Mailbox: Ohio State football's Dallan Hayden could be a treat to watch next year
Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com. Letters are lightly edited for clarity.
On Ohio State football
To the editor: Thanks for "clarifying" the difference between Henderson and Hayden - he of the 11 rushing attempts so far this year. Not sure why the comparison between those two were brought up. A healthy Henderson needs to be on the field, period. However, the issue is when Henderson is not playing. So the comparison should be between Hayden and the other two backs who run north and south, hopefully. Seems to me that Hayden finds small holes much better with his quickness and vision than the other two backs. Barring any injuries, I don't expect Hayden to see much more playing time this year but look forward to seeing him next year.
Earl Molnar
To Earl: With Miyan Williams out for the year, Hayden is one step closer to losing his redshirt year and jumping into action. He's not flashy, but goes north-south, where first downs are.
To Brian: In deference to Lou Holtz, whose comments regarding the current Ohio State and Notre Dame squads brought varied responses from readers, I wanted to remind all readers of (or introduce them to) a once-popular but nearly forgotten announcer who covered Notre Dame football for 14 seasons (1964-77) and much more: Lindsey Nelson. I only remember him as doing Sunday morning tape-delay broadcasts ("As we pick up the action later in the quarter") of shortened Notre Dame games showing highlights of the previous day's scoring drives.
A Tennessean, Nelson had an almost unnoticeable drawl in his distinct voice while covering several sports, notably 17 years with the New York Mets. The baseball stadium at UT Knoxville, his alma mater, is named after him. He topped baseball with 19 years of NFL games, including three years of Monday Night Football. His 33 years of announcing college football − radio and TV − consisted of 26 Cotton, five Sugar and four Rose bowls, as well as Army-Navy games. Nelson also announced golf, including the Masters, five years of NBA games, tennis and boxing - possibly, more games than anyone else. He was easily identified by his loud sports coat, at one time owning a wardrobe of well over 200. Some of Nelson's contemporaries (60s-70s) were Bill Flemming (mostly Big Ten basketball), Chris Shenkel (college football, bowling, golf and more) and Curt Gowdy (ABC's Wide World of Sports).
Nelson was as a Captain in WW2 (U.S. Army; Africa and Europe). Among his medals was the Bronze Star. He is honored in 13 Halls of Fame. And he won an Emmy (for lifetime achievement). His 1985 autobiography is titled, "Hello Everybody, I'm Lindsey Nelson," (his game-time introduction). A prolific sports legend, Nelson added flair to Notre Dame's athletic heritage of famous personalities.
Larry Cheek, Dublin
To Larry: Would love to know what Mr. Nelson would have thought about Ohio State games being on Peacock.
To the editor: I love our new emotionally explosive and involved Buckeye coach Ryan Day. He is no longer just the intellectually detached football offensive genius but has added to his mien Bobby Knight without the thrown chair, and Woody Hayes, minus the Clemson punch.
Michael Oser, Columbus
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mailbox: Ohio State's Dallan Hayden could be a treat to watch next year
