Here's a reminder that Tuf Borland is a quality human being.
Nice surprise visit from @Tuf_Borland A genuinely nice, amazing young man. Noahs face lit up like it was Christmas. Kind of like Toms face. . Tuf gave Noah some great recovery advice. It was an awesome visit. Thank You! God is good! pic.twitter.com/JlcMIEyyKt
— Heather Riggenbach (@hriggs73) October 15, 2018
ICYMI
- Purdue Scouting Report
- Film Study: Silver Bullets not living up to the name.
- Jeff Brohm talks Buckeyes
- Minnesota Fan Takes
- Across the Shield
- Buckeye B-@-tle Cry
- Inside the Box
- Urban Meyer thinks the Buckeyes are making progress.
- The Buckeyes are banged up and need a bye week.
Word of the Day: Coprolalia.
MIDSEASON ALL-AMERICANS. We're midway through the season and Ohio State is undefeated. You don't get there without a few dominant performers, and ESPN named two Buckeyes to their midseason All-American team.
From ESPN.com:
C: Michael Jordan, Ohio State
Just like Billy Price and Pat Elflein before him, Jordan has made the transition from guard to center and been a stalwart in the middle of that Buckeyes offensive line. The 6-7, 312-junior has started in every game since stepping foot on campus as a freshman in 2016 (34 consecutive games) and is a big reason Ohio State has been so balanced offensively with an average of 364.7 passing yards and 201 rushing yards per game.
...
DE: Chase Young, Ohio State
Losing a player the caliber of Nick Bosa would severely hamper a lot of teams, but Young has stepped right in and made one big play after another for the unbeaten Buckeyes. The 6-5, 265-pound sophomore has eight tackles for loss, including four sacks, and made a couple of huge plays in the win at Penn State. He stopped Miles Sanders for a 2-yard loss on the decisive fourth-and-5 play and also had a fourth-down pass deflection that could have gone for big yardage.
I was trying to think of any clear snubs, but I really can't. Both of these guys are deserving, and it's hard to put anyone else on the roster ahead of any of the guys on this list.
CASH FOR 'CROOTS. This may come as a shock to you, but in recent years, college basketball teams have been paying absurd amounts of money to secure commitments from teens – some of which really aren't even that good.
Chris Holtmann has some #takes on the matter.
Our @DanaONeilWriter got guys like Painter, Brey, Few and Holtmann to open up on the difference between finding and "getting" players. It's a problem on display in New York right now. https://t.co/fxKH6kyOZ7 pic.twitter.com/qpnH6N9JpA
— The Athletic CBB (@TheAthleticCBB) October 15, 2018
Holtmann's response was extremely honest and completely on par with what I've been thinking hearing these rumors for years. Some of the price tags I've heard for kids that were just straight up not that good were just absurd. Even if Ohio State was into that sort of thing, that's just not a wise use money.
And then there's coach K, who gave a suspicious as hell answer about how none of this is really a big problem and he's never encountered it before on the recruiting trail.
Coach K on the FBIs college basketball trial: Its a blip. Its not whats happening. pic.twitter.com/Tpbb8x7nUv
— Duke Basketball (@dukebasketball) October 15, 2018
"We haven't lost guys because someone's cheating" is one hell of a quote.
I do know Ohio State has missed out on recruits because someone else is cheating, and I do know one way to ensure that doesn't happen – pay the higher price.
I'm not gonna come out and say that's what coach K's been doing all these years, but it's downright fascinating to me that I have heard of plenty of these cases through the years and a man intimately involved with the realm of college basketball recruiting has not.
It makes you think, that's all.
GRUDEN NO FAN OF CONLEY. It seems Jon Gruden no longer has a use for former first-round pick Gareon Conley.
Gareon Conley has been in trade rumors as of late and it became clear today that Jon Gruden doesnt want him. Conley finished todays game vs Seattle with 0 snaps. Aging veterans Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie and Leon Hall got snaps over him.
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) October 15, 2018
Gruden riding with Rodgers-Cromartie and Leon Hall and planning to deal a first-round pick with tons of promise is the surest indication that he's trying to win the 2009 Super Bowl this season.
It's not like Conley has done atrocious either, it seems like Gruden just doesn't like him because he isn't one of his guys. That's fine, unless you're 1-5.
Poor safety play hasn't helped Conley limit the big play in the slightest.
— Austin Gayle (@PFF_AustinGayle) October 8, 2018
Reducing Conley's snap total to 12 (per @PFF) against LAC and already moving on from him just 299 defensive snaps into his NFL career is a head-scratcher, to say the least.
I hope he does trade Conley. The last defensive player Gruden dealt seems to be doing just fine currently.
GREG STUDRAWA FOR BG HEAD COACH? Bowling Green fired its head coach this week, making it a prime opportunity for Urban Meyer's coaching tree to get a little more wide-reaching.
Nick Piotrowicz of The Toledo Blade:
A BGSU alumnus, Studrawa could be a finalist if he’s interested. The Fostoria native has been an offensive line coach for most of his career, but he has spent decades recruiting the areas that are crucial to BGSU, which includes a six-season tenure on the Falcons’ staff from 2001-06. He would be a hit with donors and the BG community at large — but Bowling Green would have to make a sizable financial commitment to lure him away from Ohio State.
Oh, I am absolutely ready to hear Studrawa's raspy voice giving post-game pressers on a late October Tuesday night. He would be a perfect addition to MACtion.
SOMEONE COULD GET HURT! When upsets or thrilling wins happen at home, fans rush the field. It's basically a law of nature. But it seems not everyone has figured that out just yet.
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen criticizes fans rushing the field Saturday at Iowa State, calls it "very unprofessional." Says it was "pretty dicey" getting players off the field after the game.
— Chuck Carlton (@ChuckCarltonDMN) October 15, 2018
Dana, there is one sure way to keep the fans from rushing the field, although your team did not seem to interested in that on Saturday.
But it's not just Holgorsen being bitter about getting dumped on the road by an unranked team, the SEC also hates fun.
From Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports:
LSU fans stormed the field at Tiger Stadium following LSU's 36-16 blowout win over Georgia on Saturday, and it's going to cost LSU. The SEC announced Monday that it had fined LSU $100,000 for a "violation of access to competition area policy."
That's a fancy way of saying "fans running onto the field." I guess you have to use fancy words to justify fining a school $100,000 for having fun. Anyway, the fine is $100,000 because it's LSU's second offense of the sacred violation of access to competition area police with the last one coming following a 10-7 win over Ole Miss in 2014. A 10-7 win may seem like an odd time to storm the field, but Ole Miss was undefeated and ranked No. 3 in the country at the time.
My take: schools should be fined if their fans don't rush the field after dropping a top-five opponent, and I would raise that to a top-10 opponent for unranked teams.
If fans get too excited again, the SEC is going to fine LSU $250,000. But I think a win over Bama is well worth that $250,000.
LINK LOCKER. The Da Vinci mystery: why is his $450 million masterpiece really being kept under wraps?... San Pedro prison in Bolivia is a society within itself with elected leaders where inmates have jobs, buy or rent property, and live with family members... Nude man leaps into Toronto aquarium tank and swims laps with sharks before giving police the slip...
