Another day on the death march to the Ohio State football season. Only 115 days remain until The Game.
ICYMI:
- Urban Meyer presser notes.
- Cuyahoga County grand jury refuses to indict Gareon Conley on sexual assault charges.
- Coaches consider Jalyn Holmes a starter without him starting a game. He's not alone.
- Looking ahead at the Penn State–Ohio State showdown.
- Film Study: Ohio State's two-back concepts show the evolution of fullbacks.
- Buckeyes signed 42 three-star recruits from 2012 to 2016. Reviewing their career trajectories.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Mikado.
BUCKS NEED TWO GOOD BACKS. Kevin Wilson has won a lot of football games using a primary back. But he's won a lot more with two. Given how the position has evolved over the years and the tempo at which he wants to operate, Wilson would prefer using two backs as workhorses this season.
From theozone.net:
In 2015, Wilson had two 1,000-yard rushers on the same team as Jordan Howard rushed for 1,213 yards and Devine Redding rushed for 1,012 yards. Together, those two players were responsible for over 70% of Indiana’s carries that season. Similarly, in 2013 Tevin Coleman rushed for 958 yards and Stephen Houston rushed for 753 yards.
[...]
With plans to use McCall in a variety of different ways, this would seemingly open up Dobbins to be the No. 2 option at tailback that the Buckeyes are looking for. Two running backs hasn’t been Meyer’s forte at Ohio State, but Wilson is going to fight for it this season.
“I think you need more than one tailback that’s ready to play because the volume of plays you get, the volume of practice you get,” Wilson explained. “You look at the elite pro teams and they’ve got their one-two punch, especially if you’re a tempo team trying to get plays, you can have so many plays you wear guys out. That happens with practice, everything we’re doing right now in preseason practice will have an effect on this team in November.”
If you haven't purchased your tickets to the J.K. Dobbins hype train, I'm sorry but you're about three months late. By and large, it seems like Buckeye fans have already crowned him as the backup despite only seeing him play on YouTube against high schoolers.
That's not a slight on Dobbins, either. I am riding the hype train like everyone else and enjoying the scenic views. But preseason hype has not always translated to production, especially for freshmen.
If Dobbins does produce, it will free up the coaching staff to use Demario McCall in a variety of ways, including H-Back, which is where I think he'll eventually end up despite the staff raving about Parris Campbell for the third year in a row.
And this is all without mentioning Antonio Williams, who seems to be forgotten. It's a good problem to have entering camp.
NAMES TO WATCH. Despite Urban Meyer's love for hyperbole, some true freshmen will indeed play this year. And there are some big names involved at key positions.
From Tim May of dispatch.com:
May: Which is why one of the more interesting, and perhaps vital, aspects of the team could be the rise of youth, especially from the highly rated 2017 recruiting class. Cornerbacks Jeffrey Okudah, Shaun Wade and Kendall Sheffield already promise to be in the mix for playing time. I still expect Wyatt Davis to challenge to become a starter at guard on the offensive line, like Michael Jordan did last year, and running back J.K. Dobbins already is considered to be a backup to Mike Weber. Receivers Trevon Grimes and Jaylen Harris are long, tall threats who could augment the receiver rotation that creaked at times in the big games last season.
I love everything about Wyatt Davis, right down to his nickname "Wavy Dub." However, if Wavy Dub beats out Malcolm Pridgeon, Demetrius Knox, and Matt Burrell for the position then something has gone very, very wrong.
I still think Burrell will be the guy at that position, with Pridgeon adding depth. Burrell's body transformation only made me more confident in that pick.
GOATEE WATCH. Urban Meyer appeared in various photographs and videos this summer sporting a scraggly but still easily identifiable goatee. Five weeks before the season, he's still rocking it.
From our recruiting director Andrew Lind, whom you should follow on Twitter:
Meyer said yesterday he'll shave it before kickoff against Indiana. That'd be a mistake akin to welshing on the championship tattoo bet. Who would want to tangle in a dark alley with a man wearing a grizzly goatee like that? Not me.
Meyer should just forgo shaving until the end of the season. A photograph of a Moses-looking Meyer against the snow in Ann Arbor while the Bucks lead 42-13 would be more iconic than Short Sleeve Woody in the Show.
Here's what Meyer would look like with a righteous beard, courtesy of 11W graphic designer Grante Edgell, whom you should follow on Twitter:
WILDCATS WAITING ON BOWDEN. Kentucky signed Warren G. Harding four-star athlete Lynn Bowden in February after Ohio State cooled on him due to grades (among other things).
As Kentucky attempts another season of football, it's still without a game-breaking athlete who was expected to play receiver, kick returner, and wildcat quarterback.
From courier-journal.com:
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Despite assurances from coach Mark Stoops earlier this month top-100 recruit Lynn Bowden was expected to be available for the first day of preseason camp, the Kentucky football program opened camp Sunday with Bowden still absent.
Bowden has yet to be approved by the NCAA academic clearinghouse to join the team for practice, Stoops said.
Stoops said he still expects Bowden to join the team at some point this week.
Seems like Stoops is just the guy to ask when it comes to Bowden's status. If he can't qualify at Kentucky as an athlete, I'm not sure he'd be able to qualify at any other D-1 school.
THE DICK ROD WORKOUT. If you're looking to lose some weight, consider following the workout regimen of Ohio State legend Rich Rodriguez.
From footballscoop.com (via @ESPNRittenberg):
“I hate it, but I can’t sleep or function without doing [the StairMaster] just about every day. I’ve got a StairMaster at home, one at my vacation place, and about seven in the weight room. They’ve got these new ones now that are really fancy, but I prefer the old one, you know, where the stairs disappear and it clangs a little bit with the old-school chain.”
“You can hang on to the bar, but not too much. I think the StairMaster’s the greatest piece of exercise equipment ever invented, and I hate doing it, but I like to eat. I don’t want to disparage anybody about the elliptical, because any kind of exercise is good, but that, to me, is just kinda soft. It’s almost like you’re skiing on a downhill slope. What the hell is that?”
“Get on some stairs and climb to the top. Put it on level 20 and just torture yourself. I’m all about the health of the country. We’ve got to get more youth on StairMasters. If they’re in shape, they can even play their video games. Just get your ass on the StairMaster.”
Working the StairMaster is a lot like running with a backpack on. There's no way to look cool and hip while doing it. That StairMaster will still whip that ass, regardless.
THOSE WMDs. A victim, a lawmaker, a judge: Voices in juvie reform debate... No, it's not too late; there's only one finish line in life... The most anthologized essays of the last 25 years... A wild day inside India's overrun courtrooms... Cheap chicken wings may be on the way out.
