Well, the big game is upon us. Somehow the Fiesta rout grew heavier on my soul as last week progressed.
I wanted Clemson to win, but it switched with Ben Boulware's flagrant idiocy. The only good thing about a Clemson win would be Savage Tiger bawling in his championship video.
Alabama winning another title? I've seen that porno before. It just makes Nick Saban, who doesn't seem to enjoy this much at all, that much harder to replace.
The difference between Swinney and Saban. (PHOTO: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)
I don't want to see corny-ass Dabo Swinney welcomed into the champions club. Call me old fashioned, but I don't want Boulware to grope the championship testicle.
Don't ask who wins. All I know is I'll be salty until Aug. 31st.
ICYMI:
- Catch up on the week that was.
- U.S. Army Bowl highlights.
- 2017 No. 1 CB Jeffrey Okudah committed to Ohio State (what the Buckeyes are getting in the Texan).
- Noah Brown declared for the NFL Draft.
- Kyle Trout reportedly to transfer.
- Evan Lisle reportedly to transfer to Duke.
- Torrance Gibson tweets plans to fly to Ohio today.
- MGoBlog Najee Harris meltdown thread, courtesy of @GoBucks2204.
- The Hurry Up: OSU's remaining options with three weeks to National Signing Day.
- Remember Thad Matta's "we got rid of problems" speech to boosters last summer? His answers lost by 10 to Minnesota last night. P.J. Fleck is already producing results in Minneapolis.
BROWN BIDS ADIEU. The scholarship crunch—it's cool how we all decided oversigning was no longer a crusade—meant there were always going to be surprise declarations/transfers/etc.
Brown declaring brought out typical bad takes (#OSUTwitter gored the world's last Hollister customer) and sudden concern about his education.
But first, let's talk replacing Brown, who gave a glimpse into his capabilities in Norman, Oklahoma and seemingly evaporated from future game plans.
If you listen closely, you can hear the Ben Victor hype train leaving the station.
From 247sports.com:
It was a rough first year for the freshman. A Florida native, Victor was a big get for the Buckeyes when he committed in mid-January of 2016. The 4-star recruit was the 12th-best receiver in his class according to the 247Sports Composite, but only had four receptions for 64 yards and one touchdown in five games played during his first season in Columbus.
Victor performed well in practice as the year went on and the OSU coaches were very complimentary of his play during bowl preparation, yet he still only saw limited snaps in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl loss to Clemson.
At 6-foot-4, Victor has the height to play the X position. He also has the natural ability of a receiver, but it was blocking and route running that kept him off the field for much of 2016. With an offseason to work with strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti and spring football ahead, he should get bigger and stronger (he's currently only listed at 185 pounds) and continue to perfect his craft heading into his second year at Ohio State.
Victor and K.J. Hill might have been the best two receivers by the end of the year. Victor especially has shown an ability to attack the ball. Given his physical stats, Victor would be the ideal replacement at X.
As for the Brown's career in Columbus, here's what it meant to him:
"I came out a stronger person."
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) January 8, 2017
to our feature on Noah Brown & what being a Buckeye has meant to him.
Thank you @Nb_Eight0 pic.twitter.com/7oODMaSGah
I'll always wonder what could've been had Brown not broken his leg in August 2015. Or maybe the simpler explanation is he didn't have a repertoire with Barrett outside of one magical night.
And though he didn't put up the numbers I once boldly predicted, he is still a unique combination of skills and body. A team with a competent passing attack (hopefully with a consistent vertical threat) is going to fall in love with him, and he'll sign a comfy pro contract.
Slightly surprising, but I get it. Still raw in areas, but talent isn't a question. Good workouts can put him in the 2nd-3rd round range. https://t.co/qNqTTbVaQT
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 8, 2017
Could he enjoy a statistical renaissance, a la Michael Thomas? Well, I promise I'll draft him three rounds earlier than anyone else in the City of Kings Computer Football League.
HOOKER STOCK RISES. Malik Hooker is going to tear up the NFL Draft and become a game-breaking rookie. And every highlight (unless it occurs with the Browns, which we all know isn't happening) will make me mad he only played one year at Ohio State, and that year ended in a 31-0 dumping.
From foxsports.com:
Cons
[...]
-Gets caught guessing at times when teams run misdirection, which can lead to some big plays if he gets taken advantage of.
Summary
-I don’t have a lot of negative things to say about Malik Hooker. He reminds me a lot a playmaker like Jarius Byrd, except he is a better run defender who is a sound tackler. He can do everything that a great safety can do, including take the ball away, which allows the cornerbacks to play very aggressively because they know that he will be right behind them.
He probably isn’t best used as a blitzer, but he can do some of that too if you need someone to play closer to the LOS and stop a TE. The only thing keeping him from being talked about as a premier player in this draft is his position. If anyone played left tackle as well as Hooker played safety they would be a top-5 pick.
I love how the main knock on Hooker boils down to "he just needs to play more and earn experience."
He'll probably end up with the Ravens and terrorize three generations of Clevelanders.
CHIP KELLY ON DECK? California signed Sonny Dykes to a four-year contract extension in March 2016. Sunday, over a month and a half since the Golden Bears finished 5-7, they dismissed their head coach.
It's a curious decision, given the proximity to National Signing Day. There's only one way this ends, right?
From campusinsiders.com:
Cal made this move roughly a week after the San Francisco 49ers fired Kelly. The former Oregon head coach is on record as saying that he would not be opposed to returning to the college game for the right opportunity. We all witnessed what he was able to do at Oregon, which went 46-7 overall and 33-3 in Pac-12 play in his four seasons while flirting with national titles. Will money be an issue, though? Cal is in debt after its stadium renovation.
I hope that is indeed Kelly's music. College football is more fun when he's raising hell (but not winning titles) on the west coast. It'd be more fun, however, if he quality controlled Ohio State's offense. But that's just my take. Haters can disagree.
Berkeley seems like it could be a sleeping giant if a coach and A.D. ever linked up. It won't pay off that stadium renovation by going 5-7 every year.
WHEN KEEPING IT REAL GOES WRONG. Pour one out for the fifth-year anniversary of the worst hangover of this dude's life:
Jan 8 in University District History: Drunken student breaks into Orton Hall, goes on $7K rampage, fights police with fossil claw. In 2012.
— Univ Dist History (@UDHCMH) January 8, 2017
I joke about it, but seriously: Don't drink Four Loko. Y'all don't need that chaos in your life.
EIGHT IS GRIME TIME, EVIDENTLY. Five-star wide receiver Trevon Grimes isn't one of the nine early enrollees getting their first taste of Ohio State today, but he's already got a jersey number for the 2017 season.
No more 16 for now.... New chapter of my life, New Number ... which is ___________ pic.twitter.com/yKblT5DB3R
— GrimeTime (@TrevonGrimes7) January 8, 2017
8
— GrimeTime (@TrevonGrimes7) January 9, 2017
THOSE WMDs. Steve Sarkisian's first Alabama game brings mystery... He fixes the cracked spines of books, without an understudy... The body of an Arizona great-grandmother ended up as part of a U.S. Army blast test... Bill Cosby’s life is a blur of legal minutiae, lawyers and judges.
