Ohio State heavily targeting five-star center
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Andrews Osborne Academy center Charles Bediako | FIBA
The Buckeyes recently completed another virtual visit with a top basketball prospect

The Ohio State football program celebrated with fireworks of their own this Memorial Day weekend. The Buckeyes secured their 19th verbal commitment in their 2021 recruiting class when four-star athlete Denzel Burke announced he would continue his football career in Columbus.

The addition separated Ohio State even further from the field in the 247Sports class rankings, and Burke is now the 15th top-200 player to commit to Day and the program.

However, the football team was not the only sport hitting the recruiting trail during the extended weekend. Chris Holtmann and the basketball Buckeyes have gotten off to a quick start in the 2021 recruiting class and continued to do so last weekend.

Jake Weingarten of stockrisers.com reported that Ohio State completed another virtual visit with five-star center Charles Bediako (St. Catharines, ON/Andrews Osborne Academy).


Bediako is both one of the top talents in the nation and one of Ohio State’s top targets in the class. He is listed as the No. 4 center and the No. 22 overall prospect of the 2021 recruiting class.

In addition to the five-star ranking, Bediako’s play has also earned him an impressive offer letter. Alongside Ohio State, he holds offers from the likes of Maryland, Illinois, Rutgers, Duke, Louisville, USC, Arizona State, TCU, Baylor, USC, Tennessee, Alabama and a handful of others.

Currently, there have been no Crystal Ball predictions made for him on 247Sports. However, Holtmann and Co. have made Bediako a priority and it appears the interest is mutual, giving the Buckeyes a legitimate chance of securing a commitment from him in the future.

Bediako will likely wait to make a decision to see if he is able to make in-person visits with his schools of choice.

The five-star prospect would make for a great addition to Ohio State’s already No. 5-ranked recruiting class, already holding verbal commits from four-star combo-guard Meechie Johnson and three-star power forward Kalen Etzler.

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Buckeye Bits: Impact of Denzel Burke’s commitment, Harry Miller is a man of many talents, more
Tia Johnston via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

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All of the latest Ohio State news from around the beat and beyond.

Happy Memorial Day, friends! In between grilling out, playing corn hole, sitting around the bonfire, taking the boat out, or whatever else you’re doing on this lovely holiday, please take a moment to honor what this day is really about.


In other news (literally), let’s take a look at what our friends around the Ohio State beat have been up to over this holiday weekend.

From around Land-Grant Holy Land...


What if there had been a 2020 NCAA Tournament? Predicting the madness that never was

Connor Lemons, LGHL

Just when you’re finally starting to get over the heartbreak from the 2020 NCAA Tournament getting cancelled, Connor goes and writes about what could have been.

Column: I kind of miss Ohio State being an underdog

Matt Tamanini, LGHL

To cap off last week’s underdog theme, Matt wrote about why he misses the excitement and satisfaction that being an underdog brings. Sorry, Matt. I don’t think you’re going to be feeling any of that excitement anytime soon.

Podcast: I Want to Go Back - A Legend Arrives on Campus

Jim Baird, LGHL

In the second episode of Jim’s podcast series I Want to Go Back, he walks us through the time Ohio State turned to a new head coach to guide them in their first season of play in the Western Conference.

Just how important is Trey Sermon to Ohio State’s plans this season?

Gene Ross, LGHL

Spoiler: Pretty important. Gene writes about the Buckeyes’ running back room, what Oklahoma transfer Trey Sermon brings to said room, and whether or not he has the potential to replace the infamous J.K. Dobbins.

From around the gridiron...


Analyzing impact of Denzel Burke committing to Ohio State

Birm, Lettermen Row

In case ya missed it, Denzel Burke—a four-star athlete from Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro High School and one of the country’s top-ranked 2021 prospects— committed to Ohio State on Sunday despite never making an in-person visit.

Birm of Lettermen Row writes about what Burke brings to the table and how his commitment impacts Ohio State’s 2021 recruiting class.


Seven recruits who could be next to commit to Ohio State

Bill Kurelic, Bucknuts

Speaking of the 2021 class, Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts predicts the seven prospects who may be next to announce their commitment to Ohio State.

With Burke’s commitment, Ohio State now has 19 commits in its class, nine of which are top 2021 recruits. Now, Ohio State running back commitment TreVeyon Henderson wants to know...


Potentially overlooked players at every position who could make an impact for Ohio State in 2020

Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors

Similar to the article our Gene Ross wrote last week in honor of Underdog Week, Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors took a look at one Buckeye from five position groups on both offense and defense who have the potential to make a name for themselves this year.

This is one of those times where, if you read this article and then one of the players listed has a breakout game, you can be like “oh yeah, I totally knew he was good, like, way before everyone else.”


Michigan president says no college football in the fall if students aren’t on campus

Phil Harrison, Buckeyes Wire

After a week filled with nothing but hopeful news, leave it to Michigan to put a damper on everyone else’s fun. This obviously brought about some good tweets, as you can imagine:


College football has hurdles to clear in making safe return this fall

Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch

Now that the first steps have been taken by the NCAA, various conferences and schools toward a possible football season this fall, the question remains: How will it work?

Bill Rabinowitz of The Columbus Dispatch asked several medical experts how football can return safely, considering the entire sport is based on contact.


Pro Football Focus named Ohio State guard Wyatt Davis its most valuable returning guard in college football for the 2020 season.

After a dominant season as a redshirt sophomore in 2019, with 459 pass-blocking snaps and zero sacks allowed, this should come as no surprise.


I’d argue Harry Miller is also a valuable returning guard...for many reasons.


My favorite is the extra screen he filled with him just snacking on watermelon.

From around the hardwood...


National sites update projections for 2020-21 Ohio State hoops

Steve Helwagen, Bucknuts

Since the NCAA extended their former June 3 deadline for basketball players who have declared for the draft to announce a return to their college program, some college programs’ rosters are a little unpredictable at the moment.

So, if we have to eat, drink and sleep roster projections until we know what the heck is happening, then so be it. Steve Helwagen of Bucknuts rounded up some of the recent projections of Ohio State’s roster from national websites, along with schedule updates.


A little pick-me-up from Carmen’s Crew.


Anyone else pumped for this season of TBT?!

From everywhere else...


Cannon Kingsley is an amazing name for a tennis player.


After his first season as a Buckeye, Ohio State freshman Cannon Kingsley was given the nation’s top award for a rookie as he was named the ITA National Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Ohio State freshman to be named national rookie of the year and the fourth freshman to earn All-American honors.

Check out all of Kingsley’s 2019-20 accomplishments via the link in the tweet above, because it is literally too long to list here.


We know.


Not sure how valid or official this rankings list is, but hey, we’ll take it.


My goosebumps’ goosebumps have goosebumps.


Wow, I miss sports.

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Just how important is Trey Sermon to Ohio State’s plans this season?
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Replacing J.K. Dobbins will be no easy task for the Buckeye backfield

Ohio State expects to compete for a national title in 2020, but that doesn’t mean the team doesn’t come without its fair share of question marks. While many expect the Buckeyes offense to dominate this upcoming season with a returning Justin Fields and a stacked receiver core, there is still a bit of cause for concern surrounding the running back position.

It’s mostly uncharted territory for OSU in the past few years, as since 2017 they have been able to rely on the trustworthy legs of J.K. Dobbins. After Mike Weber began that season with an injury, a true freshman Dobbins got the rock for the very first time in the opener against Indiana. That night in Bloomington, the Texas native ran for 181 yards as he instantly burst onto the scene. He’d finish his freshman campaign with over 1,400 yards rushing despite having less than 200 carries as Weber bounced in and out of the lineup.

His sophomore season was just a bit less productive as he was forced to fully split carries with Weber, albeit still rushing for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns. It was this last year that Dobbins reached his final form and cemented himself as the next great Ohio State running back.

A true bell-cow back for the Buckeyes in 2019, Dobbins ran the ball 301 times for just over 2,000 yards with 21 rushing TDs. Finally with the full brunt of the workload, the junior was able to put his entire skillset on display, and really was the cog that kept Ohio State’s offense on schedule. The speed and power demonstrated by Dobbins alongside the threat of Fields keeping the ball and taking it himself created a powerful one-two punch for Ryan Day — both halves of which they were without when both players were hobbled against Clemson.

Now, Dobbins is off to continue toting the rock for the Baltimore Ravens, where he and Lamar Jackson will look to repeat a very similar rushing attack to the one in Columbus. For Ohio State, they still have Fields, but the Heisman frontrunner QB will need a strong backfield mate if the Bucks have aspirations of winning it all in 2020.

Heading into this offseason, Master Teague was the guy tasked with filling the large shoes left by Dobbins’ departure to the NFL. As a redshirt freshman this past season, Teague did show flashes of high potential, finishing the year with almost 800 yards rushing and four TDs at just under six yards per carry. However, most of his carries came in mop up duty against lesser teams whose defenses had already been beaten to a pulp by Ohio State’s starters through two or three quarters.

It’s a bit tough to say for sure how good Teague truly is, and I'm sure the fans and coaching staff alike were excited to see what he’d be able to do in spring ball. That would not come to fruition unfortunately, as before COVID-19 shut down practices for good, Teague went down with an achilles injury. With Marcus Crowley already out recovering from an ACL injury, this left just Steele Chambers as the only healthy scholarship RB on the roster.

Enter: Trey Sermon.

Ryan Day has done a phenomenal job utilizing the transfer portal in his early tenure with Ohio State, obviously snagging Fields from Georgia but also getting a big piece along the offensive line in Jonah Jackson out of Rutgers. He and position coach Tony Alford are hoping to strike gold once again with the addition of Sermon to a beat up running back room.

Having originally been recruited by Alford back in 2017 before committing to the Sooners, Sermon spent the past three seasons in Norman, racking up over 2,000 yards and 23 TDs. Despite only carrying the rock 54 times in 2019 in Oklahoma’s pass-heavy offense, the back averaged a very good 7.1 yards per carry (384 total yards) and found the end zone four times. He joins Ohio State as a grad transfer, able to suit up immediately.

Now, Sermon obviously does not come without his own injury woes. In his final season with the Sooners, he suffered an ACL injury that ended his campaign after just nine games. Having not been added to the roster until after practices had shut down, Buckeye fans really had no gauge of the current bill of health for their new RB. However, he has recently been seen working out in a video on Twitter, cutting and practicing his footwork, and looks to be in great shape.


With Teague’s return in question, it looks as though Sermon will be Ohio State’s starting RB when the season finally comes along. His skillset meshes very well with the Buckeye offense, and his running style is actually very similar to that of Dobbins.

With decent speed, having been clocked at around a 4.5 40-time (compared to Dobbins’ 4.4), Sermon is your prototypical five yards and a cloud of dust runner between the tackles. Given the strength of Ohio State’s offensive line this season, especially on the interior, Sermon will have a chance to absolutely flourish on this offense if fully healthy. The added benefit of Fields’ ability with his legs will just make it that much harder for opposing offenses to slow down the Buckeye run game once again.

Still, it’s tough to put true expectations on just how good Sermon will be at Ohio State. Is he going to be the next J.K. Dobbins? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be an incredibly important player in 2020.

Everyone expects Ryan Day to air it out a bit more this upcoming season given the way the roster is configured, albeit likely not as much as the pass-heavy offense the Buckeyes saw with Dwayne Haskins in 2018. With the skill and depth from the team’s receivers, Sermon doesn’t have to be a Heisman contender for Ohio State to be successful. As long as he is able to keep the offense on schedule and provide a serviceable rushing attack to then build the passing game off of, the team in Columbus will be in phenomenal shape.

Anything extra would be gravy.

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More on Ohio State’s latest commitment, the 2021 class
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Four-star athlete and OSU commit Denzel Burke | Brandon Huffman, 247Sports
The Buckeyes continue to haul in the nation’s top talents

Hopefully you’re enjoying your Memorial Day Weekend. As you embark on your extra day off, you may have missed some of the Ohio State news from the past couple days. In the land of recruiting, that means yet another BOOOOM from the Buckeyes’ No. 1-ranked 2021 class. We here at Land-Grant Holy Land are here to get you up to speed on the latest commit for Ryan Day and the gang and what it means moving forward.


In case you went full Zero Dark Thirty to enjoy the holiday weekend, on Sunday Ohio State picked up a commitment from four-star athlete Denzel Burke. The 6-foot Scottsdale, AZ native is the No. 7 athlete in the nation, and the No. 4 player out of Arizona in the 2021 class. Playing both receiver and corner at Saguaro, Burke projects as a DB at the next level.

Heres what Mountain Region recruiting analyst Blair Angulo has to say of Burke’s skillset:


High praise for the latest Buckeye DB commit, now the sixth member of the position group in the current class. Which begs the question — are the Buckeyes now done in the secondary in this cycle?

Already holding commitments from a trio of four-star prospects in safeties Andre Turrentine and Jantzen Dunn and corner Jakailin Johnson as well as a pair of three-star DBs in Jaylen Johnson and Devonta Smith, the room is starting to get a bit crowded. However, that does not mean you should entirely rule out Ohio State making at play at some of the nation’s top remaining defensive backs. A couple of guys still remain on the target board, with the main focus appearing to shift to Derrick Davis Jr. and Jaylin Davies.

No. 1 on the Buckeyes’ list seems to be Davis, the nation’s No. 2 safety and the No. 55 overall recruit in 2021. Out of Monroeville, PA, Ohio State would be fighting off heavy opposition from both Clemson and the in-state team, Penn State. The four-star safety currently seems to be leaning towards the Nittany Lions according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball, but never rule out Ryan Day and Kerry Coombs. If the Buckeyes are looking to add a seventh DB, they would take Davis right now.

However, it does not put to bed the recruitment of the four-star corner Davies. The 6-foot-1 Mater Dei product is the No. 12 CB in the nation, and the No. 139 player overall in the cycle. About a week ago, Davies listed Ohio State in his final four alongside Arizona State, Oregon and USC. There is clearly mutual interest between the two parties, but the Buckeyes would like to get Davies on campus before adding him to the fold, and with COVID-19 restrictions still in place, who knows when that would be.

Regardless, even if Burke is the final commit for Ohio State in the secondary, the team is in fantastic position moving forward with all of the young talent coming in the last two classes. You don't get the nickname “DBU” for nothing. It starts with recruiting.

Quick Hits

• In case you thought the OSU staff would rest on their laurels and take the rest of MDW off, think again. This group of 2021 commits has done a phenomenal job of doing some recruiting themselves via social media, and they seem to be pretty well tied in to what is going on and when the next commitments are coming. If this tweet by RB commit Evan Pryor is any indication, the class could be adding another member sooner rather than later.

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Podcast: I Want to Go Back - A Legend Arrives on Campus
Jim Baird via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
Relive the greatest stories from Ohio State football history in Season 2 of Land-Grant Holy Land’s exclusive podcast series.

Ohio State football has an unrivaled tradition and history. Now, it’s time to relive those epic moments once more. Each Monday over the coming weeks, you can listen to a new episode from Season 2 of I Want to Go Back — Land-Grant Holy Land’s exclusive podcast series that brings to life the greatest lost stories from Ohio State football history. This season, we’ll go back to OSU’s rise to power in the early days of the Big Ten Conference.

On this week’s episode — a legend arrives on campus...


The Ohio State football program was taking on water leading into the 1913 season. The program was about to take a major step up in conference play — moving from playing the powers of Ohio in the Ohio Athletic Conference to the powers of the Midwest in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, OSU had become a revolving door for head coaches — three consecutive coaches left after a single season. The biggest blow of all happened after the 1912 season.

Ohio State put its faith in head coach Big John Richards to lead the team as it prepared to join the Western Conference. The West was the forerunner to the Big Ten and the Buckeyes were set to start conference play during the 1913 season. Coach Richards played and coached at Wisconsin and knew what he was doing from the sidelines. Ohio State finished as conference champs in 1912 in their final season as members of the Ohio Athletic Conference. But Richards, the coaching magician, saved his greatest trick for the offseason: he decided to disappear. Big John quit to pursue a business opportunity in Chicago.

Now the Buckeyes were again on the hunt for a new head coach. A coach who could bring stability to the program. A coach who could recruit top talent. A coach that could help the program take the next step against the ferocious step-up in competition in the Western Conference. OSU didn’t have a lot of time to find the right fit. The moves Ohio State made next built the program we know today.

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Name to file away but not forget,,,Cody Welliver, a 6'5 incoming freshman QB with an absolute gun from Gee Scott's stomping grounds of Sammamish, Wash. and Ford Sports Performance. He'll be at Kennedy Catholic H.S. this fall.

What makes you think you (we) have it?

Remembering:

1Lt Al Lofton, USMC, Ohio State University Class of 1967

Sp 4 Doug Knott, 25th Infantry Division, US Army, Fairmont High School Class of 1961

Looks like they're going to be playing in a downpour. (TNT/TBS)

https://thematch.pgatour.com/o/en/campaign/thematch

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Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy

Defensive Tackle
6-2
270 lbs
Class of 2022

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Chicago (IL) St. Rita High School

Wide Receiver
5-11
177 lbs
Class of 2022


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Arlington (TX) Martin High School

Defensive End
6-4
215 lbs
Class of 2022


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OPENDORSE ESTIMATES JUSTIN FIELDS COULD MAKE OVER $400,000, OTHER BUCKEYES WOULD REACH FIVE-FIGURE ANNUAL SUMS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA UNDER RECOMMENDED NCAA RULES



College athletes, in a little over a year, should have the ability to profit in a variety of ways from their name, image and likeness.

A couple of weeks ago, the NCAA Board of Governors – which is chaired by Ohio State president Michael Drake – announced its support for recommendations allowing athletes to profit in ways that have always been barred. There’ll be some “guardrails” put in place by the NCAA to regulate certain aspects, but provided the finalized plans pass when the NCAA member institutions meet in January, the changes will go into effect by the time the 2021-22 academic year rolls around.

The opening of the floodgates won’t lead to a truly free market, but it would give Ohio State athletes the chance to profit in ways they haven’t been able to before. Profiting from a YouTube channel? Getting paid to appear on a television commercial or on a billboard? Making ad revenue from streaming themselves playing video games? Selling merchandise? All of that would be allowed, provided they aren’t advertising with the Buckeyes’ logos.

Possibly the most obvious way college athletes could profit, though, is as social media marketers, otherwise known as influencers.

“This is really our first education on what and who ultimately can be a digital entrepreneur, and we know that this is a new business, so to speak,” athletic director Gene Smith said on April 29.

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...ve-figure-annual-sums-from-social-media-under

WOW!!!, I knew people made $$$ off social media sites; however, I'd never had guessed that a college football player could make $400K a year just from social media sites. You know if Justin Fields could make that much so could players on other teams too. It's already started to change tOSU's football recruiting strategy:

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Like most powerhouse programs, Ohio State football’s recruiting team had already made its personal branding opportunities a major staple of its program and a major staple in recruiting pitches. We can expect that to pick up even further in the future, and as pointed out by Eleven Warriors’ Colin Hass-Hill last week, that has already started with Ohio State coaches on Twitter.

Click to expand...

Besides recruiting I wonder how it will effect:

1. Team chemistry: I can see jealousy and/or envy between the "have" and "have nots" on the football team.

2. Players objectives: Players may become more interested in boosting up their stats to hopefully increase their popularity (i.e. star status) to increase their (potential) NIL $$$ than achieving "team goals".

3. Title IX and non revenue teams: I can see some problems and/or complaints from women and other non revenue producing teams because the star players on these teams aren't getting any significant NIL money, etc.

4. Declaring for the draft: I can see some football and basketball players (that get a significant amount of NIL $$$) not declaring early for the draft (i.e. staying in school another year.).

Needles to say this will change the future of college football.

Here is the torrent for Ohio state vs Indiana 3-5-2013. This is from the 2012-2013 season. I found this game on Lime torrents. I did add some new trackers to it to help it run better and hope to find more seeders for it.

I found a torrent of Ohio State basketball vs Wisconsin on 3-6-2011 on a torrent website. It was a great find for any Buckeye fan to find. GO BUCKS!!

I was in Paris. There were massive student protests and the US embassy was heavily guarded (because of Iran). We hung out in cafes watching French troops double time down the boulevard and sat on our hotel balcony drinking cheap wine late into the night discussing whether Newsweek or Time was the more important magazine. Meanwhile, in the NW something big was about to happen:

Ohio State

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Salisbury (NC) Salisbury High School

Linebacker
6-1
205 lbs
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My parents moved our family from Long Island, NY, to Upper Arlington, Ohio in January of 1980. The first thing I remember about being in Ohio, other than sleeping on the living room floor without furniture the first night, was the Steelers Rams Super Bowl played on January 20 and won by Pittsburgh. I was 9 years old.

I attended CCD, which if you don't know is Catholic Sunday school, at Our Lady of Victory in Marble Cliff. Among the other kids in that class was Aseneth Dukat, a happy young girl with a whole lifetime in front of her. She was in my grade at school, Barrington elementary, but we had separate classrooms and teachers.

On June 3, 1980, Aseneth, aged 9, was walking home from school. She was abducted, strangled, raped, and finally killed via a 20 pound stone being dropped on her head. She had nearly made it home, as her body was found in a culvert not even 500 feet from her house. Her assailant(s) has/have never been found.

I was going to wait to post this until the 40th anniversary of this horrifying event, but because the case remains open and there may be some remote chance someone here has ANY information, I decided to share it now.

The Long Walk Home - The Aseneth Dukat Project

May you rest in Peace, you precious soul. It's been 40 years, and in just 6 months together, I barely knew you, but I shed tears for you even as I write this today missing you.

If you know ANYTHING at all that could possibly help solve this crime, please contact those who run the linked site.

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Mission Hills (CA) Bishop Alemany High School

Defensive Back
6-3
170 lbs
Class of 2022


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Aledo (TX) Aledo High School

Defensive Back
6-0
183 lbs
Class of 2022


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Imhotep Institute (Philadelphia, PA)
Ht: 6'5''
Wt: 215 lbs
Class: 2022 (High School)

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Houston (TX) Klein Cain High School

Running Back
5-9
192 lbs
Class of 2022



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Height: 6'11"
Weight: 200
Hometown: Westtown, PA
School: Westtown School
Position: Center

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Height: 6'1"
Weight: 165
Hometown: Nashville, TN
School: Brentwood Academy
Position: Point Guard

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