Ohio State’s 2017 Defense and Ribs

Ohio State’s defense appears to be stacked this season. Up front, teams will face Tyquan Lewis, the reigning 2016 B1G defensive lineman of the year with Nick Bosa, Dre’Mont Jones, Tracy Sprinkle, Michael Hill, Sam Hubbard, and Jayln Jones.

Next up, OSU’s linebackers are Jerome Baker and Dante Booker, with Chris Worley. They’ll have to step up to replace Raekwon McMillan, who had 75 tackles last season.

GoForThree has some concerns about the secondary this year. I’ll let him take it away from Monday’s Cocktail Party:

Judging by the spring game, the biggest challenge for the 2017 iteration of the Silver Bullets will be in shoring up the secondary. Not only is Hooker gone, but his exceptionally talented colleagues Gareon Conley (who moved from outside CB to the nickel spot without missing a beat) and Marshon Lattimore will only be seen on Sundays from now on as well.

and

The secondary...well that’s anyone’s guess at this point, aside from lone returning starter Damon Webb at safety. Otherwise, a slew of talent is fighting for spots. Expect to see JuCo transfer Kendall Sheffield roaming the downfield turf this fall.

Question: How do you think OSU’s defense will be this year?

Food: There’s nothing better than Riverfront dining, and three years ago community members trasch_man and B1G & Buckeye Pride pointed out a place that I’d love to check out: Milestone 229, on the banks of the Scioto River. Their pork chop recipe looks amazing:

Braised Short Ribs

cheese tortellini, roasted Ohio corn, cherry heirloom tomatoes, sautéed kale and sage brown butter sauce

Bonus Question: What are the best ribs you’ve ever had or better yet made?

Townie: This front seven for Ohio State will be the best in college football in 2017. Do I need to say more than that? If your quarterback can’t get the ball downfield in a hurry, you better have a qualified backup...

The hands-down best ribs I’ve ever eaten were at the Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa Alabama. These are “wet” ribs, which are my favorite. Served with white bread and a whole roll of paper towels, these are so good you will find yourself licking your fingers.

Aaron: This reminds me of the Penn State defense discussion because I started wondering how often the inexperienced secondary would be tested. However, Ohio State starts out the year with games against Indiana and Oklahoma, two teams that will be looking to exploit the Buckeyes’ weakness with big vertical passes. If Ohio State can survive those two tests, it looks like Penn State is the only big passing game left on the schedule. It will be up to Lewis, Bosa, and company to make quarterbacks Richard Lagow and Baker Mayfield uncomfortable and not allow them to access to game-changing plays. By the time the Penn State game rolls around, at least the new guys in the secondary will have some experience under their belts.

WSR: Elite.

The best ribs I’ve ever had were the ones I made for Homecoming 2 years ago. 6 hours in the smoker delicately caressed with wafting plumes burning cherry wood, gently rubbed with a shitton of rub, mopped with apple juice, and finished by being flame-kissed to perfection on a grill in the Ski-U-Mah lot after being transferred in a cooler wrapped in tinfoil and then a towel. There was bark, there was juicy rib meat inside, and there was absolutely no need for barbecue sauce.