With the spring game behind us, it's officially the offseason. Buckle up.
Word of the Day: Ambit.
THE JORDAN HANCOCK GAME. There were not as many obvious storylines from this spring game as in recent years, probably because Ohio State showed pretty much nothing from the new-look defense it's been installing this spring.
But one player absolutely worth talking about who might not make all that many headlines was Jordan Hancock, who looked extremely ready to play football.
Knowles seemed to have his defensive backs playing more aggressively, however. After a couple of years of seeing cornerbacks playing in off coverage, Knowles had this group playing more in the face of receivers. That might account for a large chunk of the receptions Saturday going to tight ends and running backs.
...
“We’re continuing to work on playing close to people, throwing punches, being aggressive with our coverage,” Knowles said. “That may be a little bit of a change for them. We’re also going against the best receiver corps in the country. That’s going to continue to be a reason for them to get better. We’re going to continue coaching aggressive coverage.”
One defensive back who seemed to take that style to heart is second-year corner Jordan Hancock. Hancock had back-to-back plays in the first half that might have been the best sequence for anyone in the game. He aggressively broke out of a zone drop on a pass over the middle to Harrison and knocked the ball out of the air before it reached the receiver’s hands. On the next play, Hancock came flying up the field to tackle running back Miyan Williams in the backfield for a loss after a checkdown throw to Williams in the flat.
It's probably irresponsible to read too far into two plays when you don't have the larger context of his entire spring practice, his development from last season, and how he fits into the new scheme, but I'm going to do it anyway.
I'm officially aboard the Jordan Hancock bandwagon.
DYNAMIC DUO. The Buckeyes are just so stacked at the wide receiver position for the foreseeable future that we probably aren't adequately appreciating just how damn good the Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave duo was these past few years.
I mean, I'm out here watching the spring game expecting Ohio State's passing game not to even miss a beat after losing both of them to the NFL Draft (which, to be clear, is an entirely realistic outcome). But the reality is, they're leaving as one of the best receiving duos in college football history. And they deserve their respect.
The last time @OhioStateFB had a WR drafted in the first round: 2007. This year, theyll likely have two. @GarrettWilson_V and @chrisolave_ are headed to the #NFLDraft in Las Vegas after three seasons as one of the best receiving duos in college football history. (THREAD ) pic.twitter.com/cDMNaPbXH3
— NFL (@NFL) April 17, 2022
Olave and Wilson are 2nd and 3rd respectively in most 100 yard receiving games in a Buckeye uniform.
— NFL (@NFL) April 17, 2022
Both find themselves in the top 10 in all-time receptions at OSU:
3rd: Olave (2,711)
8th: Wilson (2,213) pic.twitter.com/BbkIlB0fsP
They're about to be the first two Buckeye receivers drafted in the first round since Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez in 2007. I uh... don't think we're going to have to wait quite as long to see that happen again.
HASKELL OPENS UP. Everything about the 2020 incident where Haskell Garrett was shot in the face just a few weeks before the season remains one of the wildest Ohio State football stories in recent memory, in large part because we just never really heard all that much detail about it – which is totally fair, to be clear.
But this weekend, Garrett opened up about the incident as much as he ever has.
Incredible story from NFL Draft prospect @HaskellGarrett on coming back even stronger from a gunshot wound to the head. pic.twitter.com/OnmfkIZQdH
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) April 15, 2022
It's still absolutely mindblowing to me that he got shot in the face, lost five teeth, required facial reconstructive surgery and bone grafts, and was on a mostly liquid diet for months, but still managed to return to the football field in less than two months.
Let me tell you, if that happened to me, I'm not sure I'd even be *blogging* about football two months later.
ALL CLASS. Shea Patterson had a pretty horrific start to the USFL season yesterday, giving up this red zone scoop and score.
SCOOP 'N SCORE FOR OUR FIRST TD OF THE SEASON
— Houston Gamblers (@USFLGamblers) April 17, 2022
: @NBCSports & @PeacockTV | #USFLOpeningWeekend pic.twitter.com/KsfmEzw5ak
But I'm not going to bomb on him too much, because he also gave an extremely classy and subtle tribute to his former adversary.
Shea Patterson honoring Dwayne Haskins during Panthers game today. HT @realpowersbrian https://t.co/2dWOKtBctj
— angelique (@chengelis) April 17, 2022
I'm sure Shea, like the rest of us, will never forget Dwayne Haskins putting his team's defense through a paper shredder back in 2018. I appreciate the respect.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Vienna" by Billy Joel.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. A Chicago cop is accused of framing 51 people for murder... Electric vehicle charging points are hacked to show porn websites... A notorious drug lord is finally arrested after a model posts a photo of them kissing... Why we remember music but forget everything else... How Nissan creates its signature new car smell... The probability that we’re all living in the multiverse, and why that idea is so appealing, explained by a quantum physicist...
