2019 Ohio State Season Thread

[Brutus Buckeye]

Captains 

"This year’s group has two returning from 2018 in safety Jordan Fuller and linebacker Tuf Borland.

The rest of the captains include defensive ends Chase Young and Jonathon Cooper, running back J.K. Dobbins and wide receivers K.J. Hill and C.J. Saunders."



.

[MaximumSam]

OSU preview continues - The Secondary

DBU was a little wonky last year.  The safeties couldn't get out of their own way or in the way of opposing players.  College Gameday had multiple sets on what was wrong with OSU's corners, as it turned out that playing man coverage all the time can sometimes bite you in the butt.  Jeff Hafley is not the man coaching the defensive backs, and it certainly sounds like the man coverage will be dialed back a bit and some more zone looks will called.    Who will be playing them?

There are mostly easy answers here.  Damon Arnette returns as a starter, and Jeffrey Okudah moves from the third corner to the second corner.  While a five star athlete and great cover man, he wasn't very physical at the line of scrimmage.  Shaun Wade should also play quite a bit as either a third corner or at safety.

Jordan Fuller was their leading tackler last year, and he returns and should be a standout on the defense.  The other safety spot is a bit undetermined.  As mentioned in the linebackers, OSU is moving a couple safeties into a glorified linebacker/safety position, and it's a bit unclear how often the "Bullet," probably Brendan White, will be on the field and where.  Regardless, Isaiah Pryor and Amir Riep are the reserves and should also see a fair amount of time on the field. 

The hope, and my expectation, is that the secondary should be much improved.  Allowing the secondary to set up and look at the field instead of constantly identifying their man should make for a more cohesive defense that doesn't appear as full of holes.

[MaximumSam]

OSU preview cont - Special Teams

Fairly easy to preview here.  The biggest change is there is an actual special teams coordinator, Matt Barnes, who comes from Maryland.  Urban coached the special teams the entire time he was here, so an actual special teams coordinator is a new position for the Bucks.  As far as players, a lot of the same.

K - Blake Haubeil will be the full time kicker after splitting a bit with Sean Nuernberger last year.  

P - Drue Chrisman returns and should once again be a strong punter.

KR - Demario McCall split returns with Johnnie Dixon last year, but Dixon is gone.  Could see KJ Hill, CJ Saunders, and Jaelen Gill back there.

PR: KJ Hill and CJ Saunders handled the punt returns and return. Again, could also see McCall or Gill back there.

[Brutus Buckeye]

Long snapper?

[MaximumSam]

Long snapper?

https://twitter.com/LiamMcCullough2/status/1151562373209186305?s=20

[Honestbuckeye]

https://610wtvn.iheart.com/featured/lori-schmidt/content/2019-08-27-urban-meyer-on-how-cardale-drove-the-mystery-machine/

Priceless and hilarious 

[Mdot21]

https://610wtvn.iheart.com/featured/lori-schmidt/content/2019-08-27-urban-meyer-on-how-cardale-drove-the-mystery-machine/

Priceless and hilarious

I'm actually enjoying Urban in his retirement from coaching. Saw him on some Fox Sports shows where he's working now. Definitely one of the best CFB guys on tv already. Maybe even the best.

[MrNubbz]

MDot this is good and funny also

https://youtu.be/nGx3pgFaQzA

[847badgerfan]

https://twitter.com/darrenrovell/status/1171835031494569984

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm almost disappointed for the lost opportunity:


https://twitter.com/UMich/status/1161736458350129152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1161736458350129152&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.12up.com%2Fposts%2Fmichigan-torches-ohio-state-on-twitter-over-incredibly-lame-trademark-of-the-01dj8yc417eb