Former Ohio State Lineman Brian Bobek Transferring To Minnesota

Bobek moves on from OSU

Earlier last week, Ohio State center Brian Bobek hinted that he could be leaning to either a Big Ten or Big 12 school. 

On Saturday, Bobek put all the guessing games to rest. It's now known that he will be transferring within the Big Ten conference.

Bobek confirmed to multiple media outlets that he will be moving on to Minnesota to finish his final two years of eligibility. To meet with NCAA rules, Bobek will sit out the 2012 season.

Here’s what Bobek said to the Minnesota paper:

“I am excited to announce that I have given my commitment to Coaches Kill and Limegrover are exceptional coaches, and I am confident they and the rest of the staff are on the way to restoring the winning tradition of the Minnesota football program. I look forward to making a contribution to Minnesota football and, once eligible, having an opportunity to achieve my personal goals as a football player.to announce that I have given my commitment to Coaches Jerry Kill and Matt Limegrover to join the University of Minnesota football program. Minnesota was one of the first schools my family and I had contacted when I made the decision to transfer, and the coaches responded as soon as they got permission from Ohio State to contact me.

“The University of Minnesota offers a quality education, and I hope to take advantage of the many opportunities of going to school in a great city like Minneapolis. Also, my family and I are happy for me to have the chance to continue to compete in the Big Ten, one of the best football conferences in the country.

“I once again want to thank the athletic department and football program at The Ohio State University for their consideration and assistance in easing my transition to the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Golden Gopher football program.

“Go Gophers!”

Bobek was a four-star member of the Buckeyes’ 2011 recruiting class and played sparingly last season. With the departure of Michael Brewster, Bobek was expected to move into a starting role under first-year coach Urban Meyer. However, Bobek was not listed on the team’s most recent two-deep heading into voluntary summer workouts.

This obviously caused some rumors of a transfer that ultimately led to Bobek leaving the program for Minnesota. We wish the best of luck to Brian in the future.

Ohio State Basketball Will Face Marquette On Carrier Next Season

Matta will bring the intensity to the sea

Word started about two days ago that the Buckeye basketball team was looking to play against Marquette on an aircraft carrier (a la North Carolina-Michigan State) when the new season started. 

Now it seems that the Ohio State men’s and women’s basketball teams plan to open their seasons on the same night at the deck of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in Charleston, S.C as was rumored.

"A contract has been signed for the women’s team to play Notre Dame on Nov. 9 in the Carrier Classic, according to Mike Whalen, founder and managing partner of the nonprofit Morale Entertainment Foundation, the event promoter.

An agreement to match the Ohio State men the same night against Marquette, also on the deck of the USS Yorktown, is close to being completed, said Miechelle Willis, an executive associate athletic director at Ohio State who oversees both basketball programs.

The games will be televised by ESPN networks, Willis added. ESPN.com first reported yesterday that Ohio State and Marquette were negotiating to play the game."

The Carrier Classic made its debut last season when the Michigan State and North Carolina men squared off aboard the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego. This will be the first such women’s game promoted by Morale Entertainment, which conducts overseas tours for American armed forces.

Gene Smith's Latest Comments On 12 Secondary Violations

Ohio State has released information regarding 12 secondary NCAA issues being processed by the athletic department’s compliance office. The release contained information that contradicted previous statements from the athletic department, and some OSU students don’t hold athletic director Gene Smith responsible for the pending violations either.

"Smith said there were 12 pending secondary violations during a Tuesday interview with The Lantern. OSU spokesman Dan Wallenberg later said in a Wednesday email that the actual number of violations was less than 12.

Wallenberg did confirm that the additional violations are being “processed,” although he said he did not “know the status of each situation” in regards to whether it was being processed by the university or the NCAA."

You would think after all that has happened, that Smith would be a little bit smarter in how he presented these types of situations.

"Smith told The Lantern Tuesday the athletic department has 12 pending NCAA violations.

“We’ve got 12 pending,” Smith said. “It may turn out to be secondary. It may not.”

Smith clarified in a Thursday morning phone call that the potential violations would either be secondary or nothing at all."

Now with all that, Gene Smith has tried to back track on what he has said following the amount of criticism coming from all directions of any Ohio State-related website, paper or blog.

"Contrary to reports attributed to me, Ohio State Athletics is not facing any major NCAA violations," Smith said. "There are several secondary violations being processed by our compliance office. These are similar to those released last week. Again, these are secondary in nature and consistent with our culture of self-reporting even the most minor and inadvertent violations.

"Again, to be clear, the Ohio State football program, its coaches and staff are not facing any [major] violations."

Big ups to Eleven Warriors for catching a statement that you might have missed.

Ohio State's Deshaun Thomas To Return For Junior Year

Thomas is ready to be the man

Via Ohiostatebuckeyes.com - Deshaun Thomas, a sophomore forward on the Ohio State men's basketball team, will return for his junior season, Thad Matta, head coach of the Buckeyes, announced Friday.

"Deshaun, his family and our coaching staff have spent the last week evaluating his future," Matta said. "Deshaun determined he wants to remain a Buckeye. We are looking forward to building on the success our team enjoyed in 2011-12 with Deshaun playing a significant role next year."

Thomas hopes to help the Buckeyes toward a goal of a fourth-consecutive Big Ten title next season.

"We have a great team returning next season and I want to be a part of another championship run," Thomas said. "My family, my coaches and I looked at my future as a professional but I love being a Buckeye and want to continue my education and development as a player and as a person at Ohio State.

"If I do have an opportunity to play basketball professionally, I want to have an immediate impact," Thomas said. "Working with my teammates and coaches at Ohio State will help me achieve my future goals."

Thomas, a native of Fort Wayne, Ind., is the top returning scorer and rebounder from Ohio State's Final Four team that finished 31-8 in 2011-12. He averaged 15.9 points and 5.4 rebounds.

Over 39 games last year, Thomas connected on 52 percent of his field goals (243-467) and connected on 75 percent of his foul shots (83-111). For his career, Thomas (6-7, 225) has scored 897 points (11.8 ppg.) over 76 appearances and 39 starts.

Ohio State has won 65 games with Thomas' contributions over the last two seasons. The Buckeyes have won two Big Ten regular-season titles, made two trips to the NCAA tournament "Sweet 16," advanced to a pair of Big Ten tournament title games and have won 38 games in Columbus with Thomas in the lineup.

Tuesday's Buckeye Bits

Good Morning Buckeye fans. Hopefully the disappointment from Saturday is starting to wear off. I'm not the biggest basketball fan on earth but really took that loss to Kansas hard. OSU had more than enough chances to seal the deal and let it slip away in the last minute.

A final four appearance is nothing to laugh at but the thought of "what could have been" will be sticking around for awhile. Anyway, off to the bits.

Matta feels the heat- This story in the dispatch gave a clear indication of the disappointment in Thad Matta and the Buckeye's. I think that Thad is starting to feel a little pressure concerning his difficulties in the NCAA tournament. By no means is his job in jeopardy but the masses are getting a little restless. It will be interesting to see how is squad handles a virtually brand new team next season.

More sorrow- This was a well written article but lets face it. It was like twisting the knife in my heart even more. When OSU loses on the gridiron, I tend to go into "media blackout" mode for a few days. For whatever reason, I was seeking out stories today for the basketball bucks. I don't know why. I'm a glutton for punishment apparently.

Basketball Preview: #10 Ohio State vs. Northwestern

Sullinger needs to get hot

For Ohio State to have any legitimate chance of reaching the Final Four, Jared Sullinger must re-emerge as the go-to player he's been most of his two seasons. Northwestern's chances of simply reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history could hinge on keeping the preseason All-American in his recent funk.

The 10th-ranked Buckeyes try to set up a weekend showdown for the Big Ten title and avoid being a large notch in the Wildcats' belt Wednesday night when the teams play at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Ohio State (23-6, 11-5) can still claim a share of the conference title if it wins this game and its regular-season finale Sunday at No. 5 Michigan State. For that to happen, though, the Buckeyes must get Sullinger -- averaging 16.8 points and 8.9 rebounds -- back on track.

The sophomore has been the target of physical double- and triple-teams in recent games as Ohio State has lost three of five. Sullinger has been held in single digits in consecutive games for the first time in his career after scoring eight points in Sunday's 63-60 home loss to then-No. 16 Wisconsin. He missed a portion of the second half after cramping up, and coach Thad Matta is trying to make the needed adjustments to get Sullinger rolling again.

How Jim Delany Finds Traction On The Slippery Slope

More Money - More Headaches

Our friend ProveIt has dropped by again for his third article on ITS. Today he covers just how Delany is working the playoff/BCS scene.

Portions of Delany’s playoff model were recently leaked - a seeded 4 selected using the BCS formula with the 1st round played at the home field of the top 2 teams. The location of the title game would be bid on by prospective hosts.

The Slippery Slope
From the initial SEC proposal to the present, the majors have said they don’t believe a seeded 4 or plus 1 would appreciably impact yearly revenue. They believe a seeded 4 risks becoming a slippery slope to larger formats. They believe larger formats would result in a decrease in revenue for the year. This is the common findings of the networks, bowls, and independent research groups. When dropped like a hammer to the head of mid major commissioners, they have never denied this, choosing instead to quickly change the topic.

It is worth noting:
1. Nobody with access to, and the ability to project from, pertinent information has ever claimed a plus 1 or seeded 4 playoff would result in a notable change in revenue for the year for the majors. They have all claimed a larger format would result in a yearly loss in revenue for the majors.

2. Prior to the recent talks (and perhaps still now), no major had ever stated their conference supports a playoff of any size – this includes the SEC and ACC.

 - If you have a link to show otherwise, it would be greatly appreciated. If you have a series of unsupported plausible sounding statements, you have something anyone could make up.

This is not the 1st Time Delany Walked the Slippery Slope
Courtesy of Pariahwulfen at Off Tackle Empire, Delany promoted a true Plus 1 format to the B1G in 2005.

“Henry Bienen, president of Northwestern University, told Yahoo! Sports that Delany actually favored a playoff-type system that Delany decried in 2005… the so-called Plus-One model, the two top-rated teams that emerged after the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl were played would advance to a national championship game. “

Tuesday's Buckeye Bits

Surprise, Buckeye fans! You've got me again today. We've got a good round of Bits coming your way this morning but I first just wanted you all to take notice of a new house on the market that looks pretty damn nice. If you want to buy me a present for all of my hard work, I would gladly take our coach's former house. Anyways, back on to the task at hand. Let's get on with today's Buckeye Bits!

You Thought That Was The Only House Today? Ramzy over at Eleven Warriors continues to dominate the writing game, this time with a piece on a different view of Ohio State and Michigan. Also, he continues the house-theme today, with Tom Brady's super mansion. Also, if you haven't seen the fight of the century, it's way better than anything Pacquiao and Mayweather could do.

"The reason that Michigan has been isolated instead of, say, Northwestern (most Wildcats, like Buckeyes, are Communications majors) is because with Rich Rodriguez no longer in Ann Arbor, Michigan is back to recruiting the same players as Ohio State once again. There simply is no offseason in college football's greatest rivalry.

The likely reverberation will be Michigan coaches having to explain, again, why so many of its players end up as General Studies majors. It's an extremely answerable question that passes the red-face test without any challenges. That's not really the intent, though. This is a simple, short-attention span rebuttal to Michigan's value proposition."

To echo Ramzy, this rivalry really doesn't have an offseason. Let the hate flow.

Basketball Preview: #3 Ohio State vs. #12 Michigan State

Time for the stretch to March Madness

Seven games left before the B1G tourney. All of them big. But today's matchup at the Schott is perhaps the biggest home test left for these young Bucks. 

Eleventh-ranked Michigan State brings the two headed big man attack known as Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne to bear against Jared Sullinger.

Besides control over the Big Ten conference race, another thing is at stake: The Streak. 39 home wins in a row, to be precise, one of the longest such streaks currently active. The Buckeyes have the home crowd as a decisive sixth man. But Tom Izzo's teams know how to walk into hostile environments and come out victorious.

Even though the Buckeyes (21-3, 9-2 Big Ten) will still have six conference tilts left after the game, coach Thad Matta knows a head-to-head matchup with the closest pursuer is important because of the balance throughout the league.

It was good to see William Buford with the hot hand Tuesday against Purdue. He's been getting some heat lately for his lack of clutch shooting. The Bucks will need more Buford today. He put up 23 in last year's only game against the Spartans. Both the Spartans (18-5, 7-3) and the Buckeyes can attest to the B1G being a tough league this year, as they had to overcome struggles against lower teams just this week leading to the showdown.

Smith, Buckeyes Give Late Push Against Wolverines

(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Lenzelle Smith Jr. once again stepped up big time for #4 Ohio State, as he scored 17 points and had a career-high 12 rebounds as the Buckeyes (19-3, 7-2) flexed its muscle inside to beat the 22nd ranked Michigan squad 64-49 on Sunday, keeping the Buckeyes in a first-place tie in the Big Ten.

Jared Sullinger added 13 points and William Buford and Deshaun Thomas both had 12 for Ohio State (19-3, 7-2), which ran its winning streak over its archrival to six straight and eight of nine.

Tim Hardaway Jr. had 15 points for the Wolverines (16-6, 6-3). Trey Burke, the conference's top freshman point guard, returned to his hometown to play for the first time against Sullinger, his former high school teammate, and finished with 13 points.

The Buckeyes also extended their home-court winning streak to 38, the second-longest in the program's 100 years. Leading by three points at halftime, the Buckeyes pulled away with a 14-2 run midway through the second half. Bookended by 3-pointers by Burke, most of the points came as a result of backdoor cuts or drives. It didn't include a 3.

Buford, who was quiet throughout the first half, got it started with a driving layup. Later in the spurt he stepped in front of Burke's crosscourt pass and streaked the length of the court for a dunk.

A Box Of Tissues For The NCAA

Screw the NCAA. Ha.

Ed. Note: Understanding the whole NCAA situation is no small task. Here's ProveIt with what we hope is his first of many guest posts here at ITS. Leave your thoughts and comments down below!

The laughable effect of the NCAA’s sanctions isn’t likely to give anyone pause. 3 scholarships a year for 3 years and a 1 year post season ban resulted in responses ranging from “…and what else? Over 1 year of investigation this is all?” to the ever popular sentiments “Bite me!”and “FFFFUUUU!”

What is less laughable is the rationale in the COI report (Committee of Infractions) though Tressel and the gear for tattoos there wasn’t anything new other than sanctions against Tressel.

The rest of the report starts with a false finding, and goes downhill from there…

Ohio State's 2012 Bowl Ban Isn't The End Of The World

Bowl ban? No biggie.

The pre-Christmas announcement of Ohio State’s 2012 postseason ban came as a shock to Buckeye Nation, who mistakenly assumed that the self-applied punishment of scholarship restrictions would absolve the program of all sins. 

The wave of Urban Meyer-induced euphoria that had enveloped Columbus over the last several weeks has subsided, and fans can finally look at the grim reality. A 6-6 season, with a loss in Michigan, is not a season worth remembering. A bowl ban for 2012 has hopes from Buckeye fans as gray as an Ohio November day. 

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Sitting Down With 2012 Linebacker Recruit Camren Williams

Williams is down to two schools

The 2012 recruiting class took a huge momentum shift nationally, when Urban Meyer raced into the picture for Ohio State. Enough cannot be said about how Luke Fickell and Mike Vrabel continued to recruit, and recruit well. Before Meyer came onto the coaching staff, Fickell had wrapped up 9 recruits on his own, and had picked up some pretty decent players.

Once Urban stepped in though, the bar was set a couple of feet higher. Recruits are gaining interest fast, and now are taking a serious look at where they stand.

Now another recruit has joined the mix, and we didn't have to wait long to hear from another star prospect.

That prospect is Camren Williams of West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial. Williams, a 6-2/200 linebacker, is a four star recruit that is currently committed to Penn State. He the brother of current UNC offensive lineman Brennan Williams.

We talked with Camren on Tuesday night, and he gave us the latest info on his recruitment and thoughts on Ohio State.

Reaction Time: Ohio State Receives Bowl Ban

He's got to go

Bowl Ban! You’re kidding me right NCAA? I just want to get this straight before I move on. Ohio St. players trade some tattoos for signed memorabilia. Tressel receives and email that clues him in on the infractions which also lets him know the guy giving the tattoos is being investigated for drug trafficking.

None of the players are thought to be involved in the drug angle of this investigation but they are receiving tattoos for free or at a discounted price. Tressel drags his feet on letting anybody know because he realized it may cost his team valuable players for the upcoming season.

The email implicating the players is uncovered by the media and a shit storm ensues. Pryor bolts for the NFL. Herron, Posey, Adams, Whiting and Thomas all sit out various amounts of time because of the tattoo incident and some free golf and small appearance payments. Tressel is then forced to resign and Ohio St.’s 2011 season is basically ruined before it could even begin. The university vacates the whole 2010 season along with the only victory over an SEC team in a bowl game. OSU also takes away a number of scholarships from itself in an act of contrition to show the NCAA it means business. That’s the basic gist of the whole situation right?

Where in that paragraph did you see anything about hookers, drug use, drunk driving, booster payments to players or any other egregious act that takes place on college campuses across the country? I know there were mistakes made. Tressel deserved to lose his job over the lies and deceit he exhibited throughout the investigation with the NCAA. The university showed remorse over the situation and levied heavy penalties against itself. How does taking away post season play from players and a coaching staff that had nothing to do with any of it seem like a just punishment?

Breaking: Ohio State Receives One Year Bowl Ban

Throwing down the hammer. Seriously.

According to the Dispatch, Ohio State has been placed on a 1 year bowl ban for the 2012 season. The penalty means Ohio State automatically is out of the running for any bowl, or a Big Ten or national championship next year, just as newly appointed head coach Urban Meyer is wooing recruits to the Buckeyes.

Athletic Director Gene Smith said previously that while Ohio State has been declared a repeat violator that failed to properly monitor its football program, a bowl ban would be out of line with penalties handed to universities with similar violations.

In its ruling to be made public this afternoon, the NCAA Committee of Infractions will levy the bowl ban and two other penalties on top of the ones the university already imposed on itself, the sources said. The NCAA will:

- Strip four more football scholarships over the next three years on top of Ohio State’s prior forfeiture of five scholarships over that span.

- Add an additional year of probation to OSU’s self-imposed two-year probation for the football program, meaning any violations through the 2013 season could draw harsher-than-normal penalties.

If you haven't figured this out on your own, Gene Smith could probably have avoided this by simply banning Ohio State from the postseason THIS year. Instead, the juniors on this team, which include John Simon, Jake Stoneburner and more, won't be able to play in a bowl game if they come back for their senior season.

Update 3:00 PM: The NCAA has released it's official statement on the Ohio State penalties.

Update 3:15 PM: Gene Smith releases his official statement in response to the NCAA Penalties.
"We have decided not to appeal the decision because we need to move forward as an institution. We recognize that this is a challenging time in intercollegiate athletics. Institutions of higher education must move to higher ground, and Ohio State embraces its leadership responsibilities and affirms its long-standing commitment to excellence in education and integrity in all it does."

Keep checking Inside The Shoe for the latest updates on the NCAA Ruling, and Ohio State news.

Ohio State Set To Find Out Decision From NCAA At 3 PM Today

The time has come

It's being reported that Ohio State will find out its NCAA fate later today.

"Athletic director Gene Smith confirmed to The Associated Press early Tuesday that the NCAA's committee on infractions would hand down its final sanctions of the Ohio State athletic program at 3 p.m. EST.

The decision comes almost a year to the day since problems were first revealed in the football program. Five players were suspended last Dec. 23 for the first five games of the 2011 season for accepting cash and tattoos from the owner of a local tattoo parlor. Coach Jim Tressel was subsequently forced to resign.

Ohio State offered to vacate the 2010 season, return its share of bowl money and be on probation and have minor recruiting restrictions. The NCAA could add to those penalties."

Ohio State has already done the above, and then recently, placed themselves on a scholarship reduction.

The NCAA could accept or add to Ohio State's self-punishment, which included Jim Tressel's resignation, two years of probation, five reduced scholarships, vacating the entire 2010 season and forfeited its Big Ten bowl payout share, or roughly $338,000.

Ohio State has two options once the verdict is announced: Accept or appeal. Gene Smith has said that Ohio State is prepared to accept what the NCAA hands down.

Keep it at Inside The Shoe for the latest updates and news concerning Ohio State's fate with the NCAA. 

Report: Jared Sullinger Won't Play Against Kansas

According to Dan Wallenberg, Jared Sullinger will not be playing in the basketball game today against the #13 ranked Kansas Jayhawks. Once again, Evan Ravenel will start in his place and we'll also see Amir Williams get on the court in some situations as well.

As of now, Sullinger's back spasms aren't expected to keep him out of Wednesday's game against SC-Upstate, but anything can change. This is a pretty big deal against a tough opponent and makes me wonder how bad this injury really is, and if Thad Matta is holding back when he says it's not that serious.

It appears that Sullinger tried to get it stretched out before the game, but he did not make an appearance along with the rest of his team during the shootaround. He finally emerged from the tunnel with about 30 minutes left before the tipoff wearing jeans and a sweater.

Sullinger also missed the second-ranked Buckeyes' game against Texas Pan-American last Saturday.

Not only does Sullinger average better than 19 points and 10 rebounds, he also would have been tasked with guarding Thomas Robinson, the Jayhawks' own All-American candidate. It will be interesting to see how the Buckeyes are able to take this in, and if they can pull out a W.

3 Burning Questions About The Big Ten And College Football

This combo is dangerous.

The Big Ten wrapped up its' inaugural Championship game this past weekend in Indianapolis as the Wisconsin Badgers squeaked by the Michigan St. Spartans in a thriller. The game was a classic back-and-forth contest that featured numerous lead changes, stellar running back play and some big hits that are commonplace here in the Midwest. I thought it was a great showcase game for the Big Ten which allowed our great conference to remain in the discussion one precious week later than years past. I believe that extra exposure was instrumental in getting the conference 2 BCS bids for yet another year even when it appeared the Big Ten was a little down this season. It didn't hurt that the game was a barn burner as well.

As I sat watching the game unfold in the Mandalay Bay sports book in fabulous Las Vegas on Saturday, I pondered some questions to discuss for Inside the Shoe. Is Wisconsin the right team to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl this year? Did Michigan deserve to get a BCS bid? Does Monte Ball deserve to be a finalist for the Heisman? Finally, why did I bet football parlays instead of just sticking to the Blackjack table? I have definitive answers for the first three but am still dumbfounded by putting my hard earned Blackjack money on College Football. Lesson learned I suppose so let's get back to football rather than discuss my foolish betting practices. Early on this season Wisconsin looked as if it could waltz into the National Championship game with ease. They were destroying opponents with the running game and signed..err gained access to a stud quarterback without having to wait a year.

Ryan Shazier Emerging

Glorious

This season has been a rollercoaster ride from the beginning. It was apparent OSU wasn't really going to contend this year but I, along with many of you, tried to convince myself that this team had a chance to contend. After all this was Ohio St. and we still had the athletic cream of the crop in the big ten.

Unfortunately, many of those top athletes were suspended for more than half the season and our starting quarterback bolted for the NFL to hold a clipboard. It was OK I told myself. We had one of the top-rated quarterbacks coming in to replace him and a slew of young talent itching to see the field and become the next set of stars in Columbus.

The defense always played with a chip on its' shoulder and the running backs went almost 5 deep heading into the Akron game. It all sounded great in my head and looked even better on paper. Unfortunately that’s not how things have played out this year. This team has been extremely tough to watch at times. Beginning the year with Akron served as a temporary cloak as to what OSU really was. Things went downhill in a hurry after that opening game and culminated with the disaster in South Beach.

Ohio State Places Scholarship Sanctions On Self

Ohio State issued a release late this afternoon outlining new sanctions in connection with extra benefits provided by an OSU booster. The new sanctions include scholarship restrictions of a total of five scholarships over the next three years. 


(To dumb it down a little bit, OSU will not lose five scholarships each of the three years, just a total of five lost scholarship seasons over the three years.)


To give a short summary for what's after the jump, here's a bullet point list:

• Ohio State will lose 5 scholarships over a period of 3 years, starting in 2012.
• It's still unclear whether or not OSU will receive a bowl ban, and must wait for the NCAA final ruling.
• 5 total lost scholarships over 3 years is not bad at all, in our case. That means we'd have classes of 83, 83, and 84 for the next 3 years.
• These sanctions are given to OSU by OSU, so the NCAA can still add on.