So many booms and it ain't even the Fourth of July yet.
ICYMI
- Four-star linebacker Cody Simon commits.
- Four-star defensive tackle Darrion Henry commits.
- Relationships sealed Henry's commitment.
- Summer forecast for the class of 2020.
- EPA loves Terry McLaurin.
- Hey, Justin Fields can throw.
- Some overlooked Buckeyes.
- A robot is gunning for my job.
- Ryan Day will mix old and new.
- D'Angelo Russell is headed to the Warriors.
Word of the Day: Kairos.
FRENEMIES. We've had a strong wave of future Buckeyes using social media to remind Michigan who daddy is – an act which I thunderously support.
But you might not see too much of that between Michigan and Ohio State's quarterbacks of the future – J.J. McCarthy and Kyle McCord are McPals.
From Adam Friedman of Yahoo! Sports:
“It was probably May or June before our freshman year and we were two of the young quarterbacks to get offers and be put on the national scene,” McCord said. “We started talking over Twitter and Snapchat, and our relationship kind of grew. It’s nice to know somebody that is going through the same kind of recruitment and media attention. J.J. is somebody I can talk to and relate to.”
There is a mutual respect the two share for each other, but the bigger picture of potentially becoming starting quarterbacks for Michigan and Ohio State and not despising each other is not lost on McCarthy or McCord.
“He’s an awesome guy," McCarthy said of McCord. "We wanted to develop a relationship and have a good friendship, not just be enemies like everyone thinks we are. We pull for each other.”
...
“I ran into Jim Harbaugh at the PGA Championship on Long Island,” (Kyle's father) Derek McCord said. “I ended up speaking with him and his dad for a little while and they even brought up the fact that Woody and Bo were good friends and talked a lot except for the week that they played each other. It’s a bitter rivalry, but J.J. and Kyle built a friendship before they picked Michigan and Ohio State, so that friendship will be a long-time friendship.
“They’re going to want to do everything they can to lead their teams to victory out on that field,” he said. “They’re good friends and come the time when they meet on the field they’re going to want to beat the other guy.”
This reminds me a bit about Dwayne Haskins' friendship with Shea Patterson. Ultimately, that didn't stop Dwayne from shredding the Wolverine defense like Skyline Chili shreds mild cheddar cheese, so I really don't care.
Be as kind as you want to the lad. Shit, be lifelong pals! Just make sure to ruin his life at the end of November. Tears would be appreciated. He'll understand.
FIELDS VS. EVERYONE. The Big Ten and the nation at large is going to be tuned the hell in early and often this season to find out just how good Justin Fields is and just how terrified they should be about the future of Buckeye football.
So it makes sense that when Athlon Sports ranked the Big Ten's top-10 quarterback matchups of this upcoming season, Justin Fields is involved in almost half of them, including the top two.
From Bryan Fischer of Athlon Sports:
1. Shea Patterson (Michigan) vs. Justin Fields (Ohio State) — Nov. 30
Patterson didn't have a completely awful game against the Buckeyes last time out but that final score no doubt left a bad taste in his mouth. He’ll have the opportunity for revenge at the Big House while Fields, the highly touted Georgia transfer, gets his first taste of one of college football's best rivalries. Both have the chance to put up some monster numbers this year in new systems and could be playing for the right to go to Indianapolis on the final weekend once again.
2. Adrian Martinez (Nebraska) vs. Justin Fields (Ohio State) — Sept. 28
Scott Frost's first season with the Cornhuskers didn't go as planned but there was one silver lining in finding out he had a QB of the future in Martinez, who dazzled as a true freshman with his legs and his arm. He'll have a big test at the Horseshoe against Fields in a game that should tell us a whole lot about both signal-callers' development in 2019.
The other ones were No. 9: Justin Fields (Ohio State) vs. Brian Lewerke (Michigan State) — Oct. 5 (which is hilarious considering Lewerke got benched in that game last season), and 10. Hunter Johnson (Northwestern) vs. Justin Fields (Ohio State) — Oct. 18 (a battle of former five-star transfers).
So basically, when Justin Fields plays against a competent team, tune in.
He hasn't played a real snap as a Buckeye yet but I'm already riding blind with Fields in all of these matchups with his God-given talent + Ryan Day. Adrian Martinez is a dog though, and if any quarterback on this list is going to outshine Fields in any of these games, it's him.
TEDDY NO SHOW. A few weeks ago, Ted Ginn Jr. called himself the fastest player in the NFL and bragged that he would race anyone, any time, anywhere for a wager of at least $10,000.
Apparently "anywhere" and "any time" didn't include Saturday at a competition literally designed to find the fastest player in the NFL.
Ginn simply no-showed to the 40 Yards of Gold tournament on Saturday night, passing on a chance to prove his speed in front of a sizable pay-per-view audience and perhaps claim a $1 million prize.
From Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:
But Ginn remained willing to prove that he’s indeed faster than anyone in the NFL, signing up for the $1 million (possibly paid out in equal $1 installments for a million years), not-so-well-hyped (in my opinion), and not-so-well-received (in my perception) “40 yards of gold” racing tournament. And then, as MDS noted last night, Ginn simply didn’t show up.
That’s right. The races started, and Ginn wasn’t there. Event organizers had enough advance notice to replace Ginn with Broncos running back Khalfani Muhammad, who actually made it to final four of the 16-man event. The more important question is whether organizers did anything to spread the word that Ginn wouldn’t be attending after they knew he wouldn’t be attending; anyone who decided to buy tickets to the event or to order the $39.95 pay-per-view specifically to see whether Ginn could win the thing would have solid grounds to demand a refund, especially if they made the purchase after Ginn canceled — and if no effort was made to let people know Ginn wouldn’t be running.
It’s unclear whether any effort had been made to let people know Ginn wouldn’t be running, because the event simply didn’t create enough organic buzz. Event organizers, who decided to keep the names of their investors secret, told Sports Business Daily that they aren’t “super focused” on the amount of money that will be made, and that they will regard it as a success “if we just execute.”
Look, I do think Teddy is one of, if not the fastest player in the league, but you can't talk that talk and then ignore folks who call your challenge and pull out of a chance to prove it.
Maybe he's just saving them all from embarrassment.
REAL RECOGNIZE REAL. Dwayne Haskins hasn't even taken a preseason snap yet, but folks around the league already know his name, including the league MVP.
NFL Draft knower Matt Miller tried to give away Haskins' nickname, but Patty Mahomes wasn't having it.
I think that is dwanye Haskins nickname?
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) June 29, 2019
Thanks Pat https://t.co/mB2ftB4ObN
— Dwayne Haskins, Jr (@dh_simba7) June 29, 2019
I tried to think about how Patty Mahomes could know about Dwayne Haskins well enough to know his nickname, and nothing really clicked. I mean, he wasn't really recruited at the same time as Haskins, didn't grow up in the same part of the country and never played against him.
So I guess he just knows because Haskins is damn good at football, which is pretty cool.
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