So, Michigan's a baseball school now? I'm down with that.
Caption this. pic.twitter.com/Qh2BgIC3X7
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 18, 2019
ICYMI
- A look at which players could redshirt this season.
- Tommy Togiai is the strongest player on the team.
- Ohio State's hoops newcomers have their numbers.
- Ryan Day needs to maintain team toughness.
Word of the Day: Piffle.
CALLING HIS SHOT. I'm not trying to get too picky here, because I'm not really one to discriminate about which five-star teen decides to do football in Columbus as long as there are a lot of them, but it's about time for a five-star running back, am I right?
I mean, Ohio State currently has a player give a five-star rating by at least one recruiting service at every position except running back. It makes sense to complete the collection.
But according to future Buckeye quarterback and apparent seer Kyle McCord's crystal ball, I should be getting my wish shortly.
Kyle McCord predicting Bijan Robinson and Mookie Cooper will be next two #Buckeyes commits. #rivalschallenge
— Mike Farrell (@rivalsmike) June 24, 2019
Bijan Robinson is extremely good at football and would give Ohio State its first five-star running back since Beanie Wells, who was also extremely good at football.
But if you're not quick to take a 15-year-old's word for it, you could also take it from a professional teen-knower:
Bijan Robinson in the house at the #rivalschallenge has #Longhorns #Buckeyes and #Trojans on his mind. I hear #Buckeyes lead.
— Mike Farrell (@rivalsmike) June 24, 2019
Also, the fact that I initially just glossed over McCord's prediction that the Buckeyes were going to land the No. 11 receiver in the country should tell you everything you need about the state of Ohio State recruiting right now. It just ain't fair.
By the way, I had neither of these players in mind when I told you of a half dozen or so commitments that were imminent.
THROWN IN THE FIRE. Chase Young wasn't supposed to be Ohio State's top pass rusher last season, but then some stuff happened and he was.
Instead of an entire season benefitting from the double and triple teams Nick Bosa drew, he was eating them himself. It wasn't easy for a first-year starter, but he's better for it.
From Tony Gerdeman of The Ozone:
When Young looks back on last season now, he has a greater appreciation for everything that happened, and a better understanding of what it will take for others to step up as he did.
“You know, I was thrown into the fire and I did my best,” he said of last season. “Definitely learned from it, learned from the experience. Now I know what it’s going to take. Now I’m trying to pull some of the young guys up with me so they can take some of that attention away from me so we can just all be one.”
It wasn’t too long ago that Young was the one being led around, which is something that he won’t ever forget.
“It’s crazy, you know I feel like I can still remember freshman year when Nick and Tyquan [Lewis] and Sam [Hubbard] was here and I was looking up to them and they were the guys, and now it’s definitely a big change and I gotta try to lead the younger guys,” Young said. “Me, Davon [Hamilton], BB [Landers], we gotta try to lead them as best we can.”
I'm all in on Young Predator taking the next steps, growing as a leader and generally getting better, but that first quote has my brain doing summersaults.
If 9.5 sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss and a second-team All-Big Ten season was "I was thrown into the fire and I did my best,” are we sure he should be allowed to play against college students this season? Should that not be a public safety concern?
THE JEWEL OF THE MIDWEST. Ohio State isn't stopping at promoting one of the finest universities, athletic programs and football team's in the land, they're going to pump the hell out of the city it resides in as well.
And after watching the banger 614 highlight reel they put together, I'm all for it.
It's a mix of everything that makes Columbus, Ohio so great. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/PZaPrY9OlW
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) June 24, 2019
The more I think about it, the more I realize Columbus is one hell of a recruiting tool for the Buckeyes, and they should push it every chance they get.
I'm not going to pretend Columbus is a world city or anything, but it may as well be Manhattan compared to Tuscaloosa, Athens or Clemson. And that's gotta be worth something.
GOODBYE, CALI SCHOOLS? A bill is moving through California legislature that would allow in-state student athletes to earn compensation for use of their name, image or likeness, and you'll be shocked to learn that the NCAA is not happy about it.
In fact, they're threatening to kick the California athletic programs out of the NCAA!
From Kaelen Jones of SI.com:
NCAA president Mark Emmert suggested that if a California bill allowing in-state college athletes to be compensated passes, schools could potentially be barred from competing in NCAA championships, a letter sent to the chair of two State Assembly committees last week said.
...
Emmert has asked that committees postpone their evaluation of the bill as the NCAA examines rules regarding athletes making money for their names, images and likenesses.
“We recognize all of the efforts that have been undertaken to develop this bill in the context of complex issues related to the current collegiate model that have been the subject of litigation and much national debate,” Emmert said in his letter. “Nonetheless, when contrasted with current NCAA rules, as drafted the bill threatens to alter materially the principles of intercollegiate athletics and create local differences that would make it impossible to host fair national championships. As a result, it likely would have a negative impact on the exact student-athletes it intends to assist.”
This is absolutely going to turn into a gigantic game of chicken between the NCAA and California lawmakers and I'm fascinated to see how it plays out.
TROLL LEVEL: MASTER. The Cleveland Indians did some heroic work this weekend: trolling the hell out of the Wolverines.
The Indians are making sure Tigers fans in the crowd dont forget... A special counter for the weekend. #Buckeyes pic.twitter.com/OADQMRANVt
— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) June 22, 2019
I recognize that not all Buckeye fans are Indians fans and not all Indians fans are Buckeye fans. But if Michigan is publicly ridiculed, it's my contractural duty to post about it.
CHEKWA CHECKING IN. Football wasn't forever for Chimdi Chekwa, but his work ethic sure as hell was. And now he's channeling all of that into the rest of his life.
There's no way it's easy to bounce back when your entire life changes so abruptly like that. Props to Chimdi for keeping his head up and pushing through.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. Man accused of murdering 24-year-old woman slashes his own throat in court... Negotiating with children like Dutch parents... What it's like to have lyme disease forever... What it's like to get married at Taco Bell... Inside the Connecticut sex cult led by a man claiming to be Jesus... "Cocaine King of Milan" escapes from prison through a hole in the roof... Air Canada is trying to figure out how a woman was left behind in a cold, dark airplane... The polygamist who allegedly scammed the United States out of $500 million...
