Eleven Warriors

Good morning and happy Memorial Day.

Not long after more than 600,000 Americans perished in the Civil War, it was decided that honoring those that had fallen was in order. What began as Decoration Day, soon became Memorial Day and all of the men and women who died serving in the United State Armed Forces were remembered, not just those that fought in the War Between States.

I've never seen combat, but I know it's terrible and frightening – just ask anyone that has. Robert E. Lee may have said it best: "It's well that war is so terrible – we should grow too fond of it!"

I won't be a simpleton and say that every single man and woman that's fallen during duty has done so for our freedom. In some cases, that's true, but it's far from a universal truth. I will say that they all fought and paid the ultimate price for America's best interests (or perceived best interests at the time) and they're a huge part of the wonderful quality of life we all enjoy as Americans.

So, before you fire up the grill or crack open the first beer today, consider taking a minute to reflect on those that have laid their life on the line for this great country and those that continue to do so.

Thank you to all of the men and women of the United States Armed Forces that have served or are serving this great country.

The 11W Community Interview is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people. You submit the questions, vote on them, and then we pass the top ones on to the biggest names in the world of Ohio State athletics.

It was a surprise – without question it was a surprise when Detroit Cass Tech cornerback Damon Webb committed to Ohio State in January – but should it have been? This week we let you, the 11W readers ask the 5-foot-11, 185-pound human blanket that question and a number of others in the second in our series of community interviews. Does he prefer pizza or tacos? You're fixing to find out!

I won't waste your time on this holiday weekend with my musings, let's get to the reason why you're all here, Damon "Dame" Webb.

John Simon’s new beginning starts in a place he despised until the day he was drafted. The Youngstown native is a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan with a family full of Black and Yellow diehards. In an instant that all changed.

On Day 3 of the NFL Draft, it wasn’t a matter of if Simon would be selected it was when. He had languished through the first two days, now was his moment to realize a dream. In the fourth round with the 129th overall pick, the Baltimore Ravens, a team Simon has rooted against his entire life, put their faith in him by welcoming him to the defending Super Bowl champions.

“Some of the things in the house are Pittsburgh things, but not anymore,” Simon said. “We’re diehard Ravens fans. We’re no longer Steelers fans. Go Baltimore.”

Have any big plans for the Memorial Day Weekend? Saturday is probably everyone's favorite day of the week. It improves that much more when there is knowledge that Monday is a federal holiday as well.

Today's Skull Session will be brief, touching on a few things happening in the world of sports. I don't want to bother you all on your holiday weekend.

 CHARLIE WEIS HAS MONEY IN THE BANK. We've known for some time that Charlie Weis may be the most infamous experiment in Notre Dame's illustrious football history. Mind you, Notre Dame once employed Bob Davie as a head coach and picked the successor to Dan Devine, a national championship-winning coach, from Moeller High School in Cincinnati. Those are words to not throw around lightly.

Notre Dame's critical misstep, after which everything else was a fait accompli, was offering Charlie Weis a 10-year, $30-$40 million extension midway through 2005. This was Charlie Weis' first season in South Bend. Essentially, Charlie Weis was given a tenure-styled contract for losing to Southern California in the infamous "Bush Push" game. Notre Dame was 5-2 at his point. Seriously, it was midway through his first damn season in South Bend.

While the stupidity of the Charlie Weis experiment at Notre Dame is basically common knowledge for every college football fan, we found out a little more yesterday when the Chicago Tribune looked into a private records release by the university and discovered how much Notre Dame is still paying him.

Short answer: $2,054,744. That is roughly three times current coach Brian Kelly's base contract, which may have changed after Notre Dame's 2013 season.

It gets better. Notre Dame will likely keep paying Charlie Weis that same rate through the duration of the contract extension he signed in the middle of the 2005 season, after losing to Southern California. All told, the expected total compensation for Charlie Weis over the course of his buyout will be just short of $19 million.

It's a lot of money just to break Notre Dame's bowl slump by winning the 2008 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

A week has passed since the last edition of the recruiting notebook and quite a bit has happened since we last talked Ohio State football recruiting.

Booker makes nine for 2014

The biggest news is the commitment Urban Meyer and the Ohio State staff received from Akron St. Vincent-St Mary linebacker Dante Booker Jr. Thursday afternoon. Booker became the ninth player to commit to Ohio State in the 2014 recruiting class.

June is almost here and recruiting is starting to pick back up. Especially in the area of campus visits. We confirmed many visitors for Ohio State's football camps and other events in the month of June.

In addition to the impressive list of players expected on campus in June, there's a very important target due in Columbus at the end of May. We'll talk more about that later on in the notebook.

If that's not enough, the Ohio State staff has been out on the road evaluating and offering more prospects in the 2014 and 2015 classes. We'll tell you who was offered this past week after the jump.

Finally a player the Buckeyes were targeting committed to another school last Friday. We'll tell you who in the "Happy Trails" section of the notebook.

Join us as we take a dive into the world of Ohio State recruiting as we discuss the latest happenings in the world of recruiting that has an impacts on the Buckeyes.

Around the Oval is Eleven Warriors' weekly love letter to Ohio State sports that don't get the coverage they should.

In a week that promised to be incredibly exciting for Buckeye fans with the men's tennis, men's lacrosse and baseball teams all competing in important matchups, it was the Ohio State rowing team that made the biggest splash, winning the Big Ten Championship for the fourth time. 

Five heats of the seven heats were won by the Buckeyes, who compiled 160 points to better second-placed Michigan's total of 135. The first novice eight secured Ohio State's first victory in the second race, beating Wisconsin by two seconds. They were followed by another win from the third varsity four, six seconds ahead of Michigan.

Two wins out of the first four races is a pretty decent return, but it was the Scarlet & Gray's sweep of the final three that really handed them the conference title. The first varsity four and the second varsity eight won their heats by a combined 16 seconds, giving them a seven-point lead going into the last race of the day, the first varsity eight. Once again, the Buckeyes were too much for their opponents, and they won the heat by 10 seconds and the Big Ten with it. 

After the competition, Ohio State's Claire-Louise Bode, Allison Elber, and Eelkje Miedema were named First Team All-Big Ten, while Corinne Meinert and Holly Norton made the second team. Next weekend the team finishes their season by competing in the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis. 

July 2, 1961, was a very eventful day.

Novelist Ernest Hemingway lost his battle with depression and took his own life in Ketchum, Idaho, with a shotgun. The same day, Nikita Khrushchev threatened the British ambassador that “six hydrogen bombs would be quite enough to annihilate the British Isles,” should the U.K. join the United States in a war over Berlin. And the citizens of Mexico elected a new legislature.

Clark Kellogg was a baller before people said "baller."

Ohio State fans will mark the date a little differently. It’s the day Clark Clifton Kellogg, Jr. was born.

Kellogg grew up on the east side of Cleveland and attended St. Joseph High School (which became Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School in 1990).

An absolute stud player in high school, “Special K” averaged 28 points his final two seasons, including a state record 51 in the Vikings’ loss to Columbus East in the 1979 state championship game. He graduated from St. Joseph in 1979, shortly after that title game loss and a mere 27 years ahead of David Lighty, another Buckeye hoops standout from that high school.

Eldon Miller was happy to land Kellogg in the 1979 recruiting class, and the 6-foot-8 forward soon enrolled at Ohio State, where he would major in marketing.

Freshman Year

Kellogg was the lone youngster, starting with four veteran players. Junior center Herb Williams and senior point guard Kelvin Ransey were the team’s stars. They were joined in the starting lineup by bruising power forward Jim Smith and shooting guard Carter Scott, both juniors.

The 1979-80 squad went 21-8, with a 12-6 record in Big Ten play. Despite a preseason national ranking of No. 4 and talk of a conference championship, the Buckeyes finished a game behind Indiana in league play. Ohio State finished the year as the No. 10 team in the AP Poll, following a 72-68 loss to UCLA in the second round of the NCAA tournament. That Ohio State team rose as high as No. 2 nationally during the season.

It’s no secret that small town football in the state of Ohio is a success story. It involves winning, community spirit and togetherness. But the state is also home to powerhouse programs in major cities.

One metro area home to schools both large and small that have won consistently on the big stage is Cleveland. And few have done so more than Lakewood, a suburb located five miles west of downtown. Lakewood High School and St. Edward have combined to win 60 state championships between the two of them.

Nestled on the banks of Lake Erie, Lakewood is an affluent community that features two high schools, one public and one private, creating an interesting dynamic. The Rangers of Lakewood High, the public school in town, receive most of the community support. It comes from having one of the largest enrollments in the state and a fan base that cares about its own.

Despite it being just a normal, run of the mill Thursday, the Buckeyes were treated to a commitment from one of the top outside linebackers in the class of 2014, longtime Buckeye fan Dante Booker. 

Considered a Buckeye lean for almost the entirety of his recruitment, Booker waited until a mostly random Thursday to pull the trigger for the good guys. 

Lucky for Buckeye fans, Fickell and company are getting an elite prospect that excels with lateral speed and great size.

His highlight film shows great closing speed and coverage abilities for a big guy, and reports indicate he's dedicated and quiet off the field as well. Welcome to Ohio State, Dante. 

If you're in the mood for some additional recruiting notes, Ohio State QB offer Kyle Allen has been the recipient of a lot of praise recently, jumping to Rivals' top pro-style quarterback prospect. 

The linked video has some short but quality footage of the Rivals Camp Series with both Allen and DeShaun Watson.

Both looked extremely solid, but I was very impressed with Allen's mechanics and deep ball, especially for a guy still in high school. Word escaped yesterday that Allen could "commit at any minute," but he clarified things with our own Jeremy Birmingham, saying it could be soon or it could happen in July.