I hope none of you ever have to find out what it's like to go without air conditioning in a Georgia summer. At least it's not July?
ICYMI
- Ramzy talks about officiating.
- The Buckeye coaches taught safe tackling.
- How the Buckeyes did in the NBA.
- Justice Sueing is officially a Buckeye.
- Kyle McCord invited to Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge.
- Jake Wray commits to Colorado.
Word of the Day: Erinaceous.
NEXT NO. 2 OVERALL PICK UP? Ohio State just sent Nick Bosa to the NFL as the No. 2 overall pick and there's a solid chance Chase Young follows closely – or maybe even exactly – in his footsteps.
Noted draft knower Matt Miller of Bleacher Report has Young as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2020 draft heading into this year and thinks he could be even better than Bosa.
2. Chase Young, EDGE, Ohio State
Another Ohio State pass-rusher sits near the top of big board rankings heading into the 2019 season, and Chase Young might end up better than Nick Bosa was before the San Francisco 49ers drafted him No. 2 overall in the 2019 draft.
Young doesn't have Bosa's strength, but he has more explosion off the ball. The 6'5", 265-pounder is quicker around the edge and shows more bend and dip in his hips and shoulders. Young will have to work to play with the same expert-level technique that Bosa showed, but his natural gifts are better, and he's more scheme-versatile with an ability to play in a 4-3 defensive end or 3-4 outside linebacker position.
Depending on team needs when the 2020 draft order is set, Young will have a chance to be drafted first overall if he continues to play like he did in his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Bold take here, but I think being shaped and built like the literal predator gives Young a fairly high ceiling, maybe higher than either of the Bosas. That doesn't mean he'll go as high in the draft, but I'm convinced Larry Johnson could turn me into a competent pass rusher. Another year with Johnson teaching Young could nearly qualify as a national security threat.
And when Young's gone, we're gonna have to talk about Zach Harrison...
LET THE HATE FLOW THROUGH YOU. It certainly sounds like Michigan's newest quarterback commit is extremely bitter that he doesn't get to go to Ohio State, which is probably a very telling sign about the state of that program.
From my pal Ari Wasserman of The Athletic ($):
“I used to love them,” (J.J.) McCarthy said. “Now I want to kill them.”
He spoke about how Ohio State, the school he grew up loving because of Terrelle Pryor and Braxton Miller, recruited him. He spoke about his visit to Columbus in March — and how soon thereafter Ryan Day chose a different quarterback in the 2021 class, accepting a commitment from four-star prospect Kyle McCord of Philadelphia St. Joseph’s.
“Coach Day told me he wasn’t going to take (a 2021 quarterback) until the end of summer or anything like that because he wanted to make sure everything was all good, so I didn’t really worry about all that during my visit,” McCarthy said. “But I didn’t get that feeling when I was there. I really didn’t, with all the coaches there and how they interacted with us, I didn’t feel the big family tradition part of it. It was either you’re good at football or you’re over here. That’s what I felt.”
Day didn’t wait until the end of summer to accept a commitment from McCord, who pledged to the Buckeyes on April 30.
“I get it’s a business,” McCarthy said. “But it always sucks being lied to. And that’s kind of where the rivalry started for me. And the hatred. But what are you going to do? It’s a business and they have to do what they have to do. They lied to my face, but it’s all good now.”
"Now I want to kill them because they decided they wanted a better quarterback instead of me."
Initially, I wasn't sure how much I cared about the Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry played out between two kids that might not be old enough to drive. But then I saw Jack Miller clowning the McCarthy on Twitter and decided that hatred has no age, and I'm going to enjoy every bit of Michigan slander they'll pump into my timelines. I don't discriminate.
Revenge tour 2.0 https://t.co/tU1D2hNmXd
— Jack Miller (@jackjamesmiller) May 22, 2019
I think it's safe to say the rivalry isn't going to lose its luster in the next few years.
LET 'EM FLY. Chris Holtmann is fully convinced the three-point line will be moving back this season, but he's also convinced his players really won't give a shit and will keep on shooting anyway.
From Joe Scalzo of the Canton Rep:
“I would be shocked if it’s not moved back to the international line,” Holtmann said. “We already have that line in our practice facility and we anticipate that rule is going to be implemented.”
The rule change would encourage more dribble/drive plays, assist in offensive spacing because the defense has to cover more ground and slow the 3-point explosion in men’s basketball.
The NCAA tested the new line in the NIT in 2018 and 2019 and the 3-point percentage dropped slightly, from 35.2 percent in the regular season to 33 percent in the tournament.
“If they moved it back to half-court, our guys would think they could make it,” Holtmann joked, “so I think we’re gonna be in good shape.”
Honestly, I hope teams lob up even more threes this year just to prove a point. You're not going to be able keep players from shooting a three as long as it's worth more points. You're just not.
GOODBYE, OKLAHOMA DRILL. My scrawny ass played contact football for exactly one recreational season when I was a youth and I knew I was destined to be a computer boy the very first drill of the very first practice when a lad by the name of Tray Matthews straight up decleated me in the Oklahoma drill.
Tray is in the NFL these days, but thanks to Roger Goodell, he'll never never be able to do that to another human ever again.
From Kevin Seifert of ESPN:
The NFL has asked teams to eliminate some high-impact drills -- including the iconic Oklahoma drill -- from training camp practices as part of the league's ongoing effort to reduce concussions.
The league acknowledged the request Tuesday during its spring meeting in Key Biscayne, Florida. The recommendation came in response to data that showed a high rate of concussions during the early part of training camp in recent years. The league convened an April 17 meeting among current and former NFL players, coaches and executives to discuss ways that would address the issue.
...
"We saw a certain area at the beginning of training camp where we felt could make greater improvement,'' commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday, "and I think removing some of these drills across all 32 teams is the right way to do that. We also believe by prohibiting some of these drills, that will happen at the college and high school and youth football levels, which we believe should happen.''
I do wonder what this means for the future of Ohio State's circle drill, which is basically just the Oklahoma drill, but arguably more violent and in a circle instead.
PULITZER WORTHY. I believe I have unearthed a lost holy book that must be brought to light.
Can do you one better.
— Chantel Jennings (@ChantelJennings) May 22, 2019
Once went on a date with a guy who followed up by emailing me his 250-page fan fiction novel about what wouldve happened if Terrelle Pryor went to a DIII school.
It opened with a section from the Old Testament.
We went on no more dates. https://t.co/piDgXvo3zB
If that didn't win her heart, I guess I'm never getting married. Or I guess I need to marry him.
EAT AT ARBY'S. How hippies turned a college town into the "Dope Capital of the Midwest"... Washington becomes the first state to allow human body composting... DUI suspect in custody after stealing an RV and leading police on a chase through the streets of Los Angeles... A fire that freezes things instead of burning them... Staking out a local Dominoes to see how accurate the pizza tracker really is... A weird meteorite crashed through a doghouse in Costa Rica...
