I'm not ready to declare a winner yet, but Drue Chrisman has a strong lead for Costume of the Year.
My water bottle dressed up as an arrow for Halloween #SpookySzn pic.twitter.com/gZ7BWUe8lM
— Drue Chrisman (@DChrisman91) November 1, 2019
ICYMI
- Marvin Harrison Jr. commits to Ohio State.
- What Harrison's commitment means for the Buckeyes.
- Gene Smith is glad athletes will be able to profit from their likeness.
- How Justin Fields compares to other Buckeye greats.
- Justin Fields is balancing preparation and recovery.
- Nick Bosa picks up even more accolades.
- Our picks against the spread.
Word of the Day: Nebbish.
PEOPLE FORGET ABOUT CJ WALKER. CJ Walker has got to be one of the most under-the-radar players in the Big Ten if not the entire country, simply because folks have forgotten he exists.
Shit, I blog about Ohio State sports full time and I'm even guilty as hell on that front. But when you don't play a single minute of basketball for over 500 days, that'll happen. It'll also make you extremely ready to get back on the court so people never forget you again.
From the esteemed Tony Gerdeman of The Ozone:
“I know I am for a fact,” Walker said on Tuesday. “I haven’t played since — I looked it up the other day, I haven’t played in like 500-something days. I was that desperate to play a game that I looked it up, so I am most definitely ready to play, and play against somebody else in front of a crowd and get to play with my teammates.”
...
Walker will bring experience, while Carton will bring explosion. Walker also has the added benefit of simply sitting and watching last year’s point guards and what Buckeye head coach Chris Holtmann did and didn’t like about the way they played.
“I just kind of took last year as full advantage, just be able to learn how Coach Holtmann wants his team run,” Walker said. “So I was able to learn from CJ Jackson and Keyshawn and kind of see how Coach Holtmann wants things to work out for the team and what he really wants his point guards to do.”
...
“I was just able to see the game from a different perspective, like seeing always from the outside because I obviously didn’t play,” he said. “So I just kind of took that in consideration. Just took it on the floor this year. You know, slowing down a lot, just making the right plays and letting the game come to me and be able to make plays
Walker was a starter on an Elite Eight team and now he's just added to the Buckeye lineup instead along with one of the top freshman point guards in the country, a pair of top-50 freshmen at forward, and a seven-footer. And none of them are Ohio State's best player.
Basketball is good and fun!
THE MOST SLEPT ON. Speaking of players everyone forgets about, Davon Hamilton could very well be the most underrated Ohio State football player of the past decade, and I'm not just tossing that around.
Part of that is just how under-the-radar he's flying. I mean, the guy actively uses his Twitter account and has just 806 followers (as of 4:59 a.m.) as a starter for the Ohio State football team who will be in the NFL in a few months.
But also, he's damn good.
Here he is eating a double team:
Love Davon Hamilton #53 in the IDL. First he stacks a double-team. pic.twitter.com/Fi1Aj03kcc
— Jared Stanger (@JaredStanger) October 27, 2019
Here he is just casually moving a Rimington candidate into his quarterback for a sack:
Now he gets a 1v1 on highly touted Wisconsin center Tyler Biadasz and he just walks him back into the QB and finishes the sack. pic.twitter.com/dRn00rtT3P
— Jared Stanger (@JaredStanger) October 27, 2019
And here he is absolutely decking a running back on a screen pass, as a three-tech defensive tackle:
Love the recognition here, and then the punishment. That's a 252lb fullback he decleats. pic.twitter.com/GEAbaT4nQ5
— Jared Stanger (@JaredStanger) October 27, 2019
Chase Young gets the headlines on that defensive line for obvious reasons, but Davon Hamilton is going to be playing in the NFL for a long time. I'm calling my shot now.
One interesting prospect that we didnt post last weekend is @OhioStateFB DT Davon Hamilton (@dmhamilton53). Few players in the Midwest have helped themselves more this fall than Hamilton, who has created plenty of buzz on the road with NFL scouts. #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE pic.twitter.com/D9ZQOqTNPx
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) October 31, 2019
And when he departs after this season, we get his little brother, Ty Hamilton, in another classic "he's probably better than his older brother" scenario, which certainly worked out fine last time.
BACKING THE BEARCATS. For the third Saturday of the season, you're going to have to find something else to do besides watch Buckeye football, and that's mighty unfortunate because this week's slate ain't exactly magnificent.
But if you're looking for a rooting interest this week, you can have the two-for-one special of backing a former Buckeye while also rooting for an outcome that benefits Ohio State's playoff hopes.
From Heather Dinich of ESPN:
Ohio State fans
Cheer for: Cincinnati
Here's why: Remember Luke Fickell, your old defensive coordinator? He's still helping you out. The Cincinnati head coach has the Bearcats leading the American Athletic Conference East division and in contention for a New Year's Six bowl. Each week, the Buckeyes' 42-0 win over the Bearcats on Sept. 7 is looking better, and without any nonconference wins over Power 5 opponents, Ohio State needs it. Cincinnati could wind up being another CFP top-25 victory for the Buckeyes. Ohio State is off this weekend; Cincy is at East Carolina. What else are you gonna do?
I strongly disagree that Ohio State "needs" Cincinnati to look good to improve its resume, because going undefeated and incinerating every team in its path is going to be plenty good enough.
You also don't have to do much to convince me to root for Luke Fickell to succeed, so I was already well on board with this. Go Bearcats. Beat everybody else.
DAWAND THE TERRIFYING. As if Dawand "Big Thanos" Jones wasn't terrifying enough in his regular form, Ohio State gave him a mask and let him try to scare the hell out of his unsuspecting teammates.
Y'all ever seen a 360 lb. man sneak up on people?
Bye week interviews got a bit...spooky #HappyHalloween #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/C46D1Ihm8Z
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 31, 2019
Damon Arnette was absolutely ready to throw hands, but as calmly as possible. Terrified, but composed – I respect it.
CANDY, RANKED. If you're a parent, you've got some trick-or-treat candy to raid. If you're a kidless homeowner, you've probably got some leftovers from your trick-or-treat handout stash (assuming you weren't a grinch). If you're none of those, I have coined today is National Half-Price Candy Day – you know what to do.
Point is, everyone's got some candy lying around in some form or fashion, and the Wesson brothers are here to tell you what's worth eating, and what's worth leaving for your kids.
Can blue-blood @reeses rise above the competition?
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) October 31, 2019
Does controversial Candy Corn have a chance at an upset?
Can trendy sleeper @SourPatchKids make a run?
We'll see as the Wesson brothers (@Elite_Hooper99 and Andre) play out the Sweet 16 of candy. @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/UQN0ASYIOK
I am shocked and confused by the Snickers vs. Reese's upset, and Skittles have no business beating Sour Patch Kids, but I guess that's why they play the games.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. A mysterious U.S. space plane returns after a long, unexplained mission... "Extreme haunted" house is a "torture chamber under disguise," says a petition to close it... This special effects company makes body parts so lifelike that the police were called... New York train rider reports suspicious packages, turn out to be machines used to report suspicious packages... Accidentally exposing a nationwide scam on Airbnb... The military has been researching "anti-gravity" for 70 years...
