It didn't take long — perhaps it's due to practice over the last couple years of talking myself into repeated 10-6 Browns predictions — but I've now upgraded Ohio State to "play-off dark horse nobody wants to play."
Fight me if you must.
Anyway, here are the "BRAXTON MILLER FILES:"
- Braxton Miller is done for the 2014 season, but he will redshirt and return in 2015.
- Dr. James Andrews will perform Miller's surgery.
- There's a "Get Better No. 5" billboard on Olentangy River Road.
- How Ohio State will survive without their dynamo quarterback.
- A look at the man who will replace Braxton's cavernous cleats: Joe Thomas Barrett IV, the Distributor.
OLD AND NEW SCHOOL LOOK AT JTB4. J.T. Barrett is the Next Man Up at Ohio State, but the Texan slinger is still a bit of an unknown to the masses. (New beatman Tim Shoemaker will be through today with his Q&A session with J.T. Barrett's high school coach.)
Yesterday, in my traverses of the magical realm we call the internet, I stumbled across the hometown look (I'm big on hometown looks) of Joe Thomas Barrett IV, son of Joe Thomas Barrett III. (As a II, I always respect Roman numeral swagger.)
From Andy Newberry of the Wichita Falls Times Record News in February 2013:
"Every day is a grind," Barrett said. "Seven days a week with football and school."
[...]
"[My parents] brought me up well. I know how to clean and have a little cooking skills. They did a good job raising my brothers and I. It wasn't like I'd never done anything for myself."
It also includes this hilarious anecdote about Mama Barrett:
"I got my first offer from Texas Tech when I was up at school so I went and called my mom, and said mom, I just got my first offer from Texas Tech," Barrett said. "She said ‘That's nice now shouldn't you go back to class.' Normally it would be celebration and going out to dinner.
"I know they're proud of me. But they're real mellow."
And here are some highlights of J.T. Barrett from spring ball, published yesterday, that show what he brings to the table:
I'm telling you guys: DARK HORSE.
GIBSON HIGH ON BUCKS, COOLING ON VOLS. When we last saw 2015's No. 1 dual-threat quarterback, Torrance Gibson, he was dining at Hang Over Easy and naming Ohio State as his No. 1 team in the aftermath of Friday Night Lights.
[Yesterday, The Lord of Whispers broke down the massive chip on Gibson's shoulder despite being a highly-touted recruit.]
Cleveland.com's Ari Wasserman spoke to Gibson, and the electric Floridian still fancies the Buckeyes:
"Nothing has changed, Ohio State is still the leader," Gibson said. "I haven't been hearing from a lot of coaches lately. I think this is the slowing down process to me – so I am just soaking it all in and trying to focus on my senior season. Then Oct. 20, I'll make my decision."
What about the potential logjam at quarterback in 2015?
"Being mentored by Braxton Miller, that'd be pretty awesome," Gibson told cleveland.com during a phone interview Tuesday night. "Being mentored by one of the best quarterbacks that ever came to Ohio State, man that would be something. It would be great if I decided to go to Ohio State."
As for his official visits, and why he's cooling on Tennessee:
Gibson said he'll certainly take official visits to Ohio State – for the Virginia Tech on Sept. 6 – Arizona and Oklahoma, and he's still figuring out who will earn the last visit. Tennessee was once one of his favorites, but he has since backed off because he said he's heard the Volunteers are recruiting him as a receiver.
Sure, Gibson's list has been static throughout the recruitment process, but the #teen has kept it real with the reasons behind the shifting. I'm no recruitnik, but I like where Ohio State is sitting as we approach Gibson's October 20th deadline.
DRONES ARE COMING. Drones are interesting. The flying robots can be used to do everything from volcano videography to blowing up a man half way across the world.
At places like UCLA, drones are being used to film practices. It's a practice that could soon find its way to Ohio State, according to Marionaire/tight ends coach Tim Hinton:
I wish I had a drone to capture all the crazy shit that goes down in Columbus on a day-to-day basis. I'd win an Emmy.
WHO BENEFITS MOST FROM BRAXTON'S INJURY. Besides JT Barrett? NFL.com's Mike Huguenin looked at the national ramifications of Braxton Miller being sidelined:
Michigan State: If Miller is on the sideline, the Spartans become the prohibitive Big Ten East Division favorite as well as the overall league favorite. There is a huge non-conference game Sept. 6 at Oregon, and a win there might stamp Michigan State as the Big Ten favorite even if Miller were healthy. But take away Miller from Ohio State, and Michigan State becomes a somewhat easy pick to beat the Buckeyes in East Lansing on Nov. 8. Michigan State's talent level is better than that of every league team except Ohio State. The question is this: Can a one-loss Michigan State team make the College Football Playoff? It obviously depends on a lot of factors, but removing Ohio State from the picture is good for the Spartans.
» Oklahoma and Baylor: These appear to be the top two teams in the Big 12, by a large margin. Both play easy non-conference schedules (OU's toughest non-conference game is Tennessee; Baylor's is SMU -- seriously), and their Nov. 8 game in Norman should determine the Big 12 title. Thing is, a one-loss Big 12 team is going to have a tough time making the playoff field because of the conference's relative lack of strength unless there are some two-loss conference champs. Taking Ohio State out of the equation is huge for the Big 12.
» The Pac-12 and SEC as a whole: The SEC is going to be the best league this fall, and the Pac-12 will be a close second. Indeed, the gap between first and second will be a lot less than the gap between second and third. In short, it could be difficult for a Pac-12 team or an SEC team to escape the season unscathed. Removing what could be an unbeaten Ohio State team from the mix certainly will make things easier for one-loss (and maybe even two-loss) Pac-12 and SEC teams to make the playoff.
I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for Braxton Miller to have a miraculous recovery and lead Ohio State to a fourth-quarter, come-from-behind victory over Michigan State in East Lansing.
That's the first time Ohio State is going to miss Braxton's experience, I think. (Although. the trip to Penn State just got tougher too.)
THOSE WMDs. Remember this image next time you get fired up about one of my #takes... What is $100 worth in each state... Joel Embiid is the realest Tweeter in the game... Pat Narduzzi thinks MSU's 2014 defense sucks... The MAC is $100 million — $100,000,000 — richer... Outlaw NYC Instagrammers are crazy... Dutch soccer fans irate home stadium is getting WiFi.
