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LGHL You’re Nuts: What Ohio State men’s basketball game is the biggest ‘what if’ for you?
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You’re Nuts: What Ohio State men’s basketball game is the biggest ‘what if’ for you?
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about asking “What If?”. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”What If?” articles here.
As a sports fan, there are always moments when you find yourself asking years after “what if?”. What if a play had gone a different way? What if a penalty was or wasn’t called? What if a recruit decided to commit to Ohio State or decided to transfer to the school? What if a certain coaching hire was made? It’s crazy how one play or call could change how a season plays out, and even how it affects a program for years after.
During “What if?” week, there will be plenty of attention paid to the Ohio State football program, and rightfully so since there are plenty of events from years ago that fans still dwell on. Today we are going to focus on the men’s basketball program. Even though the Buckeye basketball team hasn’t reached expectations for a number of years, for nearly a decade they were in the conversation as one of the best college basketball programs in the country.
What we want to know is what Ohio State men’s basketball game is the biggest “what if” for you? What game is the one that still sticks in your craw to this day, and you think could have made a huge difference in the program had the result gone differently? With so many deep runs in the tournament under Thad Matta that never ended up with the Buckeyes cutting down the nets, it shouldn’t be too tough to come up with a game that ended with Ohio State missing a golden opportunity.
Ohio State entered the 2012-13 season coming off a run to the Final Four where they blew a lead against Kansas in the national semifinal. Who knows if Jared Sullinger, William Buford, and the Buckeyes would have been able to defeat Anthony Davis and Kentucky in the title game, but judging how the Wildcats handled the Jayhawks, it would have been tough for Ohio State to win. Even though Sullinger declared for the NBA Draft and Buford graduated, the Buckeyes still entered the 2012-13 season ranked fourth in the country.
During the regular season, Ohio State posted a record of 23-7, with all seven losses coming to ranked teams. The Buckeyes had a rough stretch in February where the lost three of four games, but they put things together late in the year, winning their final five regular season games. Thad Matta’s team kept the strong play going in the Big Ten Tournament, beating Wisconsin 50-43 in the championship game. Following their close to the season, the Buckeyes were placed as the two-seed in the West in the NCAA Tournament.
After an easy win against Iona in their first game of the tournament in Dayton, Aaron Craft hit a three-pointer with half a second left to give Ohio State a 78-75 win over Iowa State. Heading into the Sweet Sixteen, the West region was a mess, with the other three teams still alive being seeded sixth or higher. Out in Los Angeles, the Buckeyes again won on a late three-pointer, beating Arizona 73-70 after LaQuinton Ross hit a triple with two seconds left, setting up an Elite Eight battle with Wichita State.
With the Shockers being a nine-seed, it felt like a given that Ohio State would be heading to the Final Four for a second straight season. Unfortunately, the underdogs put the Buckeyes in a hole they couldn’t dig out of, earning their second Final Four appearance in school history with a 70-66 victory. Had Ohio State been able to beat Wichita State, they would have been joined in the Final Four by Louisville, Syracuse, and Michigan. Louisville was the only one-seed that made the Final Four, as Syracuse and Michigan were both four-seeds.
Ohio State would have certainly been tested in the national semifinal by Louisville, but it’s not like the Cardinals were an unbeatable team. Wichita State hung with Louisville in their Final Four battle, so it’s not unthinkable that Deshaun Thomas and the Buckeyes could have found a way to beat Rick Pitino’s team. If Ohio State had beaten Louisville, they would have taken on Michigan and Trey Burke in the title game. The Buckeyes beat Michigan by three in Columbus, and the Wolverines returned the favor in Ann Arbor, beating Ohio State 76-74 in overtime.
Not only would it have been amazing to see an Ohio State-Michigan basketball title game, it would have been great to see Thad Matta possibly get a title after two other Final Four appearances with the Buckeyes. Following the loss to Wichita State, things started to trend in the wrong direction for Ohio State. The Elite Eight appearance in 2013 was the last time the Buckeyes have advanced past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Had Ohio State been able to win it all, maybe recruiting goes a little different for the Buckeyes, and they bring in a few more high-profile recruits to go along with D’Angelo Russell in 2015. Also, there might not be as many transfers in the last few years under Matta, which left Chris Holtmann with some roster issues to work through after taking over for Matta. Who knows, maybe Matta sticks around longer since there isn’t as much pressure on him after winning a title. The loss to the Shockers started a downhill slide for Ohio State that they are still trying to work through.
I know this is kind of cheating a bit, since the question was about individual games, but to me, the way that 2019-20 season ended could end up having dramatic implications on the program; heck, it probably already has.
In case you have blocked out that entire spring (and I wouldn’t blame you), here’s a refresher as to what was happening with Chris Holtmann’s crew. The Buckeyes were 21-10 having gone 11-9 in Big Ten play. They had earned the fifth seed in the B1G Tournament. However, the team was 9-3 dating back to a Jan. 26 victory over Northwestern. In their final five games of the campaign, they had beaten No. 7 Maryland 79-72, No. 19 Michigan 77-63, and No. 23 Illinois 71-63. The Buckeyes fell on the road to No. 16 Michigan State on the Spartan’s Senior Day 80-69 to close out the season.
At the time COVID put an end to the season, the Buckeyes were No. 8 in the country according to venerated basketball analytics guru Ken Pomeroy and projected to be a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans were the only B1G ranked ahead of the Buckeyes according to KenPom, and the Washington Post even ran a bunch of simulations and determined that Ohio State would have won the NCAA Tournament that season. We even sold t-shirts celebrating the completely real and undisputed national title.
Now, I don’t actually claim that as a national championship, obviously, and I wouldn’t even go so far as to say the Buckeyes were Final Four bound, but you know what I would have been willing to put money on that year? The collection of Kaleb Wesson, Duane Washington Jr., CJ Walker, Andre Wesson, Luther Muhammad, Kyle Young, and a freshman E.J. Liddell getting out of the first weekend.
To this day, Holtmann has yet to take an Ohio State team to the Sweet 16, and fans rightly never let him (or anyone who says anything nice about him) forget it. I have to wonder how things would have been different had COVID never become a thing and the Buckeyes had made it to the Sweet 16, the Elite 8, or even the title game. Not only would that have taken away one of the major arguments against Holtmann’s tenure as the Buckeyes’ coach, but it also could have seriously impacted players transferring and who OSU landed on the recruiting trail.
But even if nothing other than the end of that season changed, and everything that has happened since remained the same, if Ohio State had done what many smart basketball people expected and made it to the Elite 8 in the 2019-20 season, it might have bought a little more good will for Holtmann following last season’s horrific season. While I still expect a marked turnaround for the team this year, if that doesn’t happen, Holtmann is almost assuredly out the door. But would that have been the case if he had taken his team on a deep run just a few years ago?
We’ll obviously never know, and there were clearly far more damaging things that happened because of the pandemic, but the impact that the cancelation of the postseason had on the Ohio State program really could have ripple effects for years still to come.
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about asking “What If?”. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”What If?” articles here.
As a sports fan, there are always moments when you find yourself asking years after “what if?”. What if a play had gone a different way? What if a penalty was or wasn’t called? What if a recruit decided to commit to Ohio State or decided to transfer to the school? What if a certain coaching hire was made? It’s crazy how one play or call could change how a season plays out, and even how it affects a program for years after.
During “What if?” week, there will be plenty of attention paid to the Ohio State football program, and rightfully so since there are plenty of events from years ago that fans still dwell on. Today we are going to focus on the men’s basketball program. Even though the Buckeye basketball team hasn’t reached expectations for a number of years, for nearly a decade they were in the conversation as one of the best college basketball programs in the country.
What we want to know is what Ohio State men’s basketball game is the biggest “what if” for you? What game is the one that still sticks in your craw to this day, and you think could have made a huge difference in the program had the result gone differently? With so many deep runs in the tournament under Thad Matta that never ended up with the Buckeyes cutting down the nets, it shouldn’t be too tough to come up with a game that ended with Ohio State missing a golden opportunity.
Today’s question: What Ohio State men’s basketball game is the biggest ‘what if’ for you?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: The Elite Eight loss to Wichita State in 2013
Ohio State entered the 2012-13 season coming off a run to the Final Four where they blew a lead against Kansas in the national semifinal. Who knows if Jared Sullinger, William Buford, and the Buckeyes would have been able to defeat Anthony Davis and Kentucky in the title game, but judging how the Wildcats handled the Jayhawks, it would have been tough for Ohio State to win. Even though Sullinger declared for the NBA Draft and Buford graduated, the Buckeyes still entered the 2012-13 season ranked fourth in the country.
During the regular season, Ohio State posted a record of 23-7, with all seven losses coming to ranked teams. The Buckeyes had a rough stretch in February where the lost three of four games, but they put things together late in the year, winning their final five regular season games. Thad Matta’s team kept the strong play going in the Big Ten Tournament, beating Wisconsin 50-43 in the championship game. Following their close to the season, the Buckeyes were placed as the two-seed in the West in the NCAA Tournament.
After an easy win against Iona in their first game of the tournament in Dayton, Aaron Craft hit a three-pointer with half a second left to give Ohio State a 78-75 win over Iowa State. Heading into the Sweet Sixteen, the West region was a mess, with the other three teams still alive being seeded sixth or higher. Out in Los Angeles, the Buckeyes again won on a late three-pointer, beating Arizona 73-70 after LaQuinton Ross hit a triple with two seconds left, setting up an Elite Eight battle with Wichita State.
With the Shockers being a nine-seed, it felt like a given that Ohio State would be heading to the Final Four for a second straight season. Unfortunately, the underdogs put the Buckeyes in a hole they couldn’t dig out of, earning their second Final Four appearance in school history with a 70-66 victory. Had Ohio State been able to beat Wichita State, they would have been joined in the Final Four by Louisville, Syracuse, and Michigan. Louisville was the only one-seed that made the Final Four, as Syracuse and Michigan were both four-seeds.
Ohio State would have certainly been tested in the national semifinal by Louisville, but it’s not like the Cardinals were an unbeatable team. Wichita State hung with Louisville in their Final Four battle, so it’s not unthinkable that Deshaun Thomas and the Buckeyes could have found a way to beat Rick Pitino’s team. If Ohio State had beaten Louisville, they would have taken on Michigan and Trey Burke in the title game. The Buckeyes beat Michigan by three in Columbus, and the Wolverines returned the favor in Ann Arbor, beating Ohio State 76-74 in overtime.
Not only would it have been amazing to see an Ohio State-Michigan basketball title game, it would have been great to see Thad Matta possibly get a title after two other Final Four appearances with the Buckeyes. Following the loss to Wichita State, things started to trend in the wrong direction for Ohio State. The Elite Eight appearance in 2013 was the last time the Buckeyes have advanced past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Had Ohio State been able to win it all, maybe recruiting goes a little different for the Buckeyes, and they bring in a few more high-profile recruits to go along with D’Angelo Russell in 2015. Also, there might not be as many transfers in the last few years under Matta, which left Chris Holtmann with some roster issues to work through after taking over for Matta. Who knows, maybe Matta sticks around longer since there isn’t as much pressure on him after winning a title. The loss to the Shockers started a downhill slide for Ohio State that they are still trying to work through.
Matt’s answer: The 2019-20 postseason
I know this is kind of cheating a bit, since the question was about individual games, but to me, the way that 2019-20 season ended could end up having dramatic implications on the program; heck, it probably already has.
In case you have blocked out that entire spring (and I wouldn’t blame you), here’s a refresher as to what was happening with Chris Holtmann’s crew. The Buckeyes were 21-10 having gone 11-9 in Big Ten play. They had earned the fifth seed in the B1G Tournament. However, the team was 9-3 dating back to a Jan. 26 victory over Northwestern. In their final five games of the campaign, they had beaten No. 7 Maryland 79-72, No. 19 Michigan 77-63, and No. 23 Illinois 71-63. The Buckeyes fell on the road to No. 16 Michigan State on the Spartan’s Senior Day 80-69 to close out the season.
At the time COVID put an end to the season, the Buckeyes were No. 8 in the country according to venerated basketball analytics guru Ken Pomeroy and projected to be a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans were the only B1G ranked ahead of the Buckeyes according to KenPom, and the Washington Post even ran a bunch of simulations and determined that Ohio State would have won the NCAA Tournament that season. We even sold t-shirts celebrating the completely real and undisputed national title.
Now, I don’t actually claim that as a national championship, obviously, and I wouldn’t even go so far as to say the Buckeyes were Final Four bound, but you know what I would have been willing to put money on that year? The collection of Kaleb Wesson, Duane Washington Jr., CJ Walker, Andre Wesson, Luther Muhammad, Kyle Young, and a freshman E.J. Liddell getting out of the first weekend.
To this day, Holtmann has yet to take an Ohio State team to the Sweet 16, and fans rightly never let him (or anyone who says anything nice about him) forget it. I have to wonder how things would have been different had COVID never become a thing and the Buckeyes had made it to the Sweet 16, the Elite 8, or even the title game. Not only would that have taken away one of the major arguments against Holtmann’s tenure as the Buckeyes’ coach, but it also could have seriously impacted players transferring and who OSU landed on the recruiting trail.
But even if nothing other than the end of that season changed, and everything that has happened since remained the same, if Ohio State had done what many smart basketball people expected and made it to the Elite 8 in the 2019-20 season, it might have bought a little more good will for Holtmann following last season’s horrific season. While I still expect a marked turnaround for the team this year, if that doesn’t happen, Holtmann is almost assuredly out the door. But would that have been the case if he had taken his team on a deep run just a few years ago?
We’ll obviously never know, and there were clearly far more damaging things that happened because of the pandemic, but the impact that the cancelation of the postseason had on the Ohio State program really could have ripple effects for years still to come.
Continue reading...
LGHL I-70 Football Podcast: Drafting the B1G
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I-70 Football Podcast: Drafting the B1G
JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
In a special episode of the I-70 Football Show, Chris, Dante and Jordan draft teams using players from the 16 Big Ten schools.
Welcome to a new episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s I-70 podcast. On this show, we talk about all things Big Ten football and basketball. After every week of action, we will catch you up on all the conference’s games and look ahead at the matchups, storylines, and players you should be paying attention to next week. My name is Jordan Williams, and I am joined by my co-host Dante Morgan.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
In this special crossover episode, Chris Renne from the Buck Off Podcast joins the show for a B1G draft. This draft consists of 25 rounds, including picks on offense, defense, and three coaches. On offense, we pick two quarterbacks, two running backs, four wide receivers, two tight ends, and one offensive line unit. On defense, we pick one defensive line unit, three linebackers, four corners, and three safeties. Lastly, we each pick one head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator.
Each guy comes with their own draft plan, including Jordan drafting Tommy Eichenberg way higher than anyone else would. Trying to find a balance between picking personal favorites and those who have the best chance to win end-of-season awards isn’t easy. Listen to the guys stress over trying to create the best team!
We look forward to your feedback. Let us know which picks you liked and disliked, which players we missed out on, and who you would have picked instead.
Connect with us on Twitter:
Jordan: @JordanW330
Dante: @DanteM10216
Chris: @ChrisRenneCFB & @BuckOffPod
Continue reading...
JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
In a special episode of the I-70 Football Show, Chris, Dante and Jordan draft teams using players from the 16 Big Ten schools.
Welcome to a new episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s I-70 podcast. On this show, we talk about all things Big Ten football and basketball. After every week of action, we will catch you up on all the conference’s games and look ahead at the matchups, storylines, and players you should be paying attention to next week. My name is Jordan Williams, and I am joined by my co-host Dante Morgan.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
In this special crossover episode, Chris Renne from the Buck Off Podcast joins the show for a B1G draft. This draft consists of 25 rounds, including picks on offense, defense, and three coaches. On offense, we pick two quarterbacks, two running backs, four wide receivers, two tight ends, and one offensive line unit. On defense, we pick one defensive line unit, three linebackers, four corners, and three safeties. Lastly, we each pick one head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator.
Each guy comes with their own draft plan, including Jordan drafting Tommy Eichenberg way higher than anyone else would. Trying to find a balance between picking personal favorites and those who have the best chance to win end-of-season awards isn’t easy. Listen to the guys stress over trying to create the best team!
We look forward to your feedback. Let us know which picks you liked and disliked, which players we missed out on, and who you would have picked instead.
Connect with us on Twitter:
Jordan: @JordanW330
Dante: @DanteM10216
Chris: @ChrisRenneCFB & @BuckOffPod
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State makes the cut for top-five tight end in 2025
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Ohio State makes the cut for top-five tight end in 2025
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
2025 four-star tight end Nate Roberts via 247Sports
Multiple blue-chip prospects also scheduled upcoming visits with the Buckeyes.
With the turning of the calendar to June, Ohio State’s football team will become much busier. The Buckeyes are able to host recruits on visits now that the evaluation period has come to an end, and the program has already had prospects on campus just days into the month. On Monday, Ohio State learned even more recruits will soon be making their way to Columbus, and the Buckeyes also made the cut for a four-star tight end.
Tight end is a position Ohio State is prioritizing in the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes. Recently, the Buckeyes have seen multiple targets of theirs at the position spurn the team to go somewhere else.
The Buckeyes still have a bunch of guys remaining at the position, and on Monday they learned they moved one step closer with 2025 four-star TE Nate Roberts (Washington, OK / Washington) when he included the team in his newest top schools list.
Narrowing down his list of suitors to 12, Roberts included Ohio State in his list alongside Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame, Baylor, Clemson, Miami, Penn State, Michigan, Auburn, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
Ohio State offered Roberts in May 2023, but he has not yet visited with the team and there hasn’t been an announcement of any upcoming visits. Roberts has already visited with Clemson, Georgia and Auburn and Penn State has built a strong relationship with him early on. Penn State is also the only school to have a 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction cast in their favor.
If Ohio State is serious on adding Roberts to its 2025 class, they will need to get him on campus sooner than later. There is still plenty of time before he needs to make a decision but at the current speed of his recruitment, a commitment before his senior season of play is not out of the question.
Roberts is the No. 5 TE in the 2025 class and he is the No. 121 overall prospect. He is also the No. 3 recruit from Oklahoma.
As was mentioned above, Ohio State will be playing host to numerous prospects this summer. On Monday, more recruits announced upcoming visits with Ohio State this month. Below is just a small group of recruits who will be on campus soon and expect this list to continue to grow.
Class: 2025
Hometown: Baltimore, MD / St. Frances Academy
Size: 6-foot-3, 260 lbs.
Class: 2024
Hometown: Bradenton, FL / IMG Academy
Size: 6-foot-2, 300 lbs.
Class: 2025
Hometown: Lakewood, OH / St. Edward
Size: 6-foot, 160 lbs.
Continue reading...
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
2025 four-star tight end Nate Roberts via 247Sports
Multiple blue-chip prospects also scheduled upcoming visits with the Buckeyes.
With the turning of the calendar to June, Ohio State’s football team will become much busier. The Buckeyes are able to host recruits on visits now that the evaluation period has come to an end, and the program has already had prospects on campus just days into the month. On Monday, Ohio State learned even more recruits will soon be making their way to Columbus, and the Buckeyes also made the cut for a four-star tight end.
Four-star TE has Ohio State in top schools
Tight end is a position Ohio State is prioritizing in the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes. Recently, the Buckeyes have seen multiple targets of theirs at the position spurn the team to go somewhere else.
The Buckeyes still have a bunch of guys remaining at the position, and on Monday they learned they moved one step closer with 2025 four-star TE Nate Roberts (Washington, OK / Washington) when he included the team in his newest top schools list.
Narrowing down his list of suitors to 12, Roberts included Ohio State in his list alongside Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame, Baylor, Clemson, Miami, Penn State, Michigan, Auburn, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
Ohio State offered Roberts in May 2023, but he has not yet visited with the team and there hasn’t been an announcement of any upcoming visits. Roberts has already visited with Clemson, Georgia and Auburn and Penn State has built a strong relationship with him early on. Penn State is also the only school to have a 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction cast in their favor.
If Ohio State is serious on adding Roberts to its 2025 class, they will need to get him on campus sooner than later. There is still plenty of time before he needs to make a decision but at the current speed of his recruitment, a commitment before his senior season of play is not out of the question.
Roberts is the No. 5 TE in the 2025 class and he is the No. 121 overall prospect. He is also the No. 3 recruit from Oklahoma.
Ohio State adds to visitor list
As was mentioned above, Ohio State will be playing host to numerous prospects this summer. On Monday, more recruits announced upcoming visits with Ohio State this month. Below is just a small group of recruits who will be on campus soon and expect this list to continue to grow.
Three-star DL Darrion Smith
Class: 2025
Hometown: Baltimore, MD / St. Frances Academy
Size: 6-foot-3, 260 lbs.
Three-star DL Jayden Jackson
Class: 2024
Hometown: Bradenton, FL / IMG Academy
Size: 6-foot-2, 300 lbs.
CB Cam Boone
Class: 2025
Hometown: Lakewood, OH / St. Edward
Size: 6-foot, 160 lbs.
Will be at Michigan & Ohio state the 14th and 15th now! @coachclink @CoachTimWalton https://t.co/qsJfN2QYht
— Cam Boone️ (@Camrinnboone) June 5, 2023
Quick Hits
- The Ohio State men’s basketball team is also busy hitting the recruiting trail. On Monday, we learned that elite 2025 power forward EJ Walker (Erlanger, KY / Lloyd) will be making a visit with Ohio State on June 14, as was first reported by Jake Weingarten of stockrisers.com. Walker will also be visiting with Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Wake Forest, Purdue and Indiana.
- Ohio State saw a couple of targets decide to commit elsewhere on Monday. 2024 four-star cornerback Dakota Fields committed to USC, and 2024 five-star linebacker Sammy Brown committed to Clemson.
Continue reading...
LGHL ‘What If’ Stroud stayed for one more season?
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‘What If’ Stroud stayed for one more season?
meganhusslein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Could this season have been his best?
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about asking “What If?”. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”What If?” articles here.
The greatest question that will never be answered: what if? If one thing was done differently, could another game have been won? Perhaps a national championship? What if C.J. Stroud decided to stay at Ohio State for another year instead of going pro— what impact would he have on the team and what could a third year as a starter do for his resume?
In the past two years, Stroud has already racked up numerous accomplishments and set many records. However, for the majority of those awards, he usually wasn’t the very best player. For example, he was a two-time Heisman finalist, but never won. He helped lead his team to the CFB Playoffs, but never advanced to the title game. He never beat TTUN. Some might look at all of this and declare his collegiate career a disappointment.
While I disagree with that sentiment, you can’t help but wonder if one more year would finally get him over that hump of finishing as second, third or fourth best. What could one more season do for him? Well, in his first year as a starter back in 2021, he showed what his arm could do. Then, this past season, he demonstrated that he can use his legs as well!
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24702540/usa_today_19707926.jpg "NCAA Football: Peach Bowl-Ohio State at Georgia")
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
So, if you put together an increased usage of his legs along with his phenomenal right arm, that’s a pretty darn good quarterback, and one that teams aren’t used to seeing. Additionally, being in the program for three years going on a fourth, and being a starter for two of those years, one would have to think that he would be more confident and relaxed out there than in the past.
Obviously he has a great connection with all of his receivers, especially Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, so it would be nice to have that familiarity once again. This year would also be a good year for a veteran quarterback to be under center, as there are a few new guys on the offensive line. It is most likely going to take a few games for these new starters to find their footing, and until that happens, it would be nice to have an experienced QB.
So, it is fairly difficult to find many cons to Stroud playing one more year for the Buckeyes. One of the main impacts would have to be one of the younger quarterbacks transferring. This would probably be Kyle McCord, since he is entering his junior year, versus Devin Brown who is about to be a sophomore.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24702542/usa_today_18094815.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
If McCord transferred, that would leave Brown and incoming freshman Lincoln Kienholz duking out the starting role with 2024 QB Air Noland next year. Assuming Stroud would play the entirety of the season, that would leave a very young roster in that position with very little collegiate experience. Yes, Tristan Gebbia is a grad transfer who provides a leadership role, but he is going to be gone after this year!
Ultimately, would i have preferred Stroud to stay an extra year? Not necessarily. I wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to see what he could do— I’m actually quite curious how this season would shake out for him. However, I think it is time for a change at QB, especially when it comes to playing TTUN. I am confident that Stroud is going to kill it in the pros, and whoever is the next Ohio State QB is going to be ready.
Continue reading...
meganhusslein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Could this season have been his best?
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about asking “What If?”. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”What If?” articles here.
The greatest question that will never be answered: what if? If one thing was done differently, could another game have been won? Perhaps a national championship? What if C.J. Stroud decided to stay at Ohio State for another year instead of going pro— what impact would he have on the team and what could a third year as a starter do for his resume?
In the past two years, Stroud has already racked up numerous accomplishments and set many records. However, for the majority of those awards, he usually wasn’t the very best player. For example, he was a two-time Heisman finalist, but never won. He helped lead his team to the CFB Playoffs, but never advanced to the title game. He never beat TTUN. Some might look at all of this and declare his collegiate career a disappointment.
While I disagree with that sentiment, you can’t help but wonder if one more year would finally get him over that hump of finishing as second, third or fourth best. What could one more season do for him? Well, in his first year as a starter back in 2021, he showed what his arm could do. Then, this past season, he demonstrated that he can use his legs as well!
So, if you put together an increased usage of his legs along with his phenomenal right arm, that’s a pretty darn good quarterback, and one that teams aren’t used to seeing. Additionally, being in the program for three years going on a fourth, and being a starter for two of those years, one would have to think that he would be more confident and relaxed out there than in the past.
Obviously he has a great connection with all of his receivers, especially Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, so it would be nice to have that familiarity once again. This year would also be a good year for a veteran quarterback to be under center, as there are a few new guys on the offensive line. It is most likely going to take a few games for these new starters to find their footing, and until that happens, it would be nice to have an experienced QB.
So, it is fairly difficult to find many cons to Stroud playing one more year for the Buckeyes. One of the main impacts would have to be one of the younger quarterbacks transferring. This would probably be Kyle McCord, since he is entering his junior year, versus Devin Brown who is about to be a sophomore.
If McCord transferred, that would leave Brown and incoming freshman Lincoln Kienholz duking out the starting role with 2024 QB Air Noland next year. Assuming Stroud would play the entirety of the season, that would leave a very young roster in that position with very little collegiate experience. Yes, Tristan Gebbia is a grad transfer who provides a leadership role, but he is going to be gone after this year!
Ultimately, would i have preferred Stroud to stay an extra year? Not necessarily. I wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to see what he could do— I’m actually quite curious how this season would shake out for him. However, I think it is time for a change at QB, especially when it comes to playing TTUN. I am confident that Stroud is going to kill it in the pros, and whoever is the next Ohio State QB is going to be ready.
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