I dedicate this Skull Session to Urban Meyer's blogger aesthetic.
And I thought I had a rough weekend. pic.twitter.com/ypI8e9OkOg
— Tim Shoemaker (@TimShoemaker) August 14, 2017
I wish we would hire Shoemaker back so I could fire him for his first bad tweet. Meyer has never looked better! Why the hell would a coach shave when he could be watching film or FaceTiming a five-star defensive end?
ICYMI:
- Urban Meyer presser bullets.
- Five questions for the 2017 season.
- The Ohio State G.O.A.T. Game Tournament: Michigan bracket.
- Ryan Day: Horizontal passing could help vertical passing.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Repartee.
J.T. BRINGS ACCURACY BACK. J.T. Barrett, for large swaths of last season, did not look like the quarterback we came to know and love during the magical 2014 season. He'd be the first to admit he struggled with decisiveness, holding the ball too long, and accuracy. (And yes, keyboard gurus, I'm aware he's not the only member of the offense.)
Kevin Wilson's tempo and scheme should help Barrett with decisiveness and holding the ball. Accuracy is a different monster, but Meyer raved about it Monday during his press conference.
Meyer says J.T. Barrett's has improved his accuracy and energy. "His relationship with Ryan Day is incredible."
— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) August 14, 2017
"Barrett is bad, actually" truthers are out there, and they seem to be breeding at record pace. They should be shunned and exiled from all community activities.
Also of note, Barrett added Roman numerals to his nameplate this year.
@UniWatch JT Barrett is going to wear Roman numerals on his nameplate this year. pic.twitter.com/5FqDsJCOEM
— Mark McClure (@MarkMcClureCPC) August 14, 2017
In other news, I will be adding "II" to the end of my blogger nameplate as well.
BACKUP BATTLE STILL HOT. Fans by and large back Joe Burrow for the backup quarterback spot, and that's a fair take. But don't count out Dwayne Haskins for the position just yet.
From bcsn.tv:
Arguably the most intriguing training camp battle at Ohio State involves two players who, if things go to plan for Ohio State, will not see much of the field in 2017. Sophomore Joe Burrow and freshman Dwayne Haskins are in competition for the backup role behind Barrett – and possibly the inside track to becoming Ohio State's 2018 starter.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer told the assembled media on Monday that he had not made up his mind on which player will be the team's backup quarterback this season. Asked what will win the job, Meyer said “consistency.”
“We have a big scrimmage coming up this Saturday, and that's going to be a huge part of it,” he said.
You could flip a coin between Burrow and Haskins, and Ohio State would be fine. Let me see a few games of the magic Ryan Day and Kevin Wilson worked on Barrett and I may be willing to say the same about Martell.
Crazy to think we used to argue about Troy Smith or Justin Zwick, and now the Buckeyes have three (potentially four) quarterbacks that can get it done. That's a testament to Meyer's ability to get blue-chips to buy in despite a loaded depth chart.
HERBIE INTRIGUED. Kirk Herbstreit will be in the booth when the Buckeyes invade Bloomington on Aug. 31 to take on the Hoosiers. He obviously believes his alma mater will win by 150 but must maintain the detachedness of a cool-handed professional.
From dispatch.com:
“I think it’s exciting to have this big a game, to see a conference game on the road for Ohio State,” Herbstreit said. “It’s very different from seeing a San Diego State or a Hawaii or a MAC team — just the traditional home opener. This is different. Anytime you go on the road, it’s tough.”
Herbstreit spent time with Indiana quarterback Richard Lagow, who was working with quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr. in San Diego.
“I know he’s incredibly fired up and thinks this team can be better than a year ago,” Herbstreit said of Lagow. “I think there’s some young talent that’s going to step up, and he feels the defense has a chance to be outstanding. They’re very experienced at linebacker and in the secondary.
“He kind of had a sheepish grin about the opportunity, and the game and the year. He feels they’re going to be a surprise team in the Big Ten.”
I could see Ohio State winning by 150. I could also see it being a banger because first games of the season — especially on the road against solid opponents — are always a little bit of a crapshoot.
While I'll undoubtedly predict an execution as soon as the first drop of FourLoko blitzes into my blood stream on game day, I will withhold objective prognostication until I see if Meyer shaved or not. If he still looks like a debonair transient, there will be blood on the field.
HARBAUGH! Jim Harbaugh amuses me, but he and the Michigan SID are dicks for this one.
From nj.com:
The roster listed on [Michigan's] official athletics website hasn't been updated since the end of the 2016 season. It includes 11 NFL Draft picks who signed deals reportedly worth more than $63 million combined, but not any members of the nation's No. 4-ranked recruiting class in 2017.
[...]
"We have not posted a 2017 season roster and won't until the first game week at the end of this month," the official replied.
Because Michigan is a public university, it is subject to the Freedom Of Information Act. NJ Advance Media submitted a request for a roster on Aug. 3.
Love to see public institutions withhold rudimentary information like it is our nation's nuclear secrets. I hope Rutgers avenges the New Jersey's FOIA request by whooping Michigan in Ann Arbor on Oct. 28. It would be the literal definition of poetic justice.
WHY? College football games in NFL stadiums are soulless abominations that dilute one of the greatest elements of the sport. Everybody involved in this should be ashamed.
From footballscoop.com:
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Wisconsin Badgers have scheduled a football series at Lambeau Field and Soldier Field, the two schools announced on Monday.
In the first game of the series, Notre Dame and Wisconsin will play at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Oct. 3, 2020.
Lambeau Field is the home of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. Nicknamed the “Frozen Tundra,” Lambeau Field seats 81,411 and last hosted a college football game in 2016 when Wisconsin upset LSU 16-14.
The second and final game of the series will be played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois on Sept. 25, 2021.
The only advantage those stadiums offer over Notre Dame Stadium and Camp Randall is profit margins. Curious decision-making indeed by the elders of an amateur sport.
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