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“Momentum for a Justin Fields-to-Ohio State transfer is increasing. Ryan Day’s impact cannot be overstated. Fields and those close to him are enamored by a potential pairing with Day.”
- Kyle Rowland, Toldeo Blade
Even with the early signing period coming and going, the hottest topic of the week for Buckeye fans has been unrelated to ‘crootin. Instead, Georgia quarterback (former Georgia quarterback?) Justin Fields has been the hottest topic of discussion in Buckeye circles, and for good reason.
Fields is an excellent player, and would be an instant starter at Ohio State if the Buckeyes were to land him. Is that going to happen? I don’t know, but right now? The odds seem pretty good. Generally, when it comes to transfer rumors like these, the smoke doesn’t come if there isn’t legitimate interest, and with all the connections between Fields and OSU, it just makes a lot of sense.
While it may be a couple weeks before we know anything officially about this, it doesn’t feel like this story is slowing down anytime soon. As long as the rumors keeping pushing Ohio state as option No. 1, we certainly aren’t complaining.
“For receiver Chris Olave, two-thirds of the way through his freshman season is when his number was called, and he delivered with touchdowns in wins over Michigan and Northwestern. For third-year sophomore Demario McCall, it was more than halfway through his college career when he made game-changing plays against Maryland, with a kickoff return, and Michigan with a memorable reception.”
- Tim May, Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State has had issues in years past with not necessarily playing the best player, rather sticking to veterans that the staff trusted over who could best contribute to the team. While it’s unclear if Ryan Day will change that practice at all, and while two instances don’t change everything, it was very nice to see Chris Olave, Demario McCall, and even a guy like Brendon White finding the field late this past season.
There’s certainly a place for experienced leaders on a football field, but Ohio State recruits too well to leave talented players on the bench. You get three total years with a lot of these guys, and there’s no reason to keep someone waiting if they’re ready to play as a freshman or sophomore.
We can only hope, for the sake of the team, that Ryan Day is more willing than Urban Meyer to play young guys early in their careers. If he is, we could see quite a bit of Garrett Wilson, Harry Miller, Zach Harrison and several more 2019 signees next season, which sounds great to me. Oh, and of course, it goes without saying. Free the people’s champ. Free Demario.
“Dorka Juhász scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds but Virginia Tech pulled away with a late run for an 81-73 victory on Friday at the West Palm Beach Invitational at Keiser University.”
- OhioStateBuckeyes dot com
It’s been a rough start for the Ohio State women’s basketball team, and it didn’t get much better today as they fell by eight to Virginia Tech. The loss of Kelsey Mitchell to the WNBA has pretty obviously hurt the Buckeyes, as the sit at 4-5 right now with losses to Tech, USF, UConn, Washington and Butler.
The biggest issue for the Buckeyes has been scoring, or the lack thereof. They’re averaging just 57 points per game, and desperately need a leading scoring to step up to keep the offense afloat. While it’s hard to be too positive about a loss, there is something to take from today’s defeat, because freshman forward Dorka Juhász had an excellent game, and looked like the elite scorer Ohio State needs her to be.
If she can keep up the scoring, and maybe get some larger contributions from Carly Santoro and Makayla Waterman, as well as a large chunk of the bench, the Buckeyes might be able to bounce back by the time Big Ten play starts on Dec. 28. The clock is ticking though.
“The Ohio State women’s lacrosse schedule is set for 2019 season, featuring matchups with four teams that appeared in the NCAA Tournament and five that are currently ranked in the Inside Lacrosse Top 25, head coach Alexis Venechanos announced on Friday.”
- OhioStateBuckeyes dot com
While the basketball team seems to be trending in the wrong direction, the women’s lacrosse hopes to head in the opposite direction in 2019. Today, their slate of opponents was announced, and it’s pretty daunting. Of the 17 games, five come against ranked teams, including a bout with No.2-ranked Maryland that should be one of the biggest games of the year.
Outside of the Maryland battle, Ohio State also has to play ranked conference foes Northwestern, Penn State and Johns Hopkins, as well as No.22-ranked Notre Dame out of conference. It won’t be easy, but with the talent Ohio State has returning, they could be in for a big year with so many chances to prove itself against top opponents. The season starts on Feb. 8 against Cincinnati.