The NFL Combine concludes in Indianapolis today. Gareon Conley and Marshon Lattimore's healthy hamstrings will look to add to their stock in front of evaluators.
ICYMI:
- Measurables and workout results of every Ohio State combine participant.
- The wrestling team won the Big Ten Tournament. Nathan Tomasello secured his third conference title with a last-second escape.
- The women's basketball team only mustered 60 points in a B1G Tournament-ending loss to Purdue.
- The men's team rallied in the second half against Indiana but fell short, 96-92. It starts the Big Ten Tournament against Rutgers on Wednesday.
- Help us put a statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the day: Untenable.
WELL, ACTUALLY. Ohio State lost two starting cornerbacks to the NFL Draft. It added two out-of-state five-stars (Shaun Wade and Jeffrey Okudah) and a four-star JUCO transfer (Kendall Sheffield).
Folks love new faces, and all those guys can make the good football plays fans love to know. Just don't forget about Denzel Ward, whom Kerry Coombs considers a returning starter.
From dispatch.com:
When asked whether Denzel Ward was a primary candidate to replace Marshon Lattimore or Gareon Conley — both declared for the NFL draft with college eligibility remaining — instead of answering, Coombs corrected the questioner.
"Denzel's not a candidate. He played the same amount of reps as Gareon and Marshon," Coombs said.
In other words, he considers Ward a returning starter.
Ward is a smaller cornerback (listed at 5-11, 180) who makes it up with speed. A source told Eleven Warriors recently he is "easily" the fastest guy on the team.
Whoever rides opposite of him, the winner will be Ohio State. The unit lacks experience overall, but Coombs and Schiano could once again have them operating on a "Best in America" level by the end of the season. My take is it will be fun to watch.
GOLDEN TATE? WELL, OKAY. Curtis Samuel smoked the 40-yard with a 4.31 time. His agility drills went the other way.
Here are some football guys breaking it down:
@smartfootball surprised also. Never thought of him having an issue with shiftiness or being only a straight line speed type
— Ross Fulton (@RossRFulton) March 5, 2017
@RossRFulton @smartfootball I think he kind of is. He has a different body type. Not kind of guy that will "juke" people. Mostly speed cuts.
— Brendan Leister (@BrendanLeister) March 5, 2017
@WhitlatchKevin @RossRFulton @smartfootball Not just straight line but elusiveness is more w/ tempo change/speed cuts than shiftiness imo.
— Brendan Leister (@BrendanLeister) March 5, 2017
As for what NFL wide receiver mold this casts Samuel into, we turn to the tape via Josh Norris of Rotoworld:
Golden Tate's greatest NFL accomplishment was getting punched by the notoriously capricious Percy Harvin and playing the Super Bowl with a black eye... and he's clearly the best NFL player on that list!
There's only one thing for Samuel to do now... go show them he's better than Golden Tate. It will make for an interesting case study into how teams weight these kinds of statistics. I still think a smart guy will look smart for drafting Samuel.
And shoutout to Ken-Yon Rambo, an All-Name First-Teamer. I planned on putting an OSU highlight reel here, yet the Ohio State Hype Video Industrial Complex failed me.
How is there no Rambo OSU highlight tape? I need answers.
HOOKER CREATES BUZZ. One way to earn money at the combine is to perform well in feats of strength. Another is to dazzle the Browns by mastering a parlor game.
Or you can be Malik Hooker and make money by showing up and temporarily surrendering your sovereignty to a tape measurer and scale:
#OhioState safety Malik Hooker has measured 6-1, 206 pounds, 10 3/4 hands, 33 1/4 arms, 77 3/4 wingspan. #NFLCombine
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) March 4, 2017
#OhioState S Malik Hooker was clearly the guy who created buzz in the room. Huge hands and big wingspan. "Turnover machine." #NFLCombine https://t.co/ykSts9z2kq
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) March 4, 2017
Malik Hooker on his surgery: "I'm recovering quicker than they thought." Wants to be back by rookie camp.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) March 5, 2017
No way Hooker will be there for the Almighty Browns to draft at No. 12. No doubt this helps Hooker sleep easier at night.
JONES SPEAKS ON ELLIOTT INVESTIGATION. An ongoing NFL investigation into domestic assault allegations against Ezekiel Elliott did little to damper the Dallas Cowboys' rookie rushing record setter's popularity with fans.
Cowboys sugar daddy Jerry Jones, a top lizard in the reptilian crime family that is NFL ownership, resolutely stood behind his running back. At the combine, Jones went as far as he's gone in his defense of Elliott.
From dallasnews.com:
"Absolutely nothing anywhere that indicates anything other than what they told us when we left training camp," Jones said, "and that is that they have no cause."
A woman claimed the Cowboys running back assaulted her in July but because of conflicting, inconsistent information and insufficient evidence charges were never filed. The NFL could still suspend Elliott without legal charges.
Elliott has said he's done nothing wrong. After the Cowboys' season-ending playoff loss, he said he'd like closure.
I would read a book about this investigation, whatever the result. The alleged victim and Elliott both probably want this to come to a conclusion sooner rather than later.
PEPPERS: "I'M A SAFETY." Jabrill Peppers, who, like, totally intercepted that tipped pass one time, is so good at football he can play every position despite being great at none of them.
Peppers, for the record, sees himself as a safety.
From freep.com:
"What do I look like?" Peppers, the former Michigan star and Heisman Trophy finalists, said during Saturday's NFL combine at the Indianapolis Convention Center. "I'm a safety."
The comment seemed odd as he stood at a podium wearing a workout shirt that read "24 LB." Peppers has spent the week with the linebackers for meetings, physicals and the bench press. The 5-foot-10 7/8, 213-pound Peppers completed 19 bench repetitions at 225 pounds, despite weighing 30 to 40 pounds less than his counterparts.
[...]
"Free or strong (safety), I'm very fast, I'm stronger than the typical DB, tougher than a typical DB, seeing as I played linebacker in the Big Ten at 200 pounds. So anywhere from nickel, I can play some corner still, so we're going to see," Peppers said.
Peppers said in 2015 he was "better at offense" (agreed) but "defense is more fun," which is the team-first behavior expected of a Michigan Man.
Let's just hope he doesn't win five Super Bowls like Tom Brady. Michigan fans already act like Peppers won three Heismans. They don't need any more drugs in their lives.
THOSE WMDs. My mother's murder... Commutes in the US are getting longer and longer... You may want to marry my husband... More older people among the homeless in Columbus... British parrot missing for four years returned speaking Spanish... The wreck.
