DVR REMINDER: ESPN E:60's Rise of Ezekiel Elliott Part 2 will air tonight at 10 p.m. ET. Here's a trailer:
If you missed Part 1, watch it HERE.
DARRON LEE GETS GAINS. Many players' physiques peak during the pre-draft circuit. They're out of school, they're not yet burdened by wealth and can choose their own media regimen, so it leaves time to move weights in repetitive motions and run wind sprints.
Darron Lee is making the most of his time.
From dispatch.com:
“That’s probably one of the more bizarre things about all this,” Lee said. “One of lowest-rated recruits. Had no position. And now at a position that is becoming a need in the NFL. It’s so funny. What are the odds of that happening?”
Lee has bulked up to 238 pounds, but there still are questions about his ability to shed blocks and to play inside close to the line of scrimmage.
Fickell said NFL scouts have asked him about that. His answer is that Lee was deployed in a way to best help Ohio State and that he is capable of making plays anywhere on the field.
Apparently the pre-draft knock on Lee—there's always a knock—is the smaller linebacker shies away from contact. Lee sarcastically disagreed yesterday.
Daily reminder that I am afraid of contact #3days https://t.co/TaWXrh7IkG
— Darron Lee (@DLeeMG8) April 25, 2016
Listen... I'm never not going to show a highlight of a festively plump Michigan fullback getting shoved like an unruly bar patron, even if it's footage from 2014:
Top of the screen. No regular FB can block Darron Lee. Such a physical guy. #NFLDraft #OhioState pic.twitter.com/1baslUhr71
— Justen Gammel (@gamscout) August 8, 2015
Lee will be against bigger brutes than Joe Kerridge ("Who?" ... exactly) in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, a league which you might not know is comprised of GROWN MEN, but his point stands. The only thing that will stunt his career is injury.
SNAPCHAT WILL NEVER DIE. Tyvis Powell and Cardale Jones left holes on depth chart on both the football team and the comedy club. If Johnnie Dixon and Mike Weber see themselves as heirs to the throne, then I think they have the gravitas to pull it off.
Here's Johnnie Dixon imitating defensive line coach Larry Johnson academic advisor Stan Jefferson using Snapchat's face swap feature:
Lol man I love cch J pic.twitter.com/MzjYfYY6Ok
— Johnnie L. Dixon III (@YoungKing_JD5) April 25, 2016
How good is this impression?
YOU WIN https://t.co/nkSiTQylFW
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) April 25, 2016
Mike Weber, who used to flame Ezekiel Elliott for his snoring during fall camp, got in on the action as well:
@EzekielElliott pic.twitter.com/iI9K6kexqT
— Mike Weber (@mikeweberjr) April 25, 2016
It's haunting how effective face swap is, despite the crudeness. One step closer to my ultimate destiny of living as a hermit in a cave somewhere in Hocking Hills.
THE CLEVELAND BROWNS SELECT... The advanced numbers were crunched by the gurus, folks, and they say Mike Thomas has a certain set of skills that will appeal to an array of NFL teams.
From sbnation.com:
Ohio State's Michael Thomas, for his part, might be the single most well-rounded guy in the field.
He gets a bit of a ding in the explosiveness categories, but not a big one. He's efficient, and he's big and strong, which limits the effect of a substandard vertical. In terms of the surface area of the radars you create, he might be at or near the top. He covers a lot of ground here.
Thomas' lack of explosiveness, however, can be explained (in part) by Ohio State's offense.
From Thomas' letter on theplayerstribune.com:
I also couldn’t control the type of offense we ran at Ohio State. We ran an offense that didn’t require me to run a lot of go routes from my X position, so there isn’t a lot of film of me burning past cornerbacks off the line of scrimmage. And I’ve heard a lot of draft experts and analysts say that I don’t have the speed to do that, mainly because they haven’t seen me do it.
Urban Meyer believed in me from the day I stepped on campus at Ohio State, but he made me earn every opportunity I got. Nothing was given to me, and he helped mold me into the person and player I am today. His offense may not have called for many go routes, but coach Meyer always put me in a position to succeed. At the same time, my position coach, Zach Smith, and my strength coach, Mick Marotti, always made sure that I was mentally and physically prepared to take advantage of the opportunities coach Meyer gave me to shine.
So I couldn’t control the plays that were called. But what I could control was doing the job I was asked to do and running the routes I was asked to run as effectively as possible. I could control how well I executed the game plan to help our team win.
Perhaps it's a little bit of both. Urban Meyer loves his power-run game, but I don't think go-routes to Thomas was the winning recipe, despite how much he obviously yearned for those go-routes (and to be honest, isn't that what most receivers want, to go deep?)
ZEKE'S PENMANSHIP ON FLEEK. I understand Elliott gets compensated for signatures, but given the amount of autographs he's given in the last couple months I'm still blown away by the penmanship displayed here.
Another shocker: They're still apparently teaching cursive, which is always useful in 1846.
CHEAP BIKES TO BE HAD FOR OSU STUDENTS. I'm no Lance Armstrong, but bikes aren't bad. I'd go as far to argue they're good and they're solid deals for college students.
Ohio State is pawning off some of its bike stash Tuesday morning.
From osu.edu:
TTM will be hosting an Unclaimed Bicycle Sale on the Knowlton Hall patio on Tuesday, April 26th at 9:30AM. All bicycles will be $40.00 (which includes tax) and are sold “as is”. It is recommended to have the bikes professionally evaluated for safety prior to using.
- Payment must be made in the form of a personal check (no starter checks will be accepted), a money order made payable to “The Ohio State University”, or cash. Credit cards will not be accepted.
- Only one bike per person may be purchased.
- Sales are only open to Ohio State students, faculty, and staff. An OSU ID must be shown as proof of affiliation prior to purchase.
- All sales are final. There is a no return policy.
Just remember: You're also going to need a top-notch lock. Don't bring that weak stuff to campus because the bikeditos will chuckle as their bolt cutters snip your lock like a bored doctor performing a vasectomy.
THOSE WMDs. A Patriots' private workout (at Vanderbilt)... Walking a World War I battlefield... Spokane woman runs wild... Mekka Don catches up with Vonn Bell and Stacy Elliott ahead of the draft... Making Matzo on the Lower East Side... The web is doom.
