Archives for February 2011

Chris Carter the OL recruit who ran into some legal issues on Signing Day has finally signed his LOI. As is being reported in the Columbus Dispatch Carter signed his letter this evening as is being welcomed with open arms by The Ohio State University.

“We are excited Chris will be a Buckeye,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “He has had a great support system at home, as well as at his high school with the likes of his principal Maryum Sims, his athletic director Velma Pettiegrew, and his coach Scott Wodtly. They truly believe that Chris will have great success on and off the field at Ohio State.”

I for one will refrain from giving my opinion on this young man as no matter what you say you will upset some group of Buckeye fans. I will say I fully trust Coach Tressel to make the best decision for OSU and the player. I wish him well and hope he becomes a great Buckeye lineman and an even better citizen of the Columbus community.

Man, you’d think I could keep up with this blogging thing but these news stories never stop! Don’t these people know it’s the off season?

Anyway, here are the old stories from the past couple of weeks. I’d like to do these posts more than once a week. I’ll do better in the future.

Poor Art Schlichter and even more so for the old lady he swindled. I don’t have a ton to add to this story but it kind of bums me out to see someone continually fall from grace after having so many chances to right the ship. I can only fathom the grips that this gambling addiction has on this guy.

It’s probably not politically correct to admit this, but the first thing I thought after I heard the news of Buckeye recruit Chris Carter‘s trouble was, “you have to give the kid credit. He is creative!” Then I lamented the fact that we may not see the mammoth of a man play football for Ohio State. Luckily for him (and sort of for us) it looks like he won’t be charged.

Look, we love A.J. Hawk and his Cro-Magnon chin more than most people. We also FIRMLY believe that all babies are cute, even newborns.

BUT.

But we are willing to make an exception. That baby has to be the ugliest baby of all time, right? Like a baby cavebaby? Just consider the source.

At least he’s got a Super Bowl ring.

Can you actually take your talents to South Beach if your talents include pouting?

It’s never too early to start thinking about all the new faces joining the Buckeyes this fall, especially Roderick Smith, who Bruce Feldman ranks the #1 redshirt freshman ($$$) of 2011. (ESPN Insider required)

This is not Buckeye-related, but it is human being related and we must share: Eric LeGrand Makes First Public Appearance At Believe Fund Event

Finally, I’ve made a huge update to the Twittering Buckeyes page to include a bunch incoming Buckeyes from the 2011 class. Stalk them even after signing day!

There are not very many teams that can, year after year, recruit and reload like the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes will have another top 5 class. Let’s take a look at the Buckeye’s best offensive recruit and defensive recruit.

Braxton Miller-QB

Miller is regarded as one of the best quarterback prospects to EVER come out of Ohio. I’ve watched 3 or 4 of his games and I haven’t been this excited about a prospect since… Terrelle Pryor.

He is a different animal than Pryor. Braxton is not as big as Pryor at 6’2 200lbs, but he is every bit as fast as Pryor and has much more jitter-bug quickness when compared to Pryor. In other words he can make people miss… badly.

He also has an absolute cannon for an arm. He is also much further ahead of Pryor as far as throwing the ball when compared at the same stages in their careers. Both came from spread option offenses out of the shotgun, but Miller threw the more than Pryor. Pryor has become a pass first nightmare for defensive coordinators, Miller could rewrite every passing record OSU has when it is all said and done. That is how good he is.

There is one thing that could hurt his chances to be a long term success at Ohio State and that is injuries. Miller has had a history with getting hurt. Something that Tressel will have to protect him from by making sure he doesn’t run it too much.

To me, Miller is a cross between Troy Smith and Michael Vick with a lean towards Vick. Smith could run the ball well, but is no where near as fast as Miller. Oh, and one other thing — he is enrolling at OSU early which means we should be able to see him at the Spring game!

Curtis Grant-LB

The 6’3 220lb linebacker from Richmond, Virginia will be patrolling the middle of the field in the future for the Buckeyes. Next year it should be red-shirt junior MLBer Etienne Sabino in the middle for the Buckeyes with Grant learning the ropes until he is ready to go.

Grant leads an impressive LB haul for the 2011 class. A few months ago the Buckeye’s were close to not getting a single linebacker in this class. Instead they poached Ryan Shazier, the 5th ranked OLB in the class from Florida (a tip of the cap to Urban Meyer for stepping down). Ejuan Price, who will play OLB opposite Shazier. Price was ranked 14th in the country and nearly went to Pitt before making the right decision. Then came the #1 LB in the country in Curtis Grant. Grant is a great mix of speed and power. He will want to work on his tackling as at the next level, he won’t be able to get away with standing too tall while trying to bring down ball carriers.

Roderick Smith-RB

Okay fine, he’s not a recruit for 2011 but a red-shirt from 2010. I want people to get excited about this guy. Rumor has it that during bowl practices he nearly had his red-shirt pulled. With a stable of Herron, Saine, Hall and Berry why on earth would the Buckeye coaching staff think about that for 2 seconds? Apparently he was the best player on the field and couldn’t be stopped. He has been compared to Chris Wells and Eddie George. He is a big, tall running back that had nearly 7000 yards rushing in his high school career.

With Boom Herron to sit 5 games to begin the 2011 season, look for Rod Smith to see a lot of action. Smith could very well take away carries from Herron, who proved himself a dangerous full time back in 2010.

Ohio State had another great recruiting class in 2011. Top 5 in the nation. Quick run down of all the new recruits(HS position ranking/name):

QB’s
#2 Braxton Miller
#24 Cardale Jones

WR’s
#19 Evan Spencer
#29 Devin Smith

TE’s
#14 Nick Vannett
#24 Jeff Heuerman

OL
#83 Tommy Brown
#22 Antonio Underwood
#1 Brian Bobek

DL
#8 Michael Bennet
#10 Chase Farris
#30 Joe Hale

DE
#9 Steve Miller
#14 Ken Hayes

OLB
#1 Curtis Grant
#5 Ryan Shazier

MLB
#14 Ejuan Price
#24 Connor Crowell

S
#11 Ron Tanner
#30 Jeremy Cash

CB
#5 Doran Grant
#22 Dejuan Gambrell

Long Snapper Bryce Haynes

Welcome aboard guys!