After a weekend filled with excitement and disappointment, it’s a bit of a quiet mood at tBBC headquarters. We like baseball, and know that OSU sports are amazing even if not the “got to be on television” variety, but I’d be lying if I didn’t confess that there’s a bit of a let down these days.  Ah well… only two songs possible for today’s soundtrack. Onward.

Buckeye 411

• Injury Update- As you may have read, Ohio State offensive lineman Antonio Underwood will miss up to 6 months with a torn ACL that he experienced in Spring Practice this week.  There’s significant speculation that he’s going to red-shirt.
• Fired Up- The other “injury” news from Tuesday was Braxton getting blasted as a part of a scrimmage drill, in spite of the fact that he was wearing a black “no contact” jersey. He spent some time on the turf, but then got up and returned to drills later in the practice. There are reports that he tried to lower his shoulder on a run following his return, and that he approached the defense very heated about being knocked to the ground. After practice, Urban talked about the need to have a competitive spirit and to be the kind of quarter back that “want to go get in a street fight and get after it”.
• The Stable- Carlos Hyde sat most of the “team” portion of Tuesday’s scrimmage to get the Young Bucks more opportunities. Rod Smith and Brionte Dunn continue to impress, but Warren Ball seems to have not missed a beat by missing last season with a foot injury, and was a highlight for the second straight week.
• Make Them Pay- Linebacker Armani Reeves took an interception 71 yards in the team portion of practice, but was leveled at the end of his run by Chase Farris.
• Diamonds In The Rough- The Buckeyes showed a bit of the “diamond” formation that the 49ers have made popular since last season (and that Nebraska gashed OSU with in Lincoln two years ago). Today, Hyde was joined by Smith and Dunn in the backfield in a “broken wishbone” look. Woody would be so proud.
• Wither The Slot- Jordan Hall is still recovering this spring, so the “slot” position has fallen to Chris Fields.
• Jonesing- Saturday, Cardale Jones had one of his best practices; enough to make Coach Meyer say that he was confident that Cardale could play Quarterback at Ohio State.  While his accuracy continues to be an adventure, those who saw him in practice said that his running reminded them of a current Raiders QB (No, not Matt Flynn).
• Manning Up- Coach Meyer had good things to say about Patrick Elflein, who saw time at several positions on the offensive line.
• Sparing No XSpence- Noah continues to be the defensive lineman that stands out… man, we need to come up with a nickname for him.
• ‘Preciate It- As you can tell by today’s graphic, something special is in the air for Ohio State Students this week. Here- let Urban tell you about it: Read More

Tags: 'Da U, Antonio Underwood, Armani Reeves, Braxton Miller, Brionte Dunn, Cardale Jones, Chase Farris, Chris Fields, Deshaun Thomas, Ed O'Bannon, Mark Emmert, Noah Spence, Officially Awful, Patrick Elflein, Rod Smith, Rutgers, SBP, Spring Practice, Urban Meyer, Warren Ball
Categories: Humor, Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football

Pretty obvious inspirational quote for this week’s Wednesday update, don’t you think? If you’re really interested in what I’m listening to these days, here you go.

Varmint

Buckeye 411

• Fun With Numbers- As a reminder, Coach Meyer is 14-1 lifetime after bye, and 32-2 with multiple weeks to prepare for a game.
• Injury Update- According to Monday’s press conference, Etienne Sabino is back and will be starting against Wisconsin this week.  Bri’onte Dunn has sprained his MCL and will miss this week, but won’t need surgery- he’s hopefully back for The Game. Armani Reeves is back from the IR, and Corey Linsley is a bit banged up, but will go on Saturday.
• Meyer’s Musings- In Tuesday’s B1G conference, Coach Meyer said that they haven’t really talked much about an AP championship with the team, choosing instead to try to “win as many games as we could for our seniors” He spoke about how the Wisconsin match up has become a great rivalry, particularly since they’re in the same division now.  Looking at the offense, he mentioned how well the team is working together, and that Carlos, Braxton, and the Offensive Line really feed off of each other.
  
• Watch These Guys- Both OSU’s Braxton Miller and Wisconsin’s Monte Ball have been named to the “Players To Watch” list for the Walter Camp Award.
  
• 

  We See You Trollin', Hatin'...

  Bert Blathers- Also in Tuesday’s B1G Conference Call, Coach Bielema talked about how impressed he is with Ohio State’s improvement as the season has progressed. He mentioned the offensive line in particular, and said that they are playing really well at this point in the year.  He also addressed speculation that his team would be satisfied after last week’s win, which put them into the Conference Championship Game for the second straight year; and said that his team would not see a let down against the Buckeyes, especially given last year’s game. Added to the fact that it’s “Senior Day”, and it’s sure to be a high intensity game.

• Simon Says- In reflecting on the game this weekend, senior captain John Simon commented, “The tougher team always wins this game”. Not sure what that says about the 2010 team, but it does bode well for this group heading off of the bye week.
• The Gentleman’s Response-  NSFW due to language, but… yeah.
• Hoops Note- Tournament travel for 2015 is going to be AWESOME! {Sees Ohio State Sent To Southwest Region}
  
• Ticket Masters- Camp Randall is a tough place to play, but insiders are telling us that Buckeye fans headed to the game should be able to get tickets pretty easily this time around. Part of it is the early struggles that the Badgers have had this year, but part of it is that the game is scheduled for one of the Wisconsin High Holy Days.
• Hoops Note, Part Two- Congratulations to the Albany Great Danes, Ohio State’s opening day victim, for knocking off the University of Washington on Tuesday night!

Uniform Updates Read More

Tags: 2012 Season, Armani Reeves, Big East Conference, Bo Pelini, Braxton Miller, Bret Bielema, Brionte Dunn, BYU, Coach Urban Meyer, Corey Linsley, Denard Robinson, Etienne Sabino, John Simon, Maryland, Mike Gundy, Monte Ball, NCAA Tournament, SBP, Sharif Floyd, Tommy Tuberville, Twitter, Uniforms, Wisconsin
Categories: College Football, Ohio State Football

Straight Up The Olentangy...

Midweek look at news and notes from around Ohio State and the nation… getting ready for what’s been predicted to be a very wet weekend.

Hey! Have you signed up for pick-em yet?

Buckeye 411

• Injury Updates- We found out Monday that Warren Ball has had surgery on his foot and will be redshirting this season, but Tuesday brought good news to the Scarlet and Gray.  According to Coach Meyer, Nate Williams passed the agility and mobility tests that the program had for him, and will more than likely see some action on Saturday against Miami.  While this will be more limited than he’d surely like, I’m confident that this gradual move to get him ready for the rest of the season will pay huge benefits.  It remains to be seen, though, if this plan gets adjusted in the weather situation… sloppy conditions might lead to a re-injury, and Ohio State will work to avoid that.
• ‘Bloody‘ Buckeyes- Tuesday’s practice was the most challenging of the week, but players interviewed afterwards said that it was mostly mentally taxing.  From the sound of it, they emerged with flying colors, and will not be “full go” for the rest of the week.
• Explosive- That was how Carlos Hyde described this year’s offense, and it also sounded as if Philly Brown has become a significant playmaker in the team’s eyes.  Braxton also talked about Jake Stoneburner’s move to receiver creating a number of opportunities for the team, given his skill set.
• Stormy Saturday? While Isaac will be on the minds (and raincoats) of tailgaters at the ‘Shoe, one Buckeye who will be glad to be in the weather is newly reinstated Storm Klein.  While his role with the team is still to be determined, Coach Meyer said that it was the conversations with both the Klein family and the family of the alleged victim that made him decide to allow the senior to return to the team.
• Earning Their (Loss Of) Stripes- Three more freshman became “Buckeyes” on Tuesday, including Armani Reeves and walkons Craig Cataline and Craig Fada.
• As If There Were Any Doubt- After a 12 year study, the four letter network finally announced why they give OSU so much coverage… eyeballs. Whether it’s creating covering controversy and scandal or blowing really bright sunshine up the derrieres of Buckeye fans during All Access, the number don’t lie: Columbus is the highest rated college football market in the country. They tie for that spot with Birmingham Alabama, although the latter only has ‘Bama football, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo“, QVC, and episodes of “Cops” on their cable packages.  They had more channels, but they cut them loose. (see… ’cause they oversign a lot in Alabama… nevermind.)
• Rocketman- While Ohio and the nation mourn the loss of Neil Armstrong, a great idea popped up on reddit regarding a way to honor the hero during an upcoming OSU game. Huge h/t to Mark Titus, who pointed us in this direction- the idea being that Armstrong, an Ohio native and a Purdue grad should be remembered during the OSU/Purdue game in the ‘Shoe this season.  What do you think??
• Consider Yourself Warned. You’re getting ready for the Miami University game this week, and need your breakdown of the matchups to watch for between the Buckeyes and the RedHawks.  You want in-depth coverage and previews that will get you even more ready than you already are.  Get ready for something amazing on Thursday… the analysis that this team deserves.  What if there’s just a touch of greatness yet to come… how cool would that be? #BuckeyeVoltron

Read More

Tags: 2012 Season, Alabama, Armani Reeves, Braxton Miller, Bret Bielema, Carlos Hyde, Corey "Philly" Brown, Craig Cataline, Craig Fada, Denard Robinson, ESPN, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Jake Stoneburner, Matt Barkley, Miami RedHawks, Nathan Williams, Neil Armstrong, Purdue, SBP, Storm Klein, Twitter, Urban Meyer, Warren Ball
Categories: College Football, Humor, Michigan Football, Ohio State Football

MA DB Armani Reeves (5’10” 185 lbs.) has officially committed to Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes, becoming the newest member of Ohio State’s 2012 class.

Reeves is a four-star cornerback that helps address the recent loss of Gambrell and Clarke from the team, making this a great addition to the class at a huge position of need.

Reeves and his high school teammate Camren Williams have looked like a package deal for some time and that worked out to the benefit of the Buckeyes.

They had originally tried to make that happen at PSU, but as we have already seen with Tommy Schutt, Noah Spence and Joey O’Connor- Penn State’s loss is Ohio State’s gain.

Reeves looked around a little more to make his decision than Williams- he seriously considered Michigan before seeing the light and joining the Buckeyes.

The Wolverines really thought they had this recruitment in the bag, and as always, it is great to beat them at anything. Read More

Tags: 2012 Class, 2012 recruiting, Armani Reeves, Camren Williams
Categories: Ohio State Football, Recruiting

Camren Williams, the next LB in the 2012 class.

The Ohio State commitments just keep coming in what has been the hottest recruiting stretch ever for Ohio State.  Turn away from you computer for a moment and you might miss one (or two).

The latest commitment comes from Camren Williams, the 6’2” 215 pound linebacker from Massachusetts.

Williams is a four-star outside linebacker built in the same mold as David Perkins.

He combines excellent size, speed and quickness- which isn’t surprising if you’ve been following the players that Meyer has been targeting.  Once again, this may be a different style of linebacker than Ohio State fans are used to, but these new LB’s can really excel in the right scheme.

After this past season, it was abundantly clear that the Buckeyes needed some better athleticism from the linebackers and that issue continues to be addressed in a big way on the recruiting trail in 2012.

On film (see below), you see Williams sift through traffic, fight off blocks, and explode through tackles to finish plays. He also shows the ability to drop in coverage and play in space.

The bottom line is that Cameron Williams (and David Perkins) provide tremendous versatility for the defense. It will be extremely exciting seeing what schemes Coach Fickell and Coach Withers can come up with to utilize their talent. Read More

Tags: 2012 Class, 2012 recruiting, Armani Reeves, Camren Williams
Categories: Ohio State Football, Recruiting