What started off as a big month of recruiting continued this weekend big time. OSU has held several football camps and hosted scores of recruits from all over the country. It started off with OSU getting a punter from Down Under. And to prove that special teams means just as much to Urban Meyer as it dis to Jim Tressel he got a commitment from a kicker. Then there was the 24 hours of wackyness that ended with OSU getting a top 50 DE in Jalyn Holmes. Anyone want to land a QB for the 2014 class? Well Coach Meyer did that’s for sure and he got a good one for the 2014 class. To top off the weekend he landed a new commit for a blazing fast WR for his new QB Stephen Collier to throw to over the next few years.

Terry Mclaurin commited tonight via his twitter account.

Terry Mclaurin is a 6’0″ 190 lbs 3 star WR from Indianapolis, Indiana. Terry is a lot like Stephen Collier in that most of the recruiting services have not studied or ranked him but he earned his scholarship the hard way by coming to OSU camp and proving he was worthy of receiving one. It didn’t take long once he was offered to accept and join the class doing both in the same weekend. Terry also has the distinction of being invited to The Opening an elite camp for the nations best recruits while also being unranked by recruiting services. One thing is for sure his stock will jump big time now that people are hearing about him and watching his films and seeing his camp performances. One of the best reasons he got the OSU offer was his blazing speed which he was clocked at a 4.3 40 yarder at OSU this weekend. Scout ranks him a 3 star and the 53rd best WR in the country. Rivals ranked him a 3 star and the 66th best WR in the country. 247sports ranks him a 3 star and the 49th best WR in the country. ESPN being ESPN once again has no ranking on him or scouting report. You can see his highlight reel below.

Earlier this week our man Adam did a Q&A interview with Stephen Collier and at the time of the interview he had a feeling that Collier was close to being offered and if he was offered would commit. It was only a few days later that all of this came to fruition. What does this mean for Brandon Harris? It most likely means he has taken OSU off his list and will end up at Auburn or LSU. What we know for sure is that Stephen Collier is the QB for this class and barring anything strange happening that is not going to change and I don’t think Buckeye Nation should even consider the what ifs. This kid is the real deal and in time the recruiting services will catch up to what OSU and the Elite 11 QB challenge already know he is a real talent.

Stephen Collier committed to Ohio State via his twitter account moments ago…

Stephen Collier is a 6’4″ 210 lbs 3 star QB from Leesburg, Georgia. Collier racked up impressive numbers his junior season, racking up a more then 2,200 total yards and 34 touchdowns. He was invited to participate in the Elite 11 QB challenge that is for the best of the best QBs in the nation. Scout ranks him a 3 star and the 57th best QB in the country. 247sports ranks him a 3 star and the 18th best QB in the country. Rivals ranks him a 2 star. ESPN doesnt rank him at all…. YET. You can read the interview with Stephen which will give you some great insight into this young man. You can see his JR year highlights below.

In Case You Missed It is Men of the Scarlet and Gray’s semi-regular curated look at items that would interest the casual and hard-core Ohio State fan. These include news items, interesting blog posts and the occasional meme you’ve probably already seen. It’s all here and it’s all for you. Have a tip that should be included in the next ICYMI? Drop us a line at motsag@gmail.com or through our Contact Page.

So it has been a pretty busy week for Ohio State on the recruiting trail. They landed commit no. 11 in Top 50 DE Jalyn Holmes. You can read all about that here. They also have hosted literally 100s of recruits from the highest ranked to guys trying to make a name for them self and earn some schollies. You can read all the live updates from our friend at 11W Jeremy Birmingham by following his twitter feed HERE.

Bret Bielema decided to share his brilliance on why the “No Huddle” and “Spread Formation” are bad for football…

“Not to get on the coattails of some of the other coaches, there is a lot of truth that the way offensive philosophies are driven now, there’s times where you can’t get a defensive substitution in for 8-, 10-, 12-play drives,” Bielema said. “That has an effect on safety of that student-athlete, especially the bigger defensive linemen, that is really real.”

Alabama’s HC Nick Saban and Florida’s HC Will MUschamp agreed with Bielema in a show of SEC solidarity. Here is what Muschamp had to say..

“That’s something you’ve got to really watch as far as those things are concerned and guys getting lined up and getting themselves in position where they can defend themselves,” Muschamp said. “That’s something that does not always happen sometimes with as fast as these teams are moving.”

You can see the whole story here.

Former TTUN and current Arizona HC Rich Rod gave his view on it and needless to say he disagrees….

“Not at all. If you’re in shape, you still have time to substitute with all these timeouts and stoppages for play,” said Rodriguez. “You have three-minute timeouts in every quarter for TV. I don’t see that at all. Some basketball teams play up-tempo and fast break all the time; they don’t talk about that being an issue. …

“I’d like to have less stoppages and play faster. You talk about entertainment and fun to watch, I think we’re fun to watch when we’re playing. I don’t know how much fun it is to watch a huddle. That’s the biggest waste of time in football. I think from an excitement standpoint and the players, I think they like to play.”

You can read the whole story here.

Athlon Sports did an article ranking the B1G stadiums top to bottom and Ohio State came out in FIRST PLACE…. Even better though TTUN stadium came in a laughable 5th place see the article here.

Also the guys at SaturdayBlitz.com ranked the B1G coaches and Urban Meyer came in FIRST PLACE… TTUN Head Coach Brady Hoke came in a surprising 3rd place. Read all about it here.

With recent vandalism of college football traditions at Toomer’s Corner at Auburn and now at Howard’s Rock in Clemson. I really hope Ohio State is taking steps to make sure Buckeye Grove is never harmed and that OSU fans dont ever do anything stupid to sacred TTUN symbols if there are any to worship for their fans?

Fresh off of Blaz Rola winning the first ever National Championship Title in tennis for OSU the mens team is getting more recognition for just how good they have been. Did you know OSU hasn’t lost a home match in 10 YEARS??? that is 172 straight matches won at home for those counting. You can see a story about it here from the guys at TennisRecruiting.Net.

Lastly this week here at MOTSAG we have had stories about Tyvis Powell a Rising Star at Ohio State.

We also had a story about OSU cancelling a game with Central Michigan Chippewas.

And a Q&A with 2014 football recruit Stephen Collier who may possibly be in the running to be the QB for OSU in the 2014 class.

If you are on twitter and follow recruiting at all you will hear a lot of people talking about how the sky is falling and how OSU missed out on this recruit or that recruit. The real problem is that happens in every recruiting class and there is no way to know who OSU is targeting the most or wants and who they have cooled on. The coaches aren’t allowed to say and you end up believing kids who tell all kinds of stories or recruiting “experts” who usually have an angle and need hits so they build up suspense and make stories sensational. The truth is Urban Meyer will get the guys he wants and needs. He wont get all of them EVER. He will lose on some he will regret later. But when he gets the one no one has talked about ad it surprises even the “experts” that is when recruiting shows how it really works. Today is one of those days and this newest commit while shocking to many will add to the folklore that is known as Urban Meyer…. After 36 hours of back and forth rumors it is official now.

Jalyn Holmes committed to Ohio State via a get together with his family and teammates and Rivals employees….

He also announced via his twitter account…..

Jalyn Holmes is a 6’5″ 235 lbs 4 star DE/TE from Norfolk, Virginia. Jalyn is a freak of an athlete ranking high on both weak side Def End and Tight End. As a Sophomore Holmes had 60 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and five sacks. He made all-district and all-region as a sophomore. During his junior season, Holmes had 75 Tackles, 40 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks. He also caught 24 passes for 352 yards and seven touchdowns on offense. He projects to be a Def End at OSU and will play on the weak side. 247sports ranks him a 4 star and the 41st best prospect in the country and the 4th best DE. Rivals ranks him a 4 star and the 48th best in the country and the 3rd best DE. Scout ranks him a 4 star and the 98th best prospect in the country and 11th best DE. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the 293rd best in the country and 6th best tight end. Below you can find his highlight tape….

When the Big Ten voted to go to a 9 game conference schedule a few months back everyone knew that teams with their schedules already made out for the next 5-10 years would have to drop a non-conference game. What most of us hoped was that unlike some other teams out there (I am glaring at you SEC teams) the Buckeyes and their fellow B1G members wouldn’t cancel the marquee big name Non-Conf games. I can’t speak for the other teams but as for Ohio State they have made it clear from the beginning they wouldn’t do that and made it official today by canceling a game against Central Michigan and keeping their games against Tulsa, Bowling Green, and most importantly away at Oklahoma in 2016. Below you can see the full release as reported by the Columbus Dispatch….

The switch to a nine-game conference schedule in 2016 has caused Big Ten teams to drop one of their non-conference games. For Ohio State, the casualty will be the Central Michigan game.

The Buckeyes were scheduled to play the Chippewas on Sept. 24 in Ohio Stadium but have sent a letter to Central Michigan canceling the game, executive associate athletic director Martin Jarmond said.

>> Ohio State football schedules

Ohio State will open the 2016 season with a Sept. 3 game against visiting Bowling Green, followed by a Sept. 10 home game against Tulsa and a Sept. 17 game at Oklahoma.

Jarmond, whose duties include football scheduling, said that the Bowling Green game was kept on the schedule in part because the Falcons are in-state team. Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer began his head coaching career at Bowling Green in 2001.

A call to Central Michigan seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Coming into the 2013 season everyone is talking about which true freshman will help the Buckeyes the most. I am going to tell you about a redshirt freshman who I believe will make the biggest impact for the Buckeyes this fall. Tyvis Powell picked the Buckeyes over Michigan St and West Virginia. Powell played his high school football at Bedford where he was coached by Sean Williams where he racked up 6 interceptions and 100+ tackles during his junior and senior season. Powell enrolled at Ohio State in January of 2012 so he could participate in spring drills and try to get a leg up. It didn’t happen and Powell was redshirted his freshman season.

One year later could make all the difference in the world. This time last year Powell was just trying to earn a spot on special teams, this year he is trying to earn a starting spot on defense. In early spring Powell caught people’s attention when he was lining up at the star position for the Buckeyes defense. Urban Meyer was one of those…

“He earned that right in the off-season,” Meyer said. “He didn’t earn that during the season. I really like him by the way. He’s a 6-2 guy that’s done everything right.”

I personally am a huge Powell fan and really hope he earns the Star position. I think he could bring some grit to the defense. He has size and speed and that is always want you want from a guy who will be right up on the line a scrimmage. About a week ago Tyvis sent out a letter to #BuckeyeNation stating his love and passion about being a Buckeye. The thing I really took away from his letter is he is going to do anything and everything to be a starter. I surely wouldn’t want to be in his way.

“I still feel like I’m not where I need to be. We have a saying in the secondary called “B.I.A.” Which stands for “Best In America” and right now I do not feel like I am the best nickel in America.”

The “Star” position for Ohio State is very important to the Buckeyes defense. The star position requires a player to have good speed and cover skills but also someone who can get off blocks and make open field tackles. The Buckeyes mainly use the Star when a team has a three wide receiver set, but will use it at different times.

Powell will need to continue to make plays and impressing coaches to earn the starting spot in the season opener against Buffalo. There is going to be a lot of competition the rest of the summer for the Star position. Corey Brown and Devan Bogard seem to be the main competition to Powell along with true freshman Vonn Bell. “The Chase” is on for the next Star on the Silver Bullet Defense.

EDITORS NOTE: This story was written by one of our newest writers Adam whose twitter handle is @Bucks0331.

The last 2 days at Ohio State there have been a whole lot of Special Teams stuff going on with their well Special Teams camp lol. Jim Tressel will no doubt be glad to hear that Urban Meyer puts so much importance on STs. With Drew Basil being a SR. they are in desperate need of a placekicker. Recently they signed a punter from Australia so this camp was mostly about getting the kicker they will need so badly next year. Well it appears the wait is over and they found their man….

Sean Nuernberger announced he has committed to Ohio State via his twitter account.

Sean Nuernberger is a 6’2″ 220 lbs Kicker from Buckner, Kentucky. I cant find much on him from the recruiting sites but I did find his highlight videos you can see those below….

and

We have made it to the final four most amazing moments of the 2012 football season. These are the four most memorable, most bestest moments voted on by you, the fans (and such smart, attractive fans you are). So now we have the arduous task of determining which moment was the best offensive and defensive moment of the season. This is not for the faint of heart.

Because it seems like offense gets all the glory, we’re going to start this off by pitting the final two defensive/special team moments first:

Defensive/Special Team Moment

#1 Shazier’s goal line hit [Wisconsin] vs. #2 Kenny G’s 2-point conversion [Purdue]

Shazier went up against himself and won. It’s really not surprising that his goal line stop would be one of the most memorable plays of 2012. The goal line stand against Penn State a year earlier also made it to the final round of our Moments Bracket (which Shazier factored heavily in) so it stands to reason Shazier’s hit would make it this far.

Shaziers hit goes up against one of the most improbably comebacks in the past few years for the football Buckeyes. Kenny Guiton’s drive in the final minutes against Purdue (in relief of the previously injured Braxton Miller) would have all been for naught if he also wasn’t able to seal the deal on the two point conversion. But convert he did and that moment will go down as one of the most memorable of all times.

[poll id=”61″]

Offensive Moment

#1 Kenny Guiton’s last drive [Purdue] vs. #2 Devin Smith TD catch [Miami]

In a season where the Buckeyes went 12-0 and watched electrifying moments left and right from Braxton Miller, it’s ironic to see Mr. Miller absent from the Final Four moments (I mean, I guess he had a part in Devin Smith’s amazing grab) but see Kenny Guiton here twice. His heroism has not gone unnoticed. It’s cliche to say everyone’s favorite player is the back-up quarterback, but for a period of time last season that was figuratively and literally true.

Contrast Kenny’s fairly vanilla drive to Devin Smith’s amazing, spectacular, jaw-dropping, face-melting, Sports Center Top Ten-making grabs and you have the 2012 season in a nutshell.

So which one was the better moment?

[poll id=”62″]

A few months back when Johnny Townsend decided he wanted to stay home and play at Florida for his college choice it put Ohio State in a predicament. You see OSU had lost their SR punter Ben Buchannon after the 2012 season and didnt have a punter on the team for the 2013 season. Several attempts to get a walk-on punter all failed and Ohio State was in a pickle. Drew Basil the starting placekicker is capable of punting but to have him handling all kicking duties is not ideal at all. So Ohio State decided to scan the world and find a punter and they finally found one all the way down under in Australia.

From the Columbus Dispatch….

Cameron Johnston is a 21-year-old former Australian Rules Football player.
He’s also expected to be the next punter for Ohio State. If the coach who trained him is correct, Johnston will turn what is a question mark on the 2013 team into an exclamation point.

“He has an explosive leg unlike anything that I think anyone at Ohio State will have seen,” said Nathan Chapman, who trained Johnston at Prokick Australia in Melbourne.

Ohio State has not confirmed Johnston’s signing, but Chapman said it is official. Johnston’s flight from Australia to the United States left last night. Chapman suspected that Ohio State is waiting until he arrives before making an announcement.

On a layover late last night in Sydney, Johnston said in a Facebook message that he “can’t wait to get over and start training, being given the greatest opportunity to be part of the Ohio State University.”

Prokick Australia has trained numerous kickers for American colleges. Kickers accepted into the program go through a rigorous 12-month training period, and the results are impressive.

Alex Dunnachie was fourth in the nation in punting average for Hawaii last year at 46.2 yards per kick. Tom Hornsey of Memphis was 19th. Prokick Australia has punters in the Canadian Football League and some who are trying to make the NFL. Even Chapman unsuccessfully tried to make the Green Bay Packers’ roster in 2004.

The way Chapman describes Johnston, he is as good as anyone Prokick Australia has produced.

“I do have in my film him punting the ball 80 yards, and I’ve got him on film with hang times of 5.2 to 5.4 (seconds),” Chapman said. “(It’s) continually 65 yards, ball after ball after ball.”

Such numbers border on the hyperbolic, but Chapman insists that Johnston is for real.

“It’s just his natural kicking that he has grown up with playing Australian Rules,” Chapman said. “Plus, he has phenomenal core strength and leg strength. He’s got fast-twitch fibers, so he’s got leg speed — just a range of things that allows him to have quick, solid impact on the ball.

“He’s a phenomenal talent with an amazing leg who’s going to grow into his position. I think the university is so lucky and fortunate to be in position to have him.”

Chapman, who also played Australian Rules Football, contacted Ohio State about Johnston last September. The Buckeyes were skeptical, he said, but after watching tape, those doubts faded. Still, the Buckeyes pursued and got a commitment from Johnny Townsend, a punter from Orlando, Fla.

“It was disappointing, but we understand that it’s a business and it’s a part of the process,” Chapman said. “We had a couple of offers to go elsewhere from smaller universities, which we declined.”

On national signing day, Townsend decided not to sign with the Buckeyes and soon chose Florida. That reopened the door for Johnston. Chapman said that a couple of Southeastern Conference schools wanted Johnston but didn’t have an opening this year.

“If Cameron hadn’t gone to Ohio State, he would have gone to Alabama (next year),” Chapman said.

During Ohio State’s spring practice, place-kicker Drew Basil was listed as the No. 1 punter. Though Basil was more than adequate, having one player handle all kicks is not ideal.

Chapman said he expects Johnston to have an adjustment period to American culture and to the football culture at Ohio State. But he described Johnston as a natural, upbeat leader and excellent teammate who will blend in, and predicted that he would become a popular member of the team.

“Once they start training camp and you get to see him for real, you’ll understand what’s on your doorstep,” Chapman said.

I can’t find any recruiting sites with info on Cameron but based on his highlight video it looks like he could be a heck of a punter and the answer to at least one of Ohio States glaring questions this season. Below you can see his Highlight reel with accompanying awesome Aussie Club Music for your personal enjoyment.

In Case You Missed It is Men of the Scarlet and Gray’s semi-regular curated look at items that would interest the casual and hard-core Ohio State fan. These include news items, interesting blog posts and the occasional meme you’ve probably already seen. It’s all here and it’s all for you. Have a tip that should be included in the next ICYMI? Drop us a line at motsag@gmail.com or through our Contact Page. Today’s ICYMI is brought to you by Adam (@Bucks0331 on Twitter) whom we hope to add to our writing staff here at MotSaG. Be nice, this is his first post.

FIRST EVER FOR BUCKEYES. Thanks to a Junior from Slovenia, the Buckeyes now have a Men’s Tennis Champion. Blaz Rola beat Virginia’s Jarmere Jenkins in straight sets:

Rola won on a disputed match point. His forehand landed near the line and was called in. Jenkins jumped up and down and pointed at a scuff mark where he said the ball landed.

What is more impressing about Blaz winning the National Title is he only lost one time and was ranked outside of the Top 10.

The artice on SI.com also notes that, “After the match, Rola conceded the ball appeared to have been out.”

In or out, Blaz can now say he is the first ever at The Ohio State University.

BUCKEYES NEW UNIFORMS. There are some rumors “unconfirmed” going around the Buckeyes could be getting some new uniforms:

I have been told by people at Nike that they will feature multiple new and different uniform combinations this football season. They will have as many different combinations as Oregon.

If I had a vote in this, I would say, “No Thanks.” Yes, Oregon makes it work, but I like tradition a lot more and that is what the Buckeyes have.

The article goes on to say more about the Nike video that was created:

Assistant Director of Video Services at The Ohio State University Athletic Department, Russell Hoeflich. According to the video description, Hoeflich created the “to be used at tOSU’s 2013 presentation for Nike in Seattle.”

Yes, new jerseys would bring in a lot of money but you can’t tell me the Bucks are hurting in jersey sales. This is not the SEC where we dress up for football game, this is the B1G where we wear jerseys.

NO RUN SUPPORT MEANS EARLY EXIT. Thanks to the Buckeyes pitching staff the Buckeyes still had a chance to make a run, but the offense couldn’t put up enough:

“We’re incredibly disappointed in the results of today and the results of the tournament and the results of the last two weeks,” said Head Coach Greg Beals.

The Buckeyes were trying to make the NCAA Tournament for this first time since 2009. That dream fell short once again on Monday when the field was announced.

The article on The O-Zone had this as well.

“I still have a very bad taste in my mouth and the back of my head is spinning for the future.”

The Bucks will need to find some offense if they plan to make a charge at the NCAA Tournament in 2014. Pitching can only take you so far and if you don’t believe me, just look at the Phillies.

BUCKS MAKE THE LIST. The Buckeyes put together a very nice class for 2013, but something was missing.

When Urban Meyer signed just two true offensive linemen to Ohio State’s 2013 class last February, he knew that recruiting big guys to play up front would be his top priority during the 2014 recruiting cycle.

With only two in the class of 2013, the Bucks have already received two commitments for the 2014 class, but there is still work to be done.

The Bleacher Report also had this to say:

One of those targets—4-star offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor—announced his top six schools Monday afternoon, and the Buckeyes made the cut. Eluemunor made the announcement via Twitter

To land Jermaine the Buckeyes will have to beat out Bama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, USC and UCLA. No easy task but in Urban we trust.

This would be a huge get for the Bucks if they land Jermaine look for him to be a starter on the O-Line in 2014.

AND FINALLY. (el Kaiser here) We are still pitting the top football moments from the 2012 season against each other to pick the best defensive and offensive moment of the season, ultimately to pick the greatest single Football Moment. We are down to the final eight. You can vote for your favorite Offensive Moment here and your favorite Defensive Moment here.