Skull Session: Alford's Checklist, Baldwin Defends Mayfield, and Ohio Ranked 40th State in USA

Another day of Buckeye blogging. Not sure what I did to deserve this.

ICYMI:

• Chris Holtmann's program rolling ahead of schedule,
• Ohio State named Alex Grinch co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach and Taver Johnson cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator.
• Buckeyes could have the pick of the litter among 2019 running backs.
• Reserve your (or your business’) spot next to the life-size statue of Woody Hayes coming to Newcomerstown!

Word of the Day: Belle.

 GOT A LIST, CHECKIN' IT TWICE. Tony Alford enters 2018 with an opulent stable, even by his luxurious standards. That became official the moment Mike Weber announced his return to Columbus.

While that's a boon for the Buckeyes, Alford still needs to figure a plan that utilizes Weber and sophomore star J.K. Dobbins to the duo's fullest potential. 

From theozone.net:

4. Get Weber and Dobbins comfortable playing together.

Remember the talk and the teases of Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins in the backfield together last year? We finally saw a glimpse of it late in the season, but it’s time to see more. Kyle Morgan of No Huddle Scouts dubbed it “The Unicorn Formation” for it’s mythical existence and rarely-seenedness. I think we’ll see quite a few unicorns in 2018, however, and that might start in the spring. They have worked on it in practice last season, but didn’t go to it. Alford and the offensive coordinators should work on it some more this spring so that when they get back to it in Fall Camp, everyone is comfortable with it. Because once OSU is comfortable with it, it should make everyone else in the Big Ten uncomfortable.

I'm praying Weber stays healthy through spring and fall ball. I'd keep his work light through both camps; it's not as if he has anything to prove. Two of his three seasons have been hampered by nagging injuries that started in August. 

Instead of trying to work him back into the rotation midstream, the Buckeyes would benefit by figuring out that rotation early in the season.

 TEXAN DEFENDING TEXAN. Baker Mayfield is a reprobate. We know this because not only did he have the audacity to beat Ohio State in the Horseshoe, he attempted to plant a flag into a turf field following the win.

Early enrollee Buckeye quarterback Matthew Baldwin, himself a Lake Travis (Austin) alumnus, thinks perception is not reality.

From 247sports.com:

"He’s not a bad guy at all," freshman quarterback Matthew Baldwin said on National Signing Day. "So none of that stuff is rooted from some bad personality. He’s just a really competitive dude and he will pretty much do whatever it takes to win and when he wins, he loves to win. So sometimes he’ll do some things that people don’t like. Some people love what he does, stuff like that, the competing that gives you and your team kind of an edge. They love to see that and guys on his team love him. I think it’s cool what he does."

Mayfield and Baldwin both attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas. While the two never played together, and have very different demeanors, Baldwin said Mayfield remained an active part of the Lake Travis community.

"He came back to Lake Travis a bunch of times. He has a bunch of pride in LT," Baldwin said of Mayfield. "You see him wearing Lake Travis hats sometimes around interviews and stuff. You see the LT logo... He’s an interesting guy and really awesome player."

I want to write this off as freshman rambling. Unfortunately, the Browns fan part of my brain (that's the part that sips cans of paint at brunch on Wednesday), thinks Cleveland drafts Mayfield with the fourth pick of the draft.

True moral judgment will be rendered if that happens. If he leads the Browns to a Super Bowl, he can't be considered a bad guy. If he turns into Johnny Football 2.0, I hope he dies in prison.

 IOWA??? Publishing subjective rankings is an attention-grab that media companies love to know. Folks love rankings. Folks love discussing rankings.

Look at me. I know the jig. And yet, when I saw a magazine I last read as a teenager disrespected my state, I couldn't help but climb into my bully pulpit.

From US News & World Report:

Overall	State	Health Care	Education	Economy	Opportunity	Infrastructure	Crime & Corrections	Fiscal Stability	Quality of Life
#1	Iowa	3	5	17	4	1	15	21	9
#2	Minnesota	7	13	20	3	6	11	24	2
#3	Utah	10	3	2	35	8	14	1	22
#4	North Dakota	14	10	19	17	2	23	2	1
#5	New Hampshire	13	4	11	1	37	2	26	4
#6	Washington	2	6	3	27	4	39	27	21
#7	Nebraska	19	9	21	13	9	19	11	14
#8	Massachusetts	5	1	9	14	45	5	40	25
#9	Vermont	6	8	31	6	35	7	16	26
#10	Colorado	9	20	1	28	14	29	31	10
#11	Wisconsin	17	18	27	8	26	22	19	3
#12	Idaho	18	30	7	42	10	6	7	20
#13	Maryland	16	11	24	2	25	26	23	31
#14	South Dakota	21	17	28	24	7	40	4	5
#15	Florida	34	7	5	36	11	31	3	33
#16	Oregon	20	33	6	32	3	20	30	18
#17	Hawaii	1	29	23	18	27	17	35	36
#18	Delaware	25	32	10	7	18	46	15	24
#19	New Jersey	12	2	41	10	28	3	49	49
#20	Virginia	29	12	30	9	39	4	14	41
#21	Wyoming	33	15	47	15	36	12	9	11
#22	Maine	22	19	37	26	43	1	29	12
#23	North Carolina	37	16	18	40	24	21	6	34
#24	Connecticut	4	14	43	29	41	8	41	38
#25	New York	15	23	35	43	19	10	28	37
#26	Tennessee	43	28	13	31	15	41	5	28
#27	Montana	26	22	26	37	34	36	12	13
#28	Rhode Island	8	27	29	34	48	13	33	23
#29	Kansas	30	21	42	12	16	37	39	16
#30	Missouri	39	25	33	21	20	45	10	15
#31	Georgia	42	31	14	33	17	35	13	32
#32	California	11	26	4	46	38	28	43	50
#33	Indiana	40	35	25	11	30	30	8	48
#34	Nevada	35	44	12	19	5	44	38	43
#35	Illinois	27	24	39	22	13	24	50	47
#36	Texas	38	37	8	47	21	27	17	46
#37	Michigan	32	36	22	20	40	32	32	29
#38	Pennsylvania	23	38	34	16	29	25	42	44
#39	Arizona	24	43	16	45	12	38	34	39
#40	Ohio	36	41	32	25	23	18	37	40
#41	Kentucky	45	34	45	30	22	9	46	27
#42	South Carolina	41	48	15	39	33	42	18	30
#43	Oklahoma	48	39	36	38	31	34	22	17
#44	Alaska	28	40	50	5	42	50	47	19
#45	Arkansas	49	42	40	41	46	47	20	7
#46	Alabama	46	47	38	48	32	43	25	35
#47	West Virginia	44	45	49	23	50	33	36	45
#48	New Mexico	31	50	46	44	47	49	44	8
#49	Mississippi	50	46	48	49	49	16	45	6
#50	Louisiana	47	49	44	50	44	48	48	42

You're damn right we're still better than Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana! 

Losing to Michigan, however, is unacceptable. Satan's Mitten has no beacon shining as bright as Columbus. That's bad news for Ohio politicians, too. The state constitution calls for the eviction of every incumbent. 

 DON'T FORGET TO TIP THE DANCERS. The NCAA, where it's "illegal" for players to pocket money thrown at them by opposing fans.

Such is the case in Alabama, where Auburn self-reported an incident following a loss to Florida, which I didn't even know still had a basketball team.

From al.com:

Auburn has self-reported to its compliance department following an incident at the end of the Tigers' road game against Florida on Saturday night in Gainesville, Fla.

Video surfaced online after the game of Florida fans in the stands throwing money at Auburn players as they walked off the court at Exactech Arena following the Tigers' 72-66 loss to the Gators. It is unclear on the video if the money is real or fake, or how much of it there is, but Pearl confirmed Monday that it was, indeed, real currency--and that his team has reported the incident to the university's compliance department so as to avoid any NCAA violations.

"It was real money, and I think there's $5 or $6 that are out there, and because you guys know we're compliant, we've actually turned that money over to compliance," Pearl said. "Really. I don't know, it was five or six bucks, but our people have the money. I don't know what they're going to do with it, probably give it to charity, but we've already self-reported."

Finding money on the ground is one of the biggest blessings the universe can bestow. Allowing Auburn to keep the money would've been the morally right thing to do. Which is why the NCAA did the opposite.

 CHEATING... IN THE SEC? HOLD ON NOW. I hope y'all are sitting down for this one. As it turns out, somebody in the SEC is cheating at football recruiting. Thankfully, a heroic radio host is risking his life to "report" on it.

From seccountry.com:

Fox Sports radio host Colin Cowherd said the illegal recruiting is not just a college basketball problem, and that one school in the SEC is taking part in the shenanigans.

“There is a program in the SEC right now that is playing right on the edge,” Cowherd said on Monday. “It’s not Ole Miss bad, but it’s close. My sources tell me in the last year … it ain’t Ole Miss bad, but it’s getting there. Football, with paying players.”

Cowherd wouldn’t name what school he was speaking of, so fans across the conference can start throwing grenades at each other and begin assuming who is guilty.

It's lame to not drop a name. Come with receipts or keep it on the playground, Colin. 

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