Archives for July 2013

Getting to know David Dowell

July 8, 2013 by 1 Comment

OSU FootballWe here at MotSaG have started a new series of posts where we interview some of the top prospects in Ohio for the 2015 class. With the 2014 class filling up quickly and Coach Meyer and his staff focused mostly on shoring up the team for this year and the 2014 class they haven’t spent a lot of time on the 2015 class yet and haven’t handed out many offers but there are some guys in the class from Ohio that are sure to see that offer sooner rather than later.

1094487The first recruit we want to highlight with an interview is David Dowell a 6’1″ 175 lbs 4 star WR/CB from North Ridgeville, OH. David has offers from a few MAC schools but is getting a lot of interest from bigger schools including OSU and Michigan and pretty much every other B1G school. It is still really early in his recruiting process but you can sense things will blow up for him sooner rather than later. 247sports is the only recruiting service with rankings on the 2015 class and they already have him ranked in their Top 247. 247sports has David ranked as the 218th best prospect in the nation and the 24th best WR in the country and 9th best prospect overall in Ohio for 2015.

David took some time to answer some questions for us and we thought we would share that info with you all for your enjoyment. I really enjoyed my interaction with this young man and appreciate that he took time out of his day to let Buckeye Nation get to know him a little better. So read what he had to say and enjoy and leave some thoughts for us and David in the comments section.

SYR- If you could please tell us about your home life… Parents, brothers and/or sisters, where you were born, Have you always lived in Lakewood, Ohio?

David- I live with my Dad and Mom, Will and Anita Dowell. I have a twin brother Andrew Dowell who is also 16 and a younger brother Michael Dowell who is 13. I actually live in North Ridgeville, OH, but I attend High School at St. Edward in Lakewood.

SYR- Tell us a little bit about your High School Football team such as record and offensive style. What are your goals for the upcoming season?

David- Last year my team went undefeated in the regular season going 10-0. We lost in the second round of the playoffs to Mentor. Our offense had a successful season as we put up a lot of points each game. We play a fast tempo offensive with 4 WRs and a zone read.

SYR- What college football team did you grow up being a fan of and why?

David- I grew up mainly an Ohio State fan because my father is an alumni and also because it is so close to home.

SYR- What was the OSU camp like for you and what coaches did you get to talk with or work with? Do you believe an offer is coming from Ohio State?

David- The Ohio State camp went really well for me. It was ran really well. All of the drills were intense and I felt like I learned a lot from the coaches. I worked out at corner that day and I felt like I learned a lot from Coach Coombs. He told me to send him my information and that he is going to recruit me. So I left Ohio State with a really good impression.

SYR- Who would you say is your personal hero?

David- My personal hero would have to be my father. I look up to him and hope I can be just as good of a father and husband as he is.

SYR- If you were going to die tomorrow what would your final meal consist of?

David- My final meal would be a full slab of ribs and a side of fries.

SYR- Who do you think you compare to most in the NFL right now?

David- Greg Jennings because we have some of the same attributes and he is a great route runner and I pride myself on being an excellent route runner.

SYR- Who is your favorite OSU/College player of all time?

David- OSU player: Ted Ginn and College player: Morris Claiborne

SYR- I know the recruiting process is early for you and you dont have a ton of offers YET but what do you think your top 5 schools would look like if you had offers from them?

David- When I name my top 5 it will be based on getting to know the coaching staff and also getting to see the school so since I haven’t done that I don’t have a top 5 at this point.

SYR- You are listed as a WR is that what you want to play at the next level? What kind of receiver do you consider yourself a playmaking deep threat or a possession receiver?

David- I started WR all of last year but my freshmen year I played corner. I have been working all off season to strengthen my CB skills because I think I will be a better player if I bring back that aspect of my game. I will be playing both WR and CB this fall. I consider myself as a versatile receiver. I am a good route runner but can also go deep and get over top a defender to make a play.

SYR- What would you like Buckeye Nation to know about you that they most likely don’t already know?

David- I may not be the biggest or strongest, but I will be the hardest worker on the field and I make plays.

SYR- You are a two sport star is there a possibility of playing both at the next level if not which do you prefer Football or Basketball?

David- There is always a possibility of playing two but as of right now I would prefer to play football.

You can follow David on twitter at @_KingDavid18.

You can see his Sophomore Year Highlights from Hudl here.

I would really like to thank David for doing this interview with us and can’t wait to see what the future has in store for this fine young man.

Filed Under: Ohio State Football Tagged With: ,

The View from Rutgers: Conference Re-Alignment, UFC, Recruiting and Other Matters of Amateur Athletics

July 8, 2013 by 2 Comments

b1g_icon“The campus is alive—people can tell you much more about the 2014 football schedule than they can about the 2013 schedule” says Scott Goodale, coach of the Rutgers wrestling team. Starting fall, 2014, the Scarlet Knights will begin competition in the Big Ten which will then expand to 14 members with the addition of Rutgers and ACC charter member Maryland. For the record, in 2014, Rutgers football will receive visits from Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin and will go on the road to play Ohio State, Nebraska and Maryland (by contrast, in 2013, the last season before Big Ten play, the Scarlett Knights play the likes of Arkansas, Houston, Louisville, Cincinnati,  Connecticut, Central Florida and South Florida).  The renewal of their long-time rivalry with Penn State has to be particularly exciting given that the two programs have not played since 1995—shortly after Penn State ceased being an independent power by joining the Big Ten.

While some treat this affiliation as a big yawn, one only has to dig a little deeper to appreciate why this could well be a move where the sum is much more significant than its parts.  I had a chance to sit down with Coach Goodale, who happened to be in my adopted home, Carlsbad, CA on a recruiting visit.  I was struck by how a wrestling program at a school like Rutgers now sits right in the middle of some of the big amateur sports and Olympic issues of our day.

Rutgers has certainly enjoyed football success, and much of it in the last decade, but few would pretend it has cracked into the level of consistently being an elite program, despite being a major football playing power in the talent rich Atlantic seaboard region.  While one always has to be careful about comparing football, which is species unto itself, to other athletics programs, in this instance Rutgers wrestling may be a useful comparator as it also sits in a talent rich region.

“The problem we have is that if a wrestler is interested in us, he is probably also interested and capable of getting into Princeton, Harvard, etc., so we often lose that wrestler. If he is capable of wrestling at a higher level, he often chooses the Big Ten, so we are somewhat caught in the middle.”  One suspects football is much the same—the Big East is typically not the recruiting draw that other conferences are for top tier talent, and while Rutgers may not have to compete with the Ivies for the next level of high school football talent, they still have to share that talent with a number of competing programs such as Boston College, West Virginia, Connecticut, Temple to name just a few.

Thus, at least for football, wrestling and many other sports, one suspects, the move to the Big Ten has to be seen as a recruiting bonanza, a point directly underscored by Coach Goodale.  There are some exceptions—while Rutgers may in fact be able to amp up the basketball excitement for moving to the Big Ten, the Big East was of course among the elite of basketball conferences (underscore “was” as the Catholic seven bolt from the rest of the old Big East—even retaining the name). Some sports might actually have a tougher go—men’s soccer for example where four current Big Ten teams do not sponsor a team (Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Purdue).  Despite the overall prestige of the Big Ten, it might be tougher to recruit soccer players into a conference where less than all members are enthusiastic—one can only imagine how men’s lacrosse recruits in lacrosse-mad Maryland view the move to the much less lacrosse serious Big Ten (though the addition of powerhouse Johns Hopkins as a Big Ten lacrosse member does provide a powerful counter for that particular concern).

Obviously of course, the new money that will funnel through to Rutgers because of the move to the Big Ten will be felt across the board as the annual take, while uncertain at this point, will be millions more than it enjoyed before the move.  While football recruiting will not be affected at least in terms of scholarships, facilities will doubtlessly improve and recruiting in other sports will improve.  Wrestling was already fully funded in that the full NCAA allotment of 9.9 annual scholarships is provided at Rutgers—however, the dollar amount is based on in-state tuition, meaning it is quite a bit tougher to recruit out of state kids who typically have to pay a portion of tuition at out of state rates.  The increased budget as a result of joining the Big Ten is likely to allow filling those scholarships with out of state rates—a significant new bonus for the non-revenue sports.

Indeed, for 2014, the first recruiting year in which the jump to the Big Ten has had an effect as a recruiting tool, Rutgers has seen an impressive bump in the rankings of its commitments, highlighted so far by the overall number 60 ranked high school wrestler, Anthony Giraldo, ironically from nearby North Bergen NJ.  “Last year I would have been basically limited to driving around New Jersey looking for athletes. This year I am talking to you in Southern California as I recruit the best kids in the country—kids that know that by the time they arrive on campus they will have the chance to compete for a Big Ten title,”  says Coach Goodale.  With no disrespect whatsoever to the proud and successful Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, where Rutgers participates through the 2013-14 season, it is quite a step up to be able to tell recruits they will compete for their entire careers in the Big Ten—a conference that produced six of ten 2013 NCAA champions.

Football recruiting seems to be off to a similarly stalwart start.  College football recruiting rankings, inherently suspect, are even more specious when it comes to mid-year snapshots.  Nonetheless, after finishing 45th in the Yahoo/Rivals 2013 rankings, Rutgers football is up to 16th in the latest 2014 rankings (as of now, Maryland has not enjoyed a similar bump).

One also suspects this change in the state of Rutgers recruiting reflects an expanded travel budget in anticipation of Big Ten riches as much as it does the prospect of offering recruits the opportunity to wrestle in the dominant wrestling conference in the country once they arrive.

I was surprised to learn from Coach Goodale that the there is not a lot of buzz within the college wrestling community about the Ed O’Bannon case and its impact on collegiate sports.  It might be that wrestling is fighting too many other battles right now to worry about the speculative effect of what that case might bring.  Wrestling, which has been devastated perhaps as much as any sport because of Title IX, now worries about how the impact of a potential loss of wrestling in the Olympics might further erode its brand appeal with young athletes.  Since February when the Olympic executive board recommended dropping wrestling after the 2016 Olympics, many feel the battle being waged for permanent Olympic reinstatement September is being won.

It is ironic that one of the adjustments made by US and International wrestling to save wrestling in the Olympics has been to further embrace women’s wrestling.  One wonders, as Title IX continues to chip away at wrestling (for example, proponents were saddened to learn of Boston University’s recent decision to drop wrestling), could women’s wrestling not only help on the Olympic level but on the collegiate level as well? Wrestling is not a capital intensive sport—if a college can adopt a women’s program, the same facilities could of course support a men’s team.  And if the O’Bannon case does shrink the dollars available for non-revenue sports, could a sport like wrestling address Title IX and still restrain costs in a post-O’Bannon era? While women’s wrestling is still not on the shortlist yet of programs to be added by major universities, the list of smaller colleges adopting wrestling programs is impressive and growing.  Coach Goodale could not speculate on the future of women’s wrestling except to indicate there is a palpable buzz that did not exist in prior years and added: “if you watch women wrestlers at the highest level, it is really impressive how far they have come in just a few short years.  If this catches on, I could see women’s wrestling becoming a major force.”

Among the changes that wrestling adopted to save its Olympic cache was a revamp of bizarre and almost random scoring rules.  The most hated was a “ball drop” to decide a tie where one wrestler was awarded a starting position that led to a win nearly 90% of the time.  For the most part, fans and wrestlers have applauded the move to the new rules which penalize passivity and end a lopsided match more quickly.  Coach Goodale thought some of the new freestyle rules could have a beneficial effect at the collegiate level, especially the passivity rule which, if there has been no score for a set period, the referee declares one wrestler as the passive wrestler.  If no one scores in the next 30 seconds, the non-passive wrestler is awarded a point.  “I also like the one point awarded on a push out—make them wrestle in the middle.” Continuing, Coach Goodale adds, “and recently, someone suggested awarding three points for just the first takedown—that might make things more exciting too if a premium was put on early aggression.”

Despite potential challenges on the horizon for wrestling, in some respects the future of wrestling has never been brighter.  As the key building block for the immensely popular MMA/UFC, wrestling has an opportunity to reach a young, excited and huge audience–a genuine opportunity for mass appeal. Former Buckeye wrestling star Tommy Rowlands has been one of the most active persons in linking the popular consciousness of MMA to its wrestling roots.  Some of the most dominant fight names are and have been collegiate wrestlers, including Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Chael Sonnen, Phil, “Mr. Wonderful” Davis and Buckeye strongman and pioneer Kevin Randleman.  Wrestlers watched former Hofstra star Chris Weidman rock the world by ending the seven year reign of former middleweight champion Anderson Silva.  The night was particularly sweet for the Rutgers wrestling community, Coach Goodale and his close friend,  volunteer Rutgers coach Frankie Edgar, former featherweight champ (currently ranked No. 3).  Edgar, one of the most popular UFC fighters of his era, shared the card with New Yorker Weidman and won an exciting and decisive bout against physically imposing up and coming Charles Oliveira.  Wrestlers now have exciting options beyond coaching—and the potential to earn enormous income.  “You see a great guy like Frankie Edgar, how much he means to the UFC and how much wrestling has meant to him.  He works out with our team as one of the guys–it is exciting to the kids, but you can tell Frankie gets a lot out of it too in terms of his own fight preparation.  I would never want to get hit in the face, but these guys come out of college, and they are so tough, and they have mastered the art of close contact and precise maneuvers.  For most of them, picking up boxing and cementing the other pieces is actually pretty easy given what they have already mastered, and before long, they are the ones dishing out the punishment. This fight game has gone way past boxing, and it is exciting that our young men are so much a part of it” observes Coach Goodale.  Then, siting back with eyes on the horizon, he added, “and hey, young women too. It’s an exciting new time, and I’m glad I’m a part of it.”

Indeed it is.  Welcome Scarlet Knights.

Filed Under: College Football, College Wrestling Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Newest MotSaGers

July 8, 2013 by 4 Comments

Blog/site newsAfter floundering for the better part of a year, struggling to find the time and motivation to keep our content flowing with any consistency, I was at a crossroads earlier this summer. I didn’t know what was happening with the direction of the site. The original founders of the site (myself (Tony), SYR (Jeremiah), sportsMonkey and Trevor) had more or less run our course. We had added some people in the past (Kade, YNBA and Jason N) but even with this skeleton crew, we struggled to get content out on a consistent basis. I decided to take a hiatus from the site, get my head straight and decide if I wanted to continue on. In all honesty, I was ready to shut things down.

But for a number of reasons, that’s not what happened. I’m too stubborn to stop and too obstinate to let anyone else pilot the ship, so I decided to soldier on. But I knew we’d need help. So we lit the Bat Signal and asked if anyone out there in Buckeye Land was interested in joining us. The response was overwhelming. We had a lot of talented people offer their services. We decided to add some of these great guys to our staff of writers.

Without further ado, allow me to introduce the newest members of the MotSaG writing crew:

Andrew (@bucknut22) – Andrew is a Buckeye fan from NJ. He will be a senior in high school next year. Andrew became a Buckeye fan as a young kid when he started watching their games, ever since he’s been a huge fan. Andrew follows the football and basketball teams. He’s also a former blogger at the now defunct The Silver Bullet (RIP).

Andrew will be covering a little bit of everything for us here.

Garth (@twuckeye) – Now entering a second career, Garth is a graduate of OSU and Harvard Law School. He has authored three books, identified in “America’s Best Lawyers” for over 20 years and taught law at the University of San Diego School of Law. From Westerville he was a Central Ohio wrestling champion and has been a Buckeye football season ticket holder since law school. He has written on sports quite frequently, most recently as a beat reporter covering the San Francisco 49ers and the Golden State Warriors.

Garth will be contributing a number of topics to the site, and will be providing the first wrestling coverage we’ve ever had hear at MotSaG. Garth will also be contributing editorial content.

Shannon (@smsommers84) – Shannon is a U.S. Navy Veteran (Seabees), has had a love for the Buckeyes since a little lad, tortured by Cleveland Sports and his love for them. Enjoys Tech (mainly Android), enjoys cooking, grilling, and discovering new beers.

Shannon will be primarily acting as our New Editor, along with other content.

James (@UberGoober) – James is from Middletown, Ohio (about 30 minutes from Cincinnati) and have been there all my life. He’s been a fan of OSU football for over twenty years. He’s also tried his best to be a fan of the Bengals, but got tired of being disappointed year after year. He wanted to root for a winning team but there is no way on God’s green earth that he’d root for the Browns or the Steelers (Ravens, too) [Ed: we’ll let that part about the Browns slide].

He never attended OSU but drove through the campus just to say he went there.

James will be helping out with football content.

Josh (@SchottJosh) – Josh is a recent broadcasting graduate of Marietta College. He is always following and watching sports, especially college football. Josh is a loyal fan of the Indians, Cavaliers and of course the Buckeyes. When he’s not following sports he likes to spend time outdoors, play video games and spend time on Twitter and Google+.

Josh will be helping out with our Social Media outreach and will be a member of the writing staff.

Chris W (@CDubisms) – Chris is a Buckeyes fan who currently lives in the middle of the SEC (Huntsville, AL). He loves college football and a wide range of other sports that does not include NASCAR or hockey. He is glad that the BCS era is about end, but remains cautiously optimistic about the playoff system until he learns more about its selection process.

Chris will be joining as a staff writer, bringing content that will also include more of the college football picture at large.

Dylan (@dylanfreeman33) – Dylan is from Grand Ledge, Michigan, currently a sophomore at Michigan State University studying sports journalism. He has always been a die-hard Buckeye fan every since his parent took him to his first game when he was little. There is nothing like the ‘Shoe on a Saturday night. He plays golf and is trying out for the MSU team this year.

Dylan will be helping out with the recruiting side of our coverage.

Aaron (@avrnrgy) – Aaron will be helping out with basketball coverage

Chris K (@KuhnCeejDawg) – Chris K will be helping out with basketball recruiting.

Filed Under: Site News

Coach Meyer speaks out on Hernandez

July 7, 2013 by 2 Comments

Since all of the Aaron Hernandez news started to break a few weeks ago Coach Meyer has done his best to stay out of the headlines. While many writers have dragged his name into the story to try and gather their own headlines and hits to their stories. I am choosing not to link any of these stories because they are sensational at best and almost entirely unfounded and under researched by the “media members” attempting to lay blame at the feet of Urban Meyer.

When asked about the case recently Coach Meyer declined to comment to respect the family of the slain victim/victims? Aaron Hernandez is being accused of many horrific crimes in the media but so far only accused of one actual murder in the actual Court of Law and not the Court of Public Opinion. Coach Meyer is a public figure and he has many detractors and although most in the OSU fanbase would jump on those bandwagons a few years back when he was at Florida and ruining Buckeyes NC dreams the truth is we didn’t know what kind of program he ran we weren’t privy to the day to day operations and how he handled his players and program. it can be argued we still don’t know fully how he has handled the OSU program but I can see with my own eyes the way he and his coaches spend time preparing the players for a future outside of football. How they bring their principles and beliefs to the program and share those with the players and hold them to those standards. The players are responsible for their own actions and are treated really well when they are doing well and are treated really badly when they don’t but in both cases you can see and feel the love Coach Meyer has for his players. You can sense how when bad things happens it weighs heavily on Coach Meyer and when they do great things how proud he is of his players.

Much of the criticism against Meyer is “Monday Morning Quaterbacking” looking back in hindsight and trying to judge Meyer on what he didn’t do and not what he did do. Some of the accusations against Meyer are incredulous and insane. I have seen people say that Meyer and Florida paid off the police not to charge his players with multiple shootings and assaults. As if it is just that easy to do and that no one in the police or State Attorney General office would notice Florida players getting a pass on murder charges.

Enough of my opinions lets read what Coach Meyer has to say in his own words. Again some on the “media” will twist these words or worse claim he is lying but they don’t have any proof of the contrary and are just spouting their personal opinions and NOT FACTS. So here thanks to Tim May at The Columbus Dispatch we have Coach Meyers own words on this subject….

“I’ve been, on purpose, staying away from this whole thing, but I’m not now,” Meyer told The Dispatch yesterday before embarking on a family vacation. And he added that, foremost, his “prayers and thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim.”
Yet aspersions have been cast in some media circles that the way Meyer and others tried to help Hernandez work through some of his personal challenges might have served to “enable” him. In a brief interview yesterday, Meyer refuted that claim and others:
 

Question: Have the recent personal attacks on you in relation to this case bothered you?

Answer: Whenever someone attacks your character, our staff — people aren’t aware of all the things we do in terms of being a mentor, dealing with issues and all that. Yeah, I have been avoiding talking about this because you’re talking about a serious crime; you’re talking about families that have been very affected by this. And to pull something back personal that isn’t true from four to seven years ago, that’s mind-boggling to me.
 

Q: Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun wrote a week ago that you and your wife, Shelley, welcomed Hernandez into your home at times back then, offering him family-style exposure among other ways of trying to show him the right path. Do you think now about what else you could have done?

A: Absolutely. When one of our (Florida assistant) coaches started recruiting him up in (Bristol) Connecticut, it was right after his father had died suddenly. There was a lot of emotional trauma with that. Years ago, that would weigh forever on my chest — “What could we do? What could we do?” Then I’d talk with other coaches, and in essence the conversation was you do the best you can. But at the end of the day, there is free will. You can’t change people. You can set the table and try to help them, make sure there is a spiritual component in their life, make sure there is a family atmosphere. And that’s what we try to do — it’s what we’ve tried to do everywhere.
 
Q: So how do you react when someone uses the term “enabler” to describe how you handled Hernandez?

A: When I hear that, the first thing I know is it’s not true. And second, I don’t spend much time thinking about it. I’m worried about my players and my team and my family. Years ago, (such criticism) used to bother me. That’s why I don’t read much anymore; I just stay away from it.
 
Q: What do you recall of Hernandez’s brushes with the law during his time at Florida?

A: Relatively speaking, he had very minor stuff. He was questioned about being a witness (to a shooting), and he had an argument in a restaurant (in which Hernandez allegedly struck an employee in an argument over an unpaid bill), and he was suspended one game (reportedly for a failed marijuana test). Other than that, he was three years a good player. That was it.
 
Q: It has been suggested that Hernandez failed four to seven drug tests in his time at Florida.

A: I just received an email from a friend where there is an accusation of multiple failed drug tests by Hernandez covered up by the University of Florida or the coaching staff. This is absolutely not true. Hernandez was held to the same drug-testing policy as every other player.
 
Q: In regards to the shooting incident, in which two people in a car were wounded, a police report surfaced that showed Hernandez and teammate Reggie Nelson were questioned but never charged. What do you recall of that episode?

A: I don’t remember his name in (the report). I remember it was about a one-hour discussion. One of my coaches came in and said, “Hey, they’re getting questioned for this.” … I said, “Well, what do I need to do?” And he said, “Nothing. They’re not involved.” And that was it. They weren’t questioned for (doing) the shooting. They were questioned as a witness.”
 
Q: You mentioned that your concern for Hernandez rose most when he occasionally would visit his hometown.

A: His people back home said, “Keep him (in Florida), don’t let him come back home” (because of what they saw as unsettling influences). That was a big part of it, now that I remember it. And I didn’t understand the seriousness of it. People warned me and the coaches warned me, saying, “He can’t go back home.” Again, though, I had no idea we’d be talking about what we are now.
 
Q: Many look upon college head coaches, despite a three- to five-year exposure with an athlete, as being quasi-parents responsible in part for how an athlete turns out.

A: Absolutely that is part of our responsibility. Now can it completely wear you out in worrying about what’s going on 24/7? Yes. But it is our responsibility. We represent the university. We’re like the CEO of a company, but the difference is we’re in the public eye. And then the stories that get told and printed, with the inaccuracies, that’s what just wears you out.

Our program, in my opinion, does as good of a job as anybody in America in involving families, making it a family atmosphere, getting to know our players and trying to develop our players in all areas of their life — social, spiritual, athletic, everything. Our coaches coach, but that’s a small part of it. … It’s why we work so hard on life after football with these kids.

tmay@dispatch.com
@TIM_MAYsports

Filed Under: NFL, Ohio State Football, Pro Football Tagged With:

Three Yards and a Cloud of Links (Holiday Edition)

July 4, 2013 by 1 Comment

Happy Birthday America!!!!

What a great country we live in. I know we can debate the politics and some people feel this and that about our country.

We aren’t going to talk all that this is my column and my thoughts

I’m hoping while you are reading this that you are getting ready to fire up the grill, hanging with family and friends and enjoying a beautiful day. Enjoy the fireworks maybe a couple of adult beverages (don’t mind if I do).

One of the things that makes this country so great is Freedom of Speech. It is a corner stone of the foundation of America. I know, some people are like, “what is he talking about people lose their jobs if they say things on social media sites. They might lose sponsors if they are famous enough to endorse products.” You have to understand these business’ have a right to protect their identity, beliefs and such. None of these folks have gone to jail over it. Why? Because they have the Freedom of Speech.

Now this isn’t more true than what has transpired the last day or two from Clay Travis. Mr. Travis writes for Outkick the Coverage who just recently joined forces with FoxSports.com. In his first article for Fox Sports he decides what a perfect time to go after Urban Meyer. OK, not a bad plan, the whole SEC fan base is going to read this (or have someone read it to them) so there’s a bunch of hits and Buckeye Nation will be all over this. My first article is going to generate so much traffic Fox Sports is going to be proud of me.

Travis’s article on Tuesday says that Coach Meyer turned in his former staff and school, University of Florida, for recruiting violations. Now my opinion is that if you see a violation no matter who, where, or what it is needs reporting. This sends Twitter a buzz yesterday morning Florida fans calling Urban the Devil, scUM fans jumping on the bandwagon cause, well, let’s face it the Buckeyes are more interesting than those wolverines.

It comes out later from Pat Dooley, that Urban Meyer texts him informing him he didn’t turn them in but the compliance office of Ohio State did and later informing him of alleged violation and their actions. Also later on there was news that this whole ordeal was brought on by something that was posted on rivals.com website. The Buckeyes compliance department came across this info and contacted the NCAA about a possible secondary violation of “bumping”. The NCAA investigates and finds no wrong doing. Should be case closed.

Nope seeing how this all revolved around a recruit that both Ohio State and Florida were after and the recruit decided that he wasn’t interested in Florida anymore that Meyer was to blame. I mean how dare a recruit decide to drop Florida and pick OSU as one of his final three. Word was after this info came out Travis doesn’t believe any of it he knows Urban turned them in.

Whew, fun morning, should get back to work oh wait, what Travis is up to something else? Oh the fire must be dying down need web hits bring the Buckeye Nation back.

Clay Travis comes out with a new article, even better (accusation-wise) than the first. To some up the article Urban Meyer was responsible for Aaron Hernandez and what he is currently going through. He alleges that Florida coaching staff covered possible violent  offenses Hernandez may have had during his time as a Gator under Coach Meyer (including possibly a murder).

Now with what he said I am not going to bother with his allegations because I wasn’t there nor have I properly investigated them (neither has he). I find it amazing that a reporter or blogger or radio personality that he may be can just throw out crazy accusations without a shred of proof. He says because Coach Meyer won’t talk on the subject proves his guilt.

Urban’s afraid of telling a lie and getting caught in it.

Some of his article has been repeated as far as the 2007 murder investigation. But to fly off and say whelp Urban Meyer covered it all it his fault without a shred of evidence is immoral and unethical.

I’m sorry, I can’t believe what you say because even in your first article you were wrong. I know I’m a Buckeye fan. I’m going to stick up for Coach Meyer, but am I going to believe everything he says? No. I have been burned by Jim Tressel and my belief he could do no wrong until the evidence came out. Mr. Travis do you have any evidence that Urban Meyer covered for Aaron as you allege?

Here is my point, you can write anything up stir up a fan base get people talking about you because we have Freedom of Speech here in America. I don’t agree with what Clay is putting out there but he has that right. He’s no going to be put in jail, he’s not being censored.

No words for this moron’s post.

Well funny thing Gator Nation, you guys didn’t seem to mind the all the negativity that was going on your campus while Urban Meyer was winning you Two National Championships. Now you want to bring up his character and how many of his players were arrested. If he was guilty of Hernandez he must be guilty of how Tim Tebow turned out. Wait what No. Tebow is responsible for the Two National Championships not Meyer OK I understand.

I am going to leave you with the final thought that everyone in the nation has been telling the City of Cleveland. You know the one that is supposedly not over a certain person who took his talents to South Beach but a four letter network and print media keeps bringing up and talking about his return.

Get Over It

 

Filed Under: College Football, Ohio State Football

Happy Fourth of July from Men of the Scarlet and Gray

July 4, 2013 by 2 Comments

Red White and Boom 2007 - Columbus, OH

Have a safe, enjoyable and relaxing holiday with friends and family. (Don’t blow any fingers off with an errant crap-flapper)

Filed Under: Blogging

Top Five Heisman Candidates [Guest Post]

July 3, 2013 by 4 Comments

Football(This is a guest post by Chris Williams, one of many applicants for the recently open positions on the MotSaG staff.)

With just a little less than 60 days until the first game of the college football season, the itch to write was too strong not to scratch. I don’t normally encourage preseason rankings, whether it is polls or Heisman predictions, but I was asked to list my top five Heisman candidates for the upcoming season. I have not listed them in any particular order (it’s the preseason, there’s no need to get too crazy) and these are the top five players who I think have a great chance to make a run at the trophy formerly known as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy.

Several others were considered: AJ McCarron will likely break the Alabama record for passing yards this season, but I fear TJ Yeldon will take votes away from him. I also think that the focus will be on his pursuit of a fourth ring rather than this season’s accomplishments and this is not a career award. Lache Seastrunk will have a great year at Baylor, but voters tend to shy away from players whose team doesn’t have a fantastic record so he may be in trouble. Marcus Mariota will turn some heads again this year, but we’ll see if there’s any post-Kelly drop off. Finally, I’m a huge JaDaveon Clowney fan, but I don’t think we’ll see a purely defensive player win this trophy any time soon.

1. Marqise Lee, WR, USC: Lee was the best player in the country last season, in my view, and was stuck on an unbelievably underachieving team. He was in the top three in the country in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, receptions per game, and yards per game. Additionally, he was in the top ten in the nation in average punt return yardage. He did all that while playing opposite Robert Woods, who was drafted 41st overall in April’s NFL draft and in a season which saw Matt Barkley fall from being potentially the top pick in the 2012 NFL Draft (had he left) to being a fourth-round pick in 2013.

A wide receiver hasn’t won the Heisman since current College GameDay cast member (and former member of TTUN), Desmond Howard, won it in 1991. Football, on every level, has become a pass-centric game over the years and because of that, only twice since 2000 a non-quarterback has taken home the 25-pound trophy (both were running backs). I think it’s time that a receiver gets some of the credit for the success of the passing game because someone is beating defenders and then catching the balls that these quarterbacks are throwing. The only thing that may hold Lee back this year is the uncertainty at quarterback for the Trojans this season, but then again it’s not as if Barkley was solid last year.

2. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville: Bridgewater is the trendy pick right now due to a combination of the Cardinals’ destruction of the Gators in the Sugar Bowl and the easy schedule that lies ahead in 2013. Bridgewater easily had the best game that any quarterback had against the Gators defense all last season. He threw for more yards (266) and was the only quarterback who threw for more touchdowns (2) than interceptions (1) against them.

Louisville’s schedule this season isn’t exactly daunting either. That might have been helped had Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas opted for the NFL as it is rumored that had he done so, Frank Beamer was going to try to get out of the Alabama game in Week 1 and Charlie Strong was going to try to jump into it. However, that didn’t happen and Louisville has a schedule that only has games in which the Cardinals should be the favorite. Only Kentucky and Cincinnati, both with new head coaches, have any hope of ruining an undefeated season. However, with this schedule, Bridgewater would need another great bowl performance to get the public’s attention — too bad Heisman voting is before bowl season.

3. Johnny “Football” Manziel, QB, Texas A&M: Only former Buckeyes running back Archie Griffin has won the Heisman twice, winning it his junior and senior seasons, in 1974 and 1975. Manziel was the first freshman (redshirt or otherwise) to take the trophy home last season after becoming one of five players in college football history to throw for 3000 yards and rush for 1000 yards (and he’s the only one of the five that didn’t need a conference championship or bowl game to reach either milestone.) The bright side is that Manziel should have a much stronger understanding of Kevin Sumlin’s system in his second season (and first full offseason as the starter). Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury leaving to be head coach at Texas Tech will hurt some, but Jake Spavital (a Dana Holgerson prodigy) should fill in just fine. The loss of All-American (and second overall pick in April’s NFL Draft) left tackle Luke Joeckel is certainly a concern, but the return of senior (and fellow All-American) Jake Matthews lessens that to some degree as he will move from right to left tackle. Manziel is eligible for the NFL after this season and that may inspire him to put up video game numbers again, but it will be much harder with a target on that number 2 this time.

4. Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson: Tajh Boyd was commit to the Buckeyes in 2009, but chose the Tigers late in the process, presumably because he didn’t want to wait out the Terrelle Pryor era (… and what an era that was). It looks like he made a choice that works for him as he seems to fit well in Chad Morris’ (offensive coordinator). Boyd threw for nearly 4000 yards (3896) last season and didn’t have his best receiver, Sammy Watkins, at full strength for most of the season. Boyd ended his redshirt junior season with a great performance against LSU in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. He threw for 346 yards against the Tigers defense (only Tyler Wilson threw for more against them) and orchestrated an impressive game-winning drive, which included converting a 4th and 16 with just over a minute remaining. Watkins is reportedly healthy this season and if he stays that way, expect big numbers for him and Boyd both because they have a great connection.

Boyd has a great chance to fuel the fire for his candidacy in Week 1 this season as the Tigers host SEC East Champions Georgia on August 31st. The Tigers host Florida State in Week 8 and Boyd will be matched up against freshman sensation Jameis Winston (keep an eye on this kid) and then finish their regular season with a visit to Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks. Boyd will have several chances to get Heisman-worthy attention; all he has to do is step it up just as he did against LSU.

5. Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State: Historically, quarterbacks in their second year under Urban Meyer thrive as they have a better understanding of his offensive philosophy and the required reads (i.e. Alex Smith, Chris Leak, Tim Tebow). Last year’s undefeated run and Meyer’s past success will give Miller some early Heisman hype. The Buckeyes’ success was far too dependent on Miller’s legs last season, specifically because when he didn’t know what to do, or the play broke down, his answer was to run. If I had compiled this list just a few weeks ago, I definitely would not have included Miller due to the Buckeyes’ lack of a punter. Field position would then, potentially, have seriously hurt his chances of success with punting duties being the responsibility of a placekicker (Drew Basil) and/or a wide receiver (Frank Epitropolous) after they were unable to offer a scholarship to Johnny Townsend due to scholarship reductions (he ended up going to Florida). However, with the signing of Australian Cameron Johnston, that concern has calmed significantly. Miller threw considerably better this spring and he looked a lot more comfortable doing so and I expect a breakout season for sophomore wide receiver Michael Thomas who is a big target that Miller should be able to rely upon to convert first downs.

Miller, by far, isn’t the favorite to win the Heisman, but there’s absolutely no reason he shouldn’t have a season worthy of a trip to New York as a finalist.

Filed Under: College Football Tagged With: , , , ,

Three Yards and a Cloud of Links

July 3, 2013 by 6 Comments

OSU LogoThree Yards and a Cloud of Links is Men of the Scarlet and Gray’s newly renamed, 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 TYAACOL? Drop us a line at motsag@gmail.com or through our Contact Page.

w680As the B1G grows: “It’s pretty obvious to us that the paradigm has shifted, and it’s not your father’s Big Ten,” Delany said via Brett McMurphy and Dana O’Neil of ESPN.

Adam Kramer of Bleacher Report talks about how the B1G is changing with their expansion, changing of league names (finally), and recruiting as a whole.

The B1G is making more of a push into the large market of New York by adding a bowl game at Yankee Stadium the addition of  Rutgers and the planned new B1G offices by 2014. The additions of Maryland and Rutgers pushes the B1G’s reach all the way to the east coast. Finally changing the Leaders and Legends divisions to being called East and West. The B1G is also having its inaugural men’s hockey season. Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin will be the teams. Not only is Men’s Hockey being added  as a B1G sport but also men and women’s Lacrosse will become the 27th and 28th official sports. Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, and John Hopkins(just men’s) and Northwestern (just woman’s).

It’s a new day in the B1G!!

He said What: Drew Sharp of freep.com recently posted a blog basically blasting Michigan and the B1G.

“A little delusion once in awhile isn’t terrible. Fooling yourself into believing that anything’s possible has restorative properties.

But eventually, reality hits you pretty hard squarely between the eyes.

The impending birth of a new football season doesn’t change an old argument: The Big Ten isn’t anywhere close to the SEC competitively. It wasn’t close 10 years ago. It’s not close now. It won’t be close 10 years from now.

Accept the limitations and move on.”

Now I don’t know what he’s hearing, watching or reading but I know for sure without a doubt there is a team in the B1G that is changing this attitude. The Ohio State University lead by, the coach who started the SEC dominance and has two National Championships, Mr. Urban Meyer. Urban has done an outstanding job at recruiting speed as he has been accustomed to doing wherever he coached at. As evidenced by watching The Opening the last two years you would have seen Urban’s recruits on hand as some of the fastest in the nation. Mike Mitchell finished first in last years Sparq combine while Terry Mclaurin represented Buckeye Nation well by almost beating ATH Speedy Noil.

Cory Mccune of Bleacher Report has a nice section that has a little breakdown and video highlights of each recruit of Ohio State.

Oh No She Didn’t: Speaking of recruiting I came across an article from Lisa Horne. She quotes, Bleacher Reports Andrew Kulha’s interview with Miami (FLA.) commit ,Kc McDermott as saying this in regards to Urban Meyer.

He came to my school a week after I told his assistant that I wasn’t even interested in them. I told him no to his face, and it’s got to be one of the top five reactions of someone ever. His facial expression was just so funny. My coach was tearing up and had to go in his office to laugh.

More like the state of shock where the guy has literally never been told no in his life. It literally looked like a kid the first time you tell him ‘no, you can’t do something.’ It looked like he was a baby about to cry. It was so funny.

She also went on to say that Five Star Defensive End Lorenzo Carter talked about his “drive through visit” to Ohio State’s campus. She implies that Urban is having a problem with recruiting because of “bad publicity”, kids talk.

Here’s my problem number one I’m sure that Urban has been turned down before and I’m sure it has been to his face, now I’m not sure but I’m betting that Meyer’s reaction was from the way the “kid” disrespected him. To say that coaches who have been recruiting longer than he’s been playing football haven’t heard “No Thanks I’m going elsewhere” is ridiculous. Number two when Carter claims his “unofficial visit” was just a drive through was anyone on the coaching staff notified ahead of time? Did we check into this or we just taking a kids word.

Trying to manufacture that there’s something wrong with the way Urban Meyer recruits, we should  verify what these kids are saying is true and number lets look at his whole body of work. Meyer is not going to get every single kid he wants, no coach will, but to take the word of two kids over his whole body of work is insulting.

Breaking, Another One bits the Dust: It seems like the Buckeyes have lost another player. Unfortunately its at an already thin linebacker corp. Luke Roberts is transferring to Harvard. He is the second player after David Perkins announced his transfer. Seems Luke turned down a scholarship to Virginia to attend Harvard. Wish Luke well in his future endeavors.

Thank You for your time.

Being a new writer to the site I would love to hear you input!!!

Filed Under: Ohio State Football, Ohio State Hockey Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Are the Buckeyes Overlooking Some Teams? [Guest Post]

July 2, 2013 by 6 Comments

OSU Football(This is a guest post by Josh Schott, one of many applicants for the recently open positions on the MotSaG staff.)

Many people around the country look at Ohio State’s 2013 football schedule and don’t think much of it. In fact many would describe it as pretty weak, which is a fair assessment. The Buckeyes are the favorite in every single game and many view the team up north as the only viable opponent that could possibly defeat Ohio State. But as many people always say: The games aren’t played on paper.

I believe there are a few opponents on the Ohio State schedule that could trip the Bucks up and ruin a shot at a second consecutive perfect season. One thing that each of these two trap games have in common is they are both road games. Let’s take a look at the first overlooked opponent…

Game 3 – @California (September 14)

The Silver Bullets should dispatch their “cupcake” opponents (Buffalo and San Diego State) with ease in their first two games. The Buckeyes then travel to Berkley where they take on the Golden Bears. Cal faces Northwestern in the first week of the season at home, which is a challenge for a team with a brand new coaching staff. But let’s say they pull off a mild upset of the Wildcats and then take care of Portland State in week two.

Cal should be pretty confident coming into this game, especially if they’re 2-0. This is a pretty big game for them, especially when they came up just short last season. The Buckeyes nearly lost to the Golden Bears last year because of sloppy tackling and poor execution.

Sonny Dykes takes over the program in his first season and is the main reason why this could be a trap game. I’ve watched Dykes at Louisiana Tech the last few seasons and his type of offense can score a ton of points when firing on all cylinders. His Bulldogs were fifth in the country in total offense, trailing only Oregon, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Texas A&M. The Buckeyes struggled at times against spread offenses at times last season, most notably the close win over Indiana. While Cal doesn’t have star wide receiver Kennan Allen this year, they could do some damage against a fairly young defense early in the season.

Game 6 – @Northwestern (October 5)

Many view this game as the second-toughest opponent on Ohio State’s schedule. This is a testament to how far Northwestern’s program has come under the leadership of Pat Fitzgerald (who could easily be a coach at a more notable program). The Wildcats are coming off a 10-3 season, one of their best years in recent memory. It was all capped off with a 34-20 victory over SEC foe Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl, so they certainly have some momentum coming into the 2013 season.

Two offensive threats scare me and should scare any team that faces Northwestern: running back Venric Mark and quarterback Kain Colter. Mark is an absolute beast. He can do a little bit of everything, running, catching, and punt returns. Mark rushed for 1,366 yards and 12 touchdowns, along with 2 punt returns for touchdowns. When he’s on the field a defense simply needs to pay attention.

Colter is the definition of a dual-threat QB. Although he’s certainly not on the same level as Braxton Miller, Colter is a great player in his own right. Colter threw for 872 yards and 8 touchdowns and rushed for 894 yards with 12 rushing touchdowns last season, so he can certainly burn your defense with his arm or legs. He split time with the now departed Trevor Siemian at the QB position all of last season. Colter will take complete control of the position this season and I expect the coaches to let him ‘go wild.’ The one-two punch of Mark and Colter is a potent combination that could spell trouble for the Bucks defense. While Ohio State has demolished Northwestern in their last four meetings, this is a different Northwestern team. I think I speak for everyone in Buckeye nation in that we don’t want to relive what happened in 2004. (Andre Ware of all people had to call that game too.)

While the expectation is an undefeated season, Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes need to take one game at a time. Upsets can happen at any moment in college football. If the Buckeyes want to make it to Pasadena, they can’t overlook these trap games.

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

2015 Buckeye Prospects From Ohio

July 2, 2013 by 13 Comments

OSU Football(This is a guest post by Dylan, one of the applicants for the recently open positions on the MotSaG staff.)

2015 should be another great recruiting class for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes. With the Buckeyes expected to continue their winning tradition it will always make it easier to get the best of the best, especially from Ohio. Lucky for us there is a lot of great talent in a very top-heavy year. I have accumulated a list of the ten names all Buckeye fans should be aware of.

  1. The big name to look out for is Erick Glover-Williams who is a versatile athlete that can play either side of the ball. He plays QB in high school but I personally like him at wide receiver due to the fact he is so dynamic with the ball in his hands. The Buckeyes are the clear favorite as Williams stated in recent interviews. (Hudl highlights can be seen here)
  2. Next is a 6-2 225 OLB from Saint Xavier in Cincinnati, Justin Hilliard. He might be one of the most instinctive linebackers to come out of Ohio in the past few years. His game reminds me a lot of current 2014 Buckeye commit Dante Booker in terms of size and athleticism. The Buckeyes are going to have to work very hard to get a commitment from him because he wants to play with his brother CJ Hilliard, who is committed to Iowa. Justin racked up 65 tackles, seven sacks, two interceptions and also forced a fumble. (Hudl highlights can be seen here)
  3. Watch out for Larry Scott a sensational running back from Hubbard, Ohio. This kid has all the tools and size at 6’0 205lbs to be a 5 star. Down the road if he goes to camp I have a feeling will end up to be rated as one of the best backs in the country. He put up some ridiculous numbers against good competition racking up 1,648 yards on only 168 carries, a nearly 10 yard per carry average. He tallied 23 rushing touchdowns and also hauled in 14 passes for 209 yards.
    (Hudl highlights can be seen here)
  4. Next on my list is a bit of an interesting story, Hjalte Froholdt, a foreign exchange student from Denmark. Currently playing at Warren G. Harding. He is nearly unstoppable at defensive tackle and at 6’4 282 and the Buckeyes have offered early along with Michigan. The real question is whether he will continue to play American football in the States or will return back home. (Hudl highlights can be seen here)
  5. Arguably the most talented player on the defensive side of the ball is the safety Jerome Baker out of Cleveland Ohio. Jerome was one of the first 2015 recruits to earn a Buckeye offer regardless of being in state or out of state, which is saying something. He also plays QB, which allows him to have a knack for knowing in the air where the ball is headed while playing safety. He currently weights in at 6’1 205 he has the frame to potentially grow into the star position that every Buckeye fan knows about. However, he is just to talented with the ball and I would keep him at Strong Safety. (Hudl highlights can be seen here)
  6. The 2015 Ohio class does not have a lot of true top talent at the wide receiver position. The only true wide receiver that I feel the staff might offer from the Buckeye State is David Dowell from St. Edwards in Lakewood Ohio, who has received rave reviews at camps from OSU and Michigan State. He is not the tallest or the strongest at 6’1 175lbs, however, he just has a knack for getting separation on every route and is not afraid of going across the middle which most high school receivers don’t do like to do. (Hudl highlights can be seen here)
  7. Although he has not received an offer yet, it does not mean the staff is not aware of George Brown. Standing at 6’6 253lbs he is extremely athletic for being an offensive tackle from Winton Woods in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has early offers from some of the major SEC schools such as LSU and Georgia. I would look for the Buckeyes to offer him fairly soon to make sure they keep his attention and snag him before he falls in love with the South. (Hudl highlights can be seen here)
  8. Rashod Berry is my surprise player in the top ten, as he is not rated by most recruiting services, such as 247. He is listed at 6’4 215lbs, which is nearly ideal size for a weak side defensive end as a sophomore in High school. He showed up at back-to-back OSU camps and coach Vrabel came away impressed each time ($). He has a very quick outside rush move but needs to work on his run stopping abilities. I see an offer forthcoming in the near future. (Hudl highlights can be seen here)
  9. Another kid to keep an eye on is a player at one of Urban Meyers’ favorite positions, Defensive line. His name is Elijah Taylor from Moeller High School in Cincinnati which the same school as current commit Sam Hubbard. He is a bit undersized at 6’3 250lbs but has a nasty bull rush and plays with great instincts, which is rare for a defensive tackle. If he continues to put on weight he will be one of the highest rated DT’s in the country when it is all said and done. Currently he holds offers from Arkansas, Michigan State and West Virginia. I feel the staff will hold off on offering him until middle of his junior year once they see some more tape of him. As a sophomore he had 3.5 sacks, 35 tackles, and 2 forced fumbles. (Hudl highlights can be seen here)
  10. Lastly, is another offensive lineman named Rob Dowdy from Westerville, Ohio. He is a road grader when it comes to run blocking; he lacks a little bend and technique when it comes to pass protection but what highschooler does not? He makes up for that with his aggressiveness and his willingness to never take a play off like most 6’5 277 lbs usually do. He could even add around 20lbs before he steps foot on campus, which would make him even more appealing to college coaches. If he comes to camp he is almost a shoe-in to land the offer most Ohio kids covet, one from the Buckeyes. (Highlights can be seen here)
Filed Under: Ohio State Football
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