Ohio State places Urban Meyer on administrative leave, per reports
Patrick Mayhorn via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State is without their head coach one month before the 2018 season, as they conduct an investigation

Following reports from Brett McMurphy that Urban Meyer was aware of Zach Smith’s alleged domestic abuse accusations in 2015, the head coach has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, just a few hours after the initial reports of his knowledge broke.


This comes on the heels of the original reporting on Zach Smith’s history of domestic violence, which led to the WR coach’s firing just over a week ago. At Big Ten media days, Urban claimed that he had no knowledge of the 2015 incident, and that he had looked into the 2009 problems and decided they were not an issue.


With Urban no longer at the helm until further notice, Ohio State will likely look inward for an interim head coach for the 2018 season, as Ryan Day is set to take over until Urban either returns or is fired from his position, at which point Day would likely be named interim for the season.

Land Grant Holy-Land will have much more on this breaking news soon.

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Former Ohio State offensive lineman Jack Mewhort retires from football
Geoff Hammersley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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A second round draft pick in 2014, Mewhort has spent his NFL career with the Indianapolis Colts.

Another member from the Ohio State Buckeyes family has decided to hang up the cleats. Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman Jack Mewhort, who started three years at OSU from 2011-13, announced that he was retiring from the game on Wednesday.


Mewhort was part of a 24-game win streak that the Buckeyes went through from 2012-13. A team captain in 2013, Mewhort concluded his OSU career by seeing playing time in 49 contests—and starting 39 of them. Picking up All-American status from numerous outlets in 2013, Mewhort was off to the 2014 NFL Draft.

The Indianapolis Colts selected Mewhort with the 59th overall pick in the second round of the draft. In his first two seasons, the Toledo, Ohio native started 30 games. However, in his third season with the Colts, knee issues began hampering his ability to play; in 2016, Mewhort only played in 10 contests—but started in each. Last season, injuries caused the lineman to be shutdown for the season after five games.

Earlier in the week, former Buckeye linebacker Joshua Perry retired from the game after being diagnosed with another concussion.

We wish Jack all the best in his future endeavors!

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Four-star DB Buckeyes offered commits to Arkansas - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Four-star DB Buckeyes offered commits to Arkansas
247Sports
The Buckeyes signed two class of 2018 stars from the state of Tennessee, offensive lineman Max Wray and running back Master Teague. They also have a commitment from one outstanding prospect from Tennessee in tight end Cormontae Hamilton from ...


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Buckeyes a major player for 4-star D-tackle after Tuesday visit - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes a major player for 4-star D-tackle after Tuesday visit
247Sports
The Buckeyes at one time had a commitment from Akron (Ohio) Hoban quarterback Danny Clark. However, Clark and the Ohio State staff decided to go another direction and Clark ended up signing with Kentucky. Clark's younger brother, Hoban 2020 tight ...


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Report: Meyer was aware of abuse claims against fired Buckeyes coach - Reuters
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Report: Meyer was aware of abuse claims against fired Buckeyes coach
Reuters
Smith, who also served as the Buckeyes' recruiting coordinator, played for Meyer when the latter coached at Bowling Green. The late Earle Bruce, a former Ohio State coach, was Smith's grandfather. Meyer said he received input into the decision to fire ...
Report: Urban Meyer knew of domestic allegations against coach247Sports

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Two TE's in Buckeyes' 2019 class certainly could happen - 247Sports
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Two TE's in Buckeyes' 2019 class certainly could happen
247Sports
Parkersburg (W.V.) tight end Brenton Strange made it to Ohio State for the first time on June 4. He then returned to work out at the... To read this article and more, subscribe now —. 7-Day Free Trial. Get access to this article and all of the in ...
What does Zach Harrison's commitment delay mean?Land-Grant Holy Land

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New report indicates Urban Meyer knew about OSU WR coach Zach Smith’s 2015 domestic violence allegation
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


After Meyer fired Smith last week, he originally claimed he had no knowledge of the 2015 allegation.

A new report from Brett McMurphy has unearthed serious concerns with Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer’s handling of domestic abuse allegations against former wide receivers coach Zach Smith.

Meyer fired Smith last week after reports of multiple arrests and protective orders were made public, dating back to 2009 when Smith was on Meyer’s staff at the University of Florida. The day following the termination, Meyer said at Big Ten Media Days that he had been aware of the situation that occurred in 2009, but was not aware of any other instances of alleged abuse, including ones reported to have happened in 2015 and May of this year.

However, McMurphy obtained text messages said to be between Smith’s ex-wife Courtney and Shelley Meyer — that he reports are from 2015 — discussing the 2015 incident. The report also indicates that numerous other wives of the OSU coaching staff had been aware of the incident shortly after it allegedly occurred. McMurphy also provides screenshots of a conversation between Smith and Lindsey Voltolini — the wife of Ohio State’s football operations director Brian Voltolini — which indicate that Meyer was aware of the incident.

Courtney Smith told McMurphy that she spoke with Meyer’s wife Shelley and that she had indicated she would discuss it with Urban.


Courtney Smith claims that the alleged abuse that she suffered was well known within the program.


The report also claims that Zach’s mother, as well as Earle Bruce and Hiram de Fries (a good friend of Meyer) all pleaded with Courtney to get the original charges in 2009 dropped. They were successful, and those original charges were dropped. The report mentions similar situations in Columbus, as Courtney said that she would call 911, but “[hang] up out of fear because [she] was scared Zach would lose his job.”

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Report: Urban Meyer knew of domestic allegations against coach - 247Sports.com
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Report: Urban Meyer knew of domestic allegations against coach
247Sports.com
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer knew of previous domestic abuse allegations against former Buckeyes assistant Zach Smith and there's proof of it through text messages, according to college football reporter Brett McMurphy. Smith was fired last week after ...

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Aug. 1 means 2019 written offers go out, who receives one? - 247Sports
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Aug. 1 means 2019 written offers go out, who receives one?
247Sports
What's next for the Buckeyes? Make sure you're in the loop -- take five seconds to sign up for our FREE Buckeyes newsletter now! FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE. The BM5 is available on iTunes and more: * Click here to listen to the show via iTunes.


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Big Ten coaches dish anonymously on Ohio State - 247Sports
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Big Ten coaches dish anonymously on Ohio State
247Sports
It's Ohio State's world in the Big Ten Conference, everyone else is just living in it from a talent standpoint. At least that's what the rest of the league has to say about this year's Buckeyes, the favorites to repeat as Big Ten champs and earn a shot ...

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Buckeyes molded in high-pressure environment - Sports - The Daily ... - The Daily Jeffersonian
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Buckeyes molded in high-pressure environment - Sports - The Daily ...
The Daily Jeffersonian
When the play call came in, and Dwayne Haskins Jr. was asked to make that now-famous pass to Austin Mack last year against Michigan, his teammates weren't ...
Ohio State lands sixth recruit in 2020 classDayton Daily News
Buckeyes land 15th commitment in class of 2019MyDaytonDailyNews
Coach raves about new Buckeyes TE commit Hamilton247Sports
Busting Brackets -ESPN -247Sports
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How much will Mike Weber push JK Dobbins for carries? Buckeyes Burning Question - cleveland.com
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How much will Mike Weber push JK Dobbins for carries? Buckeyes Burning Question
cleveland.com
Dobbins was excellent last year, and maybe he would have beat Weber for the starting job anyway, but it was never really a competition because Weber was never healthy enough to compete for the job until the Buckeyes were into the last-third of their ...


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Most interesting Ohio State position battle as Buckeyes open fall camp: Podcast - cleveland.com
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Most interesting Ohio State position battle as Buckeyes open fall camp: Podcast
cleveland.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- On his week's episode of Buckeye Talk, Doug, Bill and Tim preview Ohio State fall camp, talk with ESPN's Adam Rittenberg about the Buckeyes and the Big Ten, discuss Doug's column on Jim Harbaugh and Michigan, update Zach ...


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Bucknuts Recruiting Radio: Ohio State vs. Penn State - 247Sports
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Bucknuts Recruiting Radio: Ohio State vs. Penn State
247Sports
*If the 2016 win over the Buckeyes changed the course of the program. *Thoughts on OSU vs. PSU recruiting battles for 2019, including Zach Harrison. All of that and more on the latest episode of Bucknuts Recruiting Radio! Buckets Recruiting Radio is ...


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What does Zach Harrison’s commitment delay mean?
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 five-star defensive end is a hot topic of discussion in Ohio State recruiting.

Earlier this week, there was some news that threw Buckeye nation for a bit of a loop. After months of aiming for an Aug. 14 commitment date (his birthday), five-star Buckeye target Zach Harrison told Clay Hall at ABC6 that he wouldn’t be making that date.

Harrison said that he’s delaying the date for an undisclosed amount of time, and that he wants to visit all three of his final schools (Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan) again before he makes a final decision. That would imply a decision date in November or December, which means Harrison could even announce during the Early Signing Period.

Now, the biggest question around this for Ohio State fans is obviously “what does this mean for my team”. Basically, it doesn’t mean a ton. This is not Zach Harrison scorning the Buckeyes, nor is it him stalling to drum up hype. He’s legitimately torn on where to go, and doesn’t want to make a decision he’s not comfortable with.

What does that say about a staff if they can’t convince a five-star recruit in their own backyard to come play for the best defensive line coach in the country? Probably nothing good, but you can make your own judgements there. The key part of this is that Harrison doesn’t have his choice yet, which means none of his three finalists are out of this recruitment.

All three schools will also get visits this fall. How you feel about Ohio State’s chances at landing a local kid, a position of need, with a visit for a football game in the Horseshoe this fall is up to you. Personally, I’m pretty confident in this staff’s ability to close the deal, but Harrison is no lock right now. If I had a crystal ball, it’d be on Ohio State, however I think Penn State may currently lead.

Powell reconsidering?


All things indicate right now that Odessa Permian athlete Peyton Powell will be picking Ohio State on his commitment date (Aug. 13). He loves Ohio State, and they’ve been leading in his recruitment for months now. Monday, however, a bit of a wrench was thrown in that decision, as Powell picked up an offer from the Oklahoma Sooners.


So why does this matter? Well, Peyton likes Oklahoma a lot, and they offer a lot of the same things that Ohio State does, and they’re much closer. Throw in the fact that he may be able to play receiver there (rather than corner at Ohio State), and there may be some reasons for him to head to Norman. I still think he’s Buckeye bound at this point, but an OU visit could change that.

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Kurelic: Top 2020 Ohioan talks Ohio State; more on Zach Harrison - 247Sports
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Kurelic: Top 2020 Ohioan talks Ohio State; more on Zach Harrison
247Sports
Menu. Uh-oh. Or not? Buckeyes top target Zach Harrison has pushed back his announcement date. What does that mean for the Columbus native? What does that mean for The college native to Columbus? Is this good for Michigan? Is it good for Penn State?


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What Alonzo Gaffney will bring to Ohio State: Buckeyes basketball recruiting - cleveland.com
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What Alonzo Gaffney will bring to Ohio State: Buckeyes basketball recruiting
cleveland.com
Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann told Gaffney he does not see him specific to any spot on the court, and it may ultimately help both Gaffney and the Buckeyes. "Coach Holtmann always says I'm a position-less player," Gaffney said Tuesday after announcing ...
Ohio State recruiting: Quarterback recruiting fallout, where Buckeyes can turn nextLandof10.com
Ohio State men's basketball | Florida State transfer CJ Walker commits to BuckeyesThe Columbus Dispatch

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jwinslow said:

I remember when they equaled or supplanted PSU for awhile for Ohio weekend ruining.

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and just like PSU, a short run as a thorn in the side doesn't make them a rival

Men's basketball | Fans send off Buckeyes before Spain trip - The Columbus Dispatch
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Men's basketball | Fans send off Buckeyes before Spain trip
The Columbus Dispatch
Before Ohio State hops on a plane and heads to Spain on Wednesday morning, the Buckeyes opened the doors for a peek into this season's men's basketball roster. On Tuesday night, more than 500 fans filed into Value City Arena to watch an open practice ...
Ohio State open practice details247Sports
Breaking down the Gophers' opponents: Ohio StateMinneapolis Star Tribune
Ohio State's Defensive Tackle Recruiting Still Very Much a Mystery Midway Through 2019 CycleEleven Warriors
Land-Grant Holy Land
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Ohio State’s Isaiah Prince ready to lead on offensive line
Ian Cuevas via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


From a slow start to his career to now, Prince has taken the steps needed to become a leader.

“I don’t think I would have had the success I’ve had today if I didn’t have the downfalls I had then. Those downfalls ... showed me who I am as a person.”

- Isaiah Prince via Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch


Everyone can remember the start that Isaiah Prince had with the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2016. Thrust into the starting lineup, Prince seemed out of place among the other linemen on the field. His performance against Penn State was especially bad, and fans weren’t shy about letting Prince know about it. As a young player trying to find some footing at a new level, it can be a struggle when your fans don’t support you. Still, through it all, Prince improved over the past couple of seasons and is now heading into 2018 as a leader.

From the bottom of the lists in terms of offensive lineman rankings, to finding himself on the Outland Trophy watch list (given annually to the nation’s best interior lineman), Prince is ready to take the next step and show the guys that were in his position how to grow. As someone that’s been in the program for several years, he’s being looked up to in the offensive line room now, and all signs to point this being a great year for him.

“Dante has always had the mindset that I’ve known him to have since I’ve been here. Which is a shut up and work mindset. He hates complaining, when anybody complains, when anybody quits. He’s super motivational, and he’s a hard-nosed worker. I don’t see anybody out-running or out-working Dante Booker at that linebacker position.”


- Dre’Mont Jones on Dante Booker via Bill Landis, Cleveland.com

Another player to keep an eye on this season is Dante Booker. The fifth-year senior linebacker is ready for his moment. And Urban Meyer believes Booker is up to the challenge, heaping praise on the veteran all offseason.

Booker has dealt with injuries for a lot of his career in the scarlet and gray but is coming into the season healthier than ever. With a defense that lost a lot of key members, getting Booker back can help ease the transition in the earlier stages of the season.

A knee injury early in 2016 sent him home for the season, while in 2017 he dealt with a concussion for most of the latter part of the year. But now Booker seems fit and has already graduated, meaning he can focus on football.

While he’s not a lock for starting, Booker can compete with the rest of the linebackers - Baron Browning, Justin Hilliard, Malik Harrison, and more - and still show his stuff. He’s likely to get plenty of time on the field this season regardless of whether he starts or not.

“According to game contracts obtained by Eleven Warriors, Ohio State will pay $1.7 million to Oregon State for its season-opening game at Ohio Stadium on Sept. 1, and will pay a total of $1.5 million to Tulane for the Green Wave’s trip to the Shoe on Sept. 22.”

- Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors


Ohio State will be shelling out some major money for their visitors this season. The Buckeyes will be paying $1.7 million to Oregon State as you can see above, and Tulane will get a nice payment of $1.5 million for visiting Columbus later on. But the good news for Ohio State is that they’ll actually receive $5 million, according to Eleven Warriors, for making the trip down to Texas to face off against TCU.

Eleven Warriors has a whole listing of what the Buckeyes have had to pay the past couple of years and even discuss what they’ll be paying in the future for visits from Washington in 2025 and Texas in 2026.

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Ohioan Caden Clark commits to Alabama - 247Sports
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Ohioan Caden Clark commits to Alabama
247Sports
The Buckeyes at one time had a commitment from Akron (Ohio) Hoban quarterback Danny Clark. However, Clark and the Ohio State staff decided to go another direction and Clark ended up signing with Kentucky. Clark's younger brother, Hoban 2020 tight ...

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Ohio State’s 2018 schedule isn’t too much tougher than last season’s
Chad Peltier via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Big Ten East is probably the best division in college football, but Buckeyes’ path to the playoff is still only a little tougher than last year.

The Big Ten, and the East division especially, is projected to be as good as it’s ever been. If Ohio State wants to return to the playoff, then they will end up facing all of the Tier-1 teams in Bill C’s Big Ten Power rankings. All four other teams in that top tier are ranked in the S&P+ top-12 overall. And that doesn’t include tricky matchups with Jeff Brohm-led Purdue, Scott Frost’s potentially resurgent Nebraska, or surging TCU.

But even though the Big Ten is better than it’s ever been, Ohio State’s 2018 schedule is all that more difficult than it was the past two seasons. And this year’s Ohio State team has the potential to be better than the 2016 and 2017 Buckeyes, and is definitely more talented.

I took a look at Bill’s 2016 and 2017 S&P+ previews and compared the schedule projections with the stacked 2018 schedule:


And here’s some summary info from that data:

• I expected 2018’s schedule to be much tougher across the board than the 2017 schedule. Basically Michigan State’s entire team returns for 2018, Michigan has the roster to contend for the playoff, including a quarterback, and Penn State loses some star power but still has stacked elite recruiting classes into a formidable roster. And that doesn’t count Wisconsin improving behind Hornibrook and Jonathon Taylor, either. But the Buckeyes’ average opponent preseason S&P+ ranking is the same in both seasons — 55th.
• Going one step deeper into those rankings, I divided the opponents into categories — easy games (80%+ win percentage), potentially tricky games (65%-80%), difficult games (50%-65%), and probable losses (less than 50%). A win probability of 67% translates to roughly a touchdown margin of victory.
• Essentially, the Buckeyes trade one easy game for a potentially tricky game in 2018. That ultimately just accounts for a projected improvement for Michigan State, from 44th in preseason S&P+ in 2017, to 11th in 2018. Instead of Oklahoma (5th in preseason S&P+), Ohio State gets TCU (22nd). Not too bad!
• In terms of margin of victory, Ohio State faces two teams where they’re projected to win by less than a touchdown — +6.5 over Michigan State and +4.3 over Penn State. But they’re still favored by the S&P+ in every game.
• In 2018, the Buckeyes essentially have four tough games during the regular season — TCU, Penn State, Michigan State, and Michigan. That’s one tougher than last season, which saw the Buckeyes pick up an unexpected loss to Iowa, which ranked 48th preseason, with an 87% win probability.
• If you’re wondering about the difference between preseason and postseason S&P+ rankings, Army, UNLV, Penn State, and Michigan State all beat their 2017 preseason projections, but the other 8 opponents all fell short of their projections. Some barely fell short that it’s hardly worth counting them — Oklahoma was 4 spots lower, Indiana 12, and Iowa 1. Maryland and Nebraska were a lot worse than their preseason rankings (42 and 61 spots lower). Ohio State ended up playing four teams ranked in the S&P+ top-27 by the season’s end, with two top-10 opponents. So the basic distribution of opponent strength still applied by season’s end.
• Losing to top-5 Oklahoma wasn’t a huge surprise last season. Losing to Iowa was. But going on the road against a top-50 opponent following a top-10 opponent is tough scheduling. Ohio State might have an easier path this season. Following 22nd-ranked TCU, the Buckeyes get 98th Tulane. After 8th-ranked Penn State, OSU gets 58th Indiana. Then after 11th-ranked Michigan State, the Buckeyes’ penultimate game is against 80th-ranked Maryland. The potential letdown game is probably against Indiana, because they will at least be decent as a top-60 opponent; the Buckeyes will have had a tough game the week before against the Nittany Lions, and Indiana carved up the Buckeyes secondary last season. At least Indiana comes to Columbus.

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Ohio State men's basketball | Buckeyes offer scholarship to 4-star prospect Lester Quinones - The Columbus Dispatch
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Ohio State men's basketball | Buckeyes offer scholarship to 4-star prospect Lester Quinones
The Columbus Dispatch
DJ Carton's commitment to Ohio State did more than give the Buckeyes a second top-30 recruit for the 2019 recruiting class. It also gave the Buckeyes the ability to be even choosier when it comes to rounding out coach Chris Holtmann's second recruiting ...


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Ohio State football offering top talent out of Michigan - USA TODAY High School Sports
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Ohio State football offering top talent out of Michigan
USA TODAY High School Sports
All three hold offers from the Buckeyes. Fincher shared the news of the offer on this Twitter account on Friday. Ohio State has already landed 2019 quarterback Dwan Mathis (Oak Park), the first Michigan QB expected to play at the school since Craig ...
Ohio State has busy weekend on the recruiting trailLand-Grant Holy Land
Dotting the 'Eyes: Ohio State leads for Elias Ricks, still alive with Noah CainLettermen Row
Ohio State Football: 5 Buckeyes named to watch lists this seasonFactory Of Sadness
MediaPost Communications -Minneapolis Star Tribune -247Sports
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Joshua Perry retired, but his biggest contributions were off the field anyway
Alexis Chassen via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeye and NFL linebacker will have even more time to enrich his community.

It was late-February 2016, and prospect-after-prospect rotated through the media room set-up inside Lucas Oil Stadium for the NFL Combine. It was a big year for the Buckeyes who were just a year removed from winning the College Football Playoff and just a few months away from setting draft records.

Early in the event, top Ohio State prospect Joey Bosa would step up to the podium in front of dozens of reports and cameras, and utter a very Spicoli-like “Sup?” as he addressed the crowd. Big names get big platforms, it’s just how it works.

But while Bosa and Ezekiel Elliott had full-stage pressers, there were round tables — that sat only eight — in the back of the room set up for prospects that were either lesser known, or with a perceived lower draft stock.

As I made my plan for Friday of the event, the media was finally getting a chance to talk to linebackers, which included Buckeye Joshua Perry. I waited for the overhead announcement for where Perry would be stationed, a table in the back, and bee-lined my way through the hoards of reporters making their way to the podiums.

I snagged the seat next to Perry — in what was maybe my most impressive athletic endeavor ever — and was immediately in awe.

Alexis Chassen
Joshua Perry at the 2016 NFL Combine

Aside from joining a long list of impressive linebackers out of Ohio State, Perry was just as focused on the work he was doing on the field as he was with the work he did off of it. He was aware that after years of scandals, the NFL and teams were looking for players who would stay out of trouble, and contribute positively to their respective communities, and Perry was a guy they wouldn’t need to worry about.


Even before Perry was drafted in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Chargers, he had already chosen a cause to which to devote his time. Autism Awareness was (and is still) important to the Buckeye, whose brother Jahred has Asperger’s syndrome and has embraced being an advocate for others.

In a pre-draft interview with Jeanna Thomas of SB Nation, Perry discussed he and his brother’s work in the community.


Perry was actively involved with Autism Speaks for years, donating money for each tackle he made during his rookie season, and wearing custom kicks for the #MyCauseMyCleats campaign. He’s taken his community activism up a notch since then, starting his own charity, the Joshua Perry Family Foundation in 2018.

During the offseason, Perry’s latest endeavor was hosting a free football camp just north of Columbus at his high school alma matter. Not only did he and his sponsors host 200 campers for FREE, but they also worked to collect school supplies for the upcoming year and register voters.


Perry has always been about inclusion, and among the 200 kids who showed up to participate in his camp, there were several girls who took the field.


Joshua announced his retirement from the NFL and football altogether on Monday, after suffering his sixth diagnosed concussion. With such a profound commitment to the work that he does off of the field, keeping his brain healthy and avoiding additional risk is certainly an understandable reason to call it a career.

He may not have been a consistent contributor at the next level, like his was at Ohio State, but he has a lot to be proud of in what he brought to special teams, the locker room, and the community.

In his retirement announcement, he mentioned that he planned on spending more time in Columbus and working on getting his real estate license. Additionally, he’s looking forward to having even more time to devote to working in his community.

And when he’s not busy saving the world, it looks like he’s got an open invitation at Ohio State to help on the recruiting trail.


We are all better off with Joshua Perry being a part of Buckeye Nation, and even if we won’t get to watch him punish offenses on the field, we’ll still get to be a part of his special post-football journey.

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