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A QB Controversy In The Making
Quinn Ewers may have departed from a loaded quarterback room in Columbus, but there's another potential quarterback controversy on the horizon for the former Buckeye in Texas.
A major recruiting domino fell this week as top-rated 2023 prospect Arch Manning officially committed to the Longhorn program. Given his family name and heralded recruiting status, Ewers’ post as QB1 may be challenged when Manning arrives in Austin next year.
Committed to the University of Texas. #HookEm pic.twitter.com/jHYbjBaF5K
— Arch Manning (@ArchManning) June 23, 2022
Of course, Ewers was a phenom recruit in his own right, ranked No. 1 overall in the class of 2022 before reclassifying this past August to join the Buckeye program a year earlier than expected. Things didn’t go the way Ewers or the Ohio State coaching staff expected, with Ewers transferring out of program just a few months after arriving in Columbus, but the success of C.J. Stroud as a Heisman Trophy finalist made it clear that the Southlake, Texas, native would have waited at least another year before taking over the starting job in Ryan Day’s offense.
In his first season as a starter in 2022, Ewers may prove good enough for there to be little threat from Manning come 2023. But there’s no guarantee that will be the case, which makes the impending Longhorn QB battle all the more interesting when it eventually takes place.
Big Night For the Big Ten
Despite the depth of the conference in recent years, the Big Ten didn’t have all that much success pumping first-round prospects into the NBA in the last three drafts leading into Thursday.
Just one Big Ten player went in the first round in both 2021 (Franz Wagner) and 2020 (Jalen Smith), and only two players (Romeo Langford and Jordan Poole) from the conference were selected in the first round the year before that. This past week, however, the Big Ten equaled its number of first-round draftees from the past three years on one night alone.
Including the Buckeyes’ Malaki Branham, four Big Ten players were drafted in the first round, and the conference led all others with nine selections in total. Among Big Ten schools, Ohio State and Michigan were the lone two programs to see multiple players drafted, with Branham going 20th overall and E.J. Liddell being taken at No. 41.
The moment E.J. Liddell became a Pelican: pic.twitter.com/YB69gfHQkH
— Lantern Sports (@LanternSports) June 24, 2022
Three Big Ten players were drafted even before Branham, as Keegan Murray (No. 4), Jaden Ivey (No. 5) and Johnny Davis (No. 10) all went within the first 10 picks. Needless to say, it wasn’t just a great night for the Buckeye program, but the Big Ten as a whole given where many of its top performers landed in the draft.
Tressel To Step Down From Youngstown State
Former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel announced this week he will step down from his position as president of Youngstown State on Feb. 1, 2023.
Tressel has been Youngstown State’s president since 2014, three years after he resigned as the football coach at Ohio State. Tressel was previously the head football coach at Youngstown State from 1986-2000, but went on to spend 10 years helming the Buckeye program thereafter.
Set to turn 70 this year, Tressel said “it has been truly a blessing and labor of love to serve Youngstown State University,” but that it’s “only fair” that his family should become more of a priority upon stepping down from the job.
ICYMI
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A Look At Brian Hartline's Recruiting Wizardry
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Dylan Raiola Embracing Role As Peer Recruiter
No. 1 overall 2024 recruit and Buckeye commit Dylan Raiola turned heads at Ohio State's final camp of the summer and is already displaying traits of leadership as he continues recruiting other top-level talent to Columbus.
