Random thoughts: Meyer, QBs and more

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

Urban Meyer and a strong class of area quarterbacks are among this week’s random thoughts.

Urban Meyer and Ohio State

Most people have heard that Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer has been placed on paid leave and the reason why.

When the news broke, I wasn’t convinced that Meyer and Ohio State would separate (be fired, resign, etc.), but now I’m not so sure. Regardless, I’ll bet it doesn’t take long to reach some sort of resolution, be it reinstatement or removal.

Some people think the university’s investigation into this is a sham, but I disagree. It makes sense for OSU to gather as much information as possible before making a decision. In this day and age of “rush to judgement”, it’s the right move to properly investigate.

I do know this – whatever decision is made, a lot of people are going to be unhappy. Pro-Urban fans will claim he was railroaded if he resigns/is removed. If he stays, others will claim the almighty dollar won out over morality.

Fall sports

Practices for all OHSAA sports are underway. What a fun time of year. While much of the focus seems to be on football, let’s not forget there are a lot of other talented athletes participating in volleyball, soccer, cross country, girls tennis and golf.

Our previews of various fall sports are coming later this month.

More to come

Keep your eyes peeled for more information about which features and columns are returning this fall, and what the new additions will be to our sports coverage.

We continue to evolve and expand, and we hope you enjoy what we’ve done and what’s to come.

Year of the quarterback

With an eye on the 2018 high school football season, it seems like the area will be blessed with a number of exciting quarterbacks.

Locally, there’s Crestview’s Drew Kline and Van Wert’s Nate Place, Jared Wurst of Delphos St. John’s, along with Wayne Trace’s Trevor Speice.

A few others that come to mind include Marion Local’s Nathan Bruns, Shawnee’s Johnny Caprella and Kenton’s Jaron Sharp. The Western Buckeye League as a whole could be a quarterback dominated league in 2018.

Old school

While talented signal callers seem to be plentiful this year, don’t look for two WBL schools to change their philosophy anytime soon.

Dating back to his days at Wynford High School, Wapakoneta head coach Travis Moyer has enjoyed much success with a ground oriented attack.

Then there’s St. Marys, with head coach Doug Frye, who has always preferred a ground pounding offense. Last year’s starting quarterback (Colin Clements) through 28 passes during the entire regular season. Some teams throw it 28 times before the third quarter is over. Of course, when you average over 320 yards on the ground at six yards a pop, there really isn’t much need to toss the football much.

In the Northwest Conference, Chris Sommers believes in a potent T-formation ground attack, and why not? His teams have won four straight conference championships, three during his time at Delphos Jefferson and last year at Spencerville.

That’s just one of the joys of high school football – You see a little bit of everything.

NFL

Regardless of what you think of pro football right now, the NFL’s preseason begins tonight in Canton. The annual Hall of Fame Game will feature the Baltimore Ravens and the Chicago Bears.

Don’t look for a barnburner. Both teams will play their starters for a series or two and that’s it.

It seems early, but football season is here.

As always, if you have thoughts on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.