Good morning. If you missed it, one of Ohio State's contingency plans at quarterback for the 2014 class committed to Nebraska late Friday leaving the Buckeyes in a bit of a quandary.
Four-star quarterback Zack Darlington (Apopka, FL) pledged to play football for Bo Pelini and the Cornhuskers, calling off his scheduled visit to Columbus next week. Not long after, fellow four-star Rafe Peavey reaffirmed his commitment to Arkansas and also nixed his visit to Columbus.
As Jeremy points out, this means pulling Brandon Harris out of the South just become that much more important. The good news: Alabama just got a quarterback, so that's one less school to battle for Harris' services.
MEECHY STOPS BY. We have quite a few notable members of this site. I'm pretty big on privacy and not outing them, so I won't, but one of our newer members, four-star (perhaps soon to be five-star) offensive guard and Ohio State target, Demetrius Knox, stepped out of the shadows to answer questions in a grassroots community interview of sorts on our forum, so we'll talk about him.
It didn't take members long to figure out "MEECHY77" was Knox. That was his old Twitter handle and he started talking about 11W upvotes on Twitter shortly after creating his account. When fellow member chicagobuckeye submitted the AMA-style thread, Knox was all over it.
As of right now, the thread accounts for over 250 comments, with Knox graciously answering many of your questions. Our favorite? The first question:
brandonbauer87: Why did you choose 11W over the other Buckeye sites?
MEECHY77: I like the writers on this site.
Check it out for more from the nation's top guard. We don't know whether he will, in fact, choose the Buckeyes, but he certainly seems to have a lot of love for this site and Ohio State.
And if you had any question that recruiting rules the day, take a look at our Helmet Stickers leaderboard.
PLANETARY JOKES. Two days ago, Texas A&M athletic director Eric Hyman brought down the house when words of this barb against Alabama reached Twitter:
Eric Hyman to the crowd at BCA&M Coach's Night: "What does the moon and Texas A&M have in common? We control the Tide."
— Aggie Sports (@Aggie_Sports) June 14, 2013
As far as jokes from ADs go, that's world class. Better yet were the quips that Alabama fans were just now learning that the moon controlled the tide.
It wasn't a new joke – Aggieland Outfitters in College Station has been selling the shirt for several months – but, man, was it a blast. We salute you, Mr. Hyman.
THE SPEED OF THE U. Miami's appearance before the NCAA wrapped up early, in two days, instead of three, after an intense 16½-hour session.
The scene inside the well-guarded, second-floor conference room at the downtown Westin Hotel was described by one person as “an intense process that covered a lot of material” — one that “didn’t include any surprises, just all of the same stuff we’ve talked about for months and months and months.”
When it was finally over, Hurricanes football coach Al Golden was the first person out the door. He streaked down the hallway and out the doors of the hotel.
Now the Canes await penalties. Although no timeline was given, the thinking is the university should know before the start of football season.
ART BRILES, HERO OF DIXIE. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Kansas coach Charlie Weis have made news in recent weeks for daring to question the strength of the SEC in light of the conference's seven-straight crystal footballs.
Baylor coach Art Briles, appearing on the SVP and Russillo Show on ESPN radio was given a similar opportunity to bash the SEC:
"I don't know how you could. I mean I learned a long time ago, the only guy that remembers second place is the one that got it.
"They've done a great job. They put their brand on the table, and they've walked away with all the chips. What can you say? Until someone beats them, that's the way it's going to be."
His response was smart and what you'd expect of a head coach at a major program. But that's not exactly the news here. Instead, it's the commenters on this AL.com piece, all hailing Briles as the smartest BCS coach alive for daring not to speak out against the SEC. Take the first comment, for example:
Where is Baylor, Big 12. We better start watching them closely, they have a real coach and he is not playing games. If his coaching compares to his smarts then he is dangerous.
Bama fans are adorable.
SOON. We've been hard at work finishing up the touches to Ohio State in the Huddle 2013, a preseason magazine dedicated to the Buckeyes. Some of you that have been around for a while know that we do a magazine every summer and although it's a tremendous amount of work, it's always gratifying to see your name in print at the newsstand (grandmas particularly love this).
All of the articles have been submitted and it's proofing time and I couldn't be more excited to tell you about it. The mag will be fantastic, with articles on the team, staff, themes of 2013 and profiles of all of your favorite Buckeyes, including the pigskin-seeking missile you see above.
We'll have more details soon, but expect it on newsstands around the state in early July.
MISC. Adidas unveils a new pink concept uniform for Mississippi State and breast cancer awareness... NFL Hall of Famer Lem Barney says no football in 20 years... Danny Sheridan's Heisman odds have Braxton Miller 2nd, similar to what we've seen from others... Meanwhile, in other Sheridan news... Michigan's quarterback of the future is good at math.
