I would like to formally thank Ryan Day and staff for keeping a slow period decidedly unslow with these commitments, but at the risk of being too picky, it would be great if we could stop burning all of this offseason fuel all at once.
#BOOMs will be the manna that keeps me alive for the next six months. They must be rationed.
Song of the Day: "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd
Word of the Day: Malinger.
EARLY LINES. There are no sports on which to wager your hard-earned money on anytime in the near future, but if you're a true degenerate feeling the withdrawals, you can go ahead and lock in some action on some games that are still a few months out, including 25 percent of Ohio State's regular season slate.
**Correction
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) March 16, 2020
Bama -13.5 is vs USC...not LSU
You'll be shocked to hear this, but the lines for all four Buckeye games look like candy to this homerific blogger.
-1.5 against Penn State? Please. Ohio State is a blocked field goal away from winning eight-straight in that rivalry too and last year's matchup should have been a mauling.
-2.5 against Oregon is free money. They tell me Autzen ain't no joke, but restocking your entire offense and then playing the Bucks in week 2 ain't a recipe for success.
-12.5 is absolutely disrespectful. The closest Nebraska got to competence this year was when they ran a few offensive plays from the 1940s. I'll pose naked if the Huskers play within two scores of Ohio State in Columbus.
Michigan is obviously Michigan.
So go ahead and parlay all of them. Shit, it's safer than the stock market right now.
(Bonus: Alabama is going to grind LSU's bones and make bread).
JUST DRAFT THE BUCKEYE. NFL scouting is going to be a little harder this year with most folks living in isolation for a few weeks and pro days canceled, but I can make it really easy on any NFL scout – just draft the Buckeye. If a Buckeye is on the board, take the Buckeye.
Pro Football Focus has been rating NFL prospects for six years now, and it turns out that most of the top-7 prospects and more than a quarter of the top-25 players they've evaluated during that span played at Ohio State.
To be fair, the top prospect among them (No. 1 Joe Burrow) finished his career at LSU, but even excluding him, the list is absurd.
4. EDGE CHASE YOUNG, OHIO STATE (2020)
Without question, Chase Young the top defensive prospect we have ever seen here at PFF. He broke the record for the highest overall grade we have ever handed out to a defensive player (96.1) and made opposing offensive tackles want to quit the game as a pass-rusher. Young finished the season owning a 96.5 pass-rush grade and unreal 27.2% win rate on his 300-plus pass-rush reps. Everything about him as a pass-rusher is elite — power, quickness, speed, hands — you name the trait, Young owns it. Heck, he even made the Northwestern offense change their entire offensive scheme when they went up against him, using designed rollouts to the opposite side.
6. EDGE JOEY BOSA, OHIO STATE (2016)
Joey Bosa was a pressure-generating machine in his final two years with the Buckeyes. He combined for 145 pressures in 2014 and 2015, which was the most in the FBS by three and 29 more than third. It’s not like he was first because of rushing the passer over 800 times, either, as he owned one of the five highest pressure rates in that span and the highest win rate. There was only one game in 2015 and 2016 in which he didn’t produce multiple pressures, and that was because he was limited to only five pass-rush reps — no tackle could contain him.
7. EDGE NICK BOSA, OHIO STATE (2019)
He may have missed all but three of his games in his final collegiate season, but we had seen enough from Nick Bosa to declare him one of the 10 best prospects in the PFF College era. Combining his limited sample size from 2018 as well as his entire 2017, Bosa posted an unreal 93.7 pass-rush grade and 27.8% win rate. There wasn’t a single game in the stretch in which Bosa was held to a win rate below 15%. That’s pretty remarkable. In fact, Bosa’s 2017 campaign was the most valuable season we have seen from a Power-5 edge defender. He proved he could win on the inside or outside and was easily the safest prospect of his class, just like his older brother Joey.
22. CB MARSHON LATTIMORE, OHIO STATE (2017)
Marshon Lattimore's numbers in his 2016 season are flat out ridiculous — there’s just no other way to put it. He played 311 coverage snaps that year and allowed only 18 catches on 40 targets. Only 10 of those 18 catches resulted in a first down, which was less than the number of plays he made on the ball (12 forced incompletions and four interceptions). Those are lockdown numbers. Not to mention, he didn’t miss a single tackle that year on 39 attempts.
23. CB JEFF OKUDAH, OHIO STATE (2020)
It’s rare to see a cornerback prospect coming out of school be as polished as Jeff Okudah is when in press coverage. Okudah played 184 coverage snaps in press in 2019 and allowed a minimal 0.49 yards per coverage snap, which was the second lowest in college football and over a half yard less than the average. On top of that, he didn’t allow a single explosive play on those reps — he was the only corner in the 2020 class to accomplish that feat.
Alabama technically topped all schools with seven players on the list, but Ohio State had three players rated higher than Bama's highest (four counting Burrow), so I'll go ahead and claim a W here.
Between those can't-miss guys and the guys like Terry McLaurin and Michael Thomas who exceed expectations, it's almost reckless not to draft the Ohio State player, when given the chance.
AIN'T DONE YET. The Buckeyes have reeled in three commitments in two days with another one (probably) coming before noon today. But I cannot stress this enough, they ain't close to done. They might not even be done this week.
And recruiting-knower Steve Wiltfong points out, the players who haven't pulled the trigger yet ain't exactly scrubs, either.
As we move forward, Ohio State is the 247Sports Crystal Ball leader for or has burn regarding the following prospects: Five-star defensive tackle J.T. Tuimoloau (.9972), top-ranked receiver Emeka Egbuka (.9944), five-star running back TreVeyon Henderson (.9888), running back Donovan Edwards (.9809), offensive tackle JC Latham (.9787), defensive end Tunmise Adeleye (.9787) and the No. 2 safety in the country Derrick Davis (.9780) who are all ranked inside the Top50 of the 247Sports Composite Player Rankings. OSU is also in the middle of it for five-star offensive tackle Tristan Leigh (.9899), defensive end Demeioun Robinson (.9764) and offensive lineman Rocco Spindler (.9761) who are Top50 prospects as well, with defensive tackle Tywone Malone (.9750) right outside at No. 53.
The Buckeyes are recruiting at such a unique level that if they were to land Top247 blue-chippers like receiver Troy Stellato, offensive lineman Jager Burton, defensive tackle Marcus Bradley and defensive backs Kamar Wilcoxson and Jantzen Dunn, their average ranking per commit would take a small hit. Those guys would be the jewel of about any other class.
Yes, Ohio State could add Troy Stellato – a top-150 player in the country – and it would bring the average team rating down.
I think you could say that the Buckeyes are effectively social distancing themselves from every other program with this class.
BEST IN THE BUSINESS. The past week it's felt like there's a run on top-rated defensive backs accepting offers to play for Kerry Coombs. And if you ask one of his former players, there's a damn good reason: he's the best.
Kerry Coombs is the best defensive back coach in college football. Im not saying that because he coaches at OSU either. The guy just knows how to get the best out of his player's mentality, physically and emotionally. Something you have to witness first hand of course.
— Travis howard (@Travishoward_7) March 16, 2020
Sometimes, it doesn't feel fair how stacked Ohio State's coaching staff is, but then I remember that I'm actually not at all interested in fair, I'm interested in winning.
ALREADY A STAR. Julian Fleming hasn't played a snap at Ohio State yet and he's already someone's hero.
Jackson had homework to write about someone that influenced him. He wrote: I met JULIAN FLEMING he is a wide receiver for Ohio State. He is my friend. Love our VT247 family! @OhioStateFB @brianhartline @ryandaytime @julian_040 @PaFootballNews pic.twitter.com/ADHQiqIBH1
— VAPORTRAIL247 (@VAPORTRAIL2471) March 16, 2020
I like that kid's hustle. Get in on someone before they blow up. Everyone's gonna claim him in 4 years, but he's a proper idol hipster.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. 13,000 fans moshed at home as a metal band streamed from an empty venue... An Ohio single mom's 1991 cold case murder was solved using DNA uploaded to public genealogy site... Kids put on a porch concert for a neighbor self-quarantining during the coronavirus pandemic... A Tampa strip club offers face masks to customers to fight the spread of the coronavirus... 911 dispatchers hear the worst moments of our lives, but who listens to them?
