National Signing Day is ~72 hours away, and the Buckeyes are pearling under Urban Meyer. Ohio State's 2016 class is a consensus No. 2 as it stands, and some big chips are coming off the board tonight.
Ohio State's top 2016 DB targets, four-stars Damar Hamlin and Jordan Fuller, will decide at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. tonight. The Lord of Whispers prophesies Pitt's hometown pull will be the deciding factor in Hamlin's recruitment, but he also predicted Fuller donning the Scarlet and Gray. I'll take it.
They'll join a class that's already loaded. Three incoming freshmen were tabbed by various coaches as immediate impact players.
From foxsports.com:
Nick Bosa, a South Florida D-lineman committed to Ohio State, where his brother Joey just finished up. "I think that kid could've been playing major college football as a high school junior," one ACC coach said. "He's not the freak some of these other D-linemen are, but he's just a heck of a ball player." [...]
Demario McCall, a 5-10, 180-pound all-purpose back from Ohio committed to Ohio State: "They (the Buckeyes) have to replace a lot of guys and I could see him helping them out early," one Power 5 assistant said. "He's really dynamic and can play in the slot." [...]
Binjimen Victor, a 6-3, 185-pound Florida wideout committed to Ohio State. "He reminds me a lot of Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley," one SEC coach said. "He can run and jump, has great ball skills and he really competes his butt off."
If only Benjamin Franklin's parents named him Binjimen, their sex-crazed son may have became something. Sure, "You got Binjimen'd!" doesn't roll like "You got Moss'd!" but give me a few months and I'll make it work.
THEY HAVEN'T RUN ROUGHSHOD OVER THE COMBINE EITHER. The Buckeyes are going to make one million dollars on draft day, y'all.
From nfl.com:
"They could have seven or eight guys in the first 50 picks," NFL Media draft expert Mike Mayock said. [...]
Mayock didn't name the Buckeyes prospects to which he was referring, but most or all aren't difficult to identify. Defensive end Joey Bosa is regarded as one of the elite prospects in the draft and has been projected as a top-10 pick. Running back Ezekiel Elliott could be the first player chosen at his position.
Along with Bosa and Elliott, NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah has six other Buckeyes in hisranking of the draft's top 50 players: CB Eli Apple, LB Darron Lee, OT Taylor Decker, WR Michael Thomas, Miller and LB Josh Perry.
That number could get higher if Adolphus Washington, who Mayock says has a first-round grade from at least one team, slips into that pack.
SIBLEY GIVES PEEK BEHIND IRON CURTAIN. Urban Meyer woke up on Sunday with an extra $60,000 in his bank account in the form of a "retention bonus." Because he's fueled by competitiveness, he still went to work on a Sunday.
Ohio State held an invite-only recruiting extravaganza with 2017's top commitments and prospects. (Birm has a full rundown of prospects' takeaways over here.)
Chipotle death knell and Akron Hoban RB Todd Sibley did fans a favor by Periscoping part of his visit to the locker rooms, therapy rooms, and weight rooms of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
The videos obviously aren't live but they can still be viewed (for now):
LIVE on #Periscope https://t.co/0uZOWSMess
— T Sib (@ToddSib23) January 31, 2016
LIVE on #Periscope https://t.co/Q5X9uPcbdK
— T Sib (@ToddSib23) January 31, 2016
It didn't take long before Urban Meyer caught wind and shut down the pirate broadcast. Can't have state secrets leaked to inferior recruiters, after all.
HOW, SWAY? There needs to be a 30 for 30 on how this defense underperformed:
2013 Buckeyes.. Noah Spence, Joey Bosa, Michael Bennett, Adolphus Washington and Ryan Shazier at LB. Yea, good luck! pic.twitter.com/SesfHiDDwR
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) January 31, 2016
Bradley Roby and Doran Grant are in the NFL too. Makes you think.
ALL THE TREADMILLS WERE OCCUPIED. The funniest thing about Urban Meyer is his extreme #dadness in everything not pertaining to football. He even works out like a dad. If I didn't know better I'd think this poor 51-year-old man was about to be a Vine punchline:
Haven't seen this one before. Urban Meyer was working out with some recruits today at #OhioState (via @Jigg_Starter) pic.twitter.com/F0sFMwzMnD
— Ryan Donnelly (@RDonnellyBG) January 31, 2016
I don't see Meyer wincing in pain, so I'm not sure Mickey Marotti would accept that pace. He may want to work in some HITT if he's going to get his mind and body ready for the upcoming St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
MAGE WINS $100,000 OSU SCHOLARSHIP. People love to kick #Millennials. I get it... we have no money or power so we're a natural target of envy. But what I always make clear to naysayers is they may want to find cover before our children come of age.
Here in about 15 years, Ohio Stadium will be used primarily as a video game arena. Hell, maybe sooner because three OSU freshmen just won a $100,000 scholarship playing Hearthstone, a card game based on World of Warcraft.
From shacknews.com:
The final four for this year's tournament was UC Santa Barbara, Laval University, University of Texas - Arlington, and Ohio State University. The final match came down to UC Santa Barbara and Ohio State, with both teams able to push it to a fifth an deciding round. In the end, THE Ohio State University and their Mage was able to take advantage of some iffy Druid play from the UC Santa Barbara team to come out on top. Don't leave that Flamewaker alive, fellas!
What are the other big takeaways from today's action? Well, Ohio State was able to prove that some of the meta's most powerful decks (Secret Paladin and Ramp Druid) are entirely beatable, thanks to some solid strategy and the luck of the draw. The much-maligned Mysterious Challenger, in particular, stood no chance against a strong combination of Flamewaker, Ragnaros the Firelord, and the Arcane Missiles spell. Even though Tirion Fordring was able to bail UCSB out on the next turn, Secret Paladin looked quite vulnerable in this game.
Shoutout to that undisputed mage, and go Bucks! I can't wait until 11W is a Hearthstone and Pokémon site.
THOSE WMDs. Baylor faces accusations of ignoring victims of sexual assault... Kitten Voltron... The wife who lured an OC fugitive out of Iran... Park Slope parents' fight club... Blessings and curses of remembering everything... Go Browns.
