BASKET-BOOM! 2024 four-star point guard John Mobley Jr. commits to Ohio State
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Buckeyes are already working on stacking up their next great recruiting class.

It’s early, but Ohio State has already began filling what will likely be a smaller recruiting class for the 2024 cycle — starting with a big BOOM on Sunday afternoon. At halftime of today’s 3:00 ESPN2 Top Flight Invite, John Mobley Jr. — a four-star point guard from Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas — announced he’ll be moving back home to Columbus for college to play for Chris Holtmann and the Ohio State Buckeyes.


Mobley is the No. 44 player in the class of 2024, the No. 6 point guard in the nation, and the second-highest ranked player in the state of Nevada, according to 247Sports. He’ll don the scarlet and gray starting the fall of 2024 — two seasons from now. Mobley is just the third top-50 player in the 2024 class to make his college decision (Jason Asemota committed to Baylor and Mercy Miller committed to Houston), and he’ll return to Columbus where he lived for 11 years.

As Ohio State fans on Twitter were so quick to notice, Mobley has “Columbus, OH” as his location on his Twitter page, rather than Las Vegas, where he goes to school. This was not a hint or trick pointing to where he’d land for college. On the contrary, Mobley is originally from central Ohio, but left to play basketball at Bishop Gorman.



Mobley, a junior, stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 150 pounds. He is one of the most polished shooters in the country already, and is considered the best shooter in the nation by many. He models his game after Trae Young and Steph Curry, and has the potential to end up as the best outside shooter at Ohio State since Jon Diebler.

While at first glance it may seem like the Buckeyes are already heavy on guards, by the fall of 2024 this may not be the case. In the age of immediate transfer rules, roster changes are unpredictable. That also ignores the possibility that Taison Chatman, Roddy Gayle, or Bruce Thornton could be NBA-bound by the time Mobley even steps on campus. With the way rosters are constantly in flux, it’s never a bad idea to pick up a solid point guard who also may wind up being the best shooter in the class.

Mobley isn’t the biggest guard at just 150 pounds, but he told Prospective Insight in June that he thinks he’ll grow a few inches before college — possibly getting to 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4. If he can also add 20-30 pounds over the next two seasons, he could quickly increase his pro potential and NBA draft stock. Regardless, Chris Holtmann and his staff will certainly spend time working on the other parts of his game — aside from shooting — once he gets on campus.

Mobley held offers from Ohio State, Creighton, Arizona State, LSU, St. John’s, Toledo, UNLV, USC, and Xavier. He cut down a final list by simply removing Toledo, UNLV, and St. John’s two weeks ago. Ohio State and Creighton were the only two schools that he went on official visits to, and were considered the two favorites.

The Buckeyes offered Mobley a scholarship in June, and also had Mobley’s final official visit on October 1, when he visited and attended the Ohio State-Rutgers with his family and the Ohio State coaching staff. Mobley is the first member of Ohio State’s 2024 recruiting class. With a combined nine players in the 2022 and 2023 classes, this class may only have one more player after Mobley.



Check out some recent video of John’s game below:


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Here are the matchups for this week:

Week 8
Wednesday, Oct. 19

Georgia State at Appalachian State | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN2

Thursday, Oct. 20

Virginia at Georgia Tech | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Troy at South Alabama | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU

Friday, Oct. 21

Princeton at Harvard | 7 p.m. | ESPNU
Long Island at Wagner | 7 p.m. | ESPN3
Tulsa at Temple | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN2
UAB at Western Kentucky | 8 p.m. | CBSSN

Saturday, Oct. 22

Iowa at No. 2 Ohio State | 12 p.m. | FOX
No. 14 Syracuse at No. 5 Clemson | 12 p.m. | ABC
UT Martin at No. 3 Tennessee | 12 p.m. | SEC Network
Kansas at Baylor | 12 p.m. | ESPN2
No. 21 Cincinnati at SMU | 12 p.m. | ESPN
UL Monroe at Army | 12 p.m. | CBSSN
Indiana at Rutgers | 12 p.m. | Big Ten Network
Houston at Navy | 12 p.m. | ESPNU
Akron at Kent State | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Duke at Miami (Fla.) | 12:30 p.m. | ESPN3
Toledo at Buffalo | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Bowling Green at Central Michigan | 1 p.m. | ESPN3
Eastern Michigan at Ball State | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Northern Illinois at Ohio | 2 p.m. | ESPN+

UNLV at Notre Dame | 2:30 p.m. | Peacock
West Virginia at Texas Tech | 3 p.m.
Rice at Louisiana Tech | 3 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 20 Texas at No. 11 Oklahoma State | 3:30 p.m. | ABC
No. 7 Ole Miss at LSU | 3:30 p.m. | CBS
No. 9 UCLA at No. 10 Oregon | 3:30 p.m.
Boston College at No. 13 Wake Forest | 3:30 p.m. | ACC Network
Marshall at James Madison | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
BYU at Liberty | 3:30 p.m. | ESPNU.
Purdue at Wisconsin | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN
Northwestern at Maryland | 3:30 p.m.
Memphis at No. 25 Tulane | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN2
Western Michigan at Miami (Ohio) | 3:30 p.m. | CBSSN
Georgia Southern at Old Dominion | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
FIU at Charlotte | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN3
North Texas at UTSA | 3:30 p.m. | Stadium
Vanderbilt at Missouri | 4 p.m. | SEC Network
Arizona State at Stanford | 4 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
Hawai'i at Colorado State | 4 p.m. | Spectrum Sports
Florida Atlantic at UTEP | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Arkansas State at Louisiana | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
Southern Miss at Texas State | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
San Jose State at New Mexico State | 6 p.m. | Bally Sports Arizona

Fresno State at New Mexico | 6:30 p.m. | FS2
No. 24 Mississippi State at No. 6 Alabama | 7 p.m. | ESPN
Boise State at Air Force | 7 p.m. | CBSSN
Minnesota at No. 16 Penn State | 7:30 p.m. | ABC
Texas A&M at South Carolina | 7:30 p.m. | SEC Network
UCF at East Carolina | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU
No. 17 Kansas State at No. 8 TCU | 8 p.m.
Colorado at Oregon State | 8 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
Pitt at Louisville | 8 p.m. | ACC Network

Utah State at Wyoming | 9:45 p.m.
Washington at Cal | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN
San Diego State at Nevada | 10:30 p.m. | CBSSN

During each Bye Week, I like to post some interesting facts and trivia concerning Ohio State scoring records, mostly dealing with very long (and very short) touchdowns. Note: The Ohio State official record books are complete back to the 1960 season; I have used other resources to supplement the official record books when available.

1. From 1960 to 1972, Ohio State had only 28 touchdowns of 50+ yards in 13 seasons (2.2 per season), while from 1973 to 1987, the team had 58 such plays in 15 seasons (average of 3.9 per season).

2. During the Cooper era, the team had 61 touchdowns of 50+ yards in 13 seasons (average of 4.7 per season), 25 of which (41.0%) came from just five players: David Boston (6); Jeff Graham (6); Michael Wiley (5); Eddie George (4); and Terry Glenn (4).

3. During the Tressel/Fickell era, the team had 69 touchdowns of 50+ yards in 11 seasons (average of 6.3 per season), thanks in large part to 16 such plays on special teams (11 punt returns, 4 kick returns, 1 blocked field goal); half of those special teams touchdowns were courtesy of Ted Ginn, Jr. (6 punt returns; 2 kick returns).

4. The Buckeyes have been a big play team throughout the Urban Meyer/Ryan Day era. Since 2012, Ohio State has had 94 scoring plays of 50+ yards, broken down as follows: 50 receptions, 32 runs, 6 interceptions, 3 punt returns, and 3 fumble recoveries. That's an average of 8.5 such plays per year, including the shortened 2020 season (8 games) and the partial 2022 season (6 games to date). The trend of an increasing number of big plays from the 1960s to today reflects not only longer seasons (9 games for the 1961 NC team; 15 games for the 2014 NC team) but also more explosive offenses (up-tempo spread versus three yards and a cloud of dust).

5. Here's a chart showing all 22 Buckeyes who have scored at least four TDs of 50+ yards:
6. Some notable names missing from the above list, with the amount of 50+ yard TDs in parentheses: Archie Griffin (3); Keith Byars (3); Cornelius Greene (3); Carlos Hyde (3); Antonio Pittman (3); Paul Warfield (2); Cris Carter (1).

7. Eight current Buckeyes have at least one touchdown of 50+ yards: TreVeyon Henderson (runs of 52, 57; reception of 70); Jaxon Smith-Njigba (receptions of 50, 52, 75); Emeka Egbuka (receptions of 51, 69); Miyan Williams (runs of 70, 71); Jayden Ballard (reception of 72); Julian Fleming (reception of 51); Cameron Martinez (interception of 61); and Jerron Cage (fumble recovery of 57).

8. Ted Ginn, Jr. holds the record for most touchdowns of 50+ yards in one season, as he had six in both 2004 (4 punt returns; 2 receptions) and 2005 (3 receptions; run; punt return; kick return).

9. Ezekiel Elliott is the only Buckeye to have three touchdowns of 50+ yards in the same game, with runs of 55 yards, 65 yards, and 75 yards against Indiana on October 3, 2015. Michael Wiley almost accomplished this feat, but one of his touchdowns came up a yard short. The first three touches of Wiley's Ohio State career were a 49-yard TD run, a 51-yard TD reception, and a 60-yard TD reception in a 70-7 blowout of Rice on September 7, 1996.

10. Ted Ginn, Jr. and Braxton Miller are the only Buckeyes to have both a rushing and receiving TD of 50+ yards in the same game. Ginn accomplished the feat against Notre Dame in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl (68-yard run; 56-yard reception), while Miller did it against Virginia Tech in 2015 (53-yard run; 54-yard reception). Once again, Michael Wiley (see above) nearly missed joining this dynamic duo in Buckeye trivial history.

11. Devin Smith is the Buckeye leader (along with Ted Ginn, Jr.) in touchdown receptions of 50+ yards, with seven. Devin also has eight touchdown receptions of between 40 and 49 yards, giving him a team record 15 touchdown receptions of 40+ yards.

12. Lenny Willis scored only five touchdowns during his Buckeye career, and four of them were from 50+ yards: a 53-yard run, a 64-yard reception, and kick-off returns of 93 and 97 yards. His fifth touchdown was a mere 48-yard reception. The average length of Willis's Buckeye TDs was 71.0 yards. In two seasons at Ohio State (1974-75), Willis had just 54 touches (1 rush; 28 receptions; 25 kick returns) for 1,103 yards; his five long TDs represent 355 yards, or 32.2% of his yardage total. Based on his big play ability, Willis was drafted in the 4th round of the 1976 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings; he lasted just four seasons in the NFL with Minnesota (1976), New Orleans (1977), and Buffalo (1977-1979), plus three more seasons in the USFL (1983-1985).

13. J.K. Dobbins had five touchdown runs of 50+ yards, but his two longest rushes did not result in scores: 77 yards against Wisconsin in the 2017 Big Ten Championship Game; and 68 yards (tied for his second longest rush) against Northwestern in 2019. Dobbins also failed to score on runs of 64 yards (Clemson in 2019 Playoffs) and 56 yards (Indiana in 2019).

14. Against Toledo this season, Jayden Ballard had his first career touchdown, a reception of 72 yards. That set the Buckeye record for longest first career touchdown from scrimmage (run or reception), breaking the previous record set by Miyan Williams, a 71-yard run against Minnesota last season. At least 16 Buckeyes have had as long or longer first career touchdowns on defense (9 interception returns, 1 fumble recovery) or special teams (3 punt returns, 2 kick-off returns, 1 blocked field goal). The first career touchdown reception for Parris Campbell (Indiana 2017) went for 74 yards, but Campbell's first career touchdown was a 5-yard run against Rutgers the previous season. The first career reception for Emeka Egbuka (Akron 2021) went for 85 yards, but somehow did not result in a touchdown (see below).

15. Ohio State has only one touchdown off a blocked field goal in its recorded history, which came courtesy of Ashton Youboty against Michigan State in 2005. Youboty's 72-yard return on the last play of the first half helped to swing the game in Ohio State's favor and led to an epic meltdown by Sparty head coach John L. Smith.

16. There have been 67 plays of 80+ yards in Ohio State history, 57 of which have gone for touchdowns, broken down as follows: 27 kick-off returns, 13 runs, 10 receptions, 10 interceptions, and 7 punt returns.

17. The Buckeye single-season record for plays of 80+ yards is four, set by both the 2000 team (Derek Combs 80-yard TD run; Ken-yon Rambo 81-yard kick return; Nate Clements 83-yard punt return TD and 80-yard kick return) and the 2014 team (Devin Smith 80-yard TD reception; J.T. Barrett 86-yard TD run; Ezekiel Elliott 81-yard TD run and 85-yard TD run).

18. No Buckeye player has had three plays of 80+ yards in the same season, but Ezekiel Elliott did have three such plays in the span of four games: an 81-yard touchdown run against Wisconsin in the 2014 Big Ten Championship Game; an 85-yard touchdown run against Alabama in the 2015 Sugar Bowl; and an 80-yard touchdown run against Virginia Tech in the 2015 season opener; Zeke's longest play in the fourth game of that span (the 2014 National Championship Game against Oregon) was a mere 33-yard touchdown run.

19. Curtis Samuel never had a play of 80+ yards while at Ohio State, but he is the only Buckeye to have three TDs of 70+ yards in the same season. In 2016, Samuel had a 74-yard TD run against Penn State; a 75-yard TD reception against Nebraska; and a 79-yard reception against Bowling Green. Parris Campbell had three plays of 70+ yards in 2018: a 71-yard TD reception against Indiana; a 78-yard TD reception against Michigan; and a 91-yard kick return against Indiana, a play that somehow did not result in a touchdown.

20. The leaders in plays of 80+ yards are Ted Ginn, Jr. and Ezekiel Elliott, each of whom has/had three during his career. Ginn scored on an 82-yard punt return, a 93-yard kick return, and a 100-yard kick return, while Elliott had touchdown runs of 80, 81, and 85 yards.

21. Eleven Buckeyes have had two plays of 80+ yards, namely: Dean Sensanbacher (kick returns of 98 and 103 yards); Robert Klein (80-yard reception, 90-yard kick return); Morris Bradshaw (88-yard run, 88-yard kick return); Lenny Willis (kick returns of 93 and 97 yards); Jeff Graham (80-yard reception, 81-yard punt return); Santonio Holmes (receptions of 80 and 85 yards); Devin Smith (receptions of 80 and 90 yards); Jordan Hall (kick returns of 90 and 85 yards); Raymond Small (kick returns of 96 and 80 yards); Nate Clements (83-yard punt return, 80-yard kick return); and Parris Campbell (kick returns of 91 and 82 yards). Despite being one of the fastest Buckeyes ever, neither of Campbell's plays of 80+ yards went for a score.

22. Here is the complete list of the 68 Ohio State plays that went for 80+ yards. Yardage totals in bold type indicate that the play went for a touchdown.

23. Ohio State has more plays of 80+ yards against Wisconsin (10) than any other team; next on that list is Michigan (7), Indiana (6), and Minnesota (5). Ohio State has three plays of 80+ yards against Notre Dame despite playing the Domers only seven times; and two against Boston College despite playing the Eagles only three times.

24. Twice, the Buckeyes have had two 80+ yard plays in the same game. The first occurred on October 23, 1971, against Wisconsin, when Morris Bradshaw (see below) had an 88-yard touchdown run and an 88-yard touchdown on a kick-off return. The second occurred on October 10, 2009, also against Wisconsin, when Kurt Coleman had an 89-yard touchdown on an interception return and Raymond Small had a 96-yard touchdown on a kick-off return. *On November 27, 2010, against Michigan, Jordan Hall had an 85-yard touchdown on a kick-off return and Daniel Herron had an 89-yard run (no touchdown), but Herron's run has been stricken from the official record books due to his participation in the TatGate scandal (see below).

25. Here's an interesting fact concerning one of the longest plays in Ohio State history: Facing the Indiana Hoosiers on October 30, 1976, defensive lineman Nick Buonamici intercepted a pass at the five-yard line, ran for 22 yards, and then lateraled the ball to defensive back Ray Griffin who took it the final 73 yards for the score. The play counts as a 95-yard interception return in the official record book.

26. The most unlikely name in the 80-yard club is defensive lineman Cameron Heyward. In a game against Miami of Florida on September 11, 2010, the Hurricanes were facing 3rd-and-goal when Heyward dropped into coverage on a zone blitz and picked off a pass at the 5-yard line. Despite having a convoy of four blockers, Heyward didn't have quite enough speed or elusiveness to take it to the house and he missed the ultimate fat guy moment when he got tackled by a pair of offensive linemen at the Miami 15-yard line.

27. Unofficially, the longest run in Ohio State history is 89 yards by Daniel "Boom" Herron against Michigan in 2010. However, because Herron was part of the notorious TatGate scandal, all of his stats from the 2010 season have been stricken from the official records, so the longest official run is now credited to Morris Bradshaw (88 yards versus Wisconsin in 1971).

28. Herron's 89-yard run is also the longest play from scrimmage in Ohio State history that did not result in a touchdown. Because that dubious distinction has also been stripped from Herron, the "record" is currently held by Emeka Egbuka, who failed to score on an 85-yard reception against Akron during the 2021 season. The longest non-scoring play in Ohio State history belongs to Parris Campbell, who failed to reach the end zone on a 91-yard kick-off return against Indiana on October 8, 2016.

29. Ezekiel Elliott (2014; both runs), Lenny Willis (1974; both kick returns), and Morris Bradshaw (1971; run, kick return) are the only Buckeye to have two 80+ yard touchdowns in the same season. Nate Clements had two plays of 80+ yards in 2000, an 83-yard punt return that resulted in a touchdown and a 80-yard kick return that did not.

30. Morris Bradshaw is the only Buckeye to have two 80+ yard touchdowns in the same game. On October 23, 1971, Bradshaw had an 88-yard touchdown run (the longest run from scrimmage in official Ohio State history) and an 88-yard kick return for a touchdown against the Wisconsin Badgers. During his Buckeye career, Bradshaw had only 105 touches (82 rushes; 8 receptions; 15 kick returns) for 871 yards; his two 88-yards touchdowns represent 20.2% of his career yardage total. Bradshaw had only six total touchdowns during his Buckeye career (plus a 2-point conversion) before he went on to the NFL for ten seasons (mostly with the Oakland Raiders).

31. Dean Sensanbaugher (not to be confused with Dane Sanzenbacher) played for Ohio State in 1943, during which season he returned a kick for a record 103-yard touchdown against Great Lakes Naval Station. In 1944, Sensanbaugher transferred to Army and played on the Black Knights' undefeated national championship team (Ohio State also went undefeated in 1944 and finished #2 in the AP poll). After the war, Sensanbaugher spent a year at Amherst College before transferring back to Ohio State in 1947 to finish his college football career; he recorded his second kick return touchdown (98 yards) against Purdue that season. Sensanbaugher had a brief and undistinguished pro football career with the Cleveland Browns (1948), New York Bulldogs (1949), and Toronto Argonauts (1952).

32. The Buckeyes have had three other scoring plays of 80+ yards, all of which were defensive two-point conversions. The first two occurred in 1991, when linebacker Steve Tovar (96-yard interception versus Washington State) and defensive end Jason Simmons (85-yard blocked extra point versus Iowa) each pulled off that trick. The last Buckeye to accomplish this strange feat was linebacker Brian Rolle, who went 99 yards with an intercepted two-point conversion attempt against Navy in 2009.

33. The longest recorded touchdown in Ohio State history was a 103-yard kick-off return by Dean Sensanbaugher in 1943. The NCAA no longer recognizes touchdowns of greater than 100 yards, now reducing any such touchdown to 100 yards. Ohio State has had seven other touchdowns of 100 yards (or more): William Wentz (kick-off return, 1960); David Brown (interception, 1986); Carlos Snow (kick-off return, 1988); Marlon Kerner (interception, 1993); Michael Wiley (kick-off return, 1997); Will Allen (interception, 2003); and Ted Ginn, Jr. (kick-off return, 2005).

34. One of the Buckeyes' 100-yard plays occurred on October 18, 1986, when David Brown returned an interception the length of the field in a 39-11 victory over Purdue. In the same game, Buckeye kicker Matt Frantz connected on four field goals, all of 22 yards or less, which has to be an Ohio State record for most chip shots in one game (even I'm not crazy enough to attempt to verify this factoid).

35. Below is a chart showing the longest scoring plays in Ohio State history by type of play:
36. On October 19, 1996, in a game against Purdue, Rob Kelly set the Ohio State record for longest touchdown on a fumble recovery. In that same game, Purdue quarterback John Reeves connected with Isaac Jones for an 86-yard touchdown reception, the third-longest TD pass (and sixth-longest scoring play from scrimmage) by a Buckeye opponent.

37. The shortest touchdown in Ohio State history is zero yards, which has happened 24 times: 13 blocked punts recovered in the end zone, 10 fumbles recovered in the end zone, and one interception in the end zone. The 0-yard interception touchdown is one of the most bizarre plays in Buckeye history, and it is unlikely to be repeated anytime soon. On December 5, 2020, Ohio State was facing Michigan State. After a Buckeye punt pinned the Spartans at their own 1-yard line, defensive lineman Haskell Garrett got a strong pass rush up the middle, tipped the pass high into the air, then came down with the jump ball in the end zone for a rare 0-yard pick six.

38. Wide receiver Terry Glenn set a team record in 1995 with 17 touchdown receptions (including receptions of 56, 61, 75, and 82 yards). Glenn's only other touchdown for his Buckeye career came in 1993 against Illinois when the Illini punter fumbled the snap and Glenn recovered the ball in the end zone for a 0-yard touchdown.

39. The Buckeyes have recorded 25 safeties since 1960. The team record for safeties in a single season is three in 2001, which included a team record two against Purdue on November 10th.

40. Hopalong Cassady holds the Ohio State record for the shortest punt return for a touchdown (39 yards vs Duke in 1955); Jordan Hall holds the Ohio State record for shortest kick-off return for a touchdown (85 yards vs Michigan in 2010); and Haskell Garrett holds the Ohio State record for shortest interception return for a touchdown (0 yards vs Michigan State in 2020).

41. Ted Ginn, Jr. holds the team record for most special teams touchdowns with eight, including a team-record six punt returns and a team-record (shared with two others) two kick returns.

42. The team record for most special teams touchdowns in one year is five set in 2004. All five touchdowns were by way of punt returns, four by Ted Ginn, Jr. (60, 65, 67, and 82 yards) and one by Santonio Holmes (63 yards).

43. Michael Doss holds the team record for most defensive touchdowns with four, which includes three fumble recoveries (0, 30, and 73 yards) and one interception (45 yards). Bradley Roby has the most total touchdowns for a defensive player with five, including two interceptions (41 and 63 yards), one fumble recovery (1 yard), and two blocked punts (both 0 yards). Neal Colzie holds the single-season record for most total touchdowns by a defensive player with four in 1973 (interceptions of 19 and 55 yards; punt returns of 43 and 78 yards).

44. The team record for most defensive touchdowns in one season is seven in 2000, including a record four in one game against Fresno State on September 2nd. Defensive back David Mitchell scored on a 51-yard interception and a 34-yard fumble recovery; safety Michael Doss scored on a 0-yard fumble recovery; and linebacker Matt Wilhelm scored on a 25-yard interception.

45. That Fresno State game was also notable for another reason. With Ohio State leading 37-3 in the fourth quarter, Fresno State drove 88 yards in 13 plays to score a touchdown with just 5 seconds left on the clock. For some reason, Fresno State then attempted an on-side kick. That move must have pissed off Buckeye head coach John Cooper, because instead of taking a kneel down to end the game he called for a flag pass (bomb), which quarterback Scott McMullen completed to Ricky Bryant for a 44-yard touchdown as time expired. Final score: Ohio State 43, Fresno State 10.

This will be the first of a few outages over the next month or so to upgrade the software.


Also… if you have not done so, please read the following:


https://www.buckeyeplanet.com/forum...-real-post-a-love-letter.664668/#post-3549280


AND:


https://www.buckeyeplanet.com/forum/threads/bp-what’s-on-tap.664670/


Much Love,


The Elitist Pricks

I’m incredibly grateful to be a small part of the BP community, and tremendously excited to make a much larger contribution to it moving forward.

As Will (@Clarity) so emotionally and eloquently wrote in his post yesterday, needed change is coming. As he stated, I am the new “owner” of the site. My primary focus and commitment to the community is the health and well-being of the site, without compromising the culture whatsoever.

Based on the clear urgency in @AKAK ’s most recent financial distress thread, I doubt much of this is a surprise to anyone.

Here is a short list of improvements on the way, with much more detail and discussion on most of the items to follow as we get closer to kickoff/implementation.

Server migration and updating/upgrading the current software. BP will be OFFLINE MONDAY MORNING FROM 9:00 AM UNTIL 1:00 PM to accommodate this migration.

Repairing all the features that no longer function or work properly.

No more donations. Please cancel these if you have a recurring donation.

We will begin running minimally intrusive targeted ads.

We will have a site sponsor, and will definitely ask our community to support the site sponsor.

Redesign the front page.

A new, more thoughtful use of social media to grow and strengthen our community.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who mentioned me in Clarity’s thread and/or PM’d me to show their support after the announcement. It’s literally just a microcosm of what makes this place so special to me.

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Class: 2025
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Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 201lbs

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Hey you filthy, amazing, brilliant, pain in the ass, wonderful group of people, friends, and truly a chosen family. It's been a long time. Here comes a fairly typical unvarnished and unprepared stream of consciousness, with too many words and a gluttony of unnecessary descriptiveness, all wrapped around chaotic syntax and grammar. Strap in.

This is, unquestionably, the most difficult post I've ever written on BP, outside of speaking to the loss of some of our members and closest friends. Which is odd, because it's good news. It's not an end to anything, but a process of breathing life into my first child (I say with all the love and respect to my amazing daughter).

Over 21 years ago, 21 and some months, I sat seething being freshly banned (temp banned) from Bucknuts for speaking to truth. Not damning truth, not vulgar truth, just truth that didn't fit the narrative that they (Kirk and Mr.B) wanted to fit. Don't misunderstand the context here, that water was under the bridge in a matter of hours as they reversed the ban, apologized, and we continued to have a really wonderful relationship with the site and staff where most of us first came together. Indeed, BP sort of grew up in those first few years; from a scrappy new "rogue gallery" site existing in defiance of "the man", to a leader and developer of larger community talent that inspired the creation of other sites. It was an interesting time in the Buckeye part of the inter-webs... But, to get back on track, as I sat there seething I decided to download a fresh copy of vBulletin. I registered the first domain that came to mind (BuckeyePlanet), I set up a basic forum, posted something utterly inane like "yo, first real post" after an exhausted overnight of setting it all up, and then had the audacity to reach out to a half dozen people on BN to say "looksee what I did!"

21 years later, here we are. Here we sit. There was a glorious post LJB made earlier this year, maybe last year, it all bleeds together for me now, that stood BP up against the age of other major sites in and outside the Buckeyeverse.

We're older than my employer, AWS. We're older than Twitter, older than Youtube, older than Facebook. And in terms of culture, wealthier than any of them. (Would someone please tell me where I can spend culture? We should have made a Buckcoin when new crypto was the thing (no, we should not have)).

The site is 21 years old, and I bled into it, SO hard, for 18 of those. Willfully, gleefully, even when it was sort of killing me (lol); that's where it gave purpose. Those of you who know my health backstory know that the site gave me a purpose, and a community -- a reason that I was otherwise lacking. It's been a journey, this life experience and the consequences of being born at Camp Lejeune; but it's been a good one and I am very, very lucky. Literally, things would have been, would be right now, different if not for you, and this. Which, counterintuitively, is also the reason I've been absent the last few years. I found a gap the size of the eye of a needle to try and stand up and be as much a normie as possible. I took a really awful low level job with AWS; entry level, beyond entry level, in the hope that they would sponsor me to get back my TS/SCI security clearance, which would open the door to better opportunities and the promise of being, finally, self sufficient.

God I love you guys and girls for the drives, and your donations, and support, and getting me in touch with doctors, I love you for the love you gave us. I have a daughter because of you. I'm alive because of you. I'm self sufficient and approaching thriving because of you.

That shitty job at AWS was a lot for me to handle physically. I struggled, but I made it work despite having to go on short term leave twice in that first 12-18 months. I wasn't a stranger to the hospital, and various specialists, but fuck if I wasn't going to fight back on my feet. When they presented me the opportunity to launch Reverse Supply Chain as the Security Manager, I took them up on it. I arrived in Florence, KY; freshly divorced (very amicably, Jo and I are still close friends and really positive+healthy coparents to Elise) in Feb 2020; and then ... well, 2020 happened. Alone save a dog, unable to see Elise as often as we planned, struggling hard with my health and not drowning, I threw myself into work. Too hard, candidly. But that period allowed me to get stronger; both in terms of my (ultimately losing) battle with the health stuff, but also in terms of my career.

As I type this, I own global security for AWS Supply Chain. All phases of the DC hardware lifecycle; forward and reverse logistics, decom, forensic labs, transportation, warehousing, and special projects. I have a growing team across the globe, some 40 sites and 20k operations vendors and 100s of AWS employees occupying them; handling more than $8bn in hardware at any given time, while protecting customer data and Amazon IP against threats that range from the mundane, to nation states adulterating hardware. I haven't been here (on BP), because in 2020 and 2021 I was working 80-90 hours a week, drinking bourbon and coffee (often together), and trying not to implode from feeling isolated and missing Elise. I did see her, of course, it was just harder because of the pandemic.

Look at me, all; wearing big boy pants and getting out of bed! It wasn't (and isn't) easy.

During that time I discovered new illnesses to add to the list. My favorite is something called Pyoderma Gangrenosum. Ultra rare (because I'm a pretentious shit like that), it's as close to a human zombie disease as you can get. A minor bruise can and will turn necrotic. I had a great stay in a hospital before Kentucky in which it had spiraled out of control, MRSA had taken root, and i had full Sepsis. All the antibiotics had failed, and they put me on a heavy IV course of Vancomycin (I'm not going to spell check that). I remember going "okay, what's the next step if this one doesn't work," to which the doctor LITERALLY SHRUGGED and said "honestly, the next step would be sending your samples off to the labs to get a treatment tailored just to you; it would take three days -- you don't have three days." I laughed. I mean, it's just one of those moments we all have or will face.

I've moved back to Columbus. Bought a house in Westerville near New Albany. I'm still working too hard, but for the first time since 1998, I'm independent and self sufficient and have degrees of control over my life (as much as anyone really can have). I've got wonderful relationships with Jo and Elise, and I've been carrying this heavy guilt about BP. It was always "I just have to carve out enough time to upgrade, post, etc. etc. etc." It wasn't for a lack of love that I didn't, candidly I'm just hanging on by my fingernails. And isn't that just part of adulting, even under the best circumstances.

I offered to give the site to those few who have bled into as or more deeply than I. There were conversations about selling it externally. Ultimately, I just wanted someone to support it since I couldn't. Update it. Improve it. Create ever better experiences for the community, the way I always worked so hard to for those first 18 years.

@heisman is the new owner of BP. I feel a little like the father of the bride watching the newly wed couple drive away after the reception. A sense of keen loss, but the knowledge that getting her off and into the world was only part of the experience, that I wasn't losing her at all.

What I hope this means for the site is that it will be updated, upgraded, and taken to new heights while maintaining the amazing culture we all worked so hard to develop and protect here.

What I hope this means for the community is a better experience.

What I hope this means for me is I can rejoin it, and let go of the guilt I have felt letting the community down that literally saved me and gave me purpose.

21 years. Just... Had I known, I would have written something more profound than "Yo, first real post."

I hope to be chatting more with you all soon. I want to be here, and lifting the responsibility (to which I wasn't sufficient) opens that door for it to be fun.

And who knows. Maybe I'll be an ass at some point, get temp banned, and start a new site. Lol, no to the no. This was a once-in-a-lifetime win; this community. Not the site, but the community.

Thank you all, for everything. All the things. Including those of you not here to read this anymore.

I really look forward to what's next. I also sort of want to know if Steve still "takes UMBRAGE" with ... just my existence. Hah. We're still ever so slightly a rogue's gallery. Sorry not sorry.

I won't even try to directly thank everyone who should be called out and celebrated; the way you truly deserve. The very real fear that I would miss someone because of time and space is just too much. Not one effort to better the site, donation, suggestion, argument, or change driven by each of you ever went unnoticed. And you all could call out, just as easily as I, those who have continued to bleed into the site even when I could not. Those who did in the past and then moved on (21 years is a long ass time!). Just know, for whatever it's worth, each of you has an unconditional place of love and respect in my heart. I know, I know -- this is a football (mostly) forum, and I sound like I'm trying to script The Notebook 2. Suck it up, old men get to be wistful and emotionally extravagant.

Forward. Here we go. Ever forward.

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Class: 2024
Position: IOL
School: Aiea (HI) Aiea
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 315lbs

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Class: 2024 (high school)
Position: Defensive back
School: Irvington (NJ) Irvington
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 185 lbs

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Is it wrong to be rooting for Penn State, Tenneseee, and Florida State this week?

Wednesday, Oct. 12

Louisiana at Marshall | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN2

Thursday, Oct. 13

Baylor at West Virginia | 7 p.m. | FS1
Temple at UCF | 7 p.m. | ESPN

Friday, Oct. 14

Navy at SMU | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
UTSA at FIU | 8 p.m. | CBSSN

Saturday, Oct. 15

No. 10 Penn State at No. 5 Michigan | 12 p.m. | FOX
Auburn at No. 9 Ole Miss | 12 p.m. | ESPN
No. 19 Kansas at Oklahoma | 12 p.m. | ESPN2
Iowa State at No. 22 Texas | 12 p.m. | ABC
Minnesota at No. 24 Illinois | 12 p.m. | Big Ten Network
Colgate at Army | 12 p.m. | CBSSN
Central Michigan at Akron | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Miami (Ohio) at Bowling Green | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Old Dominion at Coastal Carolina | 12 p.m. | ESPNU
Miami (Fla.) at Virginia Tech | 12:30 p.m. | ESPN3
Buffalo at UMass | 1 p.m. | ESPN3
Cal at Colorado | 2 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
UConn at Ball State | 2 p.m. | ESPN3

Vanderbilt at No. 1 Georgia | 3:30 p.m. | SEC Network
No. 3 Alabama at No. 6 Tennessee | 3:30 p.m. | CBS
No. 8 Oklahoma State at No. 13 TCU | 3:30 p.m. | ABC
No. 15 NC State at No. 18 Syracuse | 3:30 p.m. | ACC Network
Arkansas at BYU | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN
Gardner-Webb at Liberty | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Maryland at Indiana | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN2
Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Kent State at Toledo | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Ohio at Western Michigan | 3:30 p.m. | CBSSN
Texas State at Troy | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN3
Charlotte at UAB | 3:30 p.m. | Stadium
Western Kentucky at Middle Tennessee | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 25 James Madison at Georgia Southern | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Wisconsin at Michigan State | 4 p.m. | FOX
Tulane at South Florida | 4 p.m. | ESPNU
Louisiana Tech at North Texas | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Arizona at Washington | 5:30 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
Rice at Florida Atlantic | 6 p.m. | ESPN+

LSU at Florida | 7 p.m. | ESPN
Utah State at Colorado State | 7 p.m. | CBSSN
Arkansas State at Southern Miss | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
UL Monroe at South Alabama | 7 p.m. | NFL Network
No. 4 Clemson at Florida State | 7:30 p.m. | ABC
No. 16 Mississippi State at No. 22 Kentucky | 7:30 p.m. | SEC Network
Stanford at Notre Dame | 7:30 p.m. | NBC/Peacock
Nebraska at Purdue | 7:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
Memphis at East Carolina | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU
No. 7 USC at No. 20 Utah | 8 p.m. | FOX
North Carolina at Duke | 8 p.m. | ACC Network
Washington State at Oregon State | 9 p.m. | Pac-12 Network

Air Force at UNLV | 10:30 p.m. | CBSSN
San Jose State at Fresno State | 10:45 p.m. | FS1
Nevada at Hawai'i | 11:59 p.m. | Spectrum Sports PPV

View attachment 33292 View attachment 33292

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Class: 2024
Position: RB
School: McKinney(TX) McKinney
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 210lbs

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Class: 2024
School: Hannibal(MO) Hannibal
Position: RB
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 195lbs

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Class: 2024
School: Hollywood(FL) Chamanide Madonna
Position: RB
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 209lbs

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Class: 2024
School: Lancaster (TX) Lancaster
Position: RB
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 190lbs

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Class: 2024
School: Tampa(FL) Carrollwood Day
Position: RB
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 191lbs

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Class: 2024
School: Belle Vernon (PA) Belle Vernon
Position: RB
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 205lbs

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Class: 2024
School: Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy
Position: RB
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 200lbs

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Class: 2024
Position: Cornerback
School: Springfield (OH) Springfield
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 160lbs

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Class: 2023 (high school)
Position: ATH
School: Smyrna (TN) Smyrna
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 205 lbs

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Thought i would try uploading this. File size is 7gb so bare with me.

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Class: 2025 (high school)
Position: Running Back
School: Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 206 lbs

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Class: 2025 (high school)
Position: Defensive back
School: Zephyrhills (FL) Zephyrhills
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 170 lbs

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Class: 2025 (high school)
Position: Linebacker
School: San Juan Capistrano (CA) San Juan Hills
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 210 lbs

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Class: 2025 (high school)
Position: QB
School: Findlay (OH) Findlay
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 200 lbs