How many first rounders will Ohio State have in the 2019 NFL Draft?

“The best defensive player in the draft, Bosa has two-plus years of excellent production under his belt and he brings the Bills a much-needed pass-rusher...”

-Steve Palazzolo, profootballfocus.com

If you’ve been following us on Twitter (which if you aren’t, you should be, @LandGrant33), you’ve likely seen that we haven’t taken too kindly to the infographics that Pro Football Focus has been putting out when it comes to the evaluation of Dwayne Haskins’ play thus far this season.

However, we will take a step back from that to look at their first mock draft of the year. In the first round projections, PFF has three Buckeyes going in the first round. Nick Bosa at No. 2 to the Buffalo Bills (that seems unfair to Nick following his injury), Dre’Mont Jones at No. 16 to the Dallas Cowboys, and Haskins going No. 32 to replace backup TTUN alum Tom Brady in New England.

While I think that there is a possibility of perhaps an offensive lineman or a wide receiver (if one blows up from here on out) to crack the first round next year, this seems like a fair list without the traditional sure-fire defensive backs competing for a top-10 spot. The only issue that I see is that I think both Jones and Haskins will end up higher than they are now. Jones doesn’t have nearly as much room to climb as the OSU QB does, though.

It seems like both players, but especially Haskins, have had their prospects hampered by the opponents that the Buckeyes have played through the first four games; especially when you consider that neither has played much outside of the first half other than against TCU. No doubt that Oregon State, Rutgers and Tulane are at the bottom of the competition barrel, and after TCU lost to Texas, that victory isn’t looking as impressive as we thought that it would.

However, with games against Penn State, Michigan State, Michigan and potentially Wisconsin before the Buckeyes make it to bowl/College Football Playoff season, there will be plenty of opportunities for Haskins to prove his worth against top-line competition.

Now, no one expects Haskins to put up the exact same numbers that he has thus far for the duration of the season, but, if he is able to keep them to the point where he is breaking Ohio State passing records by the time the calendar turns to November, I think it is completely possible that he ends up in the top half of the draft, if not in the conversation to be the top QB taken.

Despite the small sample size, I believe that it can be legitimately argued that Haskins is the best passing quarterback in Ohio State history, but that’s probably still premature to make that declaration. If he has a massive game on Saturday against Penn State, however, watch this space, because that hot take will be coming.

If you happened to catch the Penn State vs. Illinois game last Friday night, you saw the Fighting Illini absolutely gash the Nittany Lion defense in the first 30 minutes of the game. Similarly, the Buckeye defense has given up an uncomfortable amount of big plays often to lesser opponents this season.

So, when you combine the defensive issues that both teams have had so far in 2018 with the historically prolific offenses that both are fielding, we could be in for a very long, very high-scoring affair on Saturday night. Currently the over/under number is set at 71. Unless one—or both—of the defenses steps up on Saturday, that seems like a number that is very much in play, and if I were born a gamblin’ man, I would be inclined to take the over.

Ohio State is averaging 54.5 points per game, while the Nittany Lions are putting up 55.5. With an energetic Whiteout crowd, you would have to think that PSU will have a little bit of extra mojo on their side, so it is incumbent on the OSU defense to correct some of the tackling and pursuit angle problems that have led to big plays throughout the early season.

Either way, this won’t be a Joe Pa vs. Jim Tressel, old-fashioned, between-the-tackles kind of game. There will likely be points aplenty in Happy Valley this weekend. So strap yourself in, and enjoy the ride.

Let me take you back to Dec. 2, 2017. On that day, Chris Holtmann got his first Big Ten victory as the head coach of the Ohio State men’s basketball team. It was a shocking and resounding 83-58 victory at the Kohl Center over the Wisconsin Badgers. Later that day, the Ohio State football team beat the football Badgers 27-21 in the Big Ten Championship Game.

So, just as basketball was a precursor for victory last season, here’s to hoping that women’s volleyball will be one for this season!

Good news: After being cut by the Indianapolis Colts, former Buckeye John Simon will reportedly join the New England Patriots. Simon has long been one of Urban Meyer’s favorite players, and there is little doubt that the coach’s belief in Simon probably helped convince his friend Bill Belichick to add him to the roster.

Bad News: After being on the roster of three separate NFL teams in 2017, it looks like it might be approaching the end of the road in terms of a professional career for Mike Nugent. After being a second round pick (yes, the Jets used a second round pick on a kicker!) in 2005, Nuuuuuuuuge, has been on the roster for eight different teams, but as he heads to the IR with the Raiders, you have to wonder if this is the end for the 36-year-old.

Also, because I know you were wondering, Sebastian Janikowski left the Raiders after last season, and is now a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

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