Wednesday: Better than Tuesday but not as good as Thursday.
ICYMI:
- Redshirt sophomore cornerback Joshua Norwood will transfer.
- Norwood's transfer is the latest exit from Ohio State's "misfit" 2015 class.
- Known for flipping prospects late in the process, Urban Meyer must adjust to the new early signing period. (Spoiler: He will.)
- Punt return candidates (start Demario McCall's dirt bike, please).
- Ohio State considering a 4,000-seat hockey arena, which would be a boon for recruiting.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Sacrosanct.
HOLMES TO EARN STARTER REP. Somebody could theoretically talk me into multiple players as Ohio State's "most underrated" defensive lineman. My gut instinct would either be Dre'Mont Jones or Jalyn Holmes.
Holmes, like Sam Hubbard, could be on an NFL roster right now if he wished it. He instead came back to school to compete with a star-studded unit for which he might not start.
That technicality doesn't matter to defensive lineman savant Larry Johnson Sr.
From 247sports.com:
"I tell you, if you go back and watch film on Jalyn last year, I thought he played the most consistent of all the guys," Johnson said. "I think he is a starter in my mind. He practices like a starter and practices with the ones, so to me, he is a one.
"I think he brings a lot to the table. He has got high-energy, great leadership skills and he wants to be great. And a guy who works as he hard as he does to be in a position he is right now, I am really excited about what Jalyn can bring to the table. I look forward to watching him play going through this next year."
Good luck to the offenses charged with blocking the Rushmen on third and long. I'm not having a go, either. Enemies of the state are going to need luck if they trip into that hellacious dimension.
JEROME BAKER: ATHLETE. Jerome Baker supplanted Dante Booker last season to the point coaches didn't burn his redshirt when he returned from an MCL sprain.
Baker is a guy who would be on an NFL roster right now if he wished it and the NFL's draconian labor laws allowed it. Instead, he's foot racing Ohio Dominican linebackers in what my outdated senses tell me is the revamped north campus.
His opponent is former Dayton Northmont standout and ODU redshirt sophomore Jalen Christian.
Via 11W member Fanger:
I'll give Christian this much: He competed better than me, the guy who would've probably lost to Baker walking backward.
THOMPSON LOST SCHOLARSHIP. Urban Meyer implored Dylan Thompson "to do something" last year before the university ruled him academically ineligible.
Norwood's transfer gets Ohio State to the magic number of 85 scholarships if Blake Haubeil takes his expected grayshirt. That hasn't been confirmed by the coaching staff, though, in part because they may not have to grayshirt Haubeil depending on Thompson's scholarship status.
From the Ohio State beat GOAT Tim May:
That’s not including receiver Torrance Gibson, who was suspended from school in the fall for a dispute involving a female tutor or teaching assistant and has indicated he will transfer to Cincinnati, and defensive tackle Dylan Thompson, who lost his scholarship because of academic problems going into last fall but remains on the roster.
An Ohio State spokesman couldn't confirm if Thompson earned his scholarship back. Thompson was seen at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center in the spring on crutches and wearing a walking boot.
He's definitely a name to watch going forward.
STONEBURNER AT CROSSROADS. Missed this in the latest flurry of NFL transactions: The New Orleans Saints cut Jake Stoneburner, which puts his professional football career at a crossroads.
From landgrantholyland.com:
The Saints re-signed Stoneburner to a futures/reserve contract in January 2017, but had to make room for this year’s batch of undrafted free agents ahead of minicamps. Now the tight end will have to see if there is any interest from other teams.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Buckeye joined a team for OTAs or training camp, but with no practice squad eligibility left, he will need to earn a spot on a team’s final 53-man roster this fall in order to keep his NFL dreams alive.
My unsolicited advice to Stoneburner is the same to any other player in a similar situation. Have you heard about Canada? It's real, and it's amazing.
DOWN GOES A CAMPUS LEGEND. Scarlet & Grey Cafe, a campus area icon that successfully warded off Ohio State's legal eagles by spelling it that way, closed Monday after a sudden sale. (Eleven Warriors campus sources say it will be the likely landing spot for Three's.
From Summer Cartwright and Kevin Stankiewicz of The Lantern:
Helen Yebio, who had been the owner of the bar since it opened, said the stress of paying rent and trying to survive in a construction-ridden area was too much for her to handle. Yebio also said the venue has been sold to another bar owner, though she could not say who, or comment on the new owner’s intended use of the space.
“(The High Street construction) is awful,” Yebio told The Lantern. “We are small business owners trying to keep a business going.”
BW3's and CVS seem to be the only two kingpins able to stay afloat in that area, which is surprising considering that BW3's features notoriously bad food and service (yes, even for BW3's).
Hopefully, that sale doesn't include surveillance tape from the night Kevin and I did stand up there. From time to time I still reflect upon how thankful I am nobody called the cops on the mentally deranged man crying for help into a microphone during an alleged comedy event at a High Street dive bar.
From the ashes of Scarlet and Gray, the ghost of Too's will rise. Three's: Spirits Above High, will open in July/August.
THOSE WMDS. Tornado Town, USA... The Nazi who infiltrated National Geographic... Every four days, a kid crashes a stolen car in Pinellas County, Florida... Neuralink and the brain's magical future... The strongest man in the world... Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?
