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]

The story of the day yesterday was the first episode of All Access, a behind the scenes look at the Buckeye program under the new regime.

The problem? It was on one of the ESPN channels… and you know how we feel about those fine individuals.

But… in a moment of weakness, I DVR’d it And watched it.

And loved ever second.

How can you hate quotes like “Abso-smurfly”, “Bozo the freakin’ clown”, “I’m glad you’re a Buckeye, bro…”, “I like coaching you…” and other admonitions to play “hungry” and “angry”.

And the precision of the offensive staff’s work, the pride that Coach Mariotti puts into his time with the team, and the focus and plan that Coach Meyer is instilling into the team… it’s a really good piece. If you missed it and don’t mind the spoilers, the gang at LGHL have a … [Read More]

After three straight days of being at the Schott I overheard and saw quite a few things.

Football

• Football recruiting is turning up and in full force. Positive news coming out about Tommy Schutt, Jordan Diamond, Kyle Dodson, SeVon Pittman. Sounds like all should be Buckeyes!!! Look for updates as the week goes on (ed- Joe wrote this on Sunday… two down, two to go). As of know next weekend should include Cyrus Jones and Noah Spence.
• Talked to an ex-player who said it has been ratcheted up a few notches in terms of intensity. Meyer has them working like they’ve never seen before. Expect a different looking bunch in the Gator Bowl.

Basketball

• The chatter wasn’t about being upset about the loss- it went back to
… [Read More]

Tommy Schutt is one of the top defensive linemen in the country (scout 5-star, rivals 4-star, who cares what the clowns at ESPN rate him) who will be a tremendous addition to Ohio State’s interior defensive line.

With the opportunity to go to his choice of Mid-West schools, Schutt was heavily pursued by Ohio State early in the recruiting cycle. Unfortunately, his interest seemingly fell off after Jim Tressel was no longer head coach. Ultimately, he chose Penn State over Notre Dame and Michigan, but obviously the situation in Happy Valley has caused many of their prospects to look around.

It didn’t take long for the mutual interest sparks to fly between Schutt and Ohio State after Urban Meyer became head … [Read More]

While they have already seen many players at camp in previous years, they will get one last one-on-one evaluation period before making the final push for their top targets over the summer and fall.

A lot can happen between a players junior and senior years of high school, and as always, some surprise camp offers will likely emerge.

Most of the time, the camp offers replace national prospects that received token early offers. More often than not, the chances of landing some of the national prospects are slim to none from the beginning. You offer just to be sure and to establish contact with coaches and programs around the country.

At this point, the staff has a good idea of the national prospects with legitimate interest, making … [Read More]

Jim Tressel and his staff pride themselves on being selective with their offers and landing a high percentage of players that they target. In contrast, Hoke and his staff have been pretty blatant about throwing offers out to seemingly every Ohio prospect possible.

In a way, this is the perfect strategy for them. It is a fact that the clowns from Ann Arbor would be nothing without Ohio players and coaches saving them from their own mediocrity. Brady Hoke, being the true Michigan man that he is, understands that he is … [Read More]

With 5 players already in the fold, the Buckeyes will be looking to add approximately 10-15 additional prospects over the next 12 months. Like 2011, the class will fill up quickly (primarily with in-state players), leaving the coaches plenty of time to focus on a small number of elite out-of-state targets that will take a bit longer to reel in.

Regardless of who the Buckeyes sign, disappointment is inevitable in 2012. Ohio State will miss on some extremely talented players simply because there won’t be room for them. The in-state players heading abroad will … [Read More]