2013 4-Star Outside Linebacker Alex Anzalone Decommits From Ohio State

Why the sudden change?

Linebacker Alex Anzalone made his third visit to Ohio State less than two months ago, when he attended the Buckeyes’ spring game on April 21. At that time he gave the Ohio State staff the good news that he was commitment No. 11 for Urban Meyer’s 2013 recruiting class.

The commitment did not last long.

“I de-committed from Ohio State,” Anzalone told Irish Sports Daily this afternoon. “Right now I'm digesting everything"

This is pretty dire news for Buckeye fans because when asked if he is still considering Ohio State, Anzalone said, “Not really.”

The 6'3" and 220-pound Anzalone had committed to the Buckeyes over approximately 30 other scholarship offers. Anzalone also said that he is considering five schools right now. Those schools are Penn State, Notre Dame, USC, Stanford and Florida.

As to why he is no longer an Ohio State commitment, Anzalone did not want to expound. Anzalone is the No. 4 prospect in Pennsylvania, the country’s No. 97 overall prospect and the No. 6 outside linebacker.

Anzalone's decision is very shocking to say the least. This decommit has come out of nowhere. I have to agree with Eleven Warriors on the subject of the recent "Eric Charles Waugh" case. Like they said, there's no evidence to prove that it was the reason for the changing of Anzalone's mind, but can't have helped the situation any. 

Now, with the recent Lewis Neal news that he is looking at LSU, it means the Buckeyes will need to get back to work recruiting linebackers for their 2013 class. They have gone from commitments from two outstanding linebackers to no solid commitments at the position at this point.

The only good thing that could possibly come out of losing two linebackers back to back would be to land one of the top linebackers in the country: Jaylon Smith

3-Star OLB Lewis Neal Decommits From Ohio State

3-star outside linebacker commit Lewis Neal, who had just committed last week at the spring game, was offered by LSU today, and is opening his recruitment back up by committing from Ohio State. 

Lewis is still considering the Buckeyes, but with the recent offer from LSU, Neal's recruitment is about to heat up across the country. 

Here's what Neal had to say via Silver Bullet Recruiting:

"I don't know my scholarship is open he said (Coach Meyer), so I guess I'm not committed anymore, but I still consider them. I just don't think I was ready yet and took the right amount of time to think on my decision to be honest." 

"I just want people to understand what I'm going through that's all! It's hard! And I need time to think! I'm really still considering them though."

This leaves the Ohio State class at 12 total commits for the 2013 class. While Neal did change his mind, I think that this recruitment will still be open. If Urban and the rest of the recruiting staff like what they see more of next season at linebacker, they're going to go after him harder than anyone else.

We wish Neal the best of luck in his recruitment.

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

2013 4-Star Defensive End Joey Bosa Commits To Ohio State

Bosa is #12 for the Class of '13

It doesn’t get much better than the defensive end trio Urban Meyer signed for his 2012 recruiting class, which included Noah Spence, Adolphus Washington and Se’Von Pittman that Urban Meyer landed last recruiting season.

Now, though, Meyer may just be outdoing himself as the Buckeyes added a fantastic defensive end earlier this afternoon.

Joey Bosa, the country’s No. 2 strong-side defensive end in the 247Sports rankings, has tweeted that he has committed to Ohio State. This makes Bosa the 12th commitment to Meyer and OSU's Class of 2013.

Bosa made his decision while visiting Ohio State over the weekend and attending the Ohio State spring game on Saturday. However, he waited - for good reason - to make his announcement this morning.

Bosa is more familiar with Ohio State football than most high school football players in the state of Florida. Bosa’s mother is from Chicago and his uncle Eric Kumerow was a high school star there before heading to Ohio State where he became a star defensive end for the Buckeyes.

The 6'5", 260-pound Bosa played in every game during his sophomore season and started two for one of the country’s top prep teams. He missed four games during his junior season with a concussion, but still made 50 tackles including eight sacks. Bosa had 16 tackles for loss as St. Thomas Acquinas finished with a 10-3 record.

Bosa picked Ohio State over an impressive list of scholarship offers that includes Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, Wisconsin, Michigan, Boston College, Notre Dame and Iowa.

In addition to being the country’s No. 2 strong-side defensive end prospect, Bosa is the country’s No. 24 overall prospect and the No. 7 prospect in the state of Florida.

This defensive line recruiting is just getting out of hand - in the best way possible. This a fantastic pick up for Ohio State and one that they really wanted to add to their class. Now that they have him, they can focus more on the other key recruits. 

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

Scarlet Tops Gray 20-14 In 2012 Ohio State Spring Game

Michael Thomas making an impact early

New head coach Urban Meyer told everybody he planned to work on the passing game during Saturday’s Scarlet and Gray Game, and he wasn't joking.

What he didn’t say was the Buckeyes would be unveiling an up-tempo spread offense that left the Buckeyes working to run a new play every 25 to 30 seconds. As it turned out, it was largely entertaining even if there weren’t many points scored.

The Scarlet rallied for a 20-14 win over the Gray before an announced crowd of 81,112 on a raw 45 degree day at Ohio Stadium. (At least the rains subsided before the scrimmage began.)

Buckeye quarterback Braxton Miller was 24 of 31 passing for 258 yards with an interception for the Scarlet team.

His top targets were freshman Michael Thomas (12 catches, 131 yards), Chris Fields (five catches, 72 yards) and Nick Vannett (four catches, 38 yards). Tailback Rod Smith had 46 yards on eight carries with a touchdown, while Carlos Hyde also had a TD run.

Miller said he has developed a special bond with Thomas, an early enrolling freshman who spent last fall at Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy.

Gray team quarterback Kenny Guiton completed 16 of 24 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown with a critical late interception. He also rushed for a touchdown on the final play of the third quarter.

Corey “Philly” Brown had seven catches for 90 yards for the Gray.

Unprompted, Meyer shared the team’s top playmakers – excluding the quarterback position -- in his opinion.

“Right now, the top playmakers in order would be Jordan Hall, Jake Stoneburner, Carlos (Hyde) and then Philly Brown, Michael Thomas and Devin Smith,” said Meyer, who watched the entire 91-play scrimmage on the field from behind the offense. “And then we have (Jeff) Heuerman right there and (Nick) Vannett as well.”

There were no kickoffs as each series at the start of a half or after a score started on the offense’s 35-yard line. There were four 10-minute quarters. The second half was played with a running clock.

The Scarlet team had the ball to start the scrimmage and went 65 yards in eight plays to a touchdown. Miller came out firing, completing all four of his pass attempts for 51 of those yards. He hit Thomas for 11 yards, Tyrone Williams for 6, Chris Fields for 25 and Williams again for 9. Carlos Hyde did the rest, going up the middle for the 1-yard touchdown behind a block from Jack Mewhort. The Scarlet led 7-0 with 7:43 left in the first half.

Guiton then led the Gray on a prolonged drive from the 35 down to the Scarlet 19. That included 12-yard runs by Guiton and Dunn. But Guiton’s third-down pass to Brown was broken up by safety Christian Bryant. Kyle Clinton attempted a 36-yard field goal – with Meyer standing right next to the holder – but it was wide right.

The Scarlet team then drove from its own 20 down to the Gray 24. Miller hit Fields for 21 yards on a crossing route. But the drive was stymied when Miller was sacked by Adam Bellamy. Drew Basil came in and hit a 41-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 9:47 left in the second quarter.

Meyer then had Basil attempt a series of field goals that did not factor into the scoring. He was good from 41, Bellamy blocked an attempt from 45, good from 45 and 53 and short on a pair of 58-yard attempts.

The next Gray series was marred by sacks by Michael Bennett and Ryan Shazier for the Scarlet. But the Scarlet gave the ball right back as Miller overthrew Vannett and was intercepted by Gray’s Adam Griffin. Later in the half, Miller had an apparent 49-yard completion to Fields – reminiscent of his heave to Devin Smith to beat Wisconsin –negated by an offensive pass interference penalty.

The Gray took over on its own 49 after a short Scarlet punt. Aided by a personal foul on Joel Hale, the Gray had a first down at the Scarlet 28. On first down there, Guiton threw down the middle perfectly to Smith on a crossing route. He hauled it in at the 10 and deftly split a pair of defenders on his way to the 28-yard touchdown that cut the Scarlet lead to 10-7 with 37 seconds left in the half.

Miller and the Scarlet moved quickly into field goal range as he hit four straight passes – 10 yards to Thomas, 11 and 15 yards to Vannett and 14 more to Thomas – to get out of bounds at the 15 and stop the clock with six seconds left. Basil’s 32-yard field goal capped the half and put the Scarlet up 13-7 at the break.

2012 Spring Game Rosters Set For Ohio State

The Meyer era is set to unfold

The 2012 Spring Game will take place this Saturday afternoon at Ohio Stadium beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Teams were selected earlier this morning and below are the results of the "draft" day that the Ohio State players and coaches held.

Team Scarlet

Head Coach – Tom Herman

Assistant Coaches – Everett Withers, Mike Vrabel, Tim Hinton

Game Captains – Zach Boren and Jack Mewhort

QBs – Braxton Miller, Justin Siems

OL – Darryl Baldwin, Reid Fragel, Marcus Hall, Eric Kramer, Corey Linsley, Jack Mewhort, Tim Trummer

RBs – Carlos Hyde, Rod Smith

FB – Zach Boren

TEs – Jeff Heuerman, Derek Burkholder, Nick Vannett

WRs – Chris Fields, Frank Kangah, Ryan Ross, Evan Spencer, Michael Thomas, Tyrone Williams

DL – Michael Bennett, Logan Beougher, Chase Farris, Joel Hale, Johnathan Hankins, William McCary, J.T. Moore, Se’Von Pittman, Kharim Stephens

LBs – Connor Crowell, Storm Klein, Ryan Shazier, Stewart Smith

DBs – C.J. Barnett, Christian Bryant, Doran Grant, Zach Domicone, Travis Howard, Vincent Petrella, Ron Tanner, Julian Vann, Jamie Wood

K/P – Drew Basil, Kyle Clinton, Kevin Niehoff

LS – Bryce Haynes

Team Gray

Head Coach – Luke Fickell

Assistant Coaches – Kerry Coombs, Ed Warinner, Stan Drayton, Zach Smith

Team Captains – Etienne Sabino and John Simon

QBs – Kenny Guiton, Cardale Jones

OL – Ivon Blackman, Brian Bobek, Jacoby Boren, Tommy Brown, Taylor Decker, Andrew Norwell, Ben St. John, Antonio Underwood

RBs – Bri’onte Dunn, Jordan Hall

FB – Adam Homan

TEs – Kyle Schuck, Jake Stoneburner

WRs – Corey Brown, Peter Gwilym, Verlon Reed, Taylor Rice, Devin Smith

DL – Adam Bellamy, Dalton Britt, Chris Carter, Garrett Goebel, Steve Miller, John Simon, Nathan Williams

LBs – Curtis Grant, Ross Oltorik, Joshua Perry, Andy Reed, Luke Roberts, Etienne Sabino

DBs – Corey Brown, Adam Griffin, Orhian Johnson, Tyvis Powell, Bradley Roby, Nick Sarac

K/P – Ben Buchanan, Kyle Clinton, Russell Doup

LS – George Makridis

Top OLB Alex Anzalone To Attend Ohio State's Spring Game

Anzalone has met Meyer before

4-star linebacker Alex Anzalone attended an Ohio State junior day in February and came out of Urban Meyer’s office with a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes. Anzalone made that visit with his mother and father.

Anzalone was back in Columbus near the end of March for another Ohio State visit, this time with just his mom as his father had to work.

Three of the top schools Anzalone is considering are Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame, and all three will hold their spring game on April 21.

After visiting Penn State yesterday, Anzalone has told the media he will definitely be in Columbus next weekend. Anzalone has over 30 scholarship offers. His list includes Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, USC, Stanford, UCLA, Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, Michigan, Florida State and Arkansas. Anzalone will probably start to narrow his list down in the near future.

The 6'3", 220-pound Anzalone could play inside or on the perimeter at the next level. Fickell has told him he could play any of the three linebacker positions at Ohio State.

He is the No. 4 prospect in Pennsylvania, the country’s No. 97 overall prospect and the No. 6 outside linebacker.

This could be a huge factor on where Anzalone ends up playing college football, as he wasn't expected to attend the OSU spring game. Now that he is, Urban is sure to be ready to pull out all of the stops for Alex. 

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

Spring Practice Notes: Day 9

Option/Zone Read (Josh Winslow)

In what was the best practice of the spring thus far, Urban Meyer left the field a very happy man. Let's take a look at some key notes from the practice brought to you by Cleveland.com

- Urban Meyer was upbeat after what he called the best practice of his tenure at Ohio State.

"That was AIA. That's our best practice of the spring, one of the best practices I've seen," Meyer said. "The intensity level was an A. Competitiveness was an A. Coaching was an A by our assistant coaches. Execution is obviously not an A, but it doesn't have to be right now.

"If you want to see a ball practice, that was a ball practice."

- Meyer was most excited by the offense, which beat the defense in a practice scrimmage for the first time. This scrimmage focused on third-down execution, with third-and-five situations repeated. Meyer said the offense had a 70 or 80 percent success rate before the defense battled back.

"Snaps are hitting the quarterback right between the numbers. It's not a clown show out there like at a couple points. Guys are competing. That's why I'm going to leave here tonight impressed with the Ohio State Buckeyes," Meyer said.

"It's huge. It's not about execution. I'm not worried about that right now. But I want to see guys go and I want to see an offense resemble an offense and the defense come back with its back against the wall," Meyer said. "It is a big moment for me and for our staff."

- The highlight of practice was a 75-yard touchdown pass from Braxton Miller to running back Carlos Hyde. Miller scrambled to the right, and with the Buckeyes teaching their passcatchers to break off their deep routes short and run their short routes long in scramble situations, Hyde took off, caught the ball behind the defense, and took off.

I asked Meyer about Miller's ability to throw on the move after keeping plays alive, and Meyer said, "Having a quarterback that makes something out of nothing is every coach's dream and we've got one, and we might have two.

That was praise for backup Kenny Guiton as well as Miller.

He also said Hyde had an excellent practice.

"He's drinking the Kool-Aid right now," Meyer said.

Miller's reward for the touchdown pass? He got tackled pretty hard by defensive lineman Johnathan Hankins on the next play. The quarterbacks wear black jerseys that are supposed to limit their ability to get hit, but that didn't seem to apply on every snap Wednesday.

- Defensive lineman John Simon continues to show a new level of quickness firing off the ball. Watch the video and you'll see just one example of how he routinely beats the first-team tackles in head-to-head drills. Jack Mewhort and Reid Fragel will get better each time they face Simon.

Simon is still working at Leo a lot, the pass-rushing end spot which also drops into coverage at times. But that is not his best position and every time he's dropping into coverage instead of attacking the line of scrimmage, that's a big loss for the defense. The Buckeyes need a Leo to emerge, but with Noah Spence coming in the fall, it might be his to earn.

- Sophomore defensive lineman Michael Bennett, also in the video, continues to improve as well. He moved onto the first team early in camp and there seems to be no way that he won't be a starter in the fall.

- OSU redshirt freshman lineman Chris Carter from John F. Kennedy High has moved from offense to defense. Meyer said the plan was to try Carter at both this spring and he made the switch at the halfway point. Wednesday's practice was number nine of 15.

He worked in with the second team defensive line at times, joining Steve Miller, Adam Bellamy, Joel Hale and Chase Farris. The first team defensive line is Simon, Hankins, Bennett and Garrett Goebel.

- Farris made a big interception in the scrimmage at the end of practice and was praised by Meyer for making a play, but Meyer had to be reminded of his last name.

- True freshman center Jacoby Boren is out for the rest of spring after having surgery on a torn labrum he suffered at the end of his senior football season. His older brother, senior fullback Zach, said the original plan was for his brother to wait until after the end of the season in November, but he moved into the No. 2 center role this spring and the coaches wanted him at full strength for September, so the surgery was done now.

Meyer confirmed the surgery and his affinity for the youngest Boren, once again calling him a "tough nut." Boren sliding past Brian Bobek as the No. 2 center, when it seemed like Bobek had a shot to be the starting center before the spring, has to be one of the surprises of practice. Corey Linsley is the starting center.

- Meyer mentioned running back Jordan Hall and tight end Jake Stoneburner as the top playmakers on offense, but the receivers showed some signs Wednesday. Corey "Philly" Brown had a nice catch twisting his body over the middle, and Tyrone Williams used his 6-6 frame on a touchdown catch in the corner of the endzone off a Miller lob. Williams has shown progress all spring after showing little as a redshirt freshman last year.

- Injuries (or people who didn't participate much) - Zach Domicone, Jamie Wood, Storm Klein, Se'Von Pittman, Verlon Reed, Jacoby Boren, Nate Williams and Evan Spencer (arm in sling)

Join us after the jump for even more in-depth coverage of the practice.

Urban Meyer Wants You!

Urban wants a game-like atmosphere

The Ozone.net - The 2012 Ohio State football team will hit the field at Ohio Stadium for the first time under new head coach Urban Meyer this Saturday. 

It is one week before the Buckeyes play their annual spring game at the Horseshoe to conclude spring practice, but Meyer apparently wants to get the party started early. 

In anticipation of what Ohio State is hoping will be an NCAA record-crowd for Meyer’s first spring game in Columbus on April 21, the Buckeye football program is inviting OSU students, faculty and staff members to the team’s Saturday, April 14 practice at Ohio Stadium. 

The doors to the 106,000-seat stadium will open at 9:30 a.m. this Saturday, with practice beginning around 10:45 a.m. Individuals must have a valid BuckID card to gain access into the stadium (one faculty and staff BuckID can get a family into the stadium). 

It will be an especially exciting day for Ohio State students, who are invited down onto the field at Ohio Stadium following the conclusion of practice—at approximately 12:45 p.m. Students are instructed to access the field at the north end of the stadium (through sections 3AA, 5AA, 7AA, 4AA, 6AA and 8AA) at the end of practice. 

Music will fill the stadium and students will be able to mingle on the field with the Ohio State players and coaches before posing with the players for a group photo at approximately 1:05 p.m. The photo will be taken from “C” deck. Afterward, those with a valid student BuckID card will be provided the unique experience of touring the Buckeyes’ team locker room. 

They will also get a chance to visit the press box, which overlooks “the House That Harley Built” from high atop the west side of Ohio Stadium. Participating students will also get the chance to see what it feels like to sit down in AA deck, where tickets can go for hundreds or even thousands of dollars when the Buckeyes host big games in Columbus. All lots will be available for those students, faculty and staff who drive to the stadium. 

Spring Practice Notes: Day 1

Football is back. Take a couple of seconds to soak that sentence in. Now that you've let that float into your mind, it's time to get to business.

The 2012-2013 Ohio State Buckeyes have a brand new head coach in Urban Meyer, who has won 2 national championships (both with Florida). Spring football has hit in Columbus as of yesterday and here's the breakdown from what we gathered.

The first day of official practice started off with the players and coaches moving inside to the WHAC due to the heavy winds in Columbus. At this point in time it doesn't make a difference whether they practice inside or outside, this is a time to see who's got what, no matter where they are playing.

The practice started quickly and ended much of the same way. The entire practice, the Buckeyes full-out sprinted to just about every drill once they completed whatever station they were at. This continued for the whole practice, giving us the hint that the coaching staff is stressing speed onto this team. Whether or not Ohio State is ready to be sprinting right now, they have to get to that point. Urban must have known this:

"I think they got exhausted. The amount of plays we got was incredible. That was even a lot for me," Meyer said Wednesday, crediting offensive coordinator Tom Herman, who came from Iowa State, for bringing that to the offense. "We weren't that way at Florida. We weren't rapid fire. But we're rapid fire now."

While having spring practice is great, it won't last long. The second practice is Friday and the spring game is April 21. It's important to Urban that this team is well prepared for what they have ahead. Many times before, Meyer has explained that the two-deep will be set before fall camp.

In fact, right after spring camp, the depth chart will most likely be just about finished with some wiggle room for incoming recruits and injuries, etc. As for right now, we already got a good in-depth look at what the Ohio State offensive depth chart looks like right now. Join us after the jump for the goods.

Senior Defensive End Nathan Williams Out For Spring

Williams is a big part of the defensive line

After being knocked out in Ohio State’s season-opening game against Akron with a knee injury, it's been announced that defensive end Nathan Williams will also miss all of spring practices for the Buckeyes as well.

"The school confirmed today that Williams will be sidelined for the spring as he continues to recover from knee surgery that cost the senior all of the 2011 season. The announcement isn’t a complete surprise, but spring is almost always a time of limited depth and having Williams back would have been nice for the Buckeyes."

By no means is this a worst-case scenario, as the redshirt senior should be available by the time fall camp rolls around. The downside to this, is that with the incoming defensive line recruits, Williams might not have his spot when he comes back. 

Although he will most likely get the chance to earn it back, head coach Urban Meyer has said that he wants his two deep set by the end of spring practices. 

The 2012 recruiting class features some big names on the defensive line, including Adolphus Washington, Noah Spence, Se'Von Pittman and Tommy Schutt among others.

As a junior in 2010, Williams was seventh on the team in tackles (46), grabbed an interception and recovered two fumbles.

Keep it at Inside The Shoe for the latest on Ohio State's spring practices

Friday's Buckeye Bits

Good Friday Morning! Time for another chocolate-coated bundle of Buckeye Bits! Don't worry, people with allergies: The following tasty nuggets of news do NOT contain real peanut butter.

9:00 tonight. That's when the B1G tourney starts for Matta's men. The Bucks will tilt against the Boilermakers, who crushed the hopes of the Cornhuskers, 79-61.

It'll basically be a home game for Purdue, from just up the unbelievably boring I-65 in West Lafayette. Expect a hostile, nerdy crowd.

Appearances are everything. Tim May wrote today in the Dispatch about OSU's new coach-car deal. Basically, coaches throughout the athletic department will no longer be getting courtesy cars from local dealers; rather, they will each get a $600 monthly stipend to purchase or lease a car. It's all part of the department's plan to minimize appearances of impropriety.

Friday's Buckeye Bits

Good Friday morning, Buckeye Nation! We're putting a nail in this week, another week without football. Not to worry. By my count, we are merely 57 days away from the Spring Game!

Hoopage News. First, the women's team. Last night was Senior night and Samantha Prahalis wrote one of the final chapters of an outstanding career, playing her last at the Schott. And it was a good one to go out on, with a 25-point thumping of the Gophers.

Prahalis ended the night scoring a school record with 42 points on her own. She hit 15 of 27 shots from the field including 7 of 12 3-pointers, and was 5 for 5 at the line. She also had six rebounds, four assists and three steals before leaving to a standing ovation with 2:27 left after breaking Katie Smith's 1994 record by hitting two free throws.

Tressel Announces New Format For 2011 Spring Game

Buckeye fans tuning in to the annual Ohio State spring game will get a new experience from previous years.  An offense versus defense scrimmage has taken the place of the normal split squad game that has been the norm for Ohio State spring games.

The spring game will be Tressel's last on the sideline until Oct. 8 in Lincoln

The new format will provide more competition in the game with the potential for both first-teams to square off against one another, as opposed to previous years where the best offensive and defensive players may have been on the same squad.  With the winner of the spring game awarded the right to wear the scarlet jerseys in practice, the stakes will be raised even further.

Another reason for the format change, according to Coach Tressel, was the lack of depth on the offensive line and at wide receiver.  Keeping the split squad game would have left each team short on numbers in those positions with possibly no substitutions if any injuries occurred.

The new format will bring some new scoring changes; the offense can score by putting the ball in the end zone (who’da thunk it?) and the defense can score by getting stops and turnovers.

Staying the same from previous years will be the lacrosse game prior to the spring game as the Buckeyes will face off against Fairfield in an 11 a.m. start with the spring game set to kickoff at 1:30 p.m.  Coming off an 8-4 victory over Air Force, the Buckeyes will look to improve on their 7-6 record against the Stags.  Both games will be available on the Big Ten Network.



Braxton Miller will look to shine in Saturday's spring game.



This new format will allow the fans to see the quarterbacks vying for the starting job against one of the best defenses in the country.  Joe Bauserman, Kenny Guiton, Taylor Graham and Braxton Miller will all get their shot at showing Buckeye Nation why they should be given the reins come fall.

Join us here at Inside The Shoe on Saturday for a live blog covering the spring game, maybe some lacrosse and whatever other shenanigans we get in to.

Some Injury Updates

Evege will watch his teammates again

Last year, the defensive back position was heavily injured at often times, and even Chimdi Chekwa would play hurt during games. It seems like that trend will continue this year, as more defensive backs are on the injured list.

First up, Donnie Evege is out for the season, due to a knee injury. Evege is not a huge competitor for the cornerback position this year, but he is an essential team member of our special teams unit, and a unit that needs to improve drastically from last year. Last Saturday, Christian Bryant and Adam Griffin, son of Buckeye legend Archie Griffin, were kept out of most drills due to minor injuries. These are expected to be fixed up soon and they should be ready to go. With senior Tyler Moeller still recovering from pectoral surgery, Bryant was working as the first-team Star (nickel back) this spring, hoping to be among the first team.

Spring Practice Update: Defense Dominates, Offense Struggles

John Simon and the defense dominated 

With the annual Scarlet-Gray spring game just a week away, the Buckeye defense seems ready for the games to begin.  The offense may be hoping for a few more weeks of practice after struggling in the storm-shortened 42-16 defeat to the defense.

The four quarterbacks fighting for the starting job for the first five games of 2011 had very below average days, combining to go 7-22 for 69 yards and multiple interceptions.  Cornerback Bradley Roby led the defense with two interceptions, while Dorian Bell had another interception and John Simon had a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery all on the same play.

My Thoughts On The Quarterback Debate

Seldom has the QB situation at Ohio State been this muddled. In previous years, the Buckeyes have come in with an established play caller behind center. This year would have been no different as senior-to-be and Heisman hopeful Terrell Pryor was scheduled to come back and lead the Buckeyes on another National Title run. However, a wrench was thrown into things with Pryor’s 5 game suspension. So now the big question is: Who gets the start? 

Well, the easy choice would be to start the player with the most experience - and that would be Joe Bauserman. Of all the returning players, outside of Pryor, Bauserman has the most experience. Over his last 3 years at OSU, he has 25 completions for 320 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, and has been sacked 5 times. Most of those stats came when Bauserman was in “mop-up” duty last season, or when Pryor suffered minor injuries. Those stats are not inspiring. Two of the last three successful quarterbacks at OSU - Troy Smith and Pryor - have been mobile. They have made plays happen when nothing has been available. That being said, in my opinion, Bauserman, while more athletic than most people think, does not have the “escapability” that is quickly becoming necessary to succeed in major college football.

Catching Up On Spring Practice

Thanks to the Columbus Dispatch, we have some more information on the Buckeye's spring ball.

First off, the injury news: Tyler Moeller, and C.J. Barnett are not practicing due to the recent surgeries that they have faced. Corey Brown, the CB (not WR), is also on the sideline at practice. While Moeller and Barnett are out, they most likely will be put back into the 1 team for practices as soon as they are 100% healthy. Until then, it appears that Orihan Johnson and Zach Domicone will hold down that spots at safety.

Now, on to the "depth chart" from what we've seen:

Spring Football Update

Spring Football is back

While the Men's basketball team's season is over now, Buckeye football is just now turning over a new leaf. With Terrelle Pryor, Boom Herron, DeVier Posey, and Mike Adams all having to sit out 5 games, there are many battles that will be taking place for that #1 or #2 spot on the depth chart. Here's some news so far from spring practice:


- QB Terrelle Pryor is still in a walking boot on the right foot that he injured in the Sugar Bowl. He had surgery on it shortly afterward. He has indicated he will be limited to individual drills in spring practice


- Safeties C.J. Barnett and Tyler Moeller both were full go in workouts, Barnett coming off knee surgery and Moeller off surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle.


- The offensive linemen as a group looked to be in good shape, particularly Mike Brewster and J.B. Shugarts.


- John Simon is still one of, if not the strongest guys on the team, but in a certain 1v1 tug of war-type drill, freshman Joel Hale challenged Simon, and beat him twice in a row. Sounds to me like a good team competition is taking place on the defensive line. That will only continue to make them better.


- With Posey facing the suspension, and Sanzenbacher headed to the NFL, the question remains as to who will replace both of them. So far, Chris Fields is looking strong, and although he had a couple of issues during the season about dropping passes, he's no Taurian Washington. He's just young, but will get better as the spring drills progress.

Spring Finals: Quarterback

We all know by now that spring has come and gone, football wise that is, so we will be taking a look into all the positions, tell you how they did, and where they might be this fall. Today, we start with the Quarterback.

In case you missed it.

During the Spring Game, whether you were able to watch or not, Adam Homan, the fullback for the gray was running to the sidelines when a defender came up on him. Homan had been impressing all day, but then he did this.

Josh Winslow

It's already impressive when a running back does it. A fullback doing it, not even in a real game, is even more impressive. Although it wasn't as good as the Beanie Hops, it still had the same effect in the crowd. Homan did a great job, and we look forward to seeing him do more great things in the future. Speaking of great things, check out Josh Winslow's site. He takes amazing pictures, as you can see above.

The Cavs have a chance to end the first round for them tonight. They play the Bulls and they are at the Q. If your going, get loud. I would love for this series to end tonight. I can't wait for the (most likely) Boston match up.

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