New Ohio State assistant Alex Grinch got a $200,000 raise to come to Columbus

“Alex Grinch on Tuesday formally began working as the newest member of the Ohio State football coaching staff, and he did so with the preliminary agreement that he will make $800,000 the first year of a two-year deal, plus the requisite perks and possible bonuses.”

-Tim May, The Columbus Dispatch

When word first began circulating that Washington State defensive coordinator Alex Grinch might be joining Ohio State’s coaching staff, everything seemed to make sense. Grinch is a Central Ohio native, and played college football at Division III powerhouse Mount Union in his home state.

So, when the calendar turned to Jan. 9, 2018, and FBS programs were able to hire a 10th assistant for the first time, it was the perfect fit for Grinch to come home, and he did. The one thing that confused on-lookers was just how much money would Grinch be making in his new position.

Grinch reportedly made $600,000 in Pullman last year, so if he was going to leave a DI defensive coordinator position for a “to be announced” coaching spot, even if it was to come home, chances are that it would have to be worth his while, and apparently it is.

His reported $800,000 base salary is more than defensive coordinator Greg Schiano’s $700,000 and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson’s $650,000. With a salary like that, it seems fairly likely that Grinch will be given the “co-defensive coordinator” designation, and should Schiano get another head coaching opportunity elsewhere, Grinch should be in line to take over as the sole DC.

With Ryan Day as the co-coordinator on the offensive side of the ball, and Grinch assumably the same for defense, OSU has a pretty good set of young coaches who could move up if opportunities arise; perhaps one of them will even eventually succeed Urban Meyer as head coach.

“Hubbard was a one-man wrecking crew in Ohio State’s 24-7 win over USC in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.”

-Mark Schlabach, ESPN

When Sam Hubbard participated in November’s Senior Tackle festivities, it seemed pretty obvious to most that he would eventually forego his final year of collegiate eligibility and enter the NFL draft, which he did the day after the Cotton Bowl.

However, his draft stock likely jumped up significantly following his Cotton Bowl performance. With 2.5 sacks and another tackle for loss, Hubbard shot up to the first round in the New Years’ Day mock draft from SB Nation’s Dan Kader, coming in at No. 31 and going to the Patriots. We do know how Bill Belichick loves former Buckeyes.

However, as great as Hubbard’s performance was in Texas, he wasn’t the only Buckeye to make ESPN’s All-Bowl team as safety Damon Webb also earned a spot. Webb benefitted from Denzel Ward deciding not to play in the bowl game, and went on to have a stellar outing himself.

With a fumble recovery and an interception in the game, coupled with the best passer-rating-against of all draft-eligible safeties, Webb is being projected to go as high as Round 2, and as low as Round 5. If he is able to have a good combine and/or pro-day, he should be able to be another early-round DB pick out of Columbus.

“Combining a few ballots from around SB Nation... and way-too-early rankings... plus early national title odds by the Westgate in Las Vegas, gives us a top 25 something like this.”

-Jason Kirk, SBNation

In this amalgamation of “too-early” polls, the Buckeyes are coming in at a respectable No. 4, behind Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia. While there are still a ton of questions left unanswered—who will be the starting (and backup) quarterback, will any other players leave for the draft, etc.— No. 4 feels right.

Unless something changes, Ohio State will come into the 2018 season with one of, if not the, best duo of running backs in the country in J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber, a still ferocious defensive line, and a stable of young wide receivers who just so happened to look much better with Dwayne Haskins throwing the ball than J.T. Barrett in 2017.

With games against the Oregon State Beavers and TCU Horned Frogs in the first three weeks of the year, if the Buckeyes want to have a chance to get back into the College Football Playoff next year, they will need to answer these and many other questions right off the bat.

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