I started writing for Eleven Warriors nearly two years ago, in the summer of 2011. In many ways, it seems like a longer than that because my life has changed quite a bit, almost entirely for the better1, either directly or indirectly as a result of being part of this site.
After numerous Skull Sessions — one almost every single week since I began — today's will be my last. When I first started, I remember comparing myself to glass ceiling-breaking Peggy Olson, and like Peggy, I knew when it was my time to step away.
Admittedly, the analogy kind of dies there, since I'm not leaving for another agency and really, the most recent episode of Mad Men threw that storyline for a loop. Regardless, I will still be out there somewhere in the interwebs, though I will try to contain my thoughts on Ohio State sports and TV to 140-character tweets.
Other than this pretty cool video, yesterday wasn't a very eventful day for Ohio State — which is at least good news in relation to the Fulmer Cup — so if you'll indulge me, I'd like to take a minute to thank everyone, from the other writers on the site to the readers.
Everyone on staff here puts a lot of time and effort into 11W, so please remember that and be nice to them. Not only do I like these guys personally, but I'm also a fan of their work and will continue to read it.
By and large, the commenters have been very kind to me, which I have always greatly appreciated. I hope you have enjoyed my take on the Buckeyes, my pop culture references, my beloved footnotes2, and for those who listened, my year of co-hosting the Dubcast with Johnny. Since this past football season, I've also been working behind the scenes as a copyeditor and even if you didn't know that, I hope you noticed fewer typos and the proper usage of premiere vs. premier around here.
I'm extremely grateful for my almost two years with the site and I will sincerely miss being a part of its daily operations, but I'm also looking forward to spending some of that free time with Netflix and finding out if I have the attention span anymore to read books.
Now that I've more or less said goodbye, it's time for the actual Skull Session portion of this post. It'll be One More for the Road, but as we know, All Good Things... must come to The End. Enough of the Goodbye, Farewell and Amen, though. Everyone's Waiting.
BY GEORGE. Even if it's like Sophie's Choice, we all have an all-time favorite Ohio State player. For close to 20(!) years, Eddie George has been mine, perhaps because he was a star for the Buckeyes at the same time as I was just starting to get really interested in football. And also because he was and continues to be awesome.
Currently, Eddie is the assistant vice president for business advancement at Ohio State and last night he spoke at Ohio State Lima's Tenth Annual Spring for Scholarships Dinner and Auction, where he helped raise money for student scholarships. He also took the time to talk to Jim Naveau of the Lima News about football-related business, including Urban Meyer:
"I had a chance to talk to him at the 2008 national championship game when we worked together for Fox. We didn’t really get to know each other but he did say something to me then that if there was one job he would want to take, it would be Ohio State and I was like, ‘OK, whatever.’ But a few years later, he is the head coach."
He then called Urban "a no-nonsense guy who creates a culture of being highly competitive the moment you walk into the facility." So basically, he is who we thought he was.
And as he should be, Eddie is optimistic about this year's running game:
"When you look at Braxton Miller, Carlos Hyde, Rod Smith and Jordan Hall, I think they have opportunity to put up some really big numbers, especially with the offensive lineman coming back leaner and meaner than a year ago and playing with an attitude.
"They’re really excited. I know they are because I saw them working out today really hard on a day when they didn’t have to."
Eddie also agreed with Urban on the importance of night games for recruiting purposes and is excited to seeing what the new playoff system brings.
SURE THROWS A MEAN FOOTBALL. Many Nebraska fans are still bitter about Eddie George winning the 1995 Heisman over fellow B1Ger Tommie Frazier, which whatever, EDDIE COULD BEAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU UP.
That said, Nebraska fans should be bitter — and oh, they are — that Frazier isn't in the College Football Hall of Fame. Last month, this year's ballot was released and Frazier was one of 82 nominees. Later today, the inductees will be announced. In all, 12 coaches and players will be part of the 2013 class, with Miami's Vinny Testaverde being the only one officially in as of right now.
However, Matt Hayes' sources tell him that Frazier has also been elected, meaning he can again follow Eddie, who of course is already a member since he won the Heisman and all. Hopefully other Buckeyes will join them, especially the blocker leading the way for Eddie, Orlando Pace. He, Jim Otis, and Tom Cousineau are the three former Ohio State players on the 2013 ballot.
Eddie's got some wine for Nebraska fansWINCING THE NIGHT AWAY. In what turned out to be good news for the Western Michigan fans out there, BTN unveiled its prime time schedule yesterday, which features more night games for the Broncos (two) than the Buckeyes (zero).
To be fair, we already knew that Ohio State will play three night games on the ABC/ESPN family, and honestly, Ohio State probably doesn't want to be associated with the rest of those BTN games under the lights. I'm not going to sugarcoat it: those 12 games look mostly so awful on paper that they actually make me wish college football would take its sweet time getting here.
I immediately regret even joking about that; it would be the worst wish since Cordelia's, but to say that this is a lackluster slate is putting it much too kindly. I mean, Illinois will play two night games on BTN and those are sort of the highlights. One will be at Soldier Field against Washington on Sept. 14 while the other is the only conference prime time matchup on BTN, Wisconsin at Illinois on Oct. 19. That's also the only one of the 12 games that will air in October.
Like usual, there are no B1G night games scheduled for November, but that will probably change before too long. According to Big Ten senior associate commissioner for television administration Mark Rudner, "We're not going to shy away from it. It just didn't happen this year."
WHERE THE IMAGE BREAKS DOWN. While the money keeps coming in for the conference, Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal thinks the Big Ten has a relevancy issue in football and should take a cue from the basketball side of things to correct that image.
Citing the recent NFL Draft which nearly saw the B1G shut out of the first round, as well as the SEC's dominance in the sport, he said the real problem lies in recruiting. But it's also a bit of a familiar problem:
Big Ten basketball went through a similar cycle in recent years. Illinois started fading as Bill Self’s recruits left the program and the reigning powers — Michigan State and UW — did it more with great systems than rosters filled with future NBA players.
Critics pounded the conference for its unathletic style, shortage of great teams and lack of NCAA tournament success.
That’s when the Big Ten did something about its fading image.
It started with hiring better coaches, such as Thad Matta and John Beilein, which translated into better recruits and eventually the B1G being the top conference in basketball the past couple years. As for football, we all know Urban and Brady Hoke can recruit, but it's also expected for Ohio State and Michigan to do well in that area. Other, less traditionally elite programs need to step up, too, and if Northwestern is any indication, there are hints that football is coming along, albeit it slowly.
I'VE GOT DREAMS TO REMEMBER. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Michael Carvell caught up with soon-to-be Ohio State safety Vonn Bell to reminisce about his recruiting experience. Perhaps the most eye-catching quote was this one:
"But about the biggest secret was probably keeping it secret (about Ohio State) until signing day. The first two days (before signing day), I just woke up out of my dreams. Me and God just had a conversation. He said ‘I want you go to Ohio State.’ Then I just knew ever since then. That was probably the longest time I ever kept a secret, those two days."
He went on to say that "Ohio State was in my heart" and "I asked God to give me a sign, and He gave me a sign. I woke up the middle of the night." Whether you believe Bell subconsciously knew where he wanted to go or if it was divine intervention, it certainly worked out for Ohio State. And between Bell and Bradley Roby, the Buckeyes will have quite the prophetically dreaming secondary.
Another answer that stood out to me was when Bell was asked which recruiting rule he would change:
"How much money they can spend on you for official visits. I think colleges should spend more and let them (recruits) have fun. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Let the colleges go all out for them. They (the colleges) have enough money to (spend more)."
I guess no one took him to T-Town Menswear when he visited Alabama3.
THE LED STILL CLICKERS IN YOUR EYES. SI's 2014 mock draft projects Roby to the Lions at No. 11... A collection of student pictures from Ohio State's commencement... Nerlens Noel brought a special guest to the Kentucky Derby... Looks like the ACC Network is next... Three missing women found alive in Cleveland... Time's list of the 50 Best Websites of 2013... Michigan Man is literal... I've been watching this for over 24 hours and it never gets old.
