OhioGrad

Been lying low on the boards since my Dad died in Columbus, Ohio earlier this month.

Here is some perspective as an Ohio University graduate (Joey's Dad DC) and my connection to UGA where my daughter is a senior. I traveled to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game and follow UGA on a daily basis.

To me, there are clearly two "Wildcards" in terms of where Fields will wind up.

Jadon Haselwood and Jaiden Field's, the sister of Justin Fields.

Jaiden is a senior in high school and has been committed to the UGA softball team since 2015. I glanced at her Twitter Feed, and it appears she is still planning on going to UGA. Not sure how "Team Justin" can play the racial angle on gaining the waiver if his sister still enrolls and goes on scholarship at UGA?

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Jadon Haselwood of course is the 5-Star Receiver who had committed to UGA as a sophomore in high school. Haselwood and Fields have been very tight since a 7 on 7 camp which I think was a Cam Newton camp. Fields and Haselwood connected on an incredible TD and about a week later Fields de-committed from Penn State.

Haselwood's ego has grown out of control the past two years and his public complaints about UGA not throwing enough deep balls was a red-flag to many if he was worth having on the team. He signed the other day, but will not announce until January at one of the all-star games.

My hunch is Oklahoma may have as good a chance as the Evil Empire in Columbus in landing Fields. There is a possibility Fields could stay at UGA, but I doubt he does.

The question on the Oklahoma is if an NFL team comes calling for Lincoln Riley.

As for Joe Burrow, I have never met Joe or seen him play in person. I did exchange emails with his Dad to congratulate him on Joe earning the scholarship at O$U, despite after growing up a huge fan, I lost all respect for them during the Tressel era.

I told Coach Burrow that the Ohio victory over Penn State was probably going to be the last game I ever attended with my Dad and it was such an incredible experience for the two of us. I felt bad for Coach Burrow because of all the hatred expressed by a few Athens native's but primarily by Ohio University students and alumni who were ticked off he did not commit to Ohio University. I respected Joe for stepping out to go away for school which is good for any student and the accept the most challenging opportunity presented to him.

Joe is not Fields or Fromm, but he has maximized his ability and I don't think he has ever taken a play off. His six touchdown passes were epic in the State High School Championship game despite the narrow loss.

I wish Joe and LSU great success next year!

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I graduated from Ohio University in Athens where Joe’s Dad is the DC. I am a fan of Georgia where my daughter is a Senior. I live in Virginia but grew up in Columbus and attended my first O$U game in 1969 against TCU. I completed therapy to recover from my O$U indoctrination and have not been a supporter of the football program since Tressel arrived.

I have never spoken to Joe and have not seen him play in person. I did exchange emails with his Dad after he signed with O$U, mainly because of the internet hatred from a lot of the Ohio Alumni for choosing Ohio $tate.

I think that Joe has a skill set, leadership and high football IQ, that is very similar to Jake Fromm.

Many of the Georgia fans dismiss Joe as a “Game Manager”. There are some QB’s who are “Game Managers” simply based on their level of skill. I see Joe as more of a QB who takes what the defense gives you. The Dawgnation Podcast host kept bringing up his completion percentage the first two games, but it was interesting he did not this past week as I think he is becoming aware that Joe is a “Gamer”.

I assume that most of you have seen his high school stats which included 63 TD passes and 2 Interceptions his senior year.

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Joe passed for 6 Touchdowns in the State Championship Game.

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Below is a cut and paste from his three spring games and it appears he only threw one INT during the 2017 game. In other words, counting all official games for high school and college, along with three spring games, Joe has thrown 3 Interceptions since his junior year of high school.

His Spring Games totals are 43-67-696, 8 TD, 1 INT. 10.39 Yards Per Pass Attempt.


2016 Spring Game

Burrow 14 of 23 passes for 196 yards, three touchdown and one interception. He also had a 31-yard run in the fourth quarter.

J.T. Barrett finished 13-of-22 for 102 yards and two interceptions.

2017 Spring Game

JT Barret 8-of-12 for 71 yards and 1 TD
Burrow 14-22 for 262 Yards and 3 TD’s
Haskins 26-of-37 for 293 Yards and 3 TD’s

2018 Spring Game
Joe Burrow led the way with 238 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-22 passing, while Dwayne Haskins threw for 120 yards and two scores on 9-of-19 passing.

Tate Martell had the toughest day from a passing perspective, as he completed just five of his 16 attempts for 28 yards and one interception, but he did plenty of damage with his legs in rushing for 69 yards and one touchdown.

This is a link for Joe’s first spring game at Ohio State. Note that in the 2016 game, he did not have a black jersey, so he was fair game for the pass rushers. Joe has better arm strength now, but is accuracy and touch during this game was very impressive.

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I will be rooting for UGA when they play LSU, but that won’t keep me from hoping that Joe plays well. As horrible as most O$U fans are, including my extended family in Columbus, 95% of them are really pulling for Joe to well. There was video of the fans cheering from the stands in Dallas at the end of the LSU game and several of the players were pointing at the scoreboard when Joe was pictured after the game.