'12 5-Star WR/ATH Recruit Stefon Diggs To Announce Decision Today

Diggs has the potential to play instantly

2012 5-star wide receiver/athlete Stefon Diggs is scheduled to announce his college choice on a Washington cable channel at 6 p.m. today.

As of last night, the blue-chip receiver from Olney, Md., apparently hadn’t made up his mind. From what I've gathered; Ohio State, Florida, Auburn, and Maryland are all still in the running. Every single team site for those teams has said that he is going to their school.

The 6'1", 190-pound Diggs is rated as the nation’s No. 10 prospect overall, according to 247Sports.com. He is the lone prospect in the national top 50 that did not sign on national signing day last Wednesday. 

Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, on national signing day, told reporters that he still had room for one more signee in the 2012 recruiting class and that he was specifically looking for a speed athlete to help with his spread offense. So he targeted Diggs to fill a need for playmaking speed, as he put it, to be the cherry on top of his highly ranked recruiting class. Of course, that doesn't mean Florida, Maryland, and Auburn can't use him for the same reason.

Mike Farrell of Rivals.com believes that the Terrapins are the team to beat, as of Thursday. In second place? The Florida Gators. If that seems surprising, remember that the nation’s No. 1 prospect this year, receiver Dorial Green-Beckham of Springfield, Mo., chose Missouri over Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama and a host of others on National Signing Day.

Hit the jump for video highlights of Diggs, and stay tuned for the latest news on his announcement.

Gator Bowl Recap: Ohio State 17, Florida 24

Miller couldn't find a rhythm

Florida's defense and special teams came up big in the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl, recording six sacks and scoring twice as the Gators beat Ohio State 24-17 on Monday.

Andre Debose returned a kickoff 99 yards -- the longest scoring play in bowl history -- and Chris Rainey blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown. The speedsters helped the Gators (7-6) avoid their first losing season since 1979 and pick up some much-needed momentum after losing six of their previous eight games.

Gator Bowl Live Blog: Ohio State vs. Florida

The 2011-2012 Gator Bowl is finally upon us. Jim Bollman is coaching in his final game. 'nuff said. Enjoy the game, as Ohio State will not be attending a bowl game next year. Join us down below!

The live blog starts at 12:45 PM EST. We hope to see you there cheering on the Buckeyes!

Gator Bowl Preview: Ohio State vs. Florida

The offense relies heavily on Braxton Miller

This was one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory for the Ohio State Buckeyes (6-6, . The lineup changed from week to week due to suspensions and injuries. There was little or no continuity throughout. Against Michigan, though, some things finally clicked for the Buckeye offense in the season-ending loss to the Wolverines as they rolled up 372 yards total offense and 34 points on TTUN.

Quarterback Braxton Miller showed what he could be capable of as he accounted for 335 of those yards (235 passing, 100 rushing) and three touchdowns. Two of those TDs were long touchdown strikes, a 54-yarder to Philly Brown and a 43-yarder to DeVier Posey. That was only the second game the dynamic Posey played during the season because of suspensions. You know Posey will want to go out with a big game and look for Miller to try and find him early and often. Even Fickell and Bollman have admitted to drawing up some plays that feature the senior in some different keyed-in looks. OSU’s passing game ranked 117th (out of 120 teams) at 124.1 yards per game. The good news is that this team has aerial and vertical potential with Posey and Brown at full-go, which they showed against UM.

OSU’s running game was a mixed bag. The Buckeyes ended up 27th nationally at 195.7 yards per game on the ground. Running back Boom Herron was pretty much held in check during the three-game losing streak to end the season, which might explain the disastrous ending for Ohio State. They've relied on the run in November for the past couple of years, and this year it wasn't there to succeed.

Florida boasts an athletic and tough defense, even if there is not a lot of experience – seven of the 12 starters are freshmen or sophomores. The same can be said of the Ohio State offense, though. That youth worked against the Gators as they faltered against top competition in the SEC. Florida was 39th nationally in rushing defense (132.3 ypg), 10th in pass defense (167.3 ypg), ninth in total defense (299.6 ypg) and 25th in scoring defense (20.6 ppg). Key playmakers include MLB Jonathan Bostic and safety Matt Elam, who are all over the field on a consistent basis.

Enemy Blogger Interview: Florida

Gators in the Gator Bowl. Hmph.

The Gator Bowl is only 2 days away Buckeye fans. With that being said, it's time to learn about the 2011 Florida Gators. Andy Hutchins from Alligator Army joins us, and was nice enough to answer our questions about the the Gator squad, and how they match up against Ohio State.

Both Florida and Ohio State did not have the season that either fan bases expected from their team. Will Muschamp and Luke Fickell were both first year head coaches. What do Florida fans think of the 2011 season overall?


In general, Gator Nation's pretty disappointed. Florida's 6-6 record is lower than it ever was, even under Ron Zook, and those years had more exciting offenses and more promise burbling than this year seemed to have.

The Gator Bowl has been called "The Urban Meyer Bowl" for obvious reasons. How do Florida fans feel about Meyer coming out of retirement to coach the Buckeyes, instead of the Gators?


No one has renamed the Gator Bowl but TaxSlayer.com, I think, but Florida fans are in one of two camps on Meyer: Either they have come to terms with him being a mercenary and resigned themselves to wishing him well, or they have taken his decision to coach Ohio State as a defection and branded him a traitor and a liar. I'm more in the first camp than the second.

Urban Meyer's Staff To Be Announced January 3rd

Urban has a plan for his staff

Urban Meyer has been relatively quiet on the media front. While he continues to make headlines with the top level recruits that he is nabbing, Meyer hasn't had much conversation with reporters.

That changed on Monday, when Urban sat down with a couple of Buckeye news reporters, and what he told them clears up some questions about the present and future coaching staff. We were able to track down (Thanks Ozone) some of the Q&A's that were recorded there.

Speculation has been swirling about Luke Fickell to Pitt, and about Mike Vrabel being retained or not. Urban cleared a lot of that up, which you'll find out below.

While Meyer doesn't mention who he has in mind for the rest of his staff, it's only a matter of time before the information gets out. I still have high hopes for Studrawa, but with his recent raise, it might be even tougher for the Buckeyes to land the current LSU Coordinator.

First Look: Gator Bowl

All of your recruits are mine

It has now been over a week since the announcement Urban Meyer would be taking over as head man in Columbus. The rumors began to fly a week before (H/T @11W!) said announcement and for once in my life, those rumors ended up as fact. I am giddy with anticipation as to how fast Urban can turn things around and what the offense might look like next season. I don’t see how this hire won’t be a slam dunk. Urban also brings some much needed sex appeal to the Big Ten which is often viewed as plodding and slow to the rest of the country. I don’t think that is a fair assessment but once you’re labeled as such it is tough to shed that stigma.

The NCAA recently granted the university permission to expand their coaching staff for the bowl season. Fickell will be concentrating on game planning for the Gators while Meyer hits the road in an effort to salvage our recruiting season. I know the NCAA probably would’ve done this for any school but it felt good for our overlords to do something nice instead of launching more investigations. I still think that the Buckeyes are treated unfairly by the NCAA but such is life as a football powerhouse. I’m not the type of person who delves into the world of conspiracy theories. Well, that’s not entirely true. Who doesn’t like a little mystery in their life to keep the wheels turning? I just have a hard time believing that Urban won’t have any input into the game planning for the Gator Bowl.

Initial Gator Bowl Impressions: My Take

Chill, we got thisss

Wow, Gator Bowl against the Gators, this could get interesting. Urban Meyer’s old team against, Urban Meyer’s new team. A rematch of the 2007 National Championship, debacle!!

Let’s be honest two of the more disappointing teams in the nation this year. I have been reading a lot of people saying they have no desire to watch the game, some say the Buckeyes shouldn’t even have accepted a bowl bid. Well, to them I say: “Go Away!” (I could use much stronger language, but anyone could be reading this article).

The players, on this team, not Jim Tressel, not Terrelle Pryor earned this bowl bid. 95% of the players on this team (not exact math) had absolutely nothing to do with the penalties or infractions of the past year, they were innocent bystanders caught in an awful web of lies and deceit. They fought hard all year, won a game (Wisconsin) or two that they shouldn't have, and achieved the necessary 6 wins to become bowl eligible.

The Gator Bowl Meet and Greet: Who Are The Florida Gators?

Florida has some speed

As it was announced Sunday night, Ohio State will take on the Florida Gators in the 2011-2012 Gator Bowl. Both teams are coming off a disappointing 6-6 regular season, but have high hopes for coming out with a win in this game. So let's take a look at who the Florida Gators are.

Coach
Will Muschamp: 6-6 (3-5) 1st Year
On December 11, 2010, University of Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley named Muschamp to succeed current Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer as the head coach of the Florida Gators football program. 

Since that time, Muschamp has led the Gators to a 6-6 season, which is disappointing for a team that has won 2 National Championships in the past 5 years. On January 3, 2011, Muschamp announced the hiring of Charlie Weis, former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator, as the Gators' new offensive coordinator. Weis is a four-time Super Bowl champion and a former head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish team. 

The offense isn't as good as Ohio State's (shocking, I know), but their defense is certainly greater than the Buckeyes' attempt this year. Let's take a look at some of those key players after the jump.

Official: Ohio State Will Play Florida In The Gator Bowl

Greg Smith, Chairman of the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl and Jacksonville & NE Florida President of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, announced today that the Ohio State University will play the University of Florida in the January 2, 2012 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl.

The last meeting between these two storied programs was in the 2007 BCS National Championship game, which Florida prevailed in a 41-14 victory.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the Big Ten representative, and this match up will mark Ohio State’s second appearance in the Gator Bowl. Their first and only other appearance was in 1978 Gator Bowl (You might remember that game). Ohio State has appeared in 12 different bowl games and the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl will be their 42nd bowl game in their history. 

This is widely considered the "Urban Meyer Bowl" because Buckeye coach Urban Meyer will be coaching against his former team, which he led from 2005-2010. Ohio State is 1-9 vs. the SEC (0-8 if you're not counting the vacated win over Arkansas last year)

The game between the Gators and Buckeyes will be played on January 2nd, mentioned above, at 1:00 PM EST in Jacksonville, Florida. 

If you want to buy tickets, they are going on sale Monday, December 5th (tomorrow) starting at $60 per ticket. 

We'll have all the coverage and info here at ITS, so stay tuned for analysis and news.