Thad Matta is putting together another great class. In other words Thad Matta is doing what Thad Matta does. The 2013 class was small but had impact players. The 2014 class is huge and filled with top notch talent. Now the 2015 class has it’s first member.

AJ Harris committed to Ohio State via his twitter account @FAMOUS_AMOS12.

It was first reported by Brian Snow of Scout.com.

AJ Harris is a 5’9″ 160 lbs 4 star Point Guard from Dayton, Ohio. AJ was on an unofficial visit to Ohio State today and as soon as he was offered a scholarship he accepted and became the first member of the 2015 class. What he lacks in size he makes up for with speed and shiftyness. The Sophomore still has 2 more years of High School to grow and polish his very evident skills. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the 4th best player in Ohio. Rivals and Scout both rank him a 3 star and 247sports doesnt have any info on the young man yet.

You can see his highlights below…

Today in Columbus it was media day, players took team pictures, coaches and players talked with the media.

Head Coach Urban Meyer held an almost 21 minute press conference which can be seen in its entirety courtesy of ohiostatebuckeyes.com

Coach Meyer said the is team moving to Ackerman Fields for practice and how the Buckeyes will have nine practices in 6 days and how the 2013 Ohio State Buckeyes will be determined by this weeks practice. Entering his 27th season as a coach likes the way the NCAA is handling player safety and its a struggle trying to schedule the practices and keeping the players healthy. Says they expect an B1G official to visit either Monday or Tuesday about the new rule changes on tackling and had one incident in the scrimmage yesterday where an official said player would have been ejected. The Buckeyes made a copy and sent to league for review and expects to here about the play when the official visits so the players and coaches have the same understanding on whats legal and not.

The head coach went on to talk about the players and how they are looking in camp thus far.

Braxton Miller and Tom Herman have something special going on in terms of learning and teaching

Coach said Braxton is a special player and they used Gruden Quartebacks Camp Video as a teaching tool and it has paid off in a newly confident Miller. Said he’s not giving Miller an “A” yet but pushing “A” work.

Taylor Decker has solidified himself as starter, if season started tomorrow would be the starter. Jordan Hall is the best candidate for the “H” hybrid right now. Mike Mitchell is backup middle linebacker. Hall, Roby, and Dontre Wilson leading candidates as returners. Urban said they needed to get better on kick off returns not good last year, punt returns were ok but could improve. He expects freshman Joey Bosa to play on the defensive line this year been using him inside and outside. Donovan Munger has qualified by the Clearing House but will not play this fall due to health issue (blood clot).

Coach says the offense will look different this year as long as everyone stays healthy. Much more of a spread/read element. Last season they played a “pro offense” very little reading and used single wing. Meyer said the “H” position didn’t exist last season.

This years freshman class reminds Urban of his 06 season at Florida and the impact that they had. Wide receiver Joe Ramstetter was the first to have his black strip removed, Mike Miller and Dontre Wilson also had theirs removed. Coach said Ezekial Elliott was going to have his removed yesterday also but fumbled the ball. The head coach said hes not big on saving players said if you don’t play it’s because your not good enough. Unfortunately looks as if Evan Lisle is going to be one of those players with Meyer saying he’s not physically ready to go.

Urban feels this team is faster than a year ago and hopes you will see it in three weeks.

Coach said last years culture was driven by leaders and if they have distractions this year they will be an average team. He is seeing great leadership from Christian Bryant, C.J. Barnett, Shazier, Braxton and the offensive line.

Urban said that currently Najee Murray is suspended “training camp issue”.

Besides the buzz coming out of camp about the freshman running back Dontre Wilson there is also buzz about wide reciever Evan Spence who coach said is playing faster than a year ago.

Since I wasn’t there at media days (need to talk to my editor about this) I choose today to use Andrew Lind and his twitter feed to help give out some info on the players he talked with. Andrew is writer for Land-Grant Holy Land and you can follow him on twitter @LindLGHL.

Mike Vrable says Noah Spencer and Adolphus Washington are two guys who will get after the quarterback the most this season. Washington is looking forward to “filling the big shoes” left by Big Hank. Meyer has a nickname for Washington and its Diesel.

Coach Herman feels Miller is becoming the leader of the team. Says that his laid back demeanor doesn’t take away from his leadership, you don’t have to be a rah-rah win one for the gipper type to be a great leader.

Australian punter Cam Johnston thinks punting is just as fun as Aussie rules football. He hasn’t had a problem adjusting to the U.S. and credits Drew Basil for helping him get adjusted to American football.

Dontre Wilson who is from Texas feels that him choosing Ohio State over Texas and A&M will open the floodgates for recruits coming to Columbus.

I pretty much set the standard. Most players weren’t looking at Ohio State but now that I’m here everyone is.

He was asked if he is bringing “SEC speed” to Ohio State and his reply was he didn’t think the SEC has that much speed. Wilson claimed Meyer the reason he didn’t end up in Oregon where he was previously committed, was thinking of staying even after Chip Kelly left. Dontre expects to be used like Percy Harvin was in Florida. He says Braxton is his best friend and a great leader who is going to take us to the National Championship game this year. Wilson expects to take it to the house the first touch he gets.

Ezekel Elliott says his biggest adjustment from high school to college is how fast the holes close up and also how much film you have to watch. Says that Kenny Guiton is a guy he looks up to in the locker room and he knows everything.

Jordan Hall feels as long as everyone stays healthy he expects the offense to do great things. He felt that he wasn’t putting in all the effort he could last year but is back on track now. After his injury Hall wasn’t sure whether he wanted to play football anymore. His mind is a complete 180 now and is exited for fifth season.

Mike Mitchell agrees with Wilson about Texas high school players are beginning to look at Ohio State with serious consideration. He hopes to continue in the line of great linebackers at Ohio State. He looks up tp A.J. Hawk and James Lauriniatus. Mitchell claims he has caught up to Wilson a couple of times, not on a dead sprint but when running screens.

Chris Carter has struggled to get rid of extra weight, credits strength coach Mariotti for weight loss. Currently he weighs 345 and his highest was during his freshman season when he weighed 398 lbs.

Kerry Combs said the Buckeyes are recruiting long, lean fast football players who hit and Vonn Bell is the model. Combs said that Roby is a professional and is the leader of the defense. He puts his arms around guys and teaches them how to play the right way.

Braxton Miller says he is just trying the best he can on making everyone happy with their roles on offense. Miller gave the offense a “C” last season despite them going undefeated. He is looking to avoid taking the big hit and protect his body more this season. He was asked if he is a running quarterback who can throw or a quarterback who can run. His answer was both!!

I would like to thank twitter for their help in putting this article together today especially @LindLGHL You can read Andrew Linds entire recap of the media days at Land Grant Holy Land. and OhioStateBuckeyes.com for their video and pictures made available for the public.

When Urban Meyer took over the job as Ohio State head coaching job he brought with him some pretty cool new traditions. Like Friday Night Live and The Quick Cals. My favorite new tradition has to be the “black Stripes” that every new Freshman gets at the beginning of summer camp that they will keep until the coaches think they have done enough to earn the removal of that Black Stripe. The removal of the Black Stripe signifies the young Freshman has become a full fledged member of the team. Think of it as a bar mitzvah moment for the young Buckeye signaling they have become a real Buckeye in the eyes of the coaches.

The race to become the first Freshman to have their Black Stripe removed is intense and for fans a good game to play during the off-season. This years winner was Walk-On WR Joe Ramstetter. Who certainly shocked all the fans who most never even heard of.

The next 2 guys to have their Black Stripes removed were Offensive star WR/RB Dontre Wilson and Defensive star LB Mike Mitchell. Those were probably the 2 guys most people thought would lose theirs first but 2nd and 3rd is nothing to slouch at.

The only thing left now for the rest of the Freshman class is to make sure they aren’t the last Freshman to lose their Black Stripe. Hopefully there isn’t a game out there yet by Buckeye fans predicting who that will be. FWIW though I would put my money on TE Marcus Baugh whose arrest may have made him the last to have it removed and in Urbans dog house.

UPDATED:

A new day means more Black Stripes are gone. In what has become just as much a rite of passage as getting the Black Stripes removed the race to get it done as soon as possible means just as much.

The 2 newest Freshman to lose their Black Stripes are Ezekiel Elliott and Joey Bosa as was reported by Zeke’s mother Dawn Ezekiel @itz_mizdee.

Today August 16th 2 more Freshman lost their Black Stripes…

*Updated* 8-17-13

*Updated* 8-19-13

*Updated* 8-20-13

Cornerback Najee Murray was dismissed from the Ohio State football team this morning. It is reported that Najee was kicked off due to violation of team rules. Najee was going to be a sophomore this season and was looking to be a solid contributor and even possibly going to get the starting spot alongside Doran Grant while Roby is out.

Last year Najee was one of the best players on special teams and a huge part of our kickoff coverage unit for the first six games until he got injured and tore his acl. He accounted for three solo tackles last season.

Good morning Buckeye Nation.

Track Recruits: Ohio State Men’s Track and Field head coach Ed Beathea announced the addition of four more recruits to the 2013 class. Three distance runners and one thrower. Beathea feels this is a top 10 national recruiting class for the Buckeyes.

Scholars: Buckeye’s Men’s Gymnastics team has 4 members named to the All America Scholar-Athletics for the 2012-13 season by College Gymnastics Association. Current team members Michael Newburger and Jake Martin were both first team this is Newburger’s second time being named to first team. Former Buckeye’s Blaize Monks (first team) and John Laing were also selected. Congratulations gentleman and keep up the good work you make Buckeye Nation proud.

Difficult Camp: Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch has a nice article about how the Buckeye’s football team is getting into the difficult part of preseason camp. Two a Days starting, not the same two a days we are familiar with from years past, and Urban keeping guys on their toes.

Best Damn Tryouts: Our friend Charles from the Buckeye BattleCry has a great post about the tryouts for The Best Damn Band in the Land that just started.

Eat Right Play Right: Kyle Rowland of Eleven Warriors writes about Buckeye’s head coach Urban Meyer has dieticin Sarah Wick working fulltime with the football team. Wick has been working with other Buckeye varsity sports since 2003 but wasn’t working with the football team but that has changed.

Hit Song: Visit our friends at Buckeye Empire and check out Don Mekka’s new song “Juice” you’ll like it.

Until next time Buckeye Nation…

With a resounding 69% of the vote, your 2012 Champion of the Football Moment Bracket is none other than:

Kenny Guiton’s last drive against Purdue

Here are the highlights from the entire Purdue game, but the Football Moment Champ starts at the three-minute mark:

It’s almost too fitting to be ironic. In a season that started with a jaw-dropping catch (Devin Smith, offensive moment #2), had a quarterback straight video game-juke himself into the endzone (Braxton Miller, offensive moment #3) and a one-man wrecking crew on defense (Ryan Shazier, defensive moments #1, #4, #5, #8 and #9) we collectively as a fan base choose the back-up quarterback’s heroics as the defining moment of the flawless 2012 season.

There wasn’t anything to play for. The team and the coach could have watched Braxton go down hard to the turf and just mail in the rest of the game. “Today wasn’t our day,” could have been a fitting explanation. “They wanted it more than us,” they would have certainly said. “We tip our hat to Purdue. They’ve done it again.”

But Kenny Guiton, that skinny kid from Houston who figured he’d have as good a shot at starting after Terrelle Pryor hung up his cleats came in. There was no jealousy of the younger Braxton. Guiton got in that huddle, struggled his first couple of tries but then willed his team down the field. Even the catch, a diving effort by Chris Fields, wasn’t easy. None of that game was. But when people look back at Urban’s first season, look back at the first (of many!) undefeated seasons, it will be Kenny Guiton’s fourth quarter comeback people will remember. Sure, Devin Smith’s catch was unforgettable. Shazier’s inspired play against Penn State was one for the ages. Beating Bielema again will be remembered. But it won’t be with the same fervor that Guiton’s play against Purdue will be remembered.

That one will stay with us not just with memories, but with emotions.

Today, I come to you from the comfort of my air conditioned house, munching on pizza rolls and string cheese. I may need some prune juice for later with all the cheese that I’ve consumed. Sorry, I digress.

I’ve taken up the task of writing an article of the 5 (non-conference) teams that I think would need a can of whoop-a** opened on them. These teams are strictly of my opinion (and the opinions of others) and feel free to agree with me at any time.

I came up with the list by putting out the bat signal on twitter and facebook & after the dust settled from all the responses I received, I narrowed it down to some interesting choices that are sure to bring about some discussion. They are in no discernible order but the number 1 team deserves the top spot and you’ll see why.

#5 Hawaii- I’ve chosen Hawaii just for the fun of it. It’s not so much that it’d be a blood bath as OSU would make the Warriors look like Boy Scouts, but more for the scenery. How can you pass up warm tropical breezes, sprawling beaches, scantily clad women, and all the coconut drinks with umbrellas you can drink (please be at least 21)?

#4 Boise State- Lately, Boise State has been posting rather impressive seasons and they seemed to be unstoppable. My beef with them is I feel they were in a weak conference. I felt they were kind of like a 6th grader studying in a 1st grade class. C’mon Broncos, come to a real conference and play with the B1G boys.

#3 Oregon- About the only thing I like about Oregon is the vast amount of uniform combinations. Other than that, I’ve been unimpressed with them. The mad scientist of Chip Kelly instilled a potent offense that racked up impressive numbers. Now if I remembered correctly, OSU and Oregon met in a Rose Bowl back in 2010.

#2 Notre Dame- With Notre Dame classified as an independent school, they can pick and choose whomever they play. Notre Dame has been and always will be my distant second favorite team only because I grew up Catholic. My animosity with Notre Dame lately lies strictly with Brian Kelly. Some time ago, he was the coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats and at that time, the Bearcats were a team to be reckoned with. They even put up a record that was worthy enough of them to play the Florida Gators in a major BCS bowl game. All because Kelly had a lifelong dream to coach at ND, he jumped at the first immediate offer from the Irish, leaving before the bowl game and leaving the Bearcats like lambs to the slaughter.

#1 Alabama- Alabama has been the big cheese, the head honcho, big man on campus and the unstoppable force in college football. SEC this, SEC that…I’m so sick of hearing of how great the SEC is that I could puke coat hangers! I’m so tired of the B1G Ten not getting respect that it makes my butt hurt! Well, the saying is that if you want to be the man, you got to beat the man. Well, guess what…we now have the biggest man out there.

Now, it’s time to wrap up this post by indulging on the sweetest comeback in history…a chocolate Hostess cupcake.

P.S. 22 days and counting…

Good morning Buckeye Nation.

Tryouts: Do you live on campus? Had a physical withing last six months? Want to play softball for the Buckeyes? Well good news softball tryouts will be held at Buckeye Field Monday August 26th at 6:30pm and Tuesday August 27th 5pm-7pm. Good luck to those trying to be a Ohio State Softball Player.

Professional: Buckeyes right-hander Jaron Long has signed on with the New York Yankees.

Inspiring BBall Players: Scott Polacek of Bleacher Report has a nice article about some of the most Inspiring Buckeye Basketball Players. He picks five players like Evan Turner breaking his back and winning National Player of the Year award.

Freshman Camp Report: Some sad news is freshman CB Jayme Thompson has unfortunately suffered a broken ankle. Word is he is to have surgery today to insert screws in it and will be sidelined 3 months.

Bill Rabinowitz talks about how Buckeye’s co-offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said that sophomore offensive lineman Taylor Decker is ready to start at right tackle this year.

The buzz continuing to come out of camp this week is all about Dontre Wilson everyone and anyone who has seen any camp practices rave about how this kid is the real deal.

Happy Coach: Urban Meyer is a happy coach right now, he is liking what he is seeing early in camp from the guys. Let’s hope this continues.

Until next time Buckeye Nation…