What I Know, What I Think, What I Wonder — Minnesota Week Edition

I know that Senior Day is going to be an emotional moment for a number of Buckeyes. Fortunately for Josh Proctor, he’s been through it before, so he’ll know what to expect. That being said, finally playing your best ball after six years and now saying goodbye, it’s going to be an incredible experience for him and his family. Last year, he walked on Senior Day after five years of frustration. This year he walks after a sixth year of fruition.

I think Cody Simon sees a starting spot in the middle next year and that’s going to be difficult to walk away from. His career could end up pretty interesting. The Grover Cleveland of OSU middle linebackers. Started in 2021, then lost the job for two years, and was re-elected in 2024.

I wonder who would be the William Henry Harrison of Buckeye middle linebackers? Chris Worley?

I know that you couldn’t have two more unique paths to Senior Day than you are going to get from Julian Fleming and Xavier Johnson. I asked Brian Hartline if Fleming was going to walk, and he said the advice to the team is that if you are thinking of leaving, then walk on Senior Day because it’s not binding. Whereas you can’t get it back if you don’t do it.

I think if you are going to hire somebody full time to be a sign stealer while calling him a recruiting analyst, it sure looks like you’re stashing him somewhere in a deceptive manner. I just don’t understand how you hire somebody to do a job without knowing how they’re going to do it. Clearly, he was good at it before being hired full time. Was there never a time when an assistant or the head coach asked for a peek behind the curtain? There’s a reason why people ask magicians, “How did you do that?!?” And then the magician answers, “Magic!”

I wonder if Michigan would hire somebody to do this job without having him demonstrate how he gets this information. Saying “TV copy and All-22” shouldn’t actually cut it because every coach has watched games on television and all-22 and they know that the information provided by those two avenues is only a portion of the information. Would UM make this hire if they’re only getting a portion of the information?

To read the rest of this extended edition of What I Know, What I Think, What I Wonder, you can click here, but you must be a premium subscriber. Additional topics include more on Senior Day decisions, the different paths of Julian Fleming and Xavier Johnson, the budding star of the OSU coaching staff, Sonny Styles’ usage at strong safety, the ongoing Michigan cheating scandal, the plausible deniability of Jim Harbaugh, and more.

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