Friendly reminder that I do not personally participate in the unfunny lie day.
If I wanted to tell an innocuous fib for my own enjoyment, I would almost certainly choose any other day. Today, I will keep it very 100 with y'all (as the kids used to say) – just like future sports announcer Dawand Jones.
This gone be me as an announcer https://t.co/vTIwL9KTLR
— Dawand Jones (@dawandj79) March 31, 2022
I did not know that I needed to witness Dawand Jones as a television commentator, but apparently, I do.
Word of the Day: Delude.
THOSE BUCKEYE RECEIVERS, THOUGH. Turns out, NFL teams liked what they saw last season when Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave spent the entire season torching hapless defensive backs like arsonists with expensive home insurance policies.
Conversation with a high-level NFL scout this morning:
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 31, 2022
"Those Ohio State wide receivers are gonna go A LOT earlier than people think. Both of 'em."
I'm not really sure what that means, especially considering that Garrett Wilson is pretty consistently mocked to be taken within the first 10 picks. So I'm not sure what "A LOT earlier than people think" would even be – but I'm here for it!
Honestly, after witnessing Ja'Marr Chase turn the Cincinnati Bengals from a four-win team to a Super Bowl contender pretty much single-handedly, I wouldn't be shocked to see a lot of teams trying to create similar magic this year.
PEAK PARANOIA. There might not be a group of people on the planet more consistently paranoid than college football head coaches and we got another example of it this week.
South Florida head coach Jeff Scott has decided not to allow the team's spring game to stream to fans online because he's worried about opponents getting an edge based on a single scrimmage five months before the season starts.
No. 1 thing fans want is to win. So he hopes fans understand this...he'd rather have BYU try to figure them out in the first half of the opener than figure them out beforehand via spring game film
— Matt Baker (@MBakerTBTimes) March 31, 2022
His logic is basically that they have a bunch of transfer players that they want to keep a secret from Houston – as if the Internet does not exist and Houston would be completely unable to find tape on those players at their previous destination.
The reality is, there is surely some very slight competitive advantage gained here – you are making life at least a little more difficult on your future opponent. But if a single open spring scrimmage is make-or-break enough that you feel the need to keep people from watching it online, that probably says more bad than good about you as a coach.
HOT ON THE TRAIL. Ohio State's brought in a top-5 class three of the last four years, and even the 2019 class (which ranked just No. 14 nationally) was No. 3 in average recruit ranking.
And yet, the 2022 class was still good enough to raise the average.
47 P5 teams are currently recruiting above their 4-year average: pic.twitter.com/tde1bntKJh
— parker (@statsowar) March 31, 2022
I'm not sure how much this really means when like three-fourths of all Power Five teams are also on this list. It would appear that inflation has hit recruiting ratings, too. But Ohio State is in the good part of the chart so it is my Buckeye Blogger duty to share it with you all.
HUGE RECRUITING WEEKEND. Speaking of recruiting, Ohio State's going to be hosting more talented teens than an early 2000s American Idol audition this weekend with *five* five-star receivers, a pair of five-star quarterbacks, a five-star corner and many more all heading to campus.
If you need a little primer, Garrick has got you covered.
Priority recruits from both the 2023 and 2024 classes will be on campus, and there are no shortage of five and four-star players expected to be in Columbus. With such a big weekend on tap, let’s delve into some of the top storylines that could play out. Spoiler alert: Most of them have to do with athletes from Florida.
Here's hoping we get to make use of that red banner a couple of times this weekend.
KEEP YOUR HEAD ON A SWIVEL, BRUTUS. In honor of Saturday's Student Appreciation Day, I think it's important to throw it back to this absolute gem.
Here's hoping Brutus gets an anthropomorphic nut-sized helmet if he decides to participate in full-contact drills this year.
Also, in a world of overly search engine optimized titles everywhere across the World Wide Web, I very much appreciate the sweet and simple "Brutus Gets Leveled" title we've got going on here.
A+ all around. No notes.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. Why people are acting so weird... The most distant star ever detected... The founder of Alcoholics Anonymous tried LSD 66 years ago and ignited a controversy still raging today... An ancient gas from the dawn of time is leaking from Earth's core... Meet the robot frying your food at White Castle... Police find a stash of bikes in a garden so large it could be seen from space...
