C! B! J! C! B! J! C! B! J! Damn I love this town.
COOMBS SAYS SOME STUFF. 11Wer AngryWoody posted this to our forums yesterday, but I thought it was interesting enough to share here.
Here's Kerry Coombs in The Lantern:
“The style of play we’re playing is different … one of the things I told coach Meyer about when he (Withers) left is we need to start meeting together, we need to start spending more time together as a cohesive unit,” Coombs said of the cornerbacks and safeties spending more time together. “So Chris and I are able to do that and spend time together and that’s worked out really well. He’s got good energy, he’s got good passion … We’re playing a style of defense that is very appealing to me as corners coach and a lot of stuff that I believe in, so I’m very excited about that.”
I know people think this is some indictment of Withers... but why did it take his departure to get the cornerbacks and safeties in the same meeting room? Far be it from me to question Urban Frank Meyer, but isn't that on the head coach?
I do like to hear the secondary is now playing a style Coombs "believes in." He doesn't strike me as guy satisfied with eight yard cushions on the outside.
THE CHASE IS STILL ON. Urban Meyer's squad fell short of their goals in 2013, but that doesn't mean the drive to bring a national championship to Columbus is over.
Experience is lacking in many key areas, but Meyer is ready to let some talented youngsters loose, including true freshmen. In retrospect, he wishes he had done so last year, when defensive end Joey Bosa and receiver Dontre Wilson were the only first-year players to make a big impact until safety Vonn Bell started in the Orange Bowl.
“We redshirted too many last year, and that was our fault,” he said. “There was a misunderstanding, and we just didn’t do a good job, especially on defense. When they show up on campus, we need to get them ready to play.”[...]
“When you talk about inexperience, that’s a good thing right now,” said Chris Ash, who was hired from Arkansas as co-defensive coordinator to help fix Ohio State’s pass defense. “There aren’t a lot of habits that we have to change to fit what we’re trying to do. We don’t have older guys that are comfortable with where they’re at in their careers.”
I love Urban's honesty, especially when it comes to self-assessment. Also glad to see there will be a bit of a youth revolution at Ohio State this year. There could be some growing pains, sure, but it will all pay dividends down the road. I couldn't be more excited about the early-enrollees already on campus.
I think last year's failures will result in a better, hungrier team this fall.
THE EARLY LINE FOR NAVY IS 14. We're still 124 days away from the opener against Navy, but a line for the game has already been published. 5Dimes' offshore book has the Buckeyes as two-touchdown favorites:
#OhioState #Buckeyes favored by 14 points over Navy Midshipmen in their season opener at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. #OSU #OhioSt
— Johnny Detroit (@Johnny_Detroit) April 24, 2014
Seems low.
FLORIDA'S LOCKER ROOM IS CRUMBLING. Urban Meyer's high crimes at Florida continue. Jonotthan — really, Jonotthan? — Harrison, famous for blocking his own teammate during an eventual home loss to FCS' Georgia Southern, aired some of the 2013 Gators' dirty laundry in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
It's as glorious as you'd think:
"We had a lot of individuals on the team," Harrison said. "Having individuals on your team kind of kills your team. We had people who thought they were entitled because of the school that they went to....There was always someone to blame. No one wanted to take it on themselves."
[...]
Speaking after practice, Harrison told underclassmen those hangovers will linger. Come game time, you're on fumes. Yet players kept on sneaking girls into the team hotel or sneaking out themselves.
"How serious can you take this game," Harrison said, "if that's what you're focused on 24-48 hours before the game?"
Urban Meyer is going to have a lot of explaining to do once Matt Hayes and Mike Bianchi get a hold of this one.
GET HIT BY A CABS BUS, GET 12.5K. If you get hit by a CABS bus (top speed, 20 mph) on campus, you're an idiot. Yet this idiot just got paid:
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The state Court of Claims says an Ohio State University student who was hit by a university-owned bus in a crosswalk has settled a lawsuit against the school for $12,500.
[...]
[Connor] Fox claimed he was "lawfully proceeding" in a Columbus crosswalk with a "walk" signal when he was hit by a bus that failed to yield for him while making a left turn on Feb. 10, 2009. He said the injuries led to medical expenses and lost wages.
OSU attorneys had claimed the bus driver, Patricia Harris, had the right-of-way, and that Fox ran out of the crosswalk so she couldn't see him. The attorneys also contended Fox did not appear to be injured at the time.
This is why we can't have nice things, because of idiots like Connor Fox.
THOSE WMDs. 60 years ago, the government thought this is what made a good secretary... State attorney questions Jameis Winston's character... Four-star Sh'mar Kilby-Lane says it's between OSU and FSU for his services... Pete Prisco, still a chump... How a family handled a mother slain by her son... Michigan has been AWFUL on the road under Brady Hoke... 1992 SI story on Hurricane Carter's exoneration... Brandon Dubinsky YOU WIZARD....
