Friendly reminder that not every day is sunshine and rainbows, but some are!
Word of the Day: Crux.
BETTER THAN T-LAW? "The best quarterback prospect since Trevor Lawrence" is some consistent analysis I see recruiting knowers throw out there about Quinn Ewers, but nobody has seemed to be brave enough to go further than that. Until now.
On the 247Sports Football Recruiting Podcast this week, 247Sports' national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins said that from a pure throwing standpoint, he'd take Ewers over Lawrence.
"Let me tell you what I saw, Blair — I saw a guy that, allow me to be a little controversial but we like a little bit of controversy every now and again, right?" Biggins said. "I'm going to give you a hot take that is going to be extremely unpopular and I'm going to get criticized for it, but I don't care because it's my opinion and it's coming from a place of love. Blair, this is coming from a place of love. Love Trevor Lawrence. Love the guy. Love what he stands for. Love his compete level. Love his national championship, his playoffs. Loved him in high school. No. 1 player coming out as it was deserved. No. 1 pick in the draft, as was deserved. I love how grounded he is, I love how strong in his faith he is. Talking to DJ (Uiagalelei) a lot, DJ says Trevor's the real deal. I'm just going to say this, though — you and I saw Trevor up close for three days straight at the Elite 11 Regional Final and then we saw Trevor at The Opening Final, which is kind of called the Justin Fields show. So we saw Trevor quite a bit, up close and personal. I'm just going to say this — everyone's been saying Quinn might be the best quarterback prospect since Trevor Lawrence. But I will say this — from a pure throwing standpoint, Blair, from a pure throwing standpoint, it's third-and-eight, I want a first down, I'm going to go with Quinn.
"And here is why, dude, here is why — I will go back, and this shows kind of how old I am, I've been doing this since '95, '96 — I have to go back to Matt Stafford, probably, Quinn being the guy with the quickest, tightest release I've ever seen. Everyone loves talking about a big arm and we'll always counter that with, 'That's not the most important thing.' Yeah, I'm saying that, too, right? It's like the pretty girl, you always notice the looks first. But if her personality sucks, she's out. Quinn has the most dynamic arm, with the quickest release that I've seen — the combination — since Matt Stafford. ... I've seen Ryan Mallett, huge arm. I've seen DJ Uiagalelei, huge arm. All those guys had big releases. You look at Quinn, I've never seen a guy who literally it's like ... boom — I've never seen a guy who can roll out and just flick his wrist and the ball is going with so much velocity. Dude, it was hitting receivers in the chest. And I was waiting for him to knock 'em over like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando, where they're shooting guys and we're seeing guys just vibrating until they fall on the ground."
...
... So I say all that to say this — I think Quinn has a chance not just to be a first-rounder. I think we have him rated, right now, accordingly, as the No. 1 high school player. I honestly think that he could be the No. 1 pick in the draft, if he stays healthy at Ohio State, and it's a perfect situation because I'm a huge CJ Stroud fan as well and he was out there at the Clarkson Retreat. And of all the college guys, he was the most impressive guy for me throwing it. So give me CJ Stroud for two years and Quinn goes in there, he backs up for a year and then he's in there for two. And by that third year, man, he's out. He can be a top-overall guy. I think he's that good."
I respect that reporters have tried not to get too hyperbolic about Ewers' talent so far, but I also respect Biggins calling it like he sees it.
And hey, if Ewers' career trajectory is anywhere near Lawrences' – national title, three playoff appearances, perennial Heisman candidate, No. 1 overall pick – I'll be extremely pleased.
YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION. I thought it was cool and good that Ohio State signed kicker Noah Ruggles. His stats are safe and solid – money from under 40, shakey from 40+, never hit a field goal of 50+ yards in a game.
But I'll tell you what, after a quick scroll through his Twitter feed, I am *significantly* more intrigued!
Cool! Now do that in a game, pretty please?
FIRST IMPRESSIONS. From the brief clips I've seen, it looks like Justin Fields is absolutely balling out in Chicago. But don't take my word for it – his teammates will tell you.
And then there's running back David Montgomery:
“Justin is definitely — he’s a freakish athlete to say the least," Montgomery said. "He already kind of carried that leader mantra that you rarely see in rookies that I know I didn’t have. He’s great and he’s progressing well. It’s good to see him, being as young as he is, be able to take the reins. Looking at Andy, following behind Andy and Andy showing him the ropes, he looks great out there. I’m proud of that kid.”
As a longtime Bengals fan, I'm not sure I've ever in my life smiled as Andy Dalton uncorked a deep ball and there isn't a soul on the planet who's ever referred to his athleticism as "freakish."
I'd set the over/under on games Dalton at like 1.5 and confidently bet the under, but there's also a chance the Bears are just stupid.
BEST DAMN (ONLY)FANS IN THE LAND. It looks like the Internet has found my car.
Just kidding. Y'all know my plate is "ARBYS69." I believe this plate belongs to my esteemed colleague, Dan Hope.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. Inside the abandoned 17th-century castle that used to be Europe's largest drug lab... A retired nun admits to embezzling more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit... The rise and fall of a drug kingpin’s wife... An innocent man went to prison for murder, but now, it’s the real killer’s turn...