Larry Johnson, Tim Beck, and select defensive linemen and quarterbacks will be made available to media at 11 a.m. after Ohio State's practice concludes. Eleven Warriors has you covered.
BUCKEYE DRAFTEES GET BACK. Nobody would fault any of Ohio State's NFL draft hopefuls if they left Columbus immediately after OSU's last game to go train in the Andes Mountains. But many of them have returned to Columbus to train themselves as well the young teammates looking to replace them.
From espn.com:
“Mike Thomas just doesn’t come here [to hang out]; he comes here to help coach,” Meyer said after practice on Tuesday morning. “I see Eli Apple out there talking to Damon Arnette; that’s a big part of what separates us from a lot of places. Those kids all come back and have the ownership. Taylor Decker is here for a lot of reasons, one to lift and train, but also to help Isaiah Prince and Jamarco Jones.
“That’s when you know you have a good thing going.”
Departed players returning to work out on campus and take in practice isn’t a new development at Ohio State, and a few fixtures from early in Meyer’s tenure, such as Green Bay Packers center Corey Linsley and Houston Texans linebacker John Simon, have also been regulars around the facility this spring as well. But given the amount of attention on the upcoming draft class -- which could include as many as seven first-round picks -- the volume of turnover when combined with the loss of a decorated group of seniors and the wide-open races to fill 16 open starting jobs this spring, the time the former Buckeyes have devoted hasn’t gone unnoticed or unappreciated by Meyer.
Corey Linsley almost quit football when Meyer took over the program, and now he's protecting Aaron Rodgers on Sundays. I'm convinced Urban Meyer chuckles to himself like an arch-villain a couple times a day as all his machinations fall into place.
These are the little things that snowball into big things. It's also an example of what Meyer means by the "culture" of his program. It's a big reason why the WHAC will continue to be an NFL pipeline for the foreseeable future.
BELL BREAKDOWN. Vonn Bell enters the 2016 draft as one of the highest rated safeties in the country. The former five-star Ohio State signee stopped by the NFL Network's Move the Sticks 360 Series to chop it up with draft analysts D.J. Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
Unfortunately the NFL is making you click through to YouTube for this one:
Bell comes across as a cool customer (though hard not to with an accent that silky), and it appears his draft position will come down to how teams gauge their ability to tutor him in run support.
Bell, for his part, agreed that he must show more "toughness" when faced with action in the box. Easier said than done.
TROY SMITH PLEADS, IRONIC JUDGE SETS NEW DATE. It takes one bad decision to fall into The System, but once you do you might as well grab a Snickers because it's about to be a hot minute.
Westerville Police nabbed Smith last weekend for suspicion of DUI and weed possession. Smith had his day in court Wednesday when he pled not guilty.
From dispatch.com:
Former Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith pleaded not guilty in Westerville Mayor's Court on Wednesday to charges of impaired driving and marijuana possession.
His case was continued until April 20, and Smith was granted a stay of his license suspension, which means he can continue to drive for now.
Smith blew a .143 and didn't exude sobriety in his arrest video or field tests, so I expect his lawyers are already angling their client for a plea deal on reduced charges.
Smith tweeted after the hearing:
Leadership is about responsibility. I'm focused on my kids and setting this situation straight. Thanks #BuckeyeNation for all the support.
— Troy Smith (@OSU_troysmith) April 6, 2016
There are two types of DUI-offenders: The ones who treat it as a wakeup call and those who don't. Let's hope he's in the former group.
THE IMMORTAL BUTTER URBAN MEYER. Remember Butter Urban Meyer and other butter sculptures at the 2015 Ohio State fair? ABC 7, San Francisco's No. 1 source for breaking news, weather, and sports in the Bay Area, ran a quick info video on them yesterday:
These 2015 Ohio State Fair butter sculptures are truly legen-dairy! https://t.co/oziROOsYTKhttps://t.co/Ll65biTJ1B
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsBayArea) April 6, 2016
So, what do you do for a living?
I travel around the country sculpting things out of butter!
I was going to type something snarky before I realized that's a less shady answer than "I sell sentences on the internet."
COLUMBUS BOOMING. No matter where you are inside Columbus' 270 outerbelt, you're only a stone's throw from a structure billed as "luxury apartments." As it turns out, Columbus has the hottest apartment market in the nation.
From dispatch.com:
According to a new report from Zillow, Columbus is the nation’s hottest apartment market, just above Seattle, Denver and San Jose, California.
“While Columbus may not be on everyone’s go-to list of hot markets, this college town is clearly undergoing an apartment building boom, and new units are going quickly,” said Svenja Gudell, Zillow’s chief economist.
The real-estate service based its rankings on three measurements: the percentage of total apartments built since 2011 in a community; how quickly new apartments rented in the past year; and overall rent appreciation.
My lease is up July 1 so I'm for whatever economic policy is going to lead to cheaper options. If that means the imploding Columbus' rent bubble between now and then... so be it.
THOSE WMDs. The house Augusta's millions can't buy... Teaching men to be emotionally honest... Sketchy Chinese retailers hustling women's clothes on Facebook... Ornery: a profile of Merle Haggard... Angeleno? Angelino? Angeleño? And how the heck do you say it?
