It happened.
Urban Meyer built it, the talented #teens came, and 11W went off like an AK-47. Our server, reinforced with 12W steel beams, inhaled traffic like OP Kirby. Top marks all around.
The full NSD hub is here, but here are my favorite pieces:
- Meet the 2016 class, which finished as a consensus No. 4.
- The impact of Malcolm Pridgeon, a JUCO OL whom Urban Meyer called "a monster."
- 12-Star Monday: Urban and Dwayne Haskins orchestrated one of the biggest days in OSU recruiting history.
- Inked: Keandre Jones. Urban said he's the jewel of the class and will be a future captain. (I'll take two.)
Some newsy stuff you may have missed due to trivial matters like work:
- The NCAA granted Corey Smith a sixth-year of eligibility. I guess I won't be needing this soapbox...
- Greg Studrawa, who was celestially molded to be an OL coach, met Columbus media for the first time.
- LB Kyle Berger is retiring via medical hardship waiver due to multiple knee surgeries. He's using the opportunity to pursue his dream of medical school.
- Coach's Show recap, and Urban presser bullets, with video.
- Cam Williams is now a scouting assistant with the New England Patriots.
Now, let the games begin on the 2016 season...
IT WAS A GOOD DAY. "It's unsettling how smooth today went," Birm said in his Columbus-area lair, which is where I toiled yesterday after my mom gave me permission to skip my chores and work remotely.
Like the sensei he is, he was not satisfied by his relentless preparation.
Yet the Lord of Whispers unleashed his whole repertoire over the course of five hours. He mingled with commenters, bounced around Periscope commitment feeds, texted program sources, published a torrent of stories... he even gave 25 minutes of analysis to a Fostoria radio station.
In the end, not even Ohio State's signing day was as smooth as him.
From espn.com:
The Buckeyes basically had no issues in putting together another top-five class on Wednesday, avoiding any decommitments, adding a coveted junior-college transfer and putting the finishing touches on their class before lunch. But there was one last-minute delay, though it was on the receiving end in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center when the last national letter of intent was late in arriving after the Buckeyes ran out of paper.
“We just laughed about it,” director of player personnel Mark Pantoni said after the last of the 18 signatures had officially arrived at Ohio State. “[Wide receiver] Binjimen Victor was the last one, and we kept waiting for it to come and he kept saying he sent it. [Wide receivers coach] Zach Smith had been sitting there for about five minutes, and then somebody figured out we were out of paper.
“All we could do was laugh about it.”
They wouldn't have been laughing had Urban Meyer already killed a man.
PRIDGEON'S ORIGIN STORY. Malcolm Pridgeon, a hulking, 6'8" 303-pound four-star JUCO OL transfer, was a late-comer to Ohio State's 2016 class. Meyer mentioned during his 97.1 The Fan radio spot Pat Elflein went out to dinner with Pridgeon and the staff last weekend to seal the deal.
Meyer then bet everyone in the studio they couldn't guess Pridgeon's major. Nobody did.
Pridgeon plans to major in culinary arts. Meyer later tabbed him as a guy who could start next fall. (Greg Studrawa later said only Elflein and Billy Price are considered starters at the moment.)
Needless to say, I about snapped my dang femur in half rushing onto the Pridgeon swagwagon. As It turns out, his journey to Columbus came with more detours than a JUCO stop.
From dispatch.com:
When he was 11, his father, James Earl, died of a heart attack. Five years later, his mother, Peggy, suffered a heart attack and stroke. She lives in a nursing home. Pridgeon’s sister, Kalisha Garrison, took custody of him.
Pridgeon began playing football at age 13 in Central Islip, N.Y. The sport became a salve for him. Academics caused him to go the junior college route after high school, and he became an All-American at Nassau Community College.
“Your heart sinks because as much as he gifted as he physically and athletically, it’s unfair when a kid gets dealt a bad hand like that in life,” Nassau offensive-line coach Billy Sullivan said. “He’s stayed positive. There have been some bumps in the road, but he never really looks back. He looks forward. He’s a great leader and a great young man.”
No disrespect to Isaiah Prince, but I will be voting a straight Happy Jamarco-Pridgeon ballot this fall.
I also plan on voting for Matthew Burrell at RG. Partly because Urban Meyer called him the best recruiter on the team, partly because I respect his swagger, and partly because I want to shout "MAJIN BUUUUU" every time he levels some poor schlub on a pulling block.
PROPS TO MARK PANTONI. There's a reason Urban Meyer values Mark Pantoni, his recruiting director:
So much work goes on behind the scenes in the recruiting game.@gerrydinardo goes all-access with @OhioStAthletics. https://t.co/cpcI5M7ybu
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) February 3, 2016
Mark Pantoni and Mickey Marotti should already have busts in the pantheon of Buckeye assistants. Urban Meyer, by design, has faced a revolving door of assistants his entire career... except those two.
Makes you think.
RIC FLAIR'S TITTIES LOOK LIKE SOGGY PANCAKES. Michigan held "Signing of the Stars" yesterday, a recruiting gala that raised $110,000 in memory of Chad Carr and the ChadTough Foundation.
Harbaugh could've got that money from a booster with one phone call, but Ohio State mopped him at home by four touchdowns, and he has a program to sell. To his credit, Harbaugh finished with the No. 5 class, including No. 1 overall prospect Rashan Gary. (He went one for two in sleepovers.)
The event brought everyone from registered sex-havers like Tom Brady and Derek Jeter to downtrodden steroid aficionados like Ric Flair.
"I can't stand Ohio State. I got no time for Michigan State." - @RicFlairNatrBoy https://t.co/oC40BMtczG
— Brent Yarina (@BTNBrentYarina) February 3, 2016
Woooo, did I just get trolled by Ric Flair? I don't care. Michigan is losing three games this year. Fave this tweet.
UNCLE DARYL TO CINCI. Looks like a former Slob is headed to Cincinnati:
Shout out to @UncleDarryl76 for signing with the Bengals #GrandpaSlob
— Patrick Elflein (@elflein65) February 4, 2016
As of now, it's unclear what sort of contract this is, but it's good to see Baldwin get another crack at the league regardless. He was last with the Baltimore Ravens, a franchise of ill repute.
By the way, I think this is the year the Bengals and the Browns draft Buckeyes. (Do not fave this tweet.)
TV PROGRAMMING TONIGHT. Hoops, ahoy!
- The men's team plays Wisconsin in Madison at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN.
At least Thad Matta didn't quit on his team midstream like Bo Ryan.
THOSE WMDs. 15 years later, the NFL should thank the XFL for all those innovations... A lot of people go to IKEA just to eat... Introducing the stadium of the future... Pentagon to offer plan to store eggs and sperm to retain young troops...
