In what will be the biggest decisions of their CFB career at OSU both Ryan Shazier and Braxton Miller have made their decisions per a report in Sports Illustrated….

Ohio State’s Ryan Shazier, the school’s leading tackler this season, is leaving college for the NFL, according to a source. Shazier, a 6-foot-2 230-pound junior, is considered one of the top five outside linebackers in this year’s NFL Draft.

Ohio State will be keeping two of its top players on the offensive side of the ball, however. Quarterback Braxton Miller and tight end Jeff Heuerman will both be returning for their senior seasons, a source said.

You can read the entire report by clicking Sports Illustrated.

You can imagine this news will please some OSU fans and sadden others. The possibility of doing both those things for each player is true after some OSU fans began showing disdain for the players on social media platforms. For me it would have been great to have them both back but understand why Shazier is going pro and why Braxton is coming back.

What a day to be a fan of OSU football recruiting am I right? Today brought 2 new recruits from Glenville a pipeline school that has brought OSU some of its best players EVER. Ending the drama that the Glenville Trio would or wouldn’t commit to OSU…

Marshon Lattimore is a 6’0″ 185 lbs 4 star Athlete from Cleveland, Ohio. Marshon is a high 4 star recruit best recruit in the country kind of recruit. He is a game changer and can play either side of the ball. He projects to play CB at OSU but could move around a lot from offense to defense to special teams. He also like his HS teammate Erick Smith will commit to OSU during the game. 247sports ranks him a 4 star and the 34th best recruit in the country. Rivals ranks him a 4 star and the 56th best recruit in the country. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the 50th best recruit in the country. Scout ranks him a 4 star and the 8th best CB in the country.

You can follow Marshon on Twitter by clicking @_Shon2

After last nights loss in the Orange Bowl I can tell you based on social media that everyone in Buckeye Nation really could use some good news. Today brings you an undefeated Ohio State mens Bball team who is playing at home again Nebraska and the possibility of 2 new top recruits to the OSU football team. The recruits are announcing today in the US Army All American Bowl game. The first commit is in the bag and here is his particulars…

Erick Smith is a 6’1″ 190 bs 4 star Safety from Cleveland, Ohio. Erick has long been considered an OSU lock and the safety should be committing to OSU during the game. The safety has become a better prospect as time goes on. He will be a great addition to the 2014 class. 247sports ranks him a 4 star and the 12th best recruit in Ohio. Rivals ranks him a 4 star and the 122nd best recruit in the country. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the 228th best recruit in the country. Scout ranks him a 4 star and the 6th best Safety in the nation.

You can follow Erick on twitter by clicking @RestUpBoog

Well, this is it. These last few days of bowl action bring us not only the National Championship, but also some other pretty intriguing match ups that don’t mean anything as well as two games trying to leech some of that NFL playoff audience.

Thursday
8:30p

Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Alabama. While the Crimson Tide hasn’t beaten the Sooners in over 50 years, Nick Saban has beaten Bob Stoops, in the Sugar Bowl. That game was for a national title, though, and Saban is far better in title games than he is in other BCS bowls. Then again, Stoops has been notoriously bad in BCS bowls of nearly every variety, with at least one loss in the Orange, Sugar, Fiesta and BCS National Championship games. (ESPN)

Friday
8:00p

Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Missouri. As former conference-mates in the old Big Twelve, these two have played each other more often than probably any other pair of bowl opponents this year. The Tigers lead the overall series 28-23, but the Cowboys have won four of the last five. Obligatory Program Cover Art. (Fox)

8:30p

Orange Bowl: Ohio State vs. Clemson. The only other time these two played was 35 years ago. You know what happened. Since then, each team has had five head coaches. Ohio State has gone 14-16 in bowls. Clemson has gone 12-14. Ohio State is 18-16-1 against arch-rivals Michigan and has won 14 conference titles. Clemson is 21-13-1 against arch-rivals South Carolina and has won 7 conference titles. This year, both teams feature high-powered offenses and suspect defenses. That said, both teams rank in the top 21 in scoring defense in the country. This is going to be interesting. (ESPN)

Saturday
1:00p

BBVA Compass Bowl: Houston vs. Vanderbilt. This is last year that BBVA Compass will sponsor the Birmingham Bowl, so I thought I’d look them up and see who they are, since it’s not exactly obvious unless they make compasses. They don’t. (ESPN)

Sunday
9:00p

Go Daddy Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Ball State. Look: I’m tired, you’re tired. Neither one of us is watching this game. Let’s just move on with our lives. (ESPN)

Monday
8:30p

BCS National Championship: Florida State vs. Auburn. It’s the final game of the BCS Era, and I couldn’t be happier to see it go. As much as I hate to cheer for the Seminoles, it would be a fitting end for the convoluted championship system if FSU could beat an SEC team, simultaneously ending that conference’s (and the state of Alabama’s) streak of titles and avenging their own loss to the SEC’s Tennessee in the first BCS title game. (ESPN)

Obviously not great news about Spence but to have a resolution allows the team to move on and get whomever will start in his place ready to play. That player is most likely Jamal Marcus a Sophomore from North Carolina.

We will have more once info is released by OSU or the B1G.

***UPDATED***

I am hearing from a reliable source that the cause of the suspension is due to a performance enhancing drug that he may have ingested from an over the counter drug or supplement as this web site reports. The family has argued it was not on purpose and was taken on accident.

This has been confirmed to me by multiple sources now. You can never rule out they may be wrong but multiple sources within the OSU community have confirmed the story I have been told.

****Updated****

Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch is confirming what I have been saying…

Ohio State sophomore defensive end Noah Spence has been suspended three games – including Friday’s Orange Bowl — because of what the Big Ten ruled was the use of an unapproved dietary supplement, a high-level source at Ohio State told The Dispatch today.

Happy New Year! It’s time once again for the Big Ten/SEC football challenge. Since the mid-90s, both Capital One Bowl and the Outback Bowl have matched up the two conferences, and the Gator Bowl joined in the fun with their 2011 game. The overall record is SEC 25, Big Ten 17. Last year, the SEC went 2-1 in these games, with a combined score of 98-93. All three of the Big Ten representatives this year won their most recent appearance in their bowl.

So far this bowl season, the Big Ten is 0-2 (0-4 if you count incoming B1GGIES Rutgers and Maryland) so the conference could use some good fortune today.

Wednesday
Noon

Gator Bowl: Nebraska vs. Georgia. Interestingly, this is a rematch of last year’s Capital One Bowl, which Georgia won by 14 points. In each of the past five seasons, Nebraska has lost exactly 4 games. Since they’ve already lost 4 this year, they are scientifically required to win this game. Congrats, Huskers! (ESPN2)

Heart of Dallas Bowl: North Texas vs. UNLV. In three attempts, North Texas has been unable to beat UNLV. However, they’ve never played in a bowl and their last game was in the year 2000. (ESPNU)

1:00p

Capital One Bowl: Wisconsin vs. South Carolina. Wisconsin’s three losses are by a combined 16 points to teams who have lost an average of 3 games each. South Carolina’s two losses are by a combined 13 points to teams who have lost an average of 5.5 games each. Wisconsin also has the clear advantage on paper, and is a slight favorite in the game. South Carolina is ranked #9. Wisconsin is ranked #19. There is no SEC bias though. (ABC)

Outback Bowl: Iowa vs. LSU. The Hawkeyes beat the Tigers 30-25 in the 2005 Capital One Bowl. Obligatory Program Cover Art (with fish). (ESPN)

5:00p

Rose Bowl: Michigan State vs. Stanford. In the past seven years, the Rose Bowl has featured either Wisconsin or USC six times. The Big Ten lost all six of those games. But in the one game that featured neither of those teams, the Big Ten won! You can’t argue with that! Sparty YES! (ESPN)

8:30p

Fiesta Bowl: Baylor vs. UCF. In keeping with this year’s tradition of finishing the night with a stinker of a game, here’s this thing. It’s almost physically impossible for this game to be intriguing. Even if it is competitive, it’s still not that interesting. This drawing of a bear fighting a knight is pretty cool though. (ESPN)

Ohio State(14-0) remained unbeaten on the year and got the B1G off to a good start in defeating Purdue(10-4) 78-69 in front of a rowdy crown at Mackey Arena. This game showed you both the blueprint for a run at the B1G title and a deep tourney run as well as the manner in which the season could end earlier than expected. LaQuinton Ross led the Buckeyes with 25 points and 12 rebounds while Shannon Scott added 18 points and Lenzelle Smith 14. In addition to that, Marc Loving provided a much needed spark off the bench with 8 points. While the balanced attack is what will provide Ohio State what is needed to meet expectations this year, the lack of depth at the Center spot will almost certainly be the Achilles heel the rest of the season. Ohio State had no answer for A.J. Hammonds down low as he kept Amir Williams in foul trouble and rendered Trey McDonald a non-factor off the bench. The 7-0, 251 pound Sophmore scored a team 18 points for the Boilermakers using his raw skills to create space and rebound the basketball. He also added 5 blocks and 4 assists. Purdue also had a balanced effort with Ronnie Johnson, Terone Johnson and Basil Smotherman adding 16, 13 and 9 points respectively. The big difference between Ohio State and Purdue is the Buckeyes have Aaron Craft and Purdue doesn’t.

If the Ohio State Buckeyes are a mint 1969 Camaro SS, then Aaron Craft is the 396 cu in V8 engine. While he only scored 7 points, he had 10 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and didn’t turn the ball over once. But most of what Craft does not show up on the stat line. From blocking passing lanes on defense to making sure his teammates are in position on offense, Craft is the clear quarterback for this team. During one stretch in the first half, with the game tightly contested, Craft raced to get a piece of Ronnie Johnson 3 point attempt as well as hustle down the rebound after it hit off the side of the backboard and finish the play with a layup. Craft’s play is infectious for his teammates as they try to hustle as hard as their team leader. While Thad Matta is certainly lucky to have Craft, it will be as equally as tough to replace the Senior next season.

With two High School All-Star bowl games this week there is a lot of Buckeye recruiting news. There are current commits playing in both games with the US Army game having the vast majority of OSU commits. There are several targets in both games as well. Again the US Army game probably has the majority of the most likely to become a Buckeye target list. So myself and @RonnieGlickman will take a look at both games in separate posts. Here is the link to go see Ronnie’s post on the Under Armour bowl game.

BUCKEYE COMMITS

Dante Booker Jr.- Dante is a 6’4″ 220 lbs 4 star LineBacker from Akron, Ohio. Booker is one of the top LB prospects in the country and was chased by schools like Notre Dame, TTUN, Penn State, and Nebraska. Dante brings a real nastiness to the outside LB spot combined with his top notch speed and power he could move to a hybrid of DE/LB at OSU depending on his body growth. Rivals ranks him a 4 star and the 65th best prospect in the country. Scout ranks him a 4 star and the no. 6 OLB ion the country. 247sports ranks him a 5 star and the no. 13 prospect in the country. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the no 7 OLB in the country.

Johnnie Dixon- Johnnie is a 6’0 200 lbs 4 star WR from West Palm Beach, Florida. Johnnie is a big time recruit from the South Florida hotbed known for producing NFL caliber WRs. Johnnie is a burner with great hands but will out muscle you for a ball when he needs to. He has decent size but is already hulked out as you can see in his picture above. I hate to be cliche but he does remind me of Percy Harvin… a strong and physical WR who can take the Jet Sweep and scoot a ton of yards for TDs. 247Sports ranks him a 4 star and the 106th best recruit in the country. Scout ranks him a 4 star and the 39th best WR in the country. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the 39th best recruit in the country. Rivals ranks him a 4 star and the 109th best recruit in the country.

Jalyn Holmes- Jalyn is a 6’5″ 235 lbs 4 star DE 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 92nd best prospect in the country and the 5th best WDE. Rivals ranks him a 4 star and the 57th best in the country and the 4th best DE. Scout ranks him a 4 star and the 98th best prospect in the country and 13th best DE. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the 160th best in the country.

Marcelys Jones- Marcelys is a 6’5″ 325 lbs 4 star OT from Cleveland, Ohio. Marcelys is a giant recruit who will bring strength and power along with a nasty side that OLmen need to be successful. He will need to work on his foot movement and speed and turn some of his “baby fat” into muscle but with the help of Coach Marotti and his S&C program he will get in shape very quickly. I am not sure he will stay a OT or move inside to OG depends how much he grows height wise in the next year to fit the type of body Coach Meyer wants in his OTs.

Demetrius Knox- Demetrius is a 6’4″ 290 lbs 4 star Offensive Lineman from Fort Worth, Texas. Knox brings to the OL a lot of speed and athleticism. He was once committed to Texas but decommitted months ago and right away he became a target for OSU and the fans. He has proven to be a guy who can be a leader and will help recruit for OSU.

Curtis Samuel- Curtis is a 6’0″ 185 lbs 5 star RB/WR/Safety/Athlete from Brooklyn, New York. Curtis is a blazer of a football player running a 4.36 40 yard dash. He projects to play WR at Ohio State but has the versatility to move all over the place he could play RB or WR depending on how his body develops. He also could play defense but he is a playmaker so expect to see him on the offensive side in the Percy Harvin type position. Where Coach Meyer will do everything he can to get the ball in his hands to let him make plays.

Damon Webb- Damon Webb is a 6’0″ 180 lbs 4 star DB from Detroit, Michigan. Damon is a shutdown corner who isn’t afraid to hit a guy and help on run defense. He comes from a school that has had a lot of success in Michigan. Damon had offers from the likes of LSU, Michigan, Michigan St., and a host of other schools.

BUCKEYE TARGETS

Solomon Thomas- Solonon is a 6’3″ 260 lbs 5 star DE from Coppel, Texas. Thomas brings a great motor along with good speed and strength. He would be icing on the cake for Coach Herman who has been dominating the Texas HS scene the last 3 years.

Erick Smith- Erick is a 6’1″ 190 bs 4 star Safety from Cleveland, Ohio. Erick has long been considered an OSU lock and the safety should be committing to OSU during the game. The safety has become a better prospect as time goes on. He will be a great addition to the 2014 class.

Marshon Lattimore- Marshon is a high 4 star recruit best recruit in the country kind of recruit. He is a game changer and can play either side of the ball. He projects to play CB at OSU but could move around a lot from offense to defense to special teams. He also like his HS teammate Erick Smith will commit to OSU during the game.

Myles Autry- Myles is a 5’9″ 175 lbs 4 star Athlete from Norcross, Ga. Myles brings a lot of speed and athleticism to the table. Unfortunately he was injured most of his SR. year but has come back with a strong showing in the state playoffs and is impressing early on at this bowl game practices. He can play both offense and defense exceptionally well and would most likely end up at the Slot if he goes to OSU.

Derrick Nnadi- Derrick is a 6’2″ 305 lbs 4 star DT from Virginia Beach, VA. Nnadi is a behemoth of a kid who will eat up blockers in the middle. He has enough speed to rush the passer but he is a run stopping DT at its truest example. Derrick is a Va Tech lean but grew up a Buckeye fan so if OSU wants him they can probably land him when he visits.

Malik McDowell- Malik is a 6’7″ 290 lbs 5 star DE from Detroit, TSUN. This kid is a giant and has the skills to be a dominant player for years to come. He was considered a TTUN lean by its fans for a long time but he has never really shown that to be the case. In the end I think it will come down to MSU vs OSU for his services. I will never doubt Coach Meyer’s ability to close so look for the full court press down the stretch.

As you can see by this long list of commits and targets the Buckeyes are well represented and Coach Meyer and his staff have put a premium on getting players from all over the country who are the best at their positions. Coach Meyer is building a dynasty at OSU and it starts with recruiting. Needless to say the cornerstone has been placed and the rest of the building will be built very soon.