Buckeye Bits: Ohio State is DBU, CJ Walker gets on Zoom, and more

We finally got at least a little bit of a distraction from our altered everyday lives with the beginning of the NFL Draft. The first taste of anything sports-related we’ve seen for really the better part of the last month, the virtual draft — that somehow got through an entire round without any obvious glitches or technical difficulties — reminds us of how good our lives are when football is on, and provides something positive to look forward to when it makes its eventual return.

Until then, we have a couple more days of NFL Draft to watch, and while we’ve already seen a trio of Buckeyes come off the board in round one, there are still a bunch of guys who donned the Scarlet and Gray still waiting to hear their names called. That time will come, but until then, let’s check in with all of the news around the Ohio State beat.

From around Land-Grant Holy Land...

• Ohio State 2020 NFL Draft tracker

Make sure you’re following along with us to find out where each of your favorite Buckeyes are selected in this year’s draft. We will be updating our tracker in real time, posting each Ohio State draft pick as it happens.

• OSU using NFL Draft success as momentum on the trail

What better sales pitch can you have as a college program than the ability to make you the big bucks (no pun intended) in the NFL? Recruits are taking notice to Ohio State’s draft success.

• Four-star OT Tegra Tshabola commits to Ohio State

Speaking of recruits, the Buckeyes picked up yet another commitment just before the start of the draft, hauling in the No. 2 player in Ohio in 2022 — offensive tackle Tegra Tshabola.

• Opinion: Ohio State’s best NFL Draft class

This 2020 NFL Draft class is pretty darn good, but how does it stack up with some of the classes of the past? Our Brett Ludwiczak weighs in.

From around the gridiron...

Is that good? I believe that is good.

Speaking of things that are objectively good, I believe this also qualifies.

All jokes aside, Ohio State’s success at producing NFL defensive backs has been actually absurd. Starting with Bradley Roby himself in 2014 (No. 31 overall), the Buckeyes have had a first round corner in five (sorry Bradley, you were one off) of the last seven NFL Drafts. They have, however, now had six first round CBs in the last five drafts.

They took the year off in 2015, ironically the year they won the National Championship, but returned to the forefront with Eli Apple in 2016 (No. 10). Ohio State produced three first round DBs in 2017, with Marshon Lattimore (No. 11), Malik Hooker (No. 15) and Gareon Conley (No. 24) all selected early, and added another in 2018 with Denzel Ward (No. 4). With no DBs selected in the first in 2019, they returned to form this year with both Jeff Okudah (No. 3) and Damon Arnette (No. 19).

Not only is Ohio State dominating the college football world as the rightful owners to “DBU”, but they are winning across the board as well. No school in the country has produced more first round picks in the history of the NFL Draft than the Buckeyes, overtaking USC last night with 84 total players selected in the opening round. OSU and USC are still far ahead of the pack, with Notre Dame the next highest with 69 total first round picks.

We here at LGHL like to claim Joe Burrow as Ohio State’s (all in good fun, of course), but his stint with the Buckeyes actually did involve some NFL Draft history. With himself, Chase Young and Jeff Okudah all having been on the team at the same time at one point, they become the first trio of guys to be selected 1-2-3 in the NFL Draft as ex-teammates. Even with Burrow going off to finish his career with LSU, it goes to show how successful Ohio State has been on the recruiting trail to get these guys together in the first place.

From around the hardwood...

• CJ Walker talks NBA, gives advice to AAU players in Zoom session
  (Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch)

Ohio State’s starting point guard held a Zoom session for around 70 athletes from the Mid-Ohio Pumas AAU program. In it, he discussed his journey, his hopes to one day make it to the NBA, and what it takes to get recruited at a high-level program. Walker stressed the need to make yourself stand out and look different from everyone else, as well as maintaining a focus on academics.

ICYMI: Janai Crooms, a sophomore guard on the Ohio State women’s basketball team, announced her decision to enter the transfer portal on Thursday. Crooms, the fourth player from last year’s roster on their way out, played in 32 games for the Buckeyes last season, averaging 6.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest.

• Making sense of Ohio State’s transfers and where Chris Holtmann goes from here
  (Colin Hass-Hill, Eleven Warriors)

After the men’s basketball season ending abruptly, it has been a long and winding offseason for Ohio State. 11W looks back at all of the roster movement we’ve seen to this point, what we’ve learned from it, and what must happen for Holtmann going forward.

We learned one more of Ohio State’s non-conference opponents on Friday, as Jon Rothstein reported that the Buckeyes will face Towson in 2020-21. The Tigers, of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), finished last season 19-13, losing to Northeastern in the quarterfinals of their conference tournament.

From everywhere else...

While Ohio State stole the show in the draft, the state of Ohio quite literally stole the show as they dominated the TV numbers. Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati were the top three markets as everyone looked to tune in and find out where their favorite Buckeyes landed.

Chris Spielman officially hit his goal for COVID-19 relief, hitting the $40,000 mark through his auctioned memorabilia. Fantastic news, and a wonderful gesture by a great person.

While some of Ohio State’s players from last year will find themselves in new NFL jerseys this upcoming season, so too may be one already established professional Buckeye in Curtis Samuel. The former OSU H-back has found a home in Carolina, catching over 100 passes for over 1,200 yards and 11 TDs in three seasons with the Panthers. However, Samuel now finds himself in trade rumors, so we shall see if he will continue to catch passes for new head coach Matt Rhule.

What in the world was going on at Mike Vrabel’s house during the NFL Draft? So, so many questions need to be answered.