Try to approach your life today with the confidence of Dion Waiters:
ICYMI:
- Four-star 2018 DE Brenton Cox, the No. 2 DE of the class, committed to Ohio State over in-state Georgia. (Spoiler: The local team got another good one.)
- Gareon Conley denied allegations he raped a woman in downtown Cleveland on April 9. He will not attend the draft.
- Kam Williams will test NBA Draft waters.
- Trevor Thomspon reportedly hired an agent, thus ending his Ohio State career.
- Spring rewind: Linebackers, where Bill Davis takes over and Chris Worley moves to the middle.
- Fisher Students: Check out the 11W marketing internship.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Elide.
TALKING SCHEDULE, BABY. Ohio State made the playoffs last year with the youngest team in the country and a brutal schedule. The schedule, in my opinion, sets up easier this year.
It's still a banger schedule—the toughest in the Big Ten according to one outlet.
From athlonsports.com:
| RANK | SCHOOL | OOC | B1G HOME | B1G AWAY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OHIO STATE | OKLAHOMA, ARMY, UNLV | MARYLAND, PENN STATE, MICHIGAN STATE, ILLINOIS | INDIANA, RUTGERS, NEBRASKA, IOWA, MICHIGAN |
| 2 | MICHIGAN | FLORIDA (IN ARLINGTON), CINCINNATI, AIRFORCE | MICHIGAN STATE, RUTGERS, MINNESOTA, OHIO STATE | PURDUE, INDIANA, PENN STATE, MARYLAND, WISCONSIN |
| 3 | PENN STATE | AKRON, PITTSBURGH, GEORGIA STATE | INDIANA, MICHIGAN, RUTGERS, NEBRASKA | IOWA, NORTHWESTERN, OHIO STATE, MICHIGAN STATE, MARYLAND |
| 4 | RUTGERS | WASHINGTON, EASTERN MICHIGAN, MORGAN STATE | OHIO STATE, PURDUE, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN STATE | NEBRASKA, ILLINOIS, MICHIGAN, PENN STATE, INDIANA |
| 5 | NEBRASKA | ARKANSAS STATE, at OREGON, NORTHERN ILLINOIS | RUTGERS, WISCONSIN, OHIO STATE, NORTHWESTERN, IOWA | ILLINOIS, PURDUE, MINNESOTA, PENN STATE |
What I love most about the 2017 schedule is Penn State plays Michigan in its annual white out game (probably at night) before coming to Columbus (probably at night) with the local team coming off an open week. Going to be sweet retribution for last year's back-to-back in Madison and Happy Valley.
Cincinnati will have a helluva opportunity in Week 2 heading to the Big House with Michigan coming off a primetime game against Florida. It probably won't happen, but could you imagine if the Wolverines started 0-2? The great thing about the offseason is nobody can prove Michigan won't start 0-2.
THE LONG RISE OF MARSHON LATTIMORE. Marshon Lattimore came to Columbus as one of the country's top prospects at his position. After two injury-plagued years, he's leaving as a first-round draft pick and will be a millionaire in under 48 hours.
Lattimore made it look easy on the field. He's the type of player coaches crave in the pass-first NFL. But his rise wasn't as easy as it looked, even with the injuries.
For Lattimore, Thursday night will be a true rags-to-riches story.
From cleveland.com:
He learned from his father's example. When Marland's football career ended prematurely, his life took a bit of turn. From 1999 until around 2008, Marland served a total of four years and three months in prison for various offenses. Marshon, who was born in 1996, saw his father in and out of jail for nearly the first decade of his life. When Marland got things turned around, he sometimes took Marshon with him to his job as a drywaller and home renovator.
"People would joke about 'Lattimore and Son,'" Marland said, irked by the insinuation that Marshon would simply follow his father's path. "There ain't gonna be no Lattimore and Son. This is what I was left with because of my mistakes. And that's on me."
Marshon learned the value of perseverance by seeing his single mother struggle to support her three children. Keeping up with utilities wasn't easy. When the gas was shut off, they would gather around a space heater to keep warm during cold Northeast Ohio winters.
That article, by the way, is worth the #read if you have the time.
In a perfect world, Lattimore would return for another shot at a national title. As is my known position, though, I will never fault any young man for maximizing his earnings during the blink that is an average NFL career.
DROUGHT OVER? I knew the Bengals and Browns hilariously shunned Ohio State talent. I had no clue it was as bad as this, though.
From seccountry.com:
Obviously, this trend stretches outside of the Saints and LSU. Out of 109 players drafted since the turn of the century, Ohio State has only had 4 stay in-state between two NFL teams. The Saints, by contrast, have picked 8 Buckeyes since 2000, including standouts such as DE Will Smith, CB Malcolm Jenkins and WR Michael Thomas.
It doesn’t stop there. The Miami Hurricanes and Miami Dolphins share a city, yet they don’t have a pipeline. In fairness, the Dolphins have picked 3 of 94 Hurricanes, which is an almost exact 1-per-32 distribution. But when a college in your backyard is churning out All-Pros and Hall of Fame players like Reggie Wayne, Andre Johnson, Ed Reed and Jimmy Graham on a yearly basis, you better do better than league average.
Bengals fans can comment on their thoughts, but I have this weird tingling in my bones about the Browns finally drafting a Buckeye this year. Of course, that's the same feeling I get when I'm at dinner and can't remember if I closed the garage door.
Both fan bases should raise hell if they pass on more Buckeye blood. It's not like Urban Meyer is producing busts.
NO BOOZE IN THE SEC. Ohio Stadium expanded beer sales this season and the iconic stadium did not crumble into the Olentangy. Ohio State pocked north of a million dollars peddling suds at healthy margins. Public intoxication incidents went down. It was a win across the board.
The SEC, however, will not be following suit anytime soon.
From tidesports.com:
“The conference has a policy that says that we’re not selling alcohol in the general seating area,” Sankey said. “Now, you can agree or disagree with that policy, but that’s the policy. The basis for changing that or maintaining it is one that’s developed in the conversation.”
With public safety as a main concern, the argument that alcohol sales would increase attendance rates wasn’t enough either. Sankey didn’t even hesitate to refute it.
“I think we were at like 98 percent ticket sales in football,” he said. “So is that one-percent margin a trade that we’re going to make?”
It's both shocking and not shocking nobody in the SEC hawks booze. As we all know, they do things a bit differently down there.
Not allowing booze and then selling tickets to a pivotal divisional game featuring teams with a Purdue castoff at quarterback should be considered at least a misdemeanor.
HARBAUGH! Here it is, your daily Harbaugh in Rome moment after a game of paintball.
Here's this pic.twitter.com/cZxEvvtJ8y
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) April 25, 2017
What are the odds Harbaugh wears that vest in his third attempt against Meyer? I put it at 30%. I'd also pay roughly $50 to pepper Harbaugh's dad bod with a high-powered paintball rifle.
THOSE WMDs. Get a real degree... The mastermind behind Coachella... The most gruesome ways to die according to scientists... The upending of independent films... On life after tragedy.
