We've got a Walt game poster coming at you today.
It's getting real, y'all.
ICYMI
- Branden Bowen is grateful to win a starting job.
- Coaches and players preview FAU.
- Urban Meyer tells a great Cardale story.
- Branden Bowen will start at right tackle.
- Inside Meechie Johnson's path to Ohio State.
Word of the Day: Anathema.
DAY OPENS UP. Ryan Day's going to do some fantastic things for the Buckeye football team, but what he's doing and already done to help those battling with depression is bigger than any game he'll ever coach at any level.
From Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports:
“Over the years, what happened was that there was resentment early on,” Day told Yahoo Sports. “Then there was anger. There were these different emotions as we went on. And as I got older, I realized that it’s a sickness.”
Day adds: “You start to see that this is something that's not unique to you, it's gone on everywhere. It's gone on all over the country, and now we're starting to see it happen more and more at the younger age in adolescents and teenagers.”
...
“Suicide is the second leading killer of adolescents and teenagers,” Ryan Day said. “It needs attention. It needs help. The more we talked about it with people, we realized what an epidemic it is in Ohio and everywhere else around the country. The idea was to shine some light on this.”
On June 5, Ryan Day stepped to a podium at a press conference and did something both brave and vulnerable.
Day said publicly for the first time that his father died of suicide.
...
A few days after the announcement, a woman recognized Nina Day while she was running errands. She explained the story of her teenage son’s suicide more than a year ago, and said her family was still having a difficult time speaking about it.
“A lot of people have said to me because your husband, who is the Ohio State head coach, stood up at the podium and said, ‘My dad committed suicide,’ it gave them an OK to say, this happened to my husband or my son,” Nina Day said. “He’s opened up a lot of conversations for a lot of people.”
I urge you to read the entire piece, because Day's vulnerability and dedication to this cause is extremely admirable.
He's doing everything he can to help destigmatize mental health issues, and the simple act of publicly discussing his father's suicide for the first time in his life is leading by example on that front. And it frankly goes well beyond any monetary donation.
I'm proud as hell that Day is doing this. I'm proud that he's placed such an emphasis on mental health within the program, I'm proud that he's willing to be so public about it, and I'm proud that he's willing to lead the way – even if it's uncomfortable – instead of simply making monetary donations.
“I hope we win a lot of games, that's part of the job at Ohio State,” Day told Thamel. “But you want to have a bigger impact than that when you're done. You want to leave a legacy behind, you want to make change.”
THE COMING OF CARDALE. In his third year of professional football, something seems to have clicked for Cardale Jones. Nobody's really sure why, but he just... looking and playing better.
From Eric D. Williams of ESPN:
"I wish I knew the answer to that, because if that was the case, I would have liked to have seen that two years ago," Whisenhunt said. "Not anything against Cardale -- I'm extremely excited about the way that he's performed in our camp. Maybe it's just the process of growing up a little bit.
"He came out young. And maybe it's being in the same system for a couple of years. It has been different [this year], and that's a credit to him. He's worked hard. You could see it early in the spring. It's nice to see him perform the way that he has on the field. He's done a really nice job."
...
During his first two years playing in preseason games for the Chargers, Jones exhibited up-and-down play, struggling to learn the offense and his role in it. Jones was 49-of-86 (57%) for 454 yards, with one touchdown pass, three interceptions and two lost fumbles. Jones was sacked 12 times, posting a 60.9 passer rating.
However, Jones has shown improvement in three preseason games this year, completing 18 of 25 passes (72%) for 208 yards, with a touchdown and no turnovers. Jones has been sacked just twice, posting a 110.1 passer rating.
This isn't the first time Dolo drastically matured and improved seemingly overnight, let's hope it leads to similar results!
Jones is currently battling with rookie Easton Stick for a spot on the active roster behind Phillip Rivers and Tyrod Taylor and is going to have to earn it this week in the final preseason game.
If Cardale can hold off Stick, things could get interesting in a few years. Rivers is 37 years old and nobody's really pretending that Tyrod Taylor is a longterm option behind him.
If Dolo continues to improve like this with his obvious size and RPG for an arm, who the hell knows. We could be talking about Cardale Jones – starting NFL quarterback. I mean, this is a league where Nathan Peterman and C.J. Beathard have started multiple games. It wouldn't be that crazy.
On the other hand, the article also mentioned some potential XFL suitors, and I could not be more all in if Dolo decides to take his talents to the XFL.
URBAN ANALYSIS. If this preseason is any indication at all, I don't think we need to be concerned about Fox and BTN depriving us of Urban Meyer's takes because all signs point to them using the hell out of him this season.
As both a creator and consumer of Ohio State #content, I couldn't be more stoked by this development. I'm sure he'll provide tons of insight to college football at large, but nothing's more insightful than when he talks about Ryan Day or anything Ohio State related.
Case in point:
.@OSUCoachMeyer + @gerrydinardo = a ton of wisdom.
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) August 27, 2019
The pair sat down in Columbus for the debut of our new weekly installment, Urban Analysis. pic.twitter.com/Wp7OlmhPhk
It's the same Urban we all love to know, but just a few notches more sincere, honest and candid than we ever saw him during press conferences. Hell, we got more information and usable analysis out of that six-minute clip than we got at all his press conferences combined.
And that little bit where Meyer describes Justin Fields' running ability as a combination of J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller – either he's an avid Skull Session reader (morning, coach) or I've been spot on with my #analysis since Fields got here.
Either way, today is a good day.
STRANGE TRASH TALK. It looks like Florida Atlantic is taking the "kill them with kindness" approach this week, and it's working.
I mean, how do you hate this?
#FAU TE Harrison Bryant said Ohio State is probably the best team he's played in his life.
— Jake Elman (@JakeElman97) August 27, 2019
Thank you for the kind words, Harrison. I certainly hope the Buckeyes turn out the best team you've ever played in your life.
I also hope from the bottom of my heart that you are the most lethal tight end my team faces this season, because given that the names T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant still trigger PTSD, we might meet my fragile heart's limit for seam route route completions in game one.
ETZLER'S UPS. I know it's the football time and most of y'all don't want to see any sort of round ball until early in January, but I just wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't share these videos of Ohio State hoops commit Kalen Etzler doing extremely cruel things to basketball rims.
1...2...or 3??? pic.twitter.com/aNUVBDSLDG
— Kalen Etzler (@kalen_etzler24) August 28, 2019
— Kalen Etzler (@kalen_etzler24) August 28, 2019
— Kalen Etzler (@kalen_etzler24) August 28, 2019
Given that each of these dunks would be the single most impressive thing I ever accomplished in my life if I were somehow the one performing them, I'm hesitant to name a favorite. But gun to my head, I guess I'd choose the one where he jumps over multiple human beings.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. The Circus Circus casino hotel in Reno will serve as college dorm... A few small goofs nearly threw the world into nuclear war... How one graffiti artist made a lot of enemies... When Americans dined and dated in cemeteries... How Tua Tagavailoa's title-winning pass set off the wildest QB carousel ever... Two sisters and the terrorist who came between them...
