Ohio State line coach Justin Frye needs to land big fish tackle | Oller Second Thoughts
The big fish remains out there and Justin Frye needs to land him, or the Ohio State offensive line coach further risks getting tossed back in the assistant coach waters as a non-keeper.
The Buckeyes are a finalist for five-star David Sanders Jr, the top-ranked offensive tackle in the country. Sign him and Frye bandages his prior recruiting misses. Lose him to the three other schools Sanders has listed – Tennessee, Georgia and Nebraska – and the heat gets turned up on Frye’s recruiting chops, while enthusiasm for OSU’s current No. 1 class cools. Sanders, who has been the Buckeyes’ top target, plans to reveal his decision Aug. 17.
Ryan Day should not be the only OSU coach feeling the pressure entering the 2024 season. Frye’s job performance also needs to be closely monitored, not only for the shaky line play of the past two seasons – where is the development? – but because multiple highly-rated recruits have slipped off the hook since he arrived in January 2022, including five-stars Kadyn Proctor (Alabama) and Brandon Baker (Texas) and four-stars Avery Gach (Michigan) and Micah DeBose (Alabama). In January, the Buckeyes did land four-star Carter Lowe out of Toledo.
More Rob Oller: Cincinnati Reds on the rise; ditto Oregon Ducks recruiting | Oller Second Thoughts
Frye has never signed a player as highly rated as Sanders – OSU has not had a five-star offensive line commit since Donovan Jackson 2021 – making him something of an odd man out on a staff that has been killing it by signing four- and five-stars at other positions.
It may explain why he was one of two assistants, joining offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Brian Hartline, to not have his contract extended after last season. Frye, Hartline and tight ends coach Keenan Bailey also did not receive pay raises. (Hartline signed a three-year contract after getting promoted to OC before last season, so it is not really a surprise that he was not extended). While not unusual for an OSU assistant to enter a season with only one year left on his deal, as is the case with Frye, it feels like a message was sent.
Signing Sanders would mute that message. For Frye, it’s time to fish or cut bait.
Guardians going like gangbusters; Reds? Glug, glug, glug
In this space Friday, I contended the Cincinnati Reds could/would move closer to playoff contention by the July 16 All-Star break. Then they went out and lost three straight to Detroit. Instead of cutting into Milwaukee’s 9½-game lead in the National League Central, the Reds have fallen 10½ back. Somebody get me to rewrite.
The Cleveland Guardians, meanwhile, are either the biggest tease this side of middle school dating or have found the type of rare underdog chemistry that lasts an entire season. The Guards own the second-best record in baseball (56-32), second to Philadelphia (58-32).
Related Cincinnati Reds column: Cincinnati Reds on the rise; ditto Oregon Ducks recruiting | Oller Second Thoughts
It’s hard to explain how smaller-market teams can compete against the Yankees and Dodgers, but I’ll take a crack at it by focusing on the managerial change Cleveland made after Terry Francona retired after last season. The Guardians brought in former MLB catcher Stephen Vogt to run the ship, and the players have responded to the rookie manager.
Love Tito, but Vogt’s experience behind the plate gives him an advantage with knowing how to handle a pitching staff that sometimes eluded Francona. At this point, Vogt is a lock to win American League manager of the year. Can the Guardians sustain their success through the next three months? I think they can. But I also thought the Reds would ride the wave after sweeping the Yankees last week, so proceed with caution.
Listening in
“I don't know if people really understand Bronny. He doesn't care. I actually care a little bit. When I came in (as a rookie), I wanted people to like me, and some of the things that people were saying about me kind of bothered me early on in my career. ... He doesn’t give a … .” – LeBron James, explaining how his son, recently drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, is less of a people pleaser than his old man.
Off-topic
Recently returned from the Kentucky Bourbon Trail with enough stash to supply an Old West saloon. The distillery tours are fun and informative, but a warning for those who go: The whiskey always tastes better on site than at home. There is something about getting caught up in the experience of the moment that convinces the taste buds that even cheap bourbon isn’t that far off from Pappy’s. Then you crack open a bottle on your back deck and wonder what happened.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Oller: Ohio State football recruiting needs elite lineman David Sanders Jr.
