11W Offseason Mailbag: Talking Ohio State Football, Basketball, Friday Night Lights and More

By Tim Shoemaker on July 20, 2016 at 10:10 am
The 11W Mailbag.
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Congratulations, you've made it through the offseason. Sort of. With Big Ten Media Days on the docket for next week and fall camp beginning shortly thereafter, it's time for the final Offseason Mailbag. Then, it's time for football.


Who is on commitment watch at Friday Night Lights? — Literally almost everybody

Let's get right to it, shall we? It's the question everybody wants to know, and I'm going to write a story on this for later in the week [I think], but I'll answer in a bit of a teaser today.

In the 2017 class, I don't know if there will be a commitment. Trevon Grimes and Tyjon Lindsey will both be there, but both each have decision dates. Amir Riep will reportedly be in attendance, as well, but he's scheduled to make his announcement the day after. If he's actually there, that's probably good news for the Buckeyes and he may inform the staff that night without going public. If he's not there, that may mean he's headed elsewhere. Chase Young — again, if he's there — might be someone else to keep an eye on, though, as far as 2017 commits go.

For 2018, Emory Jones, Jaiden Woodbey, Jackson Carman, Dallas Gant and Christopher Oats all come to mind as prospects who could potentially pull the trigger with a commitment Friday night. 

The Buckeyes got two commits at Friday Night Lights each of the last two years; I think they'll get at least one Friday.

Hypothetical: Ohio State misses on Akers. Who's next? Do they take Dobbins and call it a day? — Toad1204

I think that's probably what's going to happen. If Cam Akers winds up elsewhere, I think Ohio State is going to be perfectly fine with J.K. Dobbins as the lone running back in this class, especially with the scholarship numbers as tight as they are.

If that's the case, the 2017 running backs room consists of Mike Weber, Antonio Williams, Demario McCall and Dobbins. That should be plenty.

How many of the currently injured players are anticipated to be "full go" for fall camp?IAmCBS

Everything we've been told indicates everybody should be good to go in a few weeks when camp opens. Noah Brown, Corey Smith, Nick Bosa, etc., they all appear to have made the progress needed to get back to 100 percent and should be good to go. We'll have more on this, I'm sure, next week when we speak with Urban Meyer in Chicago.

For the 2017 or 2018 class, who do you think will be the "come out of nowhere talent" at Friday Night Lights? — Browns88

Well, there aren't a ton of these when you consider it's as close to "invite only" as you can get. Every player at Friday Nights is relatively well known, but there are still a few guys to keep an eye on who don't have Ohio State offers yet, but could earn them.

For 2017, there's not much out there. Ohio State knows who it wants and already offered pretty much every single target in that class. In 2018, though, there are a few names who could get offers from the Buckeyes: a pair of local products from Pickerington, Xavier Henderson and Trenton Gillison, and a tight end from Indiana who made an impression on the Buckeyes at a one-day camp this summer, Anthony Torres

What does the typical player's summer week consist of — Grand Lake Celina

There are summer workouts, primarily Monday through Friday, that are usually conditioning based. Teams are not allowed much time for actual skill instruction (with a football, basketball) during the summer so there are a lot of workouts that are done to get in shape for the upcoming season.

Most of the athletes take summer classes, as well, so there's not much time for vacation or anything like that although there are a certain number of "weeks off" required by the NCAA after a season ends. 

Who accounts for more yards from scrimmage this year: Curtis Samuel or Dontre Wilson? — Killer Nuts

This one's easy for me, and it's Curtis Samuel. I would have picked him before Monday's Bri'onte Dunn news, but now I feel even more confident. Samuel is a dynamic player who needs to be featured in Ohio State's offense. He can do it both ways, too, as both a running back and a slot receiver. I'd say he needs at least 10 combined touches per game, maybe more.

I was trying to figure out has there ever been a team coming into the season with so little experience (as the Bucks do this year) who won the national championship? — Marques

I got this question via email, but thought it was relevant so I figured I'd include it. The most recent example I can think of off the top of my head was the 2010 Auburn team that won the national title and started the season ranked No. 22 in the country. Ohio State's preseason ranking is obviously much higher than that, but the two are similar in terms of not much being expected out of them in relation to other years.

That Auburn team did have Cam Newton, however, and he's the one who carried the Tigers to the title. Ohio State, obviously, hopes J.T. Barrett can do something similar.

Why do you think so many top recruits wait to commit? Since the top schools have limited places, you would think they would want to secure a place. Isn't this a big risk? OSUSam77

This is a big decision for kids and I think we underestimate sometimes how much teenagers are never really sure what they want to do. I applaud recruits who take their time and go through the entire recruiting process and want to find the best school for them. It's their future and it's the biggest decision of their lives, so if they want to take their time, let them.

Some kids also enjoy the recruiting process and everything that comes with it. They want to see everything that's out there and what each school has to offer.

How many Pokemon did you catch this weekend? — Brunstar

Zero.

If you missed my response in last week's mailbag about Pokemon Go, I'll inform you I don't play and I don't ever intend on playing. It totally weirds me out. I'm riding on my high horse on this one.

Someone else asked if it's possible someone will fall out of C-Deck this season while playing, and I honestly would not even be surprised if that were to happen. Y'all are nuts.

What's the one question that you wish someone had asked? — Fatpants

Question: "Who is the best athlete of all time?"

Answer: J.R. Smith.

Did you have fun? — Hovenaut

I did. I really enjoyed the weekly offseason mailbag and it's something I hope to continue next offseason with a few in-season mixed in along the way. 

It's always nice to change things up and write in a different style, so I enjoyed getting to answer some questions from y'all each week. Once again, thanks as always for responding every week with different questions, and thanks for reading and supporting Eleven Warriors.

Now, it's time for football.

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