Ohio
Browns' draft picks from Michigan, Ohio State connected by horrific injury in last year's big game
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns selected two players in the NFL draft forever connected by a horrific injury.
In Friday’s third round, the team picked Michigan guard Zak Zinter, who broke his left leg against Ohio State on Nov. 25 when Buckeyes defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr., taken by the Browns in the second round, was accidentally thrown into him.
Zinter, an AP first-team All-American, fractured his tibia and fibula on a play that hushed a crowd of more than 100,000 fans inside Michigan Stadium.
Former rivals, Zinter and Hall are now teammates — already linked by a fateful play.
“Kind of a full-circle moment,” Zinter said on a conference call.
The 6-foot-6, 309-pound Zinter was blocking another Ohio State lineman when Hall was pushed down onto the back of Zinter’s leg. As he lay on the field in pain, Michigan’s team left its sideline to support him and the crowd broke into chants of “Let’s Go Zak!” before Zinter was carted off.
The moment inspired the Wolverines, who scored on the next play, beat Ohio State for the third year in a row and went on to win the school’s first outright national championship since 1948.
Zinter said he has no hard feelings toward Hall. They’ve only talked once while making a team visit together.
“He is a great dude and it’s football stuff that happens when we’re playing in the trenches,” Zinter said. “But I’m fired up and I think everything happens for a reason. Now we’re going to be teammates, so I’m fired up to get there and get to work with him at practice.”
Zinter said his leg has healed nicely, and he feels fortunate he can pursue his dream of playing.
“I’ve been saying all along that this is the best worst-case scenario,” he said. “I mean, it’s just bone. Bone heals easy, way better than ligaments in the knee or the ankle.”
The Browns aren’t worried about Zinter having any lingering effects from the injury.
“We didn’t do a private (workout) or anything like that, but we felt really good about the medical,” general manager Andrew Berry said. “They did send video of him moving around on his own in private workouts, but he’ll be ready to go this spring and there’s really no concern about the leg.”
While it was thrilling to see his teammates finish off an unbeaten season, Zinter said it was difficult not being on the field.
“I decided to come back for my senior year last year to come back with the guys and compete and win a national championship and to go down in my senior night, last game in the Big House against Ohio State, all that kind of stuff,” he said. “It’s definitely bittersweet, but the boys rallied around me and we came out on top.”
Ohio
Why Ohio State is built to ‘wake up and move on’ from a loss before the College Football Playoff
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Breathe in. Breathe out.
The dust has settled on Ohio State football’s last contest: a 13-10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game. Nearly 10 days have passed since the offensive line struggled to hold up, since the offense struggled to convert in the red zone and since the Buckeyes failed to accomplish one of their three major goals.
As is often the case at OSU, a loss is accompanied by anger, questions, concerns and aches.
“Sick to my stomach that we lost,” quarterback Julian Sayin said last week.
Now, after a week centered around College Football Playoff bracket debates and Heisman Trophy celebrations, Ohio State is looking to move on from the defeat in Indianapolis.
It should have little issue doing so.
The Buckeyes were in a similar, albeit more emotional and pressure-packed, situation last year. They entered the CFP off a loss, falling in shocking fashion to rival Michigan.
The final score of that contest: 13-10.
Ohio State went through some rigorous soul-searching, with coach Ryan Day and players having an emotional team meeting in which many on the roster expressed their frustrations with how the regular season ended.
The loss to Indiana isn’t as complicated. It’s simply a loss. However, the Buckeyes have experience flushing defeats before a postseason run.
“You’ve got to wake up and move on,” Day said.
As was the case last season, losing doesn’t diminish something apparent: Ohio State is a good team loaded with talent on its roster.
The Buckeyes are still betting favorites to go back-to-back this season, and statistics show why. They lead the nation in scoring defense and total defense while ranking in the top 25 of both categories on offense.
Ohio State has a slow and methodical approach on offense, but Day has expressed belief in his team’s ability to step on the pedal when appropriate. With Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith at receiver and Sayin under center, that belief shouldn’t falter.
“There’s still a bunch of guys in this room that know we can play with anybody in the country and beat anybody in the country when we’re on our game,” Day said.
The most pressing question left for Ohio State to answer before the CFP relates to offensive coordinator Brian Hartline. The Buckeyes’ play-caller was hired ahead of the Big Ten title game as South Florida’s next head coach.
Hartline called plays against Indiana, according to Day, and the plan is for him to do the same in the CFP. If there are concerns about his ability to balance two jobs, Day has a solution: time
USF announced Hartline’s hiring three days before Ohio State took the field at Lucas Oil Stadium. While also balancing the opening of the early signing period, Day had little opportunity to sit back and determine what was best for his offense.
The Cotton Bowl won’t present those challenges. Two-seeded Ohio State returns to action on Dec. 31 where it’ll meet the winner of No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 10 Miami in Dallas.
By then, Day will have had time to take a breath, assess the situation and determine who will run his offense.
Snow hits downtown Columbus
Snow falls outside the Ohio Theatre as downtown Columbus turns into a winter wonderland.
Columbus City Schools is closing Monday, Dec. 15, after a weekend winter storm dumped more than 5.4 inches of snow on the region and cold temperatures descended.
Following the weekend snowfall, a cold weather advisory was issued for the area, to remain in affect across central Ohio through 11 a.m. Dec. 15.
It was 4 degrees at John Glenn Columbus International Airport at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 14, with a wind chill of 16 degrees below zero.
Late on Dec. 14, CCS posted it would close Dec. 15 “due to inclement weather.” See more school closings at NBC 4 or check back with the Dispatch throughout the morning.
This list will be updated as additional information becomes available. School districts are encouraged to send an email with any delays or closures to newsroom@dispatch.com.
Snow hits downtown Columbus
Snow falls outside the Ohio Theatre as downtown Columbus turns into a winter wonderland.
Now comes the cold.
After nearly 5½ inches of snow fell Dec. 13 in some parts of central Ohio, the National Weather Service says bitterly cold temperatures moving into the region will mean highs in just the single digits.
A cold weather advisory is in affect across central Ohio through 11 a.m. Dec. 15. It was 4 degrees at John Glenn Columbus International Airport at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 14, with a wind chill of 16 degrees below zero.
Temperatures to the west and south are even colder: 1 degree in Springfield, minus-1 in Dayton and minus-3 in Indianapolis. Those temperatures are not expected in the Columbus area, though. The forecast calls for slightly warmer temperatures by evening and highs in the low 20s Dec. 15.
The record cold expected for Dec. 14 — until now, the coldest high temperature in Columbus for this date was 16 degrees in 1917 — follows a day of record snow. The weather service recorded 5.4 inches of snowfall on Dec. 13 at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, topping the prior Dec. 13 record, which was 3.6 inches in 1945.
Level 2 snow emergencies, which means roads are hazardous and people should drive only if they think it’s necessary, remained in effect in Fairfield and Licking counties.
Level 1 snow emergencies are in effect in Delaware, Franklin, Madison, Union and Pickaway counties.
Bob Vitale can be reached at rvitale@dispatch.com.
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