Harry Lyles Jr.
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Former Ohio State LB Darron Lee reaches deal with the New York Jets
Harry Lyles Jr. via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
It took a while, but it finally happened.
“Jets and first-round pick Darron Lee reached agreement, per source.”
- Adam Schefter, ESPN
Former Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee has finally reached an agreement with the New York Jets. He was one of three players from the 2016 NFL Draft, including Ohio State’s own Joey Bosa, who hadn’t signed a deal yet. Lee had participated in OTAs and minicamp despite not having a deal. He did not report to camp on Wednesday, but that will now change with the contract.
Despite holding out (for one whole day) as a rookie, his teammates don’t seem too concerned. "I'm not worried about that. He'll be here in time," linebacker David Harris told NJ.com’s James Kratch. "I don't know when, but it happens all around the league. It's the business side of it, and I respect it.” Teammate Erin Henderson said something similar of Lee, telling Kratch, "I'm not sure exactly what the situation is, or what's happening. But if I know DLee the way I think I do, I know he's doing everything in his power to get out here and get on the field, and get back with us and continue to prepare for this upcoming season." It’s great to see that Lee’s got the support of his teammates. It speaks volumes on his character, and his skills on the field.
"We don't have rebuilding years.”
- J.T. Barrett, via Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune
That statement by J.T. Barrett has surely seemed to be the case since Urban Meyer came to Columbus in 2012. The Buckeyes have a 50-4 record in Meyer’s tenure, and have lost just one game out of 32 in Big Ten play. That’s some real consistency. And while much talk during the offseason and at Big Ten Media Days has revolved around the Buckeyes losing tons of talent to the NFL, the team isn’t quite shaken up by the losses, because there’s so much more talent waiting to be revealed. Recruiting classes, and Meyer’s ability to develop players on and off the field has been the greatest recipe for success.
A great thing for the Buckeyes going into this season, is that there is absolutely no question who will be taking snaps at quarterback. J.T. Barrett is healthy, finished last season extremely strong, and Cardale Jones is now with the Buffalo Bills. Barrett was asked if he was glad that he didn’t have to look over his shoulder, but he understandably danced around the question, and acknowledged that it was a great responsibility to play quarterback for the Bucks. So while there will be new faces, Barrett is ready to lead the charge in 2016.
“I would say going into this this is as talented a group top to bottom as we've had.”
- Urban Meyer, via Austin Ward, ESPN
As aforementioned, Ohio State is losing talent, but the abundance of it behind the departing talent is great, and exciting. Pair that with the excitement of playing for one of the best programs in the history of the game, and you have a group hungry for a national title that the school saw just two seasons ago. People have tried to taper expectations, but that doesn’t appear to be the mood for Urban Meyer’s squad, and he’s up for the challenge himself.
“This is probably the most critical coaching month that I've ever been through,” Meyer told Ward. “We have to get these guys ready: 44 of our players, over half of our scholarships, are kids that never played in a game.” Meyer added that practices would be different, but the morale is high for a program that seems to somehow be rising despite already being at an elite level. And the rich will get richer, as the Buckeyes currently hold the top recruiting class for 2017, per 247Sports. Enjoy these days, Buckeye fans, because it won’t always be this glorious, but while it’s happening, it’s oh so sweet.
“Torrance Gibson wanted to play quarterback.”
- Doug Lesmerises, Northeast Ohio Media Group
Torrance Gibson came to Ohio State with intentions on playing quarterback. Other schools recruited him as a wide receiver because of his freakish athleticism and great size, but he was set on playing quarterback heading into Columbus. That changed after it was clear he would have been buried behind Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett, so he moved in receiver in hopes of getting on the field earlier. That didn’t happen, but now Gibson has found his way into a permanent wide receiver role. The only chance of him playing quarterback? The wildcat, according to Urban Meyer.
The move isn’t out of the ordinary for kids coming out of high school. But Urban Meyer has a way with his players that we’ll only have so much access to. He somehow got Gibson to buy into his role as a receiver, and so far it seems to be working out. As Lesmerises points out, Meyer compared him to Braxton Miller, and acknowledged the rare athleticism both possess. "(Gibson) was an exception," Meyer told Cleveland.com. "When you talk about the elite, those are Braxton and Torrance, the elite elite. If they want a shot at quarterback, you absolutely get one.” Meyer would further explain that Gibson saw early it was best to move to receiver, so he did. This year, we will really see how the move will fare for Gibson. He should be in good hands with J.T. Barrett at quarterback.
Jets C Nick Mangold will earn a $2.4M reporting bonus by showing up to camp today, the largest such bonus in the NFL.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 27, 2016
Former Ohio State Buckeye Nick Mangold got awarded a nice bonus for reporting to camp on Wednesday. The New York Jets center received $2.4 million for showing up, which is the largest bonus of its kind in the NFL. It’s not quite Mike Conley money, but that’s not a bad deal for showing up.
He’s been one of the few solid pieces of the Jets franchise since he joined in 2006. He’s started in 16 games seven out of his 10 seasons in the NFL, and been a five-time Pro Bowler. So, good for Nick in showing up to camp!
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Harry Lyles Jr. via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
It took a while, but it finally happened.
“Jets and first-round pick Darron Lee reached agreement, per source.”
- Adam Schefter, ESPN
Former Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee has finally reached an agreement with the New York Jets. He was one of three players from the 2016 NFL Draft, including Ohio State’s own Joey Bosa, who hadn’t signed a deal yet. Lee had participated in OTAs and minicamp despite not having a deal. He did not report to camp on Wednesday, but that will now change with the contract.
Despite holding out (for one whole day) as a rookie, his teammates don’t seem too concerned. "I'm not worried about that. He'll be here in time," linebacker David Harris told NJ.com’s James Kratch. "I don't know when, but it happens all around the league. It's the business side of it, and I respect it.” Teammate Erin Henderson said something similar of Lee, telling Kratch, "I'm not sure exactly what the situation is, or what's happening. But if I know DLee the way I think I do, I know he's doing everything in his power to get out here and get on the field, and get back with us and continue to prepare for this upcoming season." It’s great to see that Lee’s got the support of his teammates. It speaks volumes on his character, and his skills on the field.
"We don't have rebuilding years.”
- J.T. Barrett, via Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune
That statement by J.T. Barrett has surely seemed to be the case since Urban Meyer came to Columbus in 2012. The Buckeyes have a 50-4 record in Meyer’s tenure, and have lost just one game out of 32 in Big Ten play. That’s some real consistency. And while much talk during the offseason and at Big Ten Media Days has revolved around the Buckeyes losing tons of talent to the NFL, the team isn’t quite shaken up by the losses, because there’s so much more talent waiting to be revealed. Recruiting classes, and Meyer’s ability to develop players on and off the field has been the greatest recipe for success.
A great thing for the Buckeyes going into this season, is that there is absolutely no question who will be taking snaps at quarterback. J.T. Barrett is healthy, finished last season extremely strong, and Cardale Jones is now with the Buffalo Bills. Barrett was asked if he was glad that he didn’t have to look over his shoulder, but he understandably danced around the question, and acknowledged that it was a great responsibility to play quarterback for the Bucks. So while there will be new faces, Barrett is ready to lead the charge in 2016.
“I would say going into this this is as talented a group top to bottom as we've had.”
- Urban Meyer, via Austin Ward, ESPN
As aforementioned, Ohio State is losing talent, but the abundance of it behind the departing talent is great, and exciting. Pair that with the excitement of playing for one of the best programs in the history of the game, and you have a group hungry for a national title that the school saw just two seasons ago. People have tried to taper expectations, but that doesn’t appear to be the mood for Urban Meyer’s squad, and he’s up for the challenge himself.
“This is probably the most critical coaching month that I've ever been through,” Meyer told Ward. “We have to get these guys ready: 44 of our players, over half of our scholarships, are kids that never played in a game.” Meyer added that practices would be different, but the morale is high for a program that seems to somehow be rising despite already being at an elite level. And the rich will get richer, as the Buckeyes currently hold the top recruiting class for 2017, per 247Sports. Enjoy these days, Buckeye fans, because it won’t always be this glorious, but while it’s happening, it’s oh so sweet.
“Torrance Gibson wanted to play quarterback.”
- Doug Lesmerises, Northeast Ohio Media Group
Torrance Gibson came to Ohio State with intentions on playing quarterback. Other schools recruited him as a wide receiver because of his freakish athleticism and great size, but he was set on playing quarterback heading into Columbus. That changed after it was clear he would have been buried behind Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett, so he moved in receiver in hopes of getting on the field earlier. That didn’t happen, but now Gibson has found his way into a permanent wide receiver role. The only chance of him playing quarterback? The wildcat, according to Urban Meyer.
The move isn’t out of the ordinary for kids coming out of high school. But Urban Meyer has a way with his players that we’ll only have so much access to. He somehow got Gibson to buy into his role as a receiver, and so far it seems to be working out. As Lesmerises points out, Meyer compared him to Braxton Miller, and acknowledged the rare athleticism both possess. "(Gibson) was an exception," Meyer told Cleveland.com. "When you talk about the elite, those are Braxton and Torrance, the elite elite. If they want a shot at quarterback, you absolutely get one.” Meyer would further explain that Gibson saw early it was best to move to receiver, so he did. This year, we will really see how the move will fare for Gibson. He should be in good hands with J.T. Barrett at quarterback.
Jets C Nick Mangold will earn a $2.4M reporting bonus by showing up to camp today, the largest such bonus in the NFL.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 27, 2016
Former Ohio State Buckeye Nick Mangold got awarded a nice bonus for reporting to camp on Wednesday. The New York Jets center received $2.4 million for showing up, which is the largest bonus of its kind in the NFL. It’s not quite Mike Conley money, but that’s not a bad deal for showing up.
He’s been one of the few solid pieces of the Jets franchise since he joined in 2006. He’s started in 16 games seven out of his 10 seasons in the NFL, and been a five-time Pro Bowler. So, good for Nick in showing up to camp!
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