Archives for June 2013

Stephen Collier becomes commit no. 12

OSU FootballEarlier this week our man Adam did a Q&A interview with Stephen Collier and at the time of the interview he had a feeling that Collier was close to being offered and if he was offered would commit. It was only a few days later that all of this came to fruition. What does this mean for Brandon Harris? It most likely means he has taken OSU off his list and will end up at Auburn or LSU. What we know for sure is that Stephen Collier is the QB for this class and barring anything strange happening that is not going to change and I don’t think Buckeye Nation should even consider the what ifs. This kid is the real deal and in time the recruiting services will catch up to what OSU and the Elite 11 QB challenge already know he is a real talent.

Stephen Collier committed to Ohio State via his twitter account moments ago

Stephen Collier is a 6’4″ 210 lbs 3 star QB from Leesburg, Georgia. Collier racked up impressive numbers his junior season, racking up a more then 2,200 total yards and 34 touchdowns. He was invited to participate in the Elite 11 QB challenge that is for the best of the best QBs in the nation. Scout ranks him a 3 star and the 57th best QB in the country. 247sports ranks him a 3 star and the 18th best QB in the country. Rivals ranks him a 2 star. ESPN doesnt rank him at all…. YET. You can read the interview with Stephen which will give you some great insight into this young man. You can see his JR year highlights below.

In Case You Missed It

OSU LogoIn Case You Missed It is Men of the Scarlet and Gray’s semi-regular curated look at items that would interest the casual and hard-core Ohio State fan. These include news items, interesting blog posts and the occasional meme you’ve probably already seen. It’s all here and it’s all for you. Have a tip that should be included in the next ICYMI? Drop us a line at motsag@gmail.com or through our Contact Page.

So it has been a pretty busy week for Ohio State on the recruiting trail. They landed commit no. 11 in Top 50 DE Jalyn Holmes. You can read all about that here. They also have hosted literally 100s of recruits from the highest ranked to guys trying to make a name for them self and earn some schollies. You can read all the live updates from our friend at 11W Jeremy Birmingham by following his twitter feed HERE.

Bret Bielema decided to share his brilliance on why the “No Huddle” and “Spread Formation” are bad for football…

“Not to get on the coattails of some of the other coaches, there is a lot of truth that the way offensive philosophies are driven now, there’s times where you can’t get a defensive substitution in for 8-, 10-, 12-play drives,” Bielema said. “That has an effect on safety of that student-athlete, especially the bigger defensive linemen, that is really real.”

Alabama’s HC Nick Saban and Florida’s HC Will MUschamp agreed with Bielema in a show of SEC solidarity. Here is what Muschamp had to say..

“That’s something you’ve got to really watch as far as those things are concerned and guys getting lined up and getting themselves in position where they can defend themselves,” Muschamp said. “That’s something that does not always happen sometimes with as fast as these teams are moving.”

You can see the whole story here.

Former TTUN and current Arizona HC Rich Rod gave his view on it and needless to say he disagrees….

“Not at all. If you’re in shape, you still have time to substitute with all these timeouts and stoppages for play,” said Rodriguez. “You have three-minute timeouts in every quarter for TV. I don’t see that at all. Some basketball teams play up-tempo and fast break all the time; they don’t talk about that being an issue. …

“I’d like to have less stoppages and play faster. You talk about entertainment and fun to watch, I think we’re fun to watch when we’re playing. I don’t know how much fun it is to watch a huddle. That’s the biggest waste of time in football. I think from an excitement standpoint and the players, I think they like to play.”

You can read the whole story here.

Athlon Sports did an article ranking the B1G stadiums top to bottom and Ohio State came out in FIRST PLACE…. Even better though TTUN stadium came in a laughable 5th place see the article here.

Also the guys at SaturdayBlitz.com ranked the B1G coaches and Urban Meyer came in FIRST PLACE… TTUN Head Coach Brady Hoke came in a surprising 3rd place. Read all about it here.

With recent vandalism of college football traditions at Toomer’s Corner at Auburn and now at Howard’s Rock in Clemson. I really hope Ohio State is taking steps to make sure Buckeye Grove is never harmed and that OSU fans dont ever do anything stupid to sacred TTUN symbols if there are any to worship for their fans?

Fresh off of Blaz Rola winning the first ever National Championship Title in tennis for OSU the mens team is getting more recognition for just how good they have been. Did you know OSU hasn’t lost a home match in 10 YEARS??? that is 172 straight matches won at home for those counting. You can see a story about it here from the guys at TennisRecruiting.Net.

Lastly this week here at MOTSAG we have had stories about Tyvis Powell a Rising Star at Ohio State.

We also had a story about OSU cancelling a game with Central Michigan Chippewas.

And a Q&A with 2014 football recruit Stephen Collier who may possibly be in the running to be the QB for OSU in the 2014 class.

Buckeyes land a big time recruit

OSU FootballIf you are on twitter and follow recruiting at all you will hear a lot of people talking about how the sky is falling and how OSU missed out on this recruit or that recruit. The real problem is that happens in every recruiting class and there is no way to know who OSU is targeting the most or wants and who they have cooled on. The coaches aren’t allowed to say and you end up believing kids who tell all kinds of stories or recruiting “experts” who usually have an angle and need hits so they build up suspense and make stories sensational. The truth is Urban Meyer will get the guys he wants and needs. He wont get all of them EVER. He will lose on some he will regret later. But when he gets the one no one has talked about ad it surprises even the “experts” that is when recruiting shows how it really works. Today is one of those days and this newest commit while shocking to many will add to the folklore that is known as Urban Meyer…. After 36 hours of back and forth rumors it is official now.

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Jalyn Holmes committed to Ohio State via a get together with his family and teammates and Rivals employees….

He also announced via his twitter account…..

Jalyn Holmes is a 6’5″ 235 lbs 4 star DE/TE from Norfolk, Virginia. Jalyn is a freak of an athlete ranking high on both weak side Def End and Tight End. As a Sophomore Holmes had 60 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and five sacks. He made all-district and all-region as a sophomore. During his junior season, Holmes had 75 Tackles, 40 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks. He also caught 24 passes for 352 yards and seven touchdowns on offense. He projects to be a Def End at OSU and will play on the weak side. 247sports ranks him a 4 star and the 41st best prospect in the country and the 4th best DE. Rivals ranks him a 4 star and the 48th best in the country and the 3rd best DE. Scout ranks him a 4 star and the 98th best prospect in the country and 11th best DE. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the 293rd best in the country and 6th best tight end. Below you can find his highlight tape….

Q&A With Stephen Collier

stephen_collierJust by reading the name Stephen Collier I might have already lost a couple of readers but I’m asking you please stay with me you, won’t be disappointed.

Collier is a 3 star recruit out of Leesburg, Georgia, who has been invited to the Elite 11. Collier racked up impressive numbers his junior season, racking up a more then 2,200 total yards and 34 touchdowns. Right now, Collier holds ten offers in hand, two of which are from the Buckeye State in Toledo and Cincinnati. On June 9th, Collier camped at Ohio State and loved his visit.

“The camp was awesome. I loved learning some new things and getting to play with some incredible talent. I spoke with most of the offensive staff and Coach Meyer. Campus was awesome, top tier as expected. If Ohio State offered, I would seriously consider going there. It’s a great place with great players and a great coaching staff.”

I had a chance to chat with him as well:

Me: Who was your hero growing up?
Stephen Collier: “My hero growing up has always been my father. He’s been there for me since I can remember and he continues to show how great of a person and a father he really is. He works hard, is caring, always does the right thing, he’s helped me become the person that I am today.”

Me: What is your favorite food?
SC:“I love food in general but if I had to pick a favorite it’d be Sushi or Chicken Tenders lol.”

Me: Favorite athlete of all-time?
SC:“Though I haven’t agreed with all of his decisions in the past it’s LeBron James. From a physical and athletic standpoint he is a freak, and I mean that as a compliment.”

Me: Is distance going to be a problem for you and your family?
SC:“Distance isn’t a problem. I’ve been out of the county on my own, and we’ve moved a few times so it’s not at all.”

Me: What is the biggest thing people tell you that you need to work on?
SC:“People tell me I need to work on my feet the most. Just getting off of my toes and generating power from the ground up.”

Me: What is the weirdest thing that has happened on a college visit?
SC:“When I was on a visit to Georgia Tech for a game another QB recruit was there. He had both his stepmom there and his biological mom. The biological mom found out I was a QB and told me she hope I broke my arm so her kid could play LOL. The stepmom and dad later apologized.”

Me: Growing up in Georgia are you Dawgs fan?
SC:“I always cheered for UGA but as college football became a legitimate possibility for me to play, I kind of never rooted for any particular team.”

Me: What are your grades like?
SC:“Great grades. Thanks to my parents who made greatness a priority on and off the field. I have a 4.2 GPA with a 1770 on the SAT.”

Me: Winning TD….run it in or throw it in?
SC:“Throwing it for the win! Doesn’t get any better than that!”

Me: Tell me something you want people to know about you.
SC:“I’d want people to know that while I may not always be the biggest, the strongest, or the most well known, I will always work until I get the desired results. Anything that I’ve gotten athletically or academically has come because of an incredible amount of time and work. I’d want people to know that I come from an amazing family, with both parents present and a younger sibling. And lastly I’d want them to know God is number one in my life and without him none of this would be possible.”

I would like to thank the Collier family for letting me do this interview and want to wish Stephen nothing but the best in his upcoming senior season. I hope everyone enjoyed reading the Q&A as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you guys.

Elite 11 Invite Call

Junior Year highlights

Buckeyes cancel game with Chippewas

OSU FootballWhen the Big Ten voted to go to a 9 game conference schedule a few months back everyone knew that teams with their schedules already made out for the next 5-10 years would have to drop a non-conference game. What most of us hoped was that unlike some other teams out there (I am glaring at you SEC teams) the Buckeyes and their fellow B1G members wouldn’t cancel the marquee big name Non-Conf games. I can’t speak for the other teams but as for Ohio State they have made it clear from the beginning they wouldn’t do that and made it official today by canceling a game against Central Michigan and keeping their games against Tulsa, Bowling Green, and most importantly away at Oklahoma in 2016. Below you can see the full release as reported by the Columbus Dispatch….

The switch to a nine-game conference schedule in 2016 has caused Big Ten teams to drop one of their non-conference games. For Ohio State, the casualty will be the Central Michigan game.

The Buckeyes were scheduled to play the Chippewas on Sept. 24 in Ohio Stadium but have sent a letter to Central Michigan canceling the game, executive associate athletic director Martin Jarmond said.

>> Ohio State football schedules

Ohio State will open the 2016 season with a Sept. 3 game against visiting Bowling Green, followed by a Sept. 10 home game against Tulsa and a Sept. 17 game at Oklahoma.

Jarmond, whose duties include football scheduling, said that the Bowling Green game was kept on the schedule in part because the Falcons are in-state team. Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer began his head coaching career at Bowling Green in 2001.

A call to Central Michigan seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Tyvis Powell is a Rising Star

Powell_Tyvis_Jersey

OSU FootballComing into the 2013 season everyone is talking about which true freshman will help the Buckeyes the most. I am going to tell you about a redshirt freshman who I believe will make the biggest impact for the Buckeyes this fall. Tyvis Powell picked the Buckeyes over Michigan St and West Virginia. Powell played his high school football at Bedford where he was coached by Sean Williams where he racked up 6 interceptions and 100+ tackles during his junior and senior season. Powell enrolled at Ohio State in January of 2012 so he could participate in spring drills and try to get a leg up. It didn’t happen and Powell was redshirted his freshman season.

One year later could make all the difference in the world. This time last year Powell was just trying to earn a spot on special teams, this year he is trying to earn a starting spot on defense. In early spring Powell caught people’s attention when he was lining up at the star position for the Buckeyes defense. Urban Meyer was one of those…

“He earned that right in the off-season,” Meyer said. “He didn’t earn that during the season. I really like him by the way. He’s a 6-2 guy that’s done everything right.”

I personally am a huge Powell fan and really hope he earns the Star position. I think he could bring some grit to the defense. He has size and speed and that is always want you want from a guy who will be right up on the line a scrimmage. About a week ago Tyvis sent out a letter to #BuckeyeNation stating his love and passion about being a Buckeye. The thing I really took away from his letter is he is going to do anything and everything to be a starter. I surely wouldn’t want to be in his way.

“I still feel like I’m not where I need to be. We have a saying in the secondary called “B.I.A.” Which stands for “Best In America” and right now I do not feel like I am the best nickel in America.”

The “Star” position for Ohio State is very important to the Buckeyes defense. The star position requires a player to have good speed and cover skills but also someone who can get off blocks and make open field tackles. The Buckeyes mainly use the Star when a team has a three wide receiver set, but will use it at different times.

Powell will need to continue to make plays and impressing coaches to earn the starting spot in the season opener against Buffalo. There is going to be a lot of competition the rest of the summer for the Star position. Corey Brown and Devan Bogard seem to be the main competition to Powell along with true freshman Vonn Bell. “The Chase” is on for the next Star on the Silver Bullet Defense.

EDITORS NOTE: This story was written by one of our newest writers Adam whose twitter handle is @Bucks0331.

2014 class gets its Kicker

OSU FootballThe last 2 days at Ohio State there have been a whole lot of Special Teams stuff going on with their well Special Teams camp lol. Jim Tressel will no doubt be glad to hear that Urban Meyer puts so much importance on STs. With Drew Basil being a SR. they are in desperate need of a placekicker. Recently they signed a punter from Australia so this camp was mostly about getting the kicker they will need so badly next year. Well it appears the wait is over and they found their man….

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Sean Nuernberger announced he has committed to Ohio State via his twitter account.

Sean Nuernberger is a 6’2″ 220 lbs Kicker from Buckner, Kentucky. I cant find much on him from the recruiting sites but I did find his highlight videos you can see those below….

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Thad Matta lands a stud recruit

OSU Logobasketball_iconI know what you are thinking…. but but but this is a big football recruiting weekend why in the world are you talking about basketball recruiting. Because Thad Matta says so that’s why :). Not to be out done on the recruiting trail by his football counterpart Urban Meyer Coach Matta is putting together an extremely strong 2014 class of his own. The class is already large basketball recruiting class speaking with 4 members now and he may not be done if you follow bball recruiting at all he is chasing arguably the top 2 players in the country in Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor who both have OSU in their top 5 schools. But I digress because right now we should be talking about the 4th member of the 2014 class so here goes nothing.

D’Angelo Russell announced that he has committed to Ohio State via his twitter account.

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D’Angelo Russell is a 6’4″ 185 lbs 5 star Shooting Guard from Louisville, Kentucky. D’Angelo brings to the table a guy who can play Sg or point guard if he needs to. He is a scorer from both the outside and the drive. He has the ability to find and make his own shot and get his teammates involved as well. He is a bigger Trey Burke in my opinion with better ball handling skills. Probably the best part about landing Russell is that it came down to OSU and his hometown Louisville Cardinals and that we were able to steal him away from Rick Pitino who has recently became public enemy no. 1 for OSU fans. Rivals ranks him a 4 star and the 22nd best recruit in the country. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the 24th best recruit in the country in their ESPN 60 ranking. 247Sports ranks him a 4 star and the 39th best prospect in the country. Scout ranks him a 5 star and the 2nd best recruit in the country and the best Shooting Guard. You can see his Junior season mixtape below….

Football Moment 2012 Bracket (Final Four)

We have made it to the final four most amazing moments of the 2012 football season. These are the four most memorable, most bestest moments voted on by you, the fans (and such smart, attractive fans you are). So now we have the arduous task of determining which moment was the best offensive and defensive moment of the season. This is not for the faint of heart.

Because it seems like offense gets all the glory, we’re going to start this off by pitting the final two defensive/special team moments first:

Defensive/Special Team Moment

#1 Shazier’s goal line hit [Wisconsin] vs. #2 Kenny G’s 2-point conversion [Purdue]

Shazier went up against himself and won. It’s really not surprising that his goal line stop would be one of the most memorable plays of 2012. The goal line stand against Penn State a year earlier also made it to the final round of our Moments Bracket (which Shazier factored heavily in) so it stands to reason Shazier’s hit would make it this far.

Shaziers hit goes up against one of the most improbably comebacks in the past few years for the football Buckeyes. Kenny Guiton’s drive in the final minutes against Purdue (in relief of the previously injured Braxton Miller) would have all been for naught if he also wasn’t able to seal the deal on the two point conversion. But convert he did and that moment will go down as one of the most memorable of all times.

[poll id=”61″]

Offensive Moment

#1 Kenny Guiton’s last drive [Purdue] vs. #2 Devin Smith TD catch [Miami]

In a season where the Buckeyes went 12-0 and watched electrifying moments left and right from Braxton Miller, it’s ironic to see Mr. Miller absent from the Final Four moments (I mean, I guess he had a part in Devin Smith’s amazing grab) but see Kenny Guiton here twice. His heroism has not gone unnoticed. It’s cliche to say everyone’s favorite player is the back-up quarterback, but for a period of time last season that was figuratively and literally true.

Contrast Kenny’s fairly vanilla drive to Devin Smith’s amazing, spectacular, jaw-dropping, face-melting, Sports Center Top Ten-making grabs and you have the 2012 season in a nutshell.

So which one was the better moment?

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Oi Oi Oi!! Crikey OSU gets a new punter

A few months back when Johnny Townsend decided he wanted to stay home and play at Florida for his college choice it put Ohio State in a predicament. You see OSU had lost their SR punter Ben Buchannon after the 2012 season and didnt have a punter on the team for the 2013 season. Several attempts to get a walk-on punter all failed and Ohio State was in a pickle. Drew Basil the starting placekicker is capable of punting but to have him handling all kicking duties is not ideal at all. So Ohio State decided to scan the world and find a punter and they finally found one all the way down under in Australia.

From the Columbus Dispatch….

Cameron Johnston is a 21-year-old former Australian Rules Football player.
He’s also expected to be the next punter for Ohio State. If the coach who trained him is correct, Johnston will turn what is a question mark on the 2013 team into an exclamation point.

“He has an explosive leg unlike anything that I think anyone at Ohio State will have seen,” said Nathan Chapman, who trained Johnston at Prokick Australia in Melbourne.

Ohio State has not confirmed Johnston’s signing, but Chapman said it is official. Johnston’s flight from Australia to the United States left last night. Chapman suspected that Ohio State is waiting until he arrives before making an announcement.

On a layover late last night in Sydney, Johnston said in a Facebook message that he “can’t wait to get over and start training, being given the greatest opportunity to be part of the Ohio State University.”

Prokick Australia has trained numerous kickers for American colleges. Kickers accepted into the program go through a rigorous 12-month training period, and the results are impressive.

Alex Dunnachie was fourth in the nation in punting average for Hawaii last year at 46.2 yards per kick. Tom Hornsey of Memphis was 19th. Prokick Australia has punters in the Canadian Football League and some who are trying to make the NFL. Even Chapman unsuccessfully tried to make the Green Bay Packers’ roster in 2004.

The way Chapman describes Johnston, he is as good as anyone Prokick Australia has produced.

“I do have in my film him punting the ball 80 yards, and I’ve got him on film with hang times of 5.2 to 5.4 (seconds),” Chapman said. “(It’s) continually 65 yards, ball after ball after ball.”

Such numbers border on the hyperbolic, but Chapman insists that Johnston is for real.

“It’s just his natural kicking that he has grown up with playing Australian Rules,” Chapman said. “Plus, he has phenomenal core strength and leg strength. He’s got fast-twitch fibers, so he’s got leg speed — just a range of things that allows him to have quick, solid impact on the ball.

“He’s a phenomenal talent with an amazing leg who’s going to grow into his position. I think the university is so lucky and fortunate to be in position to have him.”

Chapman, who also played Australian Rules Football, contacted Ohio State about Johnston last September. The Buckeyes were skeptical, he said, but after watching tape, those doubts faded. Still, the Buckeyes pursued and got a commitment from Johnny Townsend, a punter from Orlando, Fla.

“It was disappointing, but we understand that it’s a business and it’s a part of the process,” Chapman said. “We had a couple of offers to go elsewhere from smaller universities, which we declined.”

On national signing day, Townsend decided not to sign with the Buckeyes and soon chose Florida. That reopened the door for Johnston. Chapman said that a couple of Southeastern Conference schools wanted Johnston but didn’t have an opening this year.

“If Cameron hadn’t gone to Ohio State, he would have gone to Alabama (next year),” Chapman said.

During Ohio State’s spring practice, place-kicker Drew Basil was listed as the No. 1 punter. Though Basil was more than adequate, having one player handle all kicks is not ideal.

Chapman said he expects Johnston to have an adjustment period to American culture and to the football culture at Ohio State. But he described Johnston as a natural, upbeat leader and excellent teammate who will blend in, and predicted that he would become a popular member of the team.

“Once they start training camp and you get to see him for real, you’ll understand what’s on your doorstep,” Chapman said.

I can’t find any recruiting sites with info on Cameron but based on his highlight video it looks like he could be a heck of a punter and the answer to at least one of Ohio States glaring questions this season. Below you can see his Highlight reel with accompanying awesome Aussie Club Music for your personal enjoyment.