I already know it's gonna be a great day in Buckeyeland, but let's just check in on Ann Arbor for good measure:
Harbaugh says there will be a QB competition this week
— Theo Mackie (@theo_mackie) November 16, 2020
Looks like Joe Milton's Heisman campaign is officially over, folks.
Word of the Day: Doltish.
SHORTSTOP AT QUARTERBACK. If you haven't noticed, Justin Fields has a knack for making absolutely dumb, off-balance throws look extremely easy, and you can probably thank his baseball roots for that.
“Defensively his strongest suit was throwing on the run,” Storey said. “You see that now with him rolling and moving. I don’t know if that had anything to do with him developing as a football player, but he was pretty freaking good at it. He was very good coming in on the ball, and very comfortable throwing with his feet moving to the point where sometimes he was more accurate throwing on the run than he was sitting back on a ball and relying on his arm."
...
The mechanics of throwing on the move come naturally to Fields. He’s able to align his upper half to make an on-target throw while his lower half is moving in a different direction, a skill he used while playing baseball for nearly all his life.
“The action of fielding a ground ball on the run is very similar to moving out of the pocket,” Ohio State baseball coach Greg Beals said. “The fact that you have to be able to control and sync your body up without planting your feet, that’s a special move for an athlete. The other part of it that a lot of people don’t think about is the vision part of it. An infielder has to move on the run with his eyes going from the ground up to a throw in split seconds, and obviously, the vision for the quarterback is critical as well.”
That's all totally true, but a key difference is that first base isn't moving, it isn't defended by a Division I athlete attempting to keep the ball from reaching his target, and the shortstop is not chased by 6-foot-4, 260-pound humans while he attempts to make the throw.
Needless to say, Fields is superhuman.
BUBBLE MADNESS. The NCAA lost March Madness last year, and they ain't going to let it happen again – they're putting it in a bubble this year.
NCAA SVP Dan Gavitt & Committee Chair Mitch Barnhart provide insight into the decision to move the 2021 NCAA Tournament to one geographic area.
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) November 16, 2020
@TheAndyKatz
https://t.co/0b9eNzVcRS pic.twitter.com/Du7eAQhiuW
It's hilarious that we're *checks notes* eight days away from the start of Ohio State's basketball season and I know significantly more about the plans for the end-of-season tournament that's five months away than I do the regular season that starts in almost a week.
I respect it, though. The NCAA's just taking the same approach the rest of the world takes towards college basketball – not giving a shit about the regular season and totally selling out for March.
LOST LEGEND. I'm sorry to have to report that we have lost some Ohio State football royalty this week.
Fred “Curly” Morrison, a former Ohio State fullback who was named MVP of the 1950 Rose Bowl, died Sunday in Murrieta, California from complications from a broken hip suffered six weeks ago. He was 94.
Morrison played for two OSU coaches — Paul Bixler (1946) and Wes Fesler (1947-49) — and his 127 rushing yards and 1-yard touchdown helped the Buckeyes defeat California 17-14 for their first Rose Bowl win.
Prayers up to the Morrison family – Curly was a proper Buckeye legend.
BEST DAMN NAPTIME IN THE LAND. Turns out, early Buckeye indoctrination could have its unforseen drawbacks.
See you in 2036, kid! https://t.co/o18DPIqL1J
— The Ohio State University Marching Band (@TBDBITL) November 17, 2020
Sounds like someone just needs to learn a few more songs. I'd buy a whole album.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Cemetery" by Say Anything.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. "cannibals" are charged in with an unlicensed gender reassignment surgery and freezing and keeping body parts... A defecating bandit strikes the home of an HGTV star's home for a second time... Why people are racing to unload highly-desirable apartments... The underground movement trying to topple the North Korean regime...
