Buckeye Bits: Ohio State should see two players go early in MLB draft, Big Ten West is on the rise, more

Welcome back to Buckeye Bits— your one-stop-shop for all the happenings involving Ohio State athletics and beyond. Before we begin, this is hilarious:

It’s never a bad time to roast TTUN, ya know?

Anywho, let’s get into the news from around the Buckeye beat.

From around Land-Grant Holy Land...

Ohio State’s instant impact freshman in 2020

Gene Ross, LGHL

The Buckeyes have to replace a ton of talent from their 2019 roster. Luckily, Ryan Day was able to haul in the nation’s No. 5 recruiting class in this past cycle, and a bunch of those guys are ready to make an impact in their very first year in Columbus.

Ohio State’s Seth Lonsway looks to go early in this week’s Major League Baseball Draft

Gene Ross, LGHL

Ohio State catcher Dillon Dingler could go top-25 in the Major League Baseball Draft

Tia Johnston, LGHL

The MLB Draft begins tonight at 7 p.m. ET, and Ohio State will likely see two of their guys picked early, despite the selection process being cut from 40 rounds to five. Gene and I wrote about lefty pitcher Seth Lonsway and catcher Dillon Dingler, their careers at Ohio State, what the experts are saying and when they’re each projected to come off the board.

Tonight will include the first 37 picks, which covers the whole first round and Competitive Balance Round A and will be broadcast on the MLB Network and ESPN.

Yesterday’s Buckeye Bits

Gene Ross, LGHL

Yesterday’s Buckeye Bits is jam-packed with good stuff, like Ohio State ranking No. 1 in a preseason top 25, the NCAA preseason camp plan and much more.

---

From around the gridiron...

When Big Ten football teams will resume voluntary workouts, and what other conferences are doing

Nathan Baird, Cleveland.com

While the Buckeyes are already three days in to their voluntary workouts, some Big Ten teams are still waiting for the all-clear to return to their facilities. Baird has the complete, updated list of every Big Ten school’s status, as well as the start-dates of other conferences.

---

Tony Alford took shots, then bounced back in massive way

Birm, Lettermen Row

Running backs coach Tony Alford has received his fair share of criticism regarding the 2020 recruiting cycle and the fact that he didn’t close on two top-tier running backs that had committed to him. However, as Birm explains, there’s always more to the story than the media portrays when it comes to recruiting pitfalls, and the criticism Alford’s experienced is just not warranted.

In fact, Alford has undoubtedly excelled as a recruiter and a coach and its time for skeptics to acknowledge that fact.

---

Ohio State football should not dismiss an emerging threat from Big Ten’s Wild West: Buckeye Take

Nathan Baird, Cleveland.com

It’s no secret that the Big Ten’s East and West divisions are nowhere near balanced. The East has won all five of the Big Ten Championship Games since the league split its divisions geographically, and Ohio State has won the past three.

In order to mix up the status quo, the West simply needs to rise up, Baird explains, which could happen as soon as this upcoming season.

---

Miyan Williams ready to get Buckeyes career rolling

Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row

As previously mentioned, Alford had two top-tier RBs committed in the 2020 recruiting cycle, who ultimately went elsewhere. At the end of the cycle, the running backs coach landed the commitment from a lesser-rated Miyan Williams, instead.

Alford has made it known that he’s sick of talking about those two running backs and what went wrong in 2020, and instead wants to talk about this: “Miyan Williams is a really good player.”

---

Check out these podcast interviews with 2021 Ohio State commits, running back TreVeyon Henderson and defensive end Jack Sawyer, on what they’ve been up to, how they’re staying in shape and their insane recruiting class.

---

From around the hardwood...

Listen: Holtmann on 3 years at Ohio State, challenges in 2020

Steve Helwagen, Bucknuts

Ohio State men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann was a guest on the Joel Riley Show on WTVN-AM (610) Wednesday morning, where he discussed his time at Ohio State, the pandemic and civil rights issues that have arisen in 2020, Harvard transfer Seth Towns’ role in protests and the team’s return to campus next week.

The Buckeyes head coach just celebrated his three years at Ohio State, as he was hired on June 8, 2017.

---

From everywhere else...

The MLS is Back (Tournament)!

The league unveiled its plans for returning to play, which include all 26 teams participating in a competition they’re calling “the MLS is Back Tournament,” set to resume July 8 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort.

“The tournament will consist of a group stage with each team playing three matches, followed by a knockout stage. The final will be played Aug. 11. The teams will be divided into a total of six groups, with the top two teams in each group, plus the four best third-place finishers qualifying for the round of 16,” writes Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.

---

The NFL may shorten its preseason.

They may only play two preseason games instead of four, and they should keep this system for the rest of eternity because there is simply no need for four stinking preseason games.

---

Cryptic tweets from TBT regarding Carmen’s Crew.

Any guesses?

---

USC is letting Reggie Bush back in.

After Bush was penalized by the university for him and his family receiving impermissible benefits while he was still in school—resulting in Bush being banned from interacting in an official capacity with the school for 10-plus years—USC is finally welcoming back their legendary Heisman Trophy winner.

The NCAA determined Bush received gifts and cash from a marketing agent who wanted to represent him when he became a pro. Therefore, the NCAA stripped him of his Heisman Trophy and title, stripped USC of its 2004 BCS title, banned the Trojans from the postseason for two years and took away a total of 30 football scholarships over three seasons.

The NCAA sucks— always has, always will.