Matt Tamanini
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You’re Nuts: Which Buckeye changed the perception of them the most in Week 1?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
Saturday’s performance was, in many respects, unspectacular for the Buckeyes, though it did give us our first look at many of the players who dominated off-season chatter, including quarterback Will Howard and true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
Both looked great on Saturday, but I don’t know if it’s fair to call that a change in perception—they were expected to be great going into the game. It didn’t change the way people would view them this season so much as it solidified those opinions.
Another wide receiver has flown a bit under the radar this off-season, though, as a second-year player on a team stacked with veterans, while guys like Smith and veteran WR TreVeyon Henderson dominated the conversation around his position group.
Inniss, who came in with high expectations surrounding him as a five-star recruit, played in 12 games last season, but with only one reception (though to his credit, it was a 58-yard touchdown reception), he hardly became a household name.
But if there’s one thing about Inniss, it’s that he’s going to do what it takes to get his team to victory. So Inniss, who did not start at wide receiver Saturday, found a way to make his mark while returning punts.
If you had to identify Ohio State’s Achilles heel in the 2023 season, the special teams performance would certainly have to be part of the conversation. On Saturday, in no small part due to Inniss’s work as the lone punt returner against Akron, the Buckeyes’ special teams woes seemed to be a distant memory.
Inniss returned four punts for a total of 60 yards, which, for those of us who have been on summer break and haven’t flexed our math muscles, is an average of 15 yards per return.
The team average in 2023 was only a measly 4.4 yards per punt return, 75 total on the season on 17 returns. Yikes! Inniss single-handedly put up 80 percent of last season’s punt return yardage on Saturday in just a fraction of the returns. He looked like a natural doing it, too, particularly on a few key plays where his athleticism allowed him to grab the football rather than let it roll.
In fact, if the ball was in Inniss’s general stratosphere, he was going for it, a particularly aggressive (and somewhat terrifying) approach to punt returning that I personally loved. It displayed a certain confidence of a player who had come into his own and was ready to lead on the field, even if it was not in the position he ultimately hopes to be in.
His fearlessness and risky maneuvers will surely come at a cost at some point, but on Saturday, it was all reward. These returns positioned the Buckeye offense well, with solid field position to start their drives (for the record, I think the reward outweighs the risk in almost all instances, and I’m happy to see the special teams unit take a more hands-on approach).
The anticipation of Inniss returning a punt for a touchdown outweighs my concerns about a costly play, at least for the moment.
Whether Inniss sees time on offense (and how much) remains to be seen. While competition is high in the wide receiver corps, Inniss is looking to play a bigger role on offense this season. If he proves himself on special teams (and infuses a little life into the unit), he could earn himself that chance.
Regardless, the takeaway from Saturday’s game is that no matter where he is on the field, there is no doubt Brandon Inniss is talented enough to be a playmaker, and he’s enough of a leader to rise to the occasion wherever he is needed.
Now, I’m not saying that Cody Simon is in danger of being Wally Pipped, but what I am saying is that he better not miss too much time or that could become a distinct possibility. With senior captain and Block O recipient Simon out for the season opener against Akron, Arvell Reese did not get the start alongside Sonny Styles, but when he did get onto the field as a linebacker, man, did he look good.
Coming into preseason camp, Reese didn’t seem like he would have a major impact for the Buckeyes this season, outside of mop-up duty. However, all of that changed throughout camp and after the Akron season opener. He has been one of Jim Knowles and James Laurinaitis’ favorite players to praise in recent weeks, and everyone saw on Saturday why. He is a 6-foot-4, 238-pound star-to-be from Cleveland Glenville High School who wreaked havoc on the Zips’ offense on Saturday. On his 31 defensive snaps (13 on special teams), Reese accounted for four tackles, including one for loss when he engulfed Akron quarterback Ben Finley on an option keeper.
According to Pro Football Focus, Reese was the highest-graded linebacker who played more than five snaps on Saturday and was the sixth-rated Buckeye in terms of rush defense grades and fifth in coverage.
As soon as Simon is able to return to the lineup, he will. The veteran is at the center of everything OSU does on defense, both literally as its middle linebacker, but also figuratively, as he is the player with the green dot on his helmet so that Jim Knowles and Ryan Day can communicate with him throughout the game.
But when Simon is back, Knowles and Baby Animal need to figure out how to keep Reese on the field. I don’t think that you are going to take Styles out of the game much more than you already planned, so, unfortunately, I think that C.J. Hicks is going to have to be the one to lose some snaps in favor of Reese.
We know that Hicks is a supremely athletic player, but his time at LB — both last year and against Akron — has been underwhelming. It feels like he has yet to fully adapt his game for the position. Instead, he has looked most at ease in a purely pass-rushing position. He’s obviously not big enough to be an edge rusher, but if Knowles and Larry Johnson could ever agree to use the Jack, he would be a perfect fit. Against Akron, PFF graded Hicks as the best pass rusher on the team, but the lowest-graded defensive starter overall.
So, based on the word of mouth coming out of camp, and his exciting, athletic performance in the season opener, I think that Arvell Reese is going to have to steal some of C.J.’s snaps this season.
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Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
Today’s Question: Which Buckeye changed the perception of them the most in Week 1?
Jami’s Take: Brandon Inniss
Saturday’s performance was, in many respects, unspectacular for the Buckeyes, though it did give us our first look at many of the players who dominated off-season chatter, including quarterback Will Howard and true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
Both looked great on Saturday, but I don’t know if it’s fair to call that a change in perception—they were expected to be great going into the game. It didn’t change the way people would view them this season so much as it solidified those opinions.
Another wide receiver has flown a bit under the radar this off-season, though, as a second-year player on a team stacked with veterans, while guys like Smith and veteran WR TreVeyon Henderson dominated the conversation around his position group.
Inniss, who came in with high expectations surrounding him as a five-star recruit, played in 12 games last season, but with only one reception (though to his credit, it was a 58-yard touchdown reception), he hardly became a household name.
But if there’s one thing about Inniss, it’s that he’s going to do what it takes to get his team to victory. So Inniss, who did not start at wide receiver Saturday, found a way to make his mark while returning punts.
If you had to identify Ohio State’s Achilles heel in the 2023 season, the special teams performance would certainly have to be part of the conversation. On Saturday, in no small part due to Inniss’s work as the lone punt returner against Akron, the Buckeyes’ special teams woes seemed to be a distant memory.
Inniss returned four punts for a total of 60 yards, which, for those of us who have been on summer break and haven’t flexed our math muscles, is an average of 15 yards per return.
The team average in 2023 was only a measly 4.4 yards per punt return, 75 total on the season on 17 returns. Yikes! Inniss single-handedly put up 80 percent of last season’s punt return yardage on Saturday in just a fraction of the returns. He looked like a natural doing it, too, particularly on a few key plays where his athleticism allowed him to grab the football rather than let it roll.
In fact, if the ball was in Inniss’s general stratosphere, he was going for it, a particularly aggressive (and somewhat terrifying) approach to punt returning that I personally loved. It displayed a certain confidence of a player who had come into his own and was ready to lead on the field, even if it was not in the position he ultimately hopes to be in.
His fearlessness and risky maneuvers will surely come at a cost at some point, but on Saturday, it was all reward. These returns positioned the Buckeye offense well, with solid field position to start their drives (for the record, I think the reward outweighs the risk in almost all instances, and I’m happy to see the special teams unit take a more hands-on approach).
The anticipation of Inniss returning a punt for a touchdown outweighs my concerns about a costly play, at least for the moment.
Whether Inniss sees time on offense (and how much) remains to be seen. While competition is high in the wide receiver corps, Inniss is looking to play a bigger role on offense this season. If he proves himself on special teams (and infuses a little life into the unit), he could earn himself that chance.
Regardless, the takeaway from Saturday’s game is that no matter where he is on the field, there is no doubt Brandon Inniss is talented enough to be a playmaker, and he’s enough of a leader to rise to the occasion wherever he is needed.
Matt’s Take: Arvell Reese
Now, I’m not saying that Cody Simon is in danger of being Wally Pipped, but what I am saying is that he better not miss too much time or that could become a distinct possibility. With senior captain and Block O recipient Simon out for the season opener against Akron, Arvell Reese did not get the start alongside Sonny Styles, but when he did get onto the field as a linebacker, man, did he look good.
Coming into preseason camp, Reese didn’t seem like he would have a major impact for the Buckeyes this season, outside of mop-up duty. However, all of that changed throughout camp and after the Akron season opener. He has been one of Jim Knowles and James Laurinaitis’ favorite players to praise in recent weeks, and everyone saw on Saturday why. He is a 6-foot-4, 238-pound star-to-be from Cleveland Glenville High School who wreaked havoc on the Zips’ offense on Saturday. On his 31 defensive snaps (13 on special teams), Reese accounted for four tackles, including one for loss when he engulfed Akron quarterback Ben Finley on an option keeper.
According to Pro Football Focus, Reese was the highest-graded linebacker who played more than five snaps on Saturday and was the sixth-rated Buckeye in terms of rush defense grades and fifth in coverage.
As soon as Simon is able to return to the lineup, he will. The veteran is at the center of everything OSU does on defense, both literally as its middle linebacker, but also figuratively, as he is the player with the green dot on his helmet so that Jim Knowles and Ryan Day can communicate with him throughout the game.
But when Simon is back, Knowles and Baby Animal need to figure out how to keep Reese on the field. I don’t think that you are going to take Styles out of the game much more than you already planned, so, unfortunately, I think that C.J. Hicks is going to have to be the one to lose some snaps in favor of Reese.
We know that Hicks is a supremely athletic player, but his time at LB — both last year and against Akron — has been underwhelming. It feels like he has yet to fully adapt his game for the position. Instead, he has looked most at ease in a purely pass-rushing position. He’s obviously not big enough to be an edge rusher, but if Knowles and Larry Johnson could ever agree to use the Jack, he would be a perfect fit. Against Akron, PFF graded Hicks as the best pass rusher on the team, but the lowest-graded defensive starter overall.
So, based on the word of mouth coming out of camp, and his exciting, athletic performance in the season opener, I think that Arvell Reese is going to have to steal some of C.J.’s snaps this season.
Let us know who you are agreeing with:
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