Buckeye Bits: J.T. Barrett talks The Spot, Trey Sermon’s rehab, more

Well, we did it. Another week in quarantine down, which means another week closer to normalcy at some point — hopefully sooner rather than later.

For now, we just gotta keep on keeping on. As we continue living our stay at home lives, at least there has been plenty of Ohio State news to keep us occupied and well-read on all our favorite Buckeye teams. Let’s check in on all the latest happenings around the beat.

From around Land-Grant Holy Land...

• BOOM! 2022 four-star athlete C.J. Hicks commits to Ohio State

You didn’t think the Buckeyes were gonna go a full week without another commitment did you? Hicks becomes the third player to join OSU’s 2022 class, with himself, OT Tegra Tshabola and CB Jyaire Brown building a solid base of sophomore talent.

• Buckeyes offer two top 2022 prospects

Speaking of recruiting, specifically when it comes to next year’s cycle, Ohio State has been busy on the trail sending out offers and building their target board. On Thursday, another pair of recruits added an OSU scholarship offer to their repertoire.

• NFL Draft reactions, answering ridiculous job interview questions

On their Play Like a Girl podcast, Meredith and Tia discuss last weekend's NFL Draft, as well as tackle some of the hardest hitting questions on the planet, including things like what to do when you find a penguin in your freezer and fighting 100 duck-sized horses.

• A look back at Ohio State’s first uniforms

Going along with SB Nation’s jersey week theme, Tia went back into the archives to look at the evolution of Ohio State’s uniforms throughout the years. Many of them were very bad, and a lot of them were long sleeved for some reason?

• ICYMI: A needed change to The Game

Continuing the theme, Brett breaks down why the annual Ohio State-Michigan game should be played with both teams in their home jerseys, a la USC-UCLA. If you’re looking for additional hard-hitting talk of uniforms, earlier this week I broke down the Buckeyes’ best alternates.

From around the gridiron...

• We begin with a little Ohio State throwback for you. Zack Dumas absolutely levels Auburn’s running back in the 1990 Outback Bowl in one of the biggest hits in school history. Does this play get flagged in today’s game? Probably. But, still cool to watch.

• J.T. Barrett remembers 2016 Michigan game, the spot
  (Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts)

Last night, ESPN re-aired the 2016 edition of The Game, which of course rekindled the debate over The Spot. Following the broadcast, Barrett hopped on SportsCenter to discuss the play. He said he sweat it out during the long replay review, but ultimately felt that his momentum was certainly past the first down marker.

• Ohio State’s 2021 class is incredible, and the players in it have done a great job of doing a little recruiting of their own. They’ve also been very outspoken about just how good they think they can be, and who am I to disagree with five-star RB TreVeyon Henderson’s goals?

• Jonathon Cooper’s unexpected fifth season at Ohio State
  (Colin Hass-Hill, Eleven Warriors)

Injuries forced the Buckeye defensive end to redshirt this past season, allowing him to come back in 2020. While this obviously wasn’t the original plan, the extra year in Columbus could wind up being a blessing in disguise for both himself and the team.

• It’s no secret Ohio State has had the upper hand against Michigan for the last decade. While people love to debate whether it’s the result of talent or coaching, one thing is for sure: the Buckeyes are way ahead of the game when it comes to player development.

• While Master Teague continues to nurse an achilles injury, the latest edition to the RB room is not without his own injury hurdles. Trey Sermon, the transfer from Oklahoma, is coming off an ACL injury, one they believe should be fully healed by the time the season rolls around. By the looks of it, he seems to be well on schedule.

From around the hardwood...

• The All In Challenge is a charity organization aimed at raising funds to help eliminate food insecurity through auctions for miscellaneous celebrity experiences. Brad Stevens, head coach of the Boston Celtics, is offering a game day experience and a team signed basketball, with bidding already up to $15,000 at this time. Stevens is now challenging Chris Holtmann to take on the challenge, and the Ohio State head coach is on board.

• ICYMI: With no NCAA Tournament this year, it seems like it’s been an eternity since we heard from anyone on the Ohio State hoops team. However, BTN’s Andy Katz got a chance to sit down with Kyle Young this week and talk life in quarantine as well as his injury rehab.

From everywhere else...

• The Today Show did a feature on some college seniors who are missing out on their big graduation day, including Ohio State track star Nick Gray. They posted the touching tribute to their Twitter page. Warning, there will likely be tears.

• Chase Young — man of the people.

• As we continue to take steps towards a return to sports in the US, maybe we can learn something from South Korea. It’s Opening Day in the KBO, and Bleacher Report details what the players have gone through and the steps it took to get back to baseball.