Chris Carter the OL recruit who ran into some legal issues on Signing Day has finally signed his LOI. As is being reported in the Columbus Dispatch Carter signed his letter this evening as is being welcomed with open arms by The Ohio State University.

“We are excited Chris will be a Buckeye,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “He has had a great support system at home, as well as at his high school with the likes of his principal Maryum Sims, his athletic director Velma Pettiegrew, and his coach Scott Wodtly. They truly believe that Chris will have great success on and off the field at Ohio State.”

I for one will refrain from giving my opinion on this young man as no matter what you say you will upset some group of Buckeye fans. I will say I fully trust Coach Tressel to make the best decision for OSU and the player. I wish him well and hope he becomes a great Buckeye lineman and an even better citizen of the Columbus community.

The 21st recruit for the 2011 Ohio State football recruiting class is a Linebacker and it probably should not be a surprise since it seems like this class is loaded with linebackers. Woodland Hills High School Ejuan Price chose OSU over Iowa during an In-Home visit from Jim Tressel and Luke Fickell this evening. The 6’0″ 235 lb ILB is an absolute stud and projects really well at the next level. He is good against the run and pass and has the kind of football intellect you look for from a guy who plays ILB. He is the 3rd LB in the class with OSU still waiting to hear from 5 star LB prospects Curtis Grant and Stanford recruit James Vaughters who is wavering on his commitment.

I for one can not wrap my head around this kid at all Duron Carter has all the physical attributes to be a excellent college football player. He apparently just doesn’t have the mental fortitude to learn from mistakes and pass classes.

As was reported today in the Columbus Dispatch: “The former Ohio State receiver will not be returning to OSU, said Darian Dulin, Carter’s coach at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College. Carter, the son of former OSU star Cris Carter, played for the Buckeyes as a true freshman in 2009. He was ruled academically ineligible for the Rose Bowl and also was held out of 2010 spring practice.”

“Dulin said the reasons Carter is not returning to OSU “are the same as before,” but he didn’t elaborate. Recently, Carter indicated on his Twitter account that Ohio State was not allowing him to return.”

If the problems are the same as before it sounds like he didn’t meet grades at a community college. Dulin also said this “Dulin said Carter currently is at home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., taking Coffeyville classes online and hoping to earn an associate’s degree. Dulin said he isn’t sure where Carter might go, but Miami is an option.”

It seems his parents are babying him and allowing his poor decisions to continue. Anyone taking classes online from a community college like 1500 miles away from campus is not concerned with doing better but wrather having some hot groupie chick to do the work for you so you can get back to some D1 school to showcase your talents.

Kudos to Ohio State for not allowing this kid to come back no matter who his dad is. We have enough problems to have to deal with a kid who couldn’t help himself.

Five Star recruit Doran Grant the number 2 Corner Back in the country selected the Buckeyes over his fathers Alma Mater Michigan St. The 5’11” 180 lb recruit runs a 4.37 40 has wonderful closing speed and jamming ability but probably needs to work on his tackling ability. He will no doubt get in the weight room as soon as he hits campus and will learn how to crush people. This is a huge pick up for an already vaunted Buckeye recruiting class. As a bonus he already has a Beanie Quality Stiff Arm in his bag of tricks.

Reports out of Ann Arbor have the one and only Rich Rod being fired. Reports also say Jim Harbaugh isnt interested in replacing him but you never know. The only thing I know for sure is I will miss him dearly as the coach who never beat OSU.

Who do you think David Brandon will hire to replace such an awesome football coach? Do you believe Harbaugh isnt really interested? Does it matter who the next coach is after all scUM is well scUM?

UPDATE: el Kaiser here. In the spirit of complete coverage, there hasn’t been any final pronouncements by the Michigan AD Dave Brandon regarding Rich Rodriguez’s future.

Since this whole mess has happened I have been avoiding the subject all together except a few poignant conversations with close friends. I said from the moment it was news that all 5 of the players (Pryor, Posey, Herron, Thomas, Adams) would just go pro and I was hoping that was the case so I didn’t have to hear about it for the next 9 months plus first 5 games from all the stupid talking heads.

Then something all together shocking and surprising happened today at the News Conference held in N.O. for the Sugar Bowl this morning. Coach Jim Tressel made what is still a startling admission to me and probably most everyone else in the world. “Tressel said he told the five they “have to make any decision based on the future and (leaving early for the) NFL prior to us leaving for our bowl game. It wouldn’t be fair if someone was able to participate” and then leave.”

Some are questioning the truthfulness of the players involved and some in Tressel (Screw you doubters of Tressel). I dont know if I fully trust the 5 guys involved in this but Tressel has 150% my faith in him so I am willing to take him at his words.

What does this mean at least to me in one fell swoop he has been able to turn this negative publicity nightmare into will a work of Tresselness. The players involved have a chance not only to play in the bowl game but also not take the sissy way out and leave early after that bowl for the NFL. When they all come back next year they will have a chance to earn back the respect of the fans and the public. It is a stand up decision and one that has got me ecited and happy about what this means for these players and the University. Tressel also said he would not be retiring or quiting after the bowl game no matter what a useless Chicago Blog was spreading.

I know most who read this believe Tressel and what he thinks is the gospel truth but do you all believe the players involved will live up to their promises and if they dont is their reputation ruined forever and their character tarnished even worse for the NFL draft?

Recent talks out of Athens, Georgia had the Bulldogs looking to improve their OOC schedule and were looking at teams north of the Mason-Dixon line. Well it turns out they did just that in 2020 and 2021 they will play a home and home series with the Ohio State University Buckeyes.

It is funny reading the info from the Georgia AD Greg McGarity “McGarity would like Georgia to play seven home games every season, but also wants to schedule a “big-time, traditional opponent” for a home-and-home series every 8-10 years”. Only in the SEC can you add 1 tough OOC series every 10 years and get to act like you are a great OOC scheduler what a complete joke but I suppose kudos to the Georgia Bulldogs for doing it once every 10 years unlike most of the SEC.

Since the news that Urban Meyer was retiring AGAIN there have been talks about if any of those unsigned recruits could be plucked away. Well yesterday we got good news here in Buckeyeland that 4 star recruit Ryan Shazier had chosen to back out of his verbal to the Gators and was going to decide between LSU and OSU. The winner of this contest was announced yesterday and OSU won over both SEC schools woohoo.

Here is a little bit about the newest Buckeye verbal commitment. Ryan Shazier is a OLB from Plantation, Florida. He is 6’3″ and 205 LBs. He runs a 4.5 40 and has a 34 inch Vertical jump. Both Rivals and Scout have him at a 4 star and he is a ESPN 150 recruit. He is a quick and powerful hitter and is a great edge rusher. He just screams of the kind of hybrid LB/DE that OSU is in love with in the footsteps of Gholston and Gibson.