No drop off on the d-line

For the first time in who knows how long, Ohio State will go into the upcoming football season replacing all four starters on its defensive front line. Gone are Jonathan Hankins, John Simon, Nathan Williams and Garret Goebel. The guys taking their place have big shoes to fill as Hankins may potentially be a top ten pick in the NFL draft, Williams and Simon were deadly on the ends (most notably when on the field together) while Goebel came into his own in 2011 and really blossomed in 2012 as a solid run stuffer. Goebel and … [Read More]

Anywho- Since Buckeye Hoops Nation grew by one today, it only made sense that the Football team bring one into the fold as well; and following the Spring Game Pennsylvania Wyomissing’s Alex Anzalone gave his verbal commitment to become the eleventh member of Ohio State’s 2013 recruiting class.

A rumored Buckeye lean for the past few weeks (given his mail, can you blame him?), Anzalone is one of the top rated outside linebackers in the country this year- a four star recruit on all three major scouting services. It might be easier to list the schools that haven’t offered him a scholarship at this point, since his list is a veritable “Who’s Who” of BCS … [Read More]

I also like to throw RS freshman Connor Crowell into that group since a leg injury prevented him from practicing last year as a part of the 2011 class.

Despite the quality freshmen group, there are still concerns moving forward- particularly with experienced depth.

Once seniors Etienne Sabino and Storm Klein graduate after this season, rising juniors Ryan Shazier and Curtis Grant will be the only scholarship linebackers left on the team with any meaningful experience- outside of whatever the group of freshmen gain in their first year.

This is largely due to the early and unplanned departures of players like Dorian Bell (transfer), Jonathan Newsome (transfer), Jordan Whiting (transfer), Scott McVey (medical hardship) and Ejuan Price (never enrolled).

Thanks … [Read More]

Sadly, the 2011 season was a major bump in the road for the defense and the team. Needless to say, the Silver Bullets will be looking to get back on track in Urban Meyer’s first year as head coach.

There are some new faces on the defensive coaching staff to help out in that regard, but some familiar ones as well.

Luke Fickell is the primary holdover from the previous staff. He was the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under Tressel. He will basically be assuming the same roll under Meyer- with perhaps a bit more emphasis on being the primary coordinator.

The best case scenario will be if Fickell can continue to implement the defensive system that has worked so well over the past decade and combine that with some … [Read More]

After reviewing the defensive line yesterday, we move next to the linebackers. A position that has always been solid for the Silver Bullets regardless of graduations, replacing two starters from 2010 should not prevent this year’s group from being solid to spectacular once again.

The starting group of three has been set with little or no rotation since the first day of practice.

The second team has been a different story. Due to attrition this offseason (Jon Newsome, Dorian Bell) there has been plenty of rotation looking for the new back ups.

Despite the heavy rotation, there is plenty of talent that will be more than capable of backing up the starters.

Here is a player by player look at the two-deep.

Linebackers

Andrew Sweat

#42 Senior, WLB

6’2″ 238 lbs.

Going into camp, it was no secret that Andrew Sweat would be the most experienced linebacker in 2011 … [Read More]

The situation is remarkably similar to 2009, when Ohio State lost James Laurinaitis in the middle and Marcus Freeman on the weak side. Fortunately, the duo of Rolle and Homan proved more than capable replacements.

Over the years, that has been the pattern at Ohio State. Whenever linebackers leave, others step in with little to no drop off. 2011 should be no different as the linebacker wheel of awesome keeps on turning in Columbus.

There is a plethora of talent for the Buckeyes to work with, and as usual, it will be an exciting spring to see which linebackers separate themselves from the pack and how the coaches tweak the system to take advantage of the new talent.

Read on for a closer look at Ohio State’s linebackers in … [Read More]

Strong linebacker play has been a trademark of Ohio State football for decades. While another school may have been given the title ‘Linebacker U’, few teams have matched the consistent excellence Buckeyes have brought to the position.

At the start of the season, Ohio State had two sure things at linebacker in Ross Homan and Brian Rolle, and one pretty big question mark on the strong side. Given recent history at the position and the talent waiting in the wings, however, there was little question that the Buckeyes would successfully fill the void.

Determining exactly who would fill that void was one of the more interesting stories of the off season. Etienne Sabino appeared to have the spot locked up following the spring, but Andrew Sweat returned from injury in the fall and quickly passed Sabino on the depth chart.

In a surprise move by the coaches, Sabino went from … [Read More]

Ohio State has depth, experience, talent, youth, and probably a few other things at linebacker going in to next year.

The only loss from last year is fifth year senior Austin Spitler.

Spitler was a solid performer for the Buckeyes last season (38 tackles, 5 tfl, 1 sack), and he did have some great moments, but there are several players waiting in the wings to take his place, and if there is any drop off at all, it should be minimal.

It can’t be overstated how much talent Ohio State has here. So rather than getting out a thesaurus and trying to find … [Read More]