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#STUFF Tonight I'll be at ...

Wapakoneta Middle School and Harmon Stadium for a 7v7 showdown featuring Wapakoneta, Bellefontaine, Findlay and Shelby High Schools. Obviously, the primary focus will be watching the quarterbacks as Tavien St. Clair and Ryan Montgomery lead their teams but also will be keeping an eye on Wapak TE Grant Houser, a talented tight end for the Redskins.

Spent a couple of hours at Bellefontaine earlier in the day with St. Clair and his coach, Jason Brown, FWIW.

The search for a Free Safety

Ohio State has struggled to find a true free safety after Jordan Fuller went to the NFL. I thought that might have been why they were targeting Jaylen Key. But apparently, he is more of a box/nickel player that Alabama is looking at for their 'star' position. They have Caleb Downs as their probable Free Safety. Who do we have that really fills that role? Fuller was smart, instinctive, and a solid tackler who took good angles. Last year we had Ronnie Hickman who did pretty well for a while but seemed like he could get lost in space at times and seemed like he was better closer to the line of scrimmage. It seems like most of our current candidates have similar issues. Proctor and Styles both are big-bodied play-makers--Proctor definitely can struggle in space. I think the hope was that Lathan Ransom would be a good Free Safety but he also seems to do better in the box. Martinez seems to be best at the Nickel. I am not sure about Carter but he may be better at the Nickel or Strong safety as well. Kye Stokes seems like he would be an option but doesn't always take good angles. @Birm and @Bill Landis Who is best suited to be a true Free Safety--Styles, Carter or Stokes?

First Weekend of June OVs

Looking at the list of expected visitors for this weekend, it seems unlikely any will immediately jump into the class. Hopefully the staff hits a homerun with Lambert/Smith as they seem to be the most realistic options that are 100% takes

June 2nd
2024 FL RB Jordan Lyle - Ohio State Commit *OFFICIAL*
2024 TN TE Max LeBlanc - Ohio State Commit *OFFICIAL*
2024 MA OT Guerby Lambert *OFFICIAL*
2024 TX OL Daniel Cruz *OFFICIAL*
2024 LA DT Dominick McKinley *OFFICIAL*
2024 FL DT Sean Sevillano *OFFICIAL*
2024 TX DL Nigel Smith *OFFICIAL*
2024 FL LB Nicolas Rodriguez *OFFICIAL*

It is so slow...

Let's chime in with the best Buckeye to wear a number: I'll start.

#47: My heart wants to go with A.J. Hawk, but since that is the number that was given to Chic Harley...I'll have to go with Harley. He was so foundationally responsible for the rise of The Ohio State football, The House that Harley Built...that pretty much says it all, but there is so much more to that story. It is crazy that the old football rules stated that each player had to remain on the field, endlessly playing offense and defense. Once you came off the field, you could not go back in. Harley was typically the most talented offensive player on the field, and then on defense, he was once again one of the most talented players on the field.
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Checking in with OSU RB commitment Lyle

he looked great this spring, up to 192lbs btw, and is relieved to be a month into his committed life. A few still call, but OSU is where he wants to be.

Advice

Just hypothetically speaking, if one were to have the chance to interview one of the most interesting people at one of the most prominent programs in the country - here are a few pointers to increase the value to your audience.
1) assuming your time was limited to say, 18 minutes, be efficient with your time. I don’t really want to hear you, the interviewer, going off on tangents. I want to hear from the interviewee.
2) if you happen to be involved with another business enterprise, don’t use your first two questions (and four overall) to try to promote your business enterprise. One question at the end is more than sufficient.
3) “tell me about” questions are not particularly useful. Preparing beforehand and asking directed questions get much more interesting answers!

(I recognize that I cared about this way too much than I should, because I don’t have a life. the one directed question - about recruits taking other visits - was really enlightening. Which made the rest of it all the more annoying.)

Football Updated SP+ Rankings

Put out by Bill Connelly today: https://www.espn.com/college-footba...e-football-post-spring-sp+-rankings-takeaways

Ohio State is No. 2 behind Georgia. Buckeyes are No. 38 in returning production.

Here's where the teams on Ohio State's schedule rank:

71. Indiana
84. Western Kentucky
15. Notre Dame
40. Maryland
48. Purdue
8. Penn State
19. Wisconsin
73. Rutgers
42. Michigan State
31. Minnesota
3. Michigan

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Hey all --

Just wanted to mention that all of us are going to try to get away for a bit this weekend for the holiday, so barring any breaking news there won't be any fresh content on the front of the site. Hopefully you all are OK with that as we gear up for some updates next week from the coaching staff and then camp season in June, and I wanted to again thank you all for the support as we get planning for Year Two at Rivals.

Have a great, safe holiday weekend!

O/T: Top Ten...

A few of my colleagues were talking about the top ten books everyone should read, and I asked everyone's top ten movies. I was surprised by the variety. Since it is a slow period as far as recruiting is concerned and we're months from fall camp, I thought I would post my top ten and glean some ideas for my summer movie binge with some of other people's list. Mine are a little eclectic, so be warned. By the way, this is not a list of my favorite movies, just ten I think everyone should see.

1. The Godfather
2. The House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou)
3. Blade Runner
4. Audition (Takashi Miike)
5. Star Wars: A New Hope
6. Rear Window
7. Aftershock (Xiogang Feng)
8. Big
9. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring (Kim Ki-Duk)
10. Dirty Harry

Alright...your turn.
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