Buckeye Bits: Can we please get off this Big Ten rollercoaster now?

As resident recruiting writer Caleb Houser sent in the LGHL group chat today, “This is a ride I never got in line for.”

This whole Big Ten saga has been a PR nightmare from the very beginning. The conference released a brand new schedule almost five weeks ago, and just five days after that scrapped the whole thing. Now we’ve spent the past four weeks with little to no information regarding when the league will return to play, and almost every day someone claims to know something which has turned out to be incorrect about 99 percent of the time.

This is how everything looks and sounds at this point:

Some are now claiming the Big Ten has already voted to re-instate the season beginning on Oct. 17. Some are saying the conference presidents have not yet brought things to a vote. Others are saying they are somewhere in the middle as they work out the details. Personally, I don't really know what to think at this point, but what I do know is that I can’t wait for this mess to be over.

From around Land-Grant Holy Land...

Ohio State performs virtual visit with four-star shooting guard
(Dan Hessler, LGHL)

Don't you miss the times where the one of the only uncertainties in college athletics were where the top recruits in the country are gonna commit and not whether or not an entire conference is going to play football this fall? Me too. Ohio State hoops is working hard on the virtual trail, hosting a ‘visit’ with the best player in New York in the 2022 class.

Buckeyes in the NFL: Week 1
(Tia Johnston, LGHL)

While Ohio State is yet to take the field as a team, their alumni in the NFL certainly put on a show in Week 1. Everywhere you looked around the league this past weekend, there were Buckeyes making plays. Chase Young was doing Chase Young things, J.K. Dobbins found the end zone twice, and Jordan Fuller made a huge play in his first NFL action. Ryan Day’s recruiting pitch gets easier every day.

How does Shaun Wade’s decision impact Ohio State?
(Gene Ross, LGHL)

ICYMI, Shaun Wade declared for the NFL Draft on Monday. While the star corner is leaving his options open in terms of a potential return to Ohio State if the Big Ten can come to a decision sometime soon, the Buckeyes do have the talent and the coaching to put together a solid secondary should Wade go get that paycheck he rightfully deserves. More from his father Randy on that decision later on.

From around the gridiron...

Today’s latest Big Ten fiasco began this afternoon, when Nebraska president Ted Carter was caught on a hot mic saying, “We’re getting ready to announce Huskers and Big Ten football tonight.” When directly asked about his comments a short while later, Carter claimed that his words were taken out of context, although it’s a little hard to see what possible context that would be.

That is when all hell broke loose. Some continued to proceed forward with caution, but others claimed that the Big Ten returning this fall is a done deal. Jeff Potrykus, a member of the Wisconsin beat, went as far as to say Carter’s leaked comments had been ‘confirmed,’ and that the conference has voted to return to play.

However, at the time this is being written, there is still no official word from the Big Ten or any of its member institutions. You really have to feel for the players in this scenario, as they more than anyone deserve to have a clear path forward. The back and forth on social media with people so quick to report on any and all rumors is playing a negative role on the mental health of those athletes, including Penn State’s Shaka Toney.

The momentum toward a mid-October start seems to have gained significant steam, but we could still have to wait a few more hours for any official word. According to Heather Dinnich of ESPN, the Big Ten is expected to come out with something “later tonight,” whether that be a vote in favor or against a return to play.

Shaun Wade’s father Randy, who has been a very vocal member in the fight to bring back Big Ten football, gave some clarity on his son’s decision to opt out. He says it was not COVID concerns, but a lack of transparency and communication from the Big Ten that led to Shaun declaring for the NFL Draft. With so much uncertainty in the B1G, Wade feels he is doing what his best for his career — and we can’t blame him one bit.

Multiple Big Ten social media accounts have also joined in on Tuesday’s action, as Ohio State tweeted out a quick clip showing they’re anxiously awaiting an answer just like us.

In terms of actual football that is currently being played, Chase Young is still good.

And a very happy birthday to K.J. Hill, the Ohio State school record-holder for career receptions. The former Buckeye wide receiver did not register a catch in the Chargers’ opening game against the Bengals this past weekend, but his time will come.

From everywhere else...

Expect to see many college athletic departments to make this same move, as schools want to encourage these young athletes to have their voices heard and vote in the upcoming election. If you don't like how things are currently going, you should vote too.

If you had “poor air quality cancelling MLB games on the West Coast” on your 2020 Bingo card, then you are in luck. Climate change is incredibly real, and we are seeing it play out in real time as wildfires continue to wreak havoc on a large portion of the country.

In other MLB news, the league has officially announced its playoff bubble, which will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 29. The National League will play their postseason games in Texas, while the American League will play in California (for now). The World Series will take place in Arlington, TX at the new home of the Texas Rangers.

If you watched the first Monday Night Football game last night between the Giants and Steelers, you noticed that it was announced by the usual college football primetime crew with Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler on the call. It was a far superior product than most if not all crews ESPN has put out there for its NFL games in recent years.