My goal today is to not tweet. I will fail by noon when I see a tepid #take that demands my reaction. Don't end up like me, kids.
ICYMI:
- Profile of Select '17 four-star quarterback Tate Martell.
- Ramzy's latest: The heart of Ohio State's team will need a stronger pulse in 2017.
- The men's team topped Minnesota, 78-72. This will probably go down as the play of the season:
This is easily the best possession of OSUs season. Great ball movement. pic.twitter.com/LePa1tOmeI
— Big Ten Geeks (@bigtengeeks) January 26, 2017
Why doesn't Thad Matta call that play every time!? I don't know either.
BOOMER USES PHRASE "OFF THE CHAIN." Gene Smith runs an athletic department with a bigger GDP than some small countries. So when he speaks, folks listen.
But when he drops an "off the chain" to describe Ohio State's new quarterbacks coach Ryan Day, well, I wish I could enter a coma until the Kevin Wilson Revenge March to the Mississippi rolls through Bloomington, Indiana.
From Jacob Myers of thelantern.com:
Meyer and Smith discussed, at length, how they would vet Wilson before offering him the position. The two assembled lists of people who could talk about Wilson as a coach and as a person. The first name on Smith’s call list was Glass, who Smith said is a good friend of his.
“(Glass and I) kind of went through the details of what happened there and I felt comfortable at the end,” Smith said.
[...]
“Ryan Day is, like, off the chain and Kevin Wilson is like a mad scientist. They’re really, really good people and they fit our culture,” Smith said. “We had Bill Davis in mind and he was already here (as a defensive analyst). And so that was a benefit for us.”
I don't know much about Day other than this Tim Shoemaker article and that he's a "Chip Kelly disciple." Like 99% of other Ohio State fans, it sounds good to me but there's still football to be played.
And Smith dropping "off the chain," which how many times has he said that? I'd be willing to be this is his first time.
Couple this with "mad scientist" Wilson—I'm not sure if he means mad in a figurative or literal sense—and I'm starting to understand why J.T. Barrett is No. 2 in Heisman odds.
CENTER, YOU SAY? National Signing Day is six days away. Here's what that analytical gurus think Ohio State needs to add to its class.
From profootballfocus.com:
National Signing Day is just a week away, thus with the early entries to the NFL draft now official, this is the perfect time to look at the biggest holes in each team’s roster left by attrition. With the understanding that incoming freshmen are unlikely to simply replace the departing talent of their respective teams, here is a look the biggest needs of each of the Big Ten teams heading into February 1:
[...]
Pat Elflein was one of the top guards in the country in 2015, and because of his experience, was asked to slide inside to center for the 2016 campaign. While he had another solid year in run blocking, he was not as effective on pass blocking (16 total pressures allowed). He departs for the NFL, and the Buckeyes have already announced intentions to move Billy Price, their best returning lineman for 2017, inside to replace Elflein. Price will likely prove to be just as capable of changing positions as Elflein was this season, but would probably be better served being kept at guard. In order to prevent shuffling in the future, Ohio State should consider pursuing a top-end target at the position. This would help to improve the overall continuity of the line, something that appeared to be lacking at critical points during the 2016 season.
Guys like Michael Jordan and Wyatt Davis won't be around long enough to take the Billy Price and Pat Elfein path. Demetrius Knox may be, but I still have faith in Taylor, the No. 2 center last season.
Besides, this class' top centers are locked down.
| RANK | PLAYER | STARS | HEIGHT / WEIGHT | STATE | COMMITMENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CESAR RUIZ | ★★★★ | 6-3 / 315 | FL | SOME SCHOOL UP NORTH |
| 2 | BRETT NEILON | ★★★★ | 6-2 / 280 | CA | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA |
| 3 | CREED HUMPHREY | ★★★★ | 6-4 / 301 | OK | OKLAHOMA |
| 4 | MICHAEL MIRANDA | ★★★ | 6-3 / 290 | OH | PENN STATE |
| 5 | CASE COOK | ★★★ | 6-5 / 290 | GA | MISSOURI |
| 6 | DAWSON DEATON | ★★★ | 6-4.5 / 297 | TX | TEXAS TECH |
| 7 | DREW DALMAN | ★★★ | 6-3 / 265 | CA | STANFORD |
| 8 | SAM GERAK | ★★★ | 6-3 /270 | OH | NORTHWESTERN |
Urban Meyer seems to pull a surprise out of his hat at the end of a class, much like Brady Taylor was once upon time. Miranda and Gerak would probably be the options, should that (unlikely scenario shake out).
If center recruitment intrigues you, here are the names to watch in next year's class, which the Buckeyes have been looking at for a year.
| PLAYER | STARS | STATE |
|---|---|---|
| TYRONE SAMPSON JR. | ★★★★ | MI |
| DANIEL DAWKINS | ★★★★ | NJ |
| TRAVIS SPREEN | ★★★ | OR |
| CEDRIC BANKS | ★★★ | LA |
My top 2017 wish is five-star Bellaire, Texas defensive tackle Marvin Wilson. Ohio State's interior line is underrated, and Tracy Sprinkle's return will be big next year. But it's been a minute since the local team could deploy an earth-eating tackle like Jonathan Hankins.
And Wilson looks like he could already play rotational minutes in the NFL. From Jan. 19th:
#OhioState DL coach Larry Johnson in home visit with #ESPN300 & Under Armour @AllAmericaGame @RDMW6 (Marvin Wilson) tonight. pic.twitter.com/obU3drfIc2
— Gerry Hamilton (@HamiltonESPN) January 19, 2017
Meyer and Larry Johnson visited Wilson's home again last night. If anyone can hear a pitch from those two and turn them down, well, tip of the cap.
#OhioState HC Urban Meyer in home visit with #ESPN300 5-star & @AllAmericaGame DT @RDMW6 (Marvin Wilson). Announcing #signingday @espn pic.twitter.com/SC9coSPRbe
— Gerry Hamilton (@HamiltonESPN) January 26, 2017
But five-star CB Jeffrey Okudah and five-star Baron Browning, top-rated Texans already in Columbus, think their coaches planted a big ol' flag:
I think we get one more Buckeye out of the Lone Star State #Shhhh
— Jeffrey Okudah III (@TheJeffOkudah) January 26, 2017
That TX OH connection is almost complete, we need that #RealLifeGoon .... & it's a wrap !!!! #Shhh #713
— Baron Browning (@baronbrwnng) January 26, 2017
Wilson has long been thought to be headed to Louisiana State, but we don't call Meyer "The Closer" for always remembering to close the garage door when he leaves the house. I'll take him in a recruiting head to head against Ed Orgeron all day, proximity to Texas be damned.
Andrew Lind will have more on that visit in tonight's Hurry Up, which drops at 7:15 p.m. ET.
THE LAS VEGAS CONNECT. The only way Bishop Gorman could be more of a football factory is if it were literally a football factory, which makes it a honeypot for potential championship players.
Thanks to Meyer's championship pedigree and Ohio State's world-class facilities, it makes it a natural landing spot guys like Tate Martell and Haskell Garrett.
From cleveland.com:
Bishop Gorman is the richest program in high school football and it has the unmatched facilities -- which we'll get into later -- to prove it. The Gaels also have more talent than any other program in the country, maybe outside of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG.
Gorman is the high school version of Ohio State, which is why the Buckeyes are going to regularly recruit the West Coast powerhouse for the foreseeable future.
Like Ohio State, Gorman hears all the time about how it only has its success because of the facilities and the money and the uniforms and the stadium and whatever else people come up with.
[...]
Gorman is hated.
Ohio State *Kylo Ren fist clench* is hated too.
But let's hope Martell and Garrett shake out. As Meyer always preaches, testimony is worth more than theory. If they prosper, more will come.
ODEN ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL IN C-BUS. Greg Oden had high times. And then he had a bunch of low times because that's how the middle twenties usually go.
Oden, as we know, is back on the comeback trail at Ohio State as a student and a basketball manager.
From espn.com:
But as his professional life careened off the rails, Oden swerved his reputation into a ditch. The sports pages didn't just reveal his injury slide -- these pages detailed a far more catastrophic fall that included drinking, a leaked naked picture and an arrest for domestic assault.
That is how he ended up here, back again on the Ohio State campus, shagging rebounds and feeding passes as a student-coach for the Buckeyes. Oden calls Ohio State his "comfy place." It is his cocoon, the warm embrace of a security blanket. People here still adore him, steadfast in their faith that Oden is a good person despite the headlines that scream otherwise. Here he does not get the sideways looks of disapproval; instead, here, he is still viewed with reverence.
"That's Greg Oden; still think that every day,'' freshman forward Micah Potter says.
I too think Oden is a good guy despite his transgressions because he repented and filled his time.
I'm also glad he considers Columbus his "safe space," because the last time I saw him out was at Little Bar for Kenny Guiton's symphony against Purdue game in 2012. Strangers mobbed him all afternoon, and he looked as enthused as a tranquilized rhinoceros in a mediocre zoo.
CHEESE SQUARES SOUND GOOD. Because corporate TV executives prefer copying to innovating, March Madness is getting a weekly rankings release show.
Here's Xavier head coach Chris Mack describing his disdain for this idea, via FOX Cincinnati:
CBS will have show looking at current top 16 NCAA tourney seeds Feb 11. Chris Mack had a 2-minute glorious adjective-laced response. Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/EfE7zmtU4E
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) January 25, 2017
I back Cincinnati in their blood feud with Xavier, but Mack now has my vote as the "heir to Matta's throne," whenever he should vacate it. Now let me get one of those cheese squares.
HEY STUDENTS, BE ALERT. It's wild that in 2017 folks routinely summon internet strangers to chauffeur them around. If you, like me, roll that way, be sure to verify which car you're climbing into.
From the new and vastly improved dispatch.com:
The student apparently requested a ride-share car to pick her up near North High Street and East 13th Avenue. Moments after she sent the request, she got into what she thought was her ride-share vehicle.
The male driver turned down a side street and made unwanted advances, according to a neighborhood safety notice issued Thursday by Ohio State University. The student got out of the car, ran away and called Columbus police.
"You have to have a common sense approach before you get in a car,"said Sgt. Rich Weiner, a spokesman for Columbus Division of Police. "You are responsible for your own safety. Is it the car you're requesting? Is it the person you're expecting?"
This scenario, without the serial killer tendencies, happened to me a year ago in the Short North while picking up Whitney. Three drunk people just climbed in my car shouting directions at me like they wanted robbed.
Be frosty out there.
THOSE WMDs. Remember Erik Swenson? Cast aside by Michigan, he's thriving at Oklahoma... A woman flew through a tornado in a bathtub and survived... There goes Wayne Barrett... The wild story of a rising IndyCar driver turned drug smuggler... The High Street abduction.
