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You may not know this, but the plucky upstart, perpetual underdog Ohio State Buckeyes have been pretty decent at football the last few years. Hard to believe, but they even managed to pull off two squeaker wins over our beloved Scarlet Knights by a combined score of 105-24 in the past two seasons. I think this head coach they hired a few years ago might pan out for them.
Gargantuan understatements aside, our own head coach Chris Ash was a large part of Ohio State's enormous success and national championship run in 2014. He also had a hand in coaching a historic harvest of Buckeyes into the life-altering wealth and fame bestowed upon them last night in the first round of the NFL Draft.
The Buckeyes had 5 players selected in the first round of last night's draft. FIVE. (The record is 6 Miami Hurricanes in 2004).
3 in the first 10 picks.
3 of the 5 were defensive players: Joey Bosa (# 3 to San Diego); Eli Apple (#10 to NYG) and Darron Lee (#20 to NYJ).
And there he was, former Buckeye DC and current Rutgers bossman, Coach Chris Ash, rocking Scarlet in the green room at the NFL Draft in New York last night. And tweeting about it.
As always with this coaching staff, the social media game was on point. Coach Ash knows how to work it on Twitter like a pro.
Lots of excitement on the Red carpet as the Draft approaches. Looking forward to seeing former players picked. pic.twitter.com/ANcnghKdeP
— Chris Ash (@CoachChrisAsh) April 28, 2016
Love Joey's new haircut. Looking sharp for his big night. pic.twitter.com/JHPLbgTgPs
— Chris Ash (@CoachChrisAsh) April 28, 2016
Zeke looking sharp. pic.twitter.com/vSPTJRHhDF
— Chris Ash (@CoachChrisAsh) April 28, 2016
Very proud Eli. Grinded hard to get here tonight. pic.twitter.com/5U88o49Kx2
— Chris Ash (@CoachChrisAsh) April 28, 2016
Great hanging with these guys tonight. pic.twitter.com/MHf5ZL8RGL
— Chris Ash (@CoachChrisAsh) April 29, 2016
Another great moment tonight. Congrats to Eli and his family. pic.twitter.com/ll7bKU7fS0
— Chris Ash (@CoachChrisAsh) April 29, 2016
Another one coming to NJ. pic.twitter.com/QTMWzmmFYr
— Chris Ash (@CoachChrisAsh) April 29, 2016
This was a big night for those Buckeyes, and Coach Ash was justifiably proud of his guys. And he undoubtedly capitalized on this night to help RU. Recruits had to be impressed to see Coach Ash up there right in the middle of the excitement.
Can you imagine a young man receiving a text from Coach Ash along the lines of "Hey [insert defensive recruit here] -- Did you catch Apple, Bosa and Lee up there with the commish? I did that. And I want you to do it here. See you Saturday at the BBQ on campus after Rivals camp. Wait until I show you the other pics I took with those guys at the draft"
Good for Ash for celebrating with his guys and for using the opportunity to kill it on social media - he even wore the right color tie! And a begrudging "GO BUCKS" to our division-mates/bullies. Well done, on behalf of the B1G - now go help our Giants and Jets!