Happy Independence Day. Now go something up in beautiful color. It's the American way.
ICYMI
- Urban Meyer's entire speech from the Gold Pants banquet.
- Three-star linebacker Mitchell Melton commits to Ohio State.
- What Mitchell Melton's commitment means for the Buckeyes.
- Just like he said, Ryan Day is locking down the state of Ohio.
- The biggest questions facing the Buckeye basketball team.
- Chase Young and J.K. Dobbins named preseason All-Americans.
Word of the Day: Preta.
DREAM TEAM. Brian Hartline is already doing some awesome things with the Ohio State receivers room, but now he's going to get the nation's most talented receivers to work with.
Barton Simmons of 247 Sports named the three most impressive receivers at this year's The Opening Finals – an elite invite only high school camp, for those who are nothing close to recruitniks – and all three are Ohio State commits.
WR: Julian Fleming (5 in the 247Sports Composite)
Based on this event alone, it looks like Fleming is properly ranked as the No. 1 wide receiver in the country. He ran a 4.45 at 6-2, 191. He had a 40 inch vertical. He wasn’t stiff or rigid as a route-runner. He has soft hands. Most importantly when he was on the field, everyone knew it. Fleming only had 15 catches but seven of them went for touchdowns and it always looked pretty when the ball went to his direction.
WR: Jaxon Smith-Njigba (89 in the 247Sports Composite)
Sometimes it was spectacular, usually it was understated, but Smith-Njigba was outstanding during 7on7 play. His 23 catches and four touchdowns were among the best on hand and he found his production in all kinds of ways. He could work the middle of the field and feel his way into open grass, he could stretch the field vertically, he could make tough catches in tight spaces. The Buckeye commit is a very complete target.
WR: Gee Scott (66 in the 247Sports Composite)
It’s pretty wild to have three Ohio State wide receiver commits as the three wide receiver representatives on the Dream Team but Scott left us no choice. He was steady and consistent all week. He made one-handed catches like they were routine. He had one drop all weekend and it was another one-handed catch that somehow we’ve come to take for granted. He had 25 catches (second among all receivers), five touchdowns (tied for second) and he was the safety valve all week for his quarterbacks.
I've been saying for a while now that Gee Scott Jr. should be a five-star receiver, but hell, now it's looking like all three should be.
Then the Buckeyes could (should) be adding one more: four-star receiver Mookie Cooper. And that's all in addition to five-star receiver Garrett Wilson and the ultimate "people forget" of Jameson Williams who just signed, plus four-star 2021 receiver Jayden Ballard.
I don't think it's really possible to oversell how insane Ohio State's receiver recruiting has been.
ICE COLD MILLER. He may be from a state where elderly couples retire to get away from harsh climates, but Jack Miller is allegedly quite ready for Ohio's frigid winters.
Allegedly.
From Josh Bean of Cleveland.com:
Q: Your dad said you’re looking forward to playing in a colder climate, despite growing up in sunny Arizona. Why?
“I love the cold weather. I always have since I was a kid. Growing up in Arizona, it’s always so hot. I love being in the cold for some reason, I don’t know why.”
Q: Everybody wants to play as quickly as possible, but realistically how quickly do you think you can get on the field at Ohio State?
“I think I’m going to go there and compete as soon as I get there, and we’ll see. It’s not really in my hands, but I’d like to play as soon as I get there. If that’s not the case, I’m fine with redshirting and learning as much as I can behind Justin (Fields) for the first couple of years. Anything they have in store for me, I’m willing.”
That's good to hear, but everyone from a warm part of the country "loves being in the cold" until it's time to walk to class in the snow at 7:30 a.m. in -10 degree wind chill. I had Georgia blood in me, I know how it goes – It gets old really quick.
Regardless, I'm happy he's ready to play in the cold. I know everyone uses Ohio's climate against the Buckeyes on the recruiting trail, but that's always confused me because there seems like one really simple rebuttal to that: "Oh, so you don't plan on playing in the NFL, where half the games are played outside in cold weather?"
WE'RE DOING THIS AGAIN? You'd think a 62-39 beatdown would be enough to scare sportswriters and oddsmakers away from hyping Michigan during offseason (again), but they're back on their bullshit.
SuperBookUSA – which sounds like the Dollar General of offshore gambling websites – is giving the Wolverines better odds than Ohio State to win the 2019-20 national title.
Updated Odds to win the 2019-20 National Championship (via SuperBookUSA):
— CFB Home (@CFBHome) July 1, 2019
Alabama - 9/4
Clemson - 9/4
Georgia - 6/1
Michigan - 12/1
Ohio State - 14/1
Oklahoma - 16/1
LSU - 20/1
Texas - 25/1
Auburn - 30/1
Nebraska - 30/1
I don't know who's going to win the national title this year, but I know damn well it ain't going to be Michigan. But y'all set that money ablaze. At least it will be over quickly when they get dumped by Army on Sept. 7.
NO SUSPENSION. Good news: it looks like Ezekiel Elliott's latest bullshittery has been ruled dumb, but not worthy of a suspension.
Source: Following yesterdays meeting between Commissioner Roger Goodell and Ezekiel Elliott, the league office today informed the Cowboys the two-time NFL rushing champion did NOT violate the Personal Conduct Policy, and Elliott will NOT be punished for a May incident in Vegas
— Ed Werder (@EdwerderRFA) July 3, 2019
Elliott met with Goodell on Tuesday and shortly after posted an apology statement on Twitter, which was presumably part of his agreement with Goodell.
— Ezekiel Elliott (@EzekielElliott) July 2, 2019
As a human looking to resurrect his All-Buckeye fantasy team, I'm elated.
FAMILY TRADITION. Crazy stat that's totally true: Ohio State is about to become the first program in college football history with two different father/son combinations.
Happy birthday to my first born .....Im a proud father enjoy your day baby boy pic.twitter.com/KbiX0ryPoR
— D Hen (@darrion_henry) July 3, 2019
Tyvis Powell and Cardale Jones must be so proud.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. Upset girlfriend uses boyfriend's credit card to tip a server $5,000... Drunk man broke into nature center and tried to play fetch with a bobcat... How a literary prank convinced Germany that "Hanzel and Gretel" was real... How Iceland helped humans reach the Moon... An intentionally frustrating website teaches us about best practices in website design...Highway patrol pulls over a hearse in the high occupancy vehicle lane... Apparently, we're running out of sand... The reality of living in the back of a van...
