Buckeye Bits: Wyatt Davis, Shaun Wade near consensus All-American status, more Sugar Bowl interviews

We have almost made it through this hellscape of a year that has been 2020, and fans of Ohio State will be looking to open up 2021 with some instant gratification if the Buckeyes are able to knock off the Clemson Tigers in the Sugar Bowl on New Years Day. The rematch everyone has been waiting for is now just three days away, and there is a ton to talk about leading up to latest installment of the College Football Playoff.

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After being named first-team All-Americans by the Associated Press on Monday, both Wyatt Davis and Shaun Wade are now one step closer to consensus All-American status, as the pair received first-team All-American honors from Sporting News on Tuesday. The publication also named Haskell Garrett and Josh Myers as second-team All-Americans. For Garrett, it is his second second-team All-American selection of the postseason despite only being a third-team All-Big Ten selection.

There was another round of Sugar Bowl interviews on Tuesday, as we got to hear from some of Clemson’s players as well as Tigers offensive coordinator Tony Elliott. Elliott began his time praising the Ohio State defense, specifically pointing out Pete Werner as a guy who really jumps out on film. Despite so many losses from last year’s team, he expects a similar challenge.

Clemson guard Matt Bockhorst discussed his relationship with Justin Hilliard, whom he played alongside at St. Xavier High School. Bockhorst has a lot of respect for Hilliard, and is excited that the talented linebacker is finally able to showcase his skillset after an injury-plagued career in Columbus.

Tight end Braden Galloway discussed Ohio State’s success at covering tight ends this season. After their struggles locking down the position in previous years, the Buckeyes have done a much better job this time around thanks in large part to guys like Hilliard, Baron Browning and Pete Werner.

Trevor Lawrence is looking forward to yet another matchup against Justin Fields. The two have been linked together throughout their entire careers, and it will just be one more chance at a head-to-head battle between two of the nation’s best quarterbacks.

Clemson’s top receiver Amari Rodgers doesn’t see these two teams as rivals, and I don't totally blame him. An Ohio State victory would certainly change that.

Star running back Travis Etienne sees a tough task ahead, as Ohio State has been strong against the run all season. Last year, the Buckeyes held Etienne to 36 yards rushing, but Lawrence torched them for 107 yards.

Finally, wide receiver Cornell Powell is looking forward to matching up with the Buckeyes’ defensive backs. He says the team doesn’t feel like the wideouts played their best game in last year’s matchup, and they want to do a better job in the rematch.

On the Ohio State side of things, Chris Olave has officially returned to practice — and we didn’t even need a blurry Bigfoot-style zoom-in shot to prove it!

We also got to hear from some of the Buckeyes on the defensive side of the ball on Tuesday, beginning with Shaun Wade. You know he is a guy who is especially looking forward to this matchup given how his night ended last time around.

Wade gives his own take on the rivalry — one that all OSU fans will agree with.

Haskell Garrett was next up at the podium, and he says he is still weighing his decision on whether or not to return next season. In terms of his All-American status, Garrett says he is more concerned with preparing for Clemson.

Pete Werner spoke next, and he is confident the defense has fixed the issues that plagued them against Indiana.

Jonathon Cooper has fought through a lot to get to this point, and he is very happy to have Ryan Day on his side. When asked if he would be returning next season, he laughed and said “probably not.”

Justin Hilliard said the team that runs the hardest and hits the hardest will win the game, and he is excited to go up against his former teammate in Bockhorst.

Kerry Coombs wrapped things up on the interview session, and he expects to have a good portion of their players back on Friday that they were missing against Northwestern.

Ohio State knows they must cut down on the amount of big plays they let up, and that is a tall task against an explosive offensive like Clemson’s.

This is nothing more than a Larry Johnson appreciation post.

Dwayne Haskins certainly did not help his own cause in Washington, but he was set up to fail from the start with a bad franchise who hasn’t been able to successfully develop a quarterback for two decades and a coaching staff who didn’t even want him from the beginning.

And on the flip side of the coin, J.K. Dobbins seems like a perfect fit in Baltimore.

From around the hardwood...

Ohio State hoops will look to bounce back against Nebraska on Wednesday night, but they will have to do so without guard Musa Jallow, who will miss the contest due to COVID-19 contact tracing. Jallow has been awesome off the bench for Chris Holtmann this season, averaging 5.7 points per game while bringing a tremendous defensive presence to the floor.

Jae’Sean Tate is posterizing dudes in the NBA. We love to see it.

From everywhere else...

I present to you, today’s Worst Twitter Take of the Day™

The funniest part about this asinine statement is that Reporter Karle over here has “Went fishing once with Nick Saban” in his Twitter bio. Ratio’d into the ether.

As someone who has just started researching into the cryptocurrency game, this kind of thing is very intriguing to me. Will be interesting to see how this pays off down the road.