I am not going to change the rankings every week. I may change them once a month or I may do a mid-season re-ranking then a post-season ranking but I want to update you every week that I see film.

1 - Greg McMullen - Before the season I said he was one of two players who had the chance to really shake things up. McMullen played most of last season with one hand and for a period of time he played with both hands bandaged. He showed this weekend what he can do with two healthy hands. I saw a full half of his game this past weekend. I only saw him
successfully blocked twice. He was a man on the strong side. He was making plays and when he wasn't making plays he was being disruptive. His motor was running on overdrive on no comments

The Buckeye staff issued an official two-deep to start the season late in the week. There were some eye opening names on that depth chart.

First, it needs to be pointed out that some of this has everything to do with injuries. The one that got everyones excited was C.J. Barnett listed as the starter at strong safety over Ohrian Johnson. The fact is, Johnson is dinged. I don't know how much he is goning to play against Marshall, if at all. Last year when the staff decided to sit Anderson Russell we saw a shake-up in the back seven so I see this as nothing but a positive, and the way it should be at Ohio State, that the number two guy steps right in when there is an injury.

One that surprised me at first but the more I thought about it I think it made sense was Joe no comments

How long ago were we all speculating just how big this class could be? It seems like just yesterday we were saying at least twenty-two, could see twenty-three or even twenty-four and there wass a possibility of a full boat.

We are now looking at seventeen. A month ago we had reason to discuss, how are we going to get all these players in here? Have times ever changed. For the class of 2011 I only count sixteen offers out there and only six recruits, Doran Grant, Andre Sturdivant, Aundray Walker, Shane Wynn, Ejuan Price, Conner Crowell, looking like they could land in Columbus. That sixteen number includes players like running back Demitrius Hart and super defenisve end prospect Ray Drew, who if they have ever mentioned the Buckeyes I have never seen it. It includes players like Wayne Lyons who has eliminated the Buckeyes and Dondi Kirby who came to an agreement with the staff that his timeline and our timeline did no comments

I was impressed with Kyle Kalis from the time I saw him but the most recent tape puts him in the must have category. He is a natural wide body. He is a little over 300 now and if he did not play football and never got in the weightroom he would still weigh 320-330 because his body is built to me that big. He is a knee bender. No bending at the waist and reaching for Kyle Kalis. I wonder if his NFL lineman of a Dad had anything to do with that. He is as technically sound as any lineman I have seen in the last couple of years. Once he gets his hands on a defender it is over. He is going to punish him until the whistle blows. He is athletic enough to get out and make second level blocks. The only thing that remains is to see if he can play the left side. Not enough pass blocking clips on his film. What I have seen from him no comments

The offense won the jersey scrimmage for the first time in three years. It was an efficient performance with some flashes of brilliance like the 25-yard touchdown pass, the only one of the game, to Taurian Washington from Terrelle Pryor. The win by the offense needs to be put in perspective. The defense played without returning starters Nate Williams, Ross Homan, Chimdi Chekwa and projected starter Ohrian Johnson. Cam Heyward had a little ding early and was held out. The injury is of no consequence. He should be back to full time duty when practice resumes. The only starter who will miss time due to injury is Williams. JT thinks he will be back for Marshall but I would be surprised to see him play unless he is 100% with the no comments

This time last year if I asked fans to name a 2012 player some with have said Greg McMullen but most would have said Brionte Dunn. He appeared on the scene as a freshman looking like the second coming of Chris Wells. I saw the thing in him that separates big backs from tweeners. I am talking about the feet. Quick, quick, quick. The outstanding big backs are 220-225 but have the same quick feet as players forty lbs lighter. So the question becomes, why is Dunn so far down the list now?

The answer is pretty simple. On his sophmore film I did not see those same quick feet. I did not see the jump cuts. I did not see the same explosion.My concern when we first saw him was that he could outgrown the position. Anytime you have a player that big at such an early no comments

Bill Kurelic has released his latest early bird Ohio top 10 list for the class of 2012. I thought I would do him one better and release my early bird top 20 for the state. Keep in mind that we have two more years for this class to show on the field. We are talking about very young players. They are headed into their junior year. Many of them are just now getting their drivers license. This list could be quite a bit different by the time it matters. It could be quite a different by this time next year.

 

The class of 2012 is so impressive that it will definitely be one of the best ever in the state of Ohio. The defensive line class is one that Florida or Texas would love to have, especially the defensive ends. It is a great looking back class, and I see the beginnings of a good offensive line class. I think the quarterbacks need to be watched.

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Last week someone asked me about Norwell moving over to left tackle since it looked like Shugarts and Hall had right tackle nailed down. As I started to write the response it hit me what a great idea it was to move him over.

I have been opposed. I see Norwell as a natural right tackle, being agile enough to handle front side rushers but I think it would be asking alot of him to take on elite speed rushers on the left side. I think the same about Hall. Both would probably get beat more than an offense can afford to have its left tackle beaten.

Part of my response was to say that none of the incoming freshmen should be put over there. They are not a good fit for right tackle let alone left tackle. They are all at their best as guards, or centers in the case of Bobek. It made me think about, and wince, at the previous no comments

On the Bucknuts premium board we are talking about Darryl Baldwin. My response to a comment from Akron Zip got so long that it turned into a blog post:

[QUOTE=AKRON ZIP BUCKEYE;1107294] I respectfully disagree with Duane.

If an athlete is good enough & capable enough to play on the D-line , then leave him there.

Good 2 great D-line are harder to find than good 2 great offensive linemen.
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You and I would be in agreement on playing the more athletic guys on defense. I do not see the motor on Baldwin that will make him a great defensive player. The knock on him is he disappears. That goes back to the lack of motor. In his most recent performance in the Big 33 all-star game he continued to showed that tendency. He had a couple of big plays then we forgot he was out there. He came back later with a couple more plays then disappeared again. If lighting a fire under a player was that easy we would not see so many first round DL no comments

I saw another thread on Bucknuts about the number of balls Stoneburner will catch. It is something that has come up before. There is so much talk about the tight end in the offense, or the lack thereof. This one had a poll with it. How many catches Stoneburner has is not where Stoneburner will make an impact.

Some of you are showing short term memory. When in all the time Jim Tressel has been here has he thrown the ball to the tight end? It is not what we do here. He will catch 30 balls. That is the top end for a tight end in this offense. Maybe we see more balls to the tight end after