Day was a graduate assistant at Florida in 2005 and his experience coaching under Chip Kelly, who is a great offensive mind and friend of Urban Meyer's, probably made him a more attractive candidate.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tim Beck's decision to take a job with Tom Herman at Texas was revealed on Tuesday morning and the Buckeyes quickly found a replacement.

Ohio State confirmed that Ryan Day, the former quarterbacks coach with the San Francisco 49ers, has been hired to replace Beck as the Buckeyes' quarterbacks coach. The hire is pending the completion of a background check.

In the release, Ohio State said Beck is quote, "pursuing other opportunities." According to multiple reports now, Beck will be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas. 

FOX Sports' Bruce Feldman reported the Day hire earlier Tuesday morning, adding that Day would also have a coordinator role. Ohio State's release on the hire said only that Day would serve as the quarterbacks coach. 

BREAKING - Former #49ers QB coach (and ex #BC OC) Ryan Day is expected to join #OhioState's staff as a coordinator/QB coach.

-- Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 3, 2017

Day was a graduate assistant at Florida in 2005 under Urban Meyer, and has worked closely with Chip Kelly, who is a close friend of Meyer's. Day played quarterback at New Hampshire for three years with Kelly serving as his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Before coaching with Kelly in San Francisco, Day coached quarterbacks under Kelly with the Philadelphia Eagles. He also served as the offensive coordinator at Temple (2012) and quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Boston College (2013-14), both under former Meyer assistant Steve Addazio.

Day's 15-year coaching career also includes a stint as a graduate assistant at New Hampshire. 

Co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck left for Texas and was replaced by San Francisco 49ers assistant Ryan Day. What does that mean for Ohio State?

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State offensive coordinator Ed Warinner will remain on Ohio State's football staff next season, a source close to the program told cleveland.com.

His role, however, remains unclear.  

There were some shakeups to Ohio State's offensive staff on Tuesday morning after co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck left for Texas and was replaced by San Francisco 49ers assistant Ryan Day. 

There were also reports flying around the Internet that Ohio State was going to hire former Indiana assistant Kevin Wilson, which, if still true, would have put some doubt on Warinner's status with the team, or at least his job as the offensive coordinator. 

Warinner became a head-coaching candidate in December and led Ohio State's offense to some prolific numbers during the regular season, but after the Buckeyes were shut out against Clemson in the College Football Playoff, Urban Meyer said he was going to take a hard look at what may have gone wrong. 

Ohio State could have options now that the NCAA will vote on permitted college head coaches to have 10 full-time assistants on their staffs in April. 

Warinner, at the very least, is one of the best offensive line coaches in college football and he has tremendous value. Even if Meyer wanted to add another offensive assistant -- like Wilson? -- Meyer could juggle his staff around to ensure Warinner was still on it. 

Not every decision haunts a Cleveland franchise and its fan base for years. Some pan out. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There's a laundry list of decisions made by Cleveland coaches or front-office executives that is burned into the mind of every sports fan in town.

Trades or non-trades have been critiqued.

Should the Indians have traded Jaret Wright for an established ace? Will the Browns ever keep their first-round pick instead of trading down?

Pitching changes or non-changes have been questioned.

What if Mike Jackson had stayed in for the ninth on that late October night in south Florida?

Draft choices have left many scratching their heads.

Why isn't Julio Jones in brown and orange? DeSagana Diop? Christian Eyenga? Michael Aubrey? Really? 

Not every decision haunts a Cleveland franchise and its fan base for years. Some pan out. 

In 2016, a sequence of decisions made by the Cavaliers' front office and coaching staff fueled the city's first major professional championship in 52 years. It started with the firing of David Blatt and the promotion of Tyronn Lue. It continued with the acquisition of Channing Frye and the implementation of a small-ball lineup, which featured Kevin Love at center. 

Nominees for Impact Decision of the Year

The Indians made a series of astute choices as well. First, the front-office tandem of Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff opted to keep the pitching staff intact, rather than deal Danny Salazar or Carlos Carrasco for a muscular figure with an imposing piece of lumber. When the club reached Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, and with that pitching staff hobbling toward the finish line, manager Terry Francona turned to unproven rookie left-hander Ryan Merritt to take the hill. The 24-year-old Texan had 11 big-league innings to his name, but he held Toronto's potent offense scoreless across 4 1/3 frames, as the Tribe advanced to the World Series.

The most effective decision (based on the voting from cleveland.com readers) might have been Francona's use of Andrew Miller, the slider-slinging southpaw acquired from the Yankees over the summer. Miller logged 19 1/3 innings during the postseason. He blanked the opposition for the first 15 frames. He entered as early as the fifth inning, despite previous experience as a closer. 

Bullpen roles were made to be broken with Andrew Miller

In the video above, Zack Meisel and Bud Shaw reviewed the nominees and unveiled the winner of the Impact Decision of the Year -- an impact decision made by you, the readers.

'Best Moment' of 2016 was a tough call, tough shot

cleveland.com sports awards: Welcome to the red carpet

According to a report, Beck is leaving Ohio State for Texas. Here are some coaches who could replace him.

Conley was a two-year starter at cornerback for the Buckeyes.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Half of Ohio State's uber-talented 2016 secondary is officially making the jump to the next level. 

Cornerback Gareon Conley, a fourth-year junior, announced on Tuesday that he's forgoing a fifth year and entering the 2017 NFL Draft. Conley was a two-year starters at Ohio State. He announced his decision on his personal Instagram account. 

Here's what Conley wrote on Instagram:

"Mannnnn it's been a wonderful journey from recruiting to playing in the shoe. I feel like the past four years have really expanded and opened my mind and made me grow as a student an athlete and a man! It's been an honor to play as a buckeye and a silver bullet and also to be apart of the great secondary this past year! I wanna thank everyone from family to friends to buckeye nation for all the love and support it's a tremendous blessing to have played for yall. Most importantly I wanna thanks all my team mates who I was in the trenches with and through thick and thin I love y'all boys and y'all my brothas for life once a buckeye always a buckeye!

"I have decided to declare for the 2017 NFL draft. I wanna thank God cause I didn't earn any of this he blessed me and I took advantage of the blessings and I'm just glorifying him. Thanks again buckeye nation."

Conley is projected as the No. 30 overall pick in the first round of this spring's NFL Draft by Bleacher Report's Matt Miller. 

If that happens, he'd be the second-straight Ohio State corner selected in the first round after Eli Apple went No. 10 last year. Corner Marshon Lattimore is expected to declare for the draft, and also has a great shot at being a first-round pick.

Whatever happens, Conley will get drafted, as will Lattimore if he declares. That will continue a cornerback assembly line to the NFL started in the 2014 draft with Bradley Roby. 

Conley is the second Buckeye to announce his intentions to leave early. Safety Malik Hooker announced his move to the pros on Monday. 

This season, Conley played both outside and slot corner for the Buckeyes, finishing with 26 tackles, four interceptions and eight pass breakups. He was named second-team All-Big Ten by the conference coaches this season.

"You want guys that can play inside or outside," CBS Sports draft analyst Dane Brugler told cleveland.com about Conley. "I think he's played better outside. The fact that he's played inside and showed he can do it fairly effectively, that's only going to help at the next level ... To hang with slot guys, you have to have good change of direction and be a quick thinker. I think he's shown that this year, that he can hold up with inside receivers." 

Mannnnn it's been a wonderful journey from recruiting to playing in the shoe. I feel like the past four years have really expanded and opened my mind and made me grow as a student an athlete and a man! It's been an honor to play as a buckeye and a silver bullet and also to be apart of the great secondary this past year! I wanna thank everyone from family to friends to buckeye nation for all the love and support it's a tremendous blessing to have played for yall. Most importantly I wanna thanks all my team mates who I was in the trenches with and through thick and thin I love y'all boys and y'all my brothas for life once a buckeye always a buckeye! I have decided to declare for the 2017 NFL draft. I wanna thank God cause I didn't earn any of this he blessed me and I took advantage of the blessings and I'm just glorifying him. Thanks again buckeye nation #HowSheGoneEat #BIA #silverbullets #tbc ...[?]

A photo posted by Ocho[?] (@_gconley8) on Jan 3, 2017 at 10:29am PST

Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam apologized to season ticket members and thanked them for their support in a letter Tuesday.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam apologized to season ticket members in a letter Tuesday, saying "you certainly deserve better than a 1-15 team."

The record is the worst in Browns' franchise history.

They also thanked fans for their support and promised they'll do everything possible to deliver a winning team.

"Clearly this season has been a painful part of our rebuilding process,'' they wrote. "You deserve the best. ... We're sorry that our results have not been better.''

Jimmy Haslam met with the media after Sunday's 27-24 overtime loss to the Steelers, asserting 'we have the right people in place.' He said he won't be adding to the front office and that he couldn't be happier with the job Hue Jackson has done.

The Browns have the No. 1 and No. 12 picks in this draft.

"We understand the critical nature of this upcoming off-season as we continue to improve our roster.''

Here is an example of the letter: 

Jimmy and Dee Haslam apologized to ticket holders in a letter for the 1-15 season. Mary Kay Cabot/cleveland.com

Tim Beck's time at Ohio State will be looked at with mixed feelings, but he brought some great talent to the Buckeyes.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When Tim Beck's decision to leave Ohio State for Texas was announced on Tuesday morning, it was met with some mixed feelings. 

Many fans were glad to see him go. That's because Beck's role in the development of Ohio State's quarterbacks -- mostly J.T. Barrett -- has widely been viewed as subpar. That view is probably accurate. Changes are made for a reason. 

But Beck did do some good at Ohio State, especially in recruiting. Though he'll be in Austin next year and presumably for the years to come, his fingerprint will be all over the immediate future -- and projected success -- of Ohio State's football program. 

Why? He brought in some major talent: 

* Four-star QB Dwayne Haskins of Potomac (Md.) The Bullis School (2016): For a while it seemed as if Ohio State was going to go in a different direction in 2016 when it had a commitment from Texas athlete Tristan Wallace, who Beck also recruited. But when Wallace decided he wanted to be a wide receiver at Oregon, Beck helped the Buckeyes get a slam dunk in Haskins. Though Haskins redshirted this year, he's expected to be a major part of Ohio State's future after an impressive year running the scout team. 

* Four-star QB Tate Martell of Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman (2017): Though Beck's recruiting territory was mainly Texas, he dipped into Nevada and closed the deal with Martell after receivers coach Zach Smith opened the door. Martell is enrolling early next week and is rated the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the 2017 class. 

* Five-star LB Baron Browning of Kennedale, Texas (2017): Rated the No. 2 outside linebacker in the 2017 class, Browning is so athletic that he played cornerback when his high school team was facing athletic receivers. Beck was most known for bringing quarterbacks, but Browning is the type of prospect people are already penciling in as an NFL Draft pick.

* Five-star QB Emory Jones of Franklin (Ga.) Heard County (2018): You'd think the logjam at quarterback would make it hard to bring in elite signal caller in 2018, but Beck had no trouble. The Buckeyes hosted Jones, the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback, this summer and locked him up as a commitment shortly after. Though Haskins and Martell and Joe Burrow will be ahead on the depth chart when he arrives, he's considered a can't-miss prospect. 

Ohio State replaced Beck with former San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach Ryan Day -- who also has college experience coaching at Boston College and Temple -- but the Buckeyes will have to find somebody to get the job done recruiting Texas.

Beck, like Tom Herman before him, was a major player in the Lone Star State. Now Beck and Herman are leading the biggest program in Texas together. 

Day was hired to replace Tim Beck as Ohio State's new quarterbacks coach. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State didn't get Chip Kelly, but maybe the Buckeyes got close. 

The team announced on Tuesday that it has hired Ryan Day as its new quarterbacks coach, pending a background check. Day replaces Tim Beck, who will become the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas.

Day has worked closely with Kelly, the former Oregon head coach and offensive innovator, throughout his career. Day was Kelly's quarterbacks coach with the San Francisco 49ers this past season, and held the same position on Kelly's staff with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015. 

In those two stops, Day helped run a fast-paced offensive system that's run-oriented when it's going at its best. Day also played for Kelly as a quarterback at New Hampshire when Kelly was the offensive coordinator and in the early stages of developing the up-tempo spread that blossomed at Oregon.

In his two most successful seasons as a college coordinator, Day produced the nation's leading rusher and 1,000-yard rushing quarterback at Boston College. 

Want to learn some more about Day? Watch the video here. 

Bill Fishleigh, who has previous coaching experience as Case Western Reserve, Perry and Avon, also served as an assistant principal at Amherst.

AMHERST, Ohio – Bill Fishleigh has stepped down after three seasons as Amherst football coach, according to a release from the school.

The Comets were 5-25 in his tenure and finished 3-7 in 2016.

Fishleigh, who has previous coaching experience as Case Western Reserve, Perry and Avon, also served as an assistant principal at Amherst. He resigned from that position, too, according to the release, and accepted a position at another district.

“We would like to thank Bill for all he has done for our program over the last three seasons,” athletic director Casey Wolf said. “We wish him the best of luck as he moves on to his new position.”

Wolf said the school is immediately beginning its search for a new coach.

The Cavs have managed just fine without J.R. Smith, but that doesn't change his value to Cleveland nor the team's roster needs. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- J.R. Smith's right thumb has been in a cast for seven games now, and so far the Cavs have survived without him.

Cleveland is 6-1 since it was announced Smith would need surgery on his fractured right thumb, which in turn may take up to three months to heal. Five of the games have been at home.

The record is 7-1 if you count the game in which he got hurt, a 114-108 win over Milwaukee in overtime on Dec. 20 in which Smith went down just before halftime.

The Cavs' scoring has dipped in his absence, but just barely. They're averaging 110.3 points per game for the season and 109.4 ppg since Smith was injured.

This isn't to say the Cavs are either better off without Smith or unaffected by his injury. He can be a deadly spot-up shooter and, when healthy, is an excellent on-ball defender who played a key role in beating the Warriors in the Finals.

Nor does Cleveland's success over the past two weeks mean that general manager David Griffin no longer needs to make one or multiple trades to shore up the middle and back end of the roster. He does and he most probably will. The Cavs have a $9.4 million trade exception, a potential asset in Cedi Osman (who's playing in Turkey), and two contracts they need to unload belonging to Mo Williams and Chris Andersen.

Their primary objective remains a backup point guard, who could in turn affect how the Cavs cope without Smith because Iman Shumpert would be freed from that responsibility. The team is looking for potential free agents too, even players who haven't hit the market yet, and is likely keeping an eye on what the Chicago Bulls do with Rajon Rondo, who appears to have fallen out of favor with coach Fred Hoiberg.

The Bulls play in Cleveland Wednesday at 8 p.m.

None of that has changed for the Cavs, who have nevertheless gotten by without Smith in the short term, a task made even more difficult by Kyrie Irving's tight hamstring, which has cost him two games.

"Everybody is different," James said recently. "Like I said when J.R. got hurt, you can't make up for what J.R. did. Everybody's gotta do more of what they capable of doing."

Ty Lue to Felder: Don't look at me

Smith was averaging 8.6 percent and shooting 36.2 percent from 3-point range -- testaments to his struggles when he was on the court. As it stands, there are eight Cavs shooting a higher percentage beyond the arc.

Coming into this year, he was averaging better than 12.5 points and shooting about 40 percent from deep in his first two seasons with the Cavs. But Smith had been heating up before the thumb injury, shooting 14-of-28 from 3-point range over his last five games.

No surprise, but James has taken more shots and scored more points with Smith gone. James is averaging 26.7 ppg in Smith's absence, above his season average of 25.6 ppg. He's taking three more shots per game.

Richard Jefferson, the 36-year-old veteran, is scoring 2.1 more points per night, averaging 7.4 points since Smith's been out. Jefferson was off to a slow start and has picked it up noticeably. He's registered three games with at least 10 points, and scored six crucial points in the fourth quarter of Cleveland's win over Golden State on Christmas.

Tristan Thompson's also scoring 1.5 points more per game since Smith's injury on about one extra shot.

There's been no discernable difference Irving's scoring, but he dished out at least 10 assists in four of the five games he's played since Smith's injury, and the other game he reached eight assists.

Kevin Love's actually scoring about 1.5 points fewer than his season average of 21.8 ppg, but he was limited to 24 minutes and 12 points (on 5-of-19 shooting) Monday by food poisoning. In a small sample size, one game can make a huge difference.

Also stepping into the void have been rookie Kay Felder and seldom-used Jordan McRae. Felder's been hot the last two games and is averaging 3.6 more points over the past seven games. McRae's scoring 4.1 more points than he was, but his average is skewed largely by the 20-point outburst he enjoyed Saturday in Charlotte, starting in Irving's place.

DeAndre Liggins has started every game for Smith, and his scoring output (3.1 ppg over the last seven games vs. 3.0 ppg for the entire season) is stagnant. The Cavs have asked Liggins to defend, often switching onto the opponent's point guard, like Smith used to.

The Cleveland Browns know they don't have the answer at quarterback. The bigger question is how they'll amend the process that brought them RG3 and Cody Kessler.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Browns were not going to use a season-ending press conference to publicly dismiss Robert Griffin III and Cody Kessler as possible answers to their quarterback problem.

So there's no reason to parse their suggestions that a franchise quarterback could possibly emerge from the current depth chart. Trust your eyes on that one.

Sashi Brown says the Browns will rely heavily on Hue Jackson, which makes sense. Right? Brown said Jackson knows how to identify and develop QBs, and he knows what works for his system. 

OK.

Then how did the Browns end up with two QBs of such opposite skill sets in Hue Jackson's first year: the mobile, strong-armed, inaccurate RG3 and the more pocket-comfortable, accurate, smaller-armed Kessler?

The common bond: neither qualifies as big or sturdy.

However this organization arrived at that tandem is a decision in need of review. Since they'll presumably be shopping all over again, at least as much review or more than when they decided they were better off without Carson Wentz. 

* While chief strategist Paul DePodesta argued that the Browns might have the answer to their quarterback issues currently on the roster, Jackson said at one point Monday, "Maybe we don't."

That's going way out on a pretty sturdy limb.

* Linebacker Jamie Collins says he's interested in re-signing with the 1-15 Browns after being traded from a New England team that finished 14-2.

Sure. Dying to, I'll bet.

* Collins offered the caveat "if the money is right." Leaving out the part where he says, "meaning, if they want to make me as rich as the Sultan of Brunei, I'm here."

* If the Browns were trying to lose in Pittsburgh to guarantee the No. 1 overall pick - and they were not, repeat they were not - they would've done something ridiculous.

Like losing the ball three times at the Steelers' goal line.

* The Buffalo Bills joined the ranks of teams looking for a head coach after firing Rex Ryan. Owner Terry Pegula issued a five-sentence statement but hasn't answered questions about the decision.

GM Doug Whaley did. Sort of. Whaley told reporters Monday that he speaks for ownership. Or not, since he said he had no idea why Ryan was fired and didn't ask.

Bills fans no doubt appreciate him clearing that up.

* Speculation is Ryan asked Pegula about his job security after this season. The two talked via phone, after which Pegula announced Ryan's firing.

Demanding a decision about next season during a current season is known as a Charlie Manuel.

* Bengals cornerback Adam Jones faces charges after allegedly pushing a security guard and poking him in the eye. Wait. There's more. Law enforcement officials allege Jones kicked and head-butted an officer and spit on the hand of a nurse.

Jones denies all the charges. His lawyer says witnesses will back him up.

In the meantime, this is the same Adam Jones who pretended to search for Terrelle Pryor in a trash can following a win over the Browns to make the point that Pryor was "garbage."

Classy.

* Pryor says he wants to play in Cleveland, that he likes it here, thinks Browns fans are the best and loves Hue Jackson.

Somehow Pryor saying the "deal would have to be good for both sides" gives people pause to wonder about his commitment? Really? Like he should be willing to take a deal that wouldn't be good for his side?

Because he should be beholding to a Browns organization that cut him a year ago?

* Not sure what Jimmy Haslam meant when he said the Browns needed to be "appropriately aggressive" in free agency. But that beats the alternative: inappropriately passive.

When you're as far under the cap as the Browns are and you have so many holes to fill, procuring talent via every means possible is really the least an owner with Haslam's record can do.

Apologizing to season ticket holders in a letter as the Haslams did Tuesday is just a first step.

* I watched Isaiah Crowell walk down a long hallway to the visiting locker room at Heinz Field after Sunday's overtime loss. He pulled at a piece of tape on his wrist and kept shaking his head slowly side to side.

Hard to tell if he was beating himself up for his fumble or wondering why after rushing for 152 yards he didn't get the ball at the 2-yard line in OT.

Or both.

* LeBron James turned 32 late last week. Watch him closely now. And never fail to appreciate him.

He probably only has 20 good years left.

* Steelers defensive back Mike Mitchell reacted loudly to a facemask penalty called on him while tackling the Browns' Corey Coleman Sunday.

The replay showed Coleman grabbed Mitchell's facemask, too.

"Please look at it, sir," Mitchell screamed at the refs. "Please look at it."

Then he said, "Oh my goodness gracious. Goodness gracious."

My guess is Mike Mitchell spent a lot of time as a kid watching Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

* Niners owner Jed York says he is looking for his next GM and head coach to be in harmony and work well together after determining Chip Kelly and GM Trent Baalke operated at cross purposes.

The Niners cleaned house after a 2-14 season. ESPN reports they have asked to interview New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and player personnel man Nick Caserio, who obviously already have a working relationship.

What are the chances that working relationship is at least as strong as the bond between two other Bill Belichick disciples, Eric Mangini and George Kokinis?

* Now we hear Chip Kelly wanted the Niners to draft Dak Prescott. After Mike Pettine was fired we heard he preferred Derek Carr in the draft.

When I'm retired, I want you to keep in mind the completely unverifiable fact that I always thought Joe Montana would be a Hall of Famer.

Tom Brady, too.

Stan Drayton is headed back to college. Multiple reports indicate Tom Herman hired him away from the Chicago Bears to be Texas' running backs coach. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tuesday morning began with the news that Tom Herman was hiring Ohio State quarterbacks coach Tom Herman to be the Longhorns' offensive coordinator. 

Herman apparently isn't done hiring former Buckeye assistants. 

Later in the afternoon, multiple reports indicated that Herman was bringing former Buckeyes running backs coach Stan Drayton -- who oversaw Ezekiel Elliott's early development -- to Texas. 

Drayton coached Ohio State's wide receivers in 2011 and then went on to coach the running backs the following two seasons after that. He left with some controversy because he brought Mike Weber to the Buckeyes only to leave a day after National Signing Day. Drayton left to coach running backs for the Chicago Bears, which is where he was until taking the Texas job. 

So including Herman, Texas is going to have three former Ohio State assistants running the offense. 

Could they also recruit Ohio? 

Yes. 

Will they try? 

We'll see. 

Ohio State is very similar to Texas and Urban Meyer has done a fantastic job with his recruiting strategy: Take all the top prospects in Ohio, then branch out to fill in the gaps nationally.

A big part of that strategy is recruiting Texas, where the Buckeyes have two huge commitments in their 2017 class in five-star linebacker Baron Browning of Kennedale, Texas -- the highest-rated player in the class -- and four-star running back JK Dobbins of Le Grange, Texas. 

Meyer and Ohio State are both national brands, which makes recruiting nationally possible. Meyer also had two really good assistants with Texas ties recruiting that area, too, in Beck and Herman. 

Texas could reverse the trend. 

Though Texas has been down and Herman is in his first year there, the Longhorns have as good of a national brand as any program in college football. And given there's such a solid presence of coaches on Herman's staff with names that carry weight in Ohio, maybe Texas will return the favor and show up in the Buckeye State. 

No program has come in and challenged Ohio State consistently for top-rated Ohio kids more than Notre Dame, but even the Irish's success has been based off ties to private Catholic schools. Alabama, Michigan and others have stopped in occasionally, but nobody has taken top-rated Ohioans from Meyer. Nobody. 

Texas did get a major prospect out of Ohio once in Jordan Hicks, a former five-star prospect and No. 1-rated outside linebacker from West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West. But that was in the 2010 recruiting class when Jim Tressel was a head coach. 

Ohio State's unique recruiting advantage

Could Texas recruit Ohio consistently and successfully? In theory. 

You'd think that if Ohio State can recruit Texas than should be able to recruit Ohio, but the landscapes of the states are completely different. 

Though they are similarly talented states, the connection between Ohio prospects and Ohio State is strong. It's one of the biggest recruiting advantages in college football and why the Buckeyes will always bring in top-rated classes. 

In Texas, there are multiple big-time, in-state programs that also recruit the state. That connection between Texas prospects and the Longhorns is there, it's just not as cut and dry. 

So will Texas become a player in Ohio?

It's possible. But probably not. 

Hue Jackson and his staff will coach the Senior Bowl's south team, the Senior Bowl announced today.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns will get a jump on plans for their No. 1 and No. 12 overall picks in the draft when they coach the Reese's Senior Bowl later this month.

The Browns and Bears staffs have been selected to coach the college all-star game Jan. 28th in Mobile, Ala. with the Browns coaching the South team and the Bears, the North.

In addition to the No. 1 and No. 12 overall picks, the Browns have five picks in the top 65. Traditionally, teams with the worst records are invited to coach the game. The Browns finished 1-15, the worst record in franchise history.

On Monday, Jackson said "I'll jump. I'm there'' if asked to coach.

"I'm excited about coaching the Senior Bowl," Jackson said Tuesday in a release. "They really do an outstanding job of getting great players to participate in the game. Obviously, this can be really beneficial to our organization by spending a week coaching some of the best players in college football while we are preparing for the draft.

"I always say coaching is all about teaching and putting players in the best environment to succeed. I really look at this as an opportunity to help these young men be at their best during a week in which they get to showcase their talents to the entire National Football League."

Former Browns general manager Phil Savage, executive director of the Senior Bowl, believes it's a great opportunity to interact with the top prospects.

"Jackson has a sterling reputation as an innovative offensive mind and is motivated to turn the Browns around," Savage said. "So, this is an ideal situation for Cleveland to get a head start on the 2017 NFL Draft. He and his staff will do a great job with these all-star prospects. "

The last time the Browns coached the Reese's Senior Bowl was in 1993, when Bill Belichick was head coach and Savage was a defensive assistant. Forrest Gregg led the Browns staff in 1977 and former Browns coach Paul Brown coached in the game eight straight years (1952-1959). The Browns have a 7-3 record when coaching in the Senior Bowl.

"The Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears represent two of the NFL's flagship franchises when it comes to tradition and history," said Savage. "We are proud to have them lead this year's North and South teams."

Hue Jackson will have 'a ton' of say in finding the franchise QB

The Bears finished 3-13 this season and will pick third in the draft. The Bears have coached in the Reese's Senior Bowl three times, going 2-1 in those games.

 "We're excited for this opportunity to get a hands-on look at some of the top draft-eligible players in the nation," Bears head coach John Fox said in the release.  "The Senior Bowl experience will provide our coaches and personnel staff an extended chance to evaluate these players in a one-on-one setting which could prove to be very valuable as we approach the NFL Draft. It's a great opportunity to spend some extra time with these guys and see how they respond to our staff."

Players will practice three straight days, from January 24th through January 26th. They'll have a day off before the game on Saturday.

Last year, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, who coached the Senior Bowl North team, spent time with South team quarterback Dak Prescott before the game and was impressed. He was named MVP of the game completing 7-of-10 attempts for 61 yards and a TD in the South's 27-16 victory.

"We got such great feedback from the coaches who had worked with him all week long at the Senior Bowl, and that's really what we felt when we had a chance to visit with him," Garrett said via ESPN. "It's the same feedback that we got from his coaches down at Mississippi State, same feedback we got when Wade Wilson went down there, the experience we had with him at the combine and also at Valley Ranch.''

Garrett, who spent the week coaching eventual No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz, found coaching the Senior Bowl to be a valuable experience.

"We love it,'' he told the Forth Worth Star-Telegram. "It's a great opportunity and our coaches have really taken advantage of this chance to get to know these guys and we're coaching football," Garrett said. "It's always fun for us to coach. We can always get better at what we do.

"A big part of coaching is being out here together, working together, coaching the players hard, holding them to a standard and we can always improve on our skills. Our ability to communicate, our ability to work together ... when you get a chance to work with these guys, the best college players in the country, guys who can have a big impact on a football team, is a great opportunity."

The Cleveland Browns have the first pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and are in need of a quarterback. But is there a quarterback worthy of the top pick? Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- What did you expect? The year the Cleveland Browns have the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, there is no consensus top quarterback.

What should the Browns do?

Clemson's DeShaun Watson and Mitch Trubisky of North Carolina by way of Mentor High School are the top quarterbacks being mentioned.

I confess to being confused on who is better, and what the Browns should do.

We talk about it in this video.

Alabama eked out a 45-40 victory over Clemson at last year's championship game, but who will come out on top this year?

No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Clemson will meet at Raymond James Stadium on Monday, Jan. 9, for the first-ever national title rematch of the modern BCS playoff era. The Clemson Tigers (13-1) absolutely dominated Ohio State at the Fiesta Bowl in a 31-0 shutout. The Alabama Crimson Tide (14-0) crushed Washington 24-7 at the Peach Bowl. Alabama eked out a 45-40 victory over Clemson at last year's championship game ... but who will come out on top this year?

PERSPECTIVES

Although still a far cry from a proper football playoff, the BCS playoff format still produced the best possible scenario for the national championship. You won't find many people who will say there is a team more-deserving than either Alabama or Clemson of a championship berth.

There is little question that, this season, the two best playoff contenders have advanced to the final.

The Crimson Tide will try to become the first college team to go 15-0 -- a mark that Clemson barely missed last season. Coach Nick Saban is chasing some personal history with a chance to tie the record set by his predecessor, Bear Bryant, by earning a sixth national championship.

For Clemson, the stakes are equally high if a little different. The Tigers, who last won it all in 1981, hope to claim what they see as their rightful place in college football.

"Sooner or later people are going to realize," Swinney said from the trophy stage at the Fiesta Bowl. "Clemson is an elite program."

Clemson opens the title game as an underdog out for revenge. That makes the team dangerous. Here are 5 reasons why Clemson will beat Alabama to win the 2017 CFP National Championship:

1. The Tigers are looking to avenge last year's loss in the National Championship Game
2. Deshaun Watson is the quarterback built to give Alabama's defense the most trouble
3. Clemson features the best collection of talent and scheme Nick Saban's defense faced in 2016
4. Tigers have the talent and overall depth to win the battle on the defensive line
5. Clemson has two of the nation's best players at their respective positions in the back seven

Alabama is on a mission and opens up as a 7-point favorite. Nick Saban is one of the greatest college coaches of all-time and looking to cement a legacy that will be chiseled in champion's marble. Here are 5 reasons why Alabama will beat Clemson to win the 2017 CFP National Championship:

1. There's been an distance from the rest of the competition all season for a reason
2. Many of these guys are pros in college pads
3. Jalen Hurts got better through the year, and he's had 15 more practices to get ready
4. No offense needed, though
5. Arguably the greatest coach in college football history is on the sideline

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It is easy to say the Cleveland Browns should add a "football person'' to the analytics-based front office. It is not easy to say it would work seamlessly.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- OneUp Sports called to ask about where the 1-15 Cleveland Browns go from here.

Among the questions I attempted to answer: Should a "football person'' be added to the analytics-based front office; and, what should be done with quarterback Robert Griffin III.

This move is a start, but it shouldn't be the end. It was clear Beck was never the right guy for the Buckeyes. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tim Beck is out at Ohio State when he never should have been in. 

Now we have more proof of how even in a powerhouse college football program with an all-time great coach, assistant coaches make a huge difference.

This was a miss from the get-go, from the moment Urban Meyer hired Beck to replace Tom Herman in January of 2015. Those who watched and covered Beck at Nebraska wondered what Meyer was doing.

Two years later, it's now people around Ohio State who wonder.

Beck wasn't outright fired, which is certainly no surprise. Meyer doesn't like to operate that way. Instead, he's being ushered off to Texas in what can be seen as a promotion, heading to work for Herman, the Longhorns' new head coach. Now that it has happened, three days after the season-ending 31-0 loss to Clemson, it makes sense that this plan may have been in motion before the Fiesta Bowl.

All of them know each other. Beck swung by Ohio State when he worked at Nebraska. So he's clearly not viewed as a bad coach by his buddies in the business. Herman is a QBs expert and has his long-time apprentice on staff there as well, former Rutgers offensive coordinator and Ohio State grad assistant Drew Mehringer, so the Longhorns can benefit from Beck's recruiting ties in Texas without leaning on him as their sole QB mentor. If he's being called the primary play caller, well, Herman isn't taking his hands off that wheel entirely.

For the crowd that only wants to blame the unpaid players and not the half-a-million-dollar coaches, have at it.

For Ohio State, Beck was a bad hire, and part of a mix that never worked. Ed Warinner and Beck were more effective in trying to figure out who was to blame behind the scenes than in actually getting the offense fixed.

Beck seemed overwhelmed from the start by the quarterback decision of 2015. He was thrown into the most complicated, and one of the most talented, quarterback rooms in the country. And what happened?

Both Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett in 2015 and 2016 were, in my opinion, not as good as they were in 2014 when Ohio State won the national title and Herman was the quarterbacks coach.

That was always problem No. 1 with Beck, because he wasn't the primary play caller. Others may focus on that, and there are obviously problems there. But if we were going to assign the play calling issues to people, the order I'd put them in would be Warinner, then Meyer, then Beck. 

Warinner is supposed to be the primary in-game play caller. Meyer is the head coach, the designer of the offense, the guy who hires everyone and the final word on in-game calls. Beck was the co-coordinator.

But the quarterback room? Wonder why Jones and Barrett were inconsistent last year, why Barrett looked hesitant much of this year? I don't know who to look at other than they guy they work with every single day.

Now, the quarterbacks will see Ryan Day every day.

The former San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach has connections to both Chip Kelly, recently fired as the Niners head coach after one year, and to Meyer. He was a graduate assistant under Meyer at Florida in 2005.

So when it was clear that a change was coming, and it was, we suggested Kelly as a new Meyer assistant. This is the next closest thing. Kelly told Fox Sports he'd be open to coming back to college football after four years in the NFL. But what college head coaching jobs are available right now?

If Kelly doesn't land a head coaching job, maybe Meyer squeezes him onto the staff. If he takes a year off from coaching, maybe he just happens to hang around Ohio State with his good friends and offer, you know, suggestions.

Because Meyer has to get this offense back on track.

A source told cleveland.com that Warinner is expected to stick around, but his role is undetermined. He did very well as the offensive line coach, though there were recruiting and development issues that happened on his watch that led to the Buckeyes starting a true freshman (Michael Jordan) and true sophomore (Isaiah Prince) this season. Not great. However, Warinner also developed the two first-team All-American linemen, Pat Elflein and Billy Price, so that was great.

Expect more pieces to move. Don't expect that the final solution is just Day in Beck's spot running the offense with Warinner and Meyer. Beck out and Day in isn't an offensive fix.

And the only one who can really fix the offense is Meyer.

But, again, Meyer is undertaking that fix with a record of 61-6. He's been the savior of the football program. Sometimes fans and former players like to take swipes at the offense and play calling without realizing that those criticisms are really much about Meyer.

In the end, the offense is on him. But so is everything, all the great and a few of these problems. And Warinner played an instrumental role in this era of Ohio State football with the way he served as offensive line coach and co-coordinator with Herman from 2012-14. He just may have been promoted out of his level of expertise the last two years.

As for Beck? He helped recruit the state of Texas and the quarterback pipeline looks solid with first-year QB Dwayne Haskins, 2017 recruit Tate Martell and 2018 recruit Emory Jones. He gets credit for that.

But as a quarterbacks coach and co-coordinator?

That never worked. And it was never a surprise that it didn't.

Urban Meyer, left, is expected to hire former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson as the Buckeyes new offensive coordinator.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State lost quarterbacks coach Tim Beck to Texas on Tuesday morning and quickly announced his replacement, former San Francisco 49ers assistant Ryan Day. 

Now Ohio State is close to having a new offensive coordinator. 

According to FOX Sports college football reporter Bruce Feldman, Ohio State met with former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson and is expected to hire him as the offensive coordinator. 

Former #Indiana HC Kevin Wilson is expected to become #OhioState's new OC, source tells @FoxSports. Meeting w/ OSU today.

-- Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 4, 2017

It's still unclear what that means for Ed Warinner's future, but sources close to the program told cleveland.com on Tuesday morning that he's expected to remain a part of the staff. 

Ohio State opens its season at Indiana on Thursday, Aug. 31. 

Rajai Davis has reportedly agreed to a one-year, $6 million deal with the Oakland Athletics. He leaves behind one unforgettable memory for any Tribe fan who tuned to Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The man responsible for one of the most memorable moments in Indians history is moving on.

Rajai Davis has reportedly agreed to a one-year, $6 million deal with the Oakland Athletics. He leaves behind one unforgettable memory for any Tribe fan who tuned to Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.

Davis earned nearly the same salary figure -- including incentives -- last season with the Indians. He led the American League with 43 stolen bases, to go along with a career-high 12 home runs. The outfielder, who turned 36 in October, posted a .249/.306/.388 slash line. He trekked to the batter's box 495 times, his most in a season since 2010, his last year with Oakland. 

Davis played for the A's from 2008-10.

Davis' November heroics will be remembered most in Cleveland. He had collected only one base hit in his first 23 postseason at-bats with the Indians before his lumber rose from its slumber. He notched two hits in Game 5 of the World Series and two more in Game 7.

Source: Rajai Davis and the Oakland A's are in agreement on a one-year deal for $6M.

-- Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 4, 2017

His eighth-inning blast in the decisive contest of the Fall Classic capped a manic Tribe comeback, though Cleveland ultimately fell short in extra innings. Davis deposited an Aroldis Chapman offering onto the other side of the 19-foot-high wall in left field with two outs, a game-tying two-run shot that sent Progressive Field into a frenzy. 

Davis delivered again in the bottom of the 10th, with a two-out RBI single to center to slice Chicago's advantage to one run. That would be Davis' final at-bat of 2016, and, perhaps, his final at-bat with the Indians. 

The Indians have Tyler Naquin, Lonnie Chisenhall, Brandon Guyer and Abraham Almonte to cover center and right field. They hope to have Michael Brantley manning left. Brantley is recovering from a series of procedures and setbacks with his right shoulder over the course of the last 14 months. 

The club is expected to introduce free-agent addition Edwin Encarnacion to reporters on Thursday. Encarnacion figures to replace Mike Napoli in Terry Francona's lineup and, at times, at first base. Napoli and Davis were the organization's two free-agent signings last winter who panned out. Marlon Byrd didn't last long because of a failed PED test and the club cut ties with Juan Uribe -- who struggled at the plate -- during the summer.

Davis occasionally asked reporters if they had come to the ballpark "to see the show." He was typically soft-spoken and had a calming presence, but he sometimes displayed a goofy side in the clubhouse. Davis routinely relied upon the words "bang" and "boom" to describe his efforts on the field.

His final "boom" is one many Indians fans will never forget.

The finalists include Taylor, LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Dawkins, Morten Andersen, Tony Boselli, Isaac Bruce, Don Coryell, Terrell Davis, Alan Faneca, Joe Jacoby, Ty Law, John Lynch, Kevin Mawae, Terrell Owens and Kurt Warner.

First-year eligibles LaDainian Tomlinson, Jason Taylor and Brian Dawkins are among 15 modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Also making the finals are Morten Andersen, Tony Boselli, Isaac Bruce, Don Coryell, Terrell Davis, Alan Faneca, Joe Jacoby, Ty Law, John Lynch, Kevin Mawae, Terrell Owens and Kurt Warner.

Previously selected as a finalist by the veterans committee is former Seattle safety Kenny Easley. In the contributors' category, the nominees are former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

The class of 2017 will be elected on Feb. 4, the day before the Super Bowl in Houston. Inductions will be Aug. 5 in Canton, Ohio.

Taylor, who attended the University of Akron, was one of the NFL's top pass rushers for 15 seasons, mostly with Miami. The 2006 Defensive Player of the Year with 131/2 sacks, he had 1391/2 sacks for his career.

Other than Tomlinson, Taylor and Dawkins, first-time finalists are Boselli, Bruce, Law, Mawae, Easley and Jones.

Most-frequent finalists are Lynch, Tagliabue and Coryell, four apiece. Davis and Warner are three-time finalists.

Coryell, an offensive mastermind with the Cardinals and Chargers, is in his 30th year of eligibility. Easley is in his 25th, while Jacoby, the left tackle on the Redskins' offensive line known as the "Hogs", is in his 19th.

Tomlinson played 11 NFL seasons, nine with San Diego, winning league MVP honors in 2006 when he set a record with 28 rushing touchdowns. He won two rushing titles.

Dawkins spent 16 seasons in the NFL, 13 with Philadelphia, and was considered a prototype modern safety. He made four All-Pro teams and was the first player with a sack, interception, fumble recovery and touchdown catch in the same game (vs. Houston in 2002).

Among the other modern-era finalists, Andersen is the NFL's career scoring leader with 2,544 points, has the most field goals (565) and games (382) playing for five franchises. He made two all-decade teams (1980s and '90s).

Bruce, Davis, Faneca, Jacoby, Law, Lynch and Warner all won Super Bowls.