Woody Hayes bless us, every one!
ICYMI:
- Five Things: Examining the number shaping the 2017 Buckeyes.
- Big Ten recruiting roundup. (Spoiler: Ohio State still the kingpin but B1G stepping up.)
- Remembering the 2004 Alamo Bowl.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Attentat.
GIVE THE SUPPORT STAFF A RAISE. Early Signing Period threw a wrench into normal bowl prep for teams, especially those playing before the New Year. Though Ohio State suffered setbacks last week, it still secured a top-three class at halftime, with prospects still on the board.
This week, the Buckeyes pivot to beating USC. Urban Meyer and his top assistants will be able to make a smooth transition thanks to his support staff's grunt work.
From theozone.net:
The graduate assistants and support staff aren’t involved in recruiting, so they just stay neck deep in football. They have the time to break down the opponent. They learn the tendencies that the coordinators are going to have to know about when they get back from Idaho or Texas or wherever it was they were that particular day before.
The assistants to the assistants keep things moving so that when everybody is finally off of the recruiting trail, they can hit the practice field running.
“Without them, we can’t do that,” Meyer said. “When I say ‘Do this,’ I’m talking about everything. But when you come in off the road and you see the entire scouting report of the team you’re getting ready to play done the way you want it done and that lets the coaches go to work. They’ve done a great job.”
My goal is to reach a point where I can say, "Do this," and be "talking about everything" to a group of young, underpaid professionals that will gladly do everything.
On the flip, we now know whom to blame if the Buckeyes lay an egg in Arlington.
KNOX "HOMECOMING." Demetrius Knox didn't make the immediate impact many expected when Urban Meyer, Tom Herman, and Ed Warinner staved off a late push from UCLA for his services.
When Michael Jordan went down against Clemson, Knox filled the position. It didn't go according to plan. But instead of letting it define him, Knox chose to learn from the lesson of cold, hard reality.
From Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch:
“Everybody has their games where there’s a rough patch, but coach (Urban) Meyer always says it’s not about ‘Oh, I lost this, I failed this,’ ” Knox said. “It’s, ‘OK, I learned from that.’ I learned from Clemson.”
The biggest lesson was the one that comes only from being thrown into the fray.
“Just basically what it’s like to be out there with the bright lights,” Knox said. “It’s time. You’ve got to go. When this year came around, I had to start. It’s time to go.”
Knox claims he's excited to play in front of his hometown crown. The obscene billion-dollar shrine to Jerry Jones stands roughly 10 minutes from Knox's high school stadium.
Jamarco Jones doesn't want him to call it a homecoming, though:
You're from Springfield Ohio shut up https://t.co/zRfqIE1Ton
— Jamarco Jones (@jjones_74) December 23, 2017
Hey, no disrespect to the Shield. A top Ohio city with rich history. I wouldn't hesitate to claim it if born there like Knox.
HELTON'S SPECIAL BOND. In five days, I will cheer for Ohio State to wreck USC in a way that leaves the Trojan president no choice but to fire coach Clay Helton and leave him on a Dallas tarmac after a 48-point loss to the Buckeyes.
Today, however, is Christmas. So instead, we tilt our cap to Helton the Humanitarian and his special bond with a diehard Trojan fan battling cancer.
From Bruce Feldman of Sports Illustrated:
Jan told Helton how she'd met Carroll years earlier and explained what he and his teams had done indirectly for her without even knowing it.
“Now, I’m fighting with cancer and I’m counting on you.”
Helton reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He asked if it’d be O.K. if he kept in touch. Just to check in on her from time to time. “This is my private cell. I’m going to call your phone so you have my number in it.”
Jan gave him the number. He keyed it in and the USC fight song, “Fight On,” began to play as her phone rang.
Helton smiled.
“Well, what else would I have?” Jan said.
Feldman randomly met Carroll on a flight, before you think this is one of those feel-good stories pumped by p.r. teams. (They're out there.)
THOSE WMDs. The most-rejected (but eventually published) books of all time... The composer who owns Christmas... One woman's final days with her family... In Asia's fattest country, nutritionists take money from food giants... A season under the gun.
