We begin today with a lesson as to why Ohio State doesn't consult Michigan Men when it's searching for a football coach:
Ohio St should keep the current/interim coach Luke Fickell until sanctions end then hire Jon Gruden #ncaa
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) May 30, 2011
In Rose's defense, retaining Fickell with a hope of landing Jon Gruden somewhere down the road or hiring a 48-year-old two-time champion free agent must've been a titanic call for ol' Gene Smith.
COREY SMITH ON DECK? Spring is in the air, and so are redemption stories. Wide receiver Corey Smith, the only former JUCO star on the roster other than new transfer OL Malcolm Pridgeon, has flashed talent during his time in Columbus, but never has strung it together consistently.
Smith graduated with a communications degree on Sunday, and the coaching staff is hopeful the sixth-year senior realizes his potential this fall. He's come along way.
From dispatch.com:
“[Urban Meyer] looked at me,” Zach Smith said of Meyer, “and said, ‘Do you remember what that looked like when he first walked in here?’ "
That instead of he. That’s how low Corey Smith’s standing was back then.
This time, “Corey had a grin from ear to ear," Zach Smith said. "He looked at (Meyer) and said, ‘You love me, Coach.’ When he said it, I flashed back to when he first got on campus and the transformation he has made. He’s far, far, far from a finished product, but he’s a different kid than he was three years ago.”
Also revealed in the article: Smith expects to be 100% healthy in a month... and he's a father of five children. He's set to marry his fiancée and mother of his four most recent children, Tasheema Thomas, next summer.
I tend to three cats, and (hopefully) make more than a D1 college athlete. I couldn't imagine the burden of supporting five dependents while on a stipend.
As sports fans, we want to believe "this is the year" for every unproven name on the roster. It's a rare occurrence for older players in college football. Like John Cooper said, if a dog is going to bite he's going to do it as a pup.
At the same time, I'm never going to bet against an honest man trying to provide for his family. My mediocre son may only be fictional, but I've talked to enough fathers to realize it's a kick in the ass.
This is Corey Smith's last stand. He'll never have an opportunity like this again, and he's an injury against Tulsa away from trying to catch onto a CFL team. If the coaches are right, however, there's no reason to think Smith won't get a serious shot at the NFL this time next year.
Godspeed to Mr. Smith.
WE GO WAY BACK, BRO. New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton wanted to draft Mike Thomas (and later, Vonn Bell). Before he did that, he ran the ultimate background check. He dialed up his old friend Urban Meyer.
Meyer spoke to espn.com and talked about his relationship with Payton, as well as his final assessments of their two newest Buckeye recruits.
"We kind of grew up in the profession together," recalled Meyer, who was an assistant coach at Illinois State from 1988-1989 and Colorado State from 1990-1995, while Payton was beginning his coaching career at San Diego State and Indiana State.
[...]
"Then [Mike Thomas] went on a two-year run where he was exceptional. Exceptional in the classroom, graduated with a very good GPA, and became obviously our go-to receiver," Meyer said. "So I love Michael. His best attribute is that when he gets challenged, he's an extreme competitor. So I love guys like that."
[...]
"[Vonn Bell] was a little bit like Mike Thomas, a little bit immature, did not practice with the same intensity that he ended up being. But he became one of our best practice players," Meyer said. "Just a typical maturity that takes place, especially with a good person. And that's exactly what he is, a good person, a great family, grew up fast. And him and (former Buckeyes safeties coach Chris Ash) really hit it off, and those two had an incredible working relationship."
I suppose that's why Bell failed to supplant Pittsburgh Brown in 2013. Shoutout, though, to everyone involved, including Bell, that kept him on the right path. The path to the NFL is littered with lackadaisical talent that never came to grips with the work required to truly be great.
SORRY, COLUMBUS STANS. So, you might have seen this tweet from the real Columbus Police Department yesterday:
WELCOME TO CBUS! @Eminem Glad to see you will soon become a Buckeye! #slimshady #rapwithCPD #bestseller #bestpolice https://t.co/5rE5o9pHOl
— Columbus Ohio Police (@ColumbusPolice) May 11, 2016
As glorious as the #rapwithCPD hashtag is, it appears our friends got duped by a fake news story.
From notlinkingafakenewsstory.com:
“I’m just tired of the L.A. lifestyle and I feel like, at this point in my life, I’d rather just live in a place full of real, genuine people. I’ve been to Columbus, Ohio a couple of times over the years and the people there are real… they’re genuine, and yeah every community has its problems but the people there are good, decent people and they care about their community. Those are the things I find most important in deciding where to live,” Eminem told the magazine.
“I’m not retiring, I’m just looking for a change in life and I think I’ve found that in Columbus,” Eminem reassured fans. Let us know what you think in the comments section below especially if you’re a resident of the Columbus, Ohio area.
I tell my friends, who may also be cats, all the time: If I had no soul I'd open a fake news website and pump propaganda into Facebook while living on a cheap Caribbean beach. Hell, I may do it tomorrow if this is all it takes.
But I'm also positive a metro police department welcoming Eminem to the community with a tweet is an official tombstone for a career that died in late 2002. History will not remember his music kindly.
OH HELL NO, SYRACUSE. Syracuse attempted to hire an athletic director and got okie doked, and now there's a chance its goof could become our problem. The Orange could hire the heir to the Buckeye athletic kingdom, the noble Martin Jarmond.
From syracuse.com (via 97.1 The Fan's Lori Schmidt):
Syracuse, N.Y. — Less than a year after hiring Mark Coyle as athletic director, Syracuse University officials will have to go back to the drawing board.
Coyle issued a stunning announcement on Wednesday that he was leaving Syracuse to become the athletic director at the University of Minnesota.
[...]
Martin Jarmond, Ohio State: Jarmond was reportedly a finalist for the Syracuse opening last year. Ironically, his name also came up as a possible candidate at Minnesota this spring.
Jarmond, 36, was recently promoted into the No. 2 position in the Ohio State athletic department. He now has the title of deputy director of athletics and chief of staff. Many see him as the eventual successor to current Ohio State AD Gene Smith.
He may have just been promoted, but hopefully he gets another raise today too. We'll call it a performance bonus for tax purposes.
IMPRISON MICHIGAN #TEENS. Rouse the Ohio National Guard. We have the honor of a dead guinea pig to defend and there are valuable natural resources at stake.
From mlive.com (via 11Wer ZMoty9):
GROSSE ILE TOWNSHIP -- Police are investigating a group of high school lacrosse players accused of killing a guinea pig before a recent game.
Lacrosse activities of the Grosse Ile High School Red Devils have been suspended while police investigate, a school district official said Tuesday evening.
Police in the upscale downriver island community confirmed that Wednesday morning that the investigation was underway, and that the animal killed was a guinea pig.
Pure Michigan, baby.
THOSE WMDs. 15 people who kicked Batman's ass... How NFL QBs are made... Big-time neuroscientist threatened to sue when I asked about his side business selling science-based tonics... The curse of the potato... In the footsteps of a killer... John Madden Hockey.
