New Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is still working on learning the playbook

“I’m not sure because I don’t know the full playbook yet. I feel like just the stuff we have in now, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp around it.

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields via Dave Biddle, Bucknuts

Not to worry Buckeye fans, even though Justin Fields admitted he is still learning the playbook, the quarterback still has four months before Ohio State kicks off their 2019 to get a handle on new head coach Ryan Day’s playbook. While Fields completed just four of his 13 passes in Ohio State’s spring game on Saturday, one of those completions was a 98-yard touchdown pass to Binjimen Victor. Fields also ran for 38 yards and led his squad to touchdown drives on four straight possessions.

Even though the Georgia transfer quarterback had an up-and-down performance, he will be ready to go when Ohio State opens up their season against Florida Atlantic. Not only will Fields be working with head coach Ryan Day a lot before the season starts so the two are on the same page of what Fields is expected to do, but Fields will also have a talented group of wide receivers to work with. Along with veterans K.J. Hill, Austin Mack, and Binjimen Victor, Fields will have freshman wide receiver Garrett Wilson at his disposal. Wilson showed in the spring game why he was one of the top-rated wide receivers in the country coming out of high school.

If Ohio State fans need a little more reassurance not to look too much into some of Fields’ struggles in the spring game, all they have to do is look back a year. Quarterback Dwayne Haskins didn’t put up big numbers in the spring game, completing just nine of his 19 passes. That performance was forgotten once the season began, as Haskins began his assault on the single-season record books at Ohio State and in the Big Ten. While it’s crazy to expect Fields to match the numbers Haskins put up in 2018, he’ll likely have the Ohio State offense running efficiently once the season begins.

“I didn’t get into coaching at the highest level of college basketball to be fearful of expectations.”

Ohio State men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann via Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch

Heading into his first two years as men’s basketball coach at Ohio State, Chris Holtmann didn’t have to deal with lofty expectations for his team. Prior to his first season in Columbus, the Buckeyes were picked to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten. All the Buckeyes did was make the NCAA Tournament and make it to the Round of 32 before falling to Gonzaga. Last year saw many doubting the Buckeyes could match what they did in Holtmann’s first season in Columbus, but Ohio State again made the NCAA Tournament and won a game.

With a group of talented recruits on their way to Columbus, expectations are vastly different for Holtmann and his team heading into his third year with the Buckeyes. Ohio State has been included in many preseason top-25 projections, and are a good bet to challenge for the Big Ten title.

Even though expectations have are different heading into his third season at Ohio State, Holtmann isn’t letting those expectations change the way he coaches. Holtmann knows his team have a lot of work to do heading into the 2019-20 season, but he is embracing the challenge of bring Ohio State back to national prominence in basketball. The Buckeyes have made big strides in the first two seasons under the former Butler head coach, but this is just the tip of the iceberg in what Holtmann is planning to do to transform this program into one of the best in the country.

In a video posted to Twitter yesterday, former Ohio State wrestler Logan Stieber announced his retirement from competitive wrestling yesterday. After posting a 184-1 record and winning four state titles at Monroeville High School, Stieber came to Ohio State and became one of the most decorated wrestler in school history. During his career in Columbus, Stieber won four Big Ten titles, four NCAA individual titles, and was part of the 2015 Ohio State team that won a team national championship. Stieber’s individual titles came at 133 pounds in 2012 and 2013, and 141 pounds in 2014 and 2015. Stieber is one of just four wrestlers in the 89 years of the NCAA Championships to win four individual titles.

Following his career at Ohio State, Stieber would go on to make the national team for the 2016 World Championships in Budapest at 134 pounds. Stieber would win the only gold medal for the United States at the 2016 World Wrestling Championships. The last two years, Stieber competed for the United States at the Pan American Championships, winning bronze in 2017 and gold in 2018.

Now that he has announced his retirement from competitive competition, Stieber will now look to become a coach at the Ohio Regional Training Center in Columbus. Stieber will help train freestyle wrestlers for the World Championships and the Olympics. Along with his duties at the RTC, Stieber also plans to open a wrestling academy in the future.

“I will certainly miss Ohio State and the volleyball program, but I will never forget it.”

Retiring Ohio State men’s volleyball coach Pete Hanson via Colin Gay, The Lantern

Ohio State men’s volleyball coach Pete Hanson announced his retirement this morning after 35 years as head coach at the school. Hanson leaves Ohio State with three NCAA Championships, three National Coach of the Year awards, and 712 wins, which is third-most in NCAA history. Hanson is also already a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame, and the USA Volleyball Hall of Fame.

It’s fitting that Ohio State volleyball has just said goodbye to St. John Arena, they will also be saying goodbye to Hanson, who registered six undefeated seasons at St. John Arena, and a 42-match winning streak. While the Buckeyes struggled to just a 10-19 record in Hanson’s final season, they were strong at St. John Arena, posting a 9-5 record.

Hanson has set a standard for the Ohio State men’s volleyball program that will never be matched, not only on the court, but off the court as well. Even more impressive than all of the wins that Hanson has posted during his coaching career, he has seen more than 200 of his players earn Academic All-Big Ten honors, and 65 percent of his players have earned Ohio State scholar-athlete recognition. While the Ohio State men’s volleyball program will turn the page next year with a new arena and a new coach, what Hanson did in his time at the school will never be forgotten.

STICK TO SPORTS

• 10TV’s Chris Bradley was honored posthumously with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Professional Journalists on Wednesday night.
• Cleveland Indians’ second baseman Jason Kipnis and James Beard Award winning chef Jonathon Sawyer are bringing a concept restaurant to the Short North.
• A Columbus resident will begin a 3,000 mile run this weekend to raise awareness for the formerly incarcerated.
• A Johnny Cash statue will replace a Confederate statue on Capitol Hill.
• Samsung’s foldable phones are already breaking.