Buckeye Bits: Jordan Hancock Mocks Ohio State, Luke Farrell Makes John Mackey Award Watch List, More

This is a real photo of me trying to write an introduction for today’s Buckeye Bits …

On the positive side, we have reached yet another Friday. On the not-so-bright side, the country continues to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, and college football is on the verge of cancellation. That said, it is expected that everyone will follow the guidelines for social distancing whenever possible and that they will wear masks in public spaces. It is literally our only chance to see the Buckeyes this season.

Now that our daily cleaning is out of the way, let’s move on to today’s headlines.

Of all Land-Grant Holy Land …

247Sports recently updated its rankings for the 2022 class, and Texas QB Quinn Ewers is the new # 1 player in the country. Ohio State was one of the first programs to offer the five-star prospect, which now has nearly 30 scholarship offers, and according to Ewers himself, the Buckeyes are the school that is currently recruiting him the most.

Brett continued our series of Room Leaders on Friday, this time taking a look at the security position. Jordan Fuller was apparently here forever, but is now a member of the Los Angeles Rams. Next in line is Josh Proctor, who struggled a bit in limited action last season but has been a highly touted athlete since he first stepped on campus.

If anyone knows one or two things about college football, it’s Urban Meyer. However, I’m not entirely sure how well versed he is with infectious diseases, so he should take his opinion on matters like this with a grain of salt. Meyer believes that the Big Ten conference-only schedule increases the chances of having a season in 2020, making it easier for teams to follow specific protocols while limiting some travel.

ICYMI, Buckeye Bits from yesterday focused on the latest Power 5 protocols that were announced on Thursday. The plan details some minimum standards for playing soccer this fall, including testing once a week, the 10-day isolation for positive players and staff, and other stipulations that make everything safer but also more difficult to enforce. perform.

From around the grill …

• Continuing this week from national award watch lists, another Ohio state player found his name among some preseason contenders. Established in 2000 and awarded annually to the most important tight end in college football, the John Mackey Award has never been won by a Buckeye. Luke Farrell will seek to break that trend, as the senior was named to the 2020 watch list. Farrell caught just seven passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns last year.

• The rings at this year’s Big Ten Championship are spectacular. In addition to the now annual gold pants the team receives for beating Michigan every time they play, this year’s title rings also feature The Game scores. The rings also feature a trio of B1G Championship trophies, meaning the three consecutive seasons Ohio State won the conference.

We heard all about Ohio State’s new ‘bullet’ position ahead of the 2019 season, only to mean a bit of an extended role for SAM linebacker Pete Werner. Enter Kourt Williams, who literally fits the exact bill of what the Buckeyes figured the bullet position would have been playing a linebacker / safety hybrid in high school. Williams now joins the OSU defense with the will to do everything, hoping to play a role similar to Isaiah Simmons at Clemson.

• Speaking of Clemson, the state of Ohio is still awaiting news about one of Dabo Swinney’s old engagements. Four-star corner Jordan Hancock got engaged to the Tigers in March, but retired earlier this week. All indications are that it ended with the Buckeyes, as there are now 11 Crystal Balls at 247Sports, all in favor of OSU. The talented DB joked with Buckeye Nation on Twitter on Friday, with a new graphic showing him dressing Scarlet and Gray behind the Thorpe Award.

• This was my favorite Michael Thomas play during his time at Ohio State (obviously not including the trick play during the Sugar Bowl against Alabama). That corner that burned in that play? Just a guy named Kendall Fuller, the man who sealed the Chiefs’ victory with his interception in Super Bowl LIV.

From everywhere …

• In important Big Ten basketball news out of the state of Ohio, Michigan’s Isaiah Livers has decided to withdraw from NBA Draft 2020 and return to Ann Arbor. Livers was one of the team’s best scorers last season, averaging 12.9 points per game.

• These new Atlanta Hawks jerseys are absolute FIRE.

• I don’t know how many more experts need to say these things before people decide to believe them about Facebook’s “scientists”, but here we are.

• We’ll wrap up today’s Buckeye Bits and send him out for the weekend with healthy content from Cardale Jones.