I dedicate this Skull Session to Dayton, Ohio, the Gem City. Any D-Y-T slander is fake news from lying media that profits off your ignorance of the character capital of the Midwest.
ICYMI:
- As Ohio State aims for a massive offensive line haul in 2018, a look at where things stand.
- Chris Holtmann has yet to coach a game at Ohio State and already has the program moving in the right direction.
- The Buckeyes need 14 wins to become the second football team in the country to reach 900. It would play in 15 games if it makes the College Football Playoff Final.
- Magic Johnson dealt D'Angelo Russell to the Nets because he didn't view Silk as a leader.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Kobold.
THE FORGOTTEN MAN. Tracy Sprinkle came from Elyria to Columbus in 2013 as a three-star recruit. Though he didn't explode onto the scene like Darron Lee, Sprinkle rose all the way to starting defensive tackle to open the 2016 season.
Unfortunately, football remains a violent game. Sprinkle suffered a patella tendon injury against Bowling Green that caused him to miss the 2016 season.
The silver lining to the fiasco is Sprinkle returns in 2017 to a unit that, on paper, could go down as one of the best (if not the best) in school history. He won't officially be back, however, until he faces live action at Indiana on Aug. 31.
From dispatch.com:
“It was tough,” Sprinkle said. “I can’t lie and say it wasn’t. It was really tough. After the game, we were all in tears in the locker room crying together. My brothers know all the things I went through and all the things I have led them through.”
Players don’t always return from patellar tendon tears. Most don’t, Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson said. But Sprinkle said he is 95 percent healed. The missing 5 percent is only because he doesn’t have the confidence that comes from knowing his knee will hold up in contact drills.
“As far as doing drills and running and anything in the weight room, it’s very good,” Sprinkle said. “But we haven’t put the pads on and gotten physical yet.”
Opposing offenses rarely have success consistently running inside against Ohio State's defense, despite the lack of a fabled 0-technique tackle upfront. Still, Sprinkle's return to form would be a literal massive addition to a line that doesn't need it.
I'll be cheering for him, and you should too. Sprinkle is one of the best human beings on the team.
COACH EXCITES PLAYERS. I don't envy the men's basketball players recruited by Thad Matta (read: Everyone except Kyle Young.) It's a precarious position to suddenly be under a new boss.
And though it's early, it looks like the players are warming to their new overlord.
From the indomitable Rob McCurdy in Central Ohio's paper of record, The Marion Star:
"He made a great impression on the first day and that first meeting when he said he flew back just to meet us. It made a great impression that he’s trying to get a great connection to us early," redshirt junior Keita Bates-Diop said.
The players said there was dialogue for 45 minutes where Holtmann explained his past and his goals for the program, while the team peppered him with questions.
"You say what gets you most excited? It’s those guys and what I’ve heard of those guys from people who have known them," Holtmann said. "Beyond that I’m not going to put on a timetable. Obviously we’re going to work every day to play in the best tournament in the world."
This first year under Chris Holtmann will be wild. If he contends for anything, Ohio State should extend him until 2022.
STUDY: CINCY LOVES SKYLINE. If Civil War ever breaks out in Ohio, there is little doubt Skyline Chili will be at the heart of the conflict. Is it good? Is it bad? Folks have disagreed for ages.
I used to think it was bad before issuing a #djbyrnesflipflop in May 2015. Skyline is delectable as long as you stick to respectable Skylines.
As it turns out, Ohioans are ready to lay down their lives for Skyline (... and Frisch's Big Boy!?)
From wlwt.com:
The study measures customer loyalty – or repeat visits – to full-service restaurants across the country. Data was collected from over 50 million mobile devices across the nation.
Skyline Chili ranks No. 1 on this list for customer loyalty. Another Cincinnati favorite, Frisch’s Big Boy ranks No. 3 on the list.
Skyline retains customers 27 percent higher than average, the data suggests, and Frisch’s retains customers 18 percent higher than the national average.
Ok, which one of y'all heathens is keeping the Big Boy out of bankruptcy court? Friendly's didn't die for this.
BAN RECRUITING. The recruiting race to the bottom never stops. I should no longer be surprised by this.
9 year old Havon Finney Jr just received a offer from University of Nevada #2nd Lacedfactskid with a offer
— Mike Evans (@iam_mikeevans) June 21, 2017
#LacedfactsxGZ @_UnderTheRadar_ pic.twitter.com/GoHY0VUn5U
What are these offers even worth, anyway? It's not like Nevada coach Eric Musselman (a name I definitely didn't just Google) will be in Reno (a location I definitely didn't just Google) in 2027 (a simple matter of arithmetic I definitely didn't just Google).
There's a hose out back if anybody feels a sudden need to shower.
THOSE WMDs. The last tribes left on our planet... Upworthy was one of the hottest sites ever and you won't believe what happened next... A street fight among grocers to deliver your milk, eggs, and bananas... Why does World War I still get second-rate treatment in our nation's capital?
