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Some spring notes
Written by Duane Long   
Tuesday, 02 June 2009 13:43

A long time contact of mine gave me permission to publish this. He was able to see a good chunk of spring practices. He offered these observations. I post them here verbatim:

 

<<

You told me about Storm Klein. He should not be this good this soon. Not with playing linebacker so little in high school. He is the worst thing that ever happened to Sabino who would continue to get a heavy does of reps. Klein will take his job.

Lamaar Thomas has the same problem that Sabino has. He was given the ball and told to make plays in high school. He is lost out there and now seems hesitant.

Zack Boren will never play here. He was moved to linebacker to get him out of the way. Youth is the one common denominator at fullback. They want to concentrate the practice time with the kids who are going to play.

If they throw the ball to Stoneburner he will make big plays. They are throwing it to him in practice but I have seen them throw to the tight end in practice for years. Dilillo is the best tight end on the roster. He is a better blocker than Stoneburner and a better receiver than Ballard.

I am right in the middle about Cordle at tackle. I hear some saying he looks good. You as well as others don't want to hear about a natural inside player playing tackle. My observation says he is going to be as good as Barton. Not great, but a major improvement over Browning.

Put Blankenships tenacity in Brownings body and you would have another Marcus Hall. I hear about Brewster being nasty, Shugarts and Boren too. Blankenship belongs in that group too.

Miller looked alot better in practice through the camp than he showed in the spring game.
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Comments (18)Add Comment
Just some thoughts . . .
written by Adam, June 02, 2009
Blankenship -- I assume that means he is not much of an athlete.

Boren -- That doesn't surprise me.

Thomas -- I would think lack of knowledge of the offense wouldn't be as crippling for him as it would be for a LB like Sabino. Worst case scenario, the staff can draw up some designed plays to get him the ball a la Teddy Ginn his freshman year.

Cordle -- If he's as solid as Barton was I will be pleasantly surprised.
...
written by bigdog3300, June 02, 2009
Discouraging news to say the least about Sabino. Any chance of him seeing time at the STAR?
Spring Practice Observations...
written by dbuckeye44, June 02, 2009
Great speculation provided. I was really wondering why Sabino was not climbing the depth charts and now this provides possible reason. I really hope he can get it together as he has excellent raw ability and if he does not get much PT I am afraid it could have negative reprocussions in our recruiting in Fla. I am not as surprised to hear this about Thomas as it was a gamble to try to make a WR out of him anyway in my opinion seeing that he was more of a TB in high school. I can see him dropping in the WR depth charts as Carter and Fields come on board and personally I think that James Jackson is going to be a real find and surprise as well. Both of these young men (Sabino and Thomas) might be transfer candidates at the end of this season. I am not surprised by Klein's performance either as by watching his tapes one could see that he is simply a winner who is going to get it done no matter where you put him. I am not sure that we should write off Zack Boren as yet as he was injured during the Spring and really has not had a chance to show as yet. He might even turn out to be a DT if he can put on about 20 pounds of muscle. I prefer to wait and see on him because I believe that nastiness is a family trait (said in all due respect).
re:
written by Duane Long, June 02, 2009
Discouraging news to say the least about Sabino. Any chance of him seeing time at the STAR?



That is still assignment football. He has good size. He could move to the edge. Just let him run like they do with Gibson.
...
written by kf213003, June 02, 2009
Duane,

I was wondering what the background of your contact is. Not looking for any specifics or anything just curious.
...
written by RipsManifesto, June 02, 2009
Both of these young men (Sabino and Thomas) might be transfer candidates at the end of this season.


I think it might be a little premature to write off either as of yet. Wish Duane would post this on Bucknuts so the trolls over there exclaiming that Tressel is holding Sabino back can clam up.

But Sabino not getting the playbook down before his sophomore autumn doesn't mean much to me. We might just be expecting too much too soon. Look at Gibson as the best example of someone that's taken a while to come around. He tried to just rely on athleticism as well, and didn't play early because of it (and 'tude). If Klein comes in and supplants him, perhaps a redshirt season would do Sabino some good. Give him a chance to get his head where it needs to be. I wonder if the early blossoming others are showing is causing us to rush to judgment too soon on those who aren't. Same with Boren. The kid just arrived on campus. That said, great to hear about Klein and Hall.

If Cordle can be as good as Barton, that's about the best we can hope for this year probably. If Cordle ends up as good as Barton, and RT is the weakest link, we'll have a hell of an upgrade overall compared to last season.

Lastly, the statement that he sees TE passes all the time in practice I think is, more than anything, telling about the state of line play over the last few years.
re: Spring Practice Observations...
written by 1buckfaninmich, June 02, 2009
Interesting stuff. Sabino will play here and be a star. He and Klein will be on the field together a lot in 2010. Other than Moeller, Klein looked to be the most impressive linebacker out there in the spring game. I'm sure he has a lot to learn, but watch out in 2010. I like his attitude, his desire, playmaking ability and quickness to the ball carrier.

With so many good linebackers, this staff needs to be creative and see that guys who can consistently make tackles for loss (like Moeller, Rolle and in 2010, Sabino and Klein) are inserted in game situations to take advantage of their abilities. They should be used to pressure the quarterback and otherwise disrupt the offense.

I agree that no one should write off Thomas or Zack Boren yet. And, if Cordle can pass block as well as Barton, he will be a major upgrade over last year's production. I wouldn't put much stock in his being as physical or as good of a run blocker as Barton, but if he is 85% of Barton, the running game should be fine as long as the Bucks get production from the other question mark, left tackle.

Along with everyone else, I hope the tight end is used extensively this year. Stoneburner adds a dimension that could make this offense very explosive, particularly if the running game is solid. The Bucks have potential game breakers with Small and Posey, and a move the chains guy with Sanzenbacher. If the defense would have to account for someone with Stoneburner's speed at TE, we could see big plays increase from not only that position, but the from the other receivers as well.
...
written by marksgforce, June 02, 2009
I've been as excited about the explosive athleticism of Sabino as any recent recruit. Same feelings I had when we landed Thad Gibson. Hope the switch goes on for him and he can play to his ability. Maybe he needs to sit down and watch film with some overachievers like Hawk or Schlegel. I know Little Animal made some very positive comments about him and I'm sure he is serving as a mentor.
...
written by O-State, June 02, 2009
Duane, I thought Zach sat out all of spring practice. How does he know he'll never play? Is he just reading between the lines?
Fan
written by Call me Mike, June 02, 2009
Making a comment is more difficult than ever.
More than one voice has made the observation on Sabino.
re:
written by a guest, June 03, 2009
Duane, I thought Zach sat out all of spring practice. How does he know he'll never play? Is he just reading between the lines?


Or perhaps he has inside info that the coaches would never have taken Zach sans Justin.
re:
written by Duane Long, June 03, 2009
Duane, I thought Zach sat out all of spring practice. How does he know he'll never play? Is he just reading between the lines?



I never thought to ask. I never believed this kid could play anywhere but possibly fullback so I already had it in my mind that the move had everything to do with getting the reps for the guys who were going to play at FB.
re: re:
written by Duane Long, June 03, 2009
Duane, I thought Zach sat out all of spring practice. How does he know he'll never play? Is he just reading between the lines?


Or perhaps he has inside info that the coaches would never have taken Zach sans Justin.



I am not much of a believer in coincidence. A fullback was added in 2008 and in 2009 with Homan. This staff has been stingy with the FB offers. Justin Boren leaves Michigan. No mention of another FB in 2009, not to mention another was not needed, until Justin decided he wanted to come to Ohio State.
...
written by Buckeye Warrior, June 03, 2009
I hope that when Shugarts is healthy, he will take the RT spot and move Cordle inside to RG. That would be an impressive Offensive Line: Adams, Boren, Brewster, Cordle, Shugarts. Make sure that Marcus Hall is in the 2 deep.
...
written by dvo45, June 03, 2009
I am going to add my observations from practice...

You told me about Storm Klein. He should not be this good this soon. Not with playing linebacker so little in high school. He is the worst thing that ever happened to Sabino who would continue to get a heavy does of reps. Klein will take his job.

I don't know about taking his job but the coaching staff is going to have a fun time figuring out how to get both these guys on the field.

Lamaar Thomas has the same problem that Sabino has. He was given the ball and told to make plays in high school. He is lost out there and now seems hesitant.
I agree with this. He needs to trust his ability and GO...quit thinking so dang much.

Zack Boren will never play here. He was moved to linebacker to get him out of the way. Youth is the one common denominator at fullback. They want to concentrate the practice time with the kids who are going to play.

He was out when I was at practice...but he does not physically look like the rest of the linebackers. Zach is shorter and kind of, well, chunky. The rest of the linebackers are jacked.

If they throw the ball to Stoneburner he will make big plays. They are throwing it to him in practice but I have seen them throw to the tight end in practice for years. Dilillo is the best tight end on the roster. He is a better blocker than Stoneburner and a better receiver than Ballard.

Stoneburner looks like he could wear out a defense in a hot minute. He just doesn't block to well...Nick looks good but I'm not sure he is a better blocker than Ballard...

I am right in the middle about Cordle at tackle. I hear some saying he looks good. You as well as others don't want to hear about a natural inside player playing tackle. My observation says he is going to be as good as Barton. Not great, but a major improvement over Browning.

Barton is a good comparison for Cordle...he might be more athletic. His technique is solid.

Put Blankenships tenacity in Brownings body and you would have another Marcus Hall. I hear about Brewster being nasty, Shugarts and Boren too. Blankenship belongs in that group too.

Blankenship is a friggin beast...he looks like he could be the starter after Boren graduates.

Miller looked alot better in practice through the camp than he showed in the spring game.

If Miller starts at left tackle...we could be in trouble
...
written by BOBBY HAINES, June 03, 2009
I cant tell you how much Im gloating over here about the Sabino being supplanted comment. I am so sick of all these wannabe expert buckeye fans who have seen so little of Sabino actually playing game situations and want to judge how superior his talent is and want him starting over Spitler just because he had 5 stars from bogus recruiting mojos. He is not transferring anywhere. He just needs to study his playbook harder. Its not time to quit now. You dont come 1500 miles to a premier program and quit. Where do you go? What kind of answer is that? You quit and let a raw 18 year old 18 year old true freshmen beat you whose never played the position before? How's that for your confidence? And then sit out for a year somewhere? NOOOOOOOOOOO!

Persevere and study your playbook.
Get in the weight room and do your work.
This is plenty of room in the rotation at O State. He will start next year. And should be an All American if he can get his S*** together.
...
written by dvo45, June 03, 2009
Sabino looks good...I think he is struggling a little bit with pass coverage as I heard Coach Fickel yell at him a few times about "keeping his head on a swivel"...

Bino will get it...

Klein has no clue what he is doing...but he is hitting anything that moves at a high rate of speed!
seafus26
written by Beau Orton, June 05, 2009
Plays can be made for athletes like Small and Thomas. I've been calling for years to have more motion. Motion guys like these and let them come accross and grab direct snaps while in shot gun formation on a dead sprint, let them come accros and TP belly the ball to them and either let them have it or pull it out, time their motion to where they become a reciever of a shuttle pass after we release inside with the guards and center that can move up to take out the second level. Lineman blocks up field is completely legal in the NCAA as long as the ball is thrown behind the line of scrimmage. Ala a shuttle pass. Quick slant, etc. The plays are there but we don't use the lineman up field or even the wide hash marks that create offensive advatages the NFL does not have.Wow, what a great problem to have at LB. Too many great athletes? I love that problem!

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