My favorite part about excursions to Butler County is Richard's Pizza. The pizza and sausage sandwich never disappoint. Easy to see why it's been alive since 1955, baby!
ICYMI:
- Five-star 2019 power forward Alonzo Gaffney, the No. 1 player in Ohio, committed.
- In Gaffney, Chris Holtmann landed a future cornerstone.
- Antonio Williams, despite being No. 3 on the depth chart, believes his time will come.
- The 2018 football team will rely on sophomores.
- Spring practice Stock Up/Stock Down.
- Spring game visitor list.
- Reserve your (or your business’) spot next to the life-size statue of Woody Hayes coming to Newcomerstown!
Word of the Day: Putsch.
SMITH: URBZ WANTS TO RETIRE A BUCKEYE. Back in 2014, Shelley Meyer gave a tour of the family's estate to 10TV. She dropped two interesting quotes about her husband's love for Ohio State and potential career longevity.
“This is the last job. I mean, no matter what people say on Twitter, or message boards, or what – THIS is the job.”
...
“I really honestly don’t believe he will coach that long. It’s just too hard. He just goes too hard.”
Back then, I wasn't sure how long Meyer would stay. The man indeed goes hard. I figured 2018 could be his last year.
Thanks to Gene Smith and a fleet of Brinks trucks, we know that won't be the case. Even better, Smith says Meyer wants to retire a Buckeye.
From The Toledo Blade:
“We’re talking about a program here where the expectation is not to be fifth in the country,” Smith said. “It’s to be in the top four and competing for the national championship.”
And that doesn’t come cheap. At the least, Smith knew Meyer had to be the highest-paid coach in the Big Ten, including above Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, who will earn $7.5 million this season. Harbaugh — for all he has done in reviving UM from its two-Cokes-for-two-tickets depths — earning more than Meyer was like the kids having a bigger allowance than their parents’ paycheck.
“From a performance point of view over time, Urban has performed significantly better than everyone else in the Big Ten, and he needs to be recognized for that,” Smith said. “He wants to be here at Ohio State. He wants to retire at Ohio State. He wants to be here in Ohio. All those things play into this. We have our long-term coach.”
Like any longterm relationship, I realize Meyer is not perfect and love him all the same. He's a true Ohio lad, and I'd rather ride with a true-born son than West Virginia native Nick Saban or pit of darkness spawn Bill Belichick—about the only two coaches in the world I'd ponder as Meyer's replacement for more than .01 seconds.
If Meyer retires in 2022, so be it. I'm content with another five swings at the national title with him at the helm.
BOSA GETS NATIONAL PROFILE. Are you guys ready for the Little Bear hype? Because a tsunami is coming. The most thrilling thing is we know he'll live up to the hype.
The Worldwide Leader is the latest national outlet to take a look at the most famous defensive end in Columbus.
From espn.com:
"He just takes care of himself," Meyer said. "He's very mature. You can have grown-man conversations with Nick, and I've been having those conversations since he was in high school."
As Roger Harriott, Nick's coach at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida, puts it: "Nick Bosa is a man on an emphatic mission."
Several factors contributed to Nick's smooth path. One was the certainty about where he wanted to play college ball. "Nicky was always a Buckeye, through and through," said his mother, Cheryl, who also attended Ohio State.
Shoutout to Cheryl Bosa. A couple years ago, I was at Boston's Pizza in the Arena District. This one woman was rowdy as hell about a St. Thomas Aquinas–Don Boscoe game. It took me two minutes to realize that was either Nick Bosa's mother or a woman with a mortgage payment riding on the outcome of an amateur football game.
I never worried about Little Bosa going anywhere else from that point.
MAN LEAVES MICHIGAN, PROFITS. The thought of a Cass Tech Technician committing to Ohio State used to be absurd. Urban Meyer and a key lieutenant, the indomitable and since departed Kerry Coombs, changed that.
The relationship with Coombs helped lure Damon Webb south. It's a decision he doesn't regret, despite Michigan hiring a man their fans claim to be Jesus.
From 247sports.com:
"That was one of the most important decisions in my life," Webb told Bucknuts. "A lot of my former teammates played for Michigan. I always liked Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State equally growing up, so when they came to recruit me out of high school, it’s not like I looked past Ohio State. But I had a good relationship with Coach Coombs and at the end of the day I just got a feeling. I feel like I made the right choice."
But after Webb arrived at Ohio State, things weren’t as easy as planned. The Detroit-native went over a number of bumps in the road before coming out on top at the end of his career.
"It was really tough," he recalled. "My freshman year I played mainly special teams. Then my sophomore year I was suspended for a couple games. When I finally got my chance to start my junior year, there were a lot of ups and downs. I had to move to a new position, and I spent a lot of that year getting the feel for the position."
Webb added he felt he peaked during the second half of his senior year. It certainly looked that way from my couch.
I'm not sure what kind of career Webb will have in the NFL. But I was also unsure about Kurt Coleman, another undersized safety. And he's still cashing six-figure checks.
SPEAKING OF SIX-FIGURE CHECKS. Here is where ESPN's Professional Football Knowers slate the Buckeyes in the upcoming draft:
Somebody is going to look smart if they get Billy Price in the second round. Wouldn't be mad if it were the Cleveland Browns. Billy may be, though.
SUICIDE IS NEVER THE ANSWER. In terrible campus news, a woman fell off the South Union garage Tuesday and is in critical condition. This after one man died after a fall Thursday and another man fell to his death in 2017.
It's either a terrible coincidence or a symptom of poor mental health. One Ohio State group is helping send a message.
From Jacob Myers of The Lantern:
Student organizations Peers Reaching Out and Buckeye Campaign Against Suicide collaborated with Ohio State’s Suicide Prevention team to tape about 6,000 fliers late Monday night throughout campus buildings. The papers detail national and local mental health resources.
The act was a symbol of solidarity and the reach of a helping hand by many students who said they can relate to others struggling with mental health. But the event took on many forms of meaning for the participants: to erase a negative stigma, raise awareness, prevent suicide, promote positive thinking, show care and make a change.
Props to every student that helped get the world out. A speck of empathy can save a person's life.
THOSE WMDs. From 2003: Craig Krenzel wields the most imposing weapon in the game... Pet store's python may have been snatched from the wild... The legacy of childhood trauma... Luka Doncic is no Darko Milicic... Extraordinary aerial photograph of Edinburgh circa 1920.