And like a whisker-thin whisper on a storm-soaked wind, it was gone.
* * *
There are many changes coming to the Ohio State offense thanks to Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day. Ironically, however, the one change that nobody is talking about is that one that carries the most weight.
Literally.
With the Ohio State offense moving to an up-tempo attack, the offensive line has had to adjust the way it trains and prepares. They’re slimmer, trimmer, and more mobile than they were in the past.
Perhaps this is the reason why nobody is talking about the Slobs anymore. Or, rather, the name the Slobs. Originally coined by left guard Andrew Norwell back in 2012, the name is no longer as prevalent around the Buckeyes as it has been. Pat Elflein was the last original Slob, and with him off to the NFL now, perhaps the name has gone with him.
“You don’t hear it too much, do you?” senior left tackle Jamarco Jones said. “Not too much.”
So what happened to it?
“I don’t know,” Jones answered.
Why?
“I think we’ve kind of got a new thing going on with our guys right now,” Jones explained. “Slobs was a good nickname. I don’t know. You have to ask Billy (Price) about that one. He’s the old guy.”
Billy Price is the old guy — this is his fifth season as a Buckeye, and Kevin Wilson will be his third offensive coordinator. Price has been able to adapt well throughout his career and he has emerged as a leader for Ohio State. He grew up a Slob, and he may always be a Slob, but due to Wilson’s presence, there are new demands for this offensive line.
“This year instead of doing heavy, heavy weights all the time, we made sure we were leaner,” Price explained. “So lean muscle. Two, cut down on the fat. Then three, making sure that the amount of power your body can produce, your body can handle. Coach Mick and the strength staff did a great job of injury prevention in the long term.”
Not that the Slobs were ever really slobs, but this doesn’t sound like the kind of thing you normally hear offensive linemen talking about. Lean muscle? Up front? Why?
“I’m a heavy squat guy, so I can put whatever I want on the bar and do it for whatever I want, but this year it was making sure that I’m balanced,” he said. “Making sure that I’m balanced and my ligaments and everything are good. That was kind of where our guys look real lean. It’s a whole new perspective going into the training.”
Has it helped with maintaining tempo?
“It’s definitely helped,” he said. “When we were doing offseason conditioning, I was in a better position than I was in the past four years that I’ve been here with my running. And the coaches were all happy about it.”
Sadly, even though the Slobs nickname was fun while it lasted, it just may not fit this new type of Ohio State offensive lineman any longer.
So what name is the offensive line answering to currently?
“We don’t really have a nickname right now,” Jones told the assembled group of reporters.
“You guys try and figure something out for us. Take a little poll and see what we should be called.”
So…any suggestions?