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tOSU Recruiting Discussion

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Urban Meyer and the Jacksonville Jaguars will have their hands full Sunday when the Indianapolis Colts, led by the NFL’s second-leading rusher Jonathan Taylor, play host to Jacksonville. Meyer is certainly no stranger to Taylor, whose college career at Wisconsin crossed paths with the Jaguars coach while he was leading Ohio State.

Meyer, during this week’s press conference, was asked about his past encounters with Taylor while still in college. The first-year NFL coach admitted frustration with his Ohio State assistants for not making an effort to sign him out of high school.

“I used to get so upset with our coaches at Ohio State, like ‘Why don’t we have him?’ We didn’t even know about him,” Meyer said. “They had like five (good running backs) in a row. I mean, every year I would scream at our coaches, back when I screamed a lot. I’d scream at our staff, ‘How did we miss on him?’”
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In fairness, Ohio State was not the only major program to miss out on Taylor, who was a three-star recruit out of Salem, N.J. The 247Sports Composite rated Taylor as the nation’s No. 24-ranked running back and the No. 371 prospect overall in the 2017 recruiting class. Taylor’s only other reported FBS offers came from Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Temple and Army.
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Just sayin': Ohio State didn't come up dry with running backs in the 2017 class, they got some kid from Texas named JK Dobbins. That's how a B1G 2nd tier team like Cheese can be competitive; identify, recruit, and get those "diamonds in the ruff" (i.e. those under rated recruits, a 3 star recruits that develops into 4 and 5 star players).
If I were him, I'd be more worried about the assistants who couldn't coach their position groups to save their lives and only had their jobs because of personal relationships with Urban, but that's just me.
While Meyer and Ohio State got the best of Wisconsin in the majority of their head-to-head meetings
The majority? Did I miss a loss to Wisconsin sometime during the last decade?
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Full sized Replicate Helmet shipped to UK

I'm guessing at his advanced state, he has a hard time remembering his own address, let alone a URL. (But I bet he can still find a stripper with a monkey).
My MedicAlert bracelet has 3 important things on it:

My address, my BP password, and the URL for the website of PoleAssassin.
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Niagara at #17 Ohio State, November 12 @ 7PM EST BTN+

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"They've got some guards that are a handful that we struggled to contain, particularly early as they got going," said OSU coach Chris Holtmann. "But I thought our guys had some good responses and some really good moments. I was proud of some of the growth with some of those guys.

"I thought our backcourt with Jamari (Wheeler), Meechie (Johnson) and Malachi (Branham) had some really good moments as well. I thought we took a step forward with our guard play. We also had Justice (Sueing) coming back. This was a hard fought win. Give Niagara a lot of credit for that."

Forward E.J. Liddell led the Buckeyes (2-0) with a career-high 29 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots. He was 9 of 15 from the floor (3 of 6 on threes) and 8 of 12 at the foul line.

"He has been huge for us offensively and defensively," senior forward Kyle Young said of Liddell. "You can see what he can do at the offensive end. I know he saved me on defense when my guy got by me."
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OH OT Aamil Wagner (Notre Dame Verbal)

Read on 11W that his brother is also set to be hired as a GA at UK.

Apparently he is a GA at ND.

Notre Dame football recruiting: Four-star OL Aamil Wagner commits to Fighting Irish on CBS Sports HQ

Notre Dame landed a huge football commitment on Thursday when four-star offensive tackle Aamil Wagner picked the Fighting Irish live on CBS Sports HQ. In an unexpected move, Wagner chose Notre Dame over Kentucky, where his older brother, Ahmad Wagner, is a graduate assistant and former receiver.

"Notre Dame made it easy for me to see life after football. I felt like Notre Dame gave me the best opportunity to be a great person after football," Wagner said of his commitment. "It was really close. Kentucky has my brother there ... I really connected to the players and coaches there. It was really difficult, but I felt like Notre Dame set me up best for my future."

Entire article: https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...r-commits-to-fighting-irish-on-cbs-sports-hq/
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All-NFL OSU team

Now is the best time an all-OSU alum squad would ever field for a 17 game NFL schedule. When comparing to other schools, Alabama seems to be the only other that would be close to as balanced. If mainly healthy this team would figure to vie for a Super bowl. Edit; Ryan Shazier would’ve fit absolutely perfectly as a heat seeking missile at middle or outside linebacker Edit; it’s also crazy how Ronnie Hickman would fit great in that very role on this team when 3 months ago it was wondered by the majority if he’d see much playing time

QB Justin Fields/Dwayne Haskins
RB Zeke Elliott/JK Dobbins/Carlos Hyde
WR Michael Thomas/Chris Olave
WR Terry McLaurin/ Parris Campbell
WR Curtis Samuel/KJ Hill/Garrett Wilson
TE Nick Vannett/Luke Farrell/RashodBerry
LT Taylor Decker/Thayer Munford
LG Andrew Norwell/ Pat Elflein
C Corey Linsley/ Josh Myers
RG Jonah Jackson/ Billy Price
RT Jamarco Jones/Isaiah Prince

LE Nick Bosa/Chase Young
DT Cam Heyward/Dre’mont Jones
NT Jonathan Hankins/DaVon Hamilton
RE Joey Bosa/Sam Hubbard
OLB Jerome Baker/Ronnie Hickman
MLB Raekwon McMillan/Malik Harrison
ROLB Pete Werner/Baron Browning
CB Marshon Lattimore/Jeff Okudah
CB Denzel Ward/Eli Apple
NB Brad Roby/Kendall Sheffield
FS Jordan Fuller/Malik Hooker
SS Malcolm Jenkins/Vonn Bell
K Noah Ruggles
P Cameron Johnston
LS Jake McQauide
ST Nate Ebner

practice squad: Bin Victor, Wyatt Davis, Jonathon Cooper, Tommy Togiai, Justin Hilliard, Michael Jordan, Gareon Conley, Braxton Miller, Devin Smith,

LGHL Column: The perfect storm that led to nine mid-season coaching firings

Column: The perfect storm that led to nine mid-season coaching firings
Meredith Hein
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

It benefits more parties than you might think, but not all.

Gary Patterson got the better of TCU. The second-longest tenured head coach in the FBS, Patterson and the Horned Frogs, “mutually agreed to immediately part ways” after 20 (and a half) seasons.

Patterson can start interviewing for one of the many coaching vacancies arising around college football (and the NFL) at his leisure. He’s just 61 years old, and has built an impressive resume at TCU — the 3-5 mark on the 2021 season notwithstanding. There are already a number of high-profile vacancies, and even more athletic directors who might be sniffing in Patterson’s direction, hoping to snag him rapidly once they can rid themselves of their incumbents at the end of the season.

In the end, Patterson came away as the winner. Speculation says that Patterson could have stuck around Fort Worth through the end of the season, similar to the situation we see with Ed Orgeron and LSU, but the veteran coach opted to split immediately, possibly to better position himself for new roles rather than biding his time as a lame duck.

The losers in this situation, as they always are when it comes to coaching changes, are the student athletes. But more and more, every other group seems to be benefiting to the point where the needs of student athletes who get left behind when there is a coaching change are overlooked.

Already this season, nine head coaches have been fired. Many more assistants have gotten the ax (see: Nebraska’s entire offensive staff this past weekend). That means that at least nine athletic directors thought the best course of action for their program was to leave teams with interim head coaches and players with diminishing hopes of bowl wins, rivalry victories or storybook endings.

It’s not all bad news for student athletes, though it’s less of a benefit for athletes themselves and more of a PR boost for athletic directors. In short, the transfer portal makes these changes less abhorrent. Underclassmen in particular have greater freedom to bounce to a new program. These players might even be more highly sought after, because their transfer wasn’t because of some sort of self-inflicted challenge, and are instead an unfortunate result of a bad coaching situation.

There’s also the power that players have as a result of name, image and likeness. Players have greater optionality in terms of ideal landing spot not only because of possible coaches, but also because of the opportunity to capitalize on their NIL.

Players have more of an advantage and greater bargaining chips than ever before, which has surely played into ADs decisions to cut coaches loose early. If the impact to players is less, there’s less of a public relations crisis at hand.

Then there’s the consideration of future players. The early signing period for recruits has been cited as one of the contributing causes for the uptick in coaching firings as of late. Athletic directors want to signal that changes are coming (and hoping that those changes will actually turn out well), which would drive rising recruits to programs that might have even successfully hired a new coach a la Georgia Southern and Texas Tech.

That’s because Dec. 15 comes much faster than coaches and ADs expect. Initially instituted in 2017, the early signing period adds another season to the recruiting cycle, which gives no wiggle room for programs that want to make a change following bowl season (which doesn’t even start until Dec. 18 in 2021).

Additionally, there is massive instability in the college football universe now, driven by a lack of parity that means anyone not called Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Georgia and maybe Notre Dame (even Clemson is removed from the list) is fighting for a shot at the outside looking in.

Even LSU, which won a national title in recent memory, agreed to part ways with its championship-winning head coach at the end of the season. Every program is searching for an edge in this College Football Playoff landscape that might just give it a shot at a New Year’s Six bowl.

But now, a 3-5 record (yes, a season that is not yet lost), is not good enough. Continuity, which was an anchor of the TCU program, is no longer as relevant. The college football season is a marathon, not a sprint, and a win over a rival in the final game of the season or a bowl game win to move to 7-6 used to, on occasion, be enough to give a coach one more shot, one more season.

This impatience has been exacerbated by COVID-19. While there were the usual rounds of firings and hirings following the 2020 season, we could reasonably expect that many programs held onto their coaches for longer than they’d anticipated because, frankly, 2020 was just weird. The truncated seasons many coaches saw did not provide enough data points for administrators to make informed decisions on the future state.

In the end, coaches are motivated to leave early (if they’re going to get fired, they might as well cut loose sooner and be compensated, likely as defined in their contracts, through the end of the season). Administrators, ever the scrupulous businesspeople, are keen to cut things that aren’t working as quickly as possible and signal their open roles to potential candidates. Even some student athletes can effectively manage changes mid-season, with some even benefiting — though we do not have enough data points to indicate if mid-season transfers because of coaching changes will become an actual trend.

Yes, the only losers are the student athletes who really want to be there: the seniors for whom this is the last stop, the young players who were not widely recruited and who have no college film, the walk-ons. And this perfect storm of coaching shifts doesn’t work for them.

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LGHL Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Purdue comes to Columbus looking to shock the world — again.

Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Purdue comes to Columbus looking to shock the world — again.
Gene Ross
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

The Buckeyes have a date with the upset-minded Boilermakers this Saturday.

Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast ‘Hangout in the Holy Land’ is back for a brand new season with brand new co-hosts! We will be now be coming at you twice a week to preview and recap each Ohio State game as well as any and all Buckeye news. Join LGHL’s co-managing editor Gene Ross alongside his co-host Josh Dooley as they cover everything from football to basketball to recruiting and more!

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio


Ohio State opened up as 20-point favorites against Purdue, according to the DraftKings Sportsbook, which seems pretty high given the Buckeyes’ struggles against Nebraska and the Boilermakers’ upset against Michigan State. Ohio State fans are well aware of what can happen when you don’t take Jeff Brohm’s team seriously, and their win over the Spartans has only accentuated what this squad is capable of when playing the role of spoiler.

Gene and Josh break down what went wrong the last time these two teams met, and discuss why this year’s game will be different. The guys certainly don’t think this will be a walk in the park for the Buckeyes, but Ohio State can win comfortably if they execute and fix some of their silly mistakes from the past couple games.

Hangout in the Holy Land is dropping two episodes per week, with a preview episode breaking down each of Ohio State’s opponents and a postgame reactions episode following the game each weekend. Be sure to download and listen in wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple to let us know your thoughts and how we can make things even better!

You can also follow us on Twitter @HolyLandPod, where we will want to hear from you guys even more! If there’s anything you’d like us to talk about on the show, @ us and let us know!

As always, Go Bucks.


Connect with the Podcast:
Twitter: @HolyLandPod

Connect with Gene:
Twitter: @Gene_Ross23

Connect with Josh:
Twitter: @jdooleybuckeye

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

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LGHL Buckeyes Crootin’ 2022 Class-In-Review: Cornerback Terrance Brooks

Buckeyes Crootin’ 2022 Class-In-Review: Cornerback Terrance Brooks
Shane Bailey
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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Photo Edit: Shane Bailey

In this series, Shane “@BuckeyesCrootin” Bailey will introduce you to every member of the Ohio State 2022 recruiting class.

With all of the offensive commitments scouted and analyzed, we are now moving on to the defense — the side of the ball subject to lots of criticism the past few years. However, that is changing fast as the Buckeyes seem to have found an adequate play caller in Matt Barnes. That and the youth movement the Buckeyes have committed to has led to an improved unit, finally playing young stars J.T Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer alongside Denzel Burke who was already getting significant snaps.

An infusion of defensive talent is needed once again for the 2022 recruiting class, and so far this group is shaping up to have a ton of potential future All-Americans.

Current Defensive Commitments


Edge: Kenyatta Jackson Jr.
Defensive Tackles: None
Linebackers: C.J. Hicks, Gabe Powers
Defensive Backs: Terrance Brooks, Jyaire Brown, Ryan Turner and Kye Stokes

Terrance Brooks

Cornerback — Little Elm High School, Little Elm (Texas) — 5-foot-11, 190 lbs


Terrance Brooks is the brand of cornerback I am the biggest fan of. His skillset is one I view as the best foundation for a shutdown corner to grow from. He has natural athletic skills that are tough to teach, and the areas he does lack in can be taught when he gets to Columbus. He is the son of former Texas A&M Aggie and San Francisco 49er Chet Brooks.

Brooks is the No. 48 player nationally, the No. 8 cornerback and the No. 10 player in the talent rich state of Texas. The Lone Star State has been kind yet again to the Buckeyes in this recruitment. Have no doubt about it, this was one of the biggest recruiting battle wins of this cycle over Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide. Saban was heavily involved personally in trying to sway Brooks to Alabama. Any time you can go head to head with the best and win is a great thing, especially when it comes to not only gaining a potential All-American, but keeping one away from your competition. Thus is the constant battle of recruiting between these top programs.

Ok now on to the skills I mentioned earlier and why I am such a huge fan of Brooks’ game. One of my favorite qualities in a corner is the ability to play press man coverage. You can put a corner on an island and just let them do their thing. Brooks absolutely excels at this aspect of the game. It also helps that he has a massive wingspan, which he can utilize in the press coverage game.

His press coverage skills are perfect for becoming the type of player that makes it so whoever is calling plays for the Buckeyes defense can simply leave him on an island and not have to worry about him. Much like Denzel Burke right now, I believe Brooks can contribute right away at Ohio State. When he gets his hands on the wide receiver off the line of scrimmage in press coverage, he shows the ability to really disrupt the rhythm of the route and get the player off balance. This leads to a lot of timing issues for the opposing quarterback in trying to get passes completed.

When he isn't playing press coverage, he shows elite closing speed out of his breaks. As soon as he sees the ball in the air, his change of direction is elite and looks effortless as he cuts and breaks up passes. He limits the opponents’ catch window and windows of opportunity with his closing speed and ability to read the quarterback’s eyes. He is a high IQ defender who has a natural feel for the flow of where the play is going, and does not get pulled in or leave his assignment on play-action pass plays.

In the rare occurrence that he does bite on a fake or a play action pass, he shows excellent recovery, and in a few instances even manages to pick off the ball for a touchdown (As you can see in his highlight film below). You can see the ultimate effort play at the 0:57 mark in his highlight tape below. I am not sure if they called this a touchdown or not, as the ref was not in the frame, but the speed and the effort Brooks shows to run down the offensive player from all the way across the field and possibly save a touchdown is very impressive.


Buckeye fans have lamented for years that they want the defensive backs to turn their head and look for the football in coverage. We aren’t totally sure if that’s more on the coaching or the players — I tend to believe its a coaching method that many of us don’t approve of. Regardless, Brooks shows a solid ability to always turn his head and locate the football, rarely only relying on a face guarding technique. He flips his hips in coverage and runs well with the opposition, and has a knack for always looking back for the football.

In the run game, Brooks is an aggressive defender that shows the ability to really hit hard. He has several plays where he sheds his block easily and chases down the running back using great angles. I think every one of us gets sick when we see a Buckeye defender taking a poor angle to make a tackle, but that will not be an issue with Brooks. Now of course, it is a highlight tape for a reason and there may be plays where he took a poor angle or missed a tackle, but the tape shows a great foundation for building blocks. Once he is in Columbus and those building blocks get added to his game, the sky is the limit for his potential.

I foresee a five-star ratings bump in his future and I definitely understand why Saban fought so hard (and lost) to take this kid from the Buckeyes. The Texas schools will still try and flip him until signing day — A&M and Texas in particular — but I have no doubts he is solid in his Ohio State commitment. Whoever the gardeners are in the Buckeye Grove better get their Buckeye tree prepped and ready for when Brooks is done with his time in Columbus, because he has All-American first round cornerback written all over him and will definitely be a great representative of BIA.

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LGHL Play Like a Girl podcast: About last weekend...

Play Like a Girl podcast: About last weekend...
Meredith Hein
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Plus, more on Ohio State’s upcoming matchup against Purdue.

On LGHL’s Play Like a Girl podcast, Megan and Meredith talk everything from Ohio State sports to advocacy for women in sports and all the happenings in between.

Check out the podcast below, and make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts:


Welcome back! Meredith didn’t get to watch Ohio State’s nailbiter against Nebraska, so Megan caught her up on a less-than-stellar rushing performance from TreVeyon Henderson, questionable comments from CJ Stroud and fireworks from kicker (yes, the kicker) Noah Ruggles.

But wait there’s more! Because college hoops started tonight and (though the pair didn’t know it at the time), the Buckeyes notched their first win of the season over Akron. Of course, Ohio State has a premiere matchup against the Duke Blue Devils coming up at the end of the month as part of Coach K’s farewell tour.

Speaking of coaching stability (or lack thereof), Meredith and Megan get into the mid-season firings of an unprecedented nine coaches...and marvel at one of them was not, in fact, Nebraska’s Scott Frost.


Contact Megan Husslein
Twitter: @meganhusslein

Contact Meredith Hein
Twitter: @MeredithHein

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MotS&G Ryan Day: C.J Stroud to rest this week (Shoulder) – Meet Kyle McCord

Ryan Day: C.J Stroud to rest this week (Shoulder) – Meet Kyle McCord
Mike
via our good friends at Men of the Scarlet and Gray
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State fans will get their first look at former 5-star recruit Kyle McCord this weekend against Akron.

C.J. Stroud has started the first three games for the Buckeyes but will rest his shoulder and will only be used in an “emergency” capacity this Saturday vs the Zips via The Ryan Day Show podcast.

Ohio State will have both Kyle McCord and Jack Miller available at QB.

McCord, true freshman, enrolled in Columbus back in January and this Saturday will be his first live action for the Buckeyes.

He is from Philadelphia

McCord, along with Buckeye teammate Marvin Harrison Jr. led St. Joseph Prep to three straight PIAA state titles in Pennsylvania.

McCord won the starting quarterback job as just a sophomore and passed for 2,883 yards and 38 touchdowns.

As a junior, McCord faced an injury that was disclosed, and he missed four weeks — but he still threw for 2,399 yards and 31 touchdowns.

McCord was an absolute stud his senior year of high school leading St. Joseph Prep to another state championship and in that game, McCord completed 21-for-28 passes for 337 yards and 4 TDs. (Before that game he threw for 6 touchdowns in the 6A semifinal)

According to (Ohio State Buckeyes) McCord ended his high school career with 6,887 and 88 passing touchdowns — setting league and city records.

— He also went on to receive an All-American Bowl and Elite 11 Finals invite.

He was a 5-star recruit

According to 247Sports Composite rankings, McCord was a 5-star ranked the #28 prospect in the country and the #6 ranked QB.

McCord chose the Buckeyes over Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Texas A&M and many more.


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LGHL Why is this News? All the articles and tweets Buckeye fans need for November 10, 2021

Why is this News? All the articles and tweets Buckeye fans need for November 10, 2021
Gene Ross
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

All the Buckeye news thats fit to re-print.

Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.

Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop-shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.

You’re welcome!

For your Earholes...


Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio

On the Gridiron


Ohio State slides into College Football Playoff’s top four, joining Georgia, Alabama and Oregon
- Mark Schlabach, ESPN

Michigan now ranked ahead of Michigan State despite losing the head-to-head...


@OhioStateFB moves up to the top 4 and @UMichFootball jumps into the top 6 in the latest CFP rankings! pic.twitter.com/3EPsXPVSM9

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 10, 2021

Four Buckeyes named to the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year watch list
- Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud named Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist
- Kevin Harrish, Eleven Warriors

Ohio State WR Garrett Wilson will practice Tuesday after missing Nebraska game
- Staff, The Athletic

Car-crunching George Karlaftis and four more Purdue players Ohio State football fans should worry about
- Nathan Baird, Cleveland.com

It appears that Justin Fields guy is still pretty good!


The highest-graded QB in Week 9

Justin Fields - 90.5 pic.twitter.com/P66qIlBZeN

— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) November 9, 2021

How Stroud, JSN’s growing chemistry serves as bright spot for Ohio State’s lost offense
- Stephen Means, Cleveland.com

Quarterback Quinn Ewers Feeling Comfortable, Earning More Reps In Practice
- Andrew Lind, Sports Illustrated

Ohio State’s Jack Miller suspended indefinitely, Quinn Ewers is ‘making progress
- Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts

Mike Mayock admits Raiders drafted Damon Arnette despite ‘significant concern’ with character
- Levi Damien, USA Today

On the Hardwood


Taylor Alums Chris Holtmann, John Groce prepare for emotional opener
- Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch

Jamari Wheeler feeling at home at Ohio State, excited to begin career as a Buckeye
- Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts

Day by day, Kyle Young improving as he eyes Ohio State return
- Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch

Moments that mattered: Ohio State’s 67-66 season-opening victory over Akron
- Connor Lemons, LGHL

Zed Key’s game-winning layup seals 67-66 win over Akron; E.J. Liddell carries Buckeyes
- Stephen Means, Cleveland.com

Zed Key called GAME.


Zed Key gets it done at the last second and @OhioStateHoops comes out on top! pic.twitter.com/lgwkDlUbqn

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) November 10, 2021

Women’s Basketball: Greene suffers season-ending knee injury
- Patrick Engels, The Lantern

Outside The Shoe and Schott


Women’s Swim and Dive: Akron, Denison up next for Buckeyes
- Ohio State Athletics

Men’s Hockey: Dobeš earns B1G Second Star of the Week accolades
- Ohio State Athletics

Track and Field: Indoor and outdoor schedules announced
- Ohio State Athletics


♂️ If 1️⃣6️⃣ Covelli centers worth of fans donated blood, Columbus blood supply would be full! Beat TTUN and donate blood with @BloodCenterOH at the blood battle‼️

➕: https://t.co/XnYoOcWO4u#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/p2J3XgCc37

— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) November 9, 2021

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LGHL 4-star OT from Florida planning Ohio State visit for next weekend

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


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Payton Kirkland | Andrew Ivins, 247Sports

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

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

Kirkland plans OSU trip


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

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

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

Buckeyes out for Wagner?


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

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

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

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

Quick Hits

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

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LGHL Moments that mattered: Ohio State’s 67-66 season-opening victory over Akron

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


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Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zed (is the) Key


Zed (@iamzedkey) with the first ✌️ pointer for @OhioStateHoops . @B1GMBBall is officially underway! pic.twitter.com/dqirXfJwuh

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 9, 2021

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

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

Ahrens’ ya glad we still have Justin?


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

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

Liddell’s 8-0 run


E.J. Liddell shows off of his many skills here with the p u t b a c k dunk . @EasyE2432 // @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/sv04HVSlkG

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 9, 2021

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

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

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

Welcome to Columbus, Joey Brunk!


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

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

The Zips hop right back in it


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

Key’s block party


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

Buckeyes go cold without Liddell


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

Akron takes the lead


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

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

Ali Ali triple for the lead


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

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

Branham’s biggest shot yet


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

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

Ali Ali does it again


OMG — Ali Ali just hit an impossible game-tying 3 for Akron and was fouled

pic.twitter.com/MVn57bO25z

— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) November 10, 2021

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

Key for the win!


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

Up Next:


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

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LGHL Comparing former OSU QBs running abilities to C.J. Stroud

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


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

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

Justin Fields (2019-2020)

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Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

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

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

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

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

Dwayne Haskins (2018)

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Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images

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

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

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

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

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

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Set Number: X159934 TK1

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

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

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


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

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

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LGHL You’re Nuts: Which former Ohio State player has been the best in the NFL this year?

You’re Nuts: Which former Ohio State player has been the best in the NFL this year?
Brett Ludwiczak
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images

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

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

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

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

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


We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.

Brett’s answer: Sam Hubbard - DE, Cincinnati Bengals


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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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