Why is this news?: Former Buckeye Jordan Hall signs with Steelers, Ohio State new "Linebacker U"

"Hall was given an open try out during the Steelers' 2014 rookie minicamp and his versatility jives with the direction the Steelers are headed as a team."

- Jeff Hartman, Behind The Steel Curtain

Former Ohio State running back Jordan Hall has signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, having gone undrafted during the 2014 NFL Draft. Hall will be joining forces with some former teammates, including defensive lineman Cameron Heyward and linebacker Ryan Shazier, who went in the first round of the draft. Hall will be fondly remembered around these parts, considering LGHL's own Matt Brown and his "BETTER CALL HALL" slogan during the 2013 season (which we both used countless times on Twitter).

Hall came in when the Buckeyes needed to fill in for the suspended Carlos Hyde, but also proved he was a capable starter. It just so happened that he was competing with a running back that wouldn't lose a single yard on any of his carries for just about the entire season in Hyde. At Ohio State, Hall accounted for 3,486 all purpose yards and provided his talent to the team when they were without a complete backfield.

"Move over Penn State. Ohio State is the new "Linebacker U" -- and the Buckeyes claimed the title in a blowout. "

- David Ching, ESPN.com

David Ching at ESPN has been breaking down every position in the past decade, and proclaiming which schools have the right to be called "Position U". Ohio State topped the lists for linebacker, defensive back, and kicker. Of course, there's a key to go by how points are determined that gives college football award winners 10 points, consensus All-Americans eight points, and so on. With the Buckeyes having all-everything linebacker A.J. Hawk and other top of the line linebackers such as James Laurinaitis, Ryan Shazier, Matt Wilhelm, Cie Grant, Brian Rolle, it's easy to see why the Buckeyes were at the top by a landslide with 222 points (the next highest was Alabama with 174).

Ohio State just edged out Oklahoma for the top spot for defensive backs, with 238 points to the Sooners 220, thanks to greats such as Malcolm Jenkins, Mike Doss, Will Allen, Chris Gamble, Nate Clements, Nate Salley, Donte Whitner, Chimdi Chekwa, Bradley Roby, Kurt Coleman, and Dustin Fox, to name a few. As for the kicking, the Buckeyes can send a big thank you to Mike Nugent and punter B.J. Sander for winning the Lou Groza and Ray Guy awards, respectively.

"Nine conference schools ranked in the top 25 in average attendance. Wisconsin (17,104) ranked seventh, followed by Ohio State (16,474)."

- Big Ten Network, via Big Ten release

The Big Ten Conference led the nation in men's basketball attendance for the 38th consecutive season according to figures recently released by the NCAA. The Big Ten set a conference record with an average attendance of 13,534 per game, including regular season home games and all six sessions of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament.

While Indiana led the conference and was ranked sixth in the nation with 17,359 per game, Ohio State only trailed the Hoosiers and Wisconsin in the Big Ten, but still ranked among the top 10 in the country. That's an impressive feat and you can bet that it's due to the success head coach Thad Matta has had in Columbus.

"If the standard for expansion is you have to bring in Nebraska or Penn State, no one's ever going to expand. There's only a couple of those out there."

- Jim Delany, via Stewart Mandel, SI.com

The quote above was in response to Land-Grant Holy Land's own Luke Zimmermann (and similar lines of thinking that adding teams such as Rutgers and Maryland aren't going to help the conference earn any respect around the country):

Maryland and Rutgers went a combined 13-13 last season. The Terrapins last finished in the AP top 10 in 1976; the Scarlet Knights never have. "Ohio State fans in particular are sick of having to defend the league after winning 24 straight [2012 and '13] and still not getting the respect it deserves," said Luke Zimmermann, founder of the Buckeyes blog Land Grant Holy Land. "This is not in their mind anything more than adding another Indiana or Purdue."

The article goes on to say that Delany believes that Rutgers and Maryland will eventually reach "big-time" as a program, though I'm not sure if I can agree with that sentiment.

STICK TO SPORTS

• Live in Ohio? Expecting a kid soon? Might just want to hop on the bandwagon, and name your kid Braxton. So what if it's a girl?
• I'm honestly not sure why someone would even attempt something like this.
• AT&T claims ‘strong' net neutrality would actually ruin the Internet.
• A woman growing bamboo in her backyard is frustrating neighbors. Personally, I think they're just barking up the wrong tree.
• Looks like the band OK Go is at it again when it comes to interesting music videos. You probably remember them from the treadmills.