Two Ohio State Buckeyes announced they’ll be returning for their senior season

After J.K. Dobbins and Jeff Okudah announced their intentions to declare for the 2020 NFL Draft in recent days, a couple of Buckeyes have decided to return to school for their senior seasons. Linebacker Baron Browning and punter Drue Chrisman will be in Columbus for the 2020 season, hoping to be a key part of Ohio State’s drive to the national title.

After a slow start to his Ohio State career, Browning showed this season why he was a highly-rated recruit coming out of high school. The addition of Al Washington to the coaching staff as linebackers coach lit a fire under Browning, propelling him to 43 tackles, 10 of which were for a loss. The junior linebacker dealt with injuries for a portion of the season, as well as split time with Tuf Borland, but Browning should see plenty more time on the field this year, as the Buckeyes will lose senior linebacker Malik Harrison.

Chrisman just finished up his third season as starting punter for Ohio State, registering a career-high 44.3 yards per punt this season. Chrisman has been incredibly consistent during his time at Ohio State, with registering at least 43.2 yards per punt in each of his three seasons. Chrisman’s love of bottle-flipping on social media has earned the love of Buckeye fans, and now he’ll be trying to flip the field for the defense for one more season in Columbus.

After announcing following Sunday afternoon’s loss to West Virginia that Kyle Young would be sidelined due to appendix surgery, today Ohio State basketball head coach Chris Holtmann gave an update on the junior forward. On Monday Young underwent appendix surgery, which won’t allow him to play on Friday night against Wisconsin. Following the game against the Badgers, Young’s status will be game-to-game.

After Holtmann said Young was throwing up prior to Sunday’s game against the Mountaineers, the junior still gutted out 22 minutes on the court, scoring two points and pulling down 11 rebounds. For the year, Young is averaging 8.3 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game. Expect to see freshman E.J. Liddell see more playing time during Young’s absence.

The Cleveland Browns recently fired head coach Freddie Kitchens after just a year on the job, and now again are looking to fill their head coaching vacancy. After Baylor head coach Matt Rhule reportedly turned down an interview with the Cleveland Browns, one of the targets owner Jimmy Haslam has his eye on is former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer.

Interest in Meyer isn’t something new, as reports are the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins were interested in the current FOX Big Noon Kickoff Show analyst. The Cowboys are still deciding on the future of head coach Jason Garrett and the current current coaching staff, while Washington has already moved on from Meyer and hired Ron Rivera as their next head coach.

Even though Meyer retired from coaching following last season, there has always been speculation that he would return to coaching following taking some time to clear his head and be with his family. It’s unclear if Meyer is ready to return to the coaching ranks now, or even if he has the desire to ever become a head coach again, but the lure of staying in the state of Ohio and coaching the Cleveland Browns could be too much for Meyer to pass up.

When Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam met with the media on Thursday afternoon he said the Browns were only looking at head coaching candidates with NFL experience, which Meyer has none of. But if the opportunity presents itself for the Browns to bring in Meyer for an interview, they would have to at least entertain the idea of going against their plan to bring in a coach that was energize the fan base.

“I think [Crowley and Steele Chambers] are going to be really good players here. They’re hungry to learn, they’re getting better ... and they’re learning what college football is all about. Just the attention to detail that’s necessary every single day — and not for just certain spurts within the day, but all day. How important it is to take care of your body and to study the game away from the field.”

Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford via Austin Ward, Letterman Row

Now that running back J.K. Dobbins has announced his intentions to forego his senior season and declare for the 2020 NFL Draft, the question is who will replace Dobbins at running back? While it’s impossible to truly replace a guy who just ran for 2,003 yards and 20 touchdowns, Ohio State does have a number of running backs who will be looking to prove they deserve to start in the fall in the backfield.

Master Teague started off the season hot for Ohio State, impressing in the numerous games where Dobbins wasn’t need in the second half. For a time it looked like Teague might even have a shot at rushing for 1,000 yards this season in a backup role, but it looked like Teague wore down as the season went on. When Dobbins was injured in the CFP Semifinal against Clemson, Teague wasn’t able to get much done on the ground, rushing for just nine yards on seven carries.

Marcus Crowley didn’t see as much action as Teague, but he was starting to hit his stride as the season went on when he was called on. Crowley rushed for over 40 yards in mop up duty against Nebraska and Northwestern, and was having a career-best performance against Maryland, rushing for 82 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. But in the victory over the Terrapins, Crowley injured his knee and was ruled out for the rest of the year. Crowley might have been able to provide a spark against Clemson had he not been injured.

One other running back to keep an eye on when it comes to replacing J.K. Dobbins is Steele Chambers. The freshman only played in three games this year, seeing 19 carries for 135 yards and a touchdown. Not as much is known on the field when it comes to Chambers, but he is definitely worth keeping an eye on to breakout in 2020 after having a year in the Ohio State system under his belt.

STICK TO SPORTS

• A Columbus man who saved four lives after his death through organ donation was honored during Wednesday’s Rose Bowl Parade.
• A raccoon caused a power outage on New Year’s Day morning, leaving around 1,100 customers without power in Northwest Columbus.
• Plenty of people were celebrating the New Year by firing their guns into the air: Columbus Police received 341 reports of gunshots in a 24-hour period on New Year’s Eve.
• Papa John has big goals for 2020, as the fired pizza tycoon wants to eat 50 pizzas in a month.
• During the month of January, Red Lobster is selling a bloody mary that includes a lobster claw, shrimp, and cheddar bay biscuit.