Archives for August 2013

I got to chat with Reggie Gallaspy an outstanding 2015 running back prospect who lives in Greensboro, North Carolina. Reggie attended Friday Night Lights and was considered to be one of the tops backs if not the top back there. Reggie is currently 5″11 and weights 205 lbs, he is a load to tackle and has that burst most backs his size don’t. He drew rave reviews from all of the recruiting analysts that got to watch him live, and to say he has the attention of the coaching staff would be an understatement. I can defiantly see Reggie earning an offer from Ohio State during the middle of the season if he continues with his progress he made with the help that he has learned from attending numerous camps. This kid will be a tough pull out of the South if we do offer because there is no doubt the best of the SEC will. Reggie is not currently ranked by any site other than 247sports who has a composite ranking of him as the #12 running back.

Q: How do you feel you performed at Friday Night Lights?

A: I feel like I did an excellent job, coming from Coach Drayton he sees an improvement from the last time I camped at OSU

Q: What team did you grow up rooting for?

A: I never and still do not have for a favorite team but I grew up rooting for Michigan and Michigan State since I was born there and live in Flint till 2006

Q: Did you get a chance to speak with any of the coaches?

A: Just Coach Withers and Coach Drayton

Q: What did the coaches speak to you about?

A: Coach Drayton of course because he is the runningbacks coach. I need to know the personality and goals of the runningbacks to see if I fit in their system

Q: How do you feel about your chance of potentially earning an offer?

A: I believe I’m a player that will fit their system and maybe get one from them sometime during the season

Q: Describe the atmosphere at Friday Night Lights, is it what you expected?

A: I didn’t know what to expect since it was a first time thing, but I was very impressed

Q: What was your favorite part of the camp?

A: 1 on 1’s and the dinner (laughs)

Q: What about your game do you think sets you apart from everyone else?

A: Being able to work between the guards and tackles, that’s where 90% of the yards came from, and also my yards after contact

Q: When you think of Ohio State what come to your mind?

A: They are on my mind now because I talked to one of the ladies who work with the academics for the team and she told me about the medical program and I’m liking what I am hearing

Q: If you could let Buckeye nation know one thing what would it be?

A: They have a lot of interest going their way

Also you can follow him on twitter @RGallaspy25

Noah Brown the Wide Receiver from Sparta, New Jersey was a pleasure to interview and I think all Buckeye fans will soon get the chance to call him a Buckeye. Noah is an outstanding athlete that Ohio State would love to have. Noah is 6 2″ 211 lbs and is being recruited to play the X receiver which in the outside spot in our offense. Noah is is physical enough to beat press coverage and fast enough with his 4.58 40 yard dash to run past you on screens. Noah recently came off a visit to Ohio State and named us his leader, watch out for this guy Buckeye fans there is serious interest between both parties.

247sports Ranking– he is listed as the # 201 player in the country
Scout Ranking– he is listed as the # 69 overall wide receiver
Rivals Ranking– he is listed as the # 214 player in the country

Q: When did Ohio State offer you a scholarship, and how did it feel?

A: I believe they offered in early april. It was an amazing feeling for a national powerhouse school to consider you worthy of a scholarship says a lot about your game . I was honored

Q: Who is your primary recruiter and how often do you speak?

A: My primary recruiters are Coach Warriner and coach smith. We speak almost every week

Q: What about Ohio State makes you strongly consider them?

A: They are an elite program on and off the field . They win games but also have a top notch degree . That’s important to me

Q: What has Urban Meyer told you about how they plan on using you if you committed to OSU?

A: Coach Meyer basically just says how they can get me the ball in a variety of ways at the WR position in that spot

Q: What about your game do you think sets you apart from everyone else?

A: Im a big aggressive receiver . Very hard to jam and knock off my route. I can run by you or go up over you for the ball and am explosive in and out of my breaks. I am also a good block

Q: What do you feel you need to improve on the most your senior season?

A: I need to improve my leadership skills . I have always been able to lead by example but I need to get better vocally

Q: Which college team was your favorite growing up?

A: Miami Hurricanes

Q: Which schools are recruiting you the hardest?

A: OSU, Rutgers, VT, UNC

Q: Do you have a timetable on when you would like to make a commitment?

A: Hopefully before my senior yr begins

Q: What NFL player do you think your game most resembles?

A: Dez Bryant

Q: What are some of your other hobbies besides football?

A: I play basketball as well

Also you can follow him on twitter @nb_dosuno

Over the past decade the Buckeyes have faced some tough opponents in their non-conference schedule, facing the likes of Texas, USC and Miami (FL). This year they really don’t face any high ranked foes or preseason favorites. With this being the last year of the BCS, this can be a double-edged sword. The Bucks should be able to navigate through the non-conference schedule with relative ease if they play to their potential. But with such a ‘weak’ non-conference slate they have to win them all if they hope to play in Pasadena for the big crystal ball (most likely against the Nick Saban juggernaut). Let’s take a look at their opponents in chronological order:

August 31 – Buffalo
The Buckeyes kick off year two of the Urban Meyer era against Mid-American Conference foe Buffalo. This is the first time these two teams have met each other on the field, which surprised me. Since the 2000 season the Buckeyes are 17-0 against MAC teams (found in Phil Steele’s 2013 College Football Preview Magazine, which I highly recommend). Last year, they defeated another MAC team in the opener, Miami (OH), 56-10. The Buckeyes have won an astounding 34 straight home openers, with the last loss coming to Penn State in 1978 (Phil Steele).

Buffalo is coming off a 4-8 season, with three of their wins coming in the final four games. During this 3-1 stretch they turned to then freshman QB Joe Licata, who is now their starting QB. In the 2012 season, Licata threw for 1045 yards, 7 touchdowns and 3 INT. Their other big return on the offensive side of the ball is WR Alex Neutz, who had over 1000 yards receiving and 11 TD in the 2012 campaign.

Buffalo has opened the last two seasons on the road against BCS opponents (Pittsburgh in ’11 and Georgia in ’12) and actually put up solid fights against both opponents. I don’t see this being the case against the Buckeyes, who look to make a statement in their opening game. I expect a huge win for the Bucks and some playing time for the younger players.

September 7 – San Diego State
In Week 2 the Buckeyes have another home game, this time facing Mountain West opponent San Diego State. (Remember: This is the team the fat one up north used to coach). Ohio State is 3-0 all-time against the Aztecs, with the last game coming in 2006 when the Buckeyes won 27-6 en route to an undefeated season.

The Aztecs are lead by head coach Rocky Long, who I consider to be an underrated coach. They’re coming off a solid season in which they went 9-4 and lost in the Poinsettia Bowl to BYU (23-6). Their most notable win was on the smurf turf against Boise State, winning 21-19.

San Diego State is considered by many to be one of the favorites in the MWC this season (Phil Steele picked them to finish 2nd in the West Division). This is mainly due to the fact that they return 15 starters and a key offensive threat. That key offensive threat is running back Adam Muema, who rushed for 1502 yards and 16 TD.

Don’t be surprised if the Aztecs put up a good fight early in the game, as they usually aren’t slouches in their non-conference games. With that being said, the strength of depth charts should show as the game progresses and the Bucks should win this game by a comfortable margin.

September 14 – @California
Ohio State hits the road in week three, going to Berkley to face the California Golden Bears. This is easily the toughest opponent on the non-conference schedule, being a West coast trip against a BCS team. As I wrote previously, I consider this to be one of two trap games on the schedule for the Buckeyes. This is the eighth time these two teams have met, with Ohio State leading the all-time series with a 6-1 record.

Reiterating what I have said, the Bucks nearly lost to Cal last season because the defense forgot how to tackle at times. Cal is lead by another coach I respect; head coach Sonny Dykes, who had 17 victories in his last two seasons at Louisiana Tech (Phil Steele). For those that don’t remember, Dykes’ offense can score a ton of points when defenses are caught sleeping (or if your defense is as bad as West Virginia’s last season). One of my favorite games of the 2012 season was Texas A&M’s thrilling 59-57 win over Dykes’ Bulldogs (if you haven’t seen this game I highly recommend watching it).

Notice how I got sidetracked and stopped talking about Cal? Well that’s because the Golden Bears are rebuilding and are picked by many to finish last in their division (Steele picked them to finish behind Washington State. Seriously.). The Buckeyes are 2-3 on the road against BCS teams, but I’ll give you another stat to forget about this. Urban is 25-1 combined in his second seasons at Utah and Florida (Steele). Roll Buckeyes!

September 21 – Florida A&M
Are you actually expecting me to say something here? The biggest question of this game is whether or not the Buckeyes score more than 60 points. Ohio State isn’t like that team up north, who loses to teams like Appalachian State (as long as I’m alive I won’t let them ever forget this). I’ll be so happy when BCS teams finally stop playing these ridiculous games against FCS teams.

It is August 1st so you know what that means right? We are officially in the month that actual college football games will be played. It also means a plethora of pre-season polls will be released and although many will argue they mean nothing they actually do have significant meaning. It is a lot easier to get to the top 2 of the BCS polls if you start highly ranked in the pre-season then if you have to fight an uphill battle all season.

So we officially have our first one with the USA Today Coaches Poll just being released. Here are some of the more important teams and their rankings.

1.) Alabama
2.) The Ohio State University
3.) Oregon

11.) Notre Dame

17.) TTUN
18.) Nebraska

22.) Northwestern
23.) Wisconsin

Here are a few highlights…

Alabama got 58 of 62 1st place votes, OSU got 3, Texas A&M got 1.

The SEC has 6 teams in the top 25…. The B1G has 5 teams…. Pac 12 5 teams…. Big 12 has 4 teams….. ACC with 2 teams. Louisville, Boise St, and Notre Dame are the other 3 teams.

I am a little surprised to see only 6 SEC teams even if 5 are in the top 10. Nice to see Northwestern get some early recognition. I won’t complain about OSU being second after all Bama is the reigning EVERYTHING.

What do you think of the first pre-season poll?

Jared Abbrederis is a talented, playmaking WR for the Wisconsin Badgers. The 6’2, 188lber is headed into his redshirt senior season where he hopes to continue to lead the Badgers in pass catching productivity like he’s done the two previous seasons.

Pictured above, Abbrederis is powering Bret Bielema’s diabetes monitor using state of the art Wisconsin Badger science.

God, I hate Wisconsin.

Anyway…

Abbrederis has 124 catches, 2059 yards receiving, averages 16.6 yards per catch and 16 receiving TD’s. He is also a treat on kick and punt returns and also carries the ball on occasion with success. He even through a pass last year and completed it. The guy does it all. In his career he has accounted for 3551 total yards. The guy is a stud and needs to be accounted for at all times. His honors include: All Big Ten Honorable Mention (2010), Honorable Mention All-American as a punt returner (2011), All Big Ten Honorable Mention (2011) and First Team All Big Ten (2012).

Jared Abbrederis Video:

Previously on MotSaG’s Best of the B1G
#13 Venric Mark
#14 Devin Gardner
#15 Kenny Bell
Best of the B1G, #20-16
Best of the B1G, #25-21