4-star OT from Florida planning Ohio State visit for next weekend
Bret Favachio via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Payton Kirkland | Andrew Ivins, 247Sports

The Buckeyes look to be on the verge of hosting a Top 10 offensive tackle in the 2023 class sooner rather than later.

Ohio State eyes the opportunity to make a big impression of one of the best offensive tackles in the 2023 class as a visit is in the works. While that was one bit of good news that came about on the recruiting trail on Tuesday, there was some not so good news as an in-state blue-chip prospect in 2022 could be headed elsewhere.

Kirkland plans OSU trip


According to Garrick Hodge of Eleven Warriors, 2023 four-star offensive tackle Payton Kirkland of Dr. Phillips (FL) is planning on making a visit to Columbus to check out the Buckeyes in action against Michigan State on November 20th.

Hodge noted that Kirkland, the No. 9 offensive tackle prospect in the class, was originally slated to visit Ohio State back in early September but the visit would never come to fruition. Now, about two months later, Kirkland intends on making that trip and if it does happen, it would give the Buckeyes and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa a massive opportunity to make a jump as real players in this recruitment.

The 6-foot-5, 330-pounder is currently slotted as the No. 122 overall prospect in his class and the 26th highest graded prospect from the state of Florida. Kirkland, an Orlando native, has been a target of Ohio State dating back to July of last year when he picked up an offer from the program.

Buckeyes out for Wagner?


When it comes to the offensive line recruiting haul in the 2022 recruiting class for Ohio State, there is still work to be done and it is no secret. The Buckeyes currently have a trio of offensive tackles committed in four-star Tegra Tshabola of Lakota West (OH), George Fitzpatrick of Cherry Creek (CO), and three-star Avery Henry of St. Clairsville (OH).

While the expectation is that Ryan Day will add a couple of other offensive trench pieces to the group, it looks as if four-star offensive tackle Aamil Wagner of Wayne (OH) will not be one of those. In an announcement preview by On3.com, Jeremy Crabtree notes that “intel indicates this is really a race between the Nittany Lions and Wildcats” for Wagner.

The 6-foot-6, 265-pounder recently revealed a top five group that included both of the programs that Crabtree says are the likely beneficiary of a Wagner pledge. The three others that were included were Maryland, Notre Dame, and Ohio State.

Wagner is set to makes his decision this Thursday at 2:30 PM EST and if indeed the Buckeyes are not the pick, it will only magnify the importance of a few key prospects on the offensive line as the signing day periods inch closer and closer.

Quick Hits

• 2023 five-star athlete Joenel Aguero, an Ohio State target, will transfer back to St. John’s Prep (MA) for his senior season. Aguero, the No. 25 player overall in his class, spent this past season at IMG Academy (FL).
• 2022 four-star interior offensive lineman Carson Hinzman of Saint Croix Central (WI) was named to the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-Region Team on both the offensive and defensive line on Tuesday morning. The seventh highest rated player among interior offensive lineman looks to be closing in on decision that will likely favor Ohio State or Wisconsin.

Continue reading...

Moments that mattered: Ohio State’s 67-66 season-opening victory over Akron
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

The Buckeyes struggled to score when Liddell was not on the floor, but a last-second bucket from Zed Key helped Ohio State escape 1-0.

Considering Ohio State’s 2020-2021 season ended at the hands of a team donning navy and gold, it only seemed appropriate that the Buckeyes would turn around and face another team wearing those colors, in their very next game. That’s right, college basketball is officially back, and the Buckeyes celebrated opening day by welcoming the Akron Zips out of the MAC to Columbus. It was the first regular season meeting between the two teams since 1985, and Akron left the building Tuesday night having just pushed an NCAA Tournament 2-seed from a year ago to their limit.

With Kyle Young still unavailable while he works back from a vestibular dysfunction diagnosis, Chris Holtmann rolled out a lineup of Jamari Wheeler, Meechie Johnson, Justin Ahrens, E.J. Liddell, and Zed Key — the same lineup used in Ohio State’s exhibition against Indianapolis last week. Justice Sueing came off the bench as he continues to recover from a “lower leg” injury that was only disclosed last week.

Akron refused to roll over, scrapping with the Buckeyes for most of the first half. Ohio State pushed their lead up to 14 at one point, but a late 7-1 run at the end of the first half cut it to eight, and the Buckeyes led 36-28 at the halfway point.

Akron delivered a sucker punch at the beginning of the second half, going on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 36. But Liddell proved to be too tough a matchup for his MAC counterparts, as the third-year Buckeye forward exploited the undersized Zips both below the basket and on the perimeter. Liddell would finish with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.

His teammates, however, struggled. Outside of Liddell and Key, the Buckeyes made it extremely hard on themselves getting the ball in the basket. After a back and forth battle, the Buckeyes emerged victorious after a buzzer-beating layup from Zed Key off the feed from Branham.

What were the key plays that led to Ohio State way-to-close-for-comfort win? Here are the moments that mattered:

Zed (is the) Key


Not much was working for Ohio State early on in this one, but Key was the exception. Akron had absolutely no answer for him in the opening minutes, as the sophomore big man connected on all three of his first three shots of the season, which also accounted for Ohio State’s only three shots they made by the under-16 media timeout. At the under-16 timeout, Akron led 8-6.

Holtmann subbed Key out at the timeout, leaving him on the bench for five minutes. When he brought him back at the 10:31 mark. Key immediately went back to work, scoring his fourth basket of the game at the 9:33 mark, giving Ohio State an 18-15 lead. Key would finish with 14 points and 5 rebounds in 25 minutes.

Ahrens’ ya glad we still have Justin?


Back off, it’s only game one. The puns will only get worse from here.

With Ohio State tangling back and forth with their in-state rivals early, Ahrens connected on back-to-back three pointers at the 13:03 and 11:53 mark of the first half — on consecutive possessions, no less. They were his first baskets of the season, and gave the Buckeyes a 14-11 lead at the under-12 timeout. Ahrens would finish the game with seven points and three assists.

Liddell’s 8-0 run


The first of (hopefully) many this season, Liddell connected from dead center beyond the three-point line with 6:58 to go in the first half. It was his first attempt from beyond the arc this season after shooting 34% from distance last season.

On the very next possession with the shot clock winding down, Liddell hit a 12-foot jumper near the left baseline, directly in teeth of the Akron defense.

The Buckeyes got Liddell the ball on their third consecutive possession, riding the hot hand. Liddell was fouled, and hit the first free throw. He missed the second, but Zed Key corralled the rebound, and missed the putback. Liddell then grabbed Key’s miss (his first miss of the night), and took it up for a forceful two-handed slam, capping his own little 8-0 run to give Ohio State a 28-19 lead with 4:55 to go in the first half.

Welcome to Columbus, Joey Brunk!


After a rough exhibition game last week (no points and five fouls in just nine minutes), both Brunk and Ohio State were certainly hoping to see a little more from the eldest Buckeye on the team. In relief of Key, Brunk played four first-half minutes, scoring four points and grabbing a rebound towards the end of the first half. His makes came on consecutive possessions, with the second being a filthy left-to-right spin move and floater that sent the Akron defender falling towards his team’s bench. Those shots gave Ohio State a 35-21 lead at the time.

Ohio State would go into the half moments later up 36-28.

The Zips hop right back in it


Akron acted like they were shot out of a cannon at the beginning of the second half, quickly scoring eight straight points to tie the game up at 36 with 18:21 remaining. An Enrique Freeman layup was followed by back-to-back triples from Xavier Castaneda, and a brand new ballgame was born.

Key’s block party


With Ohio State nursing a slim five-point lead with just under 16 minutes remaining, Zed Key basically high-pointed an Akron layup and got a finger on it, preventing a UA bucket. Akron grabbed their own miss and tried again, only to be denied by Key yet again. Johnson grabbed the miss and brought the ball back down, where he was promptly fouled on a drive to the basket.

Buckeyes go cold without Liddell


Wit a 40-36 lead and 16:19 left in the game, E.J. Liddell took a seat on the Ohio State bench. For the next six minutes, the Buckeyes failed to make a basket, with their only four points in that span coming via Meechie Johnson free throws. When Liddell checked back in with 11:31 to go, he immediately scored four points, which gave Ohio State a 48-46 lead (at the the time).

Akron takes the lead


With 7:56 left in the game and the Buckeyes leading by two, Xavier Castaneda connected on his third three-pointer of the night to give Akron a 51-50 lead. Moments later, Ali Ali slashed to the basket and scored, extending the Zips’ lead to three, 53-50.

This game went from “very fun” to “very Oral Roberts” very quickly.

Ali Ali triple for the lead


After Liddell’s coast-to-coast layup (off the steal & feed from Johnson) gave Ohio State a 59-57 lead with 4:26 to go, Akron’s Ali Ali nailed a three-pointer from just in front of his own bench. He was fouled by Liddell on the play as well, his fourth. The foul was called away from the shot, so Akron regained possession.

Ali would then hit a baseline jumper on the next possession, pushing Akron’s lead to 62-59.

Branham’s biggest shot yet


Following a Zed Key dunk that chopped the Akron lead to 62-61, Malaki Branham slashed to the right side and kissed one off the glass, giving the Buckeyes a 63-62 lead. Akron would then miss their shot at the other end, and Ohio State gathered in the rebound and called time.

Out of the timeout, Branham missed a layup, but Key was there to gather in the miss and put it back, pushing Ohio State’s lead to 65-62.

Ali Ali does it again


With six seconds left on the clock, Ali Ali took a step-back three pointer from the left wing an was fouled by Liddell — his fifth. Ali sunk the free throw, giving the zips a 66-65 lead.

Key for the win!


With three seconds left following the Ali triple, Ahrens inbounded the ball to Branham at the top of the key, who fired a perfect pass in to Key — who muscled his way up to give the Buckeyes the victory, 67-66. There was 0.3 seconds left on the clock, but Akron’s desperation heave fell short and Ohio State escaped.

Up Next:


Ohio State will welcome back former assistant Greg Paulus and the Niagara Purple Eagles to Columbus on Friday night, looking to start the season 2-0 for the 18th-straight year. Paulus, who is also known for his time at Duke as a player, was an assistant under Thad Matta from 2011-2017. Niagara opens their season tonight as well, playing on the road at Xavier. Ohio State’s matchup with Niagara tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on BTN+.

Continue reading...

Comparing former OSU QBs running abilities to C.J. Stroud
meganhusslein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here



Stroud claims that his job is to throw the ball. Well, once upon a time there was a QB nicknamed “12 Gauge” who still managed to use his legs...

I think it is widely accepted by now that C.J. Stroud is known for his right arm rather than his legs. It is becoming increasingly obvious how much the freshman quarterback tries to avoid running— Stroud has five rushing yards on the season. FIVE. That number is astounding to me and got me thinking: what were the running abilities of Ohio State’s last few QBs compared to Stroud?

Justin Fields (2019-2020)

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Fields isn’t really comparable to Stroud since he is the definition of a dual-threat quarterback, but let’s take a bit of a dive into his rushing capabilities anyway.

Fields rushed for a total of 867 yards during his two year stint at OSU, averaging four yards per attempt. He was (and still is) the king of scrambling and staying cool once the pocket collapsed. He was quick, agile and not afraid to dive for a first down.

When comparing Fields and Stroud stature-wise, they’re almost identical. Both are listed at 6-foot-3, and Fields is actually about 10 pounds heavier (227 pounds) than Stroud (218 pounds). So, it’s not that Stroud is a lot taller or heavier than Fields and physically can’t run as well. In fact, he has a great build to do so.

What makes Fields such a great runner? He is very in tune with his body, which was probably a result of him playing the middle infield during his baseball career through high school. Therefore, transferring that to the football field was probably fairly natural to him. When he sees an opening for him to move, he takes it with little to no hesitation.

Dwayne Haskins (2018)

Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images

Now for a QB that is the total opposite of Fields — Dwayne Haskins. He was a top five pro-style quarterback coming out of high school, and that translated right into his one year of greatness at Ohio State.

Haskins is definitely more similar to Stroud than Fields is, but both QBs are at opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to running the ball, with Stroud in the middle. Obviously Haskins is solely known for his absolute cannon of an arm (remember his 50 passing TDs). He rushed for 108 yards during his entire starting season.

That stat is slightly misleading, however, because the NCAA counts sack yardage against QBs’ rushing totals (which doesn’t really make sense, but whatever). So, without counting those yards subtracted, he had 215 rushing yards on 59 carries.

This should demonstrate that even the most pro-style QB that Ohio State has had in the past decade still ran a decent amount; AKA more than five yards. Yes, Haskins is most definitely known for his passing skills, but he still was mobile enough to use his legs when necessary.

J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones (2014-2017), (2014 Three Game King, 2015)

Set Number: X159934 TK1

Again, two extremely different skillsets between Barrett and Jones. Barrett rushed for 3,263 yards during his collegiate career, while Jones earned the nickname of “12 Gauge.” However he still ran for 617 yards as a Buckeye!

Barrett is very comparable to Fields. He amassed over 9,000 passing yards while at Ohio State, in addition to the 3,000 rushing yards he racked up. Again, a true dual-threat quarterback. He was very tricky for defenses to figure out, especially on the ground. While he was a good passer, he struggled with accuracy. His legs were definitely one of the key parts of his game.

Jones on the other hand is more like Haskins. He was an absolute gunslinger, totaling about 2,300 passing yards in 23 games played. At 6-foot-5, 249 pounds, Jones still found a way to move surprisingly well for a man as big as he.


Do you see the point I am trying to get across here? After hearing Stroud’s response when asked why he doesn’t run: “If my job was to run the ball, I’d be a running back or something. I throw the ball for a living,” I was intrigued to see what former quarterbacks’ stats might have to display in return.

Moral of the story: Stroud is going to have to run more than five yards this season.

Continue reading...

You’re Nuts: Which former Ohio State player has been the best in the NFL this year?
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 Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images

Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.

With the ninth week of the NFL season wrapping up on Monday, we are now halfway through the NFL season. All of the teams in the league have played at least eight games this year, with some playing nine games already because their bye week falls later in the season. This is the first season that NFL teams will play 17 regular season games.

Currently, the NFL is littered with former Ohio State Buckeyes. There are almost 50 Ohio State alums in the NFL. Almost every team in the NFL has at least one former Buckeye on their roster. Every week, there are numerous Ohio State players that make a huge impact on the action in the professional ranks.

Since we are at the halfway point of the season, now is a good time to try and figure out who has been the best Ohio State alum in the NFL thus far. While a lot of the consideration will go to the player’s performance on the field, we are also going to factor in how their performance has impacted the success of the team.

Today’s question: Which former Ohio State player has been the best in the NFL so far this year?


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: Sam Hubbard - DE, Cincinnati Bengals


When you think of Ohio State defensive ends in the NFL, Hubbard isn’t the first one that pops into your mind. Coming into the season, a lot of the attention when it came to former Buckeye defensive ends was focused on Chase Young. Unfortunately, Young is going through a sophomore slump, registering just 1.5 sacks this year.

While Hubbard is behind San Francisco’s Nick Bosa when it comes to sacks this season, what Hubbard is doing feels a little more impressive. Prior to the year, not much was expected from the Cincinnati defense. Even though the Bengals have dropped their last two games, they have played well above expectations this year, and Hubbard is a big reason for the improvement.

Hubbard is now in his fourth NFL season. If he continues to play like he has this year, Hubbard could eclipse his career-high for sacks, which came in 2019 when he notched 8.5 sacks. There might be other former Buckeyes who get more headlines this season, but what Hubbard is doing on the field and the impact that he is having on the Cincinnati defense can’t be denied.

Meredith’s answer: Nick Bosa - DE, San Francisco 49ers


What’s interesting about this question is the selection of defensive players up for consideration — which is a lot. Chief among this group is Nick Bosa who, through eight games, has totaled seven sacks and forced two fumbles.

This year is a comeback year for the younger Bosa brother. After an outstanding rookie season, he was sidelined for most of 2020 with a torn ACL. As we saw, San Francisco took a similar step back last season sans its elite pass rusher.

While San Francisco has been a bit of a disappointment in one of the most competitive divisions in pro football, Bosa and Co. are heading into a showcase MNF matchup against a Rams offensive line that, in its most recent outing, struggled mightily against the Titans.

For the record, I desperately wanted to say Denzel Ward, but he’s had some ups and downs this year. Recency bias has him on the upswing, especially after his incredible 99-yard touchdown after picking off Joe Burrow.

Continue reading...

Login to view embedded media
He had a pretty good 1st game; however, keeping it in context, it was against "basketball powerhouse..." Dixie State.

Jaxbuck said:

View attachment 30529


https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/11/reds-willing-to-discuss-luis-castillo-in-trade-talks.html

If you are going to do it, please, for the love of god get rid of Suarez. I implore you.

Click to expand...

Dear Santa...

More way too early 2022 Bracketology:

Login to view embedded media
SOUTH REGION
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 16 New Orleans/Prairie View
No. 8 Xavier St. vs. No. 9 Louisville
No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 12 BYU/Wichita State
No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 13 Wright St.

CBS Sports is projecting Ohio State to get a #4 seed.

Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media

zbuck said:

What does the Fox say ...

Click to expand...

Thump said:

“Ding, ding.”

Click to expand...

Children

Login to view embedded media

Login to view embedded media

Tyreke Johnson made his Husker debut in the win over Fordham.

Click to expand...

https://huskers.com/sports/football/roster/tyreke-johnson/43321

So far this season it looks like he's only played in the Fordham game.

Through injuries or other reasons, Tyreke Johnson and Nadab Joseph haven't factored in much this season.

Click to expand...

https://247sports.com/college/nebra...sher-Myles-Farmer-Deontai-Williams-173513131/

He might have had some kind of injury and/or other issues too.

What the hell are TCU fans smoking? Patterson waited 20 years for a head coaching gig, which is the only reason someone takes the TCU job these days.

Unless Sammy Baugh and Bob Lilly are in next year's recruiting class they can get ready to hire another guy who is just happy to have the job.

R.I.P.

BuckeyeNation27 said:

site:buckeyeplanet.com {search words}

Click to expand...

That just brought this up :p

Search Threads and Posts | BuckeyePlanet

BigWoof31 said:

You’re off my Christmas Card List Systems_ID

Click to expand...

I missed this.

Sorry man, I’ve been burned by UGA too many times. Their defense looks amazing like I said but we’ve seen offenses torch amazing defenses before and the offense looks so pedestrian at times it’s worrisome.

Maybe this is what it feels like to be a UGA fan.

charlohiottean said:

The correct answer is:

View attachment 30383


Edit: And no, it doesn’t have a rival.

Click to expand...

It's hard to find homemade Buckeyes out here, but I discovered these about 3 years ago and they are fantastic.



For this poll, Reece's. Plain M & M's are boring.

pnuts34 said:

Login to view embedded media

Click to expand...

Funnier than a screen door on a submarine.

cincibuck said:

what kind of a supreme being steps in and helps decide who wins and who loses in football games?

Click to expand...

What kind of supreme being lets people post their religious beliefs in a game thread? Not this one, that's for damned sure.

If you enjoy living in this universe, please follow the rules.

You all can go straight to hell.

Why is this even being brought back up?

Youngest of 17 so I think the 'younger brother' was just awesome
9 girls, 8 boys.. in a very aggressive household with way too many alphas

Terrorized the neighborhood as a result of being 0-114 fights inside the house
maybe 1-113... was getting hammered by older bro.. threw hot coffee in his face
when he grabbed his face I hit him with a shot with everything I had... and ran like hell

Looks like @bobcat84 got it right, not on the final list.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...rs-this-weekend-an-updated-full-visitors-list

Thank you! Awesome as always.