It's supposed to snow Monday. (Please get that gun out of my face. I'm just the lowly courier.)
This may be the year I move to Belize. I'm too old to deal with snow and 30-degree temperatures in the middle of April.
ICYMI:
- Five things to watch in the spring game (if it happens).
- Spring game predictions (if it happens).
- Ohio State received another fabled pair of gold pants.
- Wake Forest graduate transfer Keyshawn Woods to visit.
- Latest mock draft round up.
- Indiana Fever drafted Kelsey Mitchell and Stephanie Mavunga.
- Reserve your (or your business’) spot next to the life-size statue of Woody Hayes coming to Newcomerstown!
Word of the Day: Indubitable.
BUCKEYE KINGDOM AWAITS ROYAL DECREE. Wisconsin cancelled its spring game Tuesday. Michigan followed suit Wednesday. Ohio State tweeted it would hold its spring game shortly thereafter.
As is the bane of Twitter, it's never a good idea to tweet.
Saturday's Columbus forecast calls for all-day thunderstorms stating at 9 a.m with a mix of tornado watches—just the average spring we Ohioans love and know.
We should know the game's fate this morning.
Ohio State officials are still monitoring the weather forecast for Saturday. We want to host this spring game for our fans, and we understand the importance of a timely decision. So a final decision on the status of the spring game will be made and announced Friday morning.
— Jerry Emig (@BuckeyeNotes) April 12, 2018
Unless Woody Hayes blesses us with a sudden reversal of weather, I don't see how the game happens. Folks might say, "Don't be soft!"
Tough talk is cheap when you're not on the hook for a multimillion dollar liability lawsuit.
I have a feeling the iron fist of Urban Meyer is the only thing keeping this game from already having been cancelled. That man loathes to forfeit a recruiting platform.
I'd like to see the game continue, if only for the writers that must conjure stories over the summer. Tough to do without spring game #content.
SAY WHAT? Damn... did anybody here know Sam Hubbard, future New England Patriot, once committed to Notre Dame... to play lacrosse!?
Turns out it's true. Yet he switched back to football and arrived in Columbus tabbed as a future linebacker before he got too beefy and started wrecking dudes.
From stack.com:
"I actually stopped playing lacrosse my senior year and spent that whole winter and spring before I reported to college in the weight room, gaining 25-30 pounds. I was a little behind (in the weight room) because I was always playing a different sport, but it worked out in the end because I was developed athletically and had plenty of time to get stronger," Hubbard says.
...
It wasn't until Hubbard participated in one-on-ones against the offensive line that his role became crystal clear. "One day, I went down to the O-line/D-line pass rush and they told me to get a rep. I went down there and won three in a row, not knowing what I was doing. (I was) just going hard and somehow—I don't even remember what moves I did—but I won the first three reps. Then our defensive line coach, coach Johnson, asked me if I wanted to come to the defensive line room. I said yes, and I never looked back," Hubbard says.
Many of the traits that made him such a natural at defensive end—the ability to lower his center of gravity and maintain body control through contact, the coordination needed to deliver precise strikes in hand combat—were originally built via lacrosse. "I really credit the development of my hand-eye coordination, my footwork, to being a two-sport athlete and playing lacrosse," Hubbard says. "The way the two sports tie together (ended up being) a really great fit for me."
Shoutout to Larry Johnson who only needed to see three reps in the circle drill before realizing the potential monster he had on his hands. Secondary shoutout to Hubbard for accepting the invitation.
He had the talent to play any position from safety to tight end, but it seems weird now to envision him at any other spot. That's the culmination of elite coaching and dedication to craft.
ALL QBs CAN THROW. Tate Martell has a small army of loyalists willing to spill blood in his name. I respect it.
I see the quarterback derby as a two-man race, yet it's probably unwise to rule out Martell. Meyer loves mobile quarterbacks, and even new co-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has already seen what the redshirt freshman can do when he tucks and runs.
From theozone.net:
“You’ll have to talk to Coach [Ryan] Day specifically on his evaluation, but they certainly can drive the ball down field,” Grinch said. “And we gotta make sure we have tight coverage because they can find windows and can throw guys open, which will be a good thing come fall. Not so fun in the spring.”
Asked specifically about redshirt freshman Tate Martell, and Grinch had a quick answer.
“Oh, that’s a scary guy moving around,” he said. “He punishes you for good coverage and that’s not a real good feeling defensively.”
I'm not saying Ohio State could win a championship with any of the three quarterbacks. I'm just saying I'll feel that way by November.
That may seem preposterous. That's fine. I just ask you to remember how preposterous it would have sounded in March 2014 before you bomb my mayonnaise ass in the comments.
OSU LEGEND HEADS WEST. Ohio State legend and former Michigan statue Wilton Speight is taking his ball and heading to the west coast:
Michigan QB Wilton Speight announces his transfer to UCLA for his final year of eligibility. pic.twitter.com/BQ6tPu07AT
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) April 13, 2018
Can't hate on that decision. I've never understood why athletes rejected from Ohio State don't flock to UCLA en masse. Sure, the academics aren't as great, but Westwood is almost as scenic as Columbus in December. Almost.
I'm also inclined to think this means the NCAA will soon grant former Mississippi quarterback Shea Patterson eligibility to play immediately at Michigan.
Careful for what you wish, Shea. You might just get it.
THOSE WMDs. Leonardo Da Vinci's watery chaos... James Harden isn't playing around... George R.R. Martin on the one book character he would've kept on the show... The best Irish and British novelists today... Dog rescuers buy animals from the breeders they scorn.
