Jim French Stepstool

Jacobsen set to announce Friday between Wisconsin & Purdue. It also sounds like he's reclassifying from class of '25 to '24.

True. But they were short a couple linemen (Thompson, Rodas Johnson) & went a little further down the depth than they otherwise would have. I wonder if that had anything to do with it. The LBs certainly didn't step up though, and there wasn't any success at sealing off the edges. I agree, two down linemen when OSU is in run mode isn't going to get it done.

Great point. I thought Stover was going to be a big problem, especially on 3rd down. To keep him under wraps while having to contend with Harrison was totally unexpected.

Kinda by design if you're remembering he same plays I am. He had a few short outs/sideline patterns where the receiver was jumped & he immediately threw the ball at the turf. What sucked about that was there was no safety valve or 2nd option, probably due to the RB/TE having to pass pro so often.

What I think is more important is one has a tailback to hand the ball to, that the defense has to honor. The other guy, when Acker needed a break, was handing the ball to Cade Yacamelli.

Considering their lack of experience I think both of these guys are pretty talented college QBs. McCord was given a lot of different looks from Tressel & for the most part handled it well. If you're comparing him to the last 15 years of QBs at OSU, yeah he's not able to beat you by himself like Pryor or guys of that ilk. Locke started for the 2nd time ever, was victimized by a few drops, and then lost Dike & Allen just before the half.

As I was watching, I had the same feeling I had when watching the Alvarez teams from his first couple years. Not in style of play or anything like that, but in effort & ability to stay in a game longer than many thought they could, against a team with more talent. I saw a stat on the screen that said that besides Henderson & Harrison, the rest of their team had something like 100 yds of offense. That's the way the game felt to me, a big talent edge in a couple spots & a chess match to try to keep that from being the difference for as long as possible. Tressel did about what I wanted regarding trying to confuse McCord, make him hesitate. But for the most part the kid dealt with it well. IMO neither of the picks he threw were "OMG, he threw it right to him!!", but rather really good plays by Zachman & Hallmann. Looking at the current level of play & the recruiting strategy, I think this team is going to be really tough to pass on as this regime unfolds, provided you add some pass rush presence. The O-line performed pretty well considering the talent level just isn't there like past seasons, and it appears virtually NO ONE has stepped up to provide quality depth. Hard to deal with that front-seven w/o being able to rotate anyone in. I swear, sometimes I feel like it's going to be 2028 & I'll still hear Fickell saying Renfroe "is getting closer". Bortolini took some heat for not snapping the ball on the obvious offsides & not getting a free 5 yards. But ideally you want Locke to demand the ball there, he has a lot wider range of vision. Another week of starting out with several mistakes, then becoming much cleaner. The 1st fumble by Allen really hurt. Neither team had settled into a tendency routine yet. After the initial 1st down, mayyyybeeee that could've been a scoring drive. Looks like Tucker Ashcraft, after a nice start to his career, has hit a proverbial wall. True freshmen playing a physical position tend to do that.

Evan Flood, a pretty well-connected recruiting analyst just predicted Jacobsen to Wisconsin. The early signing date is sometime in early November so we'll see relatively soon if there's anything to that.

I don't know of any open practices, but I saw some of the red-white & gobble up everything I can from press conferences & interviews, and I hear a lot of stuff 2nd or 3rd hand that originates from those who have team access. I'll repeat things I hear if it's from a source I trust. There's always stuff on twitter or X or whatever they call it now, but that's where you really have to be discriminating w/regards to the source. Most of all I like to trust what I see myself, which is why I'm looking forward to November 1 & the start of the season.

You know how, years ago, someone would stand on the hill & give you the feeling that people were really at a disadvantage vs his fastball? Gossage, Nolan Ryan, JR Richard. Bob Gibson. Ladd was the first Brewer pitcher who really gave me that feeling, in the '82 ALCS vs the Angels when he was filling Fingers' role & his adrenaline got going. Fun times. Thanks Bigfoot. RIP.

We were there. Probably as soaked through the skin as I've ever been at a sporting event. But worth it.

As is the case with Winter, he has very good perimeter skills for a big. Also reminds me a bit of Ethan Happ & Tyler Wahl regarding his craftiness around the bucket. I actually expected him to be the 1st "big" off the bench, but he's had to deal with being a little behind on conditioning due to a minor ding or two, and both Winter & Carter Gilmore have been very impressive. It's turning into a real competitive situation for frontcourt bench minutes.

For quite a few years now Ohio State has had talented, athletic, versatile QBs who can beat you in many ways. Combine that with the waves of talent they threw at you in other positions & it's the recipe for the 40-50 pt losses. McCord has been more than good enough but he isn't in that same mold. UW needs to disguise the defensive looks, change things up (the zone coverage actually looked OK Saturday) and just force McCord to have to think, to do some guesswork. Still going to be a monumental task, but play cleaner & catch a couple breaks and I could see them hanging around longer than some expect. That being said, if I was a betting type I would jump on OSU covering if it stays at 14.

In the case of the RPO, I don't think we're going to see Locke keep the ball very often the rest of the way because A) Locke isn't nearly the runner Mordecai is, and B) you're now down one rung further on the depth chart so I don't see them asking him to gain yards on the ground a whole lot. The receivers stepped up pretty well in the 4th quarter. Certainly there were 3 or 4 balls earlier that could've been caught & weren't. I've said before; I believe there's sufficient talent in that group but the problem is there's no one go-to guy to stretch a secondary. That'll be maybe the biggest problem next week--I don't see anyone that can consistently beat OSUs' man coverage, and this line just doesn't run block consistently vs good-to-average fronts, not to mention the front seven they'll be seeing in 7 days.

Thoughts: A typical start with the fumble that led to a TD & some bad penalties. That stuff was mostly cleaned up in the 2nd half, though, so hopefully a trend. Good to see B. Allen leaned on in the 2nd half, and him responding positively. Still feels like it's "passing to set up the run" more than the other way around, but it worked in the final couple drives. One thing that indicates a little more concerted effort to run the ball--Mostly Rucci & Nowakowski (blockers) at TE. I don't know if Ashcraft ever even saw the field. It's fun to see someone grow up before your very eyes. I was ready to comment that I thought Locke was OK after his early fumble, but he was receiving very little help (no 1st half run game, a few drops). Whie this is true, he never let the moments get too big for him, and his 4th quarter performance was an awful lot of fun to watch. Even with Allens' final numbers, still not much consistency to the run game. But Locke overcame a lot of 2nd & 3rd and longs. And after the final TD, saw him on the sidelines not going nuts, but still relatively placid. THAT'S impressive. In a post-game radio interview, Fickell claimed he didn't know about the play call on the pass to Nolan Rucci. Some stops defensively when they needed them, but IMO still too shoddy on some of the tackle attempts. And needed to do a much better job of containing Altmyer. In the 3rd quarter, he's faced with a 3rd & 10, rolls right, straddles the line of scrimmage w/o going over, hesitates, looks downfield, finds no one open, then takes off & gains about 15 yards. This, after not wanting to run unless totally necessary. That was put-your-foot-through-the-TV moment #1 for me today. Kinda feels like they missed Jordan Turner. Is there something about being a college football announcer that totally discourages anyone with talent from applying? Among other things, when UW scored to make it 21-16, "Oh---they're going for TWO!!!" Dude, any 5th grader that didn't flunk math anticipated that. As long as I'm commenting on the production end of things, I watched some of Iowa-Minnesota. I have to assume that the guy NBC assigned to direct the telecast was being paid extra for every time he ordered shots of PJ Fleck to be put on screen. I saw fewer pics of Princess Diana in the 80s than I saw of him, and I wasn't even watching it all the way through.

And I'm sure Jim Leonhard was ultra-focused on devising a defensive strategy for this one. They have to run the ball better. Even if it's moderately so, and they stick with it (something they've had no interest in doing), it would make a difference. Locke has the ability to throw effectively if given time (he's not a scrambler) & the down & distance is consistently manageable (that's where running the ball comes in). Illinois hasn't been lighting it up offensively, so it's winnable. But for the personnel UW has right now, this 40-50 throws a game has to stop. And still waiting for the ill-timed penalties to cease.

My gut tells me the same thing. I don't know enough about Essegian or especially Storr to have an opinion as to how they would react to coming off the bench. But I'm really confident Klesmit would handle it just fine if asked to. And as I alluded to earlier, part of that role is being alert & paying attention to what's going on in the opening minutes and then reacting to it once entering. I think Klesmit would be terrific at that.

Just a casual observation & I could be way off since I haven't seen him pitch as often as many of you have, but when I see highlights of him I see Jhoulys Chacin w/more velocity. Is that palpable?

Yeah, that's a pretty good comp.

You mentioned the ultra-quick hands, along with the miniscule leg kick. For me, that's a combination that excites. I hope (expect) they don't tinker with him, & just let the power development come naturally. Even if he gets moved, just having a 6'4" kid athletic enough that they're even considering him sticking at SS is music to my ears.

That's one of the things I've noticed about Clarke through his professional career, besides the 3TO tendencies-- he always seems to find ways to drive in runs. Hoping to hear updates on where he's used defensively this fall, if he ever finds himself behind the plate, how he handles himself there & at 1B, etc. Also appreciate the Justin Yaeger updates. Hoping we have a sleeper there, after all his inactivity.

I think he is. But like the old adage, it's often more important who's on the floor at the end. Essegian IMO improved defensively by the end of last season but still has more road to travel in that regard. There's a lot that goes into it including, unfortunately, who was promised what regarding transferring in, or keeping someone from transferring OUT. Unsavory to think about, but a factor. Bottom line, barring the unforseen the starting five will come from a group of six, all of whom will get a lot of minutes.

There have been so many examples of Gard, or Ryan before him, seeing something in a kid as a 9th or 10th grader, before other schools show interest. That was the case with Blackwell. Although his recruitment never "blew up" he's a very nice fit for the UW program.

This team reminds me of some of the better squads they've had in the last 25 years, in that they have a solid amount of game/minutes coming back & potentially 4 or 5 people around 10-13 PPG with another 2 around 8-9 per game. And anyone of the top 5-6 can realistically give you 20 on a given night. The new talent also seems to have an idea on the defensive end as well. My observations re individuals: Blackwell fits the program really well. How McGee settles into his role--and how often they feel the need to go smaller--should dictate how much time he gets this season. But again, a really nice fit. I'm sure there are a lot of people who feel that Carter Gilmores' minutes will shrink to mop-up status now that Yalden & Winter are here. I doubt that. His scoring limitations have been well-documented, but he brings enough other things to the party that Gard appreciates--and that others didn't bring--that he'll still have a role. Having said that, I don't expect him to get the minutes he did last season. Yalden has been a little behind in early workouts but has a unique skillset for a freshman, and Winter has hit the ground running (double-digit rebounds, even though it was an intrasquad scrimmage, really opened some eyes). Good kids I'm sure, but I was surprised both Ilver & Hodges are still here. I have zero problem with it, maybe they're both actually taking academics into account while making a decision. But save for a monumental injury epidemic minutes will probably be scarce. A healthy Wahl is almost certainly one of the top 12-15 players in the league minimum. If Crowl builds on last seasons' finish he may join him. Looking forward to seeing what the slimmed-down version of Hepburn brings. In a perfect world should be more of a facillitator, but one you can't sag off of. My guess is Storr starts, and either Klesmit or Essegian comes off the bench. I do think Klesmit would be excellent at starting a game at Gards' shoulder, observing/talking about what's going on early, then being the 1st sub to enter. But it's a tough call.

Sorry if I gave the wrong impression, but I was referring to '25 recruits. In the current senior class, they've kept in contact with a C from Chicago, Jaden Smith, but I suspect they're pretty much all done there. In the '25 class, they have a commitment from Zack Kinziger, a combo-ish guard from DePere. Other current HS juniors they're recruiting: Daniel Jacobsen 7-2 Brewster Academy (NH) Will Garlock 6-10 Middleton Kai Rogers 6-11 Wauwatosa West Xzavion Mitchell 6-6 Oshkosh North Davion Hannah 6-6 Glendale Nicolet LaTrevion Fenderson 6-5 Racine Prairie IMO I believe they're in a great spot with Garlock & Jacobsen, who is originally from Mt Horeb. Mitchell & Fenderson are pretty wide open but possibilities. Rogers seems to be keeping an open mind, but my gut says landing him is less than likely, Georgetown has recruited him enthusiastically since the get-go. Hope I'm wrong but I feel Hannah will wind up out of state.