Y'all, we're so thick into the offseason Dan Hope – the hardest-working individual I've ever worked with – even decided it was safe to take a vacation this week.
God help us.
ICYMI
- Ryan Day is battling Tom Herman for two talented teens.
- State of the position: Safety.
- Darius Slade is heading to USF.
Word of the Day: Corybantic.
B1G'S WORST NIGHTMARE. The Big Ten got what it wished for: Urban Meyer's reign of terror is over, and Ohio State just replaced him with a first-time head coach.
Over in Buckeyeland, we're fully expecting Ryan Day to come in, kick ass, beat Michigan and win titles, but imagine for a second the reaction around the Big Ten if (when) that actually happens.
We'll have folks just folding their fanships right there as Day lifts the Big Ten Championship trophy in a confetti filled Lucas Oil Stadium. And I won't blame them one bit.
From Connor O'Gara of Saturday Tradition:
Now, Meyer is gone. The door is open for the rest of the conference. At least it should be.
Even the most optimistic view of Day probably doesn’t have that kind of intra-conference dominance. If we’re talking about Day’s accomplishments like that 7 years from now, Ohio State will have bored the rest of the B1G out of competing for a conference title. The national narrative that the B1G is “Ohio State and everyone else” will have more legitimacy than ever.
Obviously the team that this pertains most to is Michigan, who is going to hear about the 7 straight losses to Ohio State more times than it can count. As sick of a feeling as it had to be to watch Meyer dominate the favored Wolverines and ultimately repeat as B1G champions last year, can you imagine if Michigan lost that game in Ann Arbor this year? That’s more than a gut punch. That’s a machete to the gut.
God, this is going to be hilarious.
CUSHY START. It's not even July and folks are already participating in college football's favorite past time: getting angry online about strength of schedules.
Chris Low of ESPN put together a list of strength of schedule superlatives – which is the most offseason piece of offseason content ever created – and he's calling Ohio State's slate the "Cushiest open to the season."
Cushiest open to the season
Ohio State faces Florida Atlantic and Cincinnati at home to open the season, then travels to Indiana and comes back home to face Miami (Ohio). Pretty safe bet that Ryan Day and the Buckeyes will be 4-0 going to Nebraska on Sept. 28
I think Cincinnati and The Fighting Lane Kiffins are better than folks think, but whatever. The secret is, none of this matters. The committee is just going to do what it wants to do and rationalize it later anyway, so I've given up being angry about anything but losing.
So. Just win, baby!
CRY, THEN MOVE ON. That's what Brian Hartline is doing after the departure of Johnnie Dixon, Terry McLaurin and Parris Campbell.
But moving on ain't too hard when you walk back into a receivers room led by K.J. Hill Austin Mack, Chris Olave and Binjimen Victor with a shiny new five-star toy in Garrett Wilson.
From Tony Gerdeman of The Ozone:
“It’s definitely different. That’s why when they left, I cried, literally,” he said. “One, from a culture standpoint and a relationship standpoint, how we’ve gotten to know each other. And I’m sure I’m going to do it again this year. But we’re developing right now and it’s a lot of fun.”
There are players waiting in the wings, and many of them have already proven themselves — like KJ Hill, Austin Mack, and Binjimen Victor. They will bring the next group along with them, just as last year’s leaders did.
“If you try to take yourself back to where we were last spring when Dwayne was coming in and those guys were trying to enhance, very similar to the guys I have now,” he said. “I feel like we’re really far ahead. We’re doing a really good job, we’re doing a lot of really good things and we’re only going to get better. Right now we’re developing our culture in our room and seeing really who’s going to step up.”
Not to make light of the Buckeyes losing over 2,400 receiving yards from last season, but I have a sneaky suspicion this unit is going to be just fine. For like, the next half decade.
MENTORSHIP REIGNITED. Ezekiel Elliott took Mike Weber under his wing when he got to Ohio State, and now he'll get to do it again.
Now, we'll get to see what that Weber/Elliott one-two punch would have looked like had Weber been healthy in 2015.
BOOM, HEADSHOT. If y'all wanna see Jim Harbaugh get drilled by a high-speed plastic ball off of a small child's bat, you're gonna wanna click "play."
Getting ready for tonights @umichbaseball championship game pic.twitter.com/gkwJuyxriX
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) June 25, 2019
I'm thoroughly shocked he gave the kid a pitch to hit, to be honest. I mean, this is the same guy that hunted and relentlessly lit up a 10-year-old kid in laser tag to boost his score, and defended himself later by saying "that seemed part of the game."
Maybe he didn't mean to and his slider just wasn't working that day.
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