Buckeye Blogger NetworkWell, howdy-do, Buckeye nation! Thanks for paying attention to my little neck of the sunshine state… hope it works out as well as last time Ohio State had a team out here. You know what? Since we’ve already got a visit scheduled to the Bay Area for September, what say we just go for the trifecta and come on back out this way in January. Multiple options for today’s soundtrack- Vintage, Old School, Hippie, Country, Top 40, Hip Hop, Rock. Oh, and I’ve got a great recommendation for a place to stay.
Silver Bullet, Knotts Berry Farm
Buckeye 411
Midweek madness in March… be sure to stick with us after the break to get insight into the personalities and ideologies of some of the new Ohio State coaching staff
Learning from the best
Buckeye 411
But the number that best explains his sophomore season is the dramatic decline in free throw attempts from his freshman year. He’s getting fouled about 20 percent less often this season than last, although he is most certainly being challenged by defenders in greater numbers and it would appear he is being contacted more. He is attempting and making roughly the same number of shots as last season, but he is getting fewer calls.
More contact, but fewer calls? That right there is all you need to know about the state of B1G officiating this season, just in case the conference player of the year possibly fouling out of a huge game and not being removed by the officials wasn’t enlightening enough.
Q: Who would star as you (in the movie adaptation of the book)?
A: We had that question asked at Ohio State. We had to do the profile thing during timeouts (at games), where they asked you who would play you in a movie. All my teammates said Denzel Washington. That wouldn’t work for me, though.
How about Zac Efron? We could turn it into a musical.
All I needed to read, though, was Greg Oden’s blurb for the cover-
“Mark Titus knows a lot of personal secrets of mine. If he revealed any of them in this book, I will kick him right in the testicles. I’m not joking.”
When you buy it, be sure to do so from Amazon- gives a little love to your favorite corner of the interwebs.
Today, Ohio States’ full coaching staff was available for interviews, including the newest members of Coach Meyer’s staff, Ed Warinner and Tim Hinton. These last two, most recently at Notre Dame, have been working with Buckeye recruiting over the past several days, but were only officially introduced and named today- they will also be a part of Coach Meyer’s introduction opportunity at halftime of the Hoosier Basketball game this Saturday.
Coach Hinton is a former Ohio State coach who’s career includes the following (from the press release):
Coach Hinton
Hinton’s 30 seasons of coaching experience includes 16 seasons in the collegiate ranks with positions at Ohio State, Wilmington, Ohio, Cincinnati and Notre Dame, and 14 years as a head coach at three Ohio high schools: Zane Trace (1987-88); Van Wert (1989) and Harding (1993-2003).
“I have always felt it would be an honor to have an opportunity to coach for and to represent Ohio State,” Hinton said. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to work with great people and great coaches at such a wonderful place.”
Coach Hinton will be working with the Tight Ends and Fullbacks- I’m sure Boren and Stoneburner are more than excited.
Coach Warinner doesn’t have previous Ohio connections, instead:
Coach Warinner
Warinner, who is 50, has coached at seven different schools: Akron, Michigan State, Army, Air Force, Kansas, Illinois and Notre Dame. In addition to his nine years in coordinator positions, he has spent 15 of the past 20 seasons coaching the offensive line. He has coached on teams that have won four national rushing titles, and earlier this season Rivals.com named Warinner one of the Top 20 “hottest assistant coaches” in the nation.
“I’ve always strived to coach in positions where I have a lot of responsibility,” Warinner said. “Serving as a coordinator goes beyond just coaching what my guys are doing. It is a thought process of attacking and moving the ball, and strategies and reading plays. There is a big picture as a coordinator that I am into and really enjoy, and it’s a position from where I think I can make a significant contribution to the success of a team.”
Coach Warinner will serve as co-offensive coordinator and work with the offensive line. Read More
In an announcement today that surprised no one, Urban Meyer has added former North Carolina interim head coach Everett Withers to the Buckeye Coaching Staff as Assistant Head Coach and Co-Defensive Coordinator (with Luke Fickell).
Welcome to Buckeye Nation!
Withers, who inherited the TarHeels after the tumult from this summer, has a legacy as a defensive backs guru, having coached the position at the college and professional level. From the press release-
Withers spent one year as defensive coordinator at the University of Minnesota prior to his North Carolina position. He also has been an assistant coach at the University of Texas (1998-2000; defensive backs), Louisville (1995-97; defensive coordinator/assistant head coach/defensive backs), Southern Mississippi (1992-93; defensive backs/assistant special teams), Tulane (1991; outside linebackers) and Austin Peay (1988-90; defensive coordinator/defensive backs; tight ends/special teams).
His first unit (at UNC in 2008) – ranked eighth in the country with 20 interceptions, a number that was just one off the UNC single season record.His 2009 defense was among the nation’s elite, ranking sixth in total defense, 10th against the run, 13th in scoring and 14th in pass defense. His 2010 unit ranked fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 30th nationally. Five players off that unit were taken in the NFL draft, including first-round pick Robert Quinn. And this past year the Tar Heels ranked 14th against the run.
As you can probably guess, he’s stoked:
I am excited, and I couldn’t be more excited to be on coach Urban Meyer’s staff at The Ohio State University. Ohio State is obviously one of the storied programs in college athletics. Having an opportunity to work at that university, and as part of Coach Meyer’s staff, is something that you just can’t pass up.
Additionally, after much speculation, it was announced today that coach Mike Vrabel will be retained as a part of the staff. Read More
Can't wait! (USA Today)
Long rumored to be in the works, this morning it has been confirmed that Everett Withers will join Meyer’s defensive staff at Ohio State.
Withers brings a long history (including at the NFL level) coaching the secondary that will complement Fickell’s (and Vrabel’s) experience with the linemen and linebackers nicely.
The Buckeyes could even be looking at a co-defensive coordinator arrangement between Withers and Fickell (similar to the arrangement between Heacock and Fickell under Tressel).
Regardless of the titles, the defensive staff will likely consist of Luke Fickell and Mike Vrabel coaching the linemen and linebackers while Everett Withers and Taver Johnson coach the secondary.
With that group of four in place, Meyer may turn his attention entirely to the offensive side of the ball to fill the remaining positions on his coaching staff. Read More
