Tag: Buckeyes

Former Saints linebacker James Laurinaitis joins Ohio State’s coaching staff

Former New Orleans Saints linebacker James Laurinaitis has joined the Ohio State Buckeyes’ coaching staff as a graduate assistant:

This is cool: ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that the Ohio State Buckeyes have added former New Orleans Saints linebacker James Laurinaitis to their coaching staff as a graduate assistant. Laurinaitis spent the 2022 college football season in that same role with Notre Dame under head coach Marcus Freeman, an old college teammate. Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline was also teammates with Laurinaitis for the Buckeyes way back when.

Laurinaitis finished his playing career with the Saints; he was a widely respected linebacker in his heyday and was named a starter to open the 2016 season. He opted to retire in 2017 after a midseason quadriceps injury ended his streak of 115 consecutive starts stretching back with the Rams, and he’s since returned to continue his studies and pursue a coaching career after working for the Big Ten Network for several years..

Good for him. The Saints obviously have a lot of Ohio State connections given all of the players they’ve picked up from the Buckeyes, ranging from Chris Olave and Pete Werner to Michael Thomas and Bradley Roby. Laurinaitis will soon be joined by the son of a former Saint — Will Smith Jr. is following his father’s footsteps by committing to the university as a high school recruit. The New Orleans-to-Columbus pipeline remains active.

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Miami among schools trying to flip Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith

One of the biggest draws of Battle Miami was Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.) five-star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

We’ve reached the All-Star games phase at the tail end of the 2022-23 season. This past weekend some of the nation’s top high school football players participated in the Polynesian Bowl, as well as Battle Miami.

Just as the players attempt to boost their stock, colleges around the country are competing with each other at these events for a chance to get their preferred recruits’ commitments.

One of the biggest draws of Battle Miami was Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.) five-star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who committed to Ohio State in mid-December. That’s not stopping several other programs from trying to flip him, though. According to On3, Miami, Florida, Florida State and Tennessee are all trying to get Smith to abandon the Buckeyes, but he’s “solid” for now.

Smith (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) helped boost his case for deserving the title of the No. 1 ranked wide receiver in the class of 2024, including this remarkable one-handed catch:

And this touchdown:

According to 247Sports, Smith has 39 total offers to choose from. In addition to being the top-ranked receiver, he’s No. 2 overall in his class.

More football news:

Andrew Harris’ wholesome reaction to seeing Troy Polamalu

Friday Night Notes: Transfer rankings, Prime climb & more

Recruiting Roundup: 6 notable commitments since Friday night

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud enters NFL draft

Some relief for Notre Dame’s defense ahead of the late September showdown in South Bend

When Notre Dame traveled to Columbus, Ohio to open the 2022 season they did so against the preseason favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, quarterback C.J. Stroud.  Although the Buckeyes signal caller didn’t end up walking away with the award, he did finish his season as a Heisman finalist and helped guide Ohio State into a near upset of Georgia in the College Football Playoff semi-final.

The good news for Notre Dame is that 2023’s match-up with Ohio State will be under the watchful eye of Touchdown Jesus on home turf.  The other good news is that Stroud won’t be quarterbacking the Buckeyes as he’s officially declared for the NFL draft.

That certainly helps Notre Dame’s chances in late September but you’d be mistaken if you thought for a second that Ohio State isn’t still in great shape at quarterback.  Junior Kyle McCord projects to be the starter in Columbus this year, and is a former five-star recruit who will have as talented of group of receivers to throw to as just about any quarterback in the country next season.

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Will Smith Jr., son of late Saints Super Bowl champ, signs with his father’s alma mater

Will Smith Jr., son of late Saints Super Bowl champ, signed with his father’s alma mater. He’ll be looking to make a splash at Ohio State:

Now this is really cool. Will Smith Jr. is following in his late father’s footsteps, having signed with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Smith Jr. is a four-star recruit for the 2023 class; the elder Smith earned All-American honors at Ohio State before being selected by the New Orleans Saints in the 2004 NFL draft. He helped the team win Super Bowl XLIV and usher in the brightest era of Saints football in franchise history, but was tragically slain in a 2016 shooting.

But Smith’s family has gone on to carry on his legacy, and now one of his children will be representing him at his old stomping grounds. Smith Jr. described the decision to sign with the Buckeyes as an “easy call” given his father’s history with Ohio State. He plays defensive line just like his dad did, and he’s eager to get to work.

And, hey, we can’t rule out the possibility of Smith Jr. ending up in New Orleans someday. The Saints have made no secret of the value they put on draft prospects coming out of Ohio State — their roster is littered with former Buckeyes like Chris Olave, Pete Werner, Marshon Lattimore, Bradley Roby, and Michael Thomas.

Maybe Smith Jr. joins them someday. For now, we’ll wish him well in his studies at Ohio State and look for him when the Buckeyes hit the field next fall. Good on him for taking his football journey to the next level.

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Joel Klatt releases his new college football top teams rankings

Does Ohio State deserve to stay in the top 4?

On a day that saw four teams in the top 10 fall and plenty of drama and excitement, we’re left to shake out what’s going to happen in regards to the College Football Playoff and the rest of the postseason of the greatest sport on the earth.

Can Michigan possibly jump Georgia after the Wolverines routed Ohio State in the Horseshoe?

How high will TCU go after finishing their 11-0 regular season?  And is USC now a shoe-in for a top-four spot?

Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt was quick to release his new top teams following the biggest games of Saturday.  Here is how Klatt ranked his top seven squads:

Chris Olave is already one of the NFL’s most dangerous wide receivers

Chris Olave is already one of the NFL’s most dangerous wide receivers. The New Orleans Saints rookie has lived up to sky-high expectations:

It’s easy to see why the New Orleans Saints were so determined to get Chris Olave on their team. They moved mountains in the 2022 NFL draft to navigate the board and trade up not once, but twice to get in position to bring Olave into the fold — after adding another first rounder and upgrading their initial pick from No. 18 to 16, they called in another trade on draft night to climb even higher from No. 16 to 11.

And Olave has done everything possible to justify that decision. The former Ohio State Buckeye is already one of the most reliable wide receivers in the NFL. He’s ranked top-15 in almost every major receiving category after Week 11:

  • Tied-15th in receptions (51)
  • 10th in receiving yards (760)
  • Tied-12th in first down conversions (34)

And he’ll be even more effective once the Saints get him a quarterback. Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston have been too erratic to get the most out of his talents, but he’s still seen more targets (83) than anyone else on the team. Long-lasting injuries to Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry have opened opportunities for him to take on a bigger role than was maybe anticipated when the season began, but if anything it’s quickened his development.

Olave already had a mentor in Thomas — who had been keeping tabs on him dating back to Olave’s time at their shared alma mater, and before that when Olave was a high school standout not far from Thomas’ own old stomping grounds in Southern California — but his new relationship with Landry has been big for him.

“It’s great having him on and off the field. He’s a great leader as he has been throughout his career. He has that dog mentality,” Olave said after the Saints’ win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, in which he and Landry both caught touchdown passes. “He rubs off on other people. Having him off the field when things aren’t going well, then he is picking everybody up. Jarvis has definitely helped me out throughout my first year.”

Olave is going to be a huge part of the Saints’ plans now and in the future. Landry’s contract will expire at the end of the season, and Thomas’ future with the team is uncertain. Once they get down to business in looking for their next franchise quarterback, finding someone who can maximize Olave’s potential has to be an immediate concern. In the meantime, he’ll just keep on putting the league on notice and giving Saints fans a welcome silver lining amid a gloomy season.

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College football Week 12 scoreboard: Narrow escapes and stunning upsets

Another INSANE week of college football. Get up to speed here!

Well, we’ve made it to the final week of the college football regular season but not without an insane day of college football.  Week 12 didn’t feature a ton of marquee matchups going in.  Heck, College Gameday was at Montana-Montana State of all places.  It wound up being another insane day of college football with major postseason implications.

Four of the nation’s top five teams were very much on the ropes Saturday.  Who survived thanks to late field goals and who was seemingly eliminated from College Football Playoff contention?

Here are all of your top 25 scores from a crazy Week 12 of college football!

College football rankings: Nick Shepkowski’s 11 Best

“I don’t play my best 11, I play my 11 best” – Knute Rockne

The initial College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday night as a ton of excitement will come in for the listing of teams that will essentially eat each other up over the next month.  However, whenever you put numbers in front of a team’s name you’ll get a reaction and we’ll certainly be participating in that here at Fighting Irish Wire come Tuesday night.

How should the teams be ranked?  Should Notre Dame be given strong consideration for being a top-25 team by the committee as they have wins over both North Carolina and Syracuse?

That’s a conversation I’m sure we’ll discuss down the road but here is how I would rank college football’s 11 Best following Week 9.

“I don’t play my best 11, I play my 11 best” – Knute Rockne

Joel Klatt releases new college football top 10 rankings

Who was the most impressive team in Week 8?

Week 8 of the college football season came and went and although it didn’t reach quite the level of Week 7’s madness, it was certainly a solid weekend of games.

Clemson survived a slow start against Syracuse to end the unbeaten run of the Orange while Oregon routed UCLA and TCU came back from a big deficit to beat Kansas State and stay unbeaten.

How will it impact the rankings when they’re released on Sunday?

Joel Klatt of Fox Sports has already released his own top-10 rankings following Saturday’s slate.  How does Klatt rate the top-10 (and then a couple more) after eight weeks of play?

Check it out below.Alm

Behind Enemy Lines: What Ohio State fans are saying about match-up vs. Michigan State football

We asked our friends over at BuckeyesWire to tell us how Ohio State fans are feeling about the game vs. Michigan State this weekend

Michigan State football has the Herculean task of facing Ohio State this weekend. This will truly be a contest between the immovable force (Ohio State) and the extremely movable object (Michigan State), as the Buckeyes have been lighting up the college football world all season.

However, upsets happen, that’s why we play the games, and this game won’t be decided until the end of the fourth quarter.

Below, we got a look ‘behind enemy lines’ as Phil Harrison of Buckeyes Wire gave us some insight into what Buckeyes’ fans are saying about the Spartans heading into the game.