May be vacation, but feels like home

Salutations from our nation’s 48th state, where I currently find myself vacating on the same road that I live by several hours to the west. Yup, this is as close to Rich Rod as I’ll ever get… probably for the best.  Knowing that we were headed this way the wife let me plan our trip around two sacred OSU sites, although she did boycott one of my musical selections for the journey. Ah, well… at least she let me watch the 2002 game on the BTN this evening.

Buckeye 411

• Rolling In The Deep- An updated depth chart was released today, with a few interesting things of note. First, unsurprisingly, Storm Klein is no longer in the two deep, being replaced by Connor Crowell. Also of note, though, was that Jake Stoneburner, Jack Mewhort, and Jordan Hall were still listed as starters; we know that the first two have had their scholarships removed for the time being, and that Jordan will miss time due to injury recovery. Also of note- Chase Farris is still listed as a defensive end, even though news out of the WHAC has him being moved to offensive line for the fall campaign.

This “update” seems to be merely a reflection of Coach Meyer’s decisions regarding Klein’s actions, and there may not be any more to read into it. Again, Urban stated at the end of spring practice that the chart would be set- fall camp was about preparation and not position battles.

• Watching The Watchers Who Watch Watchlists- Several Buckeyes are on national award watchlists this pre-season, including Stoneburner’s place on the Mackey list for the nation’s best tight end. Others to keep an eye on include John Simon and Jonathan Hankins for the Bednarik award (Nation’s best defensive player), while Braxton is one of only a few sophomores on the Maxwell list (Nation’s outstanding player). We’ll keep a… uh… watch on these as they develop. UPDATE- Drew Basil has been listed on the list for the Groza Award for the nation’s best place-kicker.
• Sully, Making Friends And Fools- With his 20 point performance against OKC in Monday’s D-league game, Jared Sullinger has won the praise of Celtic Homer ESPN Grantland editor Bill Simmons, while making the GMs who chose to pass him by look really really stupid. On the twitters today someone posted (help me out in the comments) that Sully’s back issue and work ethic made him drop in the draft, while DHoward’s back issue and work ethic are making him a key free agent this summer.  Yeah…
• Happy Landing! While regular readers of tBBC will recognize our love/hate/water-under-the-bridge with the gang at SBN, I can’t be more excited than when I saw one of our favorite “independents” join their newest Ohio State offering. Hats off to Ian… and give him a follow on twitter as well.
• Belated- Happy Birthday to Urban Meyer, who turned “still lower cholesterol than Brady Hoke” on Tuesday.

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Tags: Academics, Boston Celtics, Braxton Miller, Chase Farris, Connor Crowell, Depth Chart, Jack Mewhort, Jake Stoneburner, Jared Sullinger, Jerry Sandusky, Joe Paterno, John Simon, Jonathan Hankins, Jordan Hall, Penn State, SBP, Silver Bullet Points, Storm Klein
Categories: Analysis, College Football, Ohio State Football

As you may know, Ohio State was nice enough to release a post spring practice two-deep for us to over-analyze during the long summer months as we anxiously await the beginning of  fall camp.

Although I like to look at the depth chart every summer (hey, it’s something to do), this year has added significance thanks to a change in philosophy from the coaching staff.

The change can be summed up as “spring practice is for setting the depth chart, fall practice is for preparing to win football games” and it comes straight from Coach Meyer.

It is not quite that simple, obviously.

Non-enrolled incoming freshmen haven’t had a chance to weigh in on the chart yet. At least a few of them are likely to make an impact before the first game kicks off.

Although the focus will be on preparing to win games in the fall, putting your best players on the field is one of the better ways to do that. For the players not making the list in the spring for whatever reason, there is still an opportunity to move up if they can prove they belong on the field.

With those factors in mind, here is a look at the two-deep on defense, with grades for each position group at the end (skip there for the cliff notes).

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Tags: Defense, Depth Chart
Categories: Analysis, Ohio State Football

“Rolling in the deep…”

Today, Coach Meyer announced the “two deep” roster following spring football and evaluation. As you remember, he has previously said that this will be the look entering the fall season- that July and August are not times to determine positions, but to get ready to play.

We will be adjusting our depth charts to reflect this announcement, and can see no real surprises (except for the Boren Legacy at center). Be sure to keep an eye on that contested longsnapper competition, though- it’s always a highlight of the fall.

Here’s the press release from the OSU SID regarding this-

Tags: 2012 Season, Depth Chart, Spring Football 2012, Urban Meyer
Categories: College Football, Ohio State Football

The athletic site released the official depth chart today (along with a lot of other information) for the Akron game this weekend.

Check it out by following the link:

Ohio State vs. Akron

For our thoughts on the depth chart, make sure to read our coverage of the two-deep.

We have already gone over the defensive line, linebackers, secondary, and offensive line.

We will continue reviewing the running backs, receivers, and quarterbacks over the next three days, so stay tuned!

Go Bucks!

Tags: 2011-2012 Season, Depth Chart
Categories: Ohio State Football