The question isn't "Why is he using a header photo of Cardale Jones?" The question is why don't I do it every day?
ICYMI:
- Four-star California WR Chris Olave committed; what that means for the Buckeyes' 2018 class.
- Kyle Snyder makes history, becomes first American to win the Yarygin Grand Prix twice.
- Tight end Jeremy Ruckert could be latest freshman to make an impact.
- Men's basketball team searching for bench points.
- Reserve your (or your business’) spot next to the life-size statue of Woody Hayes coming to Newcomerstown!
Word of the Day: Assiduous.
OVERSIGNING? IS THIS THING ON? Sports have a similar effect on the brain as hardcore street narcotics. It was only like five seasons ago we gnashed our teeth as Nick Saban pruned his roster every summer. We even created a word for it—oversigning.
Ethics don't mean as much when it's your boy blurring the lines. After years of watching Urban Meyer utilize the same human resource tactics, we now have no problem with two members of the team already being off the team, even if they don't know it quite yet.
From theozone.net:
The addition of 4-star WR Chris Olave to the Buckeyes’ 2018 recruiting class gives Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day another speedy weapon to add to their offensive arsenal. But it also means that OSU’s already tight scholarship numbers heading into the season just got even tighter.
All FBS teams must have no more than 85 scholarship players on their roster at the start of fall camp. Right now, the Buckeyes stand at 87 players who are either on the current roster, have signed Letters of Intent or who are verbally committed to the 2018 class.
That means sometime between now and early August, at least two members of the OSU football team will have to leave, either via a medical retirement, transfer, or other means.
None of the players that have left have raised hell about their exit. And let's be real, a lot of exits from the program are player-driven. I'm sure Meyer and his staff are already planning on at least two transfers depending on how the spring position battles play out.
If not, Meyer will be forced to make players fight to the death for the final roster slots.
MILLENNIAL RISING CONTINUES. America knows Millennials for student debt and grotesque tattoos. But we also grow more powerful every day. As evidence of this, we turn to Ohio State's head physical therapist, who helped J.T. Barrett undergo a 10-day rehab program in six.
From Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch:
That meant every hour was precious. Though the surgery he had undergone is considered minor, there still is a recovery period — usually 10 days or more. No OSU player previously had pursued such a quick turnaround.
To make it happen, Barrett needed a partner who knew the necessary steps to go from limping to running, who had a keen eye and enough objectivity to say “no” if Barrett’s knee failed to respond properly. Head football trainer Sean Barnhouse said that [head physical therapist Adam] Stewart knew he would have the case as soon the decision was made to operate.
Stewart is only 30, but he is a 2010 graduate of Ohio State who earned his doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Miami in 2015, and he had spent time on the training staffs of the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots before returning to OSU in 2015.
He was perfect for the assignment, said Doug Calland, head trainer for all OSU athletics.
I wish Ohio State gave more media access to their support staff. The average fan doesn't realize how many people help feed the monster that is Ohio State football.
It's definitely come a ways since Woody Hayes' era. Back then, Woody would've rubbed dirt directly onto Barrett's meniscus before shoving him onto the field.
COOPER ANOTHER BELIEVER. The 2017 defensive line was the best in my lifetime. The 2018 rendition will be without Tyquan Lewis, Sam Hubbard, and Jalyn Holmes.
Nick Bosa thinks they have the potential to be better next year, though. His compatriot Jonathon Cooper concurs.
From cleveland.com:
You know about Bosa. You've been waiting for more Young, who already looks like an NFL end too.
But this a reminder that Cooper is coming up, and it's his time too.
"I think the three of us can accomplish just as much as we accomplished this year," Cooper said. "I feel like me, Nick and Chase are gonna be just as good if not better than the guys who were here before. That's not to knock them at all, but everything they left us, they taught us so much and I feel like we can just enhance it."
Larry Johnson can't coach forever. But when he leaves, elite DL coaches will be willing to crawl through glass to Columbus to get their hands on the talent he assembled.
Case in point is Cooper, considering he's somehow underrated as a former five-star prospect.
LOL, MICHIGAN. Chris Olave wasn't the only prospect to join the Supreme 18 this weekend. Ohio State picked up a three-star prospect as a preferred walk-on.
Meet Cincinnati Summit Country Day School three-star Xavier Johnson.
From Andrew Lind of Eleven Warriors:
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Johnson is considered the 169th-best wide receiver and No. 1,128 prospect overall in the Class of 2018, which — as The Ozone’s Tony Gerdeman pointed out — is ahead of wideouts who have accepted scholarships from programs like Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, and Oklahoma, just to name a few.
Johnson was named Division V honorable mention after he racked up 2,274 all-purpose yards and 25 touchdowns for the Silver Knights last season, which includes four kick and three punt returns for scores. He turned down offers from Cincinnati, Iowa State, North Dakota State and a handful of Mid-American Conference schools to walk-on at Ohio State.
Where can I place a wager on this truly amateur athlete earning a scholarship during his time in Columbus? That feels like easy money by the time he's a senior.
TAAAAAATTTEEEE. What do Tate Martell, Joey Galloway, Ray Lewis, and Britt McHenry all have in common? They purchased Twitter followers from a shady-ass company that may or may not be the front to an identity theft ring.
From nytimes.com:
THE REAL JESSICA RYCHLY is a Minnesota teenager with a broad smile and wavy hair. She likes reading and the rapper Post Malone. When she goes on Facebook or Twitter, she sometimes muses about being bored or trades jokes with friends. Occasionally, like many teenagers, she posts a duck-face selfie.
But on Twitter, there is a version of Jessica that none of her friends or family would recognize. While the two Jessicas share a name, photograph and whimsical bio — “I have issues” — the other Jessica promoted accounts hawking Canadian real estate investments, cryptocurrency and a radio station in Ghana. The fake Jessica followed or retweeted accounts using Arabic and Indonesian, languages the real Jessica does not speak. While she was a 17-year-old high school senior, her fake counterpart frequently promoted graphic pornography, retweeting accounts called Squirtamania and Porno Dan.
All these accounts belong to customers of an obscure American company named Devumi that has collected millions of dollars in a shadowy global marketplace for social media fraud. Devumi sells Twitter followers and retweets to celebrities, businesses and anyone who wants to appear more popular or exert influence online. Drawing on an estimated stock of at least 3.5 million automated accounts, each sold many times over, the company has provided customers with more than 200 million Twitter followers, a New York Times investigation found.
Now I understand why so many people are willing to lay down their lives for Martell without seeing him take a snap in a college game.
Take it from me. The less people that follow you on Twitter, the better. I used to be a way better Tweeter with 300 hardcore disciples. Now I delete tweets after 30 seconds if they don't produce the expected hits of dopamine via strangers smashing that like button.
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