Columbusites, today I must be the bearer of bad news: the sun hates you.
Today I learned that many people grew up in especially cloudy cities but dont realize it until they see this list
— Nathan W. Pyle (@nathanwpyle) May 17, 2020
source: https://t.co/JaA1XUDnB6 pic.twitter.com/3fVX7jxFRG
Song of the Day: "Beyond" by Leon Bridges.
Word of the Day: Promulgate.
DON'T FORET. It's okay to lose your mind about the very good young receivers flocking to Columbus with six top-100 players joining the receiving corps in two classes.
But don't forget about the other top-100 receiver on the roster, because amidst the hype of all the younger players, Kamryn Babb has been quietly working his ass off to get back on the field, and he's looking pretty damn good.
No has seen is the endless hours of hard work! The silent fight when no has been watching, all have been thinking the negative you have kept your eyes on God, believed in yourself, kept fighting when the world gave you every reason to give up! So proud of u son, I u @kamm_o pic.twitter.com/VaUrmLP5vr
— Momma Bear (@AlanaTempleton) May 17, 2020
I'm pretty impartial about how scores the touchdowns for my favorite football team, but it's impossible not to root for someone like Babb who's caught some tough breaks. And when it comes to extremely talented football players, I'm of the camp that you can't have enough.
As for that stockpile at receiver, everyone in Ohio State's receivers room with sophomore or younger eligibility was a top-100 player out of high school. And that's not going to change with next year's class, either.
Brain Hartline, never leave us.
PISTOL PETE. With Damon Arnette now a millionaire, it's time for me to take up the banner of another player plenty of folks insist is bad but is actually great.
Folks, this is a Pistol Pete Werner blog now.
I think people unfairly morph Werner and Tuf Borland into the same person in their minds and think that Werner also runs like his cleats are filled with cement (I'm actually a low-key Borland truther but lord knows it ain't because of his square wheels).
Reality is, Werner might be one of the most athletic players on the roster. Dude's big enough to be a force stopping the run, but fast enough to effectively play safety.
Linebacker Pete Werner career at Ohio State:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 15, 2020
701 Coverage snaps
1 TD allowed pic.twitter.com/IFbKAEpF1M
To be fair, "he didn't give up a touchdown" isn't really the world's best indicator, especially when he's matched up against tight ends who absolutely are not taking a slant to the crib. However, he also plays a lot of red-zone snaps, so it ain't a completely nothing stat.
But the larger point is true – he's damn good in coverage. Just ask Pat Freiermuth. Then ask him again after this year's game.
AD IN WAITING? Gene Smith ain't going to be at Ohio State forever, but the good news is that when he finally yields his throne, there will be no shortage of extremely qualified individuals willing and eager to take up the post, and new UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond might be at the top of that list.
What’s more, Jarmond’s goal is believed to be the chair at Ohio State, whenever current Buckeyes athletic director Gene Smith steps down.
That could be a few years or many years, and there’s no guarantee Jarmond would get the gig, which is arguably the best AD job in the country.
Jarmond already made a mark at Boston College by turning Jeff Hafley's "no" into a yes, I'm fascinated to see how he can turn around the UCLA athletic department, which by all accounts seems like a disaster.
If he nails the audition on the west coast for the next few years, I'll gladly give Jarmond that Skylar Grey salute.
ANOTHER TBT TEAM. Apparently two TBT teams weren't enough for Ohio State basketball alums, so former walk-on Jake Lorbach is the newest coach and general manager of a third – also featuring Marc Loving and Kam Williams.
Not a bad looking team so far pic.twitter.com/snw9d7M1gR
— Great Lakes Elite TBT (@GLETBT) May 18, 2020
Great Lakes Elite is decidedly third in my power rankings of TBT teams with Ohio State ties, but who knows, maybe they'll go on a run and shut me the hell up. At the very least, I'll very much enjoy watching Kam Williams break physics with some dunks. I have missed that.
BIG TIME PLAYERS MAKE BIG TIME PLAYS. Sunshine be damned, CBS Sports is ranking Justin Fields – not Trevor Lawrence – as college football's best playmaker at the quarterback position.
Justin Fields, Ohio State: Hot-shot quarterbacks need to play in systems that highlight their skills in a wide variety of ways. No system does it better, and no player has better skills, than Ohio State and Fields. The junior threw for 3,273 yards, rushed for 484 more and totaled 51 touchdowns. He went to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist and led his team to the College Football Playoff in his first season as a starting quarterback. He did all of that despite heading to the bench with big leads multiple times during the 2019 season. Now that Fields is entrenched under center and coach Ryan Day has championship-experience, expect Fields to flirt with 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in 2020 -- provided he plays a full four quarters most of the time.
"Hot-shot quarterbacks need to play in systems that highlight their skills in a wide variety of ways." should have been written directly into Justin Fields' transfer paperwork to Georgia. Everyone wants to hate on Georgia for starting Jake Fromm over Justin Fields, but their real crime is designing an offense that allows them to do that with a clean conscience.
Anyway, I plan to enjoy the 4,000/1,000 season and the Heisman Trophy that comes along with it while Georgia rolls with a mediocre ACC quarterback transfer who's most famous for his absurdly long mesh points.
You know what they say, the portal giveth, and the portal taketh away.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. The North Carolina Supreme Court rules a middle finger didn’t warrant traffic stop... Smugglers impregnated cardboard with cocaine... A dangerous plant that causes blindness and third-degree burns is found in multiple states... A french serial-killer 'expert' admits he made up his experience, including the murder of his nonexistent wife... An editor turns what a sheriff said was "not news" into a Pulitzer-winning series...
