Category: Buckeyes Wire

Five Ohio State players on Mel Kiper’s 2020 NFL Draft top ten position group rankings

Mel Kiper has five Ohio State players among the top ten at their position groups and available for the 2020 NFL Draft.

By now you already know that Ohio State players Chase Young and Jeff Okudah are locks to go early in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, but there are other Buckeyes maybe you didn’t know about that are also expected to be taken pretty high. Don’t worry, we have you covered by way of ESPN’s Mel Kiper and his 2020 NFL Draft Rankings.

According to the man with the hair and fast-talking scouting reports, there are five OSU players near the top of their positions.

We’ve already told you that defensive end Chase Young is the overall top prospect on Kiper’s big board. But in addition to that, he has Jeff Okudah as the top cornerback in the draft as well.

From there, J.K. Dobbins is considered the second-best running back available, just behind D’Andre Swift of Georgia. Those are the guys that will either go in the first round — or in Dobbins’ case — close to it.

In addition to that, DaVon Hamilton checks in as the No. 9 defensive tackle available in the draft. And not to be forgotten about, Malik Harrison is considered the No. 8 rated inside linebacker according to Kiper.

That makes five Buckeyes rated in the draft guru’s rankings, but there’s sure to be more taken in the draft. Guys like K.J. Hill, Jonah Jackson, and Jordan Fuller are also sure to have their name called somewhere in the midst of all the fun.

Get your popcorn and meat products, because it looks to be another good and entertaining showing for Ohio State in 2020 NFL Draft.

BREAKING: Ohio State freshman guard D.J. Carton to take time away from program to deal with personal matter

According to a release from the Ohio State athletic department, freshman guard D.J. Carton is taking time away from the program.

This season of Ohio State basketball has been a unique and weird one filled with a ton of hight, just as many lows, and some off-the-court news. We now have the latest breaking news that will no doubt have a heavy impact on the program.

According to a release by the OSU athletic department, freshman point guard D.J. Carton will be taking some time away from the Buckeye basketball team. Here is the short release received Thursday night from the folks at Ohio State.

D.J. Carton, a freshman guard on the Ohio State men’s basketball team, will be taking some time away to deal with personal matters. He will miss the game Saturday vs. Indiana.

Head coach Chris Holtmann also provided a statement in the release.

“D.J. remains a valued member of our program and we will continue to love and support him,” said Holtmann. “Please respect the family’s privacy in this matter.” – Chris Holtmann, Ohio State head coach.”

Carton has had an up and down year so far for Ohio State, but is coming off a game at Northwestern in which he was the leading scorer and dangerous scoring threat for the Buckeyes. His absence not only cuts into the depth at the guard position — one so important for a team that has struggled with turnovers this year, but also takes a dynamic athlete that can get his own shot off the court.

The freshman from Bettendorf, Iowa has averaged 10.4 points per game to go along with 2.8 rebounds and three assists per contest.

Carton released a statement on his own to shed a little more light on what he is dealing with. It all revolves around mental health, and Buckeye Nation and all those around him should be very proud of him taking care of what he needs in order to be set up for better health in the future.

We’re all with you D.J. You take care of you and come back better than ever both on and off the court.

Kobe Bryant: An everlasting impact on the world

Kobe Bryant might have a complex legacy, but there’s no denying the positive impact he has had during his time on this earth.

Okay, sure we’re an Ohio State site, but Kobe Bryant and his story transcend just one team or one sport. In fact, tragedy and sports are two aspects of life that have been known to bring human beings together. In a world filled with political division and war, our communities are often divisive over a variety of topics. Tragedy or more specifically the deaths of many or an individual bring us together through grief and healing.

So yeah, we’re game in writing about something so very important. And while Bryant may have a complicated past, there’s no denying the good that he’s done.

We all make some impact during our short, fragile time alive, but some individuals are simply larger than life. Some individuals are powerful enough to inspire generations. Kobe Bryant is one of these individuals.

The tragic details of Kobe’s crash

At 9:06 on January 26, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter departed from John Wayne Airport in Orange County California with 9 people aboard. Among these nine people were Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna. Nearly 40 minutes later, at 9:45 am, the helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California.

All nine passengers sadly perished to their deaths. The helicopter was on its way to a basketball game in which Gianna and two of her teammates who were also on board were to play in, and Kobe was to coach in.

A media frenzy ensued the crash. Sadly, TMZ reported the news before authorities could notify the victims’ families, and many other news outlets recklessly debated who else was on the helicopter. There were false claims that former Laker Rick Fox was on there, or that the entire Bryant family was on the helicopter.

Authorities would eventually confirm that Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna were on the helicopter and passed away, and identified the other 7 passengers. The entire world fell into shock, sadness, and mourning.

Kobe Bryant’s impact on the court and off

Yes, Bryant was a 5-time NBA champion and 2-time Finals MVP, and also win the Most Valuable Player Award once. Yes, he was an 18-time all-star, 11-time First Team All-NBA, and 2-time scoring champion. He has been dubbed the greatest Laker of all time by many, even other Laker greats such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.

However, Kobe Bryant was so much more than an all-time great basketball player. He was Oscar winner, a writer, a philanthropist, a husband, and what he viewed as most important, a father. He was the next generations’ Michael Jordan, and inspired countless adolescents to the point where you had to shout “Kobe” when throwing a piece of trash away.

Some hated Kobe for his hyper-aggression with the basketball and mistake his tenacity with selfishness. Most, however, loved him for his passion for life, work ethic, desire to succeed, and his ability to inspire millions. Athletes and coaches alike revered him.

Not only in basketball was he respected, but in all sports. Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer posted a heartfelt tribute on his twitter just yesterday referring to Bryant as an “elite warrior” and someone he always used as an example to the Buckeyes as someone who was a great leader and competitor, who was tenacious with his legendary “Mamba Mentality”.

An all-time great like Meyer saw what everyone else in Kobe and what every person needs to succeed: a love for life, a passion that fuels your dreams, and work ethic to match.

Other notable athletes such as Shaq and Lebron praised Bryant for his ability to impact the world, and spoke of his character. Bryant was already accomplishing so many great feats post-basketball, as his writing of “Dear Basketball” won him an Oscar, and he had begun to build the game of women’s basketball up even more, investing in his “Mamba Academy.” Out of everything that Bryant accomplished, he always claimed that he was most proud of being a dad to his four daughters.

Putting it all in perspective.

Bryant spoke of Gianna’s love for the game of basketball and enjoyed coaching his daughter and her team, and went to great efforts to get women’s basketball more recognition and respect. Bryant was seen attending many pro games with Gianna, with some going viral with videos of him teaching her the game. Bryant’s efforts as a father have been recognized by almost every athlete and famous figure who made tributes to him as well.

The lasting impression

With so many disagreements over a variety of topics facing our world, we simply cannot disagree how Kobe impacted the world in a substantial way, and has inspired us to come together. ESPN analyst Jay Williams perhaps made one of the most important points speaking of Bryant and Gianna’s death earlier this week while speaking on air.

“I hope that everybody at home, you give the person next to you whatever thing you have wrong in your life with them,” said Williams. “It might be small or big — let that (expletive) go. It doesn’t matter… None of that stuff matters man. This is about life and being precious with every (expletive) second we have here.”

Kobe Bryant may have been viewed as immortal by many of us, a superhero-like figure. His death reminds us how precious and fragile life is, and how important it is to make things right with those we have a conflict with. It reminds us to tell the ones we love that we love them while they are here.

Bryant inspires us to strive to be a great parent, and inspires us to have a daily passion for life and desire to succeed in everything we do. Tell the people you love that you love them, solve the conflicts you have with others big or small, and be thankful for every day you have.

#MambaForLife #GirlsDad #RIPKOBE #RIPGIANNA

Former Ohio State and current San Francisco 49er DE Nick Bosa wins NFL Rookie of the Year

Former Ohio State and current San Francisco 49er defensive end Nick Bosa has won the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year Award.

It’s official. You had to think there was a good chance, but now the votes are in and former Ohio State and current defensive end Nick Bosa has been named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year, as selected by a fan vote.

Bosa collected 47 tackles for the 49ers this year after being selected as the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft. He also had nine sacks, 16 tackles for loss, and an interception in his rookie campaign. He quickly became one of the most feared defensive ends in the entire NFL.

It’s a continued assault on the league by the Bosas, who both hit the ground running in their first years in the league. His older brother Joey took home the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2016. It might be tempting, but there’s no truth to the rumor that Ohio State officials are attempting to genetically engineer more Bosas.

For Nick, it’s the second rookie of the year award. He was already named as the Pro Football Writer’s Rookie of the Year. He was also selected to the Pro Bowl, but did not attend because of another “bowl” he’ll be attending in Miami this Sunday.

Now Bosa gets to play near his home town of Fort Lauderdale Sunday when his 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the greatest spectacle in sports down in Miami.

 

Urban Meyer pays his respects to Kobe Bryant via Twitter post

Urban Meyer has always respected the drive and determination of Kobe Bryant. He spoke out in respect to the Laker icon Wednesday.

Sometimes it takes elite champions to really know what makes others in that stratosphere tick. how often have we heard about the drive of some of the greatest competitors thirsting to learn from others that have traveled a similar path?

Urban Meyer has long admired Kobe Bryant. So much so that he had a quote from Bryant up in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. It goes right at the heart of the “Mamba Mentality.” One in which you set a goal or dream and work your every single day to achieve it.

“I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you.”

Meyer so respected Bryant and his work ethic that he even put that quote in his leadership book titled “Above the Line.” He even drew leadership comparisons between the future NBA Hall of Famer and former Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett.

Suffice to say, Meyer admired Kobe and his drive and determination. And now, we have comments from Meyer himself on the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Bryant and eight other individuals on board. He shared his thoughts via his Twitter feed on Wednesday.

It continues to amaze all the outpouring of support and respect that continues to flock in from all corners of the sporting world — and beyond. Meyer is just one of the latest examples, and it won’t be the last.

Big Ten Bowl Impact: Penn State vs Memphis

We look back on the Cotton Bowl Classic between Penn State and Memphis and see how it impacted both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

With the 2019 college footballs season complete, we look back on how the Big Ten did in bowl games.

As we go through all the bowls, in no particular order, we will focus on two main things:

1. How did the bowl performance end the 2019 season? Was it a fitting end or a poor performance, etc.
2. What impact, if any, will it have on the 2020 season.

Now that we’ve gone through all four Big Ten losses (not including the CFP), let’s move on to the wins.

2019 Cotton Bowl Classic: Penn State vs Memphis

The matchup

In what is unfortunately becoming an all-too-common occurrence, a lot of luster was lost from this Power 5 vs Group of 5 matchup before the game even happened. Memphis head coach Mike Norvell was hired by Florida State. How would Memphis complete its season without its head coach? And, more importantly, just how good was Penn State anyway? The Nittany Lions barely beat Pitt, Iowa, and Michigan and lost to Minnesota, but they did impress in the loss to Ohio State. What would this game have in store–featuring a potentially vulnerable good P5 team against a definitely vulnerable really good Group of 5 team?

What went right

Penn State was nearly unstoppable. The offense scored four touchdowns in the second quarter alone. The Nittany Lions obviously didn’t score on every drive, but they put up over 500 yards of offense and moved the ball at will for most of the game. The vast majority of the offense came on the ground, with Journey Brown running for over 200 yards and two touchdowns, while Noah Cain added 92 yards and two touchdowns, as well.

What went wrong

If the Penn State running game was unstoppable, then so was the Memphis passing game. Penn State’s secondary was a sieve, giving up 479 yards through the air. The one important, game-winning stat, though, is that Memphis did not throw for a single touchdown. The Tigers ran for three touchdowns, and Penn State held them to field goals on a whopping six drives. That was the real difference in the game (that and a pick-six late in the third quarter)–Penn State capped its drives with touchdowns, while Memphis could only manage field goals far too often.

Next… 2019 wrap-up and 2020 impact

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Caronavirus has not struck in Central Ohio, but if it did, how would Ohio State athletics react?

Miami (OH) has postponed two basketball games while it awaits results on potential Caronavirus exposure. What if it happened at Ohio State?

Let me be clear here that there are no confirmed reports of Caronavirus in Central Ohio. However, with some news filtering in on other sporting events that have already been affected, the chance is there that it could impact Ohio State athletics should the virus be found in and around the OSU campus.

We’ve already seen Miami (OH) postpone both a men’s and women’s basketball game while it awaits test results to see if a couple of students who had recently traveled to China are positive for the virus. Those results are expected later this week.  In addition, there are confirmed reports that the Chinese women’s soccer team is now being quarantined in Brisbane, Australia in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.

So, the virus that’s getting so much attention in the media is already impacting the sporting world. It’s not a major impact, but that could change if things spread further.

But what if the Caronavirus did make its way to Central Ohio? One would have to assume that further steps would have to be taken, and that it would have an impact on athletic events at Ohio State if the virus hit close enough to home.

Since inquiring minds want to know, we reached out to the Ohio State athletic department to see if they had a comment on the matter. As it stands now, it appears as though things are status quo, but that could change based on information from health officials.

“We are not considering anything like that at this time because there are no cases in Central Ohio and the recommendation of our local, state and federal public health officials is that no changes in activities are necessary,” said an OSU athletic department spokesman.

That all makes sense, and hopefully there’s no reason to have to act further. You can bet OSU officials are on top of things should anything similar happen at Ohio State.

Ohio State Women’s Tennis Jumps from No. 25 to No. 12

After an impressive week with two ranked wins, including over No. 10 Oklahoma State, the Ohio State Women’s Tennis team jumped to No. 12.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have one of the stronger tennis programs in the country right now. That elusive National Championship hasn’t come yet, but the Buckeyes have been tantalizingly close in the past five years.

The men’s program, led by rising now-professional J.J. Wolf, were the No. 1 team for most of last year before losing in the “Elite Eight.” (I use the air quotes because officially the NCAA only uses terms like Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, and Final Four for the basketball tournaments.) Before that, the program reached the National Championship in 2018 and the “Final Four” in 2017, along with other strong results this decade.

What many fans might have missed, though, is that the women’s tennis program has also been very strong this decade. Led by Francesca Di Lorenzo, the 2017 women’s team also reached the “Final Four,” losing in an incredibly tight third-set tiebreak in the final match to Stanford.

It’s been a bit of a rough two years for the women’s program since then; they missed the NCAA tournament entirely in 2018, and lost a tight match in the first round last year.

This year, though, the program finally looks to be headed back to its previous heights. Led by Redshirt Junior Shiori Fukuda, this year’s Buckeye squad is full of strong players up and down the lineup. Two other Buckeyes are nationally ranked so far–Irina Cantos Siemers and Kolie Allen. Danielle Wolf, J.J.’s sister, has also been a strong player who has improved every year, and in her Redshirt Senior year she also looks like a national contender, having just dominated nationally ranked Ayumi Miyamoto in her most recent match (a 6-2 6-1 victory).

The Buckeyes opened the season with two wins at the ITA Kick-Off event in Stillwater, Oklahoma, knocking off No. 24 Wake Forest and No. 10 Oklahoma State in the process. Because of that, the Buckeyes jumped from their spot at No. 25 in the ITA rankings all the way to No. 12. The men, meanwhile, sit at No. 6, as they start the meat of their schedule next week.

It’s still early in the season, but Ohio State is well on its way to being a tennis powerhouse again–on both the men’s and women’s sides of the court.

Ohio State wrestler Sammy Sasso selected as wrestler of the week by Big Ten and USA Wrestling

Ohio State wrestler Sammy Sasso was recognized Tuesday for two top four wins. He was Big Ten and USA Wrestling’s Wrestler of the Week.

Springing an upset on two separate occasions over two top-five opponents will tend to get a guy recognized. And that’s exactly what Ohio State wrestler Sammy Sasso did over the past week.

The biggest of those was last Friday when Sasso faced off with the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the 149 lb. weight class, Pat Lugo. He had to scramble and thwart numerous shots by Lugo but was able to keep things even into OT and then into a tiebreaker where his effort and tenacity allowed him to ride out Lugo and secure a one-point win.

But Sasso wasn’t finished. He then had to matchup with the No. 4 ranked wrestler in the weight class, Minnesota’s Brayton Lee. He again showed his defensive skills and finished with a last-second, persevering, technical takedown to secure a 4-2 victory.

For all of his dramatics and big wins this week, Sasso received both the Big Ten and USA Wrestling wrestler of the week honors.

The 149 lb. weight class appears to be in good hands for the foreseeable future because Sasso is just a freshman and should only continue to get better.

With what we’re seeing so far this year, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he arrives early, makes All-American and has a shot at a national title at this point.

 

Ohio State basketball slides further down Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology

The Ohio State basketball team keeps dropping seed lines in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology. Now they are officially in bubble territory.

Another week means another check-in with ESPN and Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology. Lunardi is known as one of the foremost experts and projecting the NCAA Tournament field as results occur. He has historically been very accurate in predicting the teams that get into the field when all the regular-season games are complete.

What he says should be paid attention to, so that’s what we’re doing.

The Buckeyes have been as high as a No. 2 seed in his projections, but we all know how things have gone since then. They continue to fall down the seed projections with each passing loss and each agonizing week recently.

So where is Ohio State after a week in which we saw it lose to Minnesota at home, but win against Northwestern on the road? The news is not so good because the scarlet and gray have moved all the way down to a No 8 seed — in what you would consider bubble territory.

Lunardi has OSU playing No. 9 seed Arkansas in the Midwest Region out in Omaha.

Now, the good news is that there’s plenty of quad 1 wins out there to bolster a resume that already has some good wins on it. The bad news is that Ohio State has to play these quality teams in the Big Ten and cannot afford to lose at the clip it has if it wants to still be a part of all the madness in March.

 

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