Public Practice Session Planned again this Year
July 29, 2008 10:30 pm EST
For the third straight year, the football team is planning to hold an open practice session. This year, the planned date would be August 18th. Tentative start time would be 7:30 pm but that is not firm yet. Also, no word from the SID office as to whether or not there will be an autograph session prior to the practice like the past two years. We will provide more details as they come in to us.
Worthington Arrested For OVI
July 28, 2008 2:00 pm EST
The Ohio State starting defensive has taken another hit this month as starting tackle Doug Worthington was arrested for allegedly operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, according to reports. He was arrested early Saturday morning and charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. According to the Web site for the OSU campus police, the 20-year-old Buckeye was arrested for OVI at 3:13 am at the corner of Woody Hayes Drive and Cannon Drive. He was a starter in 11 games last season.
After he was arrested, Worthington, who will turn 21 on August 10, was transported to the OSU police department for processing and then released with a summons for court, according to the report. Worthington met with OSU head coach Jim Tressel on Sunday evening but nothing final has been decided yet. Tressel is out of the office today, and a university spokesperson said there is no timetable for any actions moving forward.
The future for Worthington remains uncertain. He could have a hearing in front of a faculty and student panel, which could decide whether or not he is suspended from school. This marks the first time Worthington, a native of New York, has been in trouble with the law in Columbus. He likely faces at worst a demotion on the depth chart, where senior Nader Abdallah is listed as his primary backup. Earlier this month, defensive back Eugene Clifford was arrested in early July for allegedly punching two people at a bar and has since transferred to Tennessee State.
No Further Word on Washington's Status
July 26, 2008 9:00 am EST
During the media conference in Chicago this week, Coach Jim Tressel would not get into specifics on the immediate future of starting cornerback Donald Washington, though the rumblings persist that Washington might have to sit out the first two games of the season because of a breach of unspecified team rules in the spring.
Buckeyes Get a Clean Sweep in Chicago
July 24, 2008 4:00 pm EST
Ohio State started this year's media's conference in Chicago on a positive note. The Buckeyes are picked to win the conference, by voting of the media. Wisconsin is picked second and Illinois third (the Big Ten no longer ranks its teams 1 through 11 in preseason) And it did not stop there, linebacker James Laurinaitis is the preseason defensive player of the year for the second straight season, and running back Beanie Wells is the offensive player of the year.
In addition, Ohio State released it's 2008 Media Guide: Here are the jersey numbers for incoming freshman :
2 – Terrelle Pryor 6 – Etienne Sabino 7 – Lamaar Thomas 8 – DeVier Posey 11 – Jacob Stoneburner 16 – Zach Domicone 17 – Ben Buchanan Some sources say Curtis Terry will be the #1 FB, with Marcus Freeman sliding to the #1 SLB, and Homan becoming the #1 WLB. Also, Ray Small not being listed in the two-deep for wide receiver is likely because the two-deep they list was developed when Small was in Tressel’s doghouse. Is he still in it? We will hear what all this means as the fall schedule begins. Here is a preview to some of the 2-Deep Depth chart as published in the Media Guide.
OFFENSEWR: Brian Robiskie, Taurian WashingtonLT: Alex Boone, Josh KerrLG: Steve Rehring, Kyle MitchumC: Jim Cordle, Andrew MosesRG: Ben Person, Connor SmithRT: Bryant Browning, Ryan Blankenship TE Rory Nicol, Jake BallardWR: Brian Hartline, Dane Sanzenbacher QB: Todd Boeckman, Joe BausermanRB: Chris Wells, Maurice WellsFB: Ryan Lukens, Spencer Smith The Ray Small story will need to unfold soon as the media will question his appearance (or lack there of) in the media guide. He is not given an entire page in the guide, like the rest of the scholarship players. Instead, he's included on a page of other players, with no bio info. Included are walkons like K.C. Christian and Joe Gantz, along with Eugene Clifford, whose arrest this month has led to the end of his OSU career. But we knew Small was in trouble in the spring, when his number was switched from No. 4 to No. 82.
Clifford Released From Team
July 24, 2008 5:45 am EST
Sources close to the football program have confirmed the team has released Eugene Clifford. This comes as little surprise based on his problems off the field. After coming in with the recruiting class of 2006 as a top prospect, he was suspended from the team prior to the Championship game and did not make the trip to New Orleans. Most recently, on July 4th weekend he was arrested in Cincinnati after allegedly punching two employees of a sports bar who were trying to break up a fight. During the 2006 season Clifford played some on special teams.
At this time, it is rumored that he may end up at Louisville or any number of FCS schools that have shown interest. According the the Columbus Dispatch Clifford seems most interested in Tennessee State.
Fox Working to Negotiate Contract Extension With the BCS
July 23, 2008 6:30 pm EST
Reports are out that Fox and the BCS are in serious negotiations to extend their current television contract. The present one ends in 2010 but they are looking to extend it another four years. If this happens, you can be sure that we will not see a playoff until at least 2013. Why is this? Because the Rose Bowl still has it's contract with ABC. Until they can all get together, don't bet on putting together your office pool for football.
To assist the BCS coordinator (ACC Commissioner John Swofford) in negotiations, the BCS has hired IMG Sports Media as the agent and advisor. This is a reasonable and necessary thing in negotiations where hundreds of millions of dollars are in play. You bring in a team that has a history of advising in big TV contracts for groups such as the International Olympic Committee, the NBA, Wimbledon, the Premier League, the Triple Crown and others. Of course IMG works on commission, so expect the deal to be for a very lucrative contract. Fox will have a 30 day exclusive negotiating window, to get a deal done before opening the negotiations to other parties.
The National Media's Opinion of Ohio State? Respect or Lack Thereof?
July 17, 2008 6:45 am EST
This topic seems to be a topic of discussion at the water cooler at work these days. Mark Schlabach, ESPN.com college football writer, says that he has "...talked to several (Harris poll) voters who would contemplate putting a two-loss SEC team ahead of Ohio State if its one-loss scenario came to fruition." The Harris poll is the only human poll that is part of the current BCS formula. On the other hand, Phil Steele, who has the most been the most accurate college football prognosticator (in terms of preseason college football magazines over the past 9 years), thinks highly of Ohio State's chances in 2008. And six of the so called "experts" at CollegeFootballNews.com seem to like the Buckeyes chances as well.
Bottom line, as these articles show, there appears to be ample evidence to support both sides of argument.
Links:
There is no question that nationally, there is a negative opinion of Ohio State due to the two loses the past two seasons in the Championship Games. But can you really keep them out with a loss to USC and favor a two loss SEC team? THERE ONE LOSS WOULD BE TO USC! In the past 3 years they have 5 loses, three of those losses were to the National Champions of the past three years, the other two were to BCS bowl teams. The have won their conference outright for two straight years. No other team can say this.
The one good thing is simply this, if WE take care of our own business, we will be in Miami in January. It will not matter what the 'experts' feelings are toward the Buckeyes.
Eugene Clifford Arrested Once Again
July 7, 2008 9:30 pm EST
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, which cited police reports, defensive back Eugene Clifford on Friday punched two employees of the Holy Grail sports bar in the face while the employees were trying to break up a fight. Clifford will be arraigned this morning in Hamilton County Municipal Court on two misdemeanor assault charges, court records show. Court records show Clifford was arrested, posted $248 bond and was released later Friday. The charges are both first-degree misdemeanors, each punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. A July 29th court date has been set.
This is not the first time Clifford has been in trouble. He was cited for marijuana possession in March 2007, while still at Cincinnati Colerain High School, and paid a $105 fine. In December, he was suspended from the National Title game against LSU for violating an unspecified team rule. He also was one of several players who coach Jim Tressel held out of practice during spring drills for unknown reasons.
Clifford, a Parade All-American in high school, played in four games last season and made eight tackles but was awarded a medical redshirt. Most of his time was spent on special teams.
Big Ten Network Set for Two OSU Games .... So Far
July 2, 2008 6:45 pm EST
Just like 2007, the Big Ten Network gets the Buckeyes' season opener, against Youngstown State on August 30th. That will be a noon kickoff. The other Big Ten Network game is the September 20th game against Troy, also a noon kick. The BTN likely will televise one of Ohio State's conference games, as well, to be announced later in the season.
In between the two BTN games, Ohio State will face Ohio University on Sept. 6. That was announced today as a noon kick, to be shown on ESPN or ESPN2. Previously, it was announced that the Ohio State game Sept. 13 at Southern California will be an 8:00 pm start nationally on ABC. Last year the Big Ten Network televised four Buckeyes games: Youngstown State, Akron, Kent State and Wisconsin.
Comcast and Big Ten Network Reach Deal
June 19, 2008 1:30 pm EST
The Big Ten Network and Comcast have reached a sweeping agreement for Comcast to carry the Big Ten Network in time for the 2008 college football season.
Henton Likely to Transfer to Georgia Southern
June 19, 2008 7:00 am EST
Most preseason polls have OSU and Georgia on top with a chance play at the end of the season in Miami. Antonio Henton may be starting the season against the Bulldogs. Henton is expected to transfer to Georgia Southern soon, according to several sources close to the team. Georgia Southern competes in the Football Championship Subdivision, and open 2008 in Athens against Georgia.
Coach Tressel is not commenting at this time.
Henton would be the second OSU quarterback to leave the program since January, when Rob Schoenhoft transferred to Delaware. Rumors circulated then for Henton as well but there appears to be more behind those rumors. He has reportedly told his Buckeye teammates he’s headed for GSU.
Henton, a Fort Valley native, already has Georgia Southern ties—Eagle offensive coordinator Rance Gillespie was Henton’s high school head coach at Peach County. Henton was the 2005 Georgia Offensive Player of the Year as a senior when he helped his team to the Class AAA state title. He threw for 2,117 yards and 30 touchdowns his senior year and was touted as one of the best multi-threat quarterback prospects in the country coming out of high school
The move would leave the Buckeyes very inexperienced at quarterback. The job of backing up fifth-year senior Todd Boeckman would fall to redshirt freshman Joe Bauserman and true freshman Terrelle Pryor.
National Football Foundation Honors OSU AD Gene Smith
June 6, 2008 8:30 pm EST
As reported by the Columbus Dispatch, the National Football Foundation has honored Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith with its John L. Toner Award, given annually to an athletic director, "who has demonstrated superior administrative abilities and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics and particularly college football."
The NFF cited the fact that Smith oversees the nation's largest Division I-A program and that Ohio State was recently awarded the NCAA's Diversity in Athletics Awards. That was based on achievement in the areas of diversity strategy, gender and racial diversity of departmental employees, minority graduation rates and more. This announcement comes just two days after Ohio State issued a release stating that athletic director Gene Smith has no intention of pursuing the same job at his alma mater, Notre Dame. Smith have been considered a candidate since the AD position opened up in South Bend.
Smith will be honored at a banquet December 9th in New York. At the same banquet, former Buckeyes football coach John Cooper will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Jim Tressel Book Signings
May 28, 2008 3:30 pm EST
We have had a link to buy Coach Tressel's soon-to-be-released book on our home page for a while. Today a schedule for some of his book signings was released. If you have any interest and are available, go meet Coach Tressel. At this time, he is scheduled to participate in eight book-signings for The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life. The book is scheduled to be released July 15.
The book-signing schedule as it stands right now:
July 15, 7 - 9 pm
BookEnds
232 East Ridgewood Ave.
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
July 16, 11 am – 1 pm
Kroger
1375 Chambers Rd.
Columbus
July 16, 3 – 5 pm
Columbus North LifeWay Christian Store
8735 Lyra Dr.
Columbus
July 16, 7 – 9 pm
Ohio State University Bookstore (Barnes & Noble)
1598 N. High St.
Columbus
July 17, 10 am - 12 pm
Barnes & Noble
381 Boardman-Poland Rd.
Youngstown, OH 44512
July 17, 3 - 5 pm
Berean Christian Stores
143 Rothrock Rd., Suite A
Copley, OH 44321
July 17, 7 - 9 pm
Borders
Promenade of Westlake
30121 Detroit Rd.
Westlake, OH 44145
July 19, 9 am - 12 pm
Barnes & Noble
Hunters Run Centre
1738 North Hill Rd.
Pickerington
Do People Really Hate the Buckeyes?
May 1, 2008 9:00 pm EST
First, let me say I do not care too much for Sports Illustrated. I never really feel they give Buckeye football a genuine, honest viewpoint. I know that some of our readers and even staff members have similar thoughts about ESPN and ESPN the magazine. But for me, my negatives feelings are directed toward SI. And I certainly would not want to give them any extra publicity, but I heard about their top five list and I had to check it out. Apparently it is a regular feature for SI.com to provide a Top Five on a subject of their choice. Their most recent topic was "Five Sports Franchises We Love to Hate'. I can see the Boston connection (#1), and I can understand the Yankees (#2) and even see the Lakers (#3), although I can't image that many people truly hating the Lakers. I have no idea why they would include Chelsea (#5), my guess is most readers don't really know who that is.
They put 'THE' Ohio State University as #4. No mention of Notre Dame, no mention of Duke Basketball or even ACC Basketball. And they not only insult the university but that insult the fans. I know there are some poor OSU fans out their, but that is a very small percentage of the total Buckeye fan base. Besides every team has their share of bad apples. If you choose, you can form your own opinion of the article. Click here to see the article and read comments form other readers.
Navy added to Schedule for 2009 & 2014
April 23, 2008 7:30 pm EST
Ohio State and the U.S. Naval Academy today announced a two-game series in football that will begin in 2009. The Buckeyes will host the Midshipmen in the 2009 opener on September 5th in Ohio Stadium. The return game will be August 30th, 2014, in the Annapolis, Maryland area.
“What a thrill it will be for the Ohio State community to host the proud tradition of the United State Naval Academy,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “It will be a special memory for our coaches and players to compete against the nation’s finest.”
Ohio State and Navy have met three times in football. OSU won 27-0 at Navy in 1930 and 20-0 in Columbus in 1931. The teams most recently met in 1981, a 31-28 Ohio State victory in the Liberty Bowl.
Scarlet Overtakes Gray 20-7
April 19, 2008 5:00 pm EST
It rained from start to finish, but 76,346 fans were on hand anyway as the Scarlet defeated the Gray team 20-7. Todd Boeckman led the quarterbacks with 142 yards passing but also had 2 interceptions, including one that led to the Gray Team's only score. Terrelle Pryor was on hand for the game, anyone think he was ready to suit up?
OSU Will Have at Least Two Night Games in 2008
April 16, 2008 4:30 pm EST
Ohio State will play two of its Big Ten games at night on prime-time television this fall, according to a schedule released today by the conference. It is likely, although not official yet that the USC game will be at night as well. On Oct. 4, the Buckeyes will play at Wisconsin at 8:00 pm Eastern time on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. Their October 25th home game against Penn State also will be at 8:00 pm on one of of those channels. The Big Ten said the two OSU games will be among five conference games to be televised during prime time this season. Four of the games involve Penn State.
Anyone else think that the Big Ten believes this season will be a farewell tour for Coach Paterno?
Jersey Scrimmage is Won by Offense
April 12, 2008 3:00 pm EST
The Ohio State offense held on to the prized scarlet practice jerseys with a 55-44 win over the defense today in the spring jersey scrimmage. Boeckman, the returning starter at QB, tossed touchdown passes of 53 and 25 yards to Hartline. Both throws were against the No.1 defense, which blew a coverage on the first one, allowing Hartline to streak up the field. On the second, Hartline beat Kurt Coleman on a post-corner route to the right and made a diving catch just over the goal line.
Antonio Henton, who is battling Joe Bauserman for the backup quarterback spot before No.1 recruit Terrelle Pryor arrives in June, also threw a TD pass. Henton hooked up with walk-on Ricky Crawford on a 12-yard crossing route. The other TD came on a 22-yard run around left end by Brandon Saine. With an initial block from Alex Boone helping clear the way, Saine accelerated around defensive end Lawrence Wilson, then burst up the sideline and into the endzone.
Chris Wells, who set a school sophomore record with 1,609 yards rushing last year, is being held out of any contact scrimmages this spring. That’s to protect his left wrist and hand, which were surgically repaired after the loss to LSU in the national championship game. Also held out of the scrimmage were safeties Jamario O’Neal and Eugene Clifford, while cornerback Donald Washington, a starting cornerback last season, ran with the backups. Jim Tressel indicated all three are being disciplined,but would not say why, and he would not confirm that any or all might have to sit out games in the fall.
Freshman Standout Standing on the Sidelines
April 5, 2008 9:00 pm EST
OSU Freshman Mike Adams will be sidelined due to a shoulder injury suffered during spring practice. Coach Bollman compared the injury to one that former tackle Shane Olivea played through in the second half of the 2002 season. Olivea had surgery after the Buckeyes won the national championship. Bollman said Adams was looking good in the first five or six practices and had been playing some with the second team and some with the third-stringers.
Third-year sophomore Bryant Browning has been the clear-cut starting right tackle, which is the only open spot on the line. Adams, 6 foot 8, 310 pounds, was a Parade All-American last season and was rated the nation's No. 3 overall prospect by Rivals.com. Bollman said he can't predict when Adams might return. Fellow freshman J.B. Shugarts and converted tight end Andrew Miller now will be the top backup tackles behind starters Browning and Alex Boone
Early Roster For 2008 Buckeyes
April 4, 2008 9:00 pm EST
Here is a numerical roster with the spring players as well as the freshmen that will be coming in this fall. We have listed numbers for some of the freshmen that are not yet here, based on what we have heard, so some of the numbers are not "official". The incoming frosh that we have no numbers for are listed at the end of the list. And all freshman (scholarship players) are in red font. We will provided further updates as the number assignments become more official. This roster also includes all the number changes that are known at this time. 2008 Roster
Spring Practice Resumes Today
April 1, 2008 5:00 pm EST
After a few days off, the Buckeyes have their 4th practice of the spring session. They will have a total of 15, finishing with the annual Spring game held April 19th. Coach Tressel continues to say this year's plan for the spring will be more mental than physical. With 20 of 24 starters back from last year's team, it will be a different set of questions to answers. The players that may have the most to prove will be the quarterbacks. I realize Boeckman will be returning but Pryor is as good as advertised, there will be some serious contention for snaps in the fall when he joins the squad.
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18 – Travis Howard
19 – Orhian Johnson
39 – Nathan Williams
41 – Jermil Martin
42 – Andrew Sweat
50 – Michael Brewster
53 – Garrett Goebel
74 – Mike Adams
76 – JB Shugarts
81 – Nic DiLillo
91 – Shawntell Rowell
94 – Keith Wells
96 – Willie Mobley
DEFENSE
DE: Lawrence Wilson, Thaddeus Gibson
LT: Todd Denlinger, Dexter Larimore
RT: Doug Worthington, Nader Abdallah
DE: Cameron Heyward, Tom Ingham
WLB Marcus Freeman, Ross Homan
MLB James Laurinaitis, Austin Spitler
SLB Curtis Terry, Tyler Moeller
FS Anderson Russell, Aaron Gant
SS Kurt Coleman, Jamario O'Neal
CB Chimdi Chekwa, Donald Washington
CB Malcolm Jenkins, Eugene Clifford
SPECIALISTS
Kicker: Ryan Pretorius, Aaron Pettrey
Punter: AJ Trapasso, Jon Thoma
Long Snapper: Jake McQuaide
Punt Returner: Brian Robiskie, Ray Small
Kick Returner: Maurice Wells, Ray Small
Holder: Jon Thoma, AJ Trapasso
