B1G Wrestling Championship Photos II
Garth via our good friends at Men of the Scarlet and Gray
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Luke Pletcher, bookending photos of Micah Jordan, finished fourth as a true freshman. Micah Jordan in his dramatic win over Iowa’s Brandon Sorenson.


















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B1G Wrestling Championship Photos I
Garth via our good friends at Men of the Scarlet and Gray
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Some action from Bloomington: Top, Jake Ryan battled for an NCAA spot despite fighting off nagging injury. Cody Burcher, pride of Gnadenhutten, dispatches his Iowa opponent. Several shots of Nathan Tomasello’s winning showdown with Michigan’s Stevan Micic.
















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Tyler Gerald reportedly transferring from Ohio State
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Another Buckeye will be headed elsewhere.

Earlier today, Ohio State announced that wideout James Clark will not return to Ohio State for next season. Now, another name reportedly will also head elsewhere.

According to Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch, offensive lineman Tyler Gerald will also be transferring. Per May’s report, Gerald had not been participating in offseason conditioning at Ohio State over the last few weeks. An Ohio State spokesman reportedly confirmed May’s report as well.

Gerald was a four-star recruit in the 2016 recruiting class, picking the Buckeyes over Florida State and Penn State, among others, and was projected to possibly compete for a spot on the two deep this season. Originally from Sciotoville East in Sciotoville, OH, Gerald finished his HS career at IMG Academy in Florida .

He’s the third backup offensive lineman to transfer from Ohio State this offseason, as Kyle Trout announced he would transfer to Cincinnati, and Evan Lisle left for Duke as a graduate transfer.

We wish Gerald the very best moving forward.

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Ohio State football: James Clark not returning to the Buckeyes in 2017 - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State football: James Clark not returning to the Buckeyes in 2017
cleveland.com
A former four-star prospect from New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Clark came to Ohio State as part of the Buckeyes 2013 recruiting class. Clark, a redshirt junior last year, had six receptions for 47 yards for the Buckeyes. * Ohio State football scholarship chart.
World's greatest wrestler dominates again, Malik Hooker impresses without working out in Indy and moreLandof10.com
BM5: Biggest storylines for spring ball, which starts Tuesday247Sports
Burning Questions Ohio State Hopes to Find Answers For This SpringEleven Warriors
Land-Grant Holy Land -CBS sports.com (blog)
all 22 news articles »

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Ohio State WR James Clark will not return to the team
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Per a release, Clark will graduate and transfer elsewhere.

We knew that roster attrition was coming to Ohio State, given that they’re still over the scholarship limit. Now, we know another member of the team that will be playing elsewhere next season.

Per a university release, Ohio State WR James Clark will not return to the program for next season. Instead, Clark will graduate with a degree in Finance this spring, and presumably, seek a graduate transfer for his redshirt senior season.

A four-star recruit from the class of 2013, Clark picked Ohio State over a slew of major ACC and Big Ten programs, like Clemson, Miami and Penn State. But thanks to injuries and a rapidly crowding depth chart, Clark was never really able to get going as a Buckeye.

Last season, Clark had six catches for 47 yards.

If he’s healthy, Clark has the potential to be a contributor and finish off his college career on a high note. We wish him the very best of luck.

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Senators Taking First Steps to Improve Their Brand?
T6S via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


VANCOUVER, BC – MARCH 2: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Mike Hoffman #68 of the Ottawa Senators during NHL action against the Vancouver Canucks on March 02, 2014 at the 2014 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

At the introductory press conference that announced that Tom Anselmi would be succeeding Cyril Leeder as the Senators’ president and CEO, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk spoke to this organization’s need for someone who could do two things: 1) use their extensive land development experience to coordinate the Senators’ LeBreton Flats arena project; and 2) invigorate their brand.

Although the LeBreton Flats project could take years to come to fruition, it sounds like Tom Anselmi is already looking at relatively simple solutions to address the Ottawa Senators’ brand.

According to a Ken Warren Postmedia article, the organization is already looking at turfing their criminally uninspiring 3-D logo and extension, doing away with the set of home and away jerseys that they have used since 2007.

It’s pretty easy to understand why Anselmi is in tune to the wishes of Senators fans.

Essentially since the moment he spoke of the need to reinvigorate this fan base, his Twitter account has been flooded with responses speaking to this team’s need to change the logo and he has taken notice.


(As an aside, if this is the power of public pressure, just imagine what could happen if we flooded Anselmi’s account with takes on how the Senators need to address their blue line.)

Spearheading the charge for the team to permanently adopt the white and black heritage sweaters is Jacob Barrette (@Le Collectif). Barrette, of course, is the Senators fan and graphic designer who played a crucial role in the creation and development of the black heritage jersey.

The pressure to make a switch not only lies in the fact that the Senators will want to put for their best branding efforts in the team’s 25th anniversary season, but no NHL teams will be permitted to use alternate jerseys during the 2017-18 season.

Thanks to Adidas taking over from Reebok as the league’s jersey rights-holder and designer, the justification to do away with alternate jerseys lies in making “the initial implementation of new sweaters easier” for Adidas.

In other words, the Senators could be faced with a situation where they are forced to wear their hideous set of home and away primaries in every game next season.

From what I’ve been told in the past, making a jersey or logo change is a more complicated and time-consuming process than one would otherwise believe, so whether there’s enough time to implement a change to Ottawa’s jerseys remains to be seen.

I have always been partial to the Senators bringing back their original 2-D sweaters, but it’s impossible to know what kind of timelines the league has or needs to bring these classics back into the fold.





Perhaps it bodes well that the Senators’ heritage alternate has been in circulation for years and should hopefully allow the Senators, Adidas and the NHL to transition it and the white heritage jersey from alternates to the team’s primary sweaters.

The heritages wouldn’t be my first choice, but in a mock-up, Barrette did away with the use of the heritage off-white for a pure-white and the results look pretty good.





Most importantly, they look exponentially better than what the Senators are presently using. I mean, ideally, I’d like to see the Senators transition back to the 2-D logo, but these heritage jerseys aren’t a bad alternative. If it means that the Senators use these before eventually introducing the 2-D jersey as an alternate, so be it. It’d be a marked improvement from what we have now.





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Marshon Lattimore reportedly suffers another hamstring injury at the NFL Combine
Alexis Chassen via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Just a day after telling the media he was 100%, the Buckeye had a setback.

NFL-bound cornerback Marshon Lattimore had his fair share of hamstring injuries with his time at Ohio State, but spent a good amount of time at the combine telling teams he was healthy. After putting up an incredible 40-yard dash time (4.36) and impressive vertical (38.5”) and broad (11’0) jump results, Adam Schefter reported Lattimore had suffered another hamstring injury during drills.

Normally this wouldn’t be such a newsworthy topic, but considering the Buckeye had surgery on his hamstring back in 2014, and aggravated it again in 2015, this could negatively affect his draft stock. Initially pegged as a first-round draft pick, Lattimore is just a day removed from telling members of the media that he felt completely healthy — he even thought it was strange that the medical staff would do an MRI, even two years after surgery.

The timing couldn’t have been worse for the Buckeye, who was just hours away from finishing up his four-day interview at the combine. Lattimore is among one of the deepest defensive back classes coming out of the combine, and could find himself sliding further in the draft than expected. Teams will now need to re-evaluate his medical history and decide if the repeated hamstring issues are a lingering concern.

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Audio: Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament Teleconference
BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network

Each Big Ten coach checks in with his take on the upcoming Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament. Listen to all 14 coaches here.

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ill take a road series W at this point. good job boys

Marshon Lattimore isn’t worried about his injury history in the NFL
Alexis Chassen via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeye’s hamstring is a question mark for some teams at the combine.

Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore is joining several other Silver Bullets on the path to draft, and his first stop is the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. As part of the final position group to go through the event, Lattimore was poised at the podium and ready to show off his skills during the on-field drills.

After redshirting his first year at Ohio State in 2014, Lattimore was limited to just a few games in 2015 with lingering hamstring issues. With two years now behind him, Lattimore earned the starting role in 2016, and went on to amass 41 total tackles (30 solo) and four interceptions — one pick-6.

He might only have one solid year of on-field experience under his belt, but just being around the Ohio State program those three years helped elevate both Lattimore’s game and his mentality.

Measurements


Height: 6’0

Weight: 193 lbs

Hands: 8 7/8”

Arms: 31 1/4”

Media Interviews


Lattimore’s early career with the Buckeyes was marred with injuries, but this last season was a break out one. He was asked when the turning point was for him ahead of the 2016 season.

“After camp, where I felt most comfortable where I was at. I made it through a whole camp. The previous two years I didn’t make it through three days of practice. Just to make it through the whole camp I knew I had good hopes of a good season.”

It wasn’t a coincidence that he finally made it through spring practice. The cornerback noted that he did yoga, extra strengthening exercises and stretching to prevent any further hamstring issues — issues that have been on the minds of NFL teams interviewing the Buckeye.

“That’s the first thing they asked me. How are my hamstrings, just tell them about my hamstring situation. But I’m a hundred percent fin right now.”

Like many others, Lattimore benefited from the bevy of successful Buckeyes that came before him, talking to Eli Apple and Bradley Roby along the way. In addition to his hamstrings, the cornerback has also had to answer questions about his preparedness after just one full season at Ohio State.

“They always talk about I only have one year of experience, so I had to make sure I know what I’m doing, tell them specific things about our schemes and things like that. On the field, just show that I’m fluid in what I do.”

Workout Results


Bench press: Lattimore did not participate in the bench press event.

40-yard dash: TBA

Vertical jump: TBA

Broad jump: 11’0”* Lattimore’s broad jump tied for the 11th best among S/CBs at the combine since 2006.

20-yard shuttle run: TBA

*Top performer

This is a developing story that will be updated.

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Gareon Conley wants to set himself apart at the NFL Combine
Alexis Chassen via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


With an impressive 40-yard dash, Conley could claim a high NFL draft pick.

Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley is headed to the next level. Even as the most experienced Buckeye from the secondary heading to the draft, Conley is considered by some as as perhaps not as highly touted compared to his position-mates — but he gave an impressive performance at the NFL scouting combine.

Conley finished his career at Ohio State after three seasons, amassing 91 total tackles (66 solo), 15 passes defended and six interceptions. He was one of the only players not to come up with a touchdown off a turnover in 2016, but his snags were perfectly timed game-savers for the Buckeyes. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick in 2015 and second-team all-conference last season.

Measurements


Height: 6’0

Weight: 195 lbs

Hands: 9 1/2”

Arms: 33”

Media Interviews


Taking the next steps to try and make it in the NFL takes a lot physically and mentally from players, but Conley thinks he is prepared. Conley had to accept that some of the younger guys — Malik Hooker and Marshon Lattimore — would overshadow him at times, but even still, he wasn’t getting lost in the shuffle.

“I set myself apart mentally, my mental toughness and ability to handle adversity on and off the field sets me apart. I think about it but use it as motivation that I have to work harder than them.”

At Ohio State you are constantly competing against the best both at practice and on Saturdays, and Conley has taken a lot of advice from players who have come before him. Having to work harder than the man before you is what keeps the Buckeye program constantly refreshed with young talent.

"Everything you do, you've got to give your maximum effort and I feel like there's a high standard. There's no medium, average or low standard. There's such a high standard that you've got to compete with people that are just as good as you so you've got to outwork them."

And while Conley follows in the footsteps of former early draft picks, like Eli Apple and Bradley Roby, he doesn’t feel bogged down by pressure. Instead, he uses it as motivation to work harder than those he’s competing with, and hopefully will see the fruits of his labor in late-April.

“I don’t worry about it, but I try to motivate myself to get there. I definitely want to be a first-round pick. Nobody doesn’t want to be a first-round pick so I’m going to work as hard as I can to be a first-round pick.”

Workout Results


Bench press: 11 reps

40-yard dash: 4.44 sec


Vertical jump: TBA

Broad jump: TBA

20-yard shuttle run: TBA

This is a developing story that will be updated.

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BTN presents week-long coverage of the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament
BTN Communications via Big Ten Network

BTN will provide a full week of comprehensive coverage of the Big Ten Tournament from Washington D.C., including five games, pre- and post-game analysis, coach and player interviews, and a 90-minute B1G Basketball & Beyond: Selection Sunday Special. Coverage begins at 5 p.m. ET today with the exclusive, live announcement of the annual Big Ten basketball awards on the BTN Live: All-Conference Selection Show. Host Mike Hall and analyst Shon Morris will reveal All-Big Ten selections, as well as Big Ten Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year. Interviews with select award winners will also be included. At 5 p.m.

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World's greatest wrestler dominates again, Malik Hooker impresses without working out in Indy and more - Landof10.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


World's greatest wrestler dominates again, Malik Hooker impresses without working out in Indy and more
Landof10.com
On Sunday, one Ohio State team did something that the Buckeyes haven't accomplished since 1951. That is 65 years ago. The Ohio State wrestling team knocked off Iowa and Penn State – top-five teams in the country – on its way to the program's first ...
Hoosiers take down BuckeyesThe News Center
Ohio State recruiting board: Who is moving up?247Sports
Ohio State men's basketball | Hoosiers defeat Buckeyes 96-92Columbus Dispatch
Scout -Ironton Tribune -BuckeyeGrove.com (subscription)
all 103 news articles »

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NFL Combine wrap on Myles Garrett, Browns QB options, best Buckeyes: Takes By The Lake podcast - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


NFL Combine wrap on Myles Garrett, Browns QB options, best Buckeyes: Takes By The Lake podcast
cleveland.com
Listen to some arguments for solving the quarterback solution while wondering just exactly how good Garrett is going to be, then hear us delve into the Ohio State Buckeyes that most interest us as draft prospects after eight of them took part in the ...

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Ohio State plays host to 4 top recruits
Charles Doss via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeyes coaching staff didn’t take the weekend off.

While Curtis Samuel, Noah Brown and many other former Ohio State stars were gearing up for the NFL combine in Indianapolis, a group of potential future Buckeyes were in Columbus, Ohio to check out the campus and meet up with members of the OSU coaching staff.

Ohio State didn’t just play host to some standout recruits, they also offered one of the top prospects in the class of 2019 over the weekend.

Recruits hit up Columbus


As you know, recruiting has no offseason. Always staying busy, numerous recruits headed to Columbus to spend a little time with Urban Meyer and his rock star crew of assistant coaches.

While the weekend ended without a commitment, it helped the Buckeyes impress a few of the prospects currently on their big board for the 2018 and 2019 classes.

Want to know who were among the recruits to mingle with Meyer and the Ohio State staff? Land-Grant Holy Land has your back.

4-star DE Brenton Cox


Class: 2018

Town: Stockbridge, GA /Stockbridge

Size: 6’4/235

Offers: Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, etc

4-star LB Xavier Peters


Class: 2018

Town: West Chester, OH /Lakota West

Size: 6’4/210

Offers: Kentucky, Penn State, Tennessee, Indiana, Wisconsin, etc

3-star DT Tyler Bentley


Class: 2018

Town: West Chester, OH /Lakota West

Size: 6’3/295

Offers: Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin, etc

4-star WR Jadon Haselwood


Class: 2019

Town: Ellenwood,GA / Cedar Grove

Size: 6’3/190

Offers: Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Oregon, etc

2019 RB gets OSU offer


The Buckeyes are always looking for offensive weapons to bring into the fold. On Saturday afternoon, Ohio State dished out an offer to one of the most sought after running backs in the entire class of 2019.

Earning a chance to rock the Scarlet and Gray, four-star junior-to-be Noah Cain received a scholarship from the Buckeyes.


“I spoke with Coach Alford on the phone after a real good conversation and he offered. Coach Alford left a real big impression on me about him personally and about the Buckeyes. It feels great,” Cain, a Texas native who is now enrolled at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida stated to Land-Grant Holy Land on his offer from the Buckeyes.

With nearly 20 full ride scholarship offers currently on the table from programs such as Miami, LSU, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Tennessee, the 5-foot-11, 207-pound running back isn’t 100 percent positive of where he’ll end up on the college level but knows the Buckeyes will be in the mix for his services.

“The offer is just making me work harder now. The Ohio State Buckeyes will be in my top 10,” he said of his recruitment.

On the field, Noah has shown big play ability time and time again. During his first two seasons on the high school level, Cain, the top running back and fifth overall prospect in the 2019 class, per 247Sports, accounted for well over 2,700 total rushing yards and 32 touchdowns.

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Ohio State wrestling | Buckeyes win Big Ten title, upsetting No. 1 Penn State - Columbus Dispatch
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State wrestling | Buckeyes win Big Ten title, upsetting No. 1 Penn State
Columbus Dispatch
Led by four individual champions, Ohio State won its second Big Ten team title in the past three years Sunday by upsetting defending national champ and No. 1-ranked Penn State. Consider that the Buckeyes hadn't won a team conference championship ...
Buckeyes Win The Big Ten Wrestling Title10TV
Wrestling: Buckeyes Lead Big Ten Tournament After Day IEleven Warriors
Wrestling: Ohio State wins 2017 Big Ten titleOSU - The Lantern
State College News -Land-Grant Holy Land -Big Ten Conference
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Buckeyes offer another Georgia star - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes offer another Georgia star
247Sports
What's next for the Buckeyes? Make sure you're in the loop -- take five seconds to sign up for our FREE Buckeyes newsletter now! In addition to Ohio State, Horn has a list of offers that includes Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Louisville, Ole Miss, Duke and ...

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2017 Big Ten tournament bracket: Ohio State earns 11 seed, will face Rutgers
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeyes will face a long path if they want to earn the Big Ten’s auto-bid.

The Big Ten regular season is now in the books, and that means the Big Ten Tournament bracket is finally set.

Ohio State earned the 11 seed, which means they’ll need to play in the tournament’s opening game. They’ll face Rutgers, who finished last in the conference. But don’t let that fool you, the Scarlet Knights are significantly improved, and Ohio State only barely beat them earlier in the year, winning 70-64.

Should Ohio State win, they’ll face Northwestern, who grabbed the six seed (the Wildcats squeaked past Ohio State earlier in the year, 74-72), and then Maryland, who grabbed the three seed. The Terps beat Ohio State both times this season.

If the Buckeyes want to make the Big Dance, they’re going to need to win the whole dang Big Ten Tournament, which will be a tall order. But if they can beat Rutgers, which is no guarantee, they have a chance to pick up at least one more win, and solidify what could be a good NIT seed.

The full bracket can be found below. Ohio State will face Rutgers at 7:00 PM ET on Wednesday.


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View the 2017 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket
Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor via Big Ten Network

Purdue, Wisconsin, Maryland and Minnesota are the top four seeds in the 2017 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, the conference office announced on Sunday night.

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Dienhart: Best of Week 10 in Big Ten conference play
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

Let March Madness begin! The regular season is over. Now is the time of year when reputations are earned. Big Ten champ Purdue finished strong, winning eight of its last nine. Now, the Boilermakers will look to win their first Big Ten tourney title since 2009.

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Buckeyes Win The Big Ten Wrestling Title - 10TV
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes Win The Big Ten Wrestling Title
10TV
The Buckeyes crowned four champions and won the fourth Big Ten wrestling team title in school history as Indiana's Assembly Hall. Ohio State got two dramatic title match victories at 133 and 174 pounds, respectively, and added wins at 197 and 285 ...
Wrestling: Buckeyes Lead Big Ten Tournament After Day IEleven Warriors
Wrestling: Ohio State wins 2017 Big Ten titleOSU - The Lantern
Penn State Wrestling Finishes Second at Big Ten ChampionshipsState College News

all 146 news articles »

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Ohio State closes out weekend with 14-11 win over Bellarmine
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeyes overcame a comeback attempt by the Knights to stay undefeated on the season.

The 20th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes men's lacrosse team narrowly escaped a comeback attempt by the Bellarmine Knights, winning their second game of the weekend 14-11 after leading by as many as seven goals. Ohio State faced Bellarmine in game two of the Midwest Lacrosse Classic in Milwaukee, having defeated Marquette, the host team, Friday night by a score of 12-6.

Similar to Friday’s game against Marquette, the Buckeyes got off to a slow start on both sides of the ball, going down 2-0 early on in the first quarter as Bellarmine scored twice in 44 seconds. Ohio State came back by quarter’s end, however, on goals by freshman attackman Lukas Buckley, assisted by fellow freshman midfielder Tre Leclaire, and freshman midfielder Ryan Terefenko.

Junior attackman Colin Chell’s goal 1:13 into the third quarter gave the Buckeyes their first lead of the game--a lead that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. Buckley added his second goal of the game just 11 seconds later, with senior attackman Eric Fannell extending the Buckeyes’ lead to three on his first goal of the game with 12:30 remaining in the quarter. Though a Bellarmine goal closed the gap to two, Chell found the back of the net once again to maintain Ohio State’s advantage on a man-up situation. Leclaire added his first goal of the game before Chell earned his hat trick with his third score. Junior midfielder Bo Lori continued the Buckeyes’ run, scoring his first goal of the season midway through the quarter. Leclaire then scored his second goal of the game before Bellarmine finally found the back of the net, ending a five-goal run for the Buckeyes, who headed to the break leading 10-4.

Bellarmine, however, would not go down so easy, opening the third quarter with a goal to close the Buckeyes’ lead to five. Freshman attackman Nick Musci found the back of the net with 10:00 left in the third, but the Knights would score two more goals to close the gap. Senior attackman Austin Shanks added another goal for Ohio State to recover the Buckeyes’ five-point lead. Bellarmine scored once more before Fannell added his second goal of the game to close the third quarter with a 13-8 lead.

The Knights opened the fourth quarter with a goal, but senior midfielder J.T. Blubaugh answered with what would be the Buckeyes’ last score of the game. Bellarmine would score twice more in the final quarter, but Ohio State would hold them off for the win.

Chell led the Buckeyes in scoring with three goals on the day, while Buckley, Fannell and Leclaire each had two. Fannell also had three assists, giving him a team-high, five-point performance on the day.

Junior goalie Matthew Smidt, in his second career start at Ohio State, had seven saves in 60 minutes. Shots on goal were 24-18 in favor of the Buckeyes, though the Knights had 10 saves to the Buckeyes’ seven.

Senior specialist Jake Withers split time with freshman Christian Feliziani, going a collective 22-for-28 on faceoff attempts for Ohio State. The Buckeyes also recovered 33 groundballs to Bellarmine’s 19, with Withers leading Ohio State’s effort with nine recoveries.

With the loss, Bellarmine falls to 1-4 on the season and heads home to face Mount St. Mary’s next week. Ohio State, meanwhile, improves to 6-0 on the year. Next up, the Buckeyes head back to Columbus to face Cleveland State.

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Malik Hooker’s injuries shouldn’t keep him out of the top of the draft
Alexis Chassen via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The safety had to miss the workout portion of the NFL Combine, but he still interviewed with teams.

Ohio State interception-magnet Malik Hooker traveled to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine even though he was not able to participate in the drills due to a torn labrum and hernia. Despite only having one full season of experience, his natural instincts and penchant for snagging turnovers will make him a top pick in the draft.

The safety is already in discussion to be a first round draft pick in large part to a 2016 season that included 74 total tackles (43 solo) and seven interceptions — with three returned for a touchdown. He finished first in the Big Ten and NCAA for Pick-6’s and first in the Big Ten for interception return yards (181).

His athleticism spans more than just football. Hooker could have played division I basketball coming out of high school, but chose the football path instead. His dual training translates onto the field with loose hips and quick feet.

Measurements


Height: 6’1

Weight: 206 lbs

Hands: 10 3/4”

Arms: 32 1/4”

Media Interviews


The main focus of Hooker’s meetings with teams and the media focused around his injury and the recovery. He was asked how the injury affected his the end of the season, to which he admitted having played through it against Clemson.

“The injury happened Nov. 26 in the game against The Team Up North. When that happened, I didn’t really notice it until after the game. After the game, I couldn’t really walk, I was limping. In practice that week, I wasn’t able to run as well and I just kept playing through it. I played the Clemson game with the injury as well.”

Unlike other players around college football, Hooker never considered out of the bowl game to prevent any further injury. Even being a top NFL prospect didn’t affect the safety’s mentality about competing with his teammates.

“Before even looking into my future, there’s just so much that you put into a program like that. So for me to automatically say I’m not playing because I’m a top 10 pick or whatever the scenario may be, I feel like it’s not fair to Ohio State and the guys I worked with because I was there in the offseason working hard with them, I was there in the rough part of the program, so I feel like it was what I had to do.”

Even with some attrition in the defensive backfield, Hooker isn’t worried about the future of the Buckeye secondary. He believes that the Buckeyes don’t rebuild, they reload, and the group of guys ready to step into the starting roles are just as prepared as the guys walking away.

“It’s not like you’re not good enough, just Ohio State, it’s a major division 1 college, the competition here is crazy, so the guys in line next, they’re just waiting for their opportunity and I feel like they’re going to shine when the opportunity is given to them.”

Hooker spoke a lot about how much the coaching staff at Ohio State helped develop him as both a player and a young man. He credits them for supporting him through his initial homesickness when moving to Columbus and pushed him physically further than he knew he was capable.

Workout Results


Having just had surgery less than two months ago, Hooker is foregoing the workout portion of the combine, and will miss Ohio State’s Pro Day as well. He does expect to be back in time for rookie camp, which is about all that will matter to teams.

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Oklahoma Falls to Top-Ranked Buckeyes - Soonersports.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Oklahoma Falls to Top-Ranked Buckeyes
Soonersports.com
Ohio State entered the day 14-1, having won every home match since Oklahoma defeated the Buckeyes, 4-3, in 2015. That win broke Ohio State's 200-match home win streak, which still stands as the NCAA all-sport record. The Sooners, ranked fourth in the ...
College tennis: Top-ranked Ohio State sweeps No. 4 OklahomaNCAA.com

all 3 news articles »

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Bucknuts 90: Cashing in at NFL Combine - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Bucknuts 90: Cashing in at NFL Combine
247Sports
Samuel is among several Buckeyes displaying his skills at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this week. Fill-in host Brian Weaver and I discussed the Combine Buckeyes as well as new commitments, Spring football and a whole lot more ... What's ...

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