The two big stories to come out of the first day of the Big 12's Media Days were its shitty conference trophy and Mike Gundy's baby mullet. That conference is poised for big things in 2016, folks.
ICYMI: Ohio State dismissed RB Bri'onte Dunn last night for a violation of team rules. Given the severity of the punishment, it's safe to assume Dunn violated one of Urban Meyer's core principles.
BRAXTON STILL GRINDING. The next time we see Braxton Miller, he won't be wearing the famed Scarlet and Gray. He's a Houston Texans wide receiver now, and although his time with the franchise has been limited, he's already drawing rave reviews from his position coach.
From houstontexans.com:
“I think Braxton is coming along great,” [Texan wide receivers coach Sean] Ryan said. “Another good inside and outside guy. Great skill set, change of direction, catching the ball well. I’ve been really happy with him.”
In the radio interview with Tom Pelissero and Bill Polian, Miller was asked about his ability to deal with press coverage playing on the outside as a receiver. He said he’s definitely made progress.
“I’ve adapted pretty well,” Miller said. “That was one of the main things coming out. That’s why I wanted to go to the Senior Bowl, basically. The whole time at the Senior Bowl, I was playing outside and I was going against the better DBs in the country. I had to come out there and really prepare myself to be ready for big competition and playing outside receiver. I adjusted really well. Right now I’m just out there having fun with it. I’m still learning the techniques and everything, but still being the playmaker and being myself.”
It's going to be fun to see how the Texans employ Miller's talents. But we would be wise to remember the Texans roster a more-advanced receiver than Ohio State ever did, which played a part in his overall pedestrian campaign in 2015.
If Miller can show he can consistently beat press coverage from NFL cornerbacks, he will be unguardable, a captive only to his hands and quarterback talent.
Speaking of QB talent, here are the three men vying for the starting Texans' QB job: Brock Osweiler, Brandon Weeden, and Tom Savage. Yikes.
SLOB COMMANDER FITTING IN. We have yet to see the Slobs under new commander Greg Studrawa, but I have yet to read a negative word about the hire.
From 247sports.com:
"The kids love him," a source familiar with the situation told Bucknuts. "He's really hands-on with his teaching and has been very helpful as far as technique goes. He teaches, he doesn't drill or yell. But he can be tough when he needs to. That position, you kind of have to be. So, it's been good. He's different than Ed, but that's not a bad thing. I think he'll still get results. I know the players are responding well, and it's good he's familiar with Coach [Urban] Meyer and his style already. The transition was pretty seamless."
"He's fit right in," a separate source close with the team shared on Studrawa. "He's one of Urban's long-time friends, so that made it easy. He's done well in recruiting. I think his personality is a little warmer than Ed's, so that has helped with first impressions on recruits. As far as the players go, he believes in a lot of the same things as Ed. They are working together, making sure things are flowing, and the most important players on our offense are in synch. He's got this group coming along and I think they'll be a lot better than people think."
Ohio State is an offensive line–driven program, so offensive line coach is easily the most important out of positional coaches. If the line continues its dominance under Studrawa and Ed Warinner is allowed to stay in the box, this hiring will have been the ultimate power move for Meyer.
PRAY FOR EZEKIEL ELLIOTT'S BODY. NFL teams don't draft running backs in the Top 5 if they don't think they can make an immediate impact. We knew Ezekiel Elliott would be in for quite the haul in 2016, but he should make sure he keeps an elite masseuse on tap.
From rotoviz.com:
Appearing on RotoViz Radio, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Drew Davison suggested Ezekiel Elliott could see 300 or more carries this season.
"I think he's going to get a lot of carries," said Davison. "You don't use the fourth overall pick on (a running back) you don't plan to ride hard. With that said, I don't see him coming close to DeMarco Murray's 392 carries from two years ago. But I still think he should get close to 300, if not 300-plus carries ... because they're definitely going to focus on the running game, kinda go back to the Ground-N-Pound team they had in 2014." Davis later noted Darren McFadden (elbow) is questionable for Week 1, stating the team "feel like he's a good backup to Ezekiel Elliott" when healthy and calling Elliott the Cowboys' "clear No. 1 back."
Elliott only suffered "minor" injuries at Ohio State, though he never broke the 300 carry threshold in Columbus. He could no doubt shoulder that load, but the number of carries in a running back's career are finite.
If the Cowboys ride Elliott to the point his body breaks down, I will never forgive them.
SAYONARA, KICKOFF? I love big hits as much as the next football fan, but I also love knowing the players risking their bodies for my entertainment are doing so in the safest way possible.
Kickoffs are inherently unsafe and could soon be out the door.
From cbssports.com:
Preliminary discussions have begun within two influential college football bodies into possibly removing kickoffs from the game, CBS Sports has learned.
Both the American Football Coaches Association's board of trustees and the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee have at least had informal talks about the possibility.
[...]
"I don't think there is any doubt it is the most dangerous play in the game," said Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, chairman of that oversight committee. "How much that's the case and how we can fix it is unknown."
I'll be shocked if this doesn't happen. Kickoff returns are sweet and all, but they're rare. Plus, men built like mutants running full-speed downhill are weapons.
There will be an uproar from people that won't be absorbing those kinds of hits this fall, and it will pass just like the outrage expressed when Eleven Warriors redesigned its site. The game of football is much, much bigger than kickoffs.
THAT'S CALLED LUCK. Dorms are a college experience everybody claims they loved even though they got out of them as soon as financially possible.
And despite Ohio State building ~582 dorms in recent years, it's an experience 130 students won't have this year thanks to overcrowding.
From dispatch.com:
Of the 14,500 or so who requested dorm rooms and paid a deposit in the spring, about 130 received letters recently offering them a place in a nearby apartment instead. They aren’t required to accept the apartment placements.
The university is spending about $1.2 million to lease units in three new or nearly new apartment buildings: The Doric on Lane, 150 W. Lane Ave.; Norwich Flats, 250 W. Norwich Ave.; and Fisher Commons at 900 Nettle Drive, near Lane Avenue and Kenny Road.
“It looks at this point like we will be using 116 beds in these locations,” university spokesman Dave Isaacs said.
People will swear these 130 souls aren't getting "the true college experience." I say they're lucky. At least power-hungry RAs don't overlord over that kind of overpriced box.
THOSE WMDs. You don't know your own mind... Korean baseball league holds a bunt derby... That time Prince owned Matt Damon... When Yahoo! ruled the valley... The great GIF debate.
