Willyville Guy

Tress and Urban stuck with their seniors to a fault at times. I'm glad Day is walking the walk on playing the players who make plays regardless of their age. That's a change I've been hoping to see for years -- at least since Tua came in and won the natty for Alabama.

Dave Biddle reminded me this morning that Robert Smith quit the team in 1991 and came back in 1992, so maybe Pope will come back strong lol! I do feel badly for the kid though -- it has to be frustrating to be a senior LB in a year where that unit is taking a lot of heat and playing time is really tight. Some people work twice as hard in that situation. I guess others say "fucc ohio state" and move on. Best of luck, Pope!

He's going to be sweet, but it's going to be against Akron, and so this will be a tricky game to evaluate. Still, I'm excited to see him play.

Many thoughts on Stroud and the QB situation in general. Overall I accept that he's 19 and has just three college games under his belt. He seems like a talented quarterback and a potential NFL prospect. His on-field demeanor as a leader needs significant development, which I think can only come with time, experience, and coaching. This team has some real issues; I don't Stroud is one of them. That said, the defense has this team in a situation where they need to score on almost every drive, and so far I don't see the urgency or accuracy from Stroud to meet that unfortunate need. I agree that he's missing high, and the few picks have been untimely. I'm concerned that Penn State is going to feast on him next month unless something changes. So, given the needs of the team right now, I'd like to see Day mix in McCord if the offense is sputtering mid-game. I'm not giving up on Stroud, but after three games I'd like to see what else we have here.

@H2o

That’s unfortunate. My sense was that Nevada had serious inside info during the Tress years, but his sources faded during the Urban era and beyond. He may have been desperate to stay relevant. Barton… that’s surprising.

I’m open to the idea that OSU and other programs severely impacted by the pandemic have lost meaningful development time, and that issue would certainly show up on the field – that could be what you’re seeing. I think it’s too soon to tell though. Programs like the ones you mentioned have personnel options at several positions every year and usually spend at least a few weeks figuring out the right mix. (And in the case of Ohio State’s defense, they’re trying to figure out a lot more than that.) So I typically expect to see the quality of play improve from week to week at the top end of college football. Interesting issue to keep an eye on. If there has been an overall step backwards, and players in the draft appear less polished and NFL-ready than we have come to expect, then hopefully the Bills will trade down to stack picks and save cap space.

Matt Barnes could start transitioning to that role in the meantime.

Tough times on D made even worse with Proctor's season-ending injury. I feel terrible for the kid. Duane Long on the Bucknuts Morning 5 today said they may look at Egbuka to play safety. Apparently he was a special player on defense in high school, the move would put five star talent on the back end of the defense, and it would give him game experience while he waits for his time to come at WR. Interesting. Also, this from today's press conference with Day, according to the 11W presser bullets: On whether Sevyn Banks is dealing with anything besides an injury issue: "No, nothing else." ... On Sevyn Banks: "He's not too injured to play." Not sure what to make of that. Hopefully we see some clear changes soon because the current situation seems bad both on and off the field.

Paging Marcus Freeman. Marcus Freeman, please pick up the white curtesy phone. Look I love Coach Coombs and give him a pass for last year (even though the lack of any adjustments in the natty game was physically painful to watch). Seems like nothing has changed. The scheme issue has the feel of something that will fade out of the spotlight for a month or two as OSU moves through the rest of its schedule, but we know it will pop up again at the worst possible time.

How bad is it for Coombs on Columbus radio right now?

UCLA played fast and hit hard last night. Hadn’t seen that in a while. Kelly can coach and he’s a proven recruiter on the west coast. UCLA could be onto something here.

Yes, please.

Well that was quite an adventure. One thing I loved though is that OSU didn't just grind out a win, they started throwing haymakers like crazy when needed to separate and win the game. When Meatball came back in with the lead in the 4th, 130 years of Ohio State football told me it was "three yards and a cloud of dust" time -- and I was fine with that. But instead they threw a bomb for a TD and made it look easy. Backbreaker. Love it. As for the defense, sheesh. I'll reserve judgment on the back end until the CBs come back and they have more game reps overall, but man that was frustrating to watch.

That's awesome -- I expect that tOSU will pick up some new fans in Hopewell over the next couple of years!

One week!!

Oh, 100%. Not ideal but you can't say no to him.

My guess is that is Stroud stays put for this year (assuming he's the starter) because it is unlikely that Ewers can arrive on campus in August and be ready to play right away with no spring and a very limited summer. So I'm looking for him to be listed third on the depth chart in Week 1 (agree that Miller appears to be the odd man out here). For garbage time game snaps though, I wouldn't be surprised to see them split between McCord and Ewers right away. Hopefully this is managed better than QBmageddon in 2015. I heard an interesting comment this morning about his NIL and draft opportunities. Apparently students have to complete one college semester before they can start entering into NIL deals. By coming to school now and attending classes this fall, he can speed up the clock and start earning money January 1, which is just five months from now. It also puts him a year closer to the NFL. The kid is chasing that bag!

That's awesome! Question for you. Do you think it hurts the critical relationships that exist in recruiting between college coaches and high school coaches if star players skip their senior seasons (and a chance to win big with their high school coach/team) to go off to college? If the high school coaches start getting annoyed because OSU wants their five-stars on campus early, I'm a bit concerned that there could be longer-term, unintended consequences here. The pipelines are generally more important than any one player.

That QB room….

Oh boy - they are definitely seeing something new out of him. Can’t wait to see for myself.

Long Horn Network -- UT's own TV channel.

This is getting even weirder. It’s basically going to be ESPN versus FOX to see who can hype up their conferences more.

Are we in a full-on arms race now? If so, Kevin Warren is not a wartime commissioner. New B1G football czar Barry Alvarez might be, though. It used to be all about getting into new TV markets (hence Maryland and Rutgers), but now apparently there are so many streaming options and team/game specific packages available that the cable TV ratings aren't the most important factor anymore. Now it's all about building a high-profile brand with the media exposure needed to maximize the NIL revenue that can be brought in through star players at primetime schools, and (as Ryan Day said at his press conference today) figuring out how to distribute that money throughout the team. That's a tricky puzzle that will be easier to manage if there're plenty of money for everyone. My view is that Ohio State is in a great spot to sit back and see how this all plays out, and then decide how or where to proceed. The conference is in deep trouble though, and so is the NCAA generally, if it isn't an active player in this moment. I personally don't want to have to watch a bunch of OSU-Kansas football games just to gain a hoops powerhouse. USC on the other hand...