Matt Tamanini
Guest
Ohio State fans are concerned about offensive tackle as season nears
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
You ask, we answer. Sometimes we ask, others answer. And then other times, we ask, we answer.
Buckeye Nation, we are officially one week away from the start of the Ohio State football season. Even though OSU brings back a ton of production, there is seemingly a lot of unknowns still left to be answered for this team. The biggest question — as it has been since C.J. Stroud declared for the NFL Draft — is who will be the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback, but that is far from the only thing left to be determined as the team prepares for Week 1.
So, earlier this week, we asked you — the loyal, objective, honest, and insightful fans of The Ohio State University football program — a few questions about a handful of positional battles that either still need to be resolved, or we still just aren’t sure how they are going to go.
Take a look at what the Buckeye voting public had to say below.
Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.
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This to me is the obvious right answer. I think, by virtue of the talent on the field and in the coaching staff, the quarterbacks will be fine. Will they be Stround and Justin Fields-level productive? Probably not, but that’s an insanely high standard to meet, but I’m not worried about the QB position — but more on that in a minute.
The coaching staff seems somewhat surprised by how well Josh Simmons has acclimated to the rigors of being a Buckeye — seemingly claiming the left tackle job — and Mike Golic Jr. told me earlier this week that Josh Fryar staying on the right side where he was comfortable makes sense. So maybe this all works out and the offensive line proves to be a strength for this team.
Even if that proves to be true for the starters, I am still a bit apprehensive about the backups. The staff has talked up a lot of the young guys in that room, so maybe they are better than I think, but it usually takes three years for most offensive lineman to be ready to play at a high level, and beyond the starters, there’s not a lot of guys with much experience under their belts.
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About midway through the 2022 season, I told the staff here at LGHL that I didn’t think Kyle McCord would be on the Ohio State roster following the next spring practice. That wasn’t because I didn’t think that he was a good quarterback, or even that I thought Devin Brown was exceedingly better than him. Instead, it was because Ryan Day had admitted that he had made a mistake not getting Stroud more reps when he was backing up Fields, and yet McCord was given next to zero opportunities to do anything of value last season. Therefore, I reasoned, McCord must not be the guy that Day wants to entrust the offense to once Stroud departs.
However, that appears to have been more because Day didn’t learn his lesson, rather than McCord not being capable of claiming the starting spot, because here we are a week away from kickoff, and he is still in the mix — even if most people assumed he would have grabbed that brass ring by now.
I do not have a particular rooting interest in this race. I don’t think that I have seen enough from either McCord or Brown to really feel like I know what either is capable of. So, my only hope is that whoever Day and his staff pick is ready to go so that we don’t have to go a full season with QB1 looking over his shoulder.
I’m ok if it takes a couple weeks into the season to figure out who the right guy is, just figure it out and stick with it once you do.
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These results weren’t from our Ohio State-focused weekly poll, but rather from the national SB Nation Reacts survey, so I thought I’d pass them around. It feels like football fans are giving the Buckeyes more credit than most in the national media. I don’t think that it’s anything personal (I don’t believe there’s ever been a conspiracy against OSU), but I do think that the Buckeyes have been at the top for so long that any semblance of weakness leads some folks to assume the worst.
I hope that those people are painfully wrong this season.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24872683/_National_2_082323.png)
Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy last season.
There has only ever been one two-time Heisman Trophy winner.
History has shown how difficult it is to repeat as Heisman Trophy winner.
Therefore, Marvin Harrison Jr. is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
You ask, we answer. Sometimes we ask, others answer. And then other times, we ask, we answer.
Buckeye Nation, we are officially one week away from the start of the Ohio State football season. Even though OSU brings back a ton of production, there is seemingly a lot of unknowns still left to be answered for this team. The biggest question — as it has been since C.J. Stroud declared for the NFL Draft — is who will be the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback, but that is far from the only thing left to be determined as the team prepares for Week 1.
So, earlier this week, we asked you — the loyal, objective, honest, and insightful fans of The Ohio State University football program — a few questions about a handful of positional battles that either still need to be resolved, or we still just aren’t sure how they are going to go.
Take a look at what the Buckeye voting public had to say below.
Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.
Question 1: Which Ohio State position battle are you most concerned about?
This to me is the obvious right answer. I think, by virtue of the talent on the field and in the coaching staff, the quarterbacks will be fine. Will they be Stround and Justin Fields-level productive? Probably not, but that’s an insanely high standard to meet, but I’m not worried about the QB position — but more on that in a minute.
The coaching staff seems somewhat surprised by how well Josh Simmons has acclimated to the rigors of being a Buckeye — seemingly claiming the left tackle job — and Mike Golic Jr. told me earlier this week that Josh Fryar staying on the right side where he was comfortable makes sense. So maybe this all works out and the offensive line proves to be a strength for this team.
Even if that proves to be true for the starters, I am still a bit apprehensive about the backups. The staff has talked up a lot of the young guys in that room, so maybe they are better than I think, but it usually takes three years for most offensive lineman to be ready to play at a high level, and beyond the starters, there’s not a lot of guys with much experience under their belts.
Question 2: How do you feel about the quarterback battle at Ohio State?
About midway through the 2022 season, I told the staff here at LGHL that I didn’t think Kyle McCord would be on the Ohio State roster following the next spring practice. That wasn’t because I didn’t think that he was a good quarterback, or even that I thought Devin Brown was exceedingly better than him. Instead, it was because Ryan Day had admitted that he had made a mistake not getting Stroud more reps when he was backing up Fields, and yet McCord was given next to zero opportunities to do anything of value last season. Therefore, I reasoned, McCord must not be the guy that Day wants to entrust the offense to once Stroud departs.
However, that appears to have been more because Day didn’t learn his lesson, rather than McCord not being capable of claiming the starting spot, because here we are a week away from kickoff, and he is still in the mix — even if most people assumed he would have grabbed that brass ring by now.
I do not have a particular rooting interest in this race. I don’t think that I have seen enough from either McCord or Brown to really feel like I know what either is capable of. So, my only hope is that whoever Day and his staff pick is ready to go so that we don’t have to go a full season with QB1 looking over his shoulder.
I’m ok if it takes a couple weeks into the season to figure out who the right guy is, just figure it out and stick with it once you do.
Bonus Results:
These results weren’t from our Ohio State-focused weekly poll, but rather from the national SB Nation Reacts survey, so I thought I’d pass them around. It feels like football fans are giving the Buckeyes more credit than most in the national media. I don’t think that it’s anything personal (I don’t believe there’s ever been a conspiracy against OSU), but I do think that the Buckeyes have been at the top for so long that any semblance of weakness leads some folks to assume the worst.
I hope that those people are painfully wrong this season.
Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy last season.
There has only ever been one two-time Heisman Trophy winner.
History has shown how difficult it is to repeat as Heisman Trophy winner.
Therefore, Marvin Harrison Jr. is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
Continue reading...