SI's Pete Thamel is not only a great writer, but he's also better connected than anyone else on the national scene to Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes. His latest, The Drummer, the Cop and the Med Student: How Ohio State Reloaded from Draft Losses to Stay a Playoff Contender, is well worth a read, but I wanted to highlight a couple of interesting passages.

Mike Weber wanted to transfer and at one point, nearly came to blows with J.T. Barrett.

The turning point came in February. Weber leaned over exhausted in the weight room after enduring a punishment workout. Barrett saw Weber bent over "on the verge of giving up" and confronted him. Weber stepped into him, and the two nearly got in a fistfight. "I attacked him in the moment," Barrett says. And the quarterback delivered a clear message: "This is so much bigger than you. You want to be our running back?"

At that moment, Weber began to realize his way wasn't working. Soon, Marotti's grand plan was. Weber saw the traits of real leadership, like offensive lineman Pat Elflein showing up in a sling after surgery to encourage Weber, even if he couldn't work out himself. As Fat Mike trimmed down, he started to grow up. Weber lost 15 pounds and dropped to 8% body fat. He became Ohio State's featured back in the spring, and this fall he joined Robert Smith (1990) and Maurice Clarett (2002) as the only freshman Buckeyes to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. "He's come a long way, man," Marotti says.

Weber was referred to as “Fat Mike” by Mick and other members of the staff for showing up overweight. He didn't trust anyone at Ohio State due to the fact the coach who recruited him left for the NFL and that contributed to a slow start, which he's overcome.

Ohio State classifies all of its prospects by color based on their academic risk.

For Pantoni, a key is making sure the recruits can thrive once they arrive in Columbus. He stays connected with recruits through texts and social media, monitors their posts and organizes how Meyer and the assistant coaches utilize visits. The process is so refined that the Buckeye staff has already delineated 2017 recruiting commitments and targets into three academic categories: blue (high risk), red (average) and gold (no risk).

Thought this was worth a chuckle. In most places, red indicates high risk, but not at the WHAC.