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LGHL Buckeye Bits: Big Ten will not revisit their decision, Gene Smith views postponed season as...
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Buckeye Bits: Big Ten will not revisit their decision, Gene Smith views postponed season as a “temporary delay,” more
Tia Johnston via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
All of the latest Ohio State news from around the beat and beyond.
Welcome back to Buckeye Bits, where we round up all of the headlines from around the Ohio State beat. There’s quite a bit of them today, so before we get into it, I thought I’d go through a quick rundown of the most recent events:
The Big Ten released its conference-only schedule two weeks ago. Supposedly, the making of this schedule was incredibly complex, tedious and specific to ensure maximum flexibility in case games needed to be moved around.
A few days later, the Big Ten announced out of nowhere that they were canceling the fall sports season. Their official statement basically said: “Fall sports canceled for players’ safety. Maybe spring season? Who knows! LOL”
The Big Ten does not offer an explanation or a concrete backup plan, meanwhile schools are facing blows of hundreds of millions of dollars without football, players who have dedicated their lives to training, practicing and preparing for the season are left wondering if and when they’ll play next, and coaches and athletic directors can’t lead their respective teams because they have zero information to give them.
Parents from almost every school in the conference have written letters to the Big Ten, asking them to reconsider their decision. Some are even peacefully protesting in front of the B1G headquarters in Chicago on Friday.
Justin Fields started a #WeWantToPlay petition that is well on its way to 300,000 signatures, and has appeared on multiple talk shows to state his case. The quarterback is showing impeccable leadership, made even more impressive by the fact that he is projected to go top-five in the 2021 NFL Draft whether he plays another collegiate snap or not.
And the rest of the football world— the SEC, ACC, even Ohio high schools— is still set to kickoff this September. If other conferences do in fact play this fall, it could be detrimental to the future of Ohio State recruiting.
Which brings us to today— the day the Big Ten has come out of its bunker to put all hopes and dreams of a fall season to rest.
From the Big Ten: The decision to cancel the fall season will not be revisited. pic.twitter.com/8i6mahuSnR
— Austin Ward (@AWardSports) August 19, 2020
In a statement released eight days after the conference’s initial cancelation announcement, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren revealed more details behind the decision and reaffirmed that they would not be reversing it. The primary reasons behind he and the conference presidents’ decision to cancel include:
“Transmission rates continue to rise at an alarming rate with little indication from medical experts that our campuses, communities or country could gain control of the spread of the virus prior to the start of competition.
As our teams were ramping up for more intense practices, many of our medical staffs did not think the interventions we had planned would be adequate to decrease the potential spread even with very regular testing.
As the general student body comes back to campus, spread to student-athletes could reintroduce infection into our athletics community.
There is simply too much we do not know about the virus, recovery from infection, and longer-term effects. While the data on cardiomyopathy is preliminary and incomplete, the uncertain risk was unacceptable at this time.
Concerns surrounding contact tracing still exist, including the inability to social distance in contact sports pursuant to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. While risk mitigation processes (e.g., physical distancing, face coverings, proper hygiene, etc.) can be implemented across campus for the student body population, it became clear those processes could not be fully implemented in contact sports.
With the start of full-contact practices and competitions, it became increasingly clear that contact tracing and quarantining would risk frequent and significant disruptions to the practice and competition calendar.
Accurate and widely available rapid testing may help mitigate those concerns, but access to accurate tests is currently limited.
Significant concerns also exist regarding the testing supply chain, generally, for many of our institutions.
While the statement still did not include plans for moving forward, according to Austin Ward of Lettermen Row, “the Big Ten is still formulating an exact plan for what will come next, and Ohio State has been actively involved in that process by helping put together a proposal for a winter/spring season that could potentially start in January. Details for that have not been finalized, but multiple sources have confirmed to Lettermen Row that the winter format has gained traction provided it can be done safely.”
Additionally, Ohio State AD Gene Smith released a statement of his own where he announced that the conference has established the “Big Ten Return to Competition Task Force” to develop plans for winter and spring competition models:
“While a decision has been made by the presidents of the Big Ten Conference to postpone the fall season, we view this as a temporary delay, and Dr. Johnson has directed us to prepare for the possibility of bringing at least some of our fall sports back to practice and competition by the end of the year. We are actively planning for the winter and spring seasons for all sports, including the return of football.
As an athletics director at a Big Ten institution, I will always be respectful of our conference as it provides an outstanding platform for our student-athletes to pursue the championship experience. The health and safety of all our students, coaches and support staff is our highest priority. The conference has established the Big Ten Return to Competition Task Force to develop plans for winter and spring competition models. I want to thank Dr. Johnson for her participation on this task force.”
Fall sports returning by the end of the year? I’m listening.
With that being said...
Justin Fields undecided whether he would play a spring college football season, taking “each day at a time”
Kevin Harrish, Eleven Warriors
In an interview with Good Morning America on Wednesday, Fields said he hasn’t considered whether he will play a spring college football season.
via GIPHY
If a season happens anywhere close to April, Fields knows damn-well he’s not playing another collegiate snap. However, if Ward’s sources are correct and a spring season can be done in January, or if football can somehow make a return by the end of the year, I could see Fields potentially suiting up for one last go as a Buckeye.
Good news for all the other conferences, I guess.
Sources: The NCAA Division I Council decided today that fall sport student-athletes can compete in any amount of competitions this year and it will not count as a season of eligibility. This still needs to be approved by NCAA Board of Governors on Friday.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 19, 2020
The NCAA Division I Council decided on Wednesday that student-athletes in fall sports will preserve this season of eligibility regardless of the amount of competitions they take part in. It will be interesting to see how scholarship limits are adjusted for the incoming 2021 class if these athletes do choose to return for their extra year.
Illinois’ parents have entered the chat.
Illinois parents join parents from Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Iowa and Nebraska in sending letters to Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren calling for transparency on the conference's decision to postpone football season. https://t.co/o8GGld2ZI6
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 19, 2020
Obviously this was before the Big Ten issued their statement on Wednesday evening, however it’s impressive how many groups of people the conference managed to piss off in just eight days.
And not sure if this is still happening...
Attorney Tom Mars has filed a lengthy FOIA request to Michigan State (and soon the other 13 members of the #BigTen) requesting documents pertaining to the cancellation of Big Ten football. He is doing so on behalf of parents of Big Ten players seeking answers behind the decision.
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) August 19, 2020
I would assume it is, however, because the Big Ten did not release its actual data or medical findings in their statement— something that should, without question, be made public as well as released to the other conferences.
Penn State head coach James Franklin offers his thoughts on how the Big Ten has handled things thus far.
Franklin: "I don’t necessarily have an issue with the decision. But I have an issue with the process and I've got an issue with the timing. It was challenging to keep getting up in front of my team and getting up in front of my parents and not having answers to their questions."
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 19, 2020
How did Ohio State football’s season end up with conflict, chaos and cancellation? A look back
Nathan Baird, cleveland.com
Why can Ohio high schools play football if the Ohio State Buckeyes can’t?
Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com
The guys at cleveland.com have answered the questions everyone is asking. First, Nathan Baird walks us through the last few months in an attempt to figure out how exactly we got to this point. Then, Doug explains why 15-year-olds can play football at their D5 high school while some of the most elite athletes in the country at the state-of-the-art program that is Ohio State cannot.
From around the hardwood...
College basketball bubble in the works?
Source: Many college basketball coaches and administrators believe that current non-conference schedules will dissolve due to COVID-19 and teams will look to play regionalized games in pods or bubbles to fulfill any hope of non-conference basketball before league play. https://t.co/rXXk7dt6Yj
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 19, 2020
A bubble is the one and only answer to a college basketball season happening safely. It is absolutely adamant that they figure this out ASAP.
From everywhere else...
Lions lose rookie Jashon Cornell to serious injury
Alex Seats, 247Sports
On Tuesday, former Ohio State DT Jashon Cornell went down in practice with what Lions head coach Matt Patricia called a “pretty serious” Achilles injury. If its a tear, he could miss his entire rookie season.
Another one bites the dust.
Wake Forest WR Sage Surratt has opted out of the 2020 college football season and is declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s the fourth prospect from @McShay13’s initial first round mock draft to opt out of the season already.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 19, 2020
The SEC is a strange place.
When you are trying to be safe but still want people to know you aren’t smiling. So quit asking. https://t.co/3cBWvxrLbG
— Paige Kuhn (@ThatSportsPaige) August 19, 2020
Continue reading...
Tia Johnston via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
All of the latest Ohio State news from around the beat and beyond.
Welcome back to Buckeye Bits, where we round up all of the headlines from around the Ohio State beat. There’s quite a bit of them today, so before we get into it, I thought I’d go through a quick rundown of the most recent events:
The Big Ten released its conference-only schedule two weeks ago. Supposedly, the making of this schedule was incredibly complex, tedious and specific to ensure maximum flexibility in case games needed to be moved around.
A few days later, the Big Ten announced out of nowhere that they were canceling the fall sports season. Their official statement basically said: “Fall sports canceled for players’ safety. Maybe spring season? Who knows! LOL”
The Big Ten does not offer an explanation or a concrete backup plan, meanwhile schools are facing blows of hundreds of millions of dollars without football, players who have dedicated their lives to training, practicing and preparing for the season are left wondering if and when they’ll play next, and coaches and athletic directors can’t lead their respective teams because they have zero information to give them.
Parents from almost every school in the conference have written letters to the Big Ten, asking them to reconsider their decision. Some are even peacefully protesting in front of the B1G headquarters in Chicago on Friday.
Justin Fields started a #WeWantToPlay petition that is well on its way to 300,000 signatures, and has appeared on multiple talk shows to state his case. The quarterback is showing impeccable leadership, made even more impressive by the fact that he is projected to go top-five in the 2021 NFL Draft whether he plays another collegiate snap or not.
And the rest of the football world— the SEC, ACC, even Ohio high schools— is still set to kickoff this September. If other conferences do in fact play this fall, it could be detrimental to the future of Ohio State recruiting.
Which brings us to today— the day the Big Ten has come out of its bunker to put all hopes and dreams of a fall season to rest.
From the Big Ten: The decision to cancel the fall season will not be revisited. pic.twitter.com/8i6mahuSnR
— Austin Ward (@AWardSports) August 19, 2020
In a statement released eight days after the conference’s initial cancelation announcement, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren revealed more details behind the decision and reaffirmed that they would not be reversing it. The primary reasons behind he and the conference presidents’ decision to cancel include:
“Transmission rates continue to rise at an alarming rate with little indication from medical experts that our campuses, communities or country could gain control of the spread of the virus prior to the start of competition.
As our teams were ramping up for more intense practices, many of our medical staffs did not think the interventions we had planned would be adequate to decrease the potential spread even with very regular testing.
As the general student body comes back to campus, spread to student-athletes could reintroduce infection into our athletics community.
There is simply too much we do not know about the virus, recovery from infection, and longer-term effects. While the data on cardiomyopathy is preliminary and incomplete, the uncertain risk was unacceptable at this time.
Concerns surrounding contact tracing still exist, including the inability to social distance in contact sports pursuant to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. While risk mitigation processes (e.g., physical distancing, face coverings, proper hygiene, etc.) can be implemented across campus for the student body population, it became clear those processes could not be fully implemented in contact sports.
With the start of full-contact practices and competitions, it became increasingly clear that contact tracing and quarantining would risk frequent and significant disruptions to the practice and competition calendar.
Accurate and widely available rapid testing may help mitigate those concerns, but access to accurate tests is currently limited.
Significant concerns also exist regarding the testing supply chain, generally, for many of our institutions.
While the statement still did not include plans for moving forward, according to Austin Ward of Lettermen Row, “the Big Ten is still formulating an exact plan for what will come next, and Ohio State has been actively involved in that process by helping put together a proposal for a winter/spring season that could potentially start in January. Details for that have not been finalized, but multiple sources have confirmed to Lettermen Row that the winter format has gained traction provided it can be done safely.”
Additionally, Ohio State AD Gene Smith released a statement of his own where he announced that the conference has established the “Big Ten Return to Competition Task Force” to develop plans for winter and spring competition models:
“While a decision has been made by the presidents of the Big Ten Conference to postpone the fall season, we view this as a temporary delay, and Dr. Johnson has directed us to prepare for the possibility of bringing at least some of our fall sports back to practice and competition by the end of the year. We are actively planning for the winter and spring seasons for all sports, including the return of football.
As an athletics director at a Big Ten institution, I will always be respectful of our conference as it provides an outstanding platform for our student-athletes to pursue the championship experience. The health and safety of all our students, coaches and support staff is our highest priority. The conference has established the Big Ten Return to Competition Task Force to develop plans for winter and spring competition models. I want to thank Dr. Johnson for her participation on this task force.”
Fall sports returning by the end of the year? I’m listening.
With that being said...
Justin Fields undecided whether he would play a spring college football season, taking “each day at a time”
Kevin Harrish, Eleven Warriors
In an interview with Good Morning America on Wednesday, Fields said he hasn’t considered whether he will play a spring college football season.
via GIPHY
If a season happens anywhere close to April, Fields knows damn-well he’s not playing another collegiate snap. However, if Ward’s sources are correct and a spring season can be done in January, or if football can somehow make a return by the end of the year, I could see Fields potentially suiting up for one last go as a Buckeye.
Good news for all the other conferences, I guess.
Sources: The NCAA Division I Council decided today that fall sport student-athletes can compete in any amount of competitions this year and it will not count as a season of eligibility. This still needs to be approved by NCAA Board of Governors on Friday.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 19, 2020
The NCAA Division I Council decided on Wednesday that student-athletes in fall sports will preserve this season of eligibility regardless of the amount of competitions they take part in. It will be interesting to see how scholarship limits are adjusted for the incoming 2021 class if these athletes do choose to return for their extra year.
Illinois’ parents have entered the chat.
Illinois parents join parents from Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Iowa and Nebraska in sending letters to Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren calling for transparency on the conference's decision to postpone football season. https://t.co/o8GGld2ZI6
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 19, 2020
Obviously this was before the Big Ten issued their statement on Wednesday evening, however it’s impressive how many groups of people the conference managed to piss off in just eight days.
And not sure if this is still happening...
Attorney Tom Mars has filed a lengthy FOIA request to Michigan State (and soon the other 13 members of the #BigTen) requesting documents pertaining to the cancellation of Big Ten football. He is doing so on behalf of parents of Big Ten players seeking answers behind the decision.
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) August 19, 2020
I would assume it is, however, because the Big Ten did not release its actual data or medical findings in their statement— something that should, without question, be made public as well as released to the other conferences.
Penn State head coach James Franklin offers his thoughts on how the Big Ten has handled things thus far.
Franklin: "I don’t necessarily have an issue with the decision. But I have an issue with the process and I've got an issue with the timing. It was challenging to keep getting up in front of my team and getting up in front of my parents and not having answers to their questions."
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 19, 2020
How did Ohio State football’s season end up with conflict, chaos and cancellation? A look back
Nathan Baird, cleveland.com
Why can Ohio high schools play football if the Ohio State Buckeyes can’t?
Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com
The guys at cleveland.com have answered the questions everyone is asking. First, Nathan Baird walks us through the last few months in an attempt to figure out how exactly we got to this point. Then, Doug explains why 15-year-olds can play football at their D5 high school while some of the most elite athletes in the country at the state-of-the-art program that is Ohio State cannot.
From around the hardwood...
College basketball bubble in the works?
Source: Many college basketball coaches and administrators believe that current non-conference schedules will dissolve due to COVID-19 and teams will look to play regionalized games in pods or bubbles to fulfill any hope of non-conference basketball before league play. https://t.co/rXXk7dt6Yj
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 19, 2020
A bubble is the one and only answer to a college basketball season happening safely. It is absolutely adamant that they figure this out ASAP.
From everywhere else...
Lions lose rookie Jashon Cornell to serious injury
Alex Seats, 247Sports
On Tuesday, former Ohio State DT Jashon Cornell went down in practice with what Lions head coach Matt Patricia called a “pretty serious” Achilles injury. If its a tear, he could miss his entire rookie season.
Another one bites the dust.
Wake Forest WR Sage Surratt has opted out of the 2020 college football season and is declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s the fourth prospect from @McShay13’s initial first round mock draft to opt out of the season already.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 19, 2020
The SEC is a strange place.
When you are trying to be safe but still want people to know you aren’t smiling. So quit asking. https://t.co/3cBWvxrLbG
— Paige Kuhn (@ThatSportsPaige) August 19, 2020
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State sends out a pair of scholarship offers on Tuesday
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- 0 Replies
Ohio State sends out a pair of scholarship offers on Tuesday
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
2021 defensive end Justus Boone | Hale McGranahan, 247Sports
The Buckeyes remained busy after earning a commitment this week
Ohio State’s coaches and staff are going to have a ton of extra time this fall to put in work on the recruiting trail without a football season to worry about. While some believe the Big Ten’s cancellation would hurt recruiting efforts, that apparently has not been the case for the Buckeyes — at least early on — as they gained a commitment from four-star athlete Dasan McCullough on Tuesday.
Ryan Day and Co. are looking to close out the class of 2021 strong, and they still hold the No. 1 group in the nation, but Alabama is rapidly closing on their heels. While Ohio State looks to maintain their lead in the current cycle, they are also making sure they keep things rolling in future classes as well. The staff looked to keep momentum going in both areas on Tuesday, as in addition to the latest commitment, the program sent out a pair of new offers.
The first went out to 2021 Florida commit Justus Boone. Standing at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, the Sumter, SC native is the No. 19 SDE in the class and the No. 307 player overall in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Blessed To Receive An Offer From THE Ohio State University .. @R2X_Rushmen1 @SumterFootball @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/9ZiqkbTH1j
— Justus Boone (@justusboone6) August 18, 2020
Boone holds at least 19 scholarship offers at this time, including from some of the nation’s top programs among the likes of Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee and most recently Ohio State. He has been committed to the Gators since the end of February.
247Sports national writer Charles Power had this to say of Boone’s abilities:
Possesses an above average stature and frame for a strong-side defensive end. Has room to add mass once in a college strength program and could ultimately grow into a defensive tackle, nearing 300 pounds. Plays with physicality and aggression. Stands out as an edge-setting run defender. Has active hands at the point of attack with the ability to disengage via strength or quickness in moves. Shows good effort and speed in chasing down plays in pursuit. Productive as a junior, making a good number of plays behind the line of scrimmage. Still progressing as a pass rusher and will need to continue adding nuance to his game on that front. Projects as a Power 5 level starter with the upside of developing into a NFL Draft pick.
Ohio State’s second offer on Tuesday went out to 2022 offensive tackle Kenji Swanson. The Chatsworth, CA native is currently the No. 29 OT and the No. 303 player overall in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Grateful And Blessed To Receive An Offer From THE Ohio State University
Big Thank You To @CoachStudOL @CoachCookOL @ryandaytime @CoachJoeBolden @OhioStateFB & @SierraCanyonFB #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/cpEran4D1U
— Kenji Swanson (@KenjiSwanson) August 18, 2020
Swanson, a three-star prospect early in his recruitment, currently holds at least 12 scholarship offers heading into his junior year of high school, including from some top programs like Auburn, Oregon, Stanford, USC and Notre Dame. The 6-foot-6, 307-pound tackle looks like a men amongst boys out on the field with his immense size, so expect his stock to rise as there is still a long ways to go in his recruiting process.
y’all know 305 can move right? @prepzone pic.twitter.com/cTUuiQrl8r
— Kenji Swanson (@KenjiSwanson) November 3, 2019Quick Hits
Continue reading...
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Buckeyes remained busy after earning a commitment this week
Ohio State’s coaches and staff are going to have a ton of extra time this fall to put in work on the recruiting trail without a football season to worry about. While some believe the Big Ten’s cancellation would hurt recruiting efforts, that apparently has not been the case for the Buckeyes — at least early on — as they gained a commitment from four-star athlete Dasan McCullough on Tuesday.
Ryan Day and Co. are looking to close out the class of 2021 strong, and they still hold the No. 1 group in the nation, but Alabama is rapidly closing on their heels. While Ohio State looks to maintain their lead in the current cycle, they are also making sure they keep things rolling in future classes as well. The staff looked to keep momentum going in both areas on Tuesday, as in addition to the latest commitment, the program sent out a pair of new offers.
The first went out to 2021 Florida commit Justus Boone. Standing at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, the Sumter, SC native is the No. 19 SDE in the class and the No. 307 player overall in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Blessed To Receive An Offer From THE Ohio State University .. @R2X_Rushmen1 @SumterFootball @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/9ZiqkbTH1j
— Justus Boone (@justusboone6) August 18, 2020
Boone holds at least 19 scholarship offers at this time, including from some of the nation’s top programs among the likes of Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee and most recently Ohio State. He has been committed to the Gators since the end of February.
247Sports national writer Charles Power had this to say of Boone’s abilities:
Possesses an above average stature and frame for a strong-side defensive end. Has room to add mass once in a college strength program and could ultimately grow into a defensive tackle, nearing 300 pounds. Plays with physicality and aggression. Stands out as an edge-setting run defender. Has active hands at the point of attack with the ability to disengage via strength or quickness in moves. Shows good effort and speed in chasing down plays in pursuit. Productive as a junior, making a good number of plays behind the line of scrimmage. Still progressing as a pass rusher and will need to continue adding nuance to his game on that front. Projects as a Power 5 level starter with the upside of developing into a NFL Draft pick.
Ohio State’s second offer on Tuesday went out to 2022 offensive tackle Kenji Swanson. The Chatsworth, CA native is currently the No. 29 OT and the No. 303 player overall in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Grateful And Blessed To Receive An Offer From THE Ohio State University
Big Thank You To @CoachStudOL @CoachCookOL @ryandaytime @CoachJoeBolden @OhioStateFB & @SierraCanyonFB #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/cpEran4D1U— Kenji Swanson (@KenjiSwanson) August 18, 2020
Swanson, a three-star prospect early in his recruitment, currently holds at least 12 scholarship offers heading into his junior year of high school, including from some top programs like Auburn, Oregon, Stanford, USC and Notre Dame. The 6-foot-6, 307-pound tackle looks like a men amongst boys out on the field with his immense size, so expect his stock to rise as there is still a long ways to go in his recruiting process.
y’all know 305 can move right? @prepzone pic.twitter.com/cTUuiQrl8r
— Kenji Swanson (@KenjiSwanson) November 3, 2019
- An Ohio State 2022 commit earned a fifth star in the 247Sports Composite on Tuesday, as the updated Rivals rankings provided enough juice to make linebacker Gabe Powers a five-star prospect. Previously listed as the No. 47 player in the class, Powers — the No. 1 player in Ohio and No. 1 OLB in 2022 — is now the No. 33 player in the country overall. He is the highest-rated player of the five guys that make up Ohio State’s No. 2 recruiting class in 2022, where they trail only LSU.
Continue reading...
LGHL Buckeye Bits: A look at Ohio State’s newest commit, Al Washington getting the job done in...
- News
- 0 Replies
Buckeye Bits: A look at Ohio State’s newest commit, Al Washington getting the job done in all facets, more
Gene Ross 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 Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
All of the latest Ohio State news from around the beat and beyond.
Welcome to Buckeye Bits, our daily news roundup of all things Ohio State. It’s Tuesday, which means it has been officially one week since the Big Ten decided to cancel the 2020 fall season, and still we are left with way more questions than answers.
Kevin Warren cancelling the #BigTen season and not answering any questions about it a week later pic.twitter.com/klzzjs1kwG
— Gene Ross (@Gene_Ross23) August 18, 2020
Personally, I am in the camp that the conference’s decision will ultimately end up being the right one, but the way it has been handled from start to finish has been wholly incorrect. Even if you fully believe you could not safely play football at this time, there is absolutely no reason the season could not have been postponed until the end of September, giving you additional time to figure things out and hope the country’s handling of the pandemic improves in that time — even as unlikely as that appears.
It has also become a PR nightmare for the Big Ten. Outside of a brief interview B1G commish Kevin Warren gave on the day of the announcement — solely on the conference’s own network, I might add — there has been zero transparency as to what led to the cancellation. Despite immense backlash from players, parents, and of course fans, it has been crickets from the Big Ten. Justin Fields’ petition and letters from parents of players at the conference’s major institutions, including Ohio State, have — to this point — been totally ignored.
So, as I said before, even if this decision winds up being the correct one, the Big Ten could not have screwed things up anymore than they already have. With every day that passes without additional information or transparency, the hole the conference has dug itself continues to get deeper. With that spiel out of the way, let’s get to today’s headlines.
From around Land-Grant Holy Land...
Could Ohio State get a BOOM today?
(Dan Hessler, LGHL)
While the main question of Dan’s recruiting piece this morning has already been answered, which we will get to in a second, he also provided additional information regarding Ohio State’s recruitment of four-star power forward Mason Miller — the son of former two-time NBA champion Mike Miller. Plus, a bunch of Ohio State targets and commits saw their ratings increase in the latest Rivals 2022 class rankings.
BOOOOM! 2022 athlete Dasan McCullough commits to Ohio State
(Matt Tamanini, LGHL)
As I previously alluded to, the Buckeyes picked up a huge commitment today with 2022 athlete Dasan McCullough announcing he will be playing his college ball in Columbus. The announcement was certainly not a surprise, as he and fellow Ohio State commit C.J. Hicks have developed a strong relationship, which likely influenced his decision. McCullough is the fifth commit for Ryan Day in the 2022 cycle, and while being listed as an athlete, he projects as a linebacker at the next level, making him already the third LB to join the group. More on him later.
Coach Earle Bruce’s magic touch against Michigan
(Jim Baird, LGHL)
Over the past few months, Jim has taken us through the timeline of all the head coaches to lead Ohio State through the years. This week, he is up to the 20th head coach of the 24 in the school’s history: Earle Bruce. Coaching the Buckeyes for nine seasons, Bruce compiled an overall record of 81-26-1, but was best known for racking up five wins over Michigan in that span — which, at the time, was the most wins over the Wolverines by any OSU coach not named Woody Hayes.
From around the gridiron...
What Dasan McCullough’s commitment means for OSU’s 2022 recruiting class
(Zack Carpenter, Eleven Warriors)
Just because everyone expected McCullough to choose Ohio State today doesn’t make it any less of a big deal. This kid can ball. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound athlete has compiled over 43 scholarship offers — and he’s only still a junior in high school. What makes McCullough so special is his wide-ranging skillset. He has the size and speed to play anywhere from safety to linebacker, which his why he’s drawn comparisons to former Clemson star Isaiah Simmons. The Buckeyes plan to use him as a Sam linebacker, where he will get to do everything from stopping the run and blitzing to dropping back into coverage.
Still not convinced? Check out McCullough’s highlight tape from his sophomore (SOPHOMORE) season at Blue Valley North in Kansas.
While we’re throwing out praise for McCullough, we must also recognize the work that is being done by linebackers coach Al Washington. After Ryan Day pillaged the young assistant from Michigan’s staff, he was able to turn around a unit that was dreadful in 2018 and make them a strength in 2019. Now, he is dominating on the recruiting trail, helping to land McCullough alongside the top two players in Ohio in the 2022 cycle in LBs Gabe Powers and C.J. Hicks. As a result, he's currently the No. 1 recruiter in 247Sports’ rankings for the 2022 class.
Ohio State LBs coach Al Washington (@CoachWash56) is ranked as the No. 1 recruiter in the 2022 class by 247Sports.
He has helped secure the commitments of three linebackers (C.J. Hicks, Gabe Powers, Dasan McCullough) and offensive tackle Tegra Tshabola:https://t.co/B1sjvg5Xej
— Zack Carpenter (@Zack_Carp) August 18, 2020
Hey, remember that guy Chase Young? You know, the one who was without question the best player in all of college football last season as he racked up 16.5 sacks, got invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony as a purely defensive player and then went on to be the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft? Yea, I think he’s gonna be just fine at the next level...
Chase Young rag-dolling offensive linemen is an Ohio State tradition he's brought to Washington. pic.twitter.com/OsK9twif5N
— RJ Young (@RJ_Young) August 18, 2020
In case you wanted any more fuel added to the fire that is the Big Ten’s cancellation of their fall season, today Ohio governor Mike DeWine ruled that all high school sports, including football, could move forward as scheduled this season. Which means, as things currently stand, Ohio high schools, Cincinnati, the Bengals and the Browns will all be on the field this fall, but Ohio State will not be. Pain.
Gov. Mike DeWine is officially allowing sports to go this fall: "Our order will provide that all sports may go forward this fall with contact and non-contact sports."
— Matt Goul (@mgoul) August 18, 2020
Current football status in PA & OH
Ohio HS Football
Cincinnati
Ohio State
Ohio State campus, 60k students
Browns
Bengals
PA HS Football (currently)
Temple
Pitt
Penn State
Penn State campus, 54k students
Steelers
Eagles
— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) August 18, 2020From around the hardwood...
As our eyes begin to shift from college football to college basketball in the realm of pandemic land, it is still unclear what the plan will be for the return to hoops action. The NCAA expects to come to some sort of a decision as to when the season will begin sometime in mid-September, where, as Andy Katz lays out, the association can either choose to start on time, delay until the weekend before Thanksgiving, or move it back all the way until the beginning of December.
"It is still way premature to move the start of the college basketball season into 2021."@TheAndyKatz lays out a trio of options for when the @B1GMBBall season can tip. pic.twitter.com/YMKxAy3fkJ
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 18, 2020
I say it time and time again: Ohio State basketball’s throwback jerseys just hit different.
There’s honestly just something about the gray throwbacks that makes photos look cooler.#GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/oREB5HXcew
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) August 18, 2020From everywhere else...
If you went to bed at a reasonable hour and weren’t up watching a baseball game that you had no real rooting interest in between the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers, then you may have missed the boomers getting mad about one of the game’s young superstars being good at baseball. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a grand slam on a 3-0 count with his team already leading 10-3 in the 8th inning, and Rangers manager Chris Woodward was mad the he violated some “unwritten rule” by not taking the pitch.
I love the game of baseball, but the old folks who get mad at the younger generation for showing out and having some fun just completely ruin the sport for everyone else. If you don't want to get blown out, maybe you should have pitched better.
Fernando Tatis Jr. smacked a grand slam on a 3-0 count with a big lead, leading to criticism from both managers.
What do you think about this unwritten rule in baseball?
@MLB #PadresTwitterpic.twitter.com/55rX1bL4Qm
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) August 18, 2020
Unwritten rules are unwritten because when you write them down it exposes how truly stupid they are. https://t.co/9cDVXTeSj3
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 18, 2020
With everything going on in 2020, this suggestion is becoming increasingly difficult.
Men should consume no more than one alcoholic drink a day, according to a federal committee’s recommendations for new U.S. dietary guidelines https://t.co/azBw06DDdV
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) August 18, 2020
This is what life could look like right now if we had taken COVID seriously from the jump. Wuhan is having massive pool parties, while we can’t even have college football.
.@CNNTravel: It was ground zero in the coronavirus pandemic. Now, Wuhan appears to have moved on from the virus, as thousands gathered in an open air water park for a music festival – without any masks or social distancing in sight. @Nectar_Gan has more. https://t.co/77AqanVWyI
— CNN Asia Pacific (@cnnasiapr) August 18, 2020
Continue reading...
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
All of the latest Ohio State news from around the beat and beyond.
Welcome to Buckeye Bits, our daily news roundup of all things Ohio State. It’s Tuesday, which means it has been officially one week since the Big Ten decided to cancel the 2020 fall season, and still we are left with way more questions than answers.
Kevin Warren cancelling the #BigTen season and not answering any questions about it a week later pic.twitter.com/klzzjs1kwG
— Gene Ross (@Gene_Ross23) August 18, 2020
Personally, I am in the camp that the conference’s decision will ultimately end up being the right one, but the way it has been handled from start to finish has been wholly incorrect. Even if you fully believe you could not safely play football at this time, there is absolutely no reason the season could not have been postponed until the end of September, giving you additional time to figure things out and hope the country’s handling of the pandemic improves in that time — even as unlikely as that appears.
It has also become a PR nightmare for the Big Ten. Outside of a brief interview B1G commish Kevin Warren gave on the day of the announcement — solely on the conference’s own network, I might add — there has been zero transparency as to what led to the cancellation. Despite immense backlash from players, parents, and of course fans, it has been crickets from the Big Ten. Justin Fields’ petition and letters from parents of players at the conference’s major institutions, including Ohio State, have — to this point — been totally ignored.
So, as I said before, even if this decision winds up being the correct one, the Big Ten could not have screwed things up anymore than they already have. With every day that passes without additional information or transparency, the hole the conference has dug itself continues to get deeper. With that spiel out of the way, let’s get to today’s headlines.
From around Land-Grant Holy Land...
Could Ohio State get a BOOM today?
(Dan Hessler, LGHL)
While the main question of Dan’s recruiting piece this morning has already been answered, which we will get to in a second, he also provided additional information regarding Ohio State’s recruitment of four-star power forward Mason Miller — the son of former two-time NBA champion Mike Miller. Plus, a bunch of Ohio State targets and commits saw their ratings increase in the latest Rivals 2022 class rankings.
BOOOOM! 2022 athlete Dasan McCullough commits to Ohio State
(Matt Tamanini, LGHL)
As I previously alluded to, the Buckeyes picked up a huge commitment today with 2022 athlete Dasan McCullough announcing he will be playing his college ball in Columbus. The announcement was certainly not a surprise, as he and fellow Ohio State commit C.J. Hicks have developed a strong relationship, which likely influenced his decision. McCullough is the fifth commit for Ryan Day in the 2022 cycle, and while being listed as an athlete, he projects as a linebacker at the next level, making him already the third LB to join the group. More on him later.
Coach Earle Bruce’s magic touch against Michigan
(Jim Baird, LGHL)
Over the past few months, Jim has taken us through the timeline of all the head coaches to lead Ohio State through the years. This week, he is up to the 20th head coach of the 24 in the school’s history: Earle Bruce. Coaching the Buckeyes for nine seasons, Bruce compiled an overall record of 81-26-1, but was best known for racking up five wins over Michigan in that span — which, at the time, was the most wins over the Wolverines by any OSU coach not named Woody Hayes.
From around the gridiron...
What Dasan McCullough’s commitment means for OSU’s 2022 recruiting class
(Zack Carpenter, Eleven Warriors)
Just because everyone expected McCullough to choose Ohio State today doesn’t make it any less of a big deal. This kid can ball. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound athlete has compiled over 43 scholarship offers — and he’s only still a junior in high school. What makes McCullough so special is his wide-ranging skillset. He has the size and speed to play anywhere from safety to linebacker, which his why he’s drawn comparisons to former Clemson star Isaiah Simmons. The Buckeyes plan to use him as a Sam linebacker, where he will get to do everything from stopping the run and blitzing to dropping back into coverage.
Still not convinced? Check out McCullough’s highlight tape from his sophomore (SOPHOMORE) season at Blue Valley North in Kansas.
While we’re throwing out praise for McCullough, we must also recognize the work that is being done by linebackers coach Al Washington. After Ryan Day pillaged the young assistant from Michigan’s staff, he was able to turn around a unit that was dreadful in 2018 and make them a strength in 2019. Now, he is dominating on the recruiting trail, helping to land McCullough alongside the top two players in Ohio in the 2022 cycle in LBs Gabe Powers and C.J. Hicks. As a result, he's currently the No. 1 recruiter in 247Sports’ rankings for the 2022 class.
Ohio State LBs coach Al Washington (@CoachWash56) is ranked as the No. 1 recruiter in the 2022 class by 247Sports.
He has helped secure the commitments of three linebackers (C.J. Hicks, Gabe Powers, Dasan McCullough) and offensive tackle Tegra Tshabola:https://t.co/B1sjvg5Xej
— Zack Carpenter (@Zack_Carp) August 18, 2020
Hey, remember that guy Chase Young? You know, the one who was without question the best player in all of college football last season as he racked up 16.5 sacks, got invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony as a purely defensive player and then went on to be the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft? Yea, I think he’s gonna be just fine at the next level...
Chase Young rag-dolling offensive linemen is an Ohio State tradition he's brought to Washington. pic.twitter.com/OsK9twif5N
— RJ Young (@RJ_Young) August 18, 2020
In case you wanted any more fuel added to the fire that is the Big Ten’s cancellation of their fall season, today Ohio governor Mike DeWine ruled that all high school sports, including football, could move forward as scheduled this season. Which means, as things currently stand, Ohio high schools, Cincinnati, the Bengals and the Browns will all be on the field this fall, but Ohio State will not be. Pain.
Gov. Mike DeWine is officially allowing sports to go this fall: "Our order will provide that all sports may go forward this fall with contact and non-contact sports."
— Matt Goul (@mgoul) August 18, 2020
Current football status in PA & OH
Ohio HS Football Cincinnati Ohio State Ohio State campus, 60k students Browns Bengals PA HS Football (currently) Temple Pitt Penn State Penn State campus, 54k students Steelers Eagles— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) August 18, 2020
As our eyes begin to shift from college football to college basketball in the realm of pandemic land, it is still unclear what the plan will be for the return to hoops action. The NCAA expects to come to some sort of a decision as to when the season will begin sometime in mid-September, where, as Andy Katz lays out, the association can either choose to start on time, delay until the weekend before Thanksgiving, or move it back all the way until the beginning of December.
"It is still way premature to move the start of the college basketball season into 2021."@TheAndyKatz lays out a trio of options for when the @B1GMBBall season can tip. pic.twitter.com/YMKxAy3fkJ
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 18, 2020
I say it time and time again: Ohio State basketball’s throwback jerseys just hit different.
There’s honestly just something about the gray throwbacks that makes photos look cooler.#GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/oREB5HXcew
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) August 18, 2020
If you went to bed at a reasonable hour and weren’t up watching a baseball game that you had no real rooting interest in between the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers, then you may have missed the boomers getting mad about one of the game’s young superstars being good at baseball. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a grand slam on a 3-0 count with his team already leading 10-3 in the 8th inning, and Rangers manager Chris Woodward was mad the he violated some “unwritten rule” by not taking the pitch.
I love the game of baseball, but the old folks who get mad at the younger generation for showing out and having some fun just completely ruin the sport for everyone else. If you don't want to get blown out, maybe you should have pitched better.
Fernando Tatis Jr. smacked a grand slam on a 3-0 count with a big lead, leading to criticism from both managers.
What do you think about this unwritten rule in baseball?
@MLB #PadresTwitterpic.twitter.com/55rX1bL4Qm
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) August 18, 2020
Unwritten rules are unwritten because when you write them down it exposes how truly stupid they are. https://t.co/9cDVXTeSj3
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 18, 2020
With everything going on in 2020, this suggestion is becoming increasingly difficult.
Men should consume no more than one alcoholic drink a day, according to a federal committee’s recommendations for new U.S. dietary guidelines https://t.co/azBw06DDdV
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) August 18, 2020
This is what life could look like right now if we had taken COVID seriously from the jump. Wuhan is having massive pool parties, while we can’t even have college football.
.@CNNTravel: It was ground zero in the coronavirus pandemic. Now, Wuhan appears to have moved on from the virus, as thousands gathered in an open air water park for a music festival – without any masks or social distancing in sight. @Nectar_Gan has more. https://t.co/77AqanVWyI
— CNN Asia Pacific (@cnnasiapr) August 18, 2020
Continue reading...
LGHL BOOOOM! Top-70 2022 athlete Dasan McCullough commits to Ohio State
- News
- 0 Replies
BOOOOM! Top-70 2022 athlete Dasan McCullough commits to Ohio State
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Four-star 2022 athlete Dasan McCullough | Collin Kennedy, 247Sports
Man, did we need some good news right about now?
It’s been a rough week for the Ohio State Buckeyes, as just one week ago the word came down that the fall football season had been canceled by the Big Ten presidents. While we have experienced the five stages of grief since that announcement was made, on Tuesday, we finally got some good news to brighten our spirits in the form of a big time BOOM!
Dasan McCullough, the No. 70 player in the 2022 recruiting cycle according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, has pledged to play for Ryan Day’s Buckeyes. The top-rated player in the state of Kansas is listed as the No. 7 athlete in the country, but his 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame projects him to be a linebacker once he reaches Columbus.
Fittingly, OSU LB coach Al Washington led his recruiting, beating out 43 other programs, including powers such as Clemson, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Texas, USC, Morgan State, and others.
According to 247Sports’ Allen Trieu, McCullough compares favorably to Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl champ and four-time Pro Bowler Kam Chancellor, but that’s because he played in the secondary as a sophomore. Projecting to the next level, McCullough’s long frame, willingness to tackle, and coverage skills should allow him to transition to the elusive “bullet”/hybrid position that Pete Werner currently occupies for the Buckeyes.
McCullough is the fifth commit in what is already the No. 2 class in the country — behind only LSU — joining fellow linebackers Gabe Powers and C.J. Hicks, cornerback Jyaire Brown, and offensive tackle Tegra Tshbola. All of OSU’s 2022 pledges are players in the top 145 nationally, and McCullough is behind only Powers, who ranks No. 46. The Overland Park, Kan. native is the first out-of-state player in the class.
Check out Dasan McCullough’s highlights:
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Man, did we need some good news right about now?
It’s been a rough week for the Ohio State Buckeyes, as just one week ago the word came down that the fall football season had been canceled by the Big Ten presidents. While we have experienced the five stages of grief since that announcement was made, on Tuesday, we finally got some good news to brighten our spirits in the form of a big time BOOM!
Dasan McCullough, the No. 70 player in the 2022 recruiting cycle according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, has pledged to play for Ryan Day’s Buckeyes. The top-rated player in the state of Kansas is listed as the No. 7 athlete in the country, but his 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame projects him to be a linebacker once he reaches Columbus.
Fittingly, OSU LB coach Al Washington led his recruiting, beating out 43 other programs, including powers such as Clemson, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Texas, USC, Morgan State, and others.
According to 247Sports’ Allen Trieu, McCullough compares favorably to Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl champ and four-time Pro Bowler Kam Chancellor, but that’s because he played in the secondary as a sophomore. Projecting to the next level, McCullough’s long frame, willingness to tackle, and coverage skills should allow him to transition to the elusive “bullet”/hybrid position that Pete Werner currently occupies for the Buckeyes.
McCullough is the fifth commit in what is already the No. 2 class in the country — behind only LSU — joining fellow linebackers Gabe Powers and C.J. Hicks, cornerback Jyaire Brown, and offensive tackle Tegra Tshbola. All of OSU’s 2022 pledges are players in the top 145 nationally, and McCullough is behind only Powers, who ranks No. 46. The Overland Park, Kan. native is the first out-of-state player in the class.
Check out Dasan McCullough’s highlights:
Continue reading...
LGHL Could Ohio State get a BOOM today?
- News
- 0 Replies
Could Ohio State get a BOOM today?
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
2022 four-star athlete Dasan McCullough | via @Dasan2022 on Twitter
Important Ohio State athlete target Dasan McCullough looks to be ready to commit today.
Ryan Day and the Ohio State football program could be getting a more than welcome BOOM today.
Ohio State 2022 athlete target Dasan McCullough (Overland Parks, KS/Blue Valley North) appears to have reached a decision, and will be announcing it this afternoon. The news comes from a somewhat-cryptic Tweet, in which McCullough told his followers to stay tuned at 12:30 today when he intends to shock the world.
Turn ur notifications on. tmr 12:30...
️#ShockTheWorld
— Dasan Mccullough ¹
(@Dasan2022) August 17, 2020
If McCullough does in fact commit to Ohio State, it will be in great thanks to Buckeyes 2022 OLB commit C.J. Hicks.
Hicks, who has taken up the moniker “Captain Buckeye” for the 2022 recruiting class, has been in McCullough’s ear basically since he committed. The two have developed a strong friendship and because of this, the tea leaves started reading Ohio State.
Hicks and Ohio State’s coaching staff have been selling McCullough on creating what they hope becomes one of the top LB recruiting hauls in this class. In addition to McCullough, Hicks has also been recruiting inside LB Shawn Murphy to join them at Ohio State. Position coach Al Washington has also already added four-star OLB Gabe Powers to the class as well.
As a testament to how close Hicks and McCullough have become, if he becomes the next member to join Ohio State, it looks like Hicks was given the news early.
McCullough is the No. 7 ATH in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 70 overall prospect in the class.
Ohio State heating up with 2021 four-star PF
Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann continues to prove he is one of the nation’s best at college basketball recruiting.
Last month, the program earned its most recent commitment in the 2021 recruiting class when the No. 1 recruit from the state of Ohio, Malaki Branham, committed to the Buckeyes. The addition greatly boosted the programs recruiting rankings, now viewed as the No. 6 class by 247Sports and No. 2 in the Big Ten behind Michigan State.
Alongside Branham, Holtmann and the Buckeyes also hold commitments from four-star guard Meechie Johnson and four-star power forward Kalen Etzler.
However, don’t think the Buckeyes are done yet. The team is still looking to add at least one more member to the class. One of those prospects is four-star power forward Mason Miller (Germantown, TN/Houston). Miller recently decided to play his senior season of high school basketball under his dad, former NBA star Mike Miller.
Multiple reports have Ohio State as one of his top contenders. Alongside the Buckeyes, Miller is also interested in Indiana, Creighton and TCU, with the Hoosiers looking like the current favorite.
If the Buckeyes are able to secure a commitment from Miller, it would be a testament to Holtmann’s recruiting prowess. The reason being is he would need to sell Miller on a role on the team with E.J. Liddell already on the roster, and aforementioned verbal commit Etzler at the same position — both being similar players to what Miller projects.
However, if Holtmann believes this team’s future looks best with Miller onboard, look for the Buckeyes to continue making him a priority. The Buckeyes have already reportedly hosted Miller for an unofficial virtual visit, so it appears as if the interest is there.
Miller is the No. 15 PF in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and is the No. 60 overall prospect in the 2021 class.
Rivals new five-stars littered with potential future Buckeyes
Rivals released their updated five-star prospects in the 2022 recruiting class. Among the 14 selected, multiple Ohio State targets and commits made the cut. Below is a list of those included, as well as some highlights:
No. 14 Ohio State target ILB Shawn Murphy
Coming in at No. 14 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Virginia LB Shawn Murphy @Theicedupshawn
Ohio St, Virginia Tech, Penn St, Alabama and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/h3DfF8VWVM
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020No. 13 Ohio State CB target William Johnson
Coming in at No. 13 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Michigan DB Will Johnson @Willj1228
Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/hlIPmOmUHC
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020No. 11 Ohio State OT target Zach Rice
Coming in at No. 11 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Virginia OL Zach Rice @od_zach
Ohio St, Georgia, LSU, Penn State and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/UuOp4g6POE
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020No. 10 Ohio State OT target Kam DewBerry
Coming in at No. 10 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Texas OT Kam Dewberry @KamDewberry
Ohio St, Texas, Oklahoma and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/X8Ak4MNWXV
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020No. 9 Ohio State WR target Luther Burden
Coming in at No. 9 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is St. Louis WR Luther Burden @lutherburden3
Ohio St, Missouri, Florida and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020No. 8 Ohio State OT target Julian Armella
Coming in at No. 8 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Florida OT Julian Armella @ArmellaJulian
Ohio St, Miami, Florida, Florida State and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/VqPJNP9jd5
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020No. 5 Ohio State CB target Jaheim Singletary
Coming in at No. 5 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Florida DB Jaheim Singletary @Jaheim2_
Ohio St, Georgia, LSU, Penn State and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/T2d39TnVrW
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020No. 4 Ohio State OLB commit C.J. Hicks
Coming in at No. 4 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Ohio State @OSUatRivals LB C.J. Hicks @imcjhicks
See the full list of updating five-stars and get @rivalsmike's thoughts on each here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/Naoq1NlvYl
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020No. 2 Ohio State CB target Domani Jackson
Coming in at No. 2 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is California DB Domani Jackson @domanijackson1
USC, Michigan, Ohio State and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/tcsWdgw2FF
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020No. 1 Ohio State DT target Walter Nolen
Our new No. 1 overall player in the Class of 2022 is Tennessee DL Walter Nolen @WalterNolen4
Clemson, LSU, Ohio State, Tennessee and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of five-stars and get @rivalsmike's thoughts on eachhttps://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/U7dJMtdADY
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020
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
Important Ohio State athlete target Dasan McCullough looks to be ready to commit today.
Ryan Day and the Ohio State football program could be getting a more than welcome BOOM today.
Ohio State 2022 athlete target Dasan McCullough (Overland Parks, KS/Blue Valley North) appears to have reached a decision, and will be announcing it this afternoon. The news comes from a somewhat-cryptic Tweet, in which McCullough told his followers to stay tuned at 12:30 today when he intends to shock the world.
Turn ur notifications on. tmr 12:30...
️#ShockTheWorld— Dasan Mccullough ¹
(@Dasan2022) August 17, 2020If McCullough does in fact commit to Ohio State, it will be in great thanks to Buckeyes 2022 OLB commit C.J. Hicks.
Hicks, who has taken up the moniker “Captain Buckeye” for the 2022 recruiting class, has been in McCullough’s ear basically since he committed. The two have developed a strong friendship and because of this, the tea leaves started reading Ohio State.
Hicks and Ohio State’s coaching staff have been selling McCullough on creating what they hope becomes one of the top LB recruiting hauls in this class. In addition to McCullough, Hicks has also been recruiting inside LB Shawn Murphy to join them at Ohio State. Position coach Al Washington has also already added four-star OLB Gabe Powers to the class as well.
As a testament to how close Hicks and McCullough have become, if he becomes the next member to join Ohio State, it looks like Hicks was given the news early.
McCullough is the No. 7 ATH in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 70 overall prospect in the class.
Ohio State heating up with 2021 four-star PF
Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann continues to prove he is one of the nation’s best at college basketball recruiting.
Last month, the program earned its most recent commitment in the 2021 recruiting class when the No. 1 recruit from the state of Ohio, Malaki Branham, committed to the Buckeyes. The addition greatly boosted the programs recruiting rankings, now viewed as the No. 6 class by 247Sports and No. 2 in the Big Ten behind Michigan State.
Alongside Branham, Holtmann and the Buckeyes also hold commitments from four-star guard Meechie Johnson and four-star power forward Kalen Etzler.
However, don’t think the Buckeyes are done yet. The team is still looking to add at least one more member to the class. One of those prospects is four-star power forward Mason Miller (Germantown, TN/Houston). Miller recently decided to play his senior season of high school basketball under his dad, former NBA star Mike Miller.
Multiple reports have Ohio State as one of his top contenders. Alongside the Buckeyes, Miller is also interested in Indiana, Creighton and TCU, with the Hoosiers looking like the current favorite.
If the Buckeyes are able to secure a commitment from Miller, it would be a testament to Holtmann’s recruiting prowess. The reason being is he would need to sell Miller on a role on the team with E.J. Liddell already on the roster, and aforementioned verbal commit Etzler at the same position — both being similar players to what Miller projects.
However, if Holtmann believes this team’s future looks best with Miller onboard, look for the Buckeyes to continue making him a priority. The Buckeyes have already reportedly hosted Miller for an unofficial virtual visit, so it appears as if the interest is there.
Miller is the No. 15 PF in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and is the No. 60 overall prospect in the 2021 class.
Rivals new five-stars littered with potential future Buckeyes
Rivals released their updated five-star prospects in the 2022 recruiting class. Among the 14 selected, multiple Ohio State targets and commits made the cut. Below is a list of those included, as well as some highlights:
No. 14 Ohio State target ILB Shawn Murphy
Coming in at No. 14 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Virginia LB Shawn Murphy @Theicedupshawn
Ohio St, Virginia Tech, Penn St, Alabama and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/h3DfF8VWVM
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020
Coming in at No. 13 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Michigan DB Will Johnson @Willj1228
Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/hlIPmOmUHC
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020
Coming in at No. 11 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Virginia OL Zach Rice @od_zach
Ohio St, Georgia, LSU, Penn State and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/UuOp4g6POE
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020
Coming in at No. 10 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Texas OT Kam Dewberry @KamDewberry
Ohio St, Texas, Oklahoma and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/X8Ak4MNWXV
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020
Coming in at No. 9 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is St. Louis WR Luther Burden @lutherburden3
Ohio St, Missouri, Florida and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020
Coming in at No. 8 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Florida OT Julian Armella @ArmellaJulian
Ohio St, Miami, Florida, Florida State and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/VqPJNP9jd5
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020
Coming in at No. 5 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Florida DB Jaheim Singletary @Jaheim2_
Ohio St, Georgia, LSU, Penn State and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/T2d39TnVrW
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020
Coming in at No. 4 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is Ohio State @OSUatRivals LB C.J. Hicks @imcjhicks
See the full list of updating five-stars and get @rivalsmike's thoughts on each here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/Naoq1NlvYl
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020
Coming in at No. 2 in our updated 2022 five-star countdown is California DB Domani Jackson @domanijackson1
USC, Michigan, Ohio State and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/tcsWdgw2FF
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020
Our new No. 1 overall player in the Class of 2022 is Tennessee DL Walter Nolen @WalterNolen4
Clemson, LSU, Ohio State, Tennessee and several others are involved in his recruitment.
See the full list of five-stars and get @rivalsmike's thoughts on eachhttps://t.co/z8pMbFCBjr pic.twitter.com/U7dJMtdADY
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 17, 2020
Continue reading...
LGHL Buckeye Bits: Justin Fields’ petition draws over 240,000 signatures, Big Ten’s formal vote...
- News
- 0 Replies
Buckeye Bits: Justin Fields’ petition draws over 240,000 signatures, Big Ten’s formal vote remains “unclear,” more
Tia Johnston via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
All of the latest Ohio State news from around the beat and beyond
Happy Monday, LGHL reader! Last week was a doozy, eh? Hopefully this week contains better news, which shouldn’t be too hard considering last week’s news was: “FOOTBALL IS CANCELED AND WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY.”
So yeah, it can really only go up from here. In fact, quite a bit has happened since our last Buckeye Bits publication. Here’s a quick sneak peak of today’s updates:
The saga continues. Without further ado, here’s what’s happening...
Around Land-Grant Holy Land...
Column: So what is ‘expertise’ anyway?
Meredith Hein, LGHL
We live in a world where everyone seems to think they know everything about everything. Throw in a global health pandemic (where protecting others has become a political stance) and a canceled football season, and all of the self-proclaimed “experts” will begin to crawl out of the woodworks. In her column this week, Meredith explains what an expert actually is, and let’s just say, unless you’re an epidemiologist, I promise you that you have absolutely no idea whether or not its safe to play football this fall.
24 Club: Coach Earle Bruce’s magic touch against Michigan
Jim Baird, LGHL
Next up in our 24 Club series is the legendary Earl Bruce, the man who was given one of the most challenging tasks in Ohio State coaching history: replacing Woody Hayes.
Tennessee legacy talks Ohio State visit, commitment plans
Charles Doss, LGHL
Charles caught up with three-star class of 2022 tight end Bennett Christian, who tweeted on Sunday that he will be announcing his decision on Sept. 1.
From around the gridiron...
Months from becoming a multimillionaire, Justin Fields leads charge to save college football season
Kevin Harrish, Eleven Warriors
Justin Fields does not have to play a single snap this season to improve his draft stock. He will be a top-five pick in the 2021 NFL Draft no matter what. In fact, it would make more sense for Fields to opt out.
And YET, Fields has done more in regards to bringing back the college football season and demanding answers from the Big Ten than any athletic director, president or head coach. On Sunday, Fields released a petition addressed to the Big Ten titled “#WeWantToPlay.”
This cause is close to my heart - please sign: https://t.co/yFKlYE7pP0
— Justin Fields (@justnfields) August 16, 2020
Here’s what he’s asking:
“We, the football players of the Big Ten, together with the fans and supporters of college football, request that the Big Ten Conference immediately reinstate the 2020 football season. Allow Big Ten players/teams to make their own choice as to whether they wish to play or opt out this fall season. Allow Big Ten players/teams who choose to opt out of playing a fall season to do so without penalty or repercussion.”
The petition, as of Monday at 4 p.m., has received 248,582 signatures, with the latest goal being 300,000. While many of the sports’ top players are beginning to opt out, like Penn State’s Micah Parsons and, most recently, LSU’s Kary Vincent Jr., Fields is fighting to play his final college season.
Fields guested on an ESPN radio show Monday morning, on which he was asked why he is fighting for a season, considering he, like Kevin said, “is months away from becoming a millionaire.”
“Really, it’s just my love for the game and college football and my teammates and for Ohio State,” Fields replied. “I’ve seen guys battle back from injuries. I’ve seen how hard our coaches have fought for us to play. It is really just my love for the game.”
I mean, no matter what conference you’re in or what team you’re a fan of, you have to respect the hell out of this kid. Like Ryan Day said:
I could not be more proud of Justin Fields and I support his efforts. He loves Ohio State. He loves his teammates. We ask our players to be leaders and he’s leading. I’m honored to coach him and this team. #FIGHT.
— Ryan Day (@ryandaytime) August 17, 2020
However, I think Kevin said it best:
“If he goes out, he’s going to go out swinging. And while that’s not the same as a national title, a Heisman Trophy or a 100-spot on Michigan, it’s still a damn fine legacy to leave.”
Ohio State football parents write letter to Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren asking for a reversal of the decision to cancel the 2020 season
Johnny Ginter and Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors
Fields isn’t the only one knocking on the Big Ten’s door. The parents of Ohio State football players wrote a letter to Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren on Saturday, saying:
“We believe that the August 11th decision was made in haste. As we have continued to learn nationally about COVID-19, our understanding and protocols in dealing with this virus have also continued to evolve. In the best interests of our players, we strongly believe that the Big Ten should re-evaluate its decision.”
Among other asks, they also requested a reinstatement of the schedule released on Aug. 5, full transparency regarding the data used to reach their decision, a Zoom meeting with Warren, a detailed action plan including standard practices and safety protocols for all teams, and a response by Wednesday.
The Big Ten has also received letters from the parents of Iowa, Nebraska, Penn State and, most recently, Michigan, all demanding the same thing: Bring back the fall football season.
“As football players, they understand risk. As young men, they understand the consequences of their decisions. ... our boys participating in Michigan football this fall is the best possible environment during these uncertain times” — Michigan parents in letter re: Big Ten https://t.co/jJtI0v0Mpz
— angelique (@chengelis) August 17, 2020
After a petition signed by 250,000 and letters from the parents of your five most prominent schools, you’d think someone ANYONE from the Big Ten would make some sort of statement.
Any word from the Big Ten, on anything? pic.twitter.com/jAWsfSuNxz
— Kevin Noon (@Kevin_Noon) August 17, 2020
You can do what the Pac-12 did...clearly release your rationale for making a decision, own that decision, and appear united in that decision...or you can do whatever it is Big Ten institutions seem to be doing.
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) August 17, 2020
The Big Ten’s approach of ghosting all of its football players, coaches, and parents is a weird flex but okay.
The Big Ten’s decision to cancel fall football, and the multiple sides to the story
Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com
The GOAT Doug Lesmerises talked to people on ALL sides of this sh*t show to find out why this is happening, how we got here and where we’re probably headed. It really is important to remember that, despite what the players and parents want, this is all about keeping players safe and the Big Ten (supposedly) had its reasons. We just... haven’t heard what they are yet.
Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour isn’t confident that the B1G will reverse decision.
Penn State AD Sandy Barbour on whether the Big Ten's decision to postpone fall sports could be reversed:
Chancellors & presidents made decision based on science and recommendation of medical experts.
"I don't see that changing."
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) August 17, 2020
Because if the decision really was based on information from medical professionals deeming it too dangerous to play football this fall, the Big Ten can’t go back on that, no matter how badly players, coaches and parents want to play.
Barbour also said that it’s still “unclear” whether the Big Ten even held a formal vote.
PSU AD Sandy Barbour said it remains unclear to her whether there was actually a formal vote or not by the Big Ten presidents and chancellors.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) August 17, 2020
Look, we’re trying to stay somewhat neutral here. Obviously we want a college football season, but not if it costs the players and coaches their health— whether that be presently or in the long run. However, the Big Ten is making it incredibly hard to trust them and to have faith in their decision. And their silence is pretty deafening at this point.
“You don’t have to reinstate the season if there was no vote to cancel the season in the first place." pic.twitter.com/WEpzBmTcnN
— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) August 17, 2020
Contrary to what these photos are saying, Gee Scott Jr. is only a freshman.
Gods timing, not mine. #Year1 pic.twitter.com/z6p4Xj4YHc
— Gee Scott Jr. (@Geescottjr) August 17, 2020
RIP opposing defenses.
From around the hardwood...
College basketball answers coming mid-September
Dan Gavitt says we'll have answers on college hoops in mid-September, a detail in today's story I was told late last week: https://t.co/f083GYjfYw https://t.co/IhBfYbLOrr
— Adam Jardy (@AdamJardy) August 17, 2020
They’ve been discussing the 2021 college basketball season since March, and things are looking promising thus far. Here’s what Jardy wrote:
Having watched the success of The Basketball Tournament in Columbus and then the NBA and WNBA, in addition to the struggles of major league baseball and college football, the conversations that have been ongoing since March are pointing toward the 2020-21 season being held in “bubbles.”
“If we have to do a bubble model and that’s the only way we can do it, then we’ll figure it out,” NCAA president Mark Emmert said Thursday.
All they have to do is learn from football’s mistakes and basically just do whatever the NBA is doing.
From everywhere else...
The Canadian Football League’s 2020 season has been cancelled.
BREAKING | The CFL cancels its 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic
It marks the first year the Grey Cup won't be presented since 1919 https://t.co/w4PbVHYbCl pic.twitter.com/LiCVZnEeyO
— CBC Sports (@cbcsports) August 17, 2020
Meanwhile in America...
2020 #NBAPlayoffs First Round Schedule
The NBA Playoffs begin Monday, August 17th with games all day and night!
Full Schedule: https://t.co/m6M3b8qUDf pic.twitter.com/jcheJ5HSni
— NBA (@NBA) August 13, 2020
Ron Rivera diversifying the Washington Football Team. We love to see it.
First minority coach in franchise history. First black woman as a full-time coach in the league. First woman on an NFL radio broadcast team. Now, first black team president. Ron Rivera has come in and helped not only change the culture but diverse it, too. https://t.co/MOCN15oLMT
— Rhiannon Walker (@InstantRHIplay) August 17, 2020
Friendly reminder! Some of you forget this!
Please understand that you, the average citizen, absolutely CANNOT score a basket in an NBA game, hit a home run off a major league pitcher, score a touchdown against an NFL defense, or score a goal against an NHL goalie. In most instances, you're much more likely to get injured.
— Adam Jacobi (@Adam_J_Tweets) August 17, 2020
Continue reading...
Tia Johnston via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
All of the latest Ohio State news from around the beat and beyond
Happy Monday, LGHL reader! Last week was a doozy, eh? Hopefully this week contains better news, which shouldn’t be too hard considering last week’s news was: “FOOTBALL IS CANCELED AND WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY.”
So yeah, it can really only go up from here. In fact, quite a bit has happened since our last Buckeye Bits publication. Here’s a quick sneak peak of today’s updates:
- If anyone saves the Big Ten’s college football season, it’ll be Justin Fields.
- The Big Ten...may have not even held a formal vote to postpone the season??????
- We have not heard a peep from the Big Ten, despite parents, players and coaches demanding answers
The saga continues. Without further ado, here’s what’s happening...
Around Land-Grant Holy Land...
Column: So what is ‘expertise’ anyway?
Meredith Hein, LGHL
We live in a world where everyone seems to think they know everything about everything. Throw in a global health pandemic (where protecting others has become a political stance) and a canceled football season, and all of the self-proclaimed “experts” will begin to crawl out of the woodworks. In her column this week, Meredith explains what an expert actually is, and let’s just say, unless you’re an epidemiologist, I promise you that you have absolutely no idea whether or not its safe to play football this fall.
24 Club: Coach Earle Bruce’s magic touch against Michigan
Jim Baird, LGHL
Next up in our 24 Club series is the legendary Earl Bruce, the man who was given one of the most challenging tasks in Ohio State coaching history: replacing Woody Hayes.
Tennessee legacy talks Ohio State visit, commitment plans
Charles Doss, LGHL
Charles caught up with three-star class of 2022 tight end Bennett Christian, who tweeted on Sunday that he will be announcing his decision on Sept. 1.
From around the gridiron...
Months from becoming a multimillionaire, Justin Fields leads charge to save college football season
Kevin Harrish, Eleven Warriors
Justin Fields does not have to play a single snap this season to improve his draft stock. He will be a top-five pick in the 2021 NFL Draft no matter what. In fact, it would make more sense for Fields to opt out.
And YET, Fields has done more in regards to bringing back the college football season and demanding answers from the Big Ten than any athletic director, president or head coach. On Sunday, Fields released a petition addressed to the Big Ten titled “#WeWantToPlay.”
This cause is close to my heart - please sign: https://t.co/yFKlYE7pP0
— Justin Fields (@justnfields) August 16, 2020
Here’s what he’s asking:
“We, the football players of the Big Ten, together with the fans and supporters of college football, request that the Big Ten Conference immediately reinstate the 2020 football season. Allow Big Ten players/teams to make their own choice as to whether they wish to play or opt out this fall season. Allow Big Ten players/teams who choose to opt out of playing a fall season to do so without penalty or repercussion.”
The petition, as of Monday at 4 p.m., has received 248,582 signatures, with the latest goal being 300,000. While many of the sports’ top players are beginning to opt out, like Penn State’s Micah Parsons and, most recently, LSU’s Kary Vincent Jr., Fields is fighting to play his final college season.
Fields guested on an ESPN radio show Monday morning, on which he was asked why he is fighting for a season, considering he, like Kevin said, “is months away from becoming a millionaire.”
“Really, it’s just my love for the game and college football and my teammates and for Ohio State,” Fields replied. “I’ve seen guys battle back from injuries. I’ve seen how hard our coaches have fought for us to play. It is really just my love for the game.”
I mean, no matter what conference you’re in or what team you’re a fan of, you have to respect the hell out of this kid. Like Ryan Day said:
I could not be more proud of Justin Fields and I support his efforts. He loves Ohio State. He loves his teammates. We ask our players to be leaders and he’s leading. I’m honored to coach him and this team. #FIGHT.
— Ryan Day (@ryandaytime) August 17, 2020
However, I think Kevin said it best:
“If he goes out, he’s going to go out swinging. And while that’s not the same as a national title, a Heisman Trophy or a 100-spot on Michigan, it’s still a damn fine legacy to leave.”
Ohio State football parents write letter to Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren asking for a reversal of the decision to cancel the 2020 season
Johnny Ginter and Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors
Fields isn’t the only one knocking on the Big Ten’s door. The parents of Ohio State football players wrote a letter to Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren on Saturday, saying:
“We believe that the August 11th decision was made in haste. As we have continued to learn nationally about COVID-19, our understanding and protocols in dealing with this virus have also continued to evolve. In the best interests of our players, we strongly believe that the Big Ten should re-evaluate its decision.”
Among other asks, they also requested a reinstatement of the schedule released on Aug. 5, full transparency regarding the data used to reach their decision, a Zoom meeting with Warren, a detailed action plan including standard practices and safety protocols for all teams, and a response by Wednesday.
The Big Ten has also received letters from the parents of Iowa, Nebraska, Penn State and, most recently, Michigan, all demanding the same thing: Bring back the fall football season.
“As football players, they understand risk. As young men, they understand the consequences of their decisions. ... our boys participating in Michigan football this fall is the best possible environment during these uncertain times” — Michigan parents in letter re: Big Ten https://t.co/jJtI0v0Mpz
— angelique (@chengelis) August 17, 2020
After a petition signed by 250,000 and letters from the parents of your five most prominent schools, you’d think someone ANYONE from the Big Ten would make some sort of statement.
Any word from the Big Ten, on anything? pic.twitter.com/jAWsfSuNxz
— Kevin Noon (@Kevin_Noon) August 17, 2020
You can do what the Pac-12 did...clearly release your rationale for making a decision, own that decision, and appear united in that decision...or you can do whatever it is Big Ten institutions seem to be doing.
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) August 17, 2020
The Big Ten’s approach of ghosting all of its football players, coaches, and parents is a weird flex but okay.
The Big Ten’s decision to cancel fall football, and the multiple sides to the story
Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com
The GOAT Doug Lesmerises talked to people on ALL sides of this sh*t show to find out why this is happening, how we got here and where we’re probably headed. It really is important to remember that, despite what the players and parents want, this is all about keeping players safe and the Big Ten (supposedly) had its reasons. We just... haven’t heard what they are yet.
Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour isn’t confident that the B1G will reverse decision.
Penn State AD Sandy Barbour on whether the Big Ten's decision to postpone fall sports could be reversed:
Chancellors & presidents made decision based on science and recommendation of medical experts.
"I don't see that changing."
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) August 17, 2020
Because if the decision really was based on information from medical professionals deeming it too dangerous to play football this fall, the Big Ten can’t go back on that, no matter how badly players, coaches and parents want to play.
Barbour also said that it’s still “unclear” whether the Big Ten even held a formal vote.
PSU AD Sandy Barbour said it remains unclear to her whether there was actually a formal vote or not by the Big Ten presidents and chancellors.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) August 17, 2020
Look, we’re trying to stay somewhat neutral here. Obviously we want a college football season, but not if it costs the players and coaches their health— whether that be presently or in the long run. However, the Big Ten is making it incredibly hard to trust them and to have faith in their decision. And their silence is pretty deafening at this point.
“You don’t have to reinstate the season if there was no vote to cancel the season in the first place." pic.twitter.com/WEpzBmTcnN
— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) August 17, 2020
Contrary to what these photos are saying, Gee Scott Jr. is only a freshman.
Gods timing, not mine. #Year1 pic.twitter.com/z6p4Xj4YHc
— Gee Scott Jr. (@Geescottjr) August 17, 2020
RIP opposing defenses.
From around the hardwood...
College basketball answers coming mid-September
Dan Gavitt says we'll have answers on college hoops in mid-September, a detail in today's story I was told late last week: https://t.co/f083GYjfYw https://t.co/IhBfYbLOrr
— Adam Jardy (@AdamJardy) August 17, 2020
They’ve been discussing the 2021 college basketball season since March, and things are looking promising thus far. Here’s what Jardy wrote:
Having watched the success of The Basketball Tournament in Columbus and then the NBA and WNBA, in addition to the struggles of major league baseball and college football, the conversations that have been ongoing since March are pointing toward the 2020-21 season being held in “bubbles.”
“If we have to do a bubble model and that’s the only way we can do it, then we’ll figure it out,” NCAA president Mark Emmert said Thursday.
All they have to do is learn from football’s mistakes and basically just do whatever the NBA is doing.
From everywhere else...
The Canadian Football League’s 2020 season has been cancelled.
BREAKING | The CFL cancels its 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic
It marks the first year the Grey Cup won't be presented since 1919 https://t.co/w4PbVHYbCl pic.twitter.com/LiCVZnEeyO
— CBC Sports (@cbcsports) August 17, 2020
Meanwhile in America...
2020 #NBAPlayoffs First Round Schedule
The NBA Playoffs begin Monday, August 17th with games all day and night!
Full Schedule: https://t.co/m6M3b8qUDf pic.twitter.com/jcheJ5HSni
— NBA (@NBA) August 13, 2020
Ron Rivera diversifying the Washington Football Team. We love to see it.
First minority coach in franchise history. First black woman as a full-time coach in the league. First woman on an NFL radio broadcast team. Now, first black team president. Ron Rivera has come in and helped not only change the culture but diverse it, too. https://t.co/MOCN15oLMT
— Rhiannon Walker (@InstantRHIplay) August 17, 2020
Friendly reminder! Some of you forget this!
Please understand that you, the average citizen, absolutely CANNOT score a basket in an NBA game, hit a home run off a major league pitcher, score a touchdown against an NFL defense, or score a goal against an NHL goalie. In most instances, you're much more likely to get injured.
— Adam Jacobi (@Adam_J_Tweets) August 17, 2020
Continue reading...
LGHL Column: So what is ‘expertise’ anyway?
- News
- 0 Replies
Column: So what is ‘expertise’ anyway?
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Hint: Let’s leave health decisions to the experts. But also let’s understand tradeoffs.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 have officially cancelled fall sports (not just football, remember). It stinks, and, to be explicitly clear, no one actually wanted it to happen. Cancelling sports benefits no one financially, but health and safety are binary concerns that cannot be compromised.
I’m not denying that folks can be feeling pretty crappy about this situation. When I saw the news of Ohio State football being cancelled, I sat on my bed and cried for 30 minutes, clutching a Brutus Buckeye doll my friend gave to me years ago. It was an irrational reaction, and as I went through the stages of grief as recommended by Tia Johnston, I recognized that we all have something we care about that COVID-19 has taken away, something that causes us to be hit irrationally hard. We are fortunate if that “something” is not the death or illness of a loved one, but, as we’ve seen, it doesn’t make the hurt any less acute.
When it comes to football, I also need to acknowledge that the Big Ten certainly didn’t execute the past couple weeks perfectly. Like many things in the world, this decision falls on a spectrum. It wasn’t just “to play or not to play.” Instead, there are factors like involving players in the decision, considerations of a spring season and the holistic communication plan which also played a part in the response, and which made the decision feel more harsh, perhaps, than it needed to even under these already harsh circumstances.
Even so, fans who are upset who seem to have trouble identifying the source of their emotions are instead lashing out at public figures who they perceive to have “slighted” them, personally on some occasions. Parents of athletes are speaking out. Athletes themselves - those who have literally the most right of anyone to be upset - are, in fact, upset. Go figure.
In that vein, it’s been interesting to watch fans latch on to individuals who really have no authority or expertise to make decisions relating to public health, but who just happen to have opinions and thoughts with which these fans align.
Hence, we get to the challenge of confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is defined (by Wikipedia, obviously) as “the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs of theories.”
What this means in practice is that you’ll believe what you want to believe, and you’ll seek evidence to confirm your opinion. Tia and I touched on it briefly in last week’s Play Like a Girl podcast. Essentially it can result in you believing, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that your opinions are valid because you see new evidence, no matter how trite, as consequential.
Let’s take a few examples from major powers in the Big Ten. Ryan Day is an expert in football. He’s not a doctor or someone with any knowledge of public health or medicine. Jim Harbaugh, some might say, is also an expert in football, but he also is not a doctor. Scott Frost, if you can sense a theme here, is also not a doctor.
So why are we following the whims of these individuals at all when it comes to their opinions on the health and safety of playing a football season in the middle of a pandemic? In my opinion, Day fell squarely in the middle of Frost and Harbaugh when it came to his desire to have a football season. Perhaps he recognized that the Ohio State fan base would latch onto his words, pointing to him as a perceived expert and arguing in favor of a season because “Ryan Day said it was okay.”
Yes, we all love it when individuals with authority have opinions that align with our own. But there are different kinds of expertise. It’s always abundantly clear when we see athletic directors interfering with on-field football play, because we recognize that those decisions should be left to the coach. So why do we assume that football coaches are medical, financial, operations or public relations experts?
It’s been an issue we’ve faced throughout the pandemic. But for obvious reasons, we’re not getting into it now.
So let’s immediately jump back into football and the issue of people speaking on topics for which they’re not actually experts. Realistically, these situations expand to more than just questions of on-field activities for some coaches. Why was it okay that Jim Harbaugh sent out that letter about college football player eligibility? Well he actually was a college player and coach and NFL player and coach. He’s lived those experiences, so he has expertise that makes him an authority figure.
What that experience does not train him for are questions of public health. Harbaugh has a degree in communications, and experience coaching specifically football at the collegiate and professional levels (I say football, because the decision to move football was part of a larger decision to shift all fall sports).
The thing is that opinions, like Harbaugh’s, have some value - though not at the level of responsibility or even accountability. If you’re familiar with the RACI model, you might know where this is going.
Essentially, in decision making, there are individuals who are “responsible, accountable, consulted and informed.” The individuals in the former two categories have specific roles in effectuating and executing the decision, while the latter two are groups who have vested interests, though not the capacity or capability to make a credible decision. This model is used for determining roles and responsibilities for a project or process. It often supports cross-functional decision making, clarifying who needs to play what role or provide what information to accomplish a task. You can see why this type of model would be helpful in considering whether to have a college football season, allowing for individual states, colleges, health experts, coaches and others to play a part.
Which brings us to the situation the Big Ten finds itself in this week. Justin Fields’ petition is calling on the Big Ten to allow players and teams to make the decision to reinstate the season. While there are obviously factors Fields is not an expert on - once again, public health being top of mind - he has a natural and vested interest in having his voice heard. And given his status as a star player in a major conference, his voice, and those of his teammates, should be heard.
Yes, the conference made a grave error by not adding players to the “consulted” category. And in the end, the decision may not have changed at all if players were consulted. However, it would have made the public relations campaign significantly stronger. During a pandemic, those with public health backgrounds should be the authoritative source. But they’re not the only ones. There are tradeoffs, and experts must collaborate. Information must be credible and reliable.
So as challenge number one, take a look at where you get your information, and ask yourself where the people you trust get their information? Yes, right now, epidemiologists run the world. Because it’s a pandemic. And I’m okay with that. During wartime, no one questions the authority of generals to have control over their troops. We don’t challenge pilots on how they fly their planes. We don’t challenge doctors diagnosing patients.
For those people continuing to lash out at college presidents who are constantly collaborating with public health experts, trying to find a safe way to open their schools back up, I’d like to offer a second unsolicited challenge: Take a moment to examine why you’re actually mad. Remember that we’re all in this together, and the quicker we can come together (in spirit and certainly not physically in groups of greater than 10) to put an end to this pandemic, the sooner we will be able to get back to the sports we love.
In other words, wear a mask.
Byeeeeeeeeeeee for now.
Continue reading...
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Hint: Let’s leave health decisions to the experts. But also let’s understand tradeoffs.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 have officially cancelled fall sports (not just football, remember). It stinks, and, to be explicitly clear, no one actually wanted it to happen. Cancelling sports benefits no one financially, but health and safety are binary concerns that cannot be compromised.
I’m not denying that folks can be feeling pretty crappy about this situation. When I saw the news of Ohio State football being cancelled, I sat on my bed and cried for 30 minutes, clutching a Brutus Buckeye doll my friend gave to me years ago. It was an irrational reaction, and as I went through the stages of grief as recommended by Tia Johnston, I recognized that we all have something we care about that COVID-19 has taken away, something that causes us to be hit irrationally hard. We are fortunate if that “something” is not the death or illness of a loved one, but, as we’ve seen, it doesn’t make the hurt any less acute.
When it comes to football, I also need to acknowledge that the Big Ten certainly didn’t execute the past couple weeks perfectly. Like many things in the world, this decision falls on a spectrum. It wasn’t just “to play or not to play.” Instead, there are factors like involving players in the decision, considerations of a spring season and the holistic communication plan which also played a part in the response, and which made the decision feel more harsh, perhaps, than it needed to even under these already harsh circumstances.
Even so, fans who are upset who seem to have trouble identifying the source of their emotions are instead lashing out at public figures who they perceive to have “slighted” them, personally on some occasions. Parents of athletes are speaking out. Athletes themselves - those who have literally the most right of anyone to be upset - are, in fact, upset. Go figure.
In that vein, it’s been interesting to watch fans latch on to individuals who really have no authority or expertise to make decisions relating to public health, but who just happen to have opinions and thoughts with which these fans align.
Hence, we get to the challenge of confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is defined (by Wikipedia, obviously) as “the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs of theories.”
What this means in practice is that you’ll believe what you want to believe, and you’ll seek evidence to confirm your opinion. Tia and I touched on it briefly in last week’s Play Like a Girl podcast. Essentially it can result in you believing, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that your opinions are valid because you see new evidence, no matter how trite, as consequential.
Let’s take a few examples from major powers in the Big Ten. Ryan Day is an expert in football. He’s not a doctor or someone with any knowledge of public health or medicine. Jim Harbaugh, some might say, is also an expert in football, but he also is not a doctor. Scott Frost, if you can sense a theme here, is also not a doctor.
So why are we following the whims of these individuals at all when it comes to their opinions on the health and safety of playing a football season in the middle of a pandemic? In my opinion, Day fell squarely in the middle of Frost and Harbaugh when it came to his desire to have a football season. Perhaps he recognized that the Ohio State fan base would latch onto his words, pointing to him as a perceived expert and arguing in favor of a season because “Ryan Day said it was okay.”
Yes, we all love it when individuals with authority have opinions that align with our own. But there are different kinds of expertise. It’s always abundantly clear when we see athletic directors interfering with on-field football play, because we recognize that those decisions should be left to the coach. So why do we assume that football coaches are medical, financial, operations or public relations experts?
It’s been an issue we’ve faced throughout the pandemic. But for obvious reasons, we’re not getting into it now.
So let’s immediately jump back into football and the issue of people speaking on topics for which they’re not actually experts. Realistically, these situations expand to more than just questions of on-field activities for some coaches. Why was it okay that Jim Harbaugh sent out that letter about college football player eligibility? Well he actually was a college player and coach and NFL player and coach. He’s lived those experiences, so he has expertise that makes him an authority figure.
What that experience does not train him for are questions of public health. Harbaugh has a degree in communications, and experience coaching specifically football at the collegiate and professional levels (I say football, because the decision to move football was part of a larger decision to shift all fall sports).
The thing is that opinions, like Harbaugh’s, have some value - though not at the level of responsibility or even accountability. If you’re familiar with the RACI model, you might know where this is going.
Essentially, in decision making, there are individuals who are “responsible, accountable, consulted and informed.” The individuals in the former two categories have specific roles in effectuating and executing the decision, while the latter two are groups who have vested interests, though not the capacity or capability to make a credible decision. This model is used for determining roles and responsibilities for a project or process. It often supports cross-functional decision making, clarifying who needs to play what role or provide what information to accomplish a task. You can see why this type of model would be helpful in considering whether to have a college football season, allowing for individual states, colleges, health experts, coaches and others to play a part.
Which brings us to the situation the Big Ten finds itself in this week. Justin Fields’ petition is calling on the Big Ten to allow players and teams to make the decision to reinstate the season. While there are obviously factors Fields is not an expert on - once again, public health being top of mind - he has a natural and vested interest in having his voice heard. And given his status as a star player in a major conference, his voice, and those of his teammates, should be heard.
Yes, the conference made a grave error by not adding players to the “consulted” category. And in the end, the decision may not have changed at all if players were consulted. However, it would have made the public relations campaign significantly stronger. During a pandemic, those with public health backgrounds should be the authoritative source. But they’re not the only ones. There are tradeoffs, and experts must collaborate. Information must be credible and reliable.
So as challenge number one, take a look at where you get your information, and ask yourself where the people you trust get their information? Yes, right now, epidemiologists run the world. Because it’s a pandemic. And I’m okay with that. During wartime, no one questions the authority of generals to have control over their troops. We don’t challenge pilots on how they fly their planes. We don’t challenge doctors diagnosing patients.
For those people continuing to lash out at college presidents who are constantly collaborating with public health experts, trying to find a safe way to open their schools back up, I’d like to offer a second unsolicited challenge: Take a moment to examine why you’re actually mad. Remember that we’re all in this together, and the quicker we can come together (in spirit and certainly not physically in groups of greater than 10) to put an end to this pandemic, the sooner we will be able to get back to the sports we love.
In other words, wear a mask.
Byeeeeeeeeeeee for now.
Continue reading...
LGHL 24 Club: Coach Earle Bruce’s magic touch against Michigan
- News
- 0 Replies
24 Club: Coach Earle Bruce’s magic touch against Michigan
Jim Baird via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
When Bruce left Ohio State, he had more wins against Michigan than any OSU coach not named Woody Hayes.
There have been 24 head coaches in the history of Ohio State football. Each has a story and legacy. This offseason, Land-Grant Holy Land’s new series 24 Club will help you get to know the coaches from past and present who built the program. Today we look at Ohio State’s 20th head coach — Earle Bruce.
Name: Earle Bruce
Seasons Coached: Nine (1979-1987)
Overall Record: 81-26-1
Where Does He Rank in the 24 Club?
Overall Wins: No. 5 out of 24 OSU Coaches
Winning Percentage: No. 7 out of 24 OSU Coaches
Earle Bruce’s task was impossible — he had to replace Woody Hayes. Bruce knew Ohio. He played at Ohio State, served as an assistant to coach Hayes for six seasons, and racked up wins as one of Ohio’s top high school coaches. He jumped in as a college head coach and led the University of Tampa to a 10-2 record before moving to Iowa State. At ISU, he became the first coach since 1919 to leave the school with a winning record.
When coach Bruce came to Columbus in 1979, he picked up right where Woody left off. The Buckeyes went undefeated in the regular season, only to come up one point short of a perfect year and national championship against No. 3 USC in the Rose Bowl. Bruce would capture four Big Ten titles during his tenure, but would never recapture the magic of that first season. The Buckeyes lost at least three games each season in his final eight years at the helm.
Bruce did know how to beat Michigan, posting a 5-4 record against the Wolverines. At that time, that was more wins against Michigan than any OSU coach not named Woody Hayes. One of the highlights of his tenure was his last game as Ohio State’s head coach against the Wolverines in 1987. OSU’s president fired Bruce after a home loss to Iowa a week earlier. Bruce would coach out the season finale against the Wolverines before moving on.
On game day, every Ohio State player wore a headband with “Earle” written on it to honor their outgoing coach. OSU walked away with a 23-20 win. Bruce’s ebullient Buckeyes carried him off the field in Ann Arbor.
Coach Bruce went out a winner against Michigan. The same could not be said about his successor: John Cooper.
Continue reading...
Jim Baird via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
When Bruce left Ohio State, he had more wins against Michigan than any OSU coach not named Woody Hayes.
There have been 24 head coaches in the history of Ohio State football. Each has a story and legacy. This offseason, Land-Grant Holy Land’s new series 24 Club will help you get to know the coaches from past and present who built the program. Today we look at Ohio State’s 20th head coach — Earle Bruce.
Name: Earle Bruce
Seasons Coached: Nine (1979-1987)
Overall Record: 81-26-1
Where Does He Rank in the 24 Club?
Overall Wins: No. 5 out of 24 OSU Coaches
Winning Percentage: No. 7 out of 24 OSU Coaches
Earle Bruce’s task was impossible — he had to replace Woody Hayes. Bruce knew Ohio. He played at Ohio State, served as an assistant to coach Hayes for six seasons, and racked up wins as one of Ohio’s top high school coaches. He jumped in as a college head coach and led the University of Tampa to a 10-2 record before moving to Iowa State. At ISU, he became the first coach since 1919 to leave the school with a winning record.
When coach Bruce came to Columbus in 1979, he picked up right where Woody left off. The Buckeyes went undefeated in the regular season, only to come up one point short of a perfect year and national championship against No. 3 USC in the Rose Bowl. Bruce would capture four Big Ten titles during his tenure, but would never recapture the magic of that first season. The Buckeyes lost at least three games each season in his final eight years at the helm.
Bruce did know how to beat Michigan, posting a 5-4 record against the Wolverines. At that time, that was more wins against Michigan than any OSU coach not named Woody Hayes. One of the highlights of his tenure was his last game as Ohio State’s head coach against the Wolverines in 1987. OSU’s president fired Bruce after a home loss to Iowa a week earlier. Bruce would coach out the season finale against the Wolverines before moving on.
On game day, every Ohio State player wore a headband with “Earle” written on it to honor their outgoing coach. OSU walked away with a 23-20 win. Bruce’s ebullient Buckeyes carried him off the field in Ann Arbor.
Coach Bruce went out a winner against Michigan. The same could not be said about his successor: John Cooper.
Continue reading...
LGHL Tennessee legacy talks Ohio State visit, commitment plans
- News
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Tennessee legacy talks Ohio State visit, commitment plans
Charles Doss via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
2022 TE Bennett Christian
The Georgia native found time to check out what the Ohio State campus has to offer.
After landing his chance to don the Scarlet and Gray and the college level in June, three-star class of 2022 tight end Bennett Christian told Land-Grant Holy Land the following:
“I was on the phone with Coach Wilson and Coach Day got on the line as well. We were talking for a little bit about how much he likes me as a player and a person as he congratulated me on my Ohio State offer. The next steps are really just to continue these relationships with those awesome coaches and getting up to Columbus as soon as possible.”
Fast forward a couple months and the Georgia native finally found the time to make the trek from the Peach State to Columbus to get a better feel at what the Ohio State University has to offer.
“The trip was amazing. I got to see any and everything I needed to see. The only downside was I couldn’t go inside anywhere, but it was very beneficial. love it” Christian said.
“One thing that really stood out to me was the greenery around the campus. I was expecting a bunch of buildings but there is a ton of historic buildings and trees everywhere. It was a great trip.” The 6-foot-6, 235-pound standout added.
Although he couldn’t meet with the staff face-to-face, Christian was in constant contact with his potential college coaches throughout his time in the states capitol.
“I spoke with Coach Wilson and Coach Day a ton. Me and Coach Wilson talked all day over the phone while I was up there. Both of them made sure that I knew that they were ready to take my commitment.”
Earning around a dozen scholarships throughout the process, the Allatoona High junior is down to two programs. Considering either Ohio State or Tennessee, where his father played his college ball, Christian will let the world know his plans in the coming weeks.
“I’m committing on Sept. 1st between OSU and UT. I’m really looking for a school that can help me be the best I can be in every area.”
I will be announcing my commitment on September 1st on Instagram live at 8pm!! My Instagram is @Bennett_Christian_ !! Make sure you follow and tune in! #GoVols #GoBucks
— Bennett Christian (@BennettC87) August 17, 2020
Displaying a solid skill set, Christian was one of the main reasons Allatoona once again made a deep run in the Georgia state playoffs last season. Helping the Buccaneers finish the year off with 11 wins, he accounted for over 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore.
Buckeyes offer 2022 tackle
While Christian’s recruitment is coming to an end, another class of 2022 standout’s chance to call Columbus home is just beginning. Receiving his scholarship opportunity from the Buckeyes staff on Friday, massive offensive tackle Aliou Bah could now follow in the footsteps of former Whitehaven (TN) product Cormontae Hamilton and line up for the Big Ten power.
“Coach Stud broke the news to me and said moving forward they really want me. They love my game and how I’m continuously developing and getting better. And that OSU is a great place and has many opportunities in store.” The 6-foot-6 325-pounder told Land-Grant Holy Land.
WOW.....#BeyondBlessed To Receive An Offer From THE Ohio State University #GoBuckeyes #Big10 #AG2G pic.twitter.com/1H3WbKzukK
— LouiV
️ (@louivaton0) August 14, 2020
With programs such as USC, Florida State, and Texas A&M sticking out at the moment, his chance to roll with the Buckeyes isn’t something he’s taking very lightly.
“When I think of OSU I think of winning, competition, tradition, and first-round NFL picks. OSU is a big time one for me. They will definitely be one of my top schools.”
Want to see what caught the Buckeyes attention? Check out these highlights of Aliou Bah in action:
Quick Hits
Beyond thankful to have received an offer from the Ohio State University @OhioStateFB
pic.twitter.com/1CPuCxlx7F
— Brenan Vernon (@brenanvernon) August 15, 2020
Continue reading...
Charles Doss via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Georgia native found time to check out what the Ohio State campus has to offer.
After landing his chance to don the Scarlet and Gray and the college level in June, three-star class of 2022 tight end Bennett Christian told Land-Grant Holy Land the following:
“I was on the phone with Coach Wilson and Coach Day got on the line as well. We were talking for a little bit about how much he likes me as a player and a person as he congratulated me on my Ohio State offer. The next steps are really just to continue these relationships with those awesome coaches and getting up to Columbus as soon as possible.”
Fast forward a couple months and the Georgia native finally found the time to make the trek from the Peach State to Columbus to get a better feel at what the Ohio State University has to offer.
“The trip was amazing. I got to see any and everything I needed to see. The only downside was I couldn’t go inside anywhere, but it was very beneficial. love it” Christian said.
“One thing that really stood out to me was the greenery around the campus. I was expecting a bunch of buildings but there is a ton of historic buildings and trees everywhere. It was a great trip.” The 6-foot-6, 235-pound standout added.
Although he couldn’t meet with the staff face-to-face, Christian was in constant contact with his potential college coaches throughout his time in the states capitol.
“I spoke with Coach Wilson and Coach Day a ton. Me and Coach Wilson talked all day over the phone while I was up there. Both of them made sure that I knew that they were ready to take my commitment.”
Earning around a dozen scholarships throughout the process, the Allatoona High junior is down to two programs. Considering either Ohio State or Tennessee, where his father played his college ball, Christian will let the world know his plans in the coming weeks.
“I’m committing on Sept. 1st between OSU and UT. I’m really looking for a school that can help me be the best I can be in every area.”
I will be announcing my commitment on September 1st on Instagram live at 8pm!! My Instagram is @Bennett_Christian_ !! Make sure you follow and tune in! #GoVols #GoBucks
— Bennett Christian (@BennettC87) August 17, 2020
Displaying a solid skill set, Christian was one of the main reasons Allatoona once again made a deep run in the Georgia state playoffs last season. Helping the Buccaneers finish the year off with 11 wins, he accounted for over 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore.
Buckeyes offer 2022 tackle
While Christian’s recruitment is coming to an end, another class of 2022 standout’s chance to call Columbus home is just beginning. Receiving his scholarship opportunity from the Buckeyes staff on Friday, massive offensive tackle Aliou Bah could now follow in the footsteps of former Whitehaven (TN) product Cormontae Hamilton and line up for the Big Ten power.
“Coach Stud broke the news to me and said moving forward they really want me. They love my game and how I’m continuously developing and getting better. And that OSU is a great place and has many opportunities in store.” The 6-foot-6 325-pounder told Land-Grant Holy Land.
WOW.....#BeyondBlessed To Receive An Offer From THE Ohio State University #GoBuckeyes #Big10 #AG2G pic.twitter.com/1H3WbKzukK
— LouiV
️ (@louivaton0) August 14, 2020With programs such as USC, Florida State, and Texas A&M sticking out at the moment, his chance to roll with the Buckeyes isn’t something he’s taking very lightly.
“When I think of OSU I think of winning, competition, tradition, and first-round NFL picks. OSU is a big time one for me. They will definitely be one of my top schools.”
Want to see what caught the Buckeyes attention? Check out these highlights of Aliou Bah in action:
Quick Hits
- Ohio State also sent out a scholarship offer on Saturday to 2023 defensive end Brenan Vernon. The offer means a lot to the 6-foot-5, 250-pound edge rusher, who reportedly teared up after hearing the news. The Mentor High School product is the first in-state offer for the Buckeyes in the class. Vernon already holds 10 offers so far, with Ohio State and Notre Dame seemingly at the top of his list.
Beyond thankful to have received an offer from the Ohio State University @OhioStateFB
pic.twitter.com/1CPuCxlx7F— Brenan Vernon (@brenanvernon) August 15, 2020
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Way Too Early 2020 Polls
- By cincibuck
- College Football
- 69 Replies
Do ya think Luke isn't enjoying the shit out of this?2020 Preseason College Football Rankings
21. Cincinnati
22. Michigan
Anyone else find it amusing that the Juggalos are ranked ahead of scUM?
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LGHL Ohio State hoops offer 2022 standouts
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- 0 Replies
Ohio State hoops offer 2022 standouts
Charles Doss via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
Chris Holtmann and crew recently threw their hat in the ring for a pair of top juniors.
While enjoying time with family and friends you might’ve missed out on some of the latest news surrounding Ohio State recruiting. Don’t worry! Land-Grant Holy Land is here to help get you caught back up with things.
Schutt talks Buckeyes
Already holding a verbal pledge from three-star Cincinnati Princeton shooting guard Bowen Hardman, Chris Holtmann and the Ohio State basketball squad are hard at work trying to find more pieces to the class of 2022 recruiting puzzle. Searching high and low for future Buckeyes, Jaden Schutt, who holds the state of Illinois single-game record for three pointers in a contest with 17, walked away with a chance to rock the Scarlet and Gray on Thursday.
Blessed to have received an offer from The Ohio State University #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/5U2Bq3p5Uq
— Jaden Schutt (@schutt_jaden) August 6, 2020
“We had a Zoom call and coach Holtmann offered. They said they were excited about me and wanted to continue to develop our relationship.” the 6-foot-5, four-star shooting guard told Land-Grant Holy Land. “OSU has a lot of winning history, it’s definitely a great school and I’m honored to have them offer.”
Coming off a season where he averaged 22 points and nine rebounds for the Yorkville Christian Mustangs (IL), Schutt is starting to put together a solid list of potential college homes. Gaining interest daily, Creighton, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin are just some of the programs the Buckeyes find themselves up against for the sharp-shooter.
Working to build a rapport with coaches, Schutt has a few things he’s looking for before he shuts things down and commits to a school.
“I’m looking for a great connection with the coaching staff and a school that has great facilities and a great campus.”
Buckeyes offer big man
On Friday afternoon, three-star 2022 big man Kyle Filipowski earned his chance to play for the Buckeyes.
Extremely excited to receive an offer from Coach Holtmann and the staff at The Ohio State University!! Great program and a great opportunity. @OhioStateHoops #GoBuckeyes #BIG10 pic.twitter.com/Tli9hpAiJ8
— Kyle Filipowski (@KyleFlip_) August 7, 2020
A versatile post player who could play power forward or center on the next level, the 6-foot-10 Filipowski adds the scholarship opportunity from Holtmann and crew alongside over a dozen college programs. Earning offers from schools across the country, Providence, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Louisville, Maryland, and UConn are just a few of those currently pursuing his talents.
Not just a rebounder, Kyle can put points up on the board too. During his three years on the court at Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA) he’s accounted for over 1,000 career points. Last season as a sophomore, Filipowski, the 19th center, and 157th overall prospect in the entire class of 2022, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, helped the Titans take home the New England Class AA championship by averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds a contest.
Quick Hits
Continue reading...
Charles Doss via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Chris Holtmann and crew recently threw their hat in the ring for a pair of top juniors.
While enjoying time with family and friends you might’ve missed out on some of the latest news surrounding Ohio State recruiting. Don’t worry! Land-Grant Holy Land is here to help get you caught back up with things.
Schutt talks Buckeyes
Already holding a verbal pledge from three-star Cincinnati Princeton shooting guard Bowen Hardman, Chris Holtmann and the Ohio State basketball squad are hard at work trying to find more pieces to the class of 2022 recruiting puzzle. Searching high and low for future Buckeyes, Jaden Schutt, who holds the state of Illinois single-game record for three pointers in a contest with 17, walked away with a chance to rock the Scarlet and Gray on Thursday.
Blessed to have received an offer from The Ohio State University #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/5U2Bq3p5Uq
— Jaden Schutt (@schutt_jaden) August 6, 2020
“We had a Zoom call and coach Holtmann offered. They said they were excited about me and wanted to continue to develop our relationship.” the 6-foot-5, four-star shooting guard told Land-Grant Holy Land. “OSU has a lot of winning history, it’s definitely a great school and I’m honored to have them offer.”
Coming off a season where he averaged 22 points and nine rebounds for the Yorkville Christian Mustangs (IL), Schutt is starting to put together a solid list of potential college homes. Gaining interest daily, Creighton, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin are just some of the programs the Buckeyes find themselves up against for the sharp-shooter.
Working to build a rapport with coaches, Schutt has a few things he’s looking for before he shuts things down and commits to a school.
“I’m looking for a great connection with the coaching staff and a school that has great facilities and a great campus.”
Buckeyes offer big man
On Friday afternoon, three-star 2022 big man Kyle Filipowski earned his chance to play for the Buckeyes.
Extremely excited to receive an offer from Coach Holtmann and the staff at The Ohio State University!! Great program and a great opportunity. @OhioStateHoops #GoBuckeyes #BIG10 pic.twitter.com/Tli9hpAiJ8
— Kyle Filipowski (@KyleFlip_) August 7, 2020
A versatile post player who could play power forward or center on the next level, the 6-foot-10 Filipowski adds the scholarship opportunity from Holtmann and crew alongside over a dozen college programs. Earning offers from schools across the country, Providence, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Louisville, Maryland, and UConn are just a few of those currently pursuing his talents.
Not just a rebounder, Kyle can put points up on the board too. During his three years on the court at Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA) he’s accounted for over 1,000 career points. Last season as a sophomore, Filipowski, the 19th center, and 157th overall prospect in the entire class of 2022, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, helped the Titans take home the New England Class AA championship by averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds a contest.
Quick Hits
- The OSU basketball coaching staff recently held a Zoom meeting with four-star class of 2022 guard Corey Floyd Jr., according to 247Sports. Yet to lock in a offer from the Buckeyes, the New Jersey native does hold scholarships from programs such as Florida, Georgia, Miami, Providence, and UConn.
- Clarkston (MI) four-star star offensive guard Rocco Spindler verbally committed to Notre Dame on Saturday. Spindler, a class of 2021 standout, had Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and LSU among his leaders before deciding to roll with the Fighting Irish. The Wolverines have now lost out on two of the top three in-state prospects in the class, with Spindler ranking third in the state.
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LGHL Play Like a Girl podcast: Will there be a college football season?
- News
- 0 Replies
Play Like a Girl podcast: Will there be a college football season?
Tia Johnston via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images
Tia and Meredith breakdown Ohio State’s 2020 schedule, and discuss whether or not there should even be a college football season
On LGHL’s podcast Play Like a Girl, Tia and Meredith talk everything from Ohio State football to all the happenings in the sports world today.
Well, safe to say there’s been a lot of rumors floating around the Ohio State beat since we recorded this episode. Many “P5 sources” are saying the Big Ten has all but officially announced their cancelation of the football season. Things aren’t looking great, but until we know for sure, we’ll be over here chatting/speculating about CFB for the small amount of time we have left.
In this week’s episode, we start the show by discussing all that is wrong with Ohio State’s 2020 schedule (why is Michigan in October?), then we get into a discussion on whether or not there should even be a college football season. And if there is one, will we even make it through September before chaos ensues?
On the second half of the show, we unpack the Pac-12 and Big Ten players’ list of demands, and talk about how refreshing it is to see college football players realizing the power they have over their NCAA/conference superiors.
Check out the podcast below, and make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts:
Continue reading...
Tia Johnston via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Tia and Meredith breakdown Ohio State’s 2020 schedule, and discuss whether or not there should even be a college football season
On LGHL’s podcast Play Like a Girl, Tia and Meredith talk everything from Ohio State football to all the happenings in the sports world today.
Well, safe to say there’s been a lot of rumors floating around the Ohio State beat since we recorded this episode. Many “P5 sources” are saying the Big Ten has all but officially announced their cancelation of the football season. Things aren’t looking great, but until we know for sure, we’ll be over here chatting/speculating about CFB for the small amount of time we have left.
In this week’s episode, we start the show by discussing all that is wrong with Ohio State’s 2020 schedule (why is Michigan in October?), then we get into a discussion on whether or not there should even be a college football season. And if there is one, will we even make it through September before chaos ensues?
On the second half of the show, we unpack the Pac-12 and Big Ten players’ list of demands, and talk about how refreshing it is to see college football players realizing the power they have over their NCAA/conference superiors.
Check out the podcast below, and make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts:
Continue reading...