Ryan Day, Chris Holtmann share advice on social media regarding COVID-19

Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day hopped on the Twitter machine on Wednesday morning to sent out a heartfelt message to Buckeye Nation in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The now second-year headman in Columbus wanted to assure everyone that even though the times call for isolation and quarantine, that we are all going to get through this together.

Day also extended a thank you to all of the medical professionals everywhere putting in all the extra hours to help people out in any way they can. He also called for the general public to help out those that are vulnerable to this disease, especially the elderly, by both supporting them and by adhering to any guidelines set forth by the government. We must continue to take this thing seriously if we are going to overcome it.

A short while later, Ohio State basketball head coach Chris Holtmann posted a video via the team’s Twitter account with a similar sentiment to Day’s message. The mens hoops coach urged everyone to practice social distancing, and to work from home for those people for whom it’s possible. Holtmann asked everyone to be mindful for the most vulnerable people in our communities to this disease, and to reach out and support them in any way we can.

The Buckeye head coach reminded everyone to wash their hands regularly and thoroughly, and also extended his thanks to healthcare workers in Ohio and around the world working to try and defeat this great obstacle we all face.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The New Orleans Saints have signed a former Ohio State player. Those guys down there must really love their Buckeyes, as on Wednesday it was reported the safety Malcolm Jenkins was close to a deal with a team that has began to look like an OSU regional campus in New Orleans.

Jenkins has had a long and storied career both in college and the NFL. At Ohio State, he was a three-time All-Big Ten selection from 2006-08, and was a consensus All-American and Jim Thorpe Award winner in 2008. He was selected by the Saints with the 14th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, and would play for New Orleans until 2014, when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agent — where he has spent the last six seasons. In the NFL, Jenkins has been selected to three Pro Bowls, and is a two-time Super Bowl Champion (XLIV, LII).

One of the more durable defensive players in the league, Jenkins has played a whopping 167 games in his NFL career, amassing 874 tackles, 17 interceptions, 95 pass breakups and 18 forced fumbles. At age 32, Jenkins will be returning to the team that drafted him, and a place where he spent the first five years of his career. If the safety was looking to hang it up anytime soon, it makes sense that he would do so with the Saints.

Jenkins will be joining a team that has seen more than its fair share of Ohio State players in recent years. Just last season, New Orleans had five former Buckeyes on its roster, including Pro Bowlers Michael Thomas and Marshon Lattimore as well as defensive backs Eli Apple and Vonn Bell and wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. While many of these guys are currently free agents, the Saints brass clearly likes what they see in the talent being produced out of Columbus.

The final AP Poll of the pandemic-shortened college basketball season was released on Wednesday, and Ohio State finished the year at No. 19 despite being National Champions*. The Buckeyes were all set to compete in their first Big Ten Tournament game against Purdue last Thursday before the NCAA shut everything down in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. They would have likely been a No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament had everything gone on as scheduled.

We will never find out just how Ohio State’s season would have ended if the games had been played, and while The Washington Post’s projection of the tournament is certainly intriguing, it leaves everyone wanting more. While the Buckeyes were definitely nowhere near perfect, they appeared to have turned things around later in the year and entered the conference tournament with a bit of momentum.

After tanking the month of January, OSU managed to win nine of its last 12 games, including wins over No. 7 Maryland, No. 19 Michigan and No. 23 Illinois. On the season, the team was undefeated against AP Top 10 opponents, including the likes of No. 10 Villanova, No. 7 UNC, No. 6 Kentucky, and of course the Terrapins. Despite a 2-6 start in conference play, the Bucks managed to climb all the way back to finish 11-9 in Big Ten play, good for a fifth place finish. When healthy, Ohio State could complete with almost anyone in the country, and it is a shame that they and all the other talented groups of kids around the nation will never know just how far they could have gone.

The Buckeyes are one of six Big Ten teams to finish in the AP Top 25, including No. 9 Michigan State, No. 12 Maryland, No. 17 Wisconsin, No. 21 Illinois and No. 25 Iowa.

Stick to Sports

• At this point, Joe Biden has a nearly insurmountable lead for the Democratic nomination.
• How does the US compare to other countries in terms of confirmed COVID-19 cases?
• Trump announced on Wednesday that the US-Canada border will be restricted.
• What can you do to remain calm during a pandemic?