July 28, 9:45 p.m.
Big Ten Preview
The Purdue preview is now live. The final preview, Wisconsin, will be finished this week. Click here to go to the Big Ten preview.
July 27, 10:30 a.m.
Joe Arrested for OMVI
Sophomore fullback Branden Joe was arrested early Friday morning on OMVI charges after refusing to take a breathalyzer test. Joe had apparently fallen asleep at the wheel on a ramp to rt. 315. The arrest happened at approximately 3:45 a.m. Friday morning.
Joe was listed as #1 on the depth chart at fullback heading into this season, but this could change things. Coach Tressel has said that he is "very, very disappointed." My guess is that Brandon Schnittker becomes the new #1 FB and that Joe will have to earn his starting job back. Joe could also be suspended for a game, although Tressel has yet to comment on the penalty Joe will face.
This makes three alcohol related driving instances for Buckeye players in the last eight (or so) months. This also makes a total of five major incidents that involve Buckeye players operating a motor vehicle in the past 17 months. Obviously there are some things that are not getting through to the certain players.
July 25, 9:45 p.m.
Big Ten Media Day
Ohio State safety Mike Doss was selected as the preseason Big Ten defensive player of the year today by the Big Ten media. The media picked OSU to finish second behind Michigan in the standings this year. Michigan State was picked third.
July 23, 11:30 p.m.
Derek Morris news
The eligibility status of Derek Morris of the 2002 season is now in the hands of the NCAA clearinghouse according to Buckeye head coach Jim Tressel. Trying to explain the situation is not easy, so I will just link the O-Zone front page which has an update of what is going on with Morris. See the "July 23, 2002 2:00 PM" front page post.
Big Ten Predictions
Well, it is obvious that I can not live up to any commitments I make on getting the team previews posted, so I am just going to go ahead and list my picks. I will still get the previews posted for the last two teams, Purdue and Wisconsin. Click here to go to the preview. I picked OSU third last year and heard some "anti-homerism" comments. So I guess, this year I will hear that I am a homer, because I am picking Ohio State to win the Big Ten.
Recruiting
I have updated the notes on a few prospects. Click here to go to the recruiting page.
July 21, 7:45 p.m.
Big 33 game
Well, Pennsylvania put a whoopin' on Ohio in last night's Big 33 game by a score of 40-17. For the Pennsylvania squad, Michigan bound wide receiver Steve Breaston stole the show, scoring on two long receptions in the first quarter. Breaston also showed that he is an electrifying punt returner.
The Ohio team saw 11 Buckeye incoming freshmen play last night. Quarterback Justin Zwick redeemed himself a bit by throwing two touchdowns. Overall, I think Zwick looked much better than he did in last month's Ohio All Star game. His stats may not show it, but Zwick had several dropped balls and had less than stellar wide receivers to throw to. He still seems to have some bad habits, like not setting his feet before he throws, but you can see the potential that we have all heard about for last the twelve months.
As for the other Buckeyes, linebacker A.J. Hawk was very active on defense and played a little fullback as well. The defensive linemen, Joel Penton, Jay Richardson, Mike Kudla and Tim Schafer did not provide the pressure that the Ohio team needed, although Penton, Kudla and Richardson had their moments. Cornerback E.J. Underwood was outstanding in coverage. DB Tyler Everett's name was not called a whole lot, which isn't necessarily bad. And to be honest, I did not focus on the O-linemen enough to form an opinion on their performance.
It is important to understand that this was an exhibition game where players practiced together only for one week. It's fun to watch the future Buckeyes and track their performance, but I would not put much stock in their performances when trying to project how these prospects will do at the next level.
The Morris Watch
The most popular question on Buckeye message board these days is, "Has anyone heard if Morris will be eligible?" The latest news is that Morris was able to take the ACT earlier this month and he is waiting on results. It sounds like it could be a close call, but I guess I am a little pessimistic. Of course I did not think Mike Doss would be back for his senior year either.
Fall Practice
The incoming freshmen report to Ohio State on July 29. The upper classmen will report on August 1 and the photo day is set for August 2. The first full practice will be on August 3.
Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon
The Big Ten's annual kick-off luncheon will be on July 26. Each school sends two player representatives and Ohio State will send seniors Mike Doss and Andy Groom. ABC's Brent Musburger will be this year's host. It looks like the league wasn't able to get a host that was on their "A" list.
July 18, 7:00 p.m.
Football Season Upon Us
It's here, or it's almost here. Oh, whatever, I guess it's always here for Buckeye junkies. But today, the official roster was released along with a two-deep depth chart. The official website of the Ohio State athletic department also has released an outlook on the coming season.
Here are the numbers of the incoming freshmen:
Mike D'Andrea 5, Justin Zwick 9, Troy Smith 10, Maurice Clarret 13, Santonio Holmes 17, Nate Salley 21, Michael Roberts 24, Brandon Mitchell 32, Tyler Everett 37, Bobby Carpenter 42, A.J. Hawk 47, E.J. Underwood 49, Nick Mangold 55, Mike Kudla 57, Doug Datish 66, T.J. Downing 72, Derek Morris 74, Rob Sims 77, R.J.Coleman 81, Roy Hall 82, Stan White, Jr. 89, Quinn Pitcock 90, Jay Richardson 92, Joel Penton 98, Tim Schafer 99
Here are the number changes and other misc. notes:
--Chris Gamble switches from #83 to #7
--Drew Carter switches from #82 to #8 which happened in the spring
--Michael Roberts who wore #39 in the spring will where #24
--Maurice Hall switches from #20 to #28 which happened in the spring
--Andree Tyree switches from #99 to #69 which actually happened last year
--Redgie Arden switches from #57 to #83 and is now listed as a tight end
--Maurice Lee switches back to his old #86 from #24
--White is wearing a tight end number (89), but is still listed as a linebacker.
--Earlier reports that Kudla would where #49 and that Everett would wear #7, were obviously incorrect.
--Fred Stirrup is not on the roster which is obviously not a good sign for him
--Derek Morris is on the roster. A good sign? Well, a better sign than not seeing him on the roster. Maybe there is a glimmer of hope that Morris we be eligible.
Ohio State has 83 scholarship players currently on their roster, two short of the maximum. The OSU freshmen report on July 29th, just eleven short days from now. Get your game face on.
July 16, 11:45 p.m.
Big Ten Preview
The Penn State preview is now live. Next up will be Purdue and then Wisconsin.
July 15, 8:45 p.m.
Ohio recruiting
Ohio Future Stars is in the process of mailing out their summer 2002 issue. I am not affiliated at all with Ohio Future Stars or Bucknuts and I am not getting paid for putting this on my site, but if you are into Ohio recruiting, do yourself a favor and pay the $15 for the the 3 issue 2002 subscription. Duane Long does his homework. I don't think there is another recruiting service that can give you the in-depth breakdown of Ohio prospects the way OFS will. Another nice feature is the details they have on juniors and sophomores to be in Ohio. If you haven't heard them already, remember the names Delbert Ferguson (RB from Youngstown Ursuline), Ernie Wheelwright (WR Columbus Walnut Ridge), Marcus Freeman (LB Huber Heights Wayne), Ted Ginn Jr. (CB Cleveland Glenville), Pernell Williams (RB/DB Dayton Chaminade-Julienne), and Darryl Clark (QB Youngstown Ursuline.) These are some of the biggest names for the the class of 2004. It's good stuff for OSU fans that follow the recruiting scene.
July 14, 11:30 p.m.
Big Ten Football Preview
The preview for the Northwestern Wildcats has now been posted to the Big Ten preview page. Again, teams are listed in alphabetical order. The final three team previews, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin will be finished before the Big Ten meetings which are just a short 12 days away. And once again, the projected order of finish will be posted after the individual previews have been completed and posted.
July 10, 7:30 a.m.
Troy Smith eligible; Morris status uncertain
The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that incoming QB/WR Troy Smith will be eligible to play as a freshman after receiving a passing score on his ACT. Smith has already spent time at Ohio State this summer working out with the other players in player-only drills (no coaches.) Multiple sources have reported that they were impressed with Smith in 7 on 7 drills and that Smith's arm strength is every bit as good as reported.
The Dispatch has also reported that things are still up in the air with Derek Morris, although other sources have reported that things do not look good for Morris qualifying this year. As of a few weeks ago, there was still some question as to whether or not Morris could take his ACT again. Morris said that he had petitioned the NCAA to take the test again after missing the June 8th test.
July 9, 10:30 p.m.
Verbal #4 on Wednesday
That is what local media and other sources close to the situation are reporting. Massillon Washington wide receiver Devin Jordan is expected to give a verbal commitment to Ohio State tomorrow. Jordan who is 6'3", 190 and has run a 40 in the 4.5 range before was Zwick's main target at Washington this past season. His numbers last year? 98 catches and 18 TD's. Not bad, I guess.
July 7, 2:00 p.m.
Recruiting classes
A new link has been added on the right hand side (internal links) that lists that last 12 recruiting classes. You can also click here to go there.
July 6, 11:00 a.m.
Roll Call?
As reported yesterday, highly touted tight end Louis Irizarry has committed to Ohio State, becoming the third verbal commitment for the 2003 class. Irizarry goes 6'5", 230, runs a 4.7 and hails from Youngstown Ursuline, one of the top football programs in the state. His offer list was extremely impressive including offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida and Oklahoma.
Ohio State is thought to have 13 scholarships available for the 2003 class. This number is based on 'ships presently available. Players, of course, could leave the program prematurely which would open up additional scholarships. With the verball commitments of Tony Gonzalez, Curt Lukens and now Irizarry, Ohio State has just 10 available scholarships, far fewer than most D-1A programs.
Last year, the commitment of Massillon Washington's Justin Zwick seemed to spark a chain reaction that saw 13 more prospects commit to Ohio State within a two month period. The commitment of Louis Irizarry may not carry the weight of Zwick's commitment last year, but with so few scholarships available, prospects may feel that they need to come aboard while there is a scholarship available to them.
Sources say Massillon Washington wide receiver Devin Jordan may be very close to committing to Ohio State. Several other top Ohio prospects that Ohio State has offered scholarships to are thought to be favoring Ohio State, including Warren Harding safety Prescott Burgess, Cleveland Glenville cornerback Donte Whitner, Warrensville Heights defensive lineman David Patterson, Akron St. Vincent St. Mary's defensive tackle Sian Cotton, Cleveland Glenville athlete Darius Hiley, and Cincinnati Woodward defensive lineman Ray Edwards. If you do the math, there is not a lot of room for others should these top prospects end up committing to OSU.
July 5, 8:00 p.m.
Commitment #3
Duane Long of Ohio Future Stars and Bucknuts.com broke the news early this evening that Youngstown Ursuline tight end Louis Irizarry has verbally committed to Ohio State. Irizarry is considered by most to be a top 3 tight end prospect in the nation. This is certainly great news for Buckeye fans.
July 4, 11:30 p.m.
Recruiting
Sources close to the situation are reporting that Ohio State is no longer actively pursuing St. Henry QB Todd Boeckman and may not take a QB in this class if they fail to land Dublin Coffman's Brady Quinn. Boeckman is thought to be favoring Pittsburgh.
July 2, 11:30 p.m.
Recruiting
The recruiting page has been updated with the latest on out-of-state prospects that Ohio State are actively pursuing. Click here to go there.
July 1, 11:45 p.m.
Big Ten Preview
"Carl I want you to kill all the gophers on the golf course."
"Correct me if I'm wrong Sandy, but if I kill all the golfers they'll lock me up and throw away the key."
"Not golfers, you great fool! Gophers, rodents!"
"We can do that. We don't even need a reason."
The Buckeye 50 Yard Line 2002 Big Ten Preview has finally resumed. And yes, the latest review is that of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Click here to go to the preview. The preview lists teams alphabetically, but skips Northwestern. Northwestern is up next and will be followed by Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin. Rankings will be released after all the previews have been completed.
June 30, 11:00 p.m.
Recruiting
The out-of-state prospects likely won't be updated on the recruiting page until Tuesday.
Sources say that Ohio State has made quite the charge in the recruiting of Dublin Coffman quarterback Brady Quinn since they offered Quinn a scholarship this past Wednesday. These sources also say that Quinn is now near the top of Ohio State's want list for the 2003 class.
June 29, 5:00 p.m.
Recruiting
The Ohio part of the recruiting page has been updated with new notes on about 35 of the Ohio's top prospects. Click here to go there.
June 28, 7:45 p.m.
Recruiting
Recruiting had been pretty dead for a while, but now it is in full gear. I will have the recruiting page updated this weekend. And, according to the Canton Repository, Curt Lukens did have a 39 inch vertical at Ohio State's camp. Click Here to check it out their piece on Lukens.
June 28, 7:15 a.m.
Curt Lukens becomes verbal #2
Curt Lukens, who had just been offered a scholarship at Ohio State's camp, has verbally committed to Ohio State. Lukens joins St. Ignatius' WR/CB Tony Gonzalez as verbal commitments for the 2003 class.
June 27, 9:45 p.m.
Camp comes to an end; Recruiting update
--Someone on the Bucknuts recruiting forum is stating that the information regarding Curt Lukens (39 inch vertical) is incorrect. To be honest, the 39 inches seemed a bit high to me, but those words did come out of Kirk Herbstreit's mouth. Could be he got it wrong. I don't know what Lukens' actual vertical was, but I apologize if I posted bad information. I can report that Curt Lukens received an offer from OSU, so he must have had a pretty decent camp.
--Things do not look good for OSU landing Brady Quinn. In fact, things are looking bleak. Quinn has recently changed his mind on the timing of his commitment and wants to decide early. A week ago, Quinn talked about waiting until after his season ends. Look for Quinn to end up in M-------. Man, I can't even say the name. I hope I am wrong. We need to keep our central Ohio kids at home.
--Cleveland Glenville's Donte Whitner made it to the OSU camp today. Whitner is considered by some to be the best CB prospect in the country. He has drawn comparisons to Antoine Winfield because of his small size and his ability to absolutely stick someone. Whitner is also one of the fastest prospects, if not the fastest, in the state.
--The two Ohio offensive linemen that were said to have stood out the most were Kirk Barton (Massillon Perry) and Ty Hall (Cincinnati Anderson.) Heading into camp, OSU had yet to offer an in-state O-linemen, but it would not be surprising if Hall were offered.
June 26, 10:00 p.m.
Quinn offered
Dublin Coffman quarterback Brady Quinn was offered a scholarship by Ohio State today. Quinn becomes the second quarterback to receive an offer from Ohio State (the first being St. Henry's Todd Boeckman.) I was fortunate enough to check out about an hour of camp today. Quinn looked very impressive throwing the ball. He throws a beautiful spiral and can put some zip on the ball. Quinn probably had the best arm of anyone in camp. Quinn may have been favoring Michigan and Tennessee before today's offer. Both have offered as well.
Other camp news
Here are some other big name Ohio prospects that attended today's camp: QB Todd Boeckman (St. Henry), RB Justin Valentine (Columbus Eastmore), WR Bryan Williamson (Thomas Worthington), WR Devin Jordan (Massilon Washington), OL Ty Hall (Cincinnati Anderson, OL Andrew Crummey (Van Wert), OL Matt Maizel (Youngstown Ursuline), OL Zach Slates (Massillon Perry), OL Chris Norwell (Cincinnati Anderson), DT Brandon Maupin (West Chester Lakota), DT Sian Cotton (Akron SVSM), DE Ray Edwards (Cincinnati Woodward), DE/LB Shawn Crable (Massillon Washington), CB Eric Thatcher (Cincinnati Moeller), CB Mike Phillips (Warren Harding), S Curt Lukens (N. Canton Hoover), S/LB Prescott Burgess (Warren Harding).
Boeckman, Jordan, Cotton, Crable, and Burgess have scholarship offers from OSU. Ty Hall, Ray Edwards and Brandon Maupin could be close to offers. We talked to Kirk Herbstreit briefly and he told us that Curt Lukens had a 39 inch vertical jump today. Herbstreit said that the highest ever at OSU is only three inches higher than that (42 inches.) That was achieved by current Buckeye Dustin Fox. That kind of athletic ability may land Lukens an offer.
Some other tidbits....
--TB Justin Valentine from Eastmore definitely passes the look test as our ole friend Coop would say. He is a big back that has an impressive build. Some consider Valentine to be the best TB prospect in Ohio. Those who know Valentine say he is a great kid.
--Outside of Lukens 39 inch vertical, Crable, Burgess, Edwards and Quinn all were impressive in their early morning tests. Some thought Burgess may be too slow with a listed 40 time of 4.8 any many recruiting reports, but sources say Burgess ran closer to a 4.6 today. I don't think we need to worry about Burgess. Almost every guru considers him the top prospect in the state. When Quinn camped with him at Michigan, Brady couldn't say enough about how incredible Burgess was. Burgess still claims to have no leader, but sources close to the matter still think Burgess is pretty much a lock for Ohio State.
--Not camp related, but there had been a rumor flying around that Adrien Clarke was still not even close to playing codndition. I saw Clarke up close today at the WHAC center, and I am guessing that he has dropped 10 pounds. He was listed at 330 last year, but probably played at 350. I am guessing he is in the 340 range, which is a step in the right direction.
June 25, 10:15 p.m.
Derek Morris' eligibility
Everyone is asking the same questions: Is Derek Morris eligible? Does he have any more chances to take his tests? Will he still come to Ohio State if he is not eligible this season? Could he practice if he is not eligible this fall?
I don't know all of the answers, but here is what I do know. Morris will not be taking the SAT anymore and he did not score a high enough grade to make him fully eligible. Morris also missed taking the ACT in early June, but says he is petitioning to take the test again. Apparently, June 8th was his supposed to be his last chance. Morris said he was moving (to Columbus) at the time and was unable to take the June 8th test.
Now, whether or not Morris will be able to take his ACT again, I do not know. Morris says that he is a partial qualifier which means he could practice this year and then have 4 seasons to play 3, starting next season. Yes, that means he would still lose a year of eligibility. He could be given a 4th year of eligibility, like Joe Cooper, if he can prove himself in the classroom.
It does appear that Derek Morris will be enrolling at Ohio State in the near furture regardless if he is fully eligible or not. He will likely be a Buckeye in 2003 if he is not eligible this spring. But as to how you could miss an important date like the last ACT, I have no idea. One would think he would have made time for this critcal test.
June 23, 11:00 p.m.
All Star game tidbits/thoughts
--The story of the night was probably the poor play of Justin Zwick. Is this the end of the world? No. Does this mean Zwick will be a bust? Of course not. Zwick, by almost all accounts, is better than he played last night and he of course will only get better. The two biggest problems I saw with Zwick last night, was (1) he could not seem to throw a tight spiral on any of his passes and (2) he often threw off of his back foot. Zwick finished just 9 for 31 for 102 yards.
--E.J. Underwood was probably the MVP of future Buckeyes. Underwood looked very good in coverage all night and showed the physicalness that Ohio Future Star's Duane Long has talked about.
--Ohio Stae bound defensive linemen Joel Penton, Tim Schafer and Jay Richardson were too much for the North offensive line for much of the evening. Penton, was probably the most disruptive of the bunch. Penton looks like he is a good 265 pounds after wrestling at 215 last year. And he is not in the least bit overweight at 265.
--Roy Hall is another big guy. He was wearing the larger shoulder pads, so that probably made him look bigger, but he reminded me (and my fellow observers) so much of David Boston. Hall showed pretty well, although he was slowed by an injury he suffered in practice.
--As Coop would say, Bobby Carpenter surely passes the look test. The kid is very big and looked very quick. I've got a great feeling about this kid.
--Mike Kudla often battled North Carolina bound, Cincinnati Xavier star offensive tackle Kyle Ralph, with each of them having their moments. Kudla did not play in the second half because of a slight groin pull.
--I did not watch the future Ohio State O-linemen much, but a friend that was with me at the game seemed to think T.J. Downing has a long way to go. In Downing's defense, he was very sick during the week.
--Syracuse bound Anthony Smith, a safety from Hubbard, looked big time. He is very fast and can lay the wood. Smith was offered by Ohio State at one point, but the Buckeyes apparently cooled on Smith because of his grades/test scores.
--Deshaun Wynn, the TB from Cincinnati that was as highly touted as Clarett at the beginning of the 2001 season, looked pretty good for the South, but was overshadowed by P.J. Pope from Wyoming, Ohio. Pope, who is headed to Bowling Green, showed a nice combination of power and elusiveness.
--Nate Szep was the MVP for the North, orchestrating a big 4th quarter comeback. Szep quarterbacked St. Ignatius to a state championship last fall. Szep does not have the measurables that the big schools want, so he ended up settling on Washington University of St. Louis.
--Michigan State bound Ashton Watson looked pretty solid at the CB spot opposite E.J. Underwood. Watson was offered a scholarship by Ohio State but committed to Michigan State.
Here's the story, of a kid named Brady....
Ohio State will be holding their senior football camp this coming week. One of the intriguing questions is, "Will Ohio State offer a scholarship to Dublin Coffman quarterback Brady Quinn?" Quinn was offered by Michigan last week and also has offers from Tennessee, Colorado, South Carolina, Illinois, Pittsburgh, and several other schools. ESPN's Tom Lemming has Brady as a top 100 overall prospect nationally. Quinn is now considered to be the top QB prospect in Ohio over St. Henry's Todd Boeckman, the one QB that has an offer from Ohio State. Boeckman and Quinn will go head-to-head at the camp.
Lemming has given his usual pitch to Quinn, telling him, "You should not commit early." Many fans who follow recruiting closely feel that Lemmings advice about not committing early is self serving. The longer high school prospects wait to commit, the more the interest generated for Lemming's publications and 900 number. Lemming also rarely hides his fondness of Notre Dame. Lemming has told Quinn that a Notre Dame offer may be forthcoming and he should not commit to Michigan (or anyone else), and wait to see if this happens.
Quinn is taking a hard look at Michigan, Notre Dame, Colorado and Tennessee right now. One would think that Ohio State would be in the thick of things if they offer. The problem is, Ohio State has only 12 available scholarships right now (for 2003.) It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.
June 22, 11:15 a.m.
Message Board Poll results
My thanks to everyone who participated in the Message Board preseason poll, which was more than 30 fans. I have summarized the results. Click here to check them out.
All Star Game tonight
The Annual Ohio High School All-Star football game is tonight at Crew Stadium. Nick Mangold has been added to the South Roster replacing Quinn Pitcock who will not play due to injury. The O-Zone has links to each roster. Click the links to check out the North roster and the South Roster. The game kicks off around 7:30 and will be televised on ONN locally. With Mangold now playing, the game will feature 13 future Buckeyes including super-recruit Justin Zwick along with Bobby Carpenter, Roy Hall, E.J. Underwood and Mike Kudla. It has been reported that Mike Kudla has been extremely impressive this week in practice (for the game.) It appears Kudla will be playing his new position of end, a position he will likely play at Ohio State.
June 19, 11:30 p.m.
Preseason Poll Analysis
I don't know why I read many of these magazines because the incorrect info really gets to me sometimes, but I'm usually interested in "consensus" picks. I also enjoy the player and unit rankings (although they sometimes make me chuckle.) The four biggest names in college preview magazines are probably Lindy's, Athlon, Street & Smith's and The Sporting News. I have taken these four previews and added Collegefootballnews.com (which now may be the biggest name on the web in terms of CFB) and come up with a combined Big Ten ranking. Here is what it looks like:
1. (tie) Ohio State
1. (tie) Michigan
3. Michigan State
4. Penn State
5. Wisconsin
6. Illinois
7. Purdue
8. Iowa
9. Minnesota
10. Northwestern
11. Indiana
Ohio State was picked to win the league by TSN and to get a piece (1/3) of the title by Collegefootballnews.com. Ahtlon and Lindy's pick Michigan to win it. S&S picks Michigan State. Collegefootballnews.com picks a tie between Illinois, Michigan State and Ohio State. As expected, the picks are all over the place. This year seems even tougher to call than last year. No dominant team, but a lot of competitive teams.
As for All-Big Ten and All-American picks, I just have the four magazines to go by. Doss is a unanimous All-Big Ten pick and is a first team All American pick by Athlon, Lindy's and TSN. Doss is a second team pick by S&S....(huh?) Tim Anderson was a first team All-Big Ten selection by all but S&S. Andy Groom was a first team All-Big Ten pick by all but Athlon. Matt Wilhelm was a first team All-Big Ten pick by all but S&S. Adrien Clark was a first team All-Big Ten pick by S&S and a second team pcik by TSN. Michael Jenkins and Darrion Scott were both second team All-Big Ten picks by TSN and Lindy's. Neither Athlon or S&S had second team picks listed.
As for the national rankings by each, here they are:
S&S #23
Athlon #13
Lindy's #11
TSN #10
CFN.com #11
That makes the average somewhere between 13th & 14th, although S&S's ranking skews the average a bit. I think that is more than fair considering OSU has not ranked in the final top 25 poll since 1998.
Some other rankings of note:
Lindy's national position and unit rankings...
--No Buckeye QB in top 25 (MSU's Smoker is highest rated Big Ten QB at #11)
--No Buckeye RB in top 25 (although all take our TB tailback foursome against most)
--No Buckeye WR in top 20 (did Jenkins get slighted?)
--No Buckeye TE in top 10 (I love Hartstock, though)
--No Buckeye O-lineman in top 10 at tackle, guard or center. (probably don't deserve one at this point, until one establishes himself as a big time player._
--Tim Anderson #17 DT (this sounds a little low to me.)
--No Buckeye DE in top 20. (No Fresh Prince????)
--Matt Wilhelm #17 MLB (his health is key...let's not count on D'Andrea just yet.)
--No Buckeye OLB in top 20 (not surprising, but I like ole Willie "Cie" Grant as a dark horse. He also has the best voice of any OLB nationally.)
--No Buckeye corners in top 20 (not surprising)
--Mike Doss #1 safety (he's the heart and soul of this Buckeye defense.)
--Punter Andy Groom checked in at #5. (When will we see the fake? The kid can run.)
--No Mike Nugent or Josh Huston in amongst top 10 kickers. (Must have been an oversight.)
--OSU's D-line ranked as the #9 unit in the country. (Will....Will....Will.)
TSN has similar types of rankings...here they are (I will just rank the OSU guys and units that made their list.)
--Adrien Clarke #18 guard (he's gotta be healthy first)
--Michael Jenkins #13 WR (justice)
--Matt Wilhelm #12 MLB (logical)
--Tim Anderson #10 DT (fair enough)
--Darrion Scott #21 DE (Again, no Will Smith)
--Mike Doss #1 SS (a man on a mission)
--Andy Groom #11 punter (last year 'till we get BJ "electric" Sander again.)
--OSU WR unit #4 (Wow...respect and then some!)
--OSU D-line unit #3 (and ahead of Michigan's unit)
TSN and Lindy's have conference unti rankings. Here is where the Buckeyes rank....
Lindy's... TSN
QB's - 9th Backfield - 6th
RB's - 2nd WR's - 5th
WR's - 3rd O-line - 1st
OL - 6th Offense overall - 3rd
D-line - 2nd D-line - 1st
LB's - 3rd LB's - 4th
DB's - 5th DB's - 4th
ST's - 7th Overall defense - 7th
How does TSN have the Ohio State WR's as 5th in the league? I don't know. And how do they rank the O-line as the best in the league? Again, no idea. I do think our DB unit is underrated as a whole. I think the corners will do their job and the safeties are second to none.
Last piece of info...if you are to buy one magazine, I suggest The Sporting News. I think that the efforts out of all of the magazines seem better than last year. Still some goofy stuff, but they are a lot more up to date (including spring info) then before. I'd say TSN, Lindy's, Athlon, and S&S in that order.
June 18, 10:30 p.m.
North-South All-Star Game
13 Ohio State incoming freshmen Buckeyes will participate in Saturday night's Ohio All-Star game. The game will be played in Columbus at Columbus Crew Stadium and gets underway at 7:30 p.m. Here are the future Buckeyes that will suit up for the north: DB Tyler Everett #7, WR Roy Hall #8, QB Justin Zwick #12, LB Mike Kudla #49, OL TJ Downing #72, and OL Rob Sims #77. For the south, the following future Buckeyes will play: DB E.J. Underwood #2, LB Bobby Carpenter #13, LB A.J. Hawk #34, DE Joel Penton #76, DL Jay Richardson #88, and DE Tim Schaefer #99.
Tickets can be purchased over the phone by calling 614-447-CREW for $8 each or at the door for $10 each. ONN (Ohio News Network) will be televising the game.
Big Ten Preview
The Big Ten preview continues to be worked on at a snails pace. Next up will be Minnesota and will be followed by Northwestern.
Recruiting
The recruiting page will be updated more frequently starting in July. There really has not been much earth shattering news in the past month or so. We'll take a quick look at some of the elite Ohio players before the end of the month.
Preseason Polls/Odds
Most of the preseason magazines are out. We'll take a look at how the Buckeyes stack up in some of the major publications next week.
Buckeye 50 Yard Line 2002 Preseason Poll
If you have not got a chance to answer the 20 questions in the message board poll, feel free to do so in the next couple days. I will be summarizing everyone's predictions on the front page later in the week.
June 13, 11:15 p.m.
Big Ten Preview Updated
I skipped the Minnesota preview for now in favor of the Buckeye preview. Minnesota will be next. 46 days 'till the freshmen report. Hang in there.
June 8, 4:30 p.m.
Big Ten Preview Updated
The Michigan State preview is finally live. Next up is Minnesota.
June 4, 7:00 p.m.
17 ????????
This is the first early line that I have seen on the Texas Tech game and yes, 17 is the spread, Ohio State over Texas Tech. This comes from Oasis Casino. Hope they know something I don't know. Ohio State beat only 2 of their 12 opponents last year by 17 or more points. Tressel's game control, run the clock, type of offense does not allow for many blowouts. Besides, I think Texas Tech is a pretty solid opponent. Also, this Oasis site has Ohio State by 3 over Michigan. This sounds much more reasonable to me. (This little blurb is not to promote gambling. Just thought I'd bring up some info I thought was interesting, to say the least.)
June 2, 10:45 p.m.
Big Ten Preview
The preview for the school up north has now been completed. That makes 4 of the 11 teams now complete. At this pace, I should be done by December. The teams will be easier to rank at that time.
May 30, 10:30 p.m.
2002 Ohio State poll
It's a little dead right now. How 'bout clicking here to go to the message board poll and answering 20 questions about the Ohio State 2002 squad?
Big Ten Preview update
The preview from the dreaded school up north is almost done and will be up by Saturday night at the latest. The goal is to have the MSU preview available Monday night.
May 27, 11:00 p.m.
Big Ten Preview updated
The lastest Big Ten team preview, Iowa, has been completed.
May 22, 9:15 p.m.
Our Big Ten preview running behind
Sorry, folks. Hopefully the Iowa preview will be out in the next few days, but a better bet is by the end of the holiday weekend. Hopefully we can get back on the every four days pace soon.
Top tight end prospect still likes Buckeyes
The Buckeye coaches had hoped Youngstown Ursuline start tight end Louis Irizarry would have verbally committed to Ohio State by now, but a trip to Notre Dame seemed to rule that out last weekend. However, today Irizarry was on the Bucknuts radio hour and said that there is a 90% chance that he will be a Buckeye. This may not happen quickly, but this would be a huge get for Ohio State. Irizarry is probably one of the top 3 TE prospects nationally.
Kickoff times announced
It was announced not too long ago that OSU would kickoff the season against Texas Tech at 2:30 p.m. EST in Ohio Stadium on August 24th. Recently it was also announced that "The Game" would kickoff at 12:10 p.m. EST, November 23rd in The 'Shoe on ABC. The Kent State home game on September 7th will kickoff at 12:10 p.m. EST in the Horseshoe on ESPN- Plus. Ohio State will play Cincinnati in Paul Brown Stadium on September 21st and that game will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. EST.
May 19, 11:15 p.m.
The recruiting page has been updated. I have also added some more out-of-state prospects that OSU is pursuing hard.
May 19, 10:15 a.m.
Bring on the Herd
It had been rumored, but now it is official. Ohio State will replace San Jose State with Marshall on the 2004 schedule. San Jose State had backed out of their 2004 matchup with the Buckeyes allowing the Ohio State athletic department to schedule Marshall, a team that has dominated the MAC in recent years.
May 18, 10:00 p.m
The Indiana preview for the 2002 season has now been added below the Illinois preview.
May 14, 10:15 p.m.
Change of strategy for the Big Ten 2002 preview. I will release one team every four or five days in alphabetical order and release the projected standings after all 11 team previews are done. I am still deciding how to rank the teams. For now, here is a preview of last year's Big Ten champs, the Illinois Fighting Illini. Indiana will be next. Also, the All-Big Ten three-deep is below the Illinois preview if you haven't checked it out yet.
May 12, 10:15 p.m.
The 2002 preseason All-Big Ten picks are in. As for the recruiting page, it has not yet been updated but will be updated by mid-week.
May 11, 2:00 p.m.
Big Ten preview
It's the dull time of the year for Buckeye news, so starting tomorrow, we will begin our look at the Big Ten 2002 season. We will start with a 3-deep All-Big Ten list and then will release our picks, #1 through #11, going backwards (starting with #11), and release the next highest rated team every couple of days.
Recruiting
The recruiting page will also be updated tomorrow. There is much talk that Louis Irizary, one of the top TE prospects in the nation, will verbally commit to Ohio State sometime this month. Irizary hails from Coach Tressel's neck of the woods and attends Youngstown Ursuline High School.
There is also a great local story that is slowly brewing. Dublin Coffman quarterback senior-to-be Brady Quinn, who has only started one year, has become a very hot commodity in the college football world. He has prototypical size, great arm strength, and good athletic ability. Quinn's work ethic is also as good as it gets. Coffman Coach Crabtree says Quinn's mechanics are nearly flawless. Quinn has received scholarship offers from Colorado, South Carolina, Iowa, Indiana, Pittsburgh, Tennessee (verbal), Georgia Tech (verbal), North Carolina, Vanderbilt, several MAC schools, and possibly others. Don't be surprised if Michigan and Maryland offer soon and there has been talk that Ohio State may offer in the near future.
