With the 31st pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos selected Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby. The Broncos need help in their secondary and Roby will be a big help in that cause. Roby, who chose to forgo his senior season, struggled with injuries in 2013 and did not play in the 2014 Orange Bowl. Roby was a two time All-Big Ten selection and a second team All-American in 2012. Take a look at what your brand new cornerback brings to the team, Broncos’ fans:

Here were some of the reactions to the pick on Twitter, including from the man himself Urban Meyer:

Congrats to Roby going to the Broncos in the first round. Great night for the Buckeyes!

— Urban Meyer (@OSUCoachMeyer) May 9, 2014

Shoutout to laFamilia @BradRoby_1 to Denver!!

— Christian Bryantâ„¢ (@2CBryant) May 9, 2014

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!! Congrats to Roby! 2 Buckeyes in the ☝️ round!

— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) May 9, 2014

There you go roby!!! Second buckeye in the first round!!

— Not Mike Bennett (@mike63bennett) May 9, 2014

Congrats to our 2 newest first round draft picks! Bradley Roby and Ryan Shazier! #dreamsreallydocometrue #BuckeyeStrong

— Kerry Coombs (@OsuCoachCoombs) May 9, 2014

Roby is the second Buckeye player drafted in the first round tonight. Earlier, Ryan Shazier was picked 15th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

With the 15th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier. After four successful years with the Buckeyes, Shazier will join a Pittsburgh team that is aging on the defensive side of the ball and should provide a much needed boost, as many draft pundits have called him one of the fastest linebackers in the draft. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter from teammates and the media:

My man @RyanShazier Great pick by steelers. Gonna do big things in the NFL

— Zach Boren (@ZBoren44) May 9, 2014

Congrats to the big homie @RyanShazier getting picked up by the steelers! #PerfectFit

— Eli Apple (@EliApple13) May 9, 2014

Go Bucks !!! @RyanShazier !!!

— Raekwon McMillanâ„¢ (@Kwon_daTRUTH) May 9, 2014

Ryan Shazier is the 21st Buckeye drafted by the Steelers

— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) May 9, 2014

Mike Mayock calls Ryan Shazier the fastest linebacker he's ever seen.

— jbookâ„¢ (@jbook37) May 9, 2014

Steelers have drafted Cam Heyward, Mike Adams and now Ryan Shazier out of Ohio State.

— Brandon Castel (@BCastOZone) May 9, 2014

Ryan Shazier #PITPick Joins last years 1st Rd pick OLB Jarvis Jones. 22.5 TFL last year. Ran unofficial 4.36 40 at 237 pounds at Pro Day.

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) May 9, 2014

For a better look at Shazier, check out this piece I did on him a few months ago. He’s a hard-hitting, fast defender who bullrushes ball carriers. He also plays with heart and can be leader on the defensive side of the ball. A great pickup for the Steelers.

Bradley Roby had his day in court and like most citizens in this country reached a plea deal with the prosecution before ever seeing the Judge. 10TV with the full details in their report…

A judge has sentenced former Ohio State University player Bradley Roby.

Roby was arrested on April 20 after being found passed out behind the wheel of his car on Vine Street, according to Columbus Police.

On Tuesday, Roby pleaded guilty to an amended charge of Physical Control. Physical Control means being in the driver’s position in the front seat of a vehicle and having possession of the ignition key or other ignition device.

Roby was sentenced to take a three-day driver intervention course. He was also fined $375.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed not to file any additional charges in the future. It could take six weeks for toxicology reports to come out. According to court documents, Roby’s blood alcohol level was .008.

You can assume that Roby likely finalized the plea deal to avoid toxicology reports that will come out in 6 weeks that could show illegal drug use. Or maybe not assume that if you want to give him the benefit of the doubt. I doubt a lawyer would let him plead out if not for fear something worse could be found out in the investigation. The legal system is a sneaky thing sometimes.

A new report from 10tv the day before Bradley Roby goes to court on OMVI charges gives details into why Columbus Police approached Bradley Roby while he was sitting in his parked car…

From the 10tv report…

Columbus police have released a 911 call dispatchers received the night former Ohio State football player Bradley Roby was allegedly passed out behind the wheel of his vehicle.

Roby was arrested April 20 on Vine Street in downtown Columbus.

Court documents show officers found Roby passed out behind the wheel of his car. The 911 caller indicates that he may have been driving the SUV.

“Hi, I’m just leaving BBR on Vine and some black Dodge Charger just almost hit a bunch of kids on the sidewalk. And now, the driver is passed out drunk on the side of BBR in black Charger with Georgia plates,” the caller states.

Police say Roby failed a field sobriety test.

His agent argues that Roby was just sitting in the car and not driving, and that his blood alcohol level was only .008 which is below the legal limit.

Roby has a court date scheduled for Tuesday.

Roby and his lawyer have attacked the original report that 10tv first put out when they broke the initial story. 10tv is still using some legal terms that may or may not be accurate and lead some to question the validity of their report. Obviously the 911 call doesnt help Roby unless of course the caller could not say it was the same car exactly. In the end this case is shaky at best and will probably never reach a court case.

The 911 call says the driver was driving a Dodge Charger. The Columbus police report says they found Roby behind the wheel of an SUV. This is a huge distinction as a Charger is a car not an SUV.

Another issue with this newest allegation is the accusation that the car nearly hit a bunch of kids. I believe the initial report said the incident happened at 4 AM. Why would there be a bunch of kids out at that time of day in downtown Columbus?

I am not a lawyer by any means but this case has a stench to it that any competent lawyer could easily tear apart and get thrown out of court.

With only 22 spring games left, we’re almost at a point at which there will be little college football left to be discussed until the fall. We’ll have the NFL Draft (May 8-10), one of my favorite days of the year, as I’ve always considered it a perfect mixture of a college and professional football. I was wrong last week in predicting that Alabama and Auburn would beat Penn State’s 72,000 spring game attendance mark. I was sure they’d be numbers one and two in some order. Alabama had a turnout of 73,506, lowest in Saban’s tenure in Tuscaloosa, while Auburn had a turnout of 70,645. I think the relatively low turnouts were partly attributed to them falling on Easter weekend.
Let’s see what else is going on.

1. Player Unionization. Current Northwestern players vote on whether they will unionize on Friday (4/25/14). Northwestern staff seems to be attempting to steer them into a “no” vote. Coach Fitzgerald, although he has voiced that he is against it, has made a statement that he will not resign should the players vote yes. Starting quarterback Trevor Siemian is against unionization; I wonder if that will sway the vote. I also wonder if the vote results in a union, if that will impact the cohesiveness of the team. Regardless of Friday’s vote, Northwestern will continue to pursue its appeal of the regional NLRB’s ruling that Northwestern football players have the right to form a union. The result of that appeal could potentially have ramifications on the future of college athletics; however a few things need to be made clear. Firstly, even if upheld, this ruling currently only applies to Northwestern. Secondly, it only applies to their football team. When considering the possibility of a union for other football programs, one has to be aware of things like private vs. public schools (NU is a private institution), right-to-work states, and possible tax implications for the athletes.

2. Payment of Players. While it should be made clear that Colter and Co.’s goal, at least in the short-term, in opening the door for possible unionization of college athletes, is not for players to be paid. Their goal is to allow players to negotiate things like medical benefits (particularly once their eligibility has expired), concussion studies, and players’ rights in terms of scholarships and transfers. He wanted the students to have a voice. The Ed O’Bannon case will go to trial on June 9th and it seems to be the biggest threat to the NCAA’s ridiculous grasp onto the claim of amateurism (their knuckles are so white from that grasp because amateurism is what allows them to take advantage of an anti-trust tax break. I’m not going to go into my opinion on the whole pay-for-play debate, or whether players should be able to make money from use of their likeness, as that could be an article all on its own. However, I want to point out that on some level, players are getting paid already – and I’m not referring to scholarships. One would have to be naïve to disagree. Money is what makes college football go, especially in terms of recruiting. Steven Godfrey of SB Nation wrote a fantastic piece about “bag men” this week (a long read, but worth it). The piece focuses on the SEC, but only because the “bag man” he was interviewing happened to be associated in the SEC. I have absolutely no doubt there are bag men in every conference and nearly every major program – in fact I’m certain there are some in Division II as well.

3. Transfer rules need reform. The Leadership Council has proposed a change to the hardship waiver transfer policy. Currently, if a player is granted a hardship transfer waiver (“as a result of difficult life or family circumstances”) they don’t have to sit out a year before playing for new team. This proposal would change that to eliminate the ability to play right away, but instead grant that player an additional year of eligibility on the back end of the player’s career. The new rule would seemingly make a hardship transfer no different than a run-of-the-mill transfer. I understand the NCAA is trying to avoid players taking advantage of this rule to circumvent the requirement to sit out a year, but I think there are other aspects of player transfers that need the attention more than this one. For example, if a coach is fired or leaves (which, they can freely do with no hindrances), a player should be able to transfer. I know the NCAA’s stance is that players should go to a school because of the school and not the coach, but that’s simply not reality. Otherwise, there would be no recruiting of players because they would all simply choose a school based on their own research, or knowledge, or fandom, and there would be no need to interact with coaches or players. A school certainly shouldn’t be able to refuse a player’s transfer, or hold it hostage, as in the case of Kansas State women’s basketball player Leticia Romero. KSU rejected her request for a transfer, which she wanted after Coach Deb Patterson was fired. “NCAA rules dictate that transfers must sit out a year before they can play at a new school, but they are only allowed to immediately receive financial aid if their previous school approves of the transfer by granting a scholarship release”. I also don’t think a school should be able to dictate to which schools a player can and cannot transfer. Often times, a school will make these kinds of restrictions, such as the player cannot transfer to another team within the current team’s conference. However, often times the restricted teams are beyond the conference and are seemingly at the coach’s discretion. I think if the kid has to sit out a year, he (or she) should be able to go wherever he (or she) wants.

4. From Crimson Tide to Buckeyes. Speaking of transfers, Chad Lindsay has decided to transfer from the University of Alabama to The Ohio State University. He has graduated and will therefore be eligible to play right away. Lindsay started four games last season and played in eight. Given that the Buckeyes only have to positions on the offensive line locked up, Lindsay will be a welcome addition, especially after Meyer made it clear after the spring game that offensive line is a big concern of his. Living in Alabama, having a lot of friends and family who are Alabama fans, I am conflicted about Lindsay’s transfer. He’s a Buckeye now, and I accept him as such, but I know I’ll have to endure some razzing if the Buckeyes do well this year. “All you guys needed was an Alabama player”, they’ll say. “All Alabama needed was a former Buckeyes assistant as a head coach”, I suppose I’ll have to reply. It’s all in good fun, of course.

5. “Joe’s Bench”. In 2012, Penn State took down the famous statue of Joe Paterno that stood on the east side of Beaver Stadium in response to outcry from some that it should be removed due to his alleged actions (or inaction) regarding the Jerry Sandusky allegations. I disagreed with the removal of the statue, but I understood the public relations part of the decision. This week it was announced that a group plans to erect a statue outside of Tavern Restaurant in State College some time in 2015. It is reported that Paterno will be seated on a bench reading a copy of “Aeneid”. The statue is currently called “Joe’s Bench”. “This project is to portray the Joe Paterno we know. He was a very approachable person, who would be seen walking downtown, in stores, and standing on the street talking to passersby. Sitting on the bench with Joe will allow us to reflect on where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. A time to capture the small town feel, remembering our roots, and those who paved the way for us.” I’m sure there will be some backlash from some, but I like the gesture and I hope it comes to fruition. It isn’t associated with the university, or football, it simply seems to be paying tribute to the impact Paterno had on the small community of State College, PA.

Alabama Football is successful there is no doubt about that. They also have a high turnover rate for many different reasons with their players. Their loss this off season is apparently OSUs gain as Jeremy Fowler of CBS sports is reporting…

If true this is huge news for the Buckeyes for sure. An experienced OLman for an inexperienced line will be huge.

As you know there are four major recruiting services and ESPN happens to be one but not one many like or use because they are shaky at best. Anyhow they have released their new top 300 players for 2015 and all 3 OSU recruits are on it.

Eric Glover-Williams– is ranked 96th and 6th best athlete in the country and 4th best recruit in Ohio for 2015.

Jamel Dean– is ranked 108th in the country and 11th best CB in the country and 23rd best player in Florida.

Ben Edwards– is ranked 170th in the country and 11th best Safety in the country and 32nd best player in Florida.

It is early in the recruiting process and OSU has a small class right now but once again OSU is primed to have a extremely highly ranked class.

Last year I did the Numbers Crunch post to keep up to date numbers on the class size based on SRs, early NFL draft entries, transfers, and players kicked off the team. The post was successful and at the very least gave everyone a guide to use. This year will be no different as it is back. So lets take a look at what the numbers look like.

OSU had room in the 2014 class for 22 players but signed 23 players so one more player has to leave before Aug 1st in order for OSU to be at 82 players.

Braxton Miller is as of today returning in 2015.

Seniors

Curtis Grant
Michael Bennett
Jeff Heuerman
Joel Hale
Daryl Baldwin
Doran Grant
Steve Miller
Evan Spencer
JT Moore
Rod Smith
Devin Smith
Antonio Underwood
Chris Carter

Player Transfers

Mike Mitchell- February
Jayme Thompson- April
Jamal Marcus- May
Tommy Brown- August
Frank Epitropoulos- August

Medical Hardships

Chad Lindsay
Kyle Dodson
Trey Johnson
Armani Reeves
Devan Bogard
Ron Tanner

Players kicked off the team

Noah Spence

Players leaving early for the NFL

None

Additional Scholarships

3- added back from the NCAA punishments putting OSU back to 85

Players Transferred In

none

Total

As of January 15, 2015- 28 is the magic number right now.