With a pair of NBA lottery picks in 2013 and one in 2014, draft watch was a regular feature on the site during the 2012-13 and 2013-2014 seasons. The Hoosiers didn’t have an early entry to the draft last season, but that could change this year as Troy Williams and Thomas Bryant consider their futures. […]
The post Draft watch: A look at the stock of Ferrell, Bryant and Williams appeared first on Inside the Hall | Indiana Hoosiers Basketball News, Recruiting and Analysis.
Mike Thomas' hands measured at 10.5 inches at the NFL Combine, which gives him bigger mitts than Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton.
Thomas used those mitts to make a series of spectacular catches throughout his time in Columbus. Though Thomas is off to the NFL Draft, he recently stopped by the set of ESPN's Sport Science to showcase his ability.
Though the exact air date is yet unknown, offensive line coach Greg Studrawa shared a video on Wednesday morning of Thomas making a ridiculous one-handed grab on the set of the show.
The Buckeyes are all over!!! pic.twitter.com/hesO0ZeTan
— Greg Studrawa (@CoachStudOL) March 30, 2016
Add in Cardale Jones upcoming appearance on Gruden's QB Camp and it gives a small idea as to the Buckeye bonanza that will be the 2016 NFL Draft.
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In the immediate aftermath of Indiana’s 101-86 loss to North Carolina on Friday at the Wells Fargo Center, Thomas Bryant and Troy Williams weren’t ready to talk about their futures in Bloomington. In previous years, it was typically window dressing around the country to hear players utter the words “I haven’t thought about that yet,” […]
The post NBA decisions will shape Indiana’s outlook for 2016-17 season appeared first on Inside the Hall | Indiana Hoosiers Basketball News, Recruiting and Analysis.
PHILADELPHIA – If the decision is left up to him, Robert Johnson is ready to give it a go on Friday when Indiana tips off against North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen. Johnson’s left ankle injury, which he re-aggravated in IU’s second round NCAA tournament win over Kentucky in Des Moines, slowed him down in practice […]
The post Morgan, Hartman set to play against UNC, Johnson hopeful appeared first on Inside the Hall | Indiana Hoosiers Basketball News, Recruiting and Analysis.
Today, he's starting at OLB in the franchise's fifth-ever playoff game in place of the injured Jadeveon Clowney.
.@HoustonTexans starting lineup changes today vs. @Chiefs: #51 OLB John Simon starts for #90 OLB Jadeveon Clowney
— Texans PR (@TexansPR) January 9, 2016
Simon has been all over the field for the Texans this season, appearing in all 16 games and accumulating 53 tackles, 5 sacks and a fumble recovery. The Cardinal Mooney product was one of the most beloved Buckeyes of all time, leading the team on and off the field through three head coaches, turmoil and an undefeated season in 2012.
The game is on ESPN/ABC at 4:35pm EST.
The takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon appears to be more than just a protest of the impending imprisonment of two ranchers who set fires that spread into public lands. The armed demonstrators are led by Ammon Bundy, whose father, Cliven, has refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the federal Bureau of Land Management to own some public lands or to regulate their use for grazing. But the government is giving the Bundy family a pretty good deal on the grazing rights it refuses to pay for.
In 1993, the bureau declined to renew Cliven Bundy’s grazing permits in parts of Nevada that were reserved for a threatened desert tortoise. But Bundy continued grazing his cattle there anyway and refused to pay any fines or fees. He claimed that the land really belonged to him, so why should he have to pay over $1 million in fines?
Now his son has furthered the fight by seizing the Oregon refuge. In a news conference Sunday, Ammon Bundy explained that he was there in protest of the “unconstitutional transactions of land rights and water rights.”
Those transactions, though, can be a pretty good deal, regardless of their constitutionality. According to a 2015 report by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Bureau of Land Management’s fees for grazing cattle on public land are much lower than the fees charged by private landowners, and they’ve only become cheaper in recent years.
In 2012, the bureau’s fees for grazing were 93 percent cheaper than the average market rate in 16 Western states ($1.35 versus $20.10 per AUM, which is a fancy acronym for the amount of land needed to support a cow and her calf for a month25).
The bureau’s fees are so much lower than the market price in part because its fees are set at a flat, national rate and can’t be adjusted to match demand in local markets. Plus, the bureau sets that national grazing price using a formula, rather than any kind of bidding system or market appraisals, as some other federal agencies with higher prices26 do. As a result, in 2014, grazing fees covered only 15 percent of the bureau’s costs to maintain grazing lands. The rest of the cost is made up in federal appropriations and covered by taxpayers.
So getting to buy grazing rights from the Bureau of Land Management is a steal, unless, like the Bundys, you think the government is trying to charge you for what’s rightfully yours. Or, at the very least, not rightfully theirs. The Bundys claim the land because their ancestors worked on it before the bureau even existed.
The federal government owns over 80 percent of all land in the Bundys’ home state of Nevada and over half of all the land in Oregon. If that land were privately owned, the market price for grazing rights might be lower than it is today, as more private land owners competed with each other. But, for now, the government is using its clout to lower costs for ranchers, if they’re willing to accept the aid.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Brian Kelly spoke of resiliency, but it didn't matter how much Notre Dame kept trying to come back against Ohio State. The Fighting Irish were overmatched.
"I challenged them and told them," Kelly said minutes after Ohio State's 44-28 romp over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. "It was a bit risky as a head coach that you tell your football team that the game is going to be decided in the first five minutes of the third quarter, because obviously if Ohio State goes down and scores, it probably takes the wind out of our sales."
Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett threw and interception on his team's first drive of the second half, which Notre Dame turned into seven points to make the score 28-21. Even with an 81-yard catch and run by star receiver Will Fuller late in the third quarter, Notre Dame didn't threaten Ohio State again in the game.
Ezekiel Elliott pushed Ohio State back out front by double digits for good with a slick 47-yard touchdown run untouched — his third of four on the day — on the ensuing drive, crippling any momentum Notre Dame feverishly tried to establish.
"I think Zeke, all due respect to all the great running backs in Ohio State history, my first-round draft pick, I'd pick Zeke Elliott," Urban Meyer said. "What he does without the ball, his work ethic in practice, just his attitude every day, the way he shows up, bounces around with us. I love him."
Elliott romped to 149 rushing yards to go with the four scores, and caught a pass out of the backfield for 30 yards for good measure. He showed why he is the Big Ten's best player in 2015, being the different along with Barrett and Ohio State's offensive line to shred a shorthanded Irish front seven.
"I would say schematically they do a great job of creating challenging situations with changing numbers and unique plays," Notre Dame linebacker Joe Schmidt said. "You combine that with Ezekiel Elliott and J.T. Barrett's ability to run the football, then their offensive line doing a great job all day. So I would say their back is very talented. But they did a great job scheming, especially early on."
Ohio State had its first two drives scripted, an efficient and as it turns out overwhelming play sheet put in place by offensive coordinator Ed Warinner. The Buckeyes scored 14 points before the midway point of the first quarter and didn't face a third down until there was under a minute to play in the frame.
"We had a plan, we had a set of plays that we wanted to use," Warinner said. "We went through certain ones the first drive and certain ones the second drive. Used tempo to get into a rhythm and our players were ready to play. They were well prepared by our head coach and our coaching staff."
What appeared to be setting up as an early blowout for Ohio State war marred by an ejection handed to All-American defensive end Joey Bosa, who drove the crown of his helmet into the chest of Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer after the latter threw an interception to Tyvis Powell. Notre Dame later scored to hang around for a bit, and had success without Bosa on the field, but the Buckeyes were too overwhelming.
"Oh, my goodness, that was a kidney shot," Meyer said of the targeting penalty on Bosa. "I guess it was a proper call. Hit him below. But it was leading with the crown of the helmet. I looked out, we were down another lineman, Adolphus Washington didn't make the trip. We were playing with some cats out there I didn't know were going to play. But they played hard and did fine against a very good team. This team has a way of fighting through adversity, and that is a great example."
Bosa is headed to the NFL Draft, so his final career game ends as a bit of disappointment for the slew of scouts on hand New Year's Day. Elliott will join him at the next level as well as Ohio State backup quarterback Cardale Jones. Other Buckeyes remain quiet on their future, but the message in the locker room afterwards was more about what had just happened at University of Phoenix Stadium.
After a 17-14 slip up to Michigan State aided by a baffling offensive game plan by Meyer and a last second game winning field goal by the Spartans effectively eliminated Ohio State from College Football Playoff contention. Michigan State failed to score against Alabama New Year's Eve in the Cotton Bowl.
"That's what you worry about," defensive coordinator Luke Fickell said. "Those games were on last night and I told all the defensive guys, 'If I were you I wouldn't watch them.' Because the last thing you want to do is start thinking, what if? We look forward and we're where we are for a reason. We can't worry about what's behind us. That's what you really hope those guys are doing and the maturity showed."
Feeling regret for the mistakes made in late November wasn't allowed among the monthlong bowl prep between the regular season finale at Michigan and the Fiesta Bowl.
"You can’t do that," Barrett said. "Since I’ve been saying since we’ve lost, you live and you learn. That’s part of it. You think about the teams that are in the Playoff: Besides Clemson, when did they lose? They lost early, you know what I’m saying? Then they learned from that. It was just unfortunate that we lost later in the season, but we still learned from that and became better as a team. The three teams that are even in the Playoffs, that’s a part of it. They lost, but learned from that. With us, it unfortunately happened later in the year and we didn’t have the chance to put ourselves in the Playoff. I’m not frustrated, I don’t regret anything, I’m happy that we’re Fiesta Bowl champs and I think it was a great win for us today."
A final tally of 496 yards and 10-of-18 third down completion rate gave Ohio State's historic senior class its 50th win in the last four season, and Meyer his 10th bowl victory. The head coach is 50-4 in Columbus, and he tried to focus on what his team was able to accomplish Friday instead of the mishap against Michigan State that thwarted a chance at a repeat.
Especially in the postgame press conference, when a reporter brought it up.
"Thanks for coming," Meyer joked. "Those who know me, I can't let go of things. I've let go of that. We just won the Fiesta Bowl."
Ohio State did it in resounding fashion, sending out a group of players how they planned to at the beginning of the season — raising a trophy about their heads in Arizona.
It just happened 10 days before they expected it would.
"That’s just the nature of it," Taylor Decker said. "People are going to say we failed because we didn’t make the Playoff, but that’s just not true. I’m not going to sit here and comment on other teams, I love the guys I’m here with, the guys I played with."
For a 2015 season that had way more highs than lows, Ohio State will look back on what might have been. But it certainly won't forget how it all came to a close.
"That was just about as good as I’ve ever felt out there on the field during warmups and I was really ready to go after these weeks of preparation," Bosa said. "It didn’t really feel real for at least 30 minutes after it happened. It was unfortunate, I’m happy we won because that’s the whole point, you know? It was just an awesome way to finish."