“Probably haven’t felt like this in 10 years. I found out stress is real. It’s a legit disease. In retirement you sleep until you’re tired of sleeping, then you go about and start your day. It’s being able to sleep in the night, you wake up in a good mood. I hadn’t woke up in a good mood in like 18 years. That’s what coaching is. You can’t be happy.”
- Thad Matta via Bill Landis, Cleveland.com
When Ohio State basketball decided to part ways with Thad Matta before last season and hired Chris Holtmann, there were some questions as to what Matta would do after being in Columbus for so long. The answer ended up being a lot simpler than some may have thought.
It seems like Matta is out living his best life for where he is now. He’s renovating a house in Indianapolis and spending time with his family, including his daughter, who attends Butler University. It wasn’t that long ago that Matta was interviewing for head coaching jobs at other schools including Pittsburgh and Georgia. He was even rumored to be offered the job at Georgia but ultimately turned it down.
Now, Matta has become an interesting outlet for a lot of college basketball coaches that still deal with the stress that Matta has left behind for now. In the article he talks about how he receives calls late at night asking about different situations and hearing all kinds of stories - even ones he doesn’t miss.
But, it’s too soon to tell if Matta is hanging up his whistle for good. Should the right situation present itself, Matta has said he would be open to discussion.
“Exciting is the word. This is something I’ve been working for my whole life. I’ve always wanted to play college football for a big-time program, and what better place to do it than Ohio State. So I’m excited to come in and get to working with the guys, getting ready to chase the Big Ten championship ring, national championship ring. I’m just going to do the right things off the field and hopefully by the time I leave we’ll be the best program in college football.”
- Terajda Mitchell via Tim May, The Columbus Dispatch
The summer for incoming Ohio State freshmen is just about to begin. Eight members of the latest recruiting class enrolled early and now the other 18 will begin filing in as they prepare for workouts and all of the above with Mickey Marotti. This is good news for both the freshmen and the Buckeyes as they look for who can contribute this fall as Urban Meyer gears up for another season.
One name that stands out immediately is incoming linebacker Terajda Mitchell, who was rated as four-star under the 247Sports rankings, and is expected to be one of the true freshmen to make an instant impact on the team.
There are others who will have a shot at playing time this fall, including offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere, defensive tackle Taron Vincent, tight-end Jeremy Ruckert, and all-purpose back Jaelen Gill. There have been plenty of improvements and physical changes to players that go through Marotti’s workouts, and it will likely end up being much of the same success for this group of freshmen.
“[Top 50 Ohio State football players for 2018] No. 49: Josh Proctor”
- Bill Landis, Cleveland.com
The folks over at Cleveland.com are breaking down their top 50 Ohio State football players for the upcoming season and the list continued on Tuesday with freshman safety Josh Proctor coming in at No. 49.
Proctor is one of the freshmen to recently arrive on campus, so there hasn’t been the luxury of seeing him play in a Buckeye uniform just yet, as he wasn’t here for spring practices. However, the good news for Proctor is that the coaching staff still isn’t certain who will start alongside Jordan Fuller in the defensive backfield at safety, and Proctor’s name has come up frequently when talking with the coaches.
Proctor isn’t going to be handed the job, however, as it’s rare to see a freshman hold down a starting spot at any position at Ohio State. There are plenty of talented players already waiting for a shot at starting at safety including Isaiah Pryor and Jahsen Wint. That being said, if you’re already in the mouths of the coaching staff, it can only mean they expect big things from you this fall.
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