Why is this news?: Is Ohio State's Devin Smith a first round pick Thursday night?

"They're getting a guy who can run, that is willing to learn, who does whatever he can to help the team win, no matter if it's on offense or special teams"

-Tim May, The Columbus Dispatch

Devin Smith will be in attendance at Auditorium Theater in Chicago on Thursday night for the first round of the NFL draft.  It is a bit of a risk for Smith, as he is not guaranteed to be chosen; most draft experts have the former Buckeye deep threat as a late first round, early second round grade. Smith's speed and ability to come down with deep balls certainly projects very well to the NFL, but some wonder about his consistency or whether he is a complete player yet.

Regardless of when he is selected, the team that does so will be getting a unique talent that should be able to help just about any NFL team. First round, third round, or somewhere else, Devin Smith should be catching passes on Sundays for a while to come.

"On Wednesday, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany defended the right of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and others in his league to barnstorm the South and suggested national leaders should be examining more dubious recruiting practices"

-Stewart Mandel, Fox Sports

The Big Ten commissioner spoke up in defense of his coaches in regards to their holding of satellite camps, but he didn't stop there.  Both Meyer and Harbaugh have recently decided to hold such camps, regardless of what Nick Saban's opinion on the subject; and in defending them Delany took it a step further and called out accepted practices such as oversigning and grayshirting.  How far we have come: the SEC is upset with the Big Ten for exploiting a recruiting loophole.

"Some 52 Ohio State Buckeyes were drafted from 2005 through 2014, including 13 first-rounders"

-Rich Exner, Northwest Ohio Media Group

Ohio State is in the top three of programs who have produced the most NFL draft picks in history, but the Buckeyes have slipped to seventh overall over the last decade.  Which is interesting because Ohio State has enjoyed a nearly unparalleled level of on field success over the past ten years.  The top 10 teams for each list is who's who of top programs.

"Once Urban came in that was off the table"

-Georgia athletics director Greg McGarity, via Macon.com

The University of Georgia plays a full SEC schedule and regularly plays Georgia Tech every year, but that doesn't mean that they aren't also on the lookout for other high profile non-conference games. Georgia's AD is quoted in this article as wanting "memorable games" against teams that "play in iconic stadiums", which would make you think that he should call up Ohio State, right?

Except that once Ohio State hired Urban Meyer, playing the Buckeyes was "off the table". The Buckeyes and Bulldogs were originally scheduled to play in 2020 and 2021, but that series was canceled as the Big Ten and the Pac-12 looked to formalize a scheduling agreement, which has since been canceled.

I don't know about you, but it seems like he's scared to me.

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