Future Leaders Are Stepping Up Now

Grant has already taken the reins

The Ohio State recruiting class has already taken some tolls thanks the to the NCAA situation, and the Jim Tressel resigning. So far, we've lost Ejuan Price, lost a couple of (most likely) verbals from some of the best athletes in all the country, and more. With all this coming down on Ohio State's head very quickly, most would think this would affect more people in the 2011 class, leaving Ohio State almost no recruiting class.

Curtis Grant, Doran Grant (no relation), and Braxton Miller have seriously stepped up their leadership skills in this situation.

"I talk to Doran all the time, and to Braxton, and our attitude is, 'Let's go in and do it, man. Let's be a big three and go in there and help make it happen,'" Curtis Grant (no relation to Doran) said before arriving on campus this weekend. "I told Braxton he's got to lead that offense, and that I am going to do my best to come in and try to get a starting spot, and try to lead the defense the best way I can"

Predictions For National Signing Day Part 1

Can Tressel reel in some more recruits?

Wednesday may mark a big day for Ohio State. As you know, 2 days from now, is the National Signing Day this year. This means all the big recruit names that haven't committed anywhere have to make their decision.


The Buckeye's have their eyes on a couple of star studded individuals that would really put the cherry on top for the 2011 Recruiting class. We've gone over a couple, including Doran Grant, Jajuan Story, Curtis Grant, and Ejuan Price. Here they are, and the rest of our predictions as to who is going to be a Buckeye in 2011.

New Bits Has More Recruiting, Stealing Coaches, And Losing A Player

Eleven Warriors posted a piece about why Kirk Herbstreit is a fake Buckeye. That was written by Bucknuts writer Ramzy and he did a hell of a job, too:

"That season marked the beginning of what has long since become the end of Herbstreit as a recipient of Most Favored Alumnus status. In case you didn’t hear, didn’t notice or have already forgotten, Herbstreit used his ballot to drop Ohio State three places in the final AP poll, from sixth to ninth. In case you didn’t hear, didn’t notice or have already forgotten, Ohio State finished the season by beating Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. Arkansas was the second-place team in an extremely strong SEC West with a top-ten ranking. Try and process that without giving yourself a migraine.

There is no precedent or history to support how Herbstreit treated his alma mater in his final ballot. He punished Ohio State for beating an SEC team that had, in his own words, the “best offensive line and quarterback the Buckeyes would see all year.” (Note: He was right.) Strangely, Herbstreit rewarded Oklahoma by moving them all the way up from 14th to seventh for beating UConn, a four-loss team that somehow managed to get schooled by Michigan this season. In terms of difficulty, beating UConn in 2010 ranked somewhere between boiling water and producing flatulence."

Hit the nail on the head.

News Bits Has Passing The Deadline, Price May Be Right

Pryor has seen glory, but now must face a suspension

Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor and the rest of the Tat Five had made a promise to Jim Tressel a night or two before the Sugar Bowl that they would return for another year. At best, most fans were skeptical (see: comments) and were right in thinking so. Why believe the mouths of the people who said they did nothing wrong? Of course, fans waited patiently for deadline which just happened to be Saturday. When it passed, we knew that the Tat Five had held true to their word, and this can go a very long way in redeeming themselves as far as their legacy is concerned.

To go along with this, it seems the feared news that the appeal wouldn't go through, may just end up happening.

"Here's some bad news for anyone who is hopeful that five Ohio State football players will get their five-game NCAA suspensions reduced on appeal:

Based on recent precedent, and given the criticism the NCAA has received recently for several of its decisions, a reduction is far from a given, and may be termed unlikely."

The article goes on to say that because of former situations like this (think along the lines of the A.J. Green incident)  that it would be highly unlikely for these players to have a reduced suspension. OSU fans are well informed that the Tat Five will be missing two very important games: At Miami and at home against Michigan State.

Recruiting Notes

Not easy to catch

The big name on the recruiting trail right now is Doran Grant. Grant, a defensive back and wide receiver, is one of the top recruits coming out of the state of Ohio. Grant excels on both sides of the ball, but is currently being recruited to play cornerback. He's 5'10'' and 175 pounds, and one of the fastest players that lives in the state. He is a track star at his school, giving him great speed in open field. I wouldn't be surprised to see him ending up as a kick returner/punt returner if he comes here. Doran made his official visit to Ohio State over the weekend, saying:

"It was nice, I enjoyed everything," Grant said. "My mom and dad enjoyed it too. They talked to coach [Jim] Tressel. It went good. I got a lot of questions answered like playing time, opportunities, and non-football stuff. They said I'd have the opportunity to compete for playing time and possibly start."

Grant has received offers from some of the best schools in the country including USC, Notre Dame, Miami (FL), Michigan, LSU, Penn State, and Michigan State. As of right now, he is decieding between Ohio State and Michigan State. MSU has a bit of a rope with him, because his dad played for them while he was there, so Michigan State is going to be holding on for the whole ride, but there is no doubt in my mind that OSU sits in the driver's seat.