Last week the #teens embarrassed themselves by trying to name the 90s, now we're flipping the script.
The players named the 90's, now it's time for the coaches to Name The 2010's! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/1mPtipIBpe
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) July 19, 2019
Jon Snow is now "Carl" to me. That is his name. I will call him nothing else.
ICYMI
- Tuf Borland is being pushed by Teradja Mitchell.
- B1G coaches talk more conference realignment.
- Ryan Day won't change Ohio State's focus on The Game.
- Jeff Hafley is making his mark on the recruiting trail.
- Ryan Day's subtle changes.
- Branden Bowen and Joshua Alabi are the current slob daddies.
- Jim Harbaugh doubles down on his Urban Meyer comments.
- Carmen's Crew is on to the TBT Quarterfinals.
- Ryan Day is already owning the west.
- Cooper, Fuller and Hill talk about themselves.
Word of the Day: Ardor.
THE BLUEPRINT. Ohio State's situation where a hall of fame head coach tossed the keys of a top-tier program to a neophyte with absolutely no head coaching experience would have been pretty much unheard of, except that exact same scenario happened in Norman, Oklahoma two years ago.
And to be honest, that seems to be going swimmingly.
Through two seasons, Lincoln Riley and the Sooners are 24-4 with two College Football Playoff appearances and two Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks. Needless to say, Ryan Day will gladly take his advice.
From Tom Rittenberg of ESPN:
"He's one of the few guys who I thought could probably relate to the situation," Day told ESPN of Riley at Big Ten media days. "The best advice he gave me was: 'Don't worry about anything in terms of changing, anything like that. Just make sure you do what's right.'
"I thought that was a great point because a lot of people ask, 'What are you changing? What's this? What's that?' If something works, you've got to make sure you do what's right. That's what I've done."
...
"He's done a tremendous job everywhere he's been, so I fully expect he's going to go do well," Riley said. "But the easy answer is, you better have success. It's the same thing with me when I took over [for] Bob. A place like Oklahoma or Ohio State, those places, it's not the easiest thing to do, but it's a pretty simple answer. And do it the right way, which he will.
"He seems like a great guy. He really seems unfazed by it. I didn't get a sense at all that he wasn't ready for it. He seemed completely ready, confident in it. That says a lot."
Day also talked with Riley about calling offensive plays as the head coach, which he plans to do at Ohio State, as well as time-management challenges. But maintaining continuity was a theme, as both men follow Hall of Fame-caliber coaches and take over championship-level teams.
When Day inevitably turns out to be a home-run hire just like Riley, I pray this starts a new trend in college football of giving jobs to individuals with no head coaching experience because I'm tryna put my NCAA14 prowess to the test. Someone's gotta be desperate enough to give me a chance. I'm cheap.
OKUDAH HYPE. One of my favorite things about Ohio State is when players are projected first round picks before they were even technically like, starters.
That's how it was with Nick Bosa ahead of last season, and now the NFL folks have found out about Jeffrey Okudah, as well.
Ohio State CB (1) Jeff Okudah is more talented than any CB in last years draft class. He has size, twitch, toughness and instincts. He doesnt have pick production but he can find/play the ball. Ohio State https://t.co/o4X1QA0UDU
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) July 19, 2019
Doing more work on this cornerback class and its really setting up to be a deep group. Better than last year for sure. Could see Okudah (Ohio State) ranked top 5 and Henderson (Florida) top 10
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) July 20, 2019
That's fantastic news. It truly has been far too many years since Ohio State had a defensive back selected in the first round.
Okudah and Chase Young were the two highest-rated players in Ohio State's 2017 class, and it's looking like there's a solid chance they could both go top-five next year's NFL Draft. I guess sometimes, talent is really just that obvious from the start.
GET BETTER, TEXAS. Turns out, Demetrius Knox had an extremely good and simple reason for going to Ohio State instead of any school in Texas: Ohio State is better.
From Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
“I’d say I wish it wasn’t that way,” said Knox in a recent phone interview. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as a undrafted rookie free agent. “I’d have to say it would take a while for Texas, the state, to keep up and adapt to the standard of football elsewhere. Like Alabama and Ohio State.”
...
“I wanted to stay in the state of Texas, actually,” Knox said. “I was committed to Texas A&M, which was my first offer. That was my sophomore year in high school. But when I went there, it just looked like College Station and nothing was around it. The environment threw me off.”
...
“TCU was great, but it was four minutes from my house. It wasn’t like I was leaving,” he said. “I committed to Texas, but when Mack Brown was fired, it didn’t feel stable. I’m a big Texas guy, and I wanted to go there.”
During the Steve Patterson and Charlie Strong era, Texas was as stable as an active earthquake.
“Like, with UT and TCU being in the Big 12, there is a perception their defense isn’t up to par,” Knox said. “That’s the outside perception of the Big 12 is that it’s not strong. That it’s not a Big Ten or SEC defense. That’s what the public perceives.”
A few years later and not much has changed. We've just gone from Texas kids choosing Ohio State over Texas (J.K. Dobbins, Baron Browning, Garrett Wilson) to a couple of Arizona kids choosing Ohio State over Texas, if you catch my drift.
TERRY TALKS. I feel it is my moral obligation to share with y'all any Terry McLaurin content that graces my computer screen.
Therefore, behold:
Listen to the 8th episode of the Inside the Gridiron podcast with Redskins wideout @TheTerry_25. We discuss how Urban Meyer recruited him, life as a Ohio State wide receiver, and his meteoric rise to becoming a third round pick. #NFL #Podcast https://t.co/eFHkZTobsc
— Jack Borowsky (@thegridiron_nfl) July 20, 2019
There's nothing exceptionally groundbreaking about the interview, but I'll never get tired of listening to Terry talk about how much he busted his ass to get to where he is today.
His recruiting story sits at third on my power rankings behind only Tyvis Powell (whose story is told beautifully by Ryan Ginn) and current freshman tight end Cormantae Hamilton.
KEVIN WILSON IS GR8. Every offseason, we hear and prognosticate about how the tight end will be featured more in the Ohio State offense, and every year that's not the case.
But maybe this is actually the year, because no offseason up to this point has included tight ends practicing one-handed snags while wake boarding.
@OhioStateFB JR TE @Jake_Hausmann Showing Gr8 Balance and Elite Fundamentals!! Check Out the Ball Distraction Drill @brianhartline - Tremendous Concentration & Soft Hands!! #TEStrong #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/JDauABJc1t
— Kevin Wilson (@OSUCoachKDub) July 21, 2019
And yet somehow, that was not the most amazing video to surface from this position group boating trip.
@OhioStateFB - One Key to Great Coaching is Mastery of Technique & Knowledge of Fundamentals - Here is a Gr8 Example of @OSUCoachKDub demonstrating his #WakeSurfing Expertise pic.twitter.com/XWSemxYfvG
— Kevin Wilson (@OSUCoachKDub) July 21, 2019
Kevin Wilson might have the most incredible social media presence in Ohio State assistant coaching history, and that includes #AGuyWhoUsedToDoExtremelyGoodHashtagsLikeThis
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