D’Angelo Russell to join Golden State Warriors via sign-and-trade with Nets
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The former Buckeye star is gonna get paid!

Just five and a half hours after NBA free agency began, former Ohio State star D’Angelo Russell learned that he would be playing in the city by the bay as a member of the Golden State Warriors when the 2019-20 NBA season begins.

With the Brooklyn Nets signing Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan, there wasn’t room left for the Nets’ newly minted all-star. So, Brooklyn agreed to sign Russell to a four-year, $117m max contract and to then trade him to the Warriors.


The deal between the Nets and Warriors reportedly will also include Treveon Graham and Shabazz Napier. To make the salary cap math work, Golden State is also reportedly trading former Finals MVP Andre Iguodala and a 2024 first-round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies.

With Russell joining Stephen Curry in the Warriors’ new home in San Francisco, they will obviously be without Durant, and Klay Thompson will be rehabbing a torn ACL to start the season.

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4-star linebacker includes Ohio State in top schools list
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeyes make the top-5 for a top 2020 Californian prospect

Even though college football is in the midst of a recruiting quiet period now, the Ohio State Buckeyes have been making more than enough noise in their 2020 class. With two more huge commitments this past weekend from the likes of four-star prospects Darrion Henry and Cody Simon, Ohio State is starting to really silence the doubters who were worried that this staff couldn’t recruit defensively.


With Nike’s The Opening also getting started this past weekend, the Buckeye commits that are on sight are not only impressing with their abilities on the field, but also other prospects with their recruiting abilities. It’s a great time to follow Ohio State recruiting, and with more success to come in the near future, let’s dive into more of the good news.

Williams includes Buckeyes in Top 5


When Ryan Day hired Greg Mattison to the Buckeye staff, Greg brought a little bit of his history with him. In 2019, Ohio State’s defense will have what they call the “Bullet” position. A hybrid position, the Bullet will be a combination of what is an outside linebacker/safety style of defender. While the current roster has guys such as Brendon White ready to take a crack at this role, the current defensive staff is already looking for guys they want to take the reigns in the years to come. Thankfully, they may even land their top target they’re pursuing.

Over the weekend, Kourt Williams, a four-star outside linebacker from Bellflower, Calif., released his final top five schools he will choose from before a final decision. Having just visited the Buckeyes last weekend on one of his officials, Williams left not only impressed, but also thought by many to have Ohio State as his clear leader in his recruitment. Making the cut for Williams included Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Penn State, and of course Ohio State.


The 6-foot-1, 220-pound outside linebacker is ranked currently as the No. 12 prospect at his position for the current class as well as the No. 15 player in a loaded state of California. Coming in as a top 200 player in the nation, it’s easy to see why Kourt has over 20 total offers from many of the top programs. As mentioned, the Buckeye visit for Williams went extremely well. A decision is nearing and, as it stands right now, Ohio State is sitting very well for another elite defensive player.

An update from Nike’s The Opening


Nike’s The Opening is one of the premier camp on the recruiting circuit each year. While Buckeye fans certainly care for how well their current commits perform in The Opening events and contests, the gist of this update is to discuss how the commits are doing in the ears of players the Ohio State staff is targeting for their 2020 class.

Guys such as Julian Fleming, Lejond Cavazos and Jack Miller are great at exactly that. Without further adieu, here are the latest rumblings from what’s going on in Texas currently and around the rest of the country regarding the Buckeyes.

Current LSU commit Elias Ricks is a player the Buckeyes have long targeted. Even though he has been committed to LSU for a while now, Ohio State has not given up. In fact, while the staff has always laid the groundwork Mater Dei five-star, the current commits are doing well enough with Ricks that he has taken to media to say Ohio State “is in a real good spot”. While that commitment to LSU remains, Ryan Day may be getting closer to earning the “spatula” nickname just as Urban Meyer before him had.

In more positive news regarding Ohio State, the noise in the air surrounding Bijan Robinson continues to look good for the Buckeyes. While Day and staff continue to look for their running back in the 2020 class, Robinson, their top target is out there and trending their way. In fact, a West Coast Rivals.com writer, Adam Gorney, put in a “Future Cast” which is similar to the 247sports crystal ball for Robinson to Ohio State. A decision is nearing and if the current trend continues, Ryan Day and Tony Alford may very well have their running back in the 2020 class in the fold.

Quick Hits:

• 2021 four-star offensive center Ryan Linthicum (Damascus, MD/Damascus) named his top-8 schools over the weekend. Making the cut included Michigan, Clemson, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, LSU, North Carolina and Ohio State.
• 2021 five-star receiver Agiye Hall (Plant City, Florida/Armwood) released his top-12 schools over the weekend. Including Ohio State on his list, other programs such as Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas, Ole Miss, Oregon, USC, LSU and Arizona State all round out his top schools.
• According to Bucknuts analyst, Bill Kurelic, four-star safety Lathan Ransom is likely to decide on his college destination on July 16, his birthday, but a commitment may even come sooner. Also, Kurelic put in a crystal ball for four-star 2020 receiver, Mookie Cooper to the Buckeyes over the weekend.

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So, the B1G didn’t win and you fuckers are happy?



Lol so am I!

@DWashIII

Smooth Transition

DONALD WASHINGTON III
President & CEO

Born and raised just north of downtown Indianapolis, IN in the 38th and Park Avenue area, Donald Washington remained in a constant transitional state of existence that rarely offered him any stability or security during his core developmental childhood years. Although he grew up in a violent, drug ridden environment without consistent food sources (where free lunch at school was typically his only meal of the day), running water, or heat, all while watching his parents battle drug addiction, he used his circumstances as motivation to create a life that was worth living for himself and his family instead of allowing those experiences to shape his future in a negative way.

During his high school years Donald became a standout for his athletic abilities in track, basketball and football. He earned a full scholarship to play football at The Ohio State University which lead to him being drafted in the fourth round in 2009 by the Kansas City Chiefs. Facing yet another transition during his playing career, he experienced challenges that led him to play for the Canadian Football League (CFL) for two years while he worked his way back into the National Football League (NFL) all while simultaneously pushing forward in completing his degree in communications from tOSU. He overcame those obstacles and finally finished his professional playing career in 2016 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

During each phase of Donald’s journey from childhood to professional athlete he faced many challenging transitions. When football was over and the cleats were retired, Donald knew he had to give back to young people teaching them to use the strategies he has developed along the way. Donald now uses the platform he has gained through sports and spends his time devoted to serving youth in many cities across the country through his nonprofit foundation, Smooth Transition.

Big Ten names on 2019 NBA Summer League rosters
BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network

NBA Summer League opens Monday, with three days of action in Salt Lake City and California, and continues Friday in Vegas. Here's a look at Big Ten names on the rosters.

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What does Darrion Henry bring to Ohio State?
Patrick Mayhorn via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeyes have struck again.

If the college football world can take anything from the last decade of Alabama dominance, and now the rise of Clemson as a potential dynasty, it should be the importance of elite defensive tackle play. Just look at some of the names Alabama and Clemson have brought through their programs up front. Names like Marcell Dareus, Terrence Cody, A’Shawn Robinson, Jonathan Allen, Dexter Lawrence, Christian Wilkins, Quinnen Williams.

That’s an unbelievable list. That kind of power in the middle of a defense can, as we saw in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl (playoff edition), absolutely wreck any offense. It can completely transform how a defense plays.

While the Ohio State Buckeyes have produced plenty of elite talent on the outside of their lines, the interior hasn’t reached the Clemson or Alabama levels yet, despite excellent coaching from Larry Johnson. Part of that can’t be helped. There are more elite defensive tackles in the south than there are in the north, and Clemson, Alabama, and really the entire southern part of college football are always going to have an advantage for the dominant tackles.

It does seem, however, like Ohio State is refocusing on defensive tackle recruiting under Ryan Day, after it slipped in the past few years. The Buckeyes have already landed Ty Hamilton, who I consider to be a bit of a diamond in the rough, and today, they landed a commitment from four-star defensive tackle and Cincinnati product Darrion Henry.

So, is Henry the type of dominant defensive tackle that the best teams in college football need to have? It certainly seems like it.

On the field


The first thing that I look for when watching a defensive tackle recruit is versatility. It’s not that hard to be a massive space filler, and that doesn’t necesarily reflect talent. It’s much more impressive when a tackle shows off athletic ability by lining up at tackle, end, and anywhere else he’s needed.

On his tape, I count four different spots for Henry: tackle, end, stand-up edge, and tight end. That gives a pretty resounding answer to the versatility question. Henry is a tremendous athlete for his size (6-foot-4.5, 279 pounds), which means Ohio State can likely add a little more weight to his frame to make him even more disruptive inside.

He has great quickness off the snap, and while he doesn’t have the best bend in the world, his strength and athletic ability make him a threat as both a power rusher and as a more refined finesse rusher. His move set isn’t quite there yet, but he flashes the ability to become a Michael Bennett-esque figure, where he can do whatever Ohio State needs.

On top of his quickness and strength, Henry is excellent at the point of contact. He knocks linemen back with ease, and has a quick first move after that initial contact. He rarely misses when he makes contact with the ball carrier, and I don’t see him going for arm tackles, which means he’s going to be an absolute handful for opposing teams to clear out when they want to run up the middle.

That’s exactly what Ohio State needs: an elite athlete, with good size, a solid fundamental base, and plenty of versatility. Those are the exact kind of guys Clemson and Alabama churn out every single year, and those are the exact kind of guys that make it so difficult to move the ball. Henry isn’t a space filler, he’s a football player. That’s what you want at tackle.

In the class


Henry is the 15th member of Ohio State’s 2020 class, and the latest commitment from last weekend’s mass visit, joining Clark Phillips III, who committed on Friday, Jayden Ballard, who committed last Thursday, and Cody Simon, who joined earlier today. He’s the fifth defender in the class, along with Phillips, Simon, Lejond Cavazos, and fellow defensive tackle Ty Hamilton. He’s also a pretty different player from Hamilton, which means that the two should compliment each other pretty well.

Henry committed to Ohio State over offers from, well, just about every team in the country. This recruitment really came down to the Buckeyes, and a quartet of SEC schools (Tennessee, Alabama, LSU and Georgia). Tennessee threatened for a second, as did LSU, but Ohio State was never in serious danger here. Larry Johnson rarely misses on top in-state line talent, and he wasn’t missing here.

Henry’s commitment moves Ohio State from their number five spot into the fourth spot in the 2020 class rankings. This, paired with the Simon commitment, was just enough to leapfrog Georgia. Next up, LSU, who holds a pretty sizable lead for the third spot.

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BOOM! 4-star defensive tackle Darrion Henry commits to Ohio State
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 defensive line factory keeps on churning

The Ohio State Buckeyes have produced top-tier NFL talent along the defensive line in three of the last four years. Darrion Henry wants to be a part of the action, as the 2020 four-star defensive tackle has committed to the Buckeyes. Henry will join Ty Hamilton as the second defensive lineman to join the program in the 2020 class.


The 6-foot-4.5, 279-pound defensive lineman is yet another Ohio product for the in-state-focused Ryan Day, coming out of Princeton High School in Cincinnati. Henry is listed by the 247sports composite as the No. 11 defensive tackle in the country and No. 2 recruit in the state of Ohio. Internally, 247sports has him rated a bit lower, coming in as the No. 18 DT and No. 4 in the state.

The DT was very highly sought after, having received 26 offers in total. Henry is a huge win for the Buckeyes, especially having been able to lure him away from his hometown up-and-coming Cincinnati Bearcats, who cracked the lineman’s top six back at the end of April. Henry made official visits to both LSU and Tennessee before his official visit to Ohio State this Friday.

Henry will join high school teammate Paris Johnson Jr. on the Buckeyes, with the program having now hauled in the top two recruits in the state. He will get to continue to mold his craft with guidance from defensive line guru Larry Johnson as Ohio State looks to further establish what is shaping up to be a phenomenal 2020 class.

Check out highlights from Henry’s junior season:

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What does Cody Simon bring to Ohio State?
Patrick Mayhorn via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The New Jersey product could be a star.

Recruiting is a fickle game. No matter how good a coach is at recruiting, how good a school is at producing talent and winning games, or any other factors, there are some situations where the personalities just don’t quite gel. We saw it with Jackson Carman a few years back, nearly with Zach Harrison in the 2019 class, and prior to the promotion of Ryan Day, it would’ve likely been the case with Cody Simon.

That’s not to say that the prior regime at Ohio State wasn’t excellent at recruiting, it was just that some players didn’t quite fit with the personality of the program. Simon, in all likelihood, would have been such a player. Ohio State had very few ties to New Jersey on their old defensive staff, and it wasn’t until early May that the Buckeyes actually extended an offer to him.

Now, just over a month later, Simon has joined the Ohio State Buckeyes’ class. What does that mean for the Buckeyes?

On the field


Just like with the pursuit of Kourt Williams, Ohio State going after Cody Simon shows a commitment to fundamentally changing the way that Ohio State plays defense. Simon, at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, doesn’t look like your typical Ohio State linebacker. He isn’t a hulking, bulky, lumbering figure in the middle of the field. He’s an athlete first and foremost, just like Kourt Williams. While Williams is likely to play bullet in Columbus (if he chooses the Buckeyes) and Simon is being recruited to middle linebacker, the theme sticks with both.

That theme? Speed, and instinct. Simon has a nose for the ball, and the raw athletic ability to seek the ball out on every single play. He’s a legitimately great athlete, with rare speed, great burst, and lateral movement the likes of which Ohio State hasn’t seen since Darron Lee suited up in Columbus.

All of that shows most when Simon is disrupting running plays in the backfield, which he does frequently. He has great vision and general field awareness that he pairs with that athletic ability to blow through the line and blow up running backs before they can get to the line of scrimmage. It feels like it’s been a few years since we saw a Buckeye linebacker do that.

Now, Simon isn’t just a tackler. He’s capable in zone, and because he’ll be playing middle linebacker, that’s likely the only real coverage skill he’ll need. As long as he has the awareness and ability to survey the middle of the field within 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, he’ll be doing exactly what the Buckeyes want from him. His job in pass coverage is to stop anything and everything across the middle, underneath.

With Simon, the main knock seems to be his size, but as I said, that’s a feature for the Buckeyes, not a negative. He doesn’t look like a lot of the great linebackers in Buckeye history, but he doesn’t need to, because Ohio State’s new staff doesn’t want to play football in the past. They want a new prototype for linebackers, and that new prototype looks a whole lot like Cody Simon.

In the class


Simon is the 14th member of Ohio State’s 2020 class, and the first linebacker in the class, though he may be joined sooner than later by bullet/outside linebacker Kourt Williams, who also visited Ohio State last weekend.

His pledge serves as a pretty massive victory for Jeff Hafley and Al Washington. Hafley’s connection’s in New Jersey got Ohio State into this battle, and Washington sold the deal by emphasizing speed in Ohio State’s defense at every chance he gets. It’s obvious that Ohio State plans to do things different, and that was the sell to Simon.

From a more quantitative place, this commitment moves Ohio State way up the 247Sports team rankings, as they jump from eight to five, over top of Florida, Notre Dame and Michigan. The Buckeyes are just a point away from Georgia and the No. 4 spot, and they’ll look to make the jump at 5 p.m. ET today, when Darrion Henry is set to announce his commitment.

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4-star outside linebacker Cody Simon commits to Ohio State
Geoff Hammersley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeyes pick up a defensive commitment for 2020.

The Ohio State Buckeyes had a solid commitment base on offense for 2020. Now, their defense is getting packed with top talent as four-star outside linebacker Cody Simon announced his verbal pledge to the scarlet and gray.


Simon comes in at 6-foot-1, 218 pounds, and is considered by the 247sports composite as the 154th best prospect in the class, 10th best OLB, and fourth best overall prospect from New Jersey.

He holds over 15 offers, rebuking the likes of Nebraska, Boston College, Rutgers, Notre Dame and Duke in favor of the Buckeyes. Earlier in June, he took one of his official visits to Lincoln, Neb., to see Scott Frost’s program. However, the Cornhuskers didn’t wind up getting the defensive star.

Accolade wise, Simon was selected to The Opening Finals. At the Opening Regionals, he recorded a 40-time of 4.62 seconds, a shuttle of 4.28 seconds, and a 38.90-inch vertical. With the likes of Mickey Marotti helping him at Ohio State, expect Simon to get bigger, faster and stronger before stepping onto the field.

For Al Washington and Jeff Hafley, the key recruiters for Simon, the Buckeye coaches secure a big win by getting the St. Peters Prep (N.J.) prospect to commit to OSU. That prep school is one of the best on the East Coast, and hopefully, this will strengthen a pipeline to the Buckeyes.

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Podcast: Reviewing (and previewing) Ohio State baseball
Geoff Hammersley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeyes achieved a trip to the NCAA regionals, but what should we expect next season?

Outside the Shoe is a podcast that focuses on sports outside of Ohio State football and basketball.

Time for another mini-podcast.

The baseball season is now over. The Vanderbilt Commodores, who hosted Ohio State in the Nashville regional, defeated the Michigan Wolverines in the College World Series to win the national championship in three games.

While the Wolverines didn’t win the title, the Big Ten was able to send five teams to the Baseball Championship. Meredith Hein and Geoff Hammersley review OSU’s season, one that featured MLB draft picks and All-Americans. Additionally, they’ll preview how the Big Ten can improve upon their success going forward.

Podcast Breakdown


0:00 — Intro
0:43 — What was so special about this season for the Buckeyes?
3:09 — What does Ohio State have to do to take it to the next level?
7:10 — What does it mean for the Big Ten to get five teams in the regionals?
10:17 — Best Big Ten team in position to make a run in 2020?

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bukIpower said:

Between the 2 of them only 1 squats 600 though

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So one’s a squat dot?

It is bad enough when Michigan beats us out for a recruit I really wanted.

It is soooo much worse when they beat us out for a recruit I really wanted and I don't even know who they are.

I have played Watch Dogs 1 & 2. I absolutely love this series. This game seems super ambitious and I hope it lives up to what they say you can do.

- PermaDeath (character dies and stays dead)
- Recruit anyone in the game (I have doubts)
- So many new unmanned vehicle types
- London (1 was in Chicago and 2 was in San Fran/Oakland)

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June 26th: The first post-BBQ commitment is in the books, and it's not anyone from the class of 2020. Instead, 2021 offensive lineman Ben Christman (Richfield OH Revere; 6'6" 295 lbs; #9 OT, #44 overall) pledged to Ohio State just days after attending the weekend Bash. Christman is ranked as the second-best prospect in the State of Ohio for the Class of 2021 (fellow Buckeye verbal, DE Jack Sawyer, being the top-ranked prospect), and his commitment keeps Ohio State rolling on the recruiting trail.

In other recruiting news, it appears that 2020 offensive lineman Josh Fryar (Beech Grove IN Beech Grove; 6'5" 295 lbs; #7 OC, #372 overall) did in fact make his official visit to Columbus last weekend. After maintaining Twitter silence for several days since his visit, which many interpreted negatively for Ohio State, Fryar gave a very positive interview to recruiting guru Steve Wiltfong. Within minutes, the crystal balls started rolling in for the Buckeyes. Fryar is expected to announce his college selection sometime in July, and his choice is expected to be Ohio State.

Speechless.

Dead to me

mendensa said:

So, as far as LB recruiting..... Melton, Mohan, Thomas and Mitchell now out?

and

Kourt and Simon are the 2 we are banking (hoping) on. Geez, this week really narrowed down the list of possibilities @ the LB position. Any other names out there?

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I'm sure OSU could circle back to in state guys later in the process. But if we land Williams and Simon, than there will be no need.

Downfall of our society... rubes and access to social media.

*Don't make me post that gif.

Buckeye86 said:

I’m glad they were able to pull a quote that added so much depth to the story.

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It's a lifetime movie waiting to happen.