Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what's next.
Arrested Development
When talking Ohio State football recruiting, the conversation is overwhelmingly positive thanks to year after year of ridiculous success in snagging top talent. One huge deficiency - and maybe one you didn't realize was quite so bad - has been an inability to attract and develop elite offensive tackles.
Would you believe Ohio State's had just two first round tackles since 1997? And just two second-rounders over that same span?
The pressure is on new offensive line coach Justin Frye to fix it, starting with Paris Johnson Jr. this year and by turning up the recruiting ASAP.
Expansion Fallout and Impending B1G TV Deal Still Hot News
ESPN took a deep dive into how USC and UCLA landed in the Big Ten in a move driven by the schools themselves, not the Big Ten, which materialized at break-neck pace while the conference continued negotiations on a new mega TV deal.
With USC and UCLA in the fold, the Big Ten's media rights took even more steroids as the conference expected bids to start rolling in from ESPN, NBC, CBS and Amazon.
No doubt, the rich are about to get richer which hey, maybe there will be enough extra cash sitting around to solve the decades-long wifi issue at the Shoe or I don't know, sacrifice some capacity by ripping out the metal benches and installing actual seats with backs and cupholders as if we're a civilized society.
Penn State Student-Athletes Victims of Attempted Sexual Extortion
Unsealed search warrants detailed Friday that at least two Penn State student-athletes were subjected to sexual extortion. One of the victims, a Nittany Lions football player, met the woman on a dating app last year and after the player sent her sexually explicit images at her request, she demanded more images and videos at the threat of posting the content online, including posting content on James Franklin's social media handles.
Fearing he would be exposed, the football player sent the woman 19 videos from within the football team's locker room, many depicting players in various stages of undress.
The woman has extorted high school and college athletes across six states, according to the investigation.
ICYMI
Taking Stock of Ohio State's 2023 Recruiting Class
Garrick Hodge breaks down Ryan Day's 2023 recruiting class-to-date and opines on what's left to be done to finish out what is now the nation's No. 2 ranked class.
Dan and Griffin Draft Starting Lineups From Ohio State's 2022 Roster
Dan Hope and Griffin Strom go through their annual exercise to draft competing offensive and defense starting lineups assembled from Ohio State's current football roster. Which team has the edge?
Interlopers Beware
Ramzy Nasrallah discusses Big Ten expansion nothing the money's great for newcomers but achieving on-field football success is an uphill climb.
UP NEXT
Your Notre Dame weekend just got better. Join us for a legendary evening on Friday, 9/2 at @LandGrantBeer.
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