MotSaG is holding a College Football Pick’em contest. We are in the process of assembling a prize package, but the first item in the winners package is an 11×14″ Framed Copy of Braxton Miller’s SI cover from SICovers.com.

The winner of the contest will receive this along with the other prizes that we’ll be gathering over the course of the season.

Just added to the prize pool: $25 Amazon.com gift certificate

So join us at Yahoo’s Fantasy College Pick’em:

Group ID: 11226
Password: buckeyes

And good luck!

What a difference a year makes — at the beginning of 2012 the big uglies portended as one of the biggest areas of concern. Now with the graduation of only right tackle Reid Fragel from a unit that became the most reliable aspect of a resurgent offensive attack, heading into 2013 the O line is projected as perhaps the most reliable unit on the team. Not that 2012 was without its difficulties. Despite a clear increase in offensive production, especially in the power run game, the sack rate stood out as a potential area of concern, though this could be laid more at the doorstep of the lingering problem that the young receiving corps had getting open in 2012.

If you focus on the trenches, you can get a good glimpse of the good and the not so good from the Michigan highlights from last year.

Starters Lost
Right tackle Reid Fragel, a converted tight end now with the Cincinnati Bengals.

2013 Outlook
Big things are expected of this group in 2013. Sports Illustrated for example has tabbed several returners for pre-season first or second B1G recognition: left tackle Jack Mewhort, left guard Andrew Norwell and center Corey Linsley. Needless to say, the blindside seems to be in good hands, but let us not skimp on the accolades here. Mewhort is proving to be a very special cat, capable of containing the most vicious of D line attackers yet capable of moving and setting up the sophisticated schemes the Buckeyes intend to run away from the trenches. And what is more, many look at his leadership potential and suggest that the most valuable role he will play is one the veteran inherits–that of team emotional soul after the departure of John Simon from last year’s edition.

Things are not exactly looking bad on the right side either. For one thing, a dominant side of the line, like the left, generally tends to also elevate the play of the other side. And the potential is there for some of the best play to come from individuals on the right side. Taylor Decker not only has won an intense battle for starting right tackle with fellow soph Chase Farris, but Decker has announced his intention to far surpass what was necessary to just win the job. With a frame one inch shorter but 15 pounds heavier than his predecessor, 6’8” monster and now Cincinnati Bengal Reid Fragel, Decker has the tools, not to mention the quickness and intelligence to make super good on that intention. And remember, Fragel rose to such heights after a late college career switch from the tight end position. Just listen to Ed Warinner about the trajectory of Decker:

It is pretty easy to understand why Urban Meyer is feeling good about his starting unit and one can start to foresee that towards the end of the year when these things could matter the most, barring injury, the offensive line, and the tackles in particular, could well evolve into the best unit in the country. Some big ifs to get through, but that vision is potentially right on the horizon.

Here is what some of the starters had to say early in camp:

The Backups
The major concern with this unit is the relative youth and inexperience of the backups. Not that they lack for talent. Sophomores Kyle Dodson and Chase Farris will challenge for backup roles at the tackle positions, as will sophomore Tommy Brown who did well in the action he saw in 2012. As the season progresses one can also expect to see highly recruited frosh Evan Lisle from Centerville emerge as a guy looking for play time at either of the tackle spots. Unfortunately incoming freshman Donovan Munger will miss the season because of a blood clot problem over the summer. Given some time it is reasonable to expect that recently converted defensive lineman Billy Price could make an impact on the offensive line though most likely at center or guard.

The Prediction
Nothing in 2013 will be as beautiful to watch as Ohio State’s big uglies.

As last season faded into memory and the cold world revolved into the dark abyss that is the off-season, Buckeye fans could wake up each morning content in the fact that, at the very least, we were so solid in the running game for the upcoming year that the school probably should have been mandated to issue daily formal apologies to all other institutes of higher learning and/or football playing.

But as we all know, the off-season is a cruel, dastardly beast that not only robs us of our Saturday afternoon religion but regularly and randomly spews its acidic bile across the college football landscape, wracking our hearts and wrecking our depth charts in its wake.

Yeah. It totally sucks.

Well, not totally. At least not for Ohio State. Not this year. Probably.

Despite suspensions that will keep our top two RBs on the bench in week one (and #1 rock-toter Carlos Hyde riding pine for two more), we still look pretty decent in the Moving The Ball Forward The Old-Fashioned Way department. This is primarily due to…

Key Losses:

Zero. I mean, the suspensions are “losses,” technically, but those will have little impact, due to the incredibly weak schedule we play that you probably haven’t heard anything about.

Last Year’s Performance:

I’m hesitant to use 2012 to draw many conclusions about 2013. First, by all accounts, the training wheels will be off the offense this fall and that means a much different-looking rushing attack. I don’t expect Meyer and Herman to entirely abandon the power running game they leaned on last year, but I won’t be surprised to see it take a back seat in favor of speed from the Pivot (or “Percy Harvin”) position.

It also remains to be seen who will step up now that suspensions have messed with the presumed depth chart. That said, it should be noted that all four primary running backs averaged over 5 yards a carry last year, as did leading rusher Braxton Miller, who adds another layer of complexity to projecting this position.

Expectations for 2013:

High to Extremely High.

Maybe there are some fans with reservations now that Hyde is out for the first three games, but for most of us, that has just meant looking a little more closely at some of the younger guys and thinking about the new scheme and getting really freaking excited. The source of a lot of this excitement is true freshman Dontre Wilson, who will be operating out of the aforementioned Pivot spot. Originally expected to be a backup here, Wilson is likely to start with Jordan Hall sliding back over to RB to fill in for Hyde.

The Wilson talk is more than just fan hype. I don’t think I’ve heard or read a player/coach interview in the past two weeks that didn’t mention his name. Just yesterday morning, Tom Herman appeared on Tim Brando’s SiriusXM show and let out an audible chuckle at the mere mention of Wilson’s name.

Still not convinced? Watch this:

In addition to Wilson, count on returning sophomore Bri’onte Dunn and incoming freshman Ezekiel Elliott to take advantage of early opportunities as well.

RB Depth:

As of right now, we should be looking at something like this for the opener:

RB1: Jordan Hall
RB2: Bri’onte Dunn
RB3: Ezekiel Elliott
Pivot: Dontre Wilson/Ezekiel Elliott

In week two, we can add Rod Smith back in somewhere on that list and then when Florida A&M comes to town, Carlos Hyde should return, and who knows what we’ll be looking at by then. Needless to say, we’re still pretty deep, and that lineup shouldn’t cost anybody any sleep.

Nice try though, off-season.

Good Morning Buckeye Nation.

So It Begins: Ohio State’s Women’s Soccer team started their regular season last night. The 23 ranked Buckeyes played their home opener versus Morehead State. The Buckeyes fell behind in the 14th minute with a goal from the Eagles. Jade Flory played a cross from the right wing and found Macy Cobb for the header from six yards. That didn’t deter Ohio State from coming up with head coach Lori Walkers 200th career victory.

“I’ve been here for a while and it’s a pretty special feeling to reach this milestone,” Walker said. “It isn’t something I think about but it was good to come away with the win to open the season.”

Senior Kristen Niederhaus headed in a Megan Fuller corner shot from six yards for the Buckeyes first goal to tie it in the first half.

In the second half the Eagles went up 2-1 but the Buckeyes scored two more goals one from Nichelle Prince who tied it when Ellyn Gruber played a beautiful ball to the freshman who finished from 10 yards. Lindsey Agnew put the Buckeyes ahead playing a ball from the wing to Michela Paradiso who slotted the perfect ball.

Congratulations to head coach Lori Walker for her 200th victory and to the Lady Buckeyes on their season opening victory.

Gymnastics Schedule: Ohio State men’s gymnastics has announced the schedule for the up coming season.

“We have a tough schedule this year,” Ohio State head coach Rustam Sharipov said. “We’re competing against defending national champion Michigan twice during the regular season, and we’re also traveling to Stanford. The team is really excited and they’ve worked hard to reach the next level toward our goal of becoming a national contender.”

The team opens its regular season schedule on the road at the Windy City Invitational Jan. 18 for the fourth consecutive season.

Big Ten New Looks: Big Ten Network breaks down the new uniform looks for Big Ten teams this season. I have to say I think Penn State’s alternate uniforms look terrible in my opinion. The Buckeyes only change will be adding the seven leafs to honor the seven National Championships.

Scrimmage Victory: Ohio State’s field hockey team shutout Miami. 18 players hit the field for the Buckeyes in their tune up before their season opener on Aug 31st in Philadelphia. Sophomore Emma Royce, senior Maria Swartz and sophomore Anni VonederBrink all scored for the scarlet and gray while Swartz and freshman Paige Hamilton both had assists.

Seven: Exactly one week , 7 days, till the Chase for Eight begins. I will leave you with a video of Ohio State’s number 7 scoring a TD vs TTUN.

Until next Time Buckeye Nation…

Typically, the Buckeyes have made do with the NFL model of quarterback management: have one prize horse who gets the most attention, followed by a competent backup or two for those rainy day scenarios. The approach looks good on paper, and works in the NFL because the pool of potential superstar QBs from which the NFL draws is rather shallow.

College football has generally had the inverse problem. Predicated on seniority, there’s always a good chance that the prize horse (Zwick, Boeckman, Bauserman) will not have an athletic advantage over his backup (Smith, Pryor, Miller). High school stars may fizzle out, while average players blossom into excellent leaders.

Having a full stable of high-potential quarterbacks is a rarity for any college football team, let alone Ohio State. And yet, this is the luxurious position OSU is in for the 2013 season.

Key Losses:
None of note. (Unless you count Braxton’s Fauxhawk.)

Last Year’s Performance:
In 2012, OSU was ranked 117th nationally in passing attempts (good enough for Dead. Last. in the B1G). Braxton Miller’s 48.7% accuracy on 3rd-downs was lowest among B1G quarterbacks.

In addition, Meyer told the Toledo Blade that he deliberately held the Buckeye offense to a scaled-back playbook in 2012. Therefore, Braxton had to run a conservative attack, passing for just over 2000 yards with 15 TDs and 6 INTs.

And yet, Braxton Miller was Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, and the OSU offense overwhelmed opponents with 37.2 points per game on average. Doesn’t that seem odd?

Those who watched Braxton blossom last year know why. OSU went 12-0 and had the 21st ranked offense in FBS because he added another 1300 yards and 13 TDs on the ground.

Expectations for 2013:
The last time expectations were this high for quarterback performance was in 1998, when Joe “the Iceman” Germaine returned for his last year along with OSU greats David Boston and Dee Miller. That team led the nation in most offensive categories all season long – and had it not been for an unfortunately timed fumble against the Spartans, that OSU team would likely have been the first national champion of the BCS era.

Whether it’s a fair expectation or not, college football fans and pundits alike expect nothing less from OSU in 2013. The rushing ability that Braxton Miller and Kenny Guiton bring to the table has obviously remained unchanged. The big difference this season is that the OSU QB will be surrounded with experienced weapons – healthy running backs, slot receivers, veteran wide receivers (that aren’t under suspension!), great tight ends, and Scary Talented Unknown Freshmen.

(Example of Scary Talented Unknown Freshman)

The question remains: Will Miller’s 58.3% completion percentage be good enough to leverage all those weapons? If you ask the experts… yes, affirmative, absolutely, positively, aye, YES. What experts, you ask? How about the one who’s worked with Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, and Johnny Manziel?

“Braxton has one of the biggest arms in college football,” Whitfield said. “I know people see his speed and his playmaking ability. But I am talking about, he’s got rare, rare arm talent.”

This is completely consistent with the assessment made by other observers:

Judging from practice today, Braxton Miller is improved as a passer, surrounded by quick WR/RBs. OSU presents matchup nightmares

— Chris Fowler (@cbfowler) August 19, 2013

Urban Meyer told the Columbus Dispatch:

“I love Braxton Miller. Him and Tom Herman have something really special going right now. You can see it on the field. You can see his maturity.

Combined with that athletic talent is a brand new offense that will be unveiled in a couple of weeks. Meyer has indicated that he plans to abandon last year’s training wheels and institute a true spread attack. The scaled-back playbook has been shredded. In regards to a recent practice session using the new offensive approach, Meyer said:

“We completed more balls in a third-down scrimmage scenario in a 10-minute, 16-play deal than maybe we did all of last year. And a lot of that had to do with [Miller]. He’s better, he’s more comfortable, he understands things, he’s more patient.”

The implication is, of course, that Braxton will not be running as much this season. This is an important point to note for those who will be comparing his stats from 2012 – if your baseline includes his performance as the team’s primary rusher, you’re going to be disappointed. Meyer wants RBs and H-backs rushing whenever possible. It’s entirely possible that Braxton has a more successful season than last, yet ends up responsible for fewer touchdowns overall.

QB Depth:
Backing up Miller, of course is “Smooth Jazz” Guiton, who has always had the ability to back up Miller on an athletic level. However, as a senior, Guiton possesses the maturity and expertise in the program most needed to step in at a moment’s notice with as little of an effect on the offense as possible.

QBs battling for the #3 spot are Cardale Jones and JT Barrett. Technically, the #3 spot belongs to Jones – he had it last year – but he made a large mistake last year that didn’t endear him to the coaching staff.

Barrett, on the other hand, is a high school phenom who is impressing coaches with his leadership. He enrolled at Ohio State early, and as a young unknown, happened to be in the room when Dontre Wilson and James Clark came on their official visits. The story has become OSU coaches’ lore, but it goes like this: When Wilson and Clark came by, he interrupted the coaches – again, he had only been in the program a few weeks at that point and interrupted them – and gave the recruits a lecture straight out of a Hollywood movie. Tom Herman:

“He goes on for 5 or 10 minutes on why he chose this place over others and he’s going on about winning multiple championships, what an Ohio State degree can do for you, and playing for this coach and school… For me to witness that, it got me choked up a little bit, because you can’t teach that.”

With the fact that Guiton will be leaving this season, along the extreme likelihood that Braxton will as well, Meyer has one season to get either Jones or Barrett ready for prime time in 2014. Time will tell.

But 2013 will be the Braxton show. If Miller can stay healthy, and if he has progressed as much as the coaches and pundits have indicated, there should be no question that he won’t repeat or surpass the bar of success he set for himself last year.

A few weeks back it was reported that Najee Murray was kicked off the team. A few days later Coach Meyer made it known that Najee was “Suspended Indefinitely”. Word has come out tonight through our friends at Eleven Warriors that Najee has been granted his release from the team.

Kyle Rowland with the full report on his dismissal had this to say…

Ohio State sophomore defensive back Najee Murray has been granted his release from the football program, sources told Eleven Warriors. An Ohio State spokesman confirmed the report.

Murray had been suspended for a “training camp issue,” according to head coach Urban Meyer. Sources indicated Murray’s departure was a mutual decision.

Last season, the Ohio State secondary (especially safety) seemed to be under siege much more than in years past. Some of that can be credited to the lack of tackling by the linebackers or abysmal and inconsistent pressure from the defensive line. While fingers can definitely be pointed, the safeties main responsibility is to minimize big plays and keep the ball in front of them. Unfortunately at times, neither of these things happened. As the season progressed though, so did the quality of play. The Buckeyes should be stout at safety this season behind Seniors Christian Bryant and C.J. Barnett. They will look to follow in the footsteps of former Buckeyes greats such as Jack Tatum and Mike Doss.

Last Year Performance

The safeties came into the season with experience under their belts. Both Christian Bryant and C.J. Barnett had already garnered starting experience before the season began. While neither impressed on a regular basis during the 2011 campaign, they knew their play had to improve coming into 2012. For the most part, it did. The secondary as a whole gave up 243.5 yards per game (78th in the nation) and a whopping four passing plays of 70 yards or more (led the nation). However, much of this came in the first half of the season. As the Saturdays continued to pass, the safeties continued to get better. Urban Meyer even started to praise Bryant and Barnett during his weekly media briefing. Barnett led the secondary in tackles per game (6.2). Bryant ended the season as a 2nd Team All-Big Ten coaches selection and Barnett was an Honorable Mention for the coaches and media.
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