Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins earns rave reviews from mentor Shawn Springs

“I’ve played with two quarterbacks in my life that I feel are better than him. Tom Brady and Warren moon. I know how that sounds, but I truly believe it.”

Former Ohio State cornerback Shawn Springs on quarterback Dwayne Haskins via Adam Kramer, Bleacher Report

After spending more than a decade in the NFL, former Ohio State cornerback Shawn Springs has seen some of the best of the best when it comes to the quarterback position. The two-time Pro Bowler stumbled upon Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins when Springs was watching his son at a middle school passing camp in New Jersey a number of years ago.

Springs knew pretty much immediately that Haskins was going to be a special quarterback, and over the years the bond between the two grew. Springs was able to convince Haskins’ family to relocate to Maryland to benefit the football future of Haskins. Even though Springs went to Ohio State, he didn’t try to recruit Haskins to the Buckeyes, but it wasn’t like Haskins needed a lot of convincing, as it was a dream from a decade before to attend the school. After originally committing to Maryland, Haskins switched his commitment to Ohio State following the firing of head coach Randy Edsall.

On Saturday night, Haskins will face his biggest test in his short time at Ohio State, as the Buckeyes will hit the road for a primetime showdown with Penn State. If some of Haskins’ previous work is any indication, the moment won’t be too big for the redshirt sophomore. Not only did Haskins lead Ohio State to a second half comeback win against Michigan after J.T. Barrett was injured last year, but the quarterback excelled earlier this year in a tough win against TCU. Springs says Haskins looks like a pro quarterback, and the hype around Haskins will grow even more with a strong performance on Saturday night.

“After the TCU game, he did beat himself up a lot. But everybody on the unit knows he is going to get it. If he had a couple bad snaps, he had a couple bad snaps. What center doesn’t? But he’s working on it and we love him for that.”

Ohio State left tackle Thayer Munford on center Michael Jordan via Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio State quarterbacks recently had been spoiled by having Pat Elflein and Billy Price snapping them the football over the last two years. When guard Michael Jordan was shifted to starting center before the beginning of the year, the move was a bit of a surprise. There had been rumblings that Jordan was going to get a shot at center, but many thought fifth-year senior Brady Taylor was the incumbent for the starting position.

For the most part, Jordan has done a great job in adjusting to his new position so far, but there was some growing pains against TCU. Jordan was responsible for some low snaps to quarterback Dwayne Haskins, but luckily for the Buckeyes the low snaps didn’t result in any turnovers. After essentially two dress rehearsals against Oregon State and Rutgers, the pressure of the matchup against the Horned Frogs got into Jordan’s head and caused the low snaps.

Heading into last week’s contest against Tulane, Jordan put some extra focus on his responsibility of snapping the football and there wasn’t any noticeable errors against the Green Wave. Jordan is hoping the rhythm he was able to find against Tulane is able to carry over when the Buckeyes hit the road for a huge game on Saturday against Penn State. With the hostile environment Ohio State will face at Beaver Stadium, it will be a true test to see how much Jordan has grown in his short time at the center position.

Jordan’s effectiveness at the center position is even more important over the next month, as backup center Brady Taylor will be unavailable due to knee surgery. The fifth-year senior recently had a loose piece of cartilage removed and his meniscus repaired. Ta’ylor is expected to be ready to return to the field in about four weeks.

“This is our most challenging year since we’ve been together.”

Ohio State men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann on his coaching staff via Bill Landis, Cleveland.com

Ohio State men’s basketball head coach Chris Holtmann and his team exceeded expectations last year, in his first season as head coach in Columbus. Now the pressure for Holtmann and his coaching staff is ramped up even more, as the Buckeyes look to build off of last year’s NCAA Tournament appearance.

The biggest challenge for Ohio State will be how the Buckeyes replace Keita Bates-Diop and Jae’Sean Tate. Aside from senior guard C.J. Jackson, the Buckeyes are lacking in veteran leadership, as nine of Ohio State’s 13 scholarship players are in either their first or second year of the program. Ohio State is going to need even more from sophomore center Kaleb Wesson, who has expanded the range of his shooting during the offseason, to help to try and fill the void left by Bates-Diop and Tate.

Along with what Jackson and Wesson will bring to the table, Ohio State is hoping graduate transfer Keyshawn Woods can have an immediate impact for the Buckeyes. Ohio State is hoping Woods can have a similar impact to that of Andrew Dakich, who also came to Ohio State as a graduate transfer. The former Wake Forest guard should give the Buckeyes a little more on offense than Dakich was able to give, which would help take some of the pressure off of Jackson.

The Buckeyes will also be forced with trying to navigate a challenging non-conference schedule, which begins with a road contest against Cincinnati, and also includes battles with Creighton, Syracuse, and UCLA. The quality of some of these non-conference games should help ready a young Ohio State squad for Big Ten play.

The Big Ten has announced a change to their overtime protocol in hockey. If the teams are tied after regulation in any conference game, there will still be a five-minute, 5-on-5 sudden death overtime period. If the teams are still tied after the first overtime period, there will be a newly added five-minute, three-on-three overtime period. If the game is still tied after the two overtime periods, there will be a sudden-death shootout. Postseason games won’t see any changes to the overtime protocol, as there will still be a 20-minute, five-on-five sudden death overtime period.

If a team wins the game in regulation or in the first overtime period, they will be awarded three points in the conference standings. If the game goes to a second overtime or shootout, the teams will each be awarded a point, with the winner being awarded another point.

Ohio State finished 26-10-5 in the 2017-18 season, making just their second Frozen Four appearance in school history, losing in the National Semifinal 2-1 to Minnesota-Duluth. Expectations will be high for the Buckeyes this season, as Steve Rohlik’s team returns 21 players from last year’s squad. Ohio State opens their 2018-19 on Oct. 12 at Arizona State.

STICK TO SPORTS

• AEG Presents has acquired Promowest Productions, which is responsible for a number of live music venues in Columbus.
• The LEGOLAND Discovery Center will open at Easton Town Center on Friday.
• Kings Island has announced that the Firehawk roller coaster will be closed at the end of the operating season.
• The fourth-annual Cartoon Crossroads Columbus expo will be held this weekend at the Wexner Center for the Arts.
• A Chicago-based company wants to build Ohio’s largest solar plant, about 90 miles southwest of Columbus.