I have compared the current rosters for Ohio State and Michigan to see which is more talented, and by how much. I used the 247 Composite rating for each player. Of course, I could not factor player development into the equation, so lets just assume that it is equal for both teams (although I suspect that Ohio State does a better job of player development despite [spoiler alert!] having much better talent to begin with).

A quick glance at the charts should tell you all you need to know: There is lots of scarlet at the top and lots of blue at the bottom.

No.	Player..............................	Position	247 Composite
1	Justin Fields	QB	1.0000
2	Shea Patterson	QB	0.9982
3	Nicholas Petit-Frere	OL	0.9963
4	Chase Young	DL	0.9957
5	Jeffrey Okudah	DB	0.9955
6	Baron Browning	LB	0.9940
7	Zach Harrison	DL	0.9933
8	Daxton Hill	DB	0.9927
9	Donovan Peoples-Jones	WR	0.9925
10	Shaun Wade	DB	0.9904
11	Garrett Wilson	WR	0.9903
12	Taron Vincent	DL	0.9884
13	Wyatt Davis	OL	0.9876
13	Tyreke Johnson	DB	0.9876
15	Harry Miller	OL	0.9868
16	Chris Hinton	DL	0.9867
17	Justin Hilliard	LB	0.9851
18	Jaelen Gill	RB	0.9831
19	Tyreke Smith	DL	0.9816
20	Jonathon Cooper	DL	0.9811
21	Jeremy Ruckert	TE	0.9810
22	Ben Bredeson	OL	0.9799
23	J.K. Dobbins	RB	0.9791
24	Cesar Ruiz	OL	0.9786
25	Teradja Mitchell	LB	0.9771
26	Demario McCall	RB	0.9767
27	Zach Charbonnet	RB	0.9760
28	Josh Myers	OL	0.9757
29	Luiji Vilain	DL	0.9734
30	Tommy Togiai	DL	0.9721
31	Isaiah Pryor	DB	0.9712
32	Haskell Garrett	DL	0.9678
33	Matthew Jones	OL	0.9652
34	Austin Mack	WR	0.9649
35	Josh Proctor	DB	0.9640
36	Kamryn Babb	WR	0.9629
37	Jameson Williams	WR	0.9621
38	Ambry Thomas	DB	0.9583
39	Michael Onwenu	OL	0.9571
40	Jashon Cornell	DL	0.9563
41	Tyler Friday	DL	0.9560
42	Binjimen Victor	WR	0.9546
43	Mazi Smith	DL	0.9536
44	Trente Jones	OL	0.9512
45	Jordan Anthony	LB	0.9510
46	Cade Stover	LB	0.9507
47	Jonah Jackson	OL	0.9500
48	Aidan Hutchinson	DL	0.9498
49	Ronnie Hickman	DB	0.9485
50	Cameron McGrone	LB	0.9481

No.	Player..............................	Position	247 Composite
51	Chuck Filiaga	OL	0.9475
52	Max Wray	OL	0.9473
53	Tarik Black	WR	0.9454
54	Enokk Vimahi	OL	0.9445
55	Jake Hausmann	TE	0.9439
56	Dylan McCaffrey	QB	0.9435
57	Brendon White	DB	0.9421
58	Lavert Hill	DB	0.9409
59	Jordan Fuller	DB	0.9403
60	Nico Collins	WR	0.9378
61	K.J. Hill	WR	0.9330
62	Dallas Gant	LB	0.9322
63	Mustapha Muhammad	TE	0.9318
64	Nolan Rumler	OL	0.9295
65	Cornelius Johnson	WR	0.9294
66	Trevor Keegan	OL	0.9288
67	Antwuan Jackson	DL	0.9260
68	Jaylen Harris	WR	0.9254
69	Marcus Williamson	DB	0.9250
70	Amir Riep	DB	0.9243
71	Luke Farrell	TE	0.9233
72	Joe Milton	QB	0.9202
73	Jalen Perry	DB	0.9186
74	Josh Ross	LB	0.9184
75	K'Vaughan Pope	LB	0.9170
76	Javontae Jean-Baptiste	DL	0.9168
77	Sevyn Banks	DB	0.9166
78	Anthony Solomon	LB	0.9137
79	Master Teague III	RB	0.9132
80	Steele Chambers	ATH	0.9126
81	Jerron Cage	DL	0.9105
82	Jaylen Kelly-Powell	DB	0.9071
83	Jalen Mayfield	OL	0.9062
84	Karsen Barnhart	OL	0.9057
85	Cade McNamara	QB	0.9052
86	Ryan Jacoby	OL	0.9031
87	Giles Jackson	WR	0.9004
88	Pete Werner	LB	0.8994
89	David Ojabo	DL	0.8986
90	Thayer Munford	OL	0.8985
91	Quinten Johnson	DB	0.8982
92	Cameron Brown	ATH	0.8971
92	Donovan Jeter	DL	0.8971
94	Tommy Eichenberg	LB	0.8966
95	Noah Potter	DL	0.8958
95	Ryan Hayes	OL	0.8958
97	Carlo Kemp	DL	0.8954
98	Erick All	TE	0.8937
99	Tuf Borland	LB	0.8933
100	Marcus Crowley	RB	0.8917

No.	Player..............................	Position	247 Composite
101	Nick Eubanks	TE	0.8893
102	Gemon Green	DB	0.8891
102	Mike Morris	DL	0.8891
104	D.J. Turner	DB	0.8888
105	Chris Olave	WR	0.8875
106	Andrew Steuber	OL	0.8860
107	J'Marick Woods	DB	0.8838
108	Khaleke Hudson	LB	0.8819
109	Charles Thomas	LB	0.8810
110	Mike Danna	DL	0.8800
111	Gavin Cupp	OL	0.8791
112	Christian Turner	RB	0.8784
113	Brad Hawkins	DB	0.8783
114	Zach Carpenter	OL	0.8776
115	Joel Honigford	OL	0.8761
116	Jack Stewart	OL	0.8756
116	Bryson Shaw	DB	0.8756
118	Cormontae Hamilton	TE	0.8754
119	Mike Sainristil	WR	0.8743
120	Taylor Upshaw	DL	0.8742
121	Craig Young	ATH	0.8735
122	Sammy Faustin	DB	0.8729
123	Phillip Paea	DL	0.8721
124	Robert Landers	DL	0.8719
125	Alex Williams	DL	0.8713
126	Ben Van Sumeren	OL	0.8709
127	Marcus Hooker	DB	0.8701
128	Kwity Paye	DL	0.8696
129	Julius Welschof	DL	0.8694
130	Vincent Gray	DB	0.8667
131	Branden Bowen	OL	0.8666
132	Jaden McKenzie	DL	0.8661
133	Josh Alabi	OL	0.8655
133	Gabe Newburg	DL	0.8655
135	Michael Barrett	LB	0.8635
136	Luke Schoonmaker	TE	0.8614
137	George Johnson III	ATH	0.8601
138	Damon Arnette	DB	0.8596
139	Rashod Berry	TE	0.8568
139	Malik Harrison	LB	0.8568
141	Quintel Kent	WR	0.8564
142	Josh Uche	DL	0.8558
143	Stephen Spanellis	OL	0.8543
144	Josh Metellus	DB	0.8540
145	Hassan Haskins	RB	0.8539
146	Joey Velasquez	DB	0.8531
147	Dawand Jones	OL	0.8527
148	Ellijah Gardiner	WR	0.8518
149	Ben Mason	FB	0.8510
150	Sean McKeon	TE	0.8493
151	Gunnar Hoak	QB	0.8485
151	Jahsen Wint	DB	0.8485
153	Davon Hamilton	DL	0.8457
154	Michael Dwumfour	DL	0.8453
155	German Green	DB	0.8444
156	Devin Gil	LB	0.8428
157	John Runyon	OL	0.8402
158	Ronnie Bell	WR	0.8349

Here are the top 50 players broken down into groups of ten:

01-10: Ohio State 7, Michigan 3
11-20: Ohio State 9, Michigan 1
21-30: Ohio State 6, Michigan 4
31-40: Ohio State 8, Michigan 2
41-50: Ohio State 5, Michigan 5

So Ohio State has 35 of the top 50 players (70%), while Michigan has only 15 (30%). It is very difficult to beat a team when your opponent has more than twice as many top end players as you do, and that is exactly the position in which Michigan finds itself. In football terms, Ohio State can field an entire team of 22 players, plus 13 reserves, from top-50 recruits, while Michigan can barely field a single unit (offense or defense) from top-50 recruits.

Things get a little bit better for Michigan in the second 50 players:

51--60: Ohio State 5, Michigan 5
61--70: Ohio State 6, Michigan 4
71--80: Ohio State 6, Michigan 4
81--90: Michigan 6, Ohio State 4
91-100: Ohio State 5, Michigan 5

In the second group of 50 players, Ohio State still holds a slight edge, 26 to 24, or 52% to 48%. Among the top-100 players, Ohio State has 61 while Michigan has only 39. Note that Ohio State has almost as many top-50 players (35) as Michigan has top-100 players (39).

Michigan owns the rest of the chart, which is not a good thing. Of the bottom 58 players, 39 (67%) belong to Michigan, while only 19 (33%) are with Ohio State. (Note that place kickers, punters, long snappers are not rated).

Ohio State has 80 players on the chart, while Michigan has 78 players. Here's how the two teams compare by percentage of players in the top-50, second-50, and bottom-58:

Program	Top-50	2nd-50	Bottom-76
Ohio State Buckeyes	35/80 (43.75%)	26/80 (32.50%)	19/80 (23.75%)
Michigan Wolverines	15/78 (19.25%)	24/78 (30.75%)	39/78 (50.00%)

Here's another way to look at this: Each team has roughly the same number of players on its current roster (80 for Ohio State, 78 for Michigan). The midpoint player for Ohio State is #40, for Michigan #39. Ohio State's #40 player is Jordan Fuller (0.9403 rating), who places at #59 overall (37th percentile). Michigan's #39 player is Erick All (0.8937 rating), who places at #98 overall (62nd percentile).

Finally, the average rating for Ohio State's players is .9308, and the average rating for Michigan's players is .9020. To people who don't know recruiting, three points might not seem like a huge talent gap. However, take your favorite football simulator game; give every player on one team a score of 93; give every player on the other team a score of 90; play fifteen games, and see which team wins fourteen of them.

BTN Prepares for the 2019 Big Ten Football Season
BTN Communications via Big Ten Network

Ahead of the Big Ten Network’s 13th football season, BTN president François McGillicuddy today shared the network’s perspective on the 2019 season at Big Ten Football media days. “We are responsible for representing all Big Ten institutions across more than 40 games and over 750 hours of programming during 14 weeks of the 2019 Big Ten Football regular season,” said McGillicuddy. “To do that, our focus will be on three things –production of quality live games, compelling storytelling about the Big Ten Conference and the most expert Big Ten analysis.” The following updates were also provided: FOX Sports App Beginning

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The off season is long and boring and we're all caught in a rut of scrounging through morsels of recruiting news, praying for trash talk out of conference media days and laughing at Dan Mullen.

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How about we actually talk about what's going to happen in the 2019 season? In responding to this thread, please give the three things you are most certain about (ICL's) and three things crazy things you think COULD happen if circumstances were right (WADI's). Pictures are always welcome!


ICL's:




1). Guz Malzahn is going to get fired. Don't care about his contract or money owed, his ass is getting canned.

2). Notre Dame will lose four games (including Week 4) and Brian Kelly will leave of his own free will

3). Oklahoma will not make the CFP


WADI's:



1). Brent Venables is everybody's pick to replace Dabo when Dabo takes the Bama job after Saban retires. What if Southern Cal says fuck all that and makes him the Coach at the end of this year?

2). I think Indiana wins 8 games this year. Including Michigan State

3). Somebody is gonna hire the fired Maryland head coach DJ Durkin and make him their OC. It will be a bad day for a once proud program.

Big Ten writers predict Michigan to win 2019 Big Ten football title
BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network

Michigan, for the first time since 2004, will be Big Ten champions, according to cleveland.com's ninth annual preseason Big Ten football predictions.

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The table below is an attempt to organize info on how OSU recruits have performed after the fact with recruiting class as the basis for organization. This is evolving as it goes and comments and suggestions are more than welcome.

I am looking at how kids were rated coming out of HS and how they turned out. I am using Scout's rankings exclusively for HS ratings as it is just too complicated to do anything else.

As for how they "turned out", I am looking at All B1G Ten honors and the NFL draft. How many years they spent as starters or letters won would be great metrics and I may add those if I find time and a way to easily gather the info.

Any ideas on other metrics are encouraged - but ease of use is important unless you want to gather the data yourself.

I started with 2002 - the first year comprehensive numbers are available - and my goals is to eventually catch up with my Scholarship Roster table so that as kids roll off the current team they go from one table to the next.

I am putting this in the football forum rather than recruiting simply so we don't have to watch our language.

247 Profile
Rivals Profile
Twitter Profile



St. Catharines, ON
Willoughby (OH) Andrews Osborne Academy

Height: 6-foot-11
Weight: 220 lbs

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Anyone else on here trying to use this process on ticketmaster this morning?

This is the NEW AND IMPROVED Scholarship Roster. I followed the Phil Steele philosophy and tried to cram as much stuff in as small of a space as possible.

Not sure how it shows up on a table or cell phone. Open to suggestions and corrections.

If this works I will let the old chart go.

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Eight Big Ten names make Andy Katz’s top 25 players for 2019-20
BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network

BTN contributor Andy Katz released his top 25 players for the 2019-20 college basketball season, and eight Big Ten players made his NCAA.com list. Not surprisingly, Michigan State star and reigning Big Ten player of the year Cassius Winston tops the list.

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Three Hall of Famers will attend 2019 Big Ten Media Days
BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network

The Big Ten announced Wednesday that three Hall of Famers, Lorenzo White of Michigan State, Tom Osborne of Nebraska and Barry Alvarez of Wisconsin, will attend the 2019 Big Ten Football Kickoff Luncheon, held Friday, July 19, in the International Ballroom at the Hilton Chicago. White will be recognized as a member of the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame class, and will be available for autographs and take part in group interviews during the luncheon. Osborne and Alvarez will also be interviewed during the luncheon as the conference celebrates the 150th anniversary of college football. The action kicks off

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ScriptOhio said:

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I never understand why its not "the 1 percent"

I mean doesn't the 99 percentile infer everyone can accomplish it?

Big Ten announces 2019 Big Ten Media Days attendees
Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor via Big Ten Network

The Big Ten announced the 43 student-athletes scheduled to attend the 2019 Big Ten Football Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon, held Thursday and Friday, July 18 and 19, at the Hilton Chicago.

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I'm going to be working at the NFL Hall of Fame for the induction ceremonies(I was chosen by my company to help with festivities). I was going to stay an extra day and see what Canton had to offer, or drive back to Cincinnati, but was looking for some good restaurants in or around Canton, or on the road back south from Canton. Any ideas??

Off and running!

Big Ten Bucket List – Ohio State: BTN LiveBIG
BTN.com LiveBIG Staff via Big Ten Network

You can't beat this Buckeye bucket list!

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Ohio State 4-star safety target sets commitment date
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Four-star safety Lathan Ransom lists Ohio State in his top three and plans to announce his decision in two weeks on his birthday.

Ohio State recruiting has been on fire the past two weeks, and with The Opening Finals beginning Monday, we think the momentum won’t slow down this week.

Case in point, we learned early Monday afternoon that one of Ohio State’s biggest remaining priorities included the Buckeyes in his final three schools and plans to make his announcement in two weeks, on his birthday.

Four-star safety Lathan Ransom (Tucson, AZ / Salpointe Catholic) spoke with Tom Loy of CBS Sports recently and said that Ohio State was one of his final three schools as well as Texas and Notre Dame.

Ransom is one of the best defensive prospects in this years recruiting class. The 247Sports Composite Rankings have him listed as the No. 4 safety and the No. 76 overall prospect.

The blue-chip safety recruit last visited Ohio State on June 21 and the Buckeyes are viewed as the overwhelming favorites to land his commitment. The 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions favor Ohio State with 93 percent of the 15 projections made.

Adding to Ohio State’s chances at landing Ransom is that he is taking part in The Opening Finals this week alongside multiple Buckeye verbal commits, including recent Ohio State four-star cornerback pledge Clark Phillips. The two have already been spotted chatting.


The Buckeyes are quietly building an impressive secondary haul in this year’s recruiting class. Along with Phillips, the Buckeyes hold a verbal commit from four-star safety Lejond Cavazos. If Ohio State is able to add Ransom to that group, a positional group that was once viewed as a weakness in this class could become a strength.

Ohio State center target could announce this week


Continuing to prove that Ohio State recruiting will continue its hot streak in recruiting this week, the Buckeyes could have a BOOM-ing Independence Day with some fireworks of their own. (Sorry I had to)

Three-star center prospect Josh Fryar took to Twitter Monday to say he will be making a big announcement this Thursday. And while this doesn’t mean he will making his official decision this week, it certainly puts him on commitment watch.


If Thursday is the day he will be making the big decision, Ohio State is the likely choice. The Buckeyes hold the majority of the 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions with 91 percent of the 11 selections made. Also, he is coming off of an official visit at the University on June 21, which saw the Buckeyes play host to a plethora of talents for its new annual Backyard Bash and Barbecue.

Fryar holds offers from the likes of Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, Purdue and Oregon and his play on the field outweighs his recruiting ranking, as is proved by his offer sheet.

Elias Ricks to Ohio State not over yet


Five-star LSU CB commit Elias Ricks has long been connected to Ohio State even after he made a verbal pledge to the Tigers in Baton Rouge.

His relationship with Ohio State, as well as his recruitment as a whole, has been a roller coaster ride filled with highs and lows. There have been multiple occasions in his recruitment, at all different stages of his recruitment, where it looked like Ohio State would be the school he signed his name to play for in the early signing period.

The talks of him and Columbus died down but lately have taken life again now the The Opening Finals have began and Ohio State verbal commits are already in his ear.

We already linked above where Buckeye four-star safety commit Lejond Cavazos and Ricks were caught talking early in the even Monday but that wasn’t where the rumblings stopped. Cavazos himself later took to Twitter to leave a very cryptic message to Buckeye Nation.


Now nowhere in Cavazos Tweet does it mention Ricks by name and yes, Cavazos is recruiting multiple other “great athletes” to join him at Ohio State this weekend, but it definitely appears that the Ohio State commit is doing his best to convince Ricks to flip.

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Ohio State rookies get Madden 20 player ratings
Geoff Hammersley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Nick Bosa is the top Buckeye rookie, with Dwayne Haskins right behind him.


We are nearing the release of Madden NFL 20. Set to be released on Aug. 2, EA Sports announced the rookie player ratings in the game.

Ten former Ohio State Buckeyes got their first taste of being in a video game, with Nick Bosa and Dwayne Haskins leading the way with the top two spots among OSU rookies.

The younger Bosa brother, a member of the San Francisco 49ers, came in with a 79 overall. Haskins, a possible starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins, has an early grade of 72. Wide receiver Parris Campbell had the third best OSU rookie ranking behind Haskins, scoring a 71. And Haskins’ teammate, WR Terry McLaurin, is the last Buckeye rookie with a grade at or above 70; McLaurin’s grade was exactly a 70.

In the grand scheme of rookies, Bosa has the third best overall score. Slightly above him are defensive tackles Quinnen Williams (80) and Ed Oliver (79). Williams was picked one spot behind Bosa, going No. 3 to the New York Jets. Oliver, a standout for the Houston Cougars, went No. 9 to the Buffalo Bills.

Amongst rookie QBs, Haskins has the second best score—only behind overall No. 1 pick Kyler Murray, who has a 73. Daniel Jones, the New York Giants QB selection at No. 6 overall, had the lowest grade amongst the first round draft picks with a 65. Ouch.


If you want to check other player rankings, you can do so here.

“Still, there are a lot of questions about this team that makes me uncomfortable betting the over here. Ryan Day has never run a program on his own, let alone a program of this size with these expectations. Justin Fields has never been a starting quarterback at the college level. The Buckeyes will also have to play Nebraska, Northwestern and Michigan on the road this season.”


— Tom Fornelli on Ohio State getting under 10.5 wins this season | CBS Sports

With the lone football game about to come out, that means we’ve nearly survived the football offseason. Now, we’ve entered the time where season predictions are taking place.

Tom Fornelli at CBS Sports gave his predictions for the Big Ten this fall, saying whether or not teams would make the over/under in their win projections.

Ohio State was slotted at 10.5 wins, but Fornelli believes the Buckeyes won’t make the over (meaning 11-1 or better). A new coach and new quarterback are two of the big questions Fornelli had about the Buckeyes—and that’s just the internal stuff. Road contests against Nebraska, Northwestern and Michigan—all teams looking for revenge against the Buckeyes—are also seen as problem points throughout Ryan Day’s first full season at the helm of the program.

Around the B1G, Fornelli has Michigan winning over 9.5 games, Nebraska winning over 8.5 games, and Northwestern winning over 6.5 games.

Some notable unders that Fornelli is calling for include: Michigan State winning under 7.5 games, Maryland winning under 4.5 games, and Penn State/Wisconsin winning less than 8.5.

“The answer can’t be just like last year because that’s how we’ve done it. That doesn’t work,” said Day, who also noted he has to consider how the offense affects the defense and special teams now that he is head coach.”


— Ryan Day, as reported by Marcus Hartman | Dayton Daily News

Marcus Hartman of the Dayton Daily News has once again wrote a great piece mixing the past and present. Writing about the evolution of the Ohio State offense, the focus of the piece is around Ryan Day and how he will shape the Buckeyes’ offensive identity.

Woody Hayes had three yards and a cloud of dust. Urban Meyer had the spread offense and speedsters all around the skill positions. Ryan Day has shown the West Coast concept last year, where Haskins torched the Big Ten (and the record books) en route to a Rose Bowl victory.

Hartman gives a primer in how the strategies have changed throughout time. Touching on the times of Paul Brown and Wes Fesler to Earle Bruce and John Cooper. Spliced in between are quotes from Day, as he prepares to usher OSU into a new era.

Stick to Sports

• Anthony Davis and Dwyane Wade will be on the cover of NBA 2K20.
• New member invitations for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
• No tornado warning siren test this Wednesday (July 3) in Franklin County.
• Let’s get ready for another drama filled The Bachelorette episode.
• On this day in history: (1979) The Sony Walkman is introduced, changing the way music was listened to.

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Ohio State women’s lacrosse completes new coaching regime
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Former Stanford head coach Amy Bokker is completing her staff.

While spring sports have wrapped up, coaching changes are revolutionizing women’s lacrosse heading into next season. Plus, Ohio State athletes from several programs have received postseason recognition, and an Ohio State assistant landed a head coaching gig out west.

Women’s lacrosse rounds out its new coaching staff


New women’s lacrosse head coach Amy Bokker has been working to complete her coaching staff since being named to the position in early June. Most recently, Kristen Carr joined the program as associate head coach.

Bokker became the third coach in program history after coming to Columbus from Stanford. During her 11-year tenure with the Cardinal, Bokker managed an overall record of 151-59, including an NCAA Tournament win and victory in the inaugural Pac-12 tournament in 2018. She also took her team to the NCAAs in eight of her 11 seasons.

Carr also came from Stanford, where she coached with Bokker for the past four seasons as defensive coordinator. During her time in Palo Alto, Carr’s defenses finished in the top-25 three out of four seasons. Carr, who spent her playing career at North Carolina, is also a current member of the U.S. National Women’s Lacrosse Team and plays for the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League.

Previously, Bokker brought on Kara Mupo, also from Stanford, as offensive coordinator, and Stephani Schmidt as director of player operations.

The women’s lacrosse team finished sixth in the Big Ten this season with a 1-5 conference record. Overall, the team went 5-11 on the season.

Rowing earns All-American honors


Five rowers from the women’s rowing squad, all members of the First Varsity Eight crew, took home Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association All-American honors. Ida Kruse and Lexie Nothdurft both earned first-team honors, while Anjalie Fernandes and Leonie Heuer were named to the second team. Ida Peterson rounded out the group with an honorable mention.

While Kruse wrapped up her collegiate career this spring, the other four rowers are set to return to Ohio State next season. The Buckeyes will once again be well-positioned for a run at the NCAA Championships, after winning three national titles in the past decade.

The First Varsity Eight boat took home a sixth-place finish in the NCAA Championships and second-place in the Big Ten. Overall, the women’s rowing team finished fifth in the NCAA Championships.

In addition to the five rowers recognized this week, 27 athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten distinction earlier this spring.

Men’s lacrosse players take home scholastic recognition


The Big Ten lacrosse season didn’t exactly go Ohio State’s way, but several Ohio State players earned recognition for their academic achievements over the past year.

The U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) named defenseman Matt Borges, midfielder Jack Jasinski and midfielder Logan Maccani as USILA Scholar All-Americans. Previously, the trio, along with 21 teammates, were also recognized as academic All-Big Ten honorees. The program recognizes student-athletes based on their performance in the classroom, on the field and in their communities. Honorees are all seniors, must have a GPA above 3.0 and must be nominated by a coach.

Ohio State’s lacrosse program has a track record for this award, as at least one Buckeye has earned scholar all-American recognition for the past eight years. In all, there are now 17 USILA Scholar All-Americans in program history.

Assistant swim coach named to UCLA head coaching spot


Jordan Wolfrum, who served as an assistant head coach on the swimming and diving team at Ohio State for the past five seasons, was just named head coach for UCLA swimming and diving.

This past season, the Buckeyes’ men’s squad finished in ninth place at the NCAA Championships. Wolfrum also helped the women’s team to a 48-9 record in dual meets over five seasons, including four top-25 finishes in the NCAAs.

Wolfrum has one year of previous head coaching experience, having come to Columbus from the College of Saint Benedict in Minnesota. While at Ohio State, Wolfrum also played a key role in recruiting, compliance and academics.

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


The former Buckeye star is gonna get paid!

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

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


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

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

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


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

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


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

Williams includes Buckeyes in Top 5


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

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


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

An update from Nike’s The Opening


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

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

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

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

Quick Hits:

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

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

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

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


The Buckeyes have struck again.

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

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

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

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

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

On the field


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

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

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

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

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

In the class


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

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

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

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BOOM! 4-star defensive tackle Darrion Henry commits to Ohio State
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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The Buckeyes defensive line factory keeps on churning

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


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

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

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

Check out highlights from Henry’s junior season:

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What does Cody Simon bring to Ohio State?
Patrick Mayhorn via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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The New Jersey product could be a star.

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

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

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

On the field


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

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

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

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

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

In the class


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

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

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

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4-star outside linebacker Cody Simon commits to Ohio State
Geoff Hammersley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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The Buckeyes pick up a defensive commitment for 2020.

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


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

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

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

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

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