I have looked at the class of 2010 targets from the point of view of who are the most talented and who I want to see here. I have not addressed it from the point of view of need. That is because there are so few to speak of. No need for linebackers, running backs or receivers. We have more weakside ends than we can use. The same with fullbacks.We are solid in depth at corner. We have a quarterback in this really down quarterback class so even if the staff desired another there are no targets out there. The staff is already courting 2011 kids. We need tight ends but the staff is looking to next year for a tight end. No offers out there for 2010 kids but at least one, Ben Koyack from Pa, for a 2011 kid. I believe Baldwin fills that role in this class anyway.
1 - Seantrell Henderson - OL. I am trying not to get excited about him but the buzz is this will come down to Ohio State and USC. One thing I have heard is that Henderson is being told that he can come in here and start at left tackle. I try to avoid rumors but this one has such a solid foundation that it makes sense. We all saw how much Mike Adams is struggling. He is an immense talent. He is so far behind at this point with the loss of reps from injury an
[quote]I can't stand it written by LABuck, October 20, 2009 I am an alumni, and a diehard Buckeye fan, but the people on this board are the main reason it is hard to be a Buckeye fan sometime. The arrogance of a fan base that wants to force out its coach after his first loss to a non top ten team in forever is amazing. All of you people that know exactly how JT needs to do things are amazing. You must have all been great football players and coaches.
Get some perspective. JT is not a perfect coach. I was as frustrated as anyone Saturday. But look at the Tressel era as a whole. Then step back from the ledge, and get over yourselves. [/quote]
You think this is just about Saturday? This is about 0-6 against the teams you measure yourself against. This is about 8-11 against ranked teams since '04. This is about 3-6 against ranked opponents in the last 2 years, plus USC this year. This is about JT going 4-1 vs top ten teams in his first 3 years and 2-9 since. Since Troy Smith went to the NFL we are 0-5. Against top 7 teams we are 1-7. The overall record is something supporters point to. You don't get ranked beating Indiana for the upteenth time. You get ranked by beating USC and Texas and Florida and LSU. Losing to Indiana is a big deal. Beating them is expected. That is why they call losing to teams like that an upset. If it were the big deal supporters of the current direction of the program wanted it to be they would not call it an upset, fans running onto the field in wild celebration, like last Saturday against Purdue. To be a champion you have to beat champions. We don't beat championship programs, and we know why. That is at the center of all this. We are not competitive because of the offense and Jim Tressel is the only man in the sport of football who still thinks he can win with this offense. Often there is no particular thing to focus on as to why a program starts to lose. We can see what the problem is. That JT will not do anything to fix it brings me to call for something new, and a lot of Buckeye fans to follow with a, hear, hear. We are done with this. We want to see this program be competitive. That is what I am asking for. Winning big games is tough. Beating other top programs is a hard slog. What I want to see is Ohio State be competitive again. We will not be competitive, let alone win our share, with this offense.
While we are on the subject, I have had enough of the name calling. Whiners. Unrealistic. The one that really gets me is disloyal. I will not take that anymore. We, those of us calling for change, are the most loyal Buckeye fans. No man is more important than the program. Andy Geiger is likely shaking his head at what has become of his hire. He would not go out and get high profile guys for the football or the basketball programs because he was dead set against creating cults of personality. That is exactly what is happening here. The program is above coach Hayes and it is above Jim Tressel. This program is one of the crown jewels of college football. We should be measured against the best of the best. Fans, yes, even you who think we on this side of the argument are crazy, want to see ESPN saluting the program like they do USC. We have to beat USC first. We need a new way offensively. If that means a new head coach then so be it.
I think it is time to talk about the elephant we are ignoring in the middle of the room.
I made a bet with everyone that disagrees with me about change. I am so convinced that Jim Bollman will not come back as the offensive coordinator or the offensive line coach that I agreed to go silent for a month, no blogs, no posts to Bucknuts or anywhere else, if Bollman is back in either role next year.
I think most everyone accepts that he will not be back. Darrell Hazel has emerged as the voice in JTs ear. There is no question about that anymore. There is little attempt to hide the fact that he is more involved with the offense. I think that is a calculated attempt to show him worthy of the job. The question is, why does he need to show he is worthy?
There are two reasons. Hazel has been an OC for 2 years. Those two years were at Oberlin, and it was nearly 20 years ago. That is not the kind of resume that is going to elicit a strong base of support. He needs to get out there and show something. I have seen more diversity in the offense since he got more involved but like most, I am not convinced.
The other reason is why I making this post. There is a Tressel backlash out there. Bringing in a Tressel protege is something that many do not want. There might be some change but not enough with one of his handpicked assistants. Hazel might not be the yes man that Bollman has been but he is going to share so much of Tressels thinking that we are not going to see enough change to make it worthwhile.
Here is the question I am going to throw out to all of you. Someone outside of a Tressel
What a great game plan by Purdue. They did their homework. My only problem with the defense since the USC loss last year is we will always always ALWAYS play soft behind the front seven. Heacock cannot bring himself to come up and play man defense. That is why we are so vulnerable to the dink and dump game. Wisky did it to us last week. Purdue saw that and killed us with it. If we come up and play man we force more three and outs. No question about that. We maybe force more turnovers and sacks. We talk about keeping a good offense off the field. The truth is the best place for any offense is on the sideline. The less the other team has the ball, the better for your team. The more they are on the field means the more chances they have of making something happen. Everybody wants one more
As I look over the roster this morning any number of questions jumped into my mind. I want to throw them out to you. I will state the facts. I want to get your answers.
Does Jim Cordle return as the starter when he comes back from injury? JT has always maintained that no player loses his job due to injury. The line has been better in recent weeks. Shugarts and Hall have had their problems but that is due to lack of experience. Cordle did not convince me that his move to tackle was a good thing. The other question is, is the line
College Football News is coming on as a solid source for conversation about college football. Buckeye fans have had enough of getting beaten up by ESPN. College Football News is showing itself to be more balanced.
In a recent story they say that Ohio State can be back in the national title hunt...... by the end of this year. Yes, 2009-2010 not 2010-2011. That is not so hard to believe. The Buckeyes are across the board #7 in the country. Everyone above them has tougher games on their schedules but the Buckeyes have Penn State at their joint and an improved Michigan at the Big House. In between is another tough high profile game with Iowa. The chances the
There are still so many big names to see. I have not seen Jaret Grace or Eddie Norrils, players that are likely to break the top 20, and possibly the top 10. I have only seen one play from Devin Smith, a player Mark Porter could not be higher on and I have learned to trust his instincts. I have not seen Josh McClain as a junior yet. This list could look different a month from now. Here is my top 20 in the state as it stands right now:
1. Braxton Miller6-2185QBHuber HeightsWayne
Not having a junior year to remember but the tools are there.
2. Steve Miller6-5220DECanton McKinley
2. Kenny Hayes6-6224DEToledo Whitmer
There is little to separate the two so I will rank them together. Miller is a little more
explosive but Hayes is almost as quick and has the better body.
4. Chris Rock6-5255DLSt. Francis DeSales
Likely grows into a tackle but right now he is a great looking strong side DE prospect.
I have an old relic of a football coach that I have had a longterm relationship with. I don't hear from him as much as I would like to. He is very disconnected from the world. He shows up at the library and sends me an e-mail every now and then. He has forgotten more about the game than any of us will ever learn. He coached at the high school and college level. I learned not so long ago that he was consulted by NFL teams several times after his retirement. He sent me this e-mail Sunday:
" Jim spends so much time trying to be like Russia. He wants to be an enigma wrapped in a riddle. It doesn't look like he is creating much confusion with opposing coaches but his team is certainly confused. All you young guys want more diversity. That is very much what the
What a strange game. Get beat clearly in every statistic that matters but win a game going away. If ever there was a text book case for the importance of defensive scores and special teams scores in a game, this was it.
The one most important point that comes out of this game is the defensive line depth is something that we have not seen arguably since the days of coach Hayes. To be down our best run stuffing lineman, Dex Larimore, but hold the nations #14 rushing attack to 118 yards shows just how deep we are. The pass rush looked like something straight out of the NFL. 6 sacks in one game versus an offensive line that had given up 2 total in its first 5 games is the most revealing stat of the game. It is hard to single out an individual for praise. I know one thing that stood out to me was having Williams and Gibson on the field at the same time. In
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