For five years, I have reviewed the upcoming senior class at Ohio State. Generally speaking, I have applied a simple “rule of thirds” to the recruiting classes – a third will turn out as expected and start, a third will contribute in some way, but may not turn out as fully expected, and a third may wind up not contributing in a great manner to the program.

When reviewing the eighteen players signed by former head coach Jim Tressel in February 2010, this theory will truly be put to the test. Coming off the impressive Rose Bowl victory over Oregon, Ohio State signed what was considered to be a class modestly ranked by recruiting analysts at rivals.com (25th) and scout.com (20th). Ohio State’s class was considered behind both Penn State and Michigan in B1G recruiting rankings for 2010. Prime Ohio State offensive line targets Seantrel Henderson, Matt James, Moses Morgan, and Chaz Green all spurned Ohio State on Signing Day 2010.

**

Starters (33%)

1. PK Drew Basil – Basil began his placekicking career at Ohio State in 2010 rather inauspiciously, missing two field goal attempts that season. Basil made his mark handling the kickoffs, becoming the full-time placekicker for the 2011 season. Although Basil was not called upon as much during the 2012 season for field goal attempts, Basil will be a key component for the 2013 team.

2. WR Corey “Philly” Brown – Brown arrived at Ohio State after an outstanding high school career at running back. Moved to wide receiver, Brown truly emerged as the Buckeyes’ top receiving threat during the 2012 season under Coach Meyer’s offensive scheme.

3. DB Christian Bryant – Bryant played as a true freshman in 2010, earning a full-time starting position for the 2011 season. Maintaining the “Glenville pipeline” to Ohio State, Bryant is a hard-hitting safety who will be expected to provide leadership for the Buckeyes this season.

4. RB Carlos Hyde – Originally intending to be a part of the 2009 Ohio State recruiting class, Hyde spent the 2009 season at Fork Union Military Academy working on his academics. Hyde played sparingly in 2010, had a challenging 2011 season fighting for playing time, and emerged as Ohio State’s top rushing threat for the 2012 season. Hyde has been suspended for at least the first three games of the 2013 season for a well-publicized incident at a Columbus bar, resulting in at least a quarter of his senior season at Ohio State eliminated. Hyde will need to make every carry truly count in 2013.

5. OT Andrew Norwell – Norwell was arguably the top player signed by Ohio State in February 2010. Ranked eighth in the scout.com 100 when signed by Ohio State, Norwell played in eleven games as a true freshman as a backup. Norwell moved into the starting offensive line in 2011, moving between left tackle and left guard.

6. CB Bradley Roby – Roby was a “flip” from Vanderbilt, choosing the Buckeyes later in the recruiting process. Redshirting in 2010, Roby earned a starting position for the 2011 season at cornerback. Recently suspended for the 2013 season opener against Buffalo, Roby should contend for All-American honors this upcoming season.

**

While these players above have emerged as starters for Ohio State, part two of this series will review the players from the class who have either become occasional contributors for Ohio State, or departed the program altogether.

So Athlon recently came out with their list of the 100 best College Football based Twitter accounts to follow. What it did was lead me to make a joke on twitter about making a top 100 Ohio State based Twitter accounts post. After a few of my followers poked and needled me I agreed to try and do it. this list is completely arbitrary and my own opinion which means it is perfect and without flaw.

1.) @GerdOzone– Tony Gerdeman is the perfect blend of information, comedy, snarkyness, and trolling. The best thing about Tony? To me it is that he will interact with anyone and everyone every time you tweet to him. He has built a cult like following and I have declared myself as his fan club President. If you aren’t following Gerd then you are doing Twitter wrong.

2.) @i_aint_yer_pa- Tony Rice is the GodFather of Ohio State blogging. He also happens to post the funniest and strangest things you may ever see. Yes, I am completely biased.

3.) @KyleRowland- Kyle Rowland has the audience and fan base every OSU site wants in Eleven Warriors and the skills to boot. He is a wonderful writer and gives out lots of info.

4.) @Ramzy– Ramzy Nasrallah is one of the better writers in sports let alone for an OSU based site in Eleven Warriors. His greatest strength though may be his ability to battle media trolls who attack OSU or its fans and make them look like idiots.

5.) @MarkPantoni- What is there to say about this man. His tweets are like a great conspiracy novel with fans trying to read into everyone of them to see if he is hinting to a new recruit.

6.) @PDBuckeyes- I doubt most of us know how to pronounce Doug Lesmerises last name and without copy and paste no way I could spell it correctly. He gives us fans so much info and always seems to have good scoops.

7.) @BuckeyeNotes- What more is there to say Jerry Emig is the mothpiece of the Ohio State football team and program. If he tweets it then it is gospel and not a rumor.

8.) @TIM_MAYsports Tim is a longtime stalwart at the Dispatch but a relatively newbie to Twitter. He has picked up tweeting quickly and finds a way to make indy Racing sound entertaining.

9.) @BCastOzone- Brandon Castel would be higher on this list if not for taking a few months off this year to do a “Real Job”. He is knowledgeable and a great writer and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy when you read his writings.

10.) @LoriSchmidt– Lori Schmidt isnt on this list because she is a woman she is on here because she is a dang good follow and her interactions with her fans is top notch.

Here is the rest of the top 25 without all the butt kissing remarks and explanations.

11.) @JeffBoals
12.) @brdispatch
13.) @steakNstiffarms
14.) @11W
15.) @BeauBishop
16.) @Birm
17.) @Jason_Kint
18.) @BenAxelrod
19.) @11W_Michael
20.) @SpinnerShells @GG_40 @Nicki_07
21.) @JeffSvoboda
22.) @RappUp
23.) @BlackStripeBlog
24.) @MarcusHartman
25.) @Jbook37

Honorable Mention @alexgleitman and @MChungOZone and @The_BBC

Well as you can see I made it to the Top 25 before I stopped. I am sure I missed on a lot of great people but this list is a wide variety of OSU twitter accounts. This list is meant to be debated and I hope all of you will do that in the comments. I specifically left off motsagers except for Tony because well just because. I wish there were more females on the list and I think I may have missed some notable ones. What say you feel free to add or take away from my list.

Good morning Buckeye Nation.

Hype Video: We will start you off with a new video I just came across being passed around on twitter last night. It was produced by 82WProductions.

Great video and perfect timing so enjoy The Chase to 8

Morgantown Defeat: Andy Bevin of the Mountaineers soccer team scored the only goal in the 75th minute for West Virginia Sunday against Ohio State in Morgantown. In the first of three exhibition games the Buckeyes played 17 players including 8 newcomers.

Tonight the men’s soccer team go at it again for their second preseason match facing IPFW at 7pm on the Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Hopefully the Buckeyes can bounce back tonight and put one in the win column.

National Teams: A former Buckeye and two incoming Buckeyes will represent Buckeye Nation on the U.S. Senior and Junior National Teams in Gymnastics. Former Buckeye Brandon Wynn earned the spot along with incoming freshman Jacob Dastrup and Andrew Rickly.

“I am proud of the guys for their performances this weekend,” Ohio State head coach Rustam Sharipov said. “It was the first U.S. Championships for Michael Newburger and Danny Steiner and it was a great experience for them.”

Redshirt junior Michael Newburger finished third on the pommel horse and sophomore Danny Steiner finished 25th in the overall.

Great job Buckeyes and way to represent Buckeye Nation.

Google+: With another football season getting ready to start we have reactivated our Google+. I am excited to get the Google+ page back up and going there are so many possibilities on what we can do there especially with you our readers.

Until next time Buckeye Nation…

Thanks to the fine people at Buckeye TV and their Sports Director @bradleycomer we have the video of todays interview with Braxton Miller.

*Updated* to include video of Coach Coombs and Armani Reeves…

With today’s practice being the last one the media will be allowed to attend and ask questions today we got some great info on how things are going. Here is a sample of tweets we saw from the guys there who cover the Buckeyes.

Lots of good info… Armani Reeves getting the start at CB for Roby and Tyvis Powell getting the start at the “Star” position is huge for OSU. A lot of young players will be called on to play significant minutes. If I see any other info released today I will update this post.

The center position is very important for the offense to function smoothly. A center has a huge role in the offense. The center has to be on top of his game the entire game because one turnover off a bad snap can cost a game. Most of Ohio State’s offense is in the shotgun formation so the center has to snap the ball a couple yards. Bad snaps can lead to a lot of busted plays or Buckeye fans can see Braxton Miller make something out of nothing.

Last Year Performance:

Corey Linsley is the returning center for the Buckeyes. Last year he had a very solid year. There was no issue where snaps were consistently flying over Miller’s head or going wide. Linsley does a good job on getting the snap back and sticking on a block. Him and Miller have good chemistry so Buckeye fans aren’t expecting any problems at the center position.

Looking at the Depth:

Corey Linsley (6-3 297)- Linsley is entering his senior season (red-shirt). He has been with the program for five years now and is going to be a huge piece on the offensive line. Corey was named honorable mention all Big Ten Conference. He is also a three year letter-winner. There is no doubt he will be the starter for the Buckeyes.

Jacoby Boren (6-2 287)- Jacoby is entering his sophomore season. He is a valuable backup and brings great depth to the center position. He may be the next guy up next season when Linsley is gone. Jacoby is the third Boren brother to play at Ohio State. His brother, Justin and Zach were both great players.

Pat Elfein (6-2 293)- Pat is going into his freshman year (red shirt). He sat most of the 2012 season due to a foot injury. Pat is the Buckeye’s third deep center. Pat has also had some reps at right tackle. Elfein was rated the 22nd guard by ESPNU.