
“It’s going to be dictated by the team that takes him, the amount of patience and the relationship he develops with the quarterback coach.”
Case in point: Cardale Jones almost quit the football team in 2013 when Tom Herman literally put a dunce cap on him during a quarterbacks meeting. Makes you think.
THOSE WMDs. Newsroom pressure is letting fake stories on the web... Keita niceness... The secret history of the photo at the center of the black Confederate myth... Tampa firm probed for fake bidding on foreclosed houses... How do you make a huge gun disappear?
