Wednesday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning, Buckeye fans!  I certainly hope this version of the basketball Buckeyes left a better impression than the one that faced TSUN over the weekend.  The Buckeyes welcomed Brandon Paul and the Illini into Columbus, and quickly sent them on their way, cruising to a 83-67 victory. 

After Paul went for 43 against the Buckeyes in Champaign, he was held to just 9 points on 2-9 shooting this time around.  Deshaun Thomas and William Buford led the Buckeyes with 19 and 17, respectively.  Next up for Ohio State is Wisconsin on Sunday in Columbus.  The Buckeyes beat the Badgers in Madison earlier this month, 58-52.

Now, on to the bits!

Zach Smith a good fit in Columbus.  Smith, the new wide receivers coach for Urban Meyer, has plenty of ties to Meyer and the Ohio State football program.  This is a nice article about how Smith shares his passion for Ohio State with his grandfather, Earle Bruce.  Yes, that Earle Bruce.  The 27-year-old has worked with Meyer for five years and has also spent time coaching at Marshall and Temple.

Tim Hinton Officially Hired As Ohio State Tight Ends Coach

The latest Buckeye hire

According to Bill Greene, Ohio State and Urban Meyer have officially hired Notre Dame's running backs coach, Tim Hinton as an assistant coach/tight ends coach. Tim Hinton entered his 30th year of coaching in 2011, including 16 years at the collegiate level, and second as the Notre Dame running backs coach. He was an assistant coach the last six seasons at Cincinnati and served as the Bearcats' running backs coach in five of those years.

Born April 12, 1960, Hinton earned a bachelor's degree in industrial education from Wilmington in 1982 and received a master's degree in educational policy and leadership from Ohio State in 1987. His wife, Bev, and he have two daughters, Dawn and Drew.

While attending Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio, Hinton launched his coaching career, serving as an assistant coach at Amanda-Clearcreek High School in Amanda, Ohio, from 1978-80. That led to Hinton becoming a student assistant coach at Wilmington in 1981 and then he coached Wilmington's tight ends and wide receivers from 1982-84. Hinton helped his alma mater to two league crowns and a pair of appearances in the NAIA playoffs.

So how does Hinton fit in as a Buckeye?

Hinton's first exposure to major college football came as a graduate assistant at Ohio State from 1985-86. Under head coach Earle Bruce, Hinton was on staff for two bowl game appearances and the 1986 team finished 10-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten Conference, earning a share of the Big Ten championship.

Interesting note: Hinton is the one who recruited Taylor Decker to ND. Could Decker follow?

Keep it at Inside The Shoe for the latest updates and news on Ohio State. 

A look back in Buckeye History.

Last BH post

Every now and then, we will look back to great moments in Ohio State history and recap what happened. Today we will be looking back to the 1984 game against Illinois.

Ohio State - 45 Illinois - 38

Many people will remember this game as the game that Keith Byars broke a ton of rushing records, and at the same time, lost his shoe doing a 67 yard touchdown run. In front of the second largest crowd in history (back then), 89,937, the Buckeyes had rallied from a 24 point deficit to win it out. Byars, led the attack, rushing for 274 yards on 39 carries. He also added 5 touchdowns for the day. This broke a record held by Archie Griffin, who had rushed for 246 against Iowa in 1973. Also, the 5 touchdowns resulted in a tie for most touchdowns scored which was held by Pete Johnson. This win was a marquee win for the Buckeyes, as it moved them into a tie for the Big Ten with Iowa, Michigan, and Purdue. It all started in the second quarter, when Byars led his team to a 91 yard, ten play drive that resulted in Byars scoring on a 16 yard run. On the next possession, quarterback Mike Tomzack threw a 30 yard pass to freshman receiver Cris Carter, and Byars jumped into the endzone on a 4 yard run. In Ohio State's fourth scoring drive, Byars did it all. He had all 26 yards of their offense, and put tOSU ahead 27-24.

Chris White, for the Illini, then boomed a kick deep from 46 yards, to put the teams at a tie. The game then became tied again, this time at 35. Illinois's offense then had a chance to take the lead again, and maybe secure a win, but they stalled which resulted in Ohio State's ball. Byars and Ohio State's other running back, Wooldridge, alternated in the last drive, which started at their own 20 yard line. On second and goal, Byars took a pitch left and went around the pile, and ran into the endzone for the 5th, and game winning, touchdown for Keith Byars. The 1984 Buckeyes would proceed to win against Michigan 21-6, which would propel them into the Rose Bowl to face USC. Earle Bruce led the team to the Rose Bowl, but couldn't pull it out, as Mike Tomzack threw 3 interceptions, and Byars was used sparingly, as Tomzack threw 37 times, resulting in USC winning 20-17. As an endnote, Keith Byars did not win the Heisman trophy, although many thought he should have. Maybe if Doug Flutie hadn't thrown that Hail Mary, it might have been Byar's name on that trophy, and not Flutie's.