Passing along some things heard at Big Ten Media Days from OSU folks. Ryan Day has done his podium interview. He'll have his longer breakout in about two hours. The OSU players just did their breakout sessions. I mostly spent time with Emeka Egbuka and Jack Sawyer.
Emeka Egbuka
* Said he's working on trying to avoid the little bumps and bruises that have hindered him in the past. Feels great right now.
* Shared that Brandon Inniss was voted to the leadership council. Seems like a pretty big deal for a sophomore who hasn't played a whole lot, but I think that's good because Egbuka needs help leading that room. Sounds like Inniss has picked up that mantle. Ryan Day had some nice words for Inniss earlier, said you can "feel" him when he's on the field. Egbuka said Inniss brings a ton of energy and explosiveness to the offense. Still rehabbing, but sounds like they expect Inniss to be on track. We'll double check with Day during his breakout.
* Egbuka said the thing he really likes about JJ Smith is that he's a pro about his work. The talent is off the charts, but Smith doesn't expect to be handed anything.
* Egbuka likes Will Howard's veteran experience. Said he can sense Howard getting comfortable in a different program/offense.
Jack Sawyer
* Lot of talk here about expectations and why guys chose to come back. Jack said it's impossible to walk around the Woody and avoid championship reminders. It eats at him that Ohio State doesn't have one in his time here. That's why he's back.
* I liked his exchange with Birm. Birm asked Jack about being a former five-star prospect and his perspective on JJ Smith. Jack said the one thing he wanted to make sure was that JJ wouldn't get down on himself if he didn't contribute right away. Then Jack wanted JJ in the first spring practice: "Holy shit. This kid is good." So Jack's not worried about that anymore.
* I asked Jack about Josh Simmons. He said the list of players he's faced who have Simmons' feet and explosiveness is short, and Paris Johnson is one of them. I'm not taking that as a direct PJ-to-Simmons comparison, but I think that's pretty high praise for Simmons. Sawyer seems to think Simmons could really blossom this year, and that maybe one of the key ingredients there is Simmons realizing how good he can be. Sawyer sees a really high ceiling. Sounds like Simmons is starting to believe that, too.
I'll add some more to this after we talk to Day later on.
Emeka Egbuka
* Said he's working on trying to avoid the little bumps and bruises that have hindered him in the past. Feels great right now.
* Shared that Brandon Inniss was voted to the leadership council. Seems like a pretty big deal for a sophomore who hasn't played a whole lot, but I think that's good because Egbuka needs help leading that room. Sounds like Inniss has picked up that mantle. Ryan Day had some nice words for Inniss earlier, said you can "feel" him when he's on the field. Egbuka said Inniss brings a ton of energy and explosiveness to the offense. Still rehabbing, but sounds like they expect Inniss to be on track. We'll double check with Day during his breakout.
* Egbuka said the thing he really likes about JJ Smith is that he's a pro about his work. The talent is off the charts, but Smith doesn't expect to be handed anything.
* Egbuka likes Will Howard's veteran experience. Said he can sense Howard getting comfortable in a different program/offense.
Jack Sawyer
* Lot of talk here about expectations and why guys chose to come back. Jack said it's impossible to walk around the Woody and avoid championship reminders. It eats at him that Ohio State doesn't have one in his time here. That's why he's back.
* I liked his exchange with Birm. Birm asked Jack about being a former five-star prospect and his perspective on JJ Smith. Jack said the one thing he wanted to make sure was that JJ wouldn't get down on himself if he didn't contribute right away. Then Jack wanted JJ in the first spring practice: "Holy shit. This kid is good." So Jack's not worried about that anymore.
* I asked Jack about Josh Simmons. He said the list of players he's faced who have Simmons' feet and explosiveness is short, and Paris Johnson is one of them. I'm not taking that as a direct PJ-to-Simmons comparison, but I think that's pretty high praise for Simmons. Sawyer seems to think Simmons could really blossom this year, and that maybe one of the key ingredients there is Simmons realizing how good he can be. Sawyer sees a really high ceiling. Sounds like Simmons is starting to believe that, too.
I'll add some more to this after we talk to Day later on.
