Brett Ludwiczak
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You’re Nuts: Which Ohio State football player would you want to see play a different sport?
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Football players are some of the best athletes in the world, so it’s only natural to think they would be able to excel at other sports. Not like we haven’t seen football players try their hand at basketball, baseball, track, as well as numerous other sports over the years. We even saw Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson play both football and baseball. Who knows, if Jackson’s body had held up, we might have seen Bo put up Hall of Fame careers in both sports.
These days it is pretty rare to see some play both football and another sport in college. You’ll have a few that also play basketball, but it is really tough for college football players to also play college basketball now, since often times a college football team’s season isn’t done until late December or early January. With no downtime to recover from the physical toll from football, a lot of programs are reluctant to allow a player to go straight into the middle of a college basketball season. You’ll likely see this type of scenario play out in the next few years at Ohio State, since the Buckeyes landed Sonny Styles, who is one of the best players in the state at both football and basketball.
Since we have to fill a few months before football season gets back underway, we figured today was a good day to let our imaginations run wild. Ohio State has had some tremendous football players come to Columbus in all shapes and sizes. There are some sports that would be perfect for some Buckeyes if they weren’t able to play football. Then there are other players we would want to see play a certain sport just because it would be hilarious. There really are no wrong answers here.
Today’s question: Which Ohio State football player would you want to see play a different sport?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Garrett Wilson - Soccer
There was so much about Garrett Wilson that was fun to watch during his three years with the Buckeyes. At the top of the list is Wilson’s footwork. It was a privilege to watch the work Wilson would do to get open, using his feet along with changes in direction and timing to find the open spots in the defense. Then there was the way that Wilson would contort his body to find a way to make a tough catch.
Even though Wilson didn’t run quite as fast as teammate Chris Olave at the NFL Combine, there’s no denying that Wilson has speed to burn. What would really make Wilson a problem on the pitch for opponents is his quick acceleration. Wilson has a number of different gears which would make it tough for opponents to get a read on him.
Another reason I would love to see Garrett Wilson play soccer is because of how effective he is in the air. We saw countless times how Wilson would jump to get the football, and it looked like he would make the catch with ease. Now imagine Wilson taking to the sky in the box to get to a header that he would put past the goalkeeper. Even though Wilson might not have the most size, he knows how to maximize his abilities.
With the way Columbus Crew SC has been playing over the last two years, they might have missed out on something special by not seeing what Wilson could bring to the pitch. If the Crew couldn’t have found a place for Wilson, you know that FC Cincinnati certainly could have since that soccer team is sadder than a bowl of Skyline.
Meredith’s answer: Chase Young - Hoops... or Hockey
When it comes to this topic, there are definitely some cop outs, like Chris Olave running track (of course he did - he’s so fast!) or Nate Ebner playing rugby (since it’s so random that he did that anyway).
As a result, I’m going to go with Chase Young here. Young is an incredible athlete who played quarterback, tight end and other positions in high school before moving to defensive end, where he’s obviously thrived. His outright athleticism means he could probably be passable at most team sports, but in particular those that require the agility and ball-hunting capabilities that makes him a great defensive player.
In particular, Young’s size and strength would make him an outstanding basketball player, though at just 6-foot-5, he might lack the height to be, say, an NBA-level big man. This particular sport makes sense since Young’s father and sister played college hoops, and Chase himself played in high school. However, as his high school, DeMatha, happened to be a basketball powerhouse, Young was competing for playing time with future NBA prospects like Markelle Fultz — the No. 1-overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. There’s also the potential that his aggression on the court could put him in foul trouble, so as entertaining as he might be on the hardcourt, he might only be good for a half.
Which brings us to hockey. Young moves with such grace and precision on the football field, and we have to imagine that if he was able to skate (something I can’t verify), he would bring the aggression and handling skills that would make him a standout on the ice.
The specific image of Young as an enforcer makes me smile — no one would be getting to the goal.
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Football players are some of the best athletes in the world, so it’s only natural to think they would be able to excel at other sports. Not like we haven’t seen football players try their hand at basketball, baseball, track, as well as numerous other sports over the years. We even saw Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson play both football and baseball. Who knows, if Jackson’s body had held up, we might have seen Bo put up Hall of Fame careers in both sports.
These days it is pretty rare to see some play both football and another sport in college. You’ll have a few that also play basketball, but it is really tough for college football players to also play college basketball now, since often times a college football team’s season isn’t done until late December or early January. With no downtime to recover from the physical toll from football, a lot of programs are reluctant to allow a player to go straight into the middle of a college basketball season. You’ll likely see this type of scenario play out in the next few years at Ohio State, since the Buckeyes landed Sonny Styles, who is one of the best players in the state at both football and basketball.
Since we have to fill a few months before football season gets back underway, we figured today was a good day to let our imaginations run wild. Ohio State has had some tremendous football players come to Columbus in all shapes and sizes. There are some sports that would be perfect for some Buckeyes if they weren’t able to play football. Then there are other players we would want to see play a certain sport just because it would be hilarious. There really are no wrong answers here.
Today’s question: Which Ohio State football player would you want to see play a different sport?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Garrett Wilson - Soccer
There was so much about Garrett Wilson that was fun to watch during his three years with the Buckeyes. At the top of the list is Wilson’s footwork. It was a privilege to watch the work Wilson would do to get open, using his feet along with changes in direction and timing to find the open spots in the defense. Then there was the way that Wilson would contort his body to find a way to make a tough catch.
Even though Wilson didn’t run quite as fast as teammate Chris Olave at the NFL Combine, there’s no denying that Wilson has speed to burn. What would really make Wilson a problem on the pitch for opponents is his quick acceleration. Wilson has a number of different gears which would make it tough for opponents to get a read on him.
Another reason I would love to see Garrett Wilson play soccer is because of how effective he is in the air. We saw countless times how Wilson would jump to get the football, and it looked like he would make the catch with ease. Now imagine Wilson taking to the sky in the box to get to a header that he would put past the goalkeeper. Even though Wilson might not have the most size, he knows how to maximize his abilities.
With the way Columbus Crew SC has been playing over the last two years, they might have missed out on something special by not seeing what Wilson could bring to the pitch. If the Crew couldn’t have found a place for Wilson, you know that FC Cincinnati certainly could have since that soccer team is sadder than a bowl of Skyline.
Meredith’s answer: Chase Young - Hoops... or Hockey
When it comes to this topic, there are definitely some cop outs, like Chris Olave running track (of course he did - he’s so fast!) or Nate Ebner playing rugby (since it’s so random that he did that anyway).
As a result, I’m going to go with Chase Young here. Young is an incredible athlete who played quarterback, tight end and other positions in high school before moving to defensive end, where he’s obviously thrived. His outright athleticism means he could probably be passable at most team sports, but in particular those that require the agility and ball-hunting capabilities that makes him a great defensive player.
In particular, Young’s size and strength would make him an outstanding basketball player, though at just 6-foot-5, he might lack the height to be, say, an NBA-level big man. This particular sport makes sense since Young’s father and sister played college hoops, and Chase himself played in high school. However, as his high school, DeMatha, happened to be a basketball powerhouse, Young was competing for playing time with future NBA prospects like Markelle Fultz — the No. 1-overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. There’s also the potential that his aggression on the court could put him in foul trouble, so as entertaining as he might be on the hardcourt, he might only be good for a half.
Which brings us to hockey. Young moves with such grace and precision on the football field, and we have to imagine that if he was able to skate (something I can’t verify), he would bring the aggression and handling skills that would make him a standout on the ice.
The specific image of Young as an enforcer makes me smile — no one would be getting to the goal.
Continue reading...