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Math isn’t my thing. Ask my editors. And former editors. It’s not a new problem. But I am decent enough with numbers to know that Ohio State is benefiting from addition by subtraction. As in, OSU minus Nick Saban is a positive.
Among the biggest changes affecting college football, at least in the short term, is the January retirement of the Alabama coach who led the Crimson Tide to six national championships. Revenue sharing, NIL and the transfer portal will have a greater lasting impact, but more immediately for Ohio State and other perennial top-10 programs, Saban’s departure has been the gift that keeps on giving.
Consider that before January, the last Alabama-born player on the Ohio State roster was walk-on wide receiver Willie Salter in 2001. The last OSU scholarship player from the Yellowhammer State was Donte Wheat, way back in 1981.
Alabama center Seth McLaughlin, born in Georgia, transferred to OSU Jan. 6. Maybe he suspected something was up? Then Alabama native Quinshon Judkins announced his transfer from Ole Miss to the Buckeyes Jan. 8, two days before Saban retired.
Once Saban made his intentions known, Ohio State almost immediately became the destination of choice for two other Alabama players − freshman safety Caleb Downs from Georgia and five-star quarterback signee Justin Sayin out of California.
It didn’t end there. Na’eem Offord, a five-star cornerback recruit out of Birmingham, committed to Ohio State in early February. On Monday, the Buckeyes received a commitment from four-star defensive end Zion Grady, out of Enterprise, both players further boosting the nation’s No. 1 class for 2025.
What in the name of Bear Bryant is going on? Simple. Saban’s departure created a vacuum that Ohio State was only too happy to fill by sweeping up Alabama recruits looking for more of a sure thing than…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nick-sabans-retirement-alabama-big-100249138.html
Author : The Columbus Dispatch
Publish date : 2024-06-28 10:02:49
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