The Ohio State football beat never rests. A recap of Buckeye alumni who emerged victorious in NFL conference championships:
- Bradley Roby intercepted Tom Brady's two-point try to put the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.
- Cam Newton and the Carolina Buckeyes crying jordaned the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC championship.
I swear ever since I watched @TedGinnJr_19 play at Ohio State I've always wanted to be fast and run like him!
— Devin Smith (@dsmithosu) January 25, 2016
(I too wanted to run fast like Ted Ginn. Why am I not in the NFL!?)
On top of that we got unexpected recruiting news:
- Three-star DB Rodjay Burns flipped from Louisville to Ohio State, becoming the 22nd commit of the 2016 class.
- The Lord of Whispers (who is a must-follow as Signing Day approaches) examined the impact of Burns' commitment.
I'm claiming Burns as my cousin even though our surnames are different, and I expect greatness.
URBAN: SABAN SUCKS! The confetti had yet to stop falling on Alabama's most recent title celebration when people crowned Nick Saban as the greatest college football coach to ever college football coach.
Here's what I know:
- I'm not familiar with history enough to gauge "the best ever."
- Saban is the most successful college football coach in my lifetime.
- Urban Meyer is 2-1 in postseason match-ups against him.
So where does Meyer see Saban?
From gridironnow.com:
“I certainly think he’ll (Saban) go down as one of the greatest in the history of college football,” Meyer said. “I know everybody knows that. But I don’t want to say ‘the best’ — one of the top two or three.”
Don’t think for a minute Meyer is dissing Saban or doesn’t appreciate his genius.
“What he has is consistency in all areas — recruiting, developing players and holding a staff together,” Meyer said. “One of the issues I’ve had over the years is losing assistant coaches."
Meyer didn't divulge his list, but it probably looks like this:
- Earle Bruce
- Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes
- Nick Saban
Meyer praised the hiring of Lane Kiffin (2016 is a helluva drug, partner) and admitted he didn't respect Dabo Swinney's Clemson as a recruiter until the Tigers beat out Urban's Florida Gators for five-star RB C.J. Spiller in 2010.
He also had some interesting words about recent NFL overtures (emphasis mine):
“This year I did have some opportunities, but we’re not ready,” Meyer said. “My son (Nate) is a sophomore in high school and I didn’t even really consider it.
“I never want to say never because people hold you to that. But at this point, that’s not something I’m looking forward to doing.”
There's 0 percent chance Meyer leaves Ohio State for the NFL as long as Nate is in high school. As it stands now, his buyout is $34,080,525. (It drops to $27,434,457 as of Feb. 1.)
On Feb. 1, 2018—the year Nate graduates—it drops to $15,523,591. But by Feb. 1, 2020 it will be down to $4,869,894.
If Urban makes the jump to the NFL it will happen around then. Much more likely, however, he uses NFL overtures as leverage for a contract extension that will secure his great grandchildren's futures.
WALK-ON SCHOLARSHIP CLARITY. Thanks to an NFL exodus and a restoration of scholarships lost to Tatgate, Ohio State was able to gift walk-on linebackers Craig Fada and Joe Burger with scholarships.
It's a great headline, but one of the first questions raised was the length of the scholarship. Ohio State refused to clarify at the time, but it looks like the duo will only be on scholarship through the spring.
From dispatch.com:
Nothing was promised to Burger and Fada past this semester, with their chances depending a lot on whether the Buckeyes fill all of the available slots in their 2016 recruiting class.
“It’s depending on how the numbers work out, but who cares?” Fada said. “This is more about a respect for you in my eyes. I couldn’t care whether I’m getting money to go to school or not. I just love coming out here and getting on the field.”
In that, Fada and Burger are kindred spirits.
“The scholarship wasn’t the goal, but it sure helps,” Burger said. “And it’s a little recognition not only for me and my family, but for everybody on the team where maybe a young guy can see, ‘Maybe if I work really hard, do everything right, maybe I’ll have a chance to get on scholarship.’”
It's good to see Fada and Burger are taking it in stride. Though it's only temporary, it's still a windfall worth thousands of dollars. No college student can complain about that.
BOLD STRATEGY, HARBAUGH. Every good thing to ever happen to Michigan football was earned with Ohio blood magic. (Okay, maybe not every good thing but at least 98.7 percent of good things.)
Barring a sudden change of circumstance, Harbaugh failed to pull a 'croot out of Ohio in his first full year on the job.
From bcsn.tv:
A year ago, Harbaugh and his staff had about a month after his hire to fill in the gaps of its initial recruiting class. Now with a successful season in the books and more than a year to reach out to prospective players, UM has a class with its own stamp on it — a class that’s completely unlike traditional Michigan classes.
“He has not recruited Ohio hard,” said Bill Greene, a recruiting analyst for Scout.com who focuses on Ohio high school football players. “He made a great hire with Chris Partridge, who coached in a conference in New Jersey that’s one of the best in the nation, and he’s getting difference-makers.
[...]
Of Michigan’s 22-player class, none of this year’s recruits are from Ohio. It’s not a slight against Ohio, either.
247Sports ranks Ohio eighth in the nation, with 110 of the country’s top 2016 football recruits, and Ohio’s top two recruits, offensive lineman Tommy Kraemer of Cincinnati Elder and defensive end Jonathon Cooper of Gahanna Lincoln, have been committed to Notre Dame and Ohio State, respectively, since the fall of 2014.
A factor not mentioned: Recruits were five the last time Michigan beat an Ohio State team not led by an interim coach.
THOSE WMDs. From pick-up artist to pariah... The CIA's X-Files... The underside of the show-dog world... Video: The origin of the inflatable man... The case of the big cow con.
