Just my take: Today should be Friday. Or at the very least, Thursday should be enshrined as the new Friday.
Word of the Day: Auteur.
ICYMI:
- Four-star Westerville South RB Jaelen Gill committed to Ohio State.
- What the Buckeyes get in the No. 3 all-purpose back of 2018: A Curtis Samuel-like game-breaker.
- Videos of Gill breaking down his decision.
- Malik Harrison and Rashod Berry prove they're more athletic than you during OSU football's day on the courts.
UCLA CATCHES A STRAY BULLET. I was born in Pasadena, California, so I've always held an auxiliary love in my heart for UCLA (as opposed to the vile and inferior USC).
Its nickname, academic and athletic tradition and location are as silky a combo as can be found outside of Columbus, Ohio.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, Jaelen Gill hails from Columbus. (I don't consider Westerville to be Columbus, but Gill is talented enough for me to turn a blind eye in this case.)
Gill gutted UCLA and walked over their lukewarm entrails to commit to the local team.
I skipped the video to the pertinent part:
Coaches hate this stuff. They sweat and grind for these colors and symbols, put their souls into trying to relate to these damn kids, and some #teen hawks a hat into a pyre as part of a commitment ritual to a bitter rival.
I only approve of these antics when it benefits Ohio State. It switches to uncouth if it goes the other way.
URBAN GIVES PEEK AT FUTURE. Urban Meyer caught a plane from Nassau on Tuesday to skip "the day at sea" yesterday before the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer returns to America today.
Before he did so, the Ohio State jefe held court with some plebes while drifting in the Caribbean Sea.
97.1 The Fan host Anthony Rothman was there.
From 247sports.com:
* First up, Rothman said Meyer didn't single out many players individually. However, on multiple occasions, he singled out sophomore wide receiver Binjimen Victor and true freshman running back J.K. Dobbins.
"It's obvious he really likes both of them," Rothman said.
[...]
* Meyer is very high on the young quarterbacks in the program. While he side-stepped a question when asked if there would be a quarterback competition this year between J.T. Barrett and some of the young QBs, Meyer said he knows that Joe Burrow, Dwayne Haskins and Tate Martell "all want to take a shot at J.T." Meyer stressed that all of the quarterbacks get along well.
Most people here claim to have been the first one aboard the Ben Victor swagwagon. What's great is most Buckeye fans don't spend their March mornings keeping track of the local team, so we can all still look smart at our respective tailgates this fall.
If Dobbins has caught Meyer's eye, I hope he plays him consistently rather than just burning his redshirt against Rutgers like they did with Antonio Williams.
As for the QB battle, I don't know why a new coach wouldn't at least look at Burrow and Haskins as starting options. It would probably require a blinder to supplant Barrett and probably won't happen, though.
TERRIBLE TEAM ROLLS THE DICE. The Cleveland Browns weren't bluffing. The deadline came and went yesterday, and they passed on franchise tagging wide receiver Terrelle Pryor, who is now a free agent.
From clevelandbrowns.com:
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Browns declined to use the franchise tag on any of their players before Wednesday’s 4 p.m. deadline but are committed to the ongoing negotiations with one of their top upcoming free agents.
Cleveland executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown said he’s spoken personally with wide receiver Terrelle Pryor on a handful of occasions throughout the offseason, and so has coach Hue Jackson. Brown said he expects to meet with Pryor’s representation throughout the week as the NFL world converges on Indianapolis for its annual scouting combine.
“I think we’d like to have Terrelle back and that’s a priority for us,” Brown said. “That said, we’re not going to panic if he’s not back, also. But he’s a good player, works hard, we think he fits in our system, had a lot of success with our coaches, so we think this is a great place for him to continue his career.”
Weed dabbler Josh Gordon reapplied for reinstatement yesterday too, so who knows if that's factoring into the Browns' wide receiver plans.
It will be hilarious to watch Pryor take more or comparable money from a competent franchise with a head coach who doesn't call the plays and a QB that's not the reanimated corpse of Robert Griffin III or a rookie. And what I mean by hilarious is it's going to be sickening.
LIKE THE SPARTANS DID. Here's your daily reminder LeChuck Bentley could crush your skull like a milk carton:
The young buck @TDeck68 made me work today... Everything is competitive, don't believe otherwise. #CashMeOutside #OLPBuiltToDominate pic.twitter.com/dgjtoKHtJv
— LeCharles Bentley (@OLineWorld65) March 2, 2017
That's a 37-year-old man going Brachioradialis to Brachioradialis with a starting NFL left tackle. Most 37-year-old men in America can't even shovel two inches of snow off their driveway without throwing out their back.
TROLLING NOT JUST FOR #TEENS. Tax return season is upon us and Robert Smith is spending swiftly and thrifty:
— robert smith (@Robert26Smith) March 1, 2017
The shoe is on the other foot this year. Meyer will bring a more veteran team on the road against a (yet) unproven Michigan team.
Harbaugh and Michigan fans will have zero excuses. Only 268 more days to go.
THOSE WMDs. Sorry salad lovers: We may have no mesclun mix (for two weeks)... El Cajon woman gets prison for filing nearly 800 false tax returns... The marked woman... The story of Chyna's final days... Total recall: The people who never forget.
