Happy 8/8, everyone...well, except for those who suffer from octophobia. This is probably a stressful day for you1.
Besides the fact that I just mentioned today is August 8th, another clue that football season has yet to arrive is the amount of attention given to new uniforms this week. Yes, Wisconsin's Adidas jerseys for the Nebraska game are laughable, and I guess anything Penn State does these days is news, but when the topic du jour is "OMG, Penn State is adding the players' names to the back of their jerseys!", then it's time for football to get here.
To be fair, the Nittany Lions will also wear blue ribbons on their uniforms to bring awareness to victims of child abuse.
However, the idea that players will suddenly forget that there's no "I" in team and turn into raging narcissists when they see their name stitched on the back of their jerseys is ridiculous. I mean, they're 18- to 22-year-old college football players. Chances are, there's at least a little bit of narcissism already present.
Personally, I don't care for the nameless look. How would the folks at home tell—avert your eyes, octophobes—#8 Noah Spence apart from #8 Ricquan Southward? Sure, one's a 240-pound defensive lineman and the other is 185-pound wide receiver, but they both wear the same number, so they're practically twins.
Aaaand, I just wrote several paragraphs on the subject of uniforms. Nope, it's not football season yet.
LIKE MIKE. During the spring game, Ohio State fans witnessed something they had seen very little of the previous season: a wide receiver catching multiple passes for a good chunk of yards. As we all remember, because it was only a few months ago and we're not Leonard Shelby, that WR was freshman Michael Thomas, who hauled in 12 passes for 131 yards.
Doug Harris believes Thomas will be one of the Big Ten's top newcomers this year, and Urban Meyer seems to agree, comparing the freshman to his beloved John Simon. According to the coach, "He's an above-and-beyond guy. I love that about him, and you can see his improvement."
That has apparently been the case during the first few days of practice. As Kyle informed us yesterday, Thomas has impressed onlookers, especially when he snagged an under-thrown pass from Braxton Miller. But it also appears that the entire receiving corps is making strides:
Then it will be like last season never happened, right?2
FICKELL BACK. Speaking of people who would rather forget the 2011 season, Luke Fickell seems content now that's he back in his role as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Even though most expect that he will one day take another head coaching gig, Fox Sports Ohio's Zac Jackson wrote that for now, Fickell is focused on helping the Buckeyes return to their winning ways.
And everyone, including Fickell, is pumped:
"There's a different feel, different perspective I guess," Fickell said. "All the years have been exciting, all the years have been fun. Different challenges at different times but this is definitely an exciting time for Ohio State and I think you can see it and in our players' eyes."
For someone who took a "demotion", it's the right kind of attitude to have. Though the players have bought into Urban Meyer's system, they also feel a sense of loyalty to Fickell, and it's easy to understand why.
What are the odds that Ohio State wins more than 9 games?THE ODDS ARE THERE TO BEAT. Yesterday, Bovada released the odds they set for over/under wins this season in college football. Three teams have an over/under of 10 1/2: Alabama, Oregon, and USC. First-place LSU, at least according to the all-important preseason coaches' poll, is sitting at 10, as are Florida State and Oklahoma.
In the Big Ten, Wisconsin leads the way (9.5), followed by Ohio State and Michigan, who both have an over/under of 9. Michigan State and Nebraska are next (8.5).
I certainly want the Buckeyes to keep aiming for 12-0, but that sounds about right to me3.
ACROSS STATE LINES. ESPN's Arnold Michael Rothstein and Austin Ward continued their "Inside the Game" series that compares position groups between Ohio State and Michigan. For this episode, they looked at who has the better defensive line, and can that even be debated?
As it turns out, no. Although Michigan's DL isn't particularly experienced, "potential" was the word Rothstein used repeatedly to describe the group. Still, he conceded fairly quickly after Ward mentioned the names Simon and Hankins. Ward also brought up that OSU should "be able to go 9-10 deep, which is a hallmark of an Urban Meyer team and what he wants to do on that defensive front."
Highly-touted freshmen like Adolphus Washington and Noah Spence are turning heads at practice, and they're only with the third unit (except for yesterday, when Adam Bellamy's absence allowed Washington to move up).
So yeah, spoiler alert: Ohio State's defensive line is stacked.
HOOSIER PICK. CBSSports.com talked to many different coaches to ask them various questions about college basketball, such as finding out which player they would most want to add to their team. Aaron Craft came in third with 9 percent of the vote, with one coach saying, "I'd rather go to four Elite Eights with Aaron Craft than one title game with Nerlens Noel, because the headaches that come with the top players isn't worth it."
Matt Norlander seemed puzzled by anyone choosing Craft over Noel, but Craft has proven himself on the court as both a leader and a hard worker, while Noel has yet to play one minute of college hoops.
Trey Burke (5 percent) was also listed, though it was another Big Ten player, Cody Zeller, who was the top vote-getter (35 percent). In other Indiana news, Trey Lyles, a class of 2014 commit, reopened his recruitment4. Based on the fact that Lyles is a highly-rated power forward, I'm going to guess that Matta will be calling. Tom Crean will be so pleased.
LINKING FERTILIZER. Dorian Johnson decommitted from Penn State... Mike Adams will start tomorrow night for the Steelers... Toledo's Erik Kynard wins the silver medal in the high jump... The U.S. women's water polo coach imitates Chris Webber... Gymnast not found... Breaking the seal: science!... Arrested Development has started production on season four... Breaking Development.
- 1 Also, do you find Dick Van Patten terrifying?
- 2 Remember Sammy Jankis.
- 3 I also know nothing about gambling, except that you never count your money when you're sittin' at the table, so don't listen to me.
- 4 Maybe he realized that Indiana isn't allowed 20 players on their roster.
