If you like a wide open, fast paced offense this Urban Meyer lead offense is for you.

I got the opportunity to watch an open practice today and what a great experience it was. It was held at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center due to the wonderful central Ohio spring weather. Very intimate setting to watch the practice which was a scrimmage of 1’s vs 1’s and 2’s vs 2’s.

What stood out:

The pace of the offense:

Get ready for a no huddle, blistering attack of every defense OSU plays. They didn’t huddle once and at times looked unstoppable. I’m referring to the 1st unit lead by QB Braxton Miller.

Braxton Miller:

He simply looks like a different player out there. Miller was throwing the ball with authority and accuracy. Tight, accurate spirals that seemed to explode out of his hand. He and Devin Smith connected on a beautiful touchdown off playaction that drew cheers from the crowd. Miller also threw a short TD to a TE (Heuerman?) at the goal line. Both QB’s were wearing the black jerseys and had limited contact, so they were limited to how dangerous they could be with there legs. Miller did have a really nice run off a zone read option. He took it to the right side after the DE crashed on the fake to the TB. The play was blown dead 25 yards down field, but Miller could have scored from 75 yards out.

The Defense:

Both units were impressive. The 2nd team offense was overmatched by the 2nd team defense. They manhandled a depleted 2nd string offensive line. Guiton was sacked many times. And while the 1st team offense did have some success, the 1st team defense held their own. They picked off 2 Braxton Miller passes and 1 was returned for what looked like a 100 yard TD by Orhian Johnson, though he may have stepped out of bounds before hand. Coach Kerry Coombs by be my new favorite coach:

Brionte Dunn:

This kid will absolutely be playing for OSU this year. He was running with the 2’s and had some really nice runs. One that stood out was a run to the right off a zone read. He ran into a WR blocking and reversed field to the left and had nothing but daylight. He made a few nice moves and ended up down inside the 5. It was a remarkable run.

Stoneburner/Boren:

Stoneburner looks SO fast out there in space. He is set to have a big year. FB Zack Boren will also be touching the ball more often. Boren had a few nice runs up the middle and caught a few balls from Miller as well. Boren was on the receiving end of Meyers famous speed option/shovel pass option shown below. This play was a play made famous by Aaron Hernandez and will be a fixture in the OSU offense. Both Stoneburner and Boren will benefit from this play.

Reverses:

They ran at least 2 reverses off the zone read/speed option look and it was absolutely devastating to the defense. Look for this to be in Meyers bag of go to toys. Philly Brown was on the receiving end of these and did well.

All in all it was a great atmosphere at the WHAC. Meyer is looking to make this an annual event which with weather permitting will be held at the Shoe.

From our friends at WOSN:

A lot of great video of the new look offense in action:

Football Moment Bracket (Round Two): #4 Evan Spencer’s One Handed Grab (Akron) vs. #5 Posey’s One Handed Catch (PSU)

We’ve finally made it to the last matchup of round two, and we’ve got two one handed grabs going at each other. These catches are pretty stark in contrast to each other. You have, on one hand, Evan Spencer’s grab. It was during the Akron game, at the beginning of the season when everything was new a fresh. A new QB, a new coach, a new season. We hoped that this was the start of something great. On the other hand, you have Posey’s catch during the Penn State game. The season was still hanging in the balance and this most important game was still in the balance. But Posey, fresh off his suspension, gives us a glimpse of what could (and should) have been.

#4 Evan Spencer’s One Handed Grab (Akron)

VS.

#5 Posey’s One Handed Catch (PSU)

[poll id=”23″]

To say that recruiting under Urban Meyer has changed drastically from the previous regime would be a huge understatement. Since Coach Meyer took over he has gotten commitments from 18 players. 8 are from the Great State of Ohio and 10 from 9 other states. While this isn’t such a huge change the states they are coming from is. Getting kids from Missouri and New Jersey and Massachusetts and now California is adding to our traditional hotbeds of Ohio and Georgia and Pennsylvania. Recruiting has also become much more of a numbers game and not in the traditional sense of how many kids we recruit but rather what their number ranking is in the eyes of recruiting services. No longer will the classes be full of marginal Ohio kids mixed in with top ranked Ohio kids and a few national kids. These days if you aren’t highly ranked at a need position you wont be a part of that years class. This will no doubt send kids that normally are the ones OSU recruits to other schools like TTUN and MSU and Notre Dame.

This leads us to todays verbal commitment from a Tight End out of California. A surprise pick up for a lot of casual recruiting fans but to those who follow it closely this should be no surprise at all. Ohio State is going to take 2 TEs in this years class. Most people expected those 2 guys to be Josh McNeil and Mike Heuerman but due to todays commitment one of those guys is on the outside looking in.

Marcus Baugh a 6’4″ 225 lbs 4 star TE from Riverside, CA committed to Ohio State this morning and became the 8th member of this years class. Marcus is ranked as the 3rd best TE in the nation and the 93rd overall best recruit in the nation according to 247sports. He is an ESPNU 150 member and a top 150 player according to both Scouts and Rivals. Marcus is a 2 way pure athlete and could play TE or DE or even LB in college. Some compare his talents to Kellen Winslow with better hands and better speed and hopefully a better personality. He has great speed and hands and will be a huge down field threat but needs to improve on his route running. This is a huge pickup for OSU and Meyer as Baugh had offers from schools like USC and Florida and Miami Fl. There is and should be no doubt that this years class will be full of stars just need to put them in a good position to succeed and OSU will be set for the next 4 years.

Highlights:

Football Moment Bracket (Round Two): #3 Goal Line Stand (PSU) vs. #11 Shazier’s Punt Block (Wisc)

A defensive showdown (sort of!)!

#3 Ohio State’s Defensive Goal Line Stand against Penn State

VS.

#11 Shazier’s Punt Block (Wisc)

[poll id=”22″]

Football Moment Bracket (Round Two): #2 Braxton’s 81 YD Run (Indiana) vs. #10 Boom’s Long Run (Wisc)

This first upset of round one, Boom’s scamper against Wisconsin, goes up against Braxton Miller against Indiana in his, in the immortal words of Shang Tsung, “… now for a taste of things to come.”

#2 Braxton’s 81 YD Run (Indiana)

VS.

#10 Boom’s Long Run (Wisc)

[poll id=”21″]

We’re back with the 2011 Football Moment Bracket with the Round Two match-ups. This was going to go up earlier to coincide with the basketball tournament, but I had a surgery to prepare for and ran out of time. Now that I’m recovering, I have time to get the second round voting under way.

Although there were a couple upsets in the first round, most of the higher seeded moments have made it through

Round Two: #1 Braxton’s TD Throw (Wisc) vs. #8 Urban Meyer Announced as Head Coach

Our first round basically matches up two of the more popular moments from 2011. Urban Meyer’s announcement may have been underrated but now it goes up against the juggernaut that is Braxton Miller’s amazing time-wizard throw for the ages.

#1 Braxton Miller’s Touchdown Throw against Wisconsin:

VS.

#8 Urban Meyer Announced as Head Coach:

[poll id=”20″]

To the surprise of no one today at a press conference, Jared Sullinger decided to forego any remaining eligibility and enter the NBA draft. The press conference also featured his current head coach, Thad Matta, who was very proud of Sully and supportive. There is no doubt this decision was made a long time ago and that he has full support of Team Sully, i.e. his family. Sullinger had two great years at Ohio State and helped lead the team to two B1G titles and one Final Four appearance. He is a two-time All American and All-B1G member.

While we here at MOTSAG wish him nothing but the greatest career in the NBA and hope all his dreams come true, I for one am worried that his game will struggle at the next level. He needs to toughen up mentally and mature in his game. He will be a great second option but I can’t see him being the team’s best player and go to guy in order for his team to succeed. I hope he continues to develop his game and it works out for him but he won’t succeed as a jump shooter in the NBA. I have said all year losing the weight hurt his game and I stand by that claim. I just think he lost a lot of toughness with the weight. He needs to add muscle to replace the weight. He will no doubt find that the NBA is much less aggressive then the B1G and will find going in the post a lot easier and much less painful. If he can get healthy and gain some inches in his vertical jumping ability that will help with the blocking of his shots. I just hope he lands on a team that will help him become the PRO he has always wanted to be. I hope Sully becomes everything Greg Oden couldn’t because of his injuries. He is a class act and a really great guy and I am proud to say he is a huge part of Buckeye Nation.