There's a solid chance you missed the catch of the game on Saturday, so let's revisit.
Behold, the hands of Kevin Woidke:
Hey @kwad941 you been working on the tip drill? pic.twitter.com/pnp8vFfuXo
— Alex Farkas (@alexfarkas13) September 16, 2019
Talk about buried talent. He could start at receiver anywhere else in the country with those hands, but here he is as at Ohio State as a reserve offensive lineman. Incredible, really.
ICYMI
- COME TO DUBGATE IX – OCT. 26.
- Eugene Brown commits to the Buckeyes.
- What Brown's commitment means to Ohio State.
- Five things to know about Miami.
- Ohio State's NFL running style.
- We've got a night game in Nebraska.
- J.K. Dobbins earns Big Ten honor.
- Champions for the Indiana game.
- Buckeye B-@-ttle Cry.
- Inside the Box.
- Across the Shield.
- Perry on point.
- Threat level: Michigan.
Word of the Day: Laches.
THE REAL QB1. Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence play the same position, went to high school 20 minutes apart, were in the same recruiting class, and were rated the No. 1 and No. 2 players in country separated by 0.0001 points in the composite rankings.
The debate may have been tired before either of the fine young lads ever even signed a letter of intent, but we aren't going to escape comparisons between them any more than we're going to escape death's cruel, cold, dark clutches (eat at Arby's).
From Stephen Means of Cleveland.com:
Fields and Lawrence were the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the 2018 recruiting class. Yet they’ve never played a football game against each other even though their high schools were only 20 miles apart. There have only been two instances where the two have crossed path competitively. The first was in the Elite 11 competition in 2017 and the other for the 2018 Mr. Georgia Football award.
Fields won both.
Last season Lawrence became the first true freshman quarterback to win a national championship, while Fields played spot minutes as a backup. But so far nothing that either has done this season suggests that opportunity is the only reason Fields couldn't have played at that level last season.
"I try to not worry about other college quarterbacks," Fields said. "I try to worry about myself and be the best quarterback I can be. Trevor's a great quarterback, of course. We've been competing for a long time, but I try to not look at the outsiders and focus on me."
The comparisons ain't going anywhere any time soon, but at least now we have actual meaningful reps to compare instead of garbage time and gadget snaps for Fields and a high school recruiting camp.
Here's how it's looking through three games, from Cleveland.com:
| JUSTIN FIELDS | TREVOR LAWERNCE | |
|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 657 | 831 |
| Passing touchdowns | 9 | 5 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 5 |
| Competition percentage | 70.3 (52 of 74) | 60.8 (59 of 97) |
| Quarterback rating | 185.0 | 139.5 |
| Rushing Yards | 114 | 55 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 4 | 3 |
To be fair to Lawrence, his first three games included the two most difficult games on Clemson's (hilariously weak) regular season slate while Fields made short work of three unranked teams.
Still, Fields has been noticeably better in pretty much every category so far.
I'm sure Lawrence will get it together soon (a game against Charlotte will probably do the trick), but I like my quarterback, even compared to the guy folks are hailing as the greatest quarterback prospect that ever lived.
NO DELUSION HERE. The mighty Redhawks of Miami are heading to town this week, and it would seem they are completely aware of what they're up against.
Miami (Ohio) coach Chuck Martin on facing Ohio State: "It's kind of like going to recess and they have the first 85 picks."
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) September 16, 2019
That might even be underselling it, because I'd wager Ohio State has a few walk-ons Miami would have graciously accepted as scholarship players.
Look at it this way, the Buckeyes already played a team of players that weren't good enough to play at Ohio State, and won 42-0. That team went on to beat Miami 35-13 last week. This is a team of players that weren't good enough to play for a team of players that weren't good enough to play at Ohio State.
I'm not even trying to talk trash (that's what Saturday is for), that's just the reality of the situation, and it seems our guy Chuck is totally self aware.
Miami doesn't even have the option of disguising Ben Roethlisberger as a current student anymore. This one is going to get ugly in a hurry.
WHAT RELOADING LOOKS LIKE. One year after sending a defensive end to the NFL as the No. 2 overall pick and a corner as a third-round pick, Ohio State has the two best players in the country at both of those positions.
Top prospects on defense:
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) September 16, 2019
EDGE - Chase Young
DL - AJ Epenesa
LB - Isaiah Simmons
DC - Jeffrey Okudah
FS - Xavier McKinney
SS - Grant Delpit
The craziest part is there are times when Jeff Okudah doesn't even look like the best corner on Ohio State's roster, and that says absolutely nothing about how he's been playing and everything about the flashes Shaun Wade and Damon Arnette have shown.
I'm really liking this dominant defense thing. We should try it every season.
JUST TWO BROS ON MAGAZINES. My future offspring has the misfortune of sharing my DNA, which essentially disqualifies them from any sort of athletic accolades.
Needless to say, I can only imagine the proud parent moment Stephanie Wesson was feeling when she saw her two sons on the cover of magazines.
— Stephanie Wesson (@WessonBoyzMom) September 16, 2019
Also, Kaleb Wesson doesn't even look like the same human being that arrived for his freshman season. He's out here looking leaner than his brother now.
Meanwhile, the most impressive body transformation I've ever had is moving from a size small to size medium shirt as a 25-year-old adult. I humbly accept your congratulations.
DO IT, COWARD. So far, UCLA is proving to be bad, bad. But maybe that's just because they aren't running Chip Kelly's ideal offense...
Don't expect to ever see the wishbone at UCLA. Chip Kelly: "Thats not happening here so thats not what were going to run here and thats not what were going to do. But in the ideal world, if I was going to play Madden, Id line up in the bone and run the ball every play."
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) September 16, 2019
I mean, it's worth a shot. It's not like what you've been doing has led to fantastic results anyway. There's really not all that much to lose At the very least, you'd get me to tune the hell in.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. Ex-Google worker fears 'killer robots' could cause mass atrocities... Streamer blames World of Warcraft for not cleaning in 14 years... Netflix is going all in for Seinfeld... A Florida couple had sex in back of a police car following a DUI arrest... 75-year-old Ohio man arrested for two cold case murders from the 1970s...
