Urban Meyer met with local media yesterday after practice, and the third-year OSU coach spoke on a number of topics. (Kyle's report is over here.) The main concern, however, has been the ongoing defensive overhaul.
In a Monday Q&A with CBS Sports' Jeremy Fowler, Urban Meyer had this to say:
“What Chris Ash is able to do, we're overhauling [the defense] entirely. Some things will look the same, but there's a reason why our kids didn't play very fast last year, and it's not because of the players. We're overhauling everything, the terminology, the way we practice, the way we coach. It's going pretty good. No resistance, no egos, really good people.”
"And it's not because of the players."
And here, via Tony Gerdeman, is Tyvis Powell yesterday when asked if the defense was flying to the football in practice last year:
"No. Practice was kind of relaxed, but it's getting back to high energy now. They demand effort out of us right now so that's the best thing about it."
When Urban first got hired, I heard through a fairly-prominent player from his BGSU days that "Every practice we ever had felt like a Super Bowl." So it's crazy to hear the energy had fallen off, especially for a defensive unit that's struggled since Urban's arrival.
DARRYL BALDWIN HAD TO GRIND. Urban Meyer shocked nobody when he announced Pat Elflein had earned a starting job on the offensive line. Another projected starter is a former defensive lineman: Solon's Darryl Baldwin, who admits he was afraid he'd end up as a career back-up at Ohio State. From Cleveland.com's Ari Wasserman:
"It is my third year on offense," Baldwin said, "and I am finally out there with the first unit getting a lot of reps. It is pretty exciting, actually. I haven't done it since high school, getting all these reps, so having the opportunity is something I'm really thankful for.
"I just have to make the most of it."
Baldwin will still have to fend off a challenge at the right tackle spot from Kyle Dodson and Evan Lisle, but Taylor Decker and the fifth year senior are expected to bookend the offensive line. Antonio Underwood and Jacoby Boren are the other linemen sharing first team reps thus far, but Tom Herman noted Boren is in a 50/50 fight with Billy Price for the starting center job.
DETROIT PISTONS WANT IZZO. According to Sam Amick of USA Today, the majestic Pistons owner Tom Gores is expected to make a run a Sparty head basketball coach Tom Izzo.
Joe Dumars, who miraculously hasn't been fired in the last four years, will either finally be canned or "hand in his resignation" after this season. The Pistons are 26-44 and currently 4th place in the Central Division.
Now, Tom Izzo is playing it coy and saying he's happy in East Lansing, but he's not going to the Nick Saban route and flat out denying he'll ever coach there.
Izzo, like every respectable industry in Detroit, would go down in flames. For whatever reason, the Pistons thought it'd be a good idea to give Josh Smith a four year, $53 million deal last off-season. They traded for Brandon Jennings (a point guard shooting 37% from the field this year) and his ~$8 million a year contract. Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings' games aren't worth building a brick shithouse on, let alone the foundation of your professional basketball team.
Why would Izzo want to tarnish his legacy by coaching that clown show? Money, of course, and lots of it.
Does Tom Gores have enough money to make Izzo say "screw it, man" and move to a safe distance outside the city formerly known as Detroit? We're about to find out.
BOBBY KNIGHT LEAVES THE YARD. Bobby Knight is an idiot ragecase who is pretty overrated by the establishment media. Cool, he won some titles or whatever. And then the game changed, he failed to adapt and he spent the rest of his career taking his insecurities and failures out on kids a third of his age.
Why am I even wasting my time talking about my least favorite Ohio State alumnus ever? Because he's back in the news for the only thing Bobby Knight's been in the news for the last 15 years: He said something moronic. From Timothy Burke at Deadspin:
Bob Knight, who famously told Connie Chung in 1988 that ''if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it,'' once again went to the well of sexual assault-themed metaphors on Mike & Mike today.
When speaking in regard to the NBA's age minimum rule and the subsequent one-and-done nature of big-time college basketball, Knight said, "It's as though they've raped college basketball in my opinion."
Why does this guy continue to have a job? He obviously hates the modern game, speaks only in generalities and is just a crotchety old man in general. He can't even make a point with which I'd agree without making me recoil.
SMOOTH MOVE, OU. Ohio University chose to partake in the CollegeInsider.com tournament. Just what is the prestigious CIT? Take it away, universal oracle aka Wikpedia:
The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) is an Americanmen's college basketball tournament created in 2009 by Collegeinsider.com. In 2012 it expanded to its current 32 participating teams. The Tournament is oriented toward mid-major schools who did not get selected to go the NCAA or NIT tournaments.
Ohio has hosted games against Wright State and Cleveland State (and won both). Tonight they take on the nation's No. 1 offense, Virginia Military, in quarterfinal action.
Sounds awesome, right? Not exactly. In hosting the three games, OU will have shelled out $108,000 from the "Post Season Opportunity Fund." The fund, of course, is a glorified slush-fund with student fee money. Pretty messed up if you ask me; I don't consider shelling out $108,000 for a bootleg March Madness tournament "an opportunity."
"KENNY GUITON SHOULD BE DRAFTED, MAN," SAYS DRAFTMAN. Mel Kiper, his hair and his shtick have always weirded me out a little bit. He's one of those guys nobody takes seriously, but people are always quick to cite when he agrees with their armchair-scouting #hot #take.
But I'm willing to forget all that because he's praising Kenny Guiton:
Mel Kiper Jr mentioned today that Kenny Guiton is the wild card QB in the 2014 NFL Draft and should be taken in the 5th or 6th round.
— The Buckeye Nut (@TheBuckeyeNut) March 24, 2014
Wild card? Yeah, you could say the Smooth Sensation is the wildest of them all. (Wild cards always make me think of the greatest episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.)
I'm hopeful the Browns are smart and take a flier. (Spoiler: the Browns aren't taking a flier.)
THOSE WMDs. Torrance Gibson has realized importance of QB recruiting for his class, will commit early... Carlos Hyde reportedly ran a mid 4.5 40-yard dash yesterday... Reminder: Philly Brown made a Top 5 Vine... Beast: African Fish Eagle... Mike Leach's book on Geronimo is available for pre-order... Soviet Civil Defence posters.. Bill Belichick: still trollin'... Arkansas fan does his best Marcus Hall impression... Michigan's MSPaint logo... Somebody might want to stop Ross Barkley... Inside the Barista class... For $3k I'll create my own wedding hashtag... Who killed the Jeff Davis 8?
