Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what's next.
Both Miller brothers get pink slips
Archie Miller got the ax last month after four mediocre-at-best seasons at Indiana, and this week, his brother suffered the same fate with Arizona firing Sean Miller after 12 seasons.
Sean Miller's firing makes sense when you consider that his past three seasons were mired with allegations and the program is currently amid an investigation following a federal probe regarding corruption, but Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke insists that he was simply fired for losing basketball games.
Arizona AD Dave Heeke just said that Sean Miller was fired for losing. "Because the program is not meeting those high expectations, I felt it was necessary to make a change in leadership."
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 7, 2021
On one hand, this feels like a cop-out, because there were plenty of other, far more valid reasons to fire him than his record. On the other hand, he might have a point, because I'm sure Arizona would have been far more willing to deal with the baggage from a coach that goes 14-4 in the conference instead of 11-9.
Schiano stays slaying the recruiting trail
Ohio State is lapping the Big Ten on the recruiting trail in the 2022 class (and all the other ones for that matter). But if you take a gander at the current team rankings, you'll find an unusual suspect sitting in second place in the conference: Rutgers.
That is not a typo.
Greg Schiano currently has 11 commits, more than half of which are ranked in the top 600, including four four-star prospects headlined by the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the class, who committed this week.
Committed..... pic.twitter.com/qpYbLzHm5h
— Gavin Wimsatt (@GavinWimsatt) April 9, 2021
Rutgers currently has the No. 6 recruiting class in the country, which is something I never thought I'd write with just eight months until signing day.
Big drama in little Cincy
It's generally not a good sign when six of your players enter the transfer portal in a two-day span, so it didn't exactly come as a shock when Cincinnati head basketball coach John Brannen was handed a pink slip after a suspension and subsequent investigation.
But he isn't exactly going quietly.
— John Brannen (@coachbrannen) April 9, 2021
And somehow, Luke Fickell is getting dragged into the drama.
The Fickell text was on the day Brannen was suspended by UC.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) April 9, 2021
Side note: how is Tom Mars involved with seemingly every single legal case regarding collegiate athletics? He's carved out a hell of a niche for himself.
ICYMI
Ohio State's Defense Could Be Moving in a New Direction This Year, Signalled By Craig Young's Move to Safety
Dan Hope explains how Ohio State is at least experimenting with the possibility of implementing a 4-2-5 as its primary defense in 2021, where it uses a hybrid safety instead of a Sam linebacker.
Celebrating The 25 Anniversary of Ohio State's Ultimate Reload Between The 1995 And 1996 Season
Ramzy Nasrallah takes a look back at the team that killed the idea of "rebuilding," when the 1996 Buckeyes lost a record-setting QB, the Biletnikoff winner and the Heisman Trophy winner to the NFL and somehow got better.
Larry Johnson Will Find A Way To Get Jack Sawyer On The Field If He Earns It
Five-star defensive end Jack Sawyer is already impressing everybody, and Dan Hope tells us how Larry Johnson has "never been afraid to play freshmen," and will find a way to get him on the field this fall if he earns it.
