I’ve got reason to believe your breakfast is not the same as Michael Hall’s breakfast.
! #GoBuckeyes #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/JBGxSiKroD
— 10V3… (@MichaelHallJr_) May 5, 2021
I’ve also got reason to believe your bench press is not the same as Michael Hall’s. Are these things related? Who’s to say!
Word of the Day: Aver.
STRONG D. Tired: looking at analytics to determine how Ohio State’s defense will perform this upcoming season.
Wired: looking at analytics to determine how Ohio State’s defense will perform the next three seasons.
Adam Rittenberg of ESPN put together his future defense rankings using “future recruiting, potential NFL departures, non-senior depth and unit trajectory.” The good news is, Ohio State’s in the top-five. The bad news is, that’s down from last year.
5. Ohio State Buckeyes
2020 future defense ranking: 3
Scouting the Buckeyes: After an undeniably bad season on defense (2018) followed by an excellent one (2019), Ohio State backslid last year. The Buckeyes struggled against Indiana and Alabama and finished 122nd nationally in pass yards allowed, 43rd in points allowed and 107th in red zone touchdown percentage allowed. The recruiting seems too strong for the unit to slip back to 2018, but Ohio State needs clear upgrades under coordinator Kerry Coombs. Who will be the next elite lineman in Columbus? Perhaps ends Tyreke Smith or Zach Harrison, ESPN’s No. 10 overall recruit in 2019, break out this season. Ohio State will miss Tommy Togiai, the Buckeyes lineman Big Ten coaches feared most in 2020, but Haskell Garrett returns for a fifth year. The arrival of end Jack Sawyer, ESPN’s No. 1 overall 2021 recruit, elevates excitement for the future, but Ohio State will need other young linemen to emerge this fall.
Ohio State seeks more athleticism at linebacker, where playing time opens up for seniors Dallas Gant and Teradja Mitchell, but also younger players like Tommy Eichenberg, Kourt Williams, Mitchell Melton and Cody Simon. The secondary is another area with enough experienced players — safeties Josh Proctor and Marcus Hooker and cornerbacks Sevyn Banks, Cameron Brown and Marcus Williamson — but no guaranteed stars. Like linebacker, Ohio State could go younger with Lathan Ransom, Ryan Watts and others. The Buckeyes signed two of ESPN’s top five cornerback recruits for 2021 (Jakailin Johnson and Jordan Hancock), and will add Jaheim Singletary, ESPN’s No. 34 overall recruit for 2022.
Hey, you know what would definitely help this ranking? Signing Henry To’o To’o and J.T. Tuimoloau. That would be my unsolicited advice to Ryan Day – sign the very good football players to help make your team better.
“IT’S A TRAP.” Ohio State’s been pretty much immune to trap games since Ryan Day’s been steering the ship.
Seriously, the only times the Buckeyes have even come to trap games are when Miami University held a 5-0 lead for a solid chunk of the first quarter before losing 76-5 and when Rutgers used like 15 trick plays to lose by three touchdowns instead of six.
But hey, maybe that’s all the more reason to be on our toes for this year, and 247Sports has Ohio State on trap game watch with the No. 2 potential trap game of the season right off the bat.
2. OHIO STATE AT MINNESOTA, SEPT. 2 (THURSDAY)
This season’s opener comes the week before Ohio State’s anticipated showdown vs. nationally-ranked Oregon, a game most have circled as one of college football’s most important non-conference clashes of the season. That one would lose much, if not all, of its luster should the Buckeyes lose their first game as a likely double-digit favorite against the Gophers. Minnesota struggled last season and fell short of expectations, but P.J. Fleck’s team returns a veteran group led by a multi-year starter at quarterback and playing away from home on a Thursday night is never easy. Ohio State won’t look past this one, but it’s the definition of a trap with a bigger game looming.
I’m not sure I buy a “trap” game here, but I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t at least a little concerned about opening the season on the road against a (mostly competent) Big Ten team with a brand new quarterback.
Then again, my Buckeye arrogance tells me whoever Ohio State trots out there at quarterback will probably just be another first round pick because I have no reason to believe that won’t be the case for the next decade.
FIVE FOR FIVE. I don’t really need much of a reason to remember that one time Braxton Miller went all Fun Zone on that team to the north, but yesterday, BTN gave me a built in excuse.
Let’s celebrate 5/5 with 5’s 5 TDs in the 2013 win at TTUN.@BraxtonMiller5 // @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/GWlq6egANi
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) May 5, 2021
I’m not sure I have the power to do this, but 5/5 is now Braxton Miller Day. I have spoken.
YOU HATE TO SEE THAT. Tell me your team is in a downward spiral without telling me your team is in a downward spiral…
Which @bigten recruit are you most excited to watch this upcoming season? pic.twitter.com/oZjKEe6BYN
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) May 5, 2021
I guess that just means they have a strong core returning next seas… oh wait there are at least five players transferring. Nevermind!
SONG OF THE DAY. “Heaven” by Bryan Adams.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. A cult leader is found mummified and wrapped in Christmas lights in a Colorado home… They told their therapists everything, and hackers leaked it all… Persuading the body to regenerate its limbs… Why you should really wash your pillowcase once a week… A woman is accused of setting her home on fire and then watching it burn from a lawn chair…
