Let us all be a like Damon Arnette today (and every day).
Tired of being disrespected... #BIA forever we gon stand on what we stand for .. BEST IN AMERICA
— Damon Arnette (@damon_arnette) December 13, 2019
HE'S GOT NEXT. Ohio State's offense is so damn stacked that the Buckeyes have a receiver that was a top-100 prospect in the country, runs a 4.4 second 40-yard dash and is averaging nearly 20 yards a touch this season – and he's buried on the bench.
But Jameson Williams isn't too worried. He knows his time is coming.
“It doesn’t get to me like that,” Williams told cleveland.com. “I know that there’s talent in front of me, and those are my brothers.”
...
Ohio State’s core wide receiver rotation this season has a lot of things. But the one asset it lacks is the type of speed that made guys like Ted Ginn Jr. and Parris Campbell elite talents for the Buckeyes. None of them can take a flip pass from Dwayne Haskins and go 78 yards for a touchdown against Michigan. Williams can, and with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson being the only returners from that core next season, he’ll get a chance to show it.
“I learned a bunch from the day I got in until today,” Williamson said. “All I do in practice is watch everyone else’s reps and see how I can critique my reps. I feel like I’ve gotten better every day since I got here.”
I'm a simpleton. I'd be keen to just let kid run straight as fast as he can for the next four years.
I mean...
As I watch the endless loop of him running away from everyone on the screen (except Garrett Wison, who is also a freshman) I cannot fathom how unstoppable he will be when Brian Hartline's done with him.
BIG THANOS TRIMMING DOWN. Ohio State's footballers of the future could not be more different than Dawand Jones and Jameson Williams, who don't even look like they should be playing the same sport, to an outsider.
Regardless, the Buckeyes are stoked to have them both. And like Williams, Dawand is stoked to be a Bucekye – even if he's going to have to wait his turn for a bit.
"I didn't really know until Northwestern," Jones said. "We had Nick (Petit-Frere) in there and I was getting reps that week. It was crazy just the build-up to it and they called my name and it's freezing cold at Northwestern and I was shivering. And I was like, 'All right, I've got this,' but I was nervous, I'm not going to lie to you. But I got in and it was my moment and it just happened and it's been on ever since."
...
"Right now I just want to keep losing weight and get to the point where I can compete for a starting job," Jones said. "So, I just want to keep working hard to get to where I need to be.
"I dropped 25 pounds after I got here. I weighed 385, which obviously isn't good for an offensive lineman. So, it felt good to drop all that weight and now I just want to keep it going. My knees feel better and my back. It's just a load off of you."
They've both had strikingly similar years if you equate their God-given gifts – Jones' size and Williams' speed. Only, Williams' ain't trying to shed some of his speed.
DR. CRAFT. At this time next year, our favorite Rosey-Cheeked Assassin will be taking his clutchness back to the classroom, returning to medical school and stepping off the hardwood for good.
It's bittersweet, for sure, but it's not like being a doctor isn't something he's dreamed of doing all his life, too – long before basketball even became a reality.
For the entirety of his adult life, Aaron Craft has been blessed to live out one of his childhood dreams.
Now, before hitting age 30, the former Ohio State basketball star is in the midst of what will almost certainly be his final season on the hardwood.
Next summer, when his sixth professional season draws to a close, Craft will leave Trento, Italy, for the last time and return to his alma mater to officially begin medical school. Barring some sort of overwhelming financial offer from a top-tier team, Craft is playing what figures to be his last season as a pro.
“The greatest thing is I have an opportunity to chase two of the dreams that I had when I was a little kid before I turn 30, and not many people get to say that,” he told The Dispatch in a recent phone interview from Italy. “I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. It felt like this was the right moment. I’m comfortable with the decision stopping after this year, pending something crazy, which I don’t think is going to happen."
Craft hasn't totally ruled out one last ride with Carmen's Crew this summer, it's just going to depend on how his schedule shakes out.
So we may not have gritnessed our last of of Craft's court dives, after all.
TBT. Remember when the narrative about that 2015 Ohio State recruiting class was that it kinda sucked?
Tell that to this video.
Here's a rather extraordinary find in the archives.
— Jerod Smalley (@JerodNBC4) December 12, 2019
Check out our @NBC4FFN Preseason Team from 2014.
Holy cow, was this team loaded. @JonathonCooper7 @Joe_Burrow10 @dmhamilton53 @LiamMcCullough2 @OhioStateFB @LSUfootball (And yes, Davon later committed to OSU). pic.twitter.com/xDzyES3MM9
I think those lads turned out fine.
That's a Heisman winner, a Buckeye captain, perhaps the most improved player on the roster, and the best long snapper in the country.
Being 100 percent genuine, did Liam McCullough live up to the hype more than most highly-touted players in Ohio State history? Dude was billed as the top long snapper in the country, and five years later, he's the best damn long snapper in the country.
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