Only five more Saturdays without Buckeye football. And that fifth one is only because the local team plays on Thursday that week.
Was planning to go to Put-in-Bay today but called an audible for the Coldwater Community Picnic. Excited to see what the hype is all about, so if you see some doofy white guy wandering around in Piqua trucker hat, come say hello.
ICYMI:
- Four-star Virginia LB K'Vaughan Pope chose Ohio State over Georgia.
- Pope's impact on the '18 class.
- J.K. Dobbins becomes first freshman to lose his black stripe.
- Austin Mack working to emerge.
- Urban Meyer, likes all college coaches, walks a fine line between preparation and safety.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Elixir.
ARNETTE PERFORMS AS EXPECTED. Denzel Ward was always expected to fill the cornerback void left by Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley, and he has done just that.
Opposite of him, however, is a position battle as equally anticlimactic. Damon Arnette, a former three-star recruit from St. Thomas Aquinas that flipped from South Carolina two days before signing day in 2015, is favored to fill in the spot opposite of Ward.
Judging by the talk of young receivers, Arnette has done just that.
From the beat G.O.A.T. Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch:
There has been no announcement to that effect, but receivers Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor shared their opinions after practice on Thursday when asked which cornerbacks were distinguishing themselves.
“Denzel Ward and Damon Arnette, those are the best two by far going against them every day,” Mack said. “Me and Damon always have a little competition.”
Victor added: “Both of them are great competitors and I love going against them. It just gets me better, and I hope I get them better.”
To me, the wise and knowing keyboard stroker, Kerry Coombs has the opposite effect on players than Zach Smith. Arnette could be a two-star JUCO play from the fields of Iowa, and I would say it's hunting season.
THE EDUCATION OF BEN VICTOR. Urban Meyer made it clear during his last presser: Ohio State needs Ben Victor to produce this season if it is to reach its goals.
Victor has always possessed the physical tools, albeit arriving on campus underweight. But with a year under his belt on the field and in the strength dojo of Mickey Marotti, all signs point to Victor being the player the Buckeyes need.
From cleveland.com:
At 6-foot-4, he was a completely different receiver than current veterans Parris Campbell, K.J. Hill, Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon, who are between 5-11 and 6-1. Noah Brown was the tallest regular receiver last year at 6-2, but he was thicker and stronger than Victor.
Victor is the lean, long kind of player you wanted to see go up and get a ball.
He just didn't know what he was doing.
"Last year it was kind of off and on with me," Victor said Thursday after Ohio State's practice. "Just coming into practice not knowing everything. Working hard is never an issue, it's just me trying to get plays down and being consistent. This year I'm trying to focus on being consistent more."
Eleven Warriors CEO Kevin Harrish said Victor remarked he didn't know what he was doing last year three or four times during the interview. That's always to be expected of a rookie, though. (I've been at this job for five seasons now and I still don't know what the hell I'm doing.)
ANONYMOUS COACHES TALK SOONERS. Unless it's high-level government reporting, I usually ignore anonymous sources... unless they're anonymous quotes against my enemies, in which case I lap them up like vital nutrients.
Seems like Big 12 coaches expect their defense to be better this year.
From athlonsports.com:
“I don’t see a whole lot of changes with that group."
[...]
"I see them being much better on defense — much, much better. They got better as they went along last year, and I’ve heard Mike (Stoops) is thinking about switching back to an even front from the odd system. We’ve heard that through the grapevine and are preparing for that. Mike has a way better understanding of the even stuff because that’s what they’ve always done. They switched over to the 3-4 when they had (defensive line coach) Jerry Montgomery, who was really good at coaching the odd stuff up front, and when he left to go to the NFL they really fell off. That’ll be the big change, and I think it will help them."
"Their biggest issue is replacing their linebackers and just getting their secondary to play the way they want, especially at corner. That’s been a huge issue.”
I expect the Sooners defense to be better if only because it couldn't be worse than last year. I still doubt they'll have the kinks ironed out by the team they leave for Columbus in Week 2.
WISCONSIN!? We are living in what could be the golden era of Buckeye football. Enjoy this season, because nothing is guaranteed forever in sports.
Most 10+ win seasons since 2006 among Power 5 schools: #OhioState (10); #Alabama & #OU (9); #Oregon #Wisconsin & #VT (7) (per @BrianLucasUW
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) August 4, 2017
Wisconsin? Good lord. Only the Badgers could win that much and only have two Rose Bowl losses to show for it.
THOSE WMDs. Soccer and the pursuit of meaning inside the world's third-largest refugee camp... Everybody lies: How Google reveals your darkest secrets... The day the fire came... The drug runners... Dunkin' Donuts takes shorter brand name for a test drive.
