Thad Matta is ‘tired of the BS’, says Ohio State basketball ‘got rid of problems’
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State’s Thad Matta is not messing around.

To say this has been a tumultuous offseason for Ohio State basketball would be an understatement. Three members of Ohio State’s highly regarded class of 2015 transferred (Mickey Mitchell, A.J. Harris and Daniel Giddens) following Austin Grandstaff’s departure in season after a year that saw the team struggle, ending a mostly forgettable season in the NIT.

After the talent exodus, many worried about the state of the program. Thad Matta isn’t. In fact, in some exceptionally pointed commentary, he views these as additions by subtractions.

In a video taken by ThisWeek Sports, Matta made it perfectly clear exactly how he felt about the players leaving his program:


Matta then goes on to specifically point out that three of four players joining the program this season are from Ohio.

So this is pretty unusual. I personally can’t remember an Ohio State coach being so blunt as to say “we got rid of some guys we needed to get rid of”, especially when none of the departing players got in any kind of real trouble. It was clear from watching the team play that the on-court chemistry was not where it should have been, although the fact that the team was exceptionally young was undoubtedly a factor. But Matta’s comments seem to make it clear there were other things going on behind the scenes.

It’s worth noting that while all four players were highly regarded recruits, none really landed in an especially prestigious spot. Grandstaff, a four-star sharpshooter from Texas, left the team after just a few games, transferred to Oklahoma, but then transferred again ending up at DePaul. Giddens transferred to Alabama. Mitchell ended up at UC Santa Barbra, and Harris transferred to New Mexico State, way out in the farthest outpost of D1 college basketball, the WAC.

It probably isn’t fair to just blame the players though. After all, as Bill Landis reminds us, Thad Matta and the Ohio State coaching staff recruited all of these dudes. Transfers in college basketball are not especially uncommon, but if you aren’t Kentucky or Duke, you typically can’t afford to lose nearly an entire recruiting class to transfers and not suffer on the court. The only remaining player on the 2015 class, JaQuan Lyle, wasn’t recruited to be a four year player, and could leave after this season if he does well. That’s a missed opportunity for Ohio State.

It’s worse because these transfers happened late enough in the 2016 recruiting cycle that Ohio State couldn’t really chase many replacement prospects especially hard. 2016 was a good year for Ohio high school basketball, including at positions the Buckeyes need, and Ohio State passed on the chance to heavily recruit them because they had Harris, Mitchell, etc on the roster.

The Buckeyes finished 2016 with the 8th ranked recruiting class in the Big Ten (behind Minnesota, Iowa and Penn State), and if players like Seth Towns, Nick Ward, or Ibi Watson — players Ohio State might have been able to get had they made them recruiting priorities — go on to have great college careers, it will make the mistakes of the 2015 class even worse.

Ohio State returns the bulk of their production from last season, and if the team culture really does make a significant jump, the team could be substantially more competitive in the Big Ten and should be in the conversation for an NCAA Tournament bid. Maybe some bad attitudes in the locker room were keeping the Buckeyes from reaching their full potential. Maybe there was some very bad evaluation going on. Maybe it’s fixed now. Maybe it isn’t.

One thing is clear though: Thad Matta doesn’t seem too broken up about it.

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Our servers are nearly five, the drives have a lot of hours on them, we've weathered some various hardware difficulties along the way but they've treated us well.

The cost of colocating in Menlo Park with a bunch of Google and Facebook engineers (we all have a rack together) is going up because a few people have pulled out of the coop. As our own engineer has moved his family from that area to Arizona to join a custom car company that makes pretty amazing Road Warrior style off-road racers, he's no longer local to the facility.

Because of all of these facts, I'm disinclined to start thinking about new
machines, and we no longer have a warm body in CA to overhaul the old ones.

Instead, I think it may be time to move to the cloud, specifically Amazon. Nothing would change on the user side, really, and there'd be no hardware about which we would have to worry (or purchase).

It means a higher monthly operating expense, but the trade offs are numerous in the pro column.

Either way, this is an open call to anyone who hasn't donated to please consider doing so. Any little bit will help the upfront costs of this transition and make it go much more smoothly.

On that note, I want to talk about ads. I hate 'em, you hate 'em, I'd love to get rid of them. There are a couple ways to go about doing this:

The first notion is we set a monthly goal, and this goal wouldn't be on top of our drive income, it would simply be a goal that includes that. As a loose hypothetical, if our goal was 2.5k a month, that would be a 1.25k increase over the average of our best drive year -- so double what we've done before. We may not have a large enough base to pull that off, but it would allow us to be completely ad free.

The second notion is more complex and I've reached out to some lawdog types for advice. I intend to launch a 501(c)(3) to help the substantial and growing population of toxic water survivors. At least I'm in the very early stages of considering it. As BP has already been a bit of a platform for that, it could be that it could serve as an Ohio-based point of outreach for that cause, and be rolled into the charity. The plus would be that anything given to BP would be tax deductible upon proper realization of the charity status, the minus would be that BP would be owned by an organization with a board outside of my control (but for an organization I'll run) and there are a lot of question marks that go with that. I also don't know what the legal and ethical issues are that come with that, and those are areas of deep concern as too many charities aren't enough about actually helping those in need. Any even loose appearance of impropriety is something I'm keen to avoid. The issue, for obvious reasons, is important to me. I survived (figuratively and literally) the worst of the consequences of my injuries because of the support (emotional and economic) of this very community. Many others aren't so lucky, and I've never slept entirely well knowing that people are suffering not only the physical effects of the poisoning totally out of their knowledge and control, but also the economic devastation as they lose the ability to work, and the social isolation. All of that leads to dark places emotionally, and it becomes a brutal circle that ends in an untimely and avoidable death for many. I don't have lofty goals for this charity, but if gets one person to a doc appointment they couldn't have otherwise made, helps with a medical bill or collection agency for the same for those paying out of pocket for care (I went long stretches ignoring an abscessed tooth, cracked ribs, and other less dignified things because I couldn't afford the tests and appointments and was too sick to travel) -- then it's a wild success in my eyes. But is it related to BP? Maybe that's a stretch.

We can, of course, leave well enough alone. But the reality is that I limit us to static ads with no auto play, and that's a dead dead dead market. It's all about video, interactivity, full page takeovers, and dynamic creatives that force you to notice them. Because I won't "go there" we've seen our ad revs drop to 1/10th of what they were at their peak.

I don't need the peak back, just want to have an open idea session with the lot of you about it. Keep the ads, drop them entirely, something in between?

The upgrades are indeed coming but they've been on hold while I sort out the hosting issue. As the season is already casting a happy shadow over us, I can't imagine it's all too far off.

Let me know what you think.

Two Buckeyes named to Walter Camp Award Watch List - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Two Buckeyes named to Walter Camp Award Watch List
247Sports
The pre-season honors just keep pouring in for the Ohio State Buckeyes, as the Walter Camp Foundation named their 40 candidates to the Camp Award Watch List on Friday, and it included 2 players from the Scarlet and Gray. What's next for the Buckeyes?
Northwestern boasts two of eight Big Ten players on Walter Camp watch listComcast SportsNet Chicago

all 7 news articles »

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Thad Matta wants to take Buckeyes back to the good ol' days - Dayton Daily News
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Thad Matta wants to take Buckeyes back to the good ol' days
Dayton Daily News
The Buckeyes also had legitimate national title contenders in 2011 and '12, but things haven't been as rosy since as a couple of highly rated recruiting classes have not lived up to the hype. D'Angelo Russell turning out to be a one-and-done player ...
Thad Matta's strong words on Ohio State transfers show fiery shift, but only tell part of storycleveland.com

all 2 news articles »

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East Lansing Equals Even Level For Buckeyes In 2016
chipminnich via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

“ Hell, there are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something…” ~ Thomas Edison
Leave it to Thomas Edison, an Ohioan and considered “The Father Of Invention”, to appropriately summarize the goals for the 2016 Ohio State football team. No rules – just accomplish something.
“Something” is a pretty vague and open concept. Considering how much talent Ohio State lost to graduation and the NFL Draft, considering how I have written throughout spring practice about how 44 players on Ohio State’s roster are either redshirt freshmen or true freshmen…Damn right, Mr. Edison. There are no rules. Ohio State fans are just looking to see what this team can accomplish against a much tougher schedule in 2016 than 2015, with tremendously talented, yet inexperienced, players.
**
at Michigan State Spartans (Game 11)
2016 OSU Opponent Ranking: 3 out of 12

Players Recruited By Ohio State:


Players Recruited By Ohio State: DL Malik McDowell, DB Montae Nicholson, DB Demetrius Cox, OL Dennis Finley, RB L.J. Scott, OL Noah Listermann, WR Donnie Corley, WR Justin Layne. There are many players from the state of Ohio on Michigan State’s roster (more on that later), but did not receive offers from Ohio State. A shout-out to Avon Lake FB Collin Lucas, from my hometown. I am more than willing to bet I may have inadvertently missed on some players; please let me know and I am happy to correct my error(s).

Game Date: November 19, 2016
Kickoff Time: TBD
Location: Spartan Stadium
Rationale For The Ranking: Ohio State returns to Spartan Stadium, determined to avenge last year’s heartbreaking, waterlogged, last second 17-14 defeat to Michigan State. http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?id=400547985

Ohio State fans will eagerly point out how the Buckeyes went up to East Lansing in 2014, and avenged the 2013 B1G Championship Game defeat to Michigan State, 49-37. Good point.
Here’s something to contemplate – Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer is 50-4 since becoming the head coach for Ohio State in November 2011. Want to know which team has contributed two of those four losses?
Yep – Michigan State, in 2013, and 2015. Ohio State has defeated the Spartans twice, both in East Lansing (2012, 2014). Hence my title of this article – one of these teams will pull ahead in this grudge match. This game will go a long way towards determining the B1G Eastern Division representative for The 2016 B1G Championship Game, and may also impact the college football playoff discussion.
Prediction: I have been stating the importance of this young Ohio State team developing experience and toughness for the November stretch run. All of the other games leading up to this one will be crucial in having the Buckeyes ready for what should prove to be a raucous and rowdy environment in East Lansing. Even though it is a later November game, I will not be surprised if this game is a night game; at worst, I expect it to be a 3:30pm kickoff. The number of Ohio players on Michigan State’s roster who did not get offers from Ohio State always give the Spartans that little extra motivation to truly play their hearts out; Michigan State Mark Dantonio always seems to push the right psychological buttons to have the Spartans ready for this game against Ohio State.
Previous Rankings:
4 – at Penn State
5 – at Wisconsin
6 – at Northwestern
7 – Nebraska
8 – at Maryland
9 – Indiana
10- Rutgers
11- Bowling Green
12- Tulsa

The post East Lansing Equals Even Level For Buckeyes In 2016 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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4-star recruits make visit to Ohio State
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The California duo of Pledger and Radley-Hiles see what being a Buckeye is about

Ohio State is now a week away from their premier recruiting event of the year – the Friday Night Lights camp. With a boatload of high profile and in-state prospects on the attendance roster, Urban Meyer and staff have to be loving what could become of this event. The 2017 class is still considered by every major recruiting service to be the top class in the country and it looks to be getting even better in the near future.

Radley-Hiles visit recap


It was mentioned yesterday, but one of the early top prospects in the 2018 class is defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles (Calabasas, CA / Calabasas).

While it was originally thought to be a visit for Friday Night Lights, Radley-Hiles made it to campus a week earlier than expected. Following his visit yesterday, he had nothing but positive remarks for the Buckeyes and his visit. Brendan went as far as to say "it doesn't get too much better than Ohio State" in an article covering his visit with Bucknuts via 247sports.com.

Radley-Hiles currently has over 20 scholarship offers with many more to come as he's still only two years into his prep career. As things stand right now, Nebraska is thought to be in the driver's seat for his pledge as the Cornhuskers have done a remarkable job recruiting California recently. However, the 4-star defensive back has more than enough time to decide on his final destination and that gives Ohio State and Urban Meyer plenty of time to make their pitch and become a major player for the nation's seventh best 2018 cornerback.

Pledger comes away impressed with OSU


Accompanying Brendan Radley-Hiles on the trip to Ohio State yesterday, West Hills, California prospect T.J. Pledger (West Hills, CA / Chaminade) was also in attendance for an unofficial visit. The Chaminade running back was offered back in January by Ohio State, but made his first trek to Columbus since the offer yesterday. Much like his visit partner Radley-Hiles, Ohio State did nothing but impress the seventh best ranked running back in the 2018 class. Via his twitter, you can tell Pledger was enjoying his time spent on campus.

Woodbey heading to Columbus


If it seems as if each passing day brings another high-profile visitor to Ohio State this coming weekend for the Friday Night Lights camp, that's because it's true. Last night, Ohio State received word that yet another top prospect would be in attendance next Friday night. This time, Jaiden Woodbey (Upland, CA / St. John Bosco), a recent Buckeye offer, announced via his twitter that he would be making the trek to Columbus for his visit.


Woodbey, a 4-star safety, is currently ranked as the third best safety in the 2018 class and the fourth best prospect at any position in the state of California for 2018 according to 247sports. With the Buckeyes offering not even a full month ago, this upcoming visit shows how serious of a contender Ohio State is for Woodbey. Thought to be a USC lean, Woodbey is staying in the Ohio State headlines which can only be good for Urban Meyer and his staff. The relationships Ohio State is creating at St. John Bosco with the recent 2017 commitment of Wyatt Davis and in California in general, shows the national exposure Ohio State is recruiting at.

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Video: J.T. Barrett Assassinates Pikachu, Tells Younger Buckeyes to Get to Work - Eleven Warriors
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Video: J.T. Barrett Assassinates Pikachu, Tells Younger Buckeyes to Get to Work
Eleven Warriors
It may be the offseason, but the only children's game J.T. Barrett will tolerate in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center is football. In the above video, running back Mike Weber (gray shirt) and H-Back Curtis Samuel (scarlet shirt) can be seen competing ...


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Nick Weatherspoon, 4-star 2017 PG, has Buckeyes in top 10: Ohio State basketball recruiting - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Nick Weatherspoon, 4-star 2017 PG, has Buckeyes in top 10: Ohio State basketball recruiting
cleveland.com
There are a few in the class whom the Buckeyes have targeted. One has officially included Ohio State in his final list of schools. Nick Weatherspoon, a four-star point guard from Camden, Miss., released a new graphic on Thursday morning with his top 10 ...


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Ohio State Football: Meet Dante Booker, the Buckeyes' Next Freak Linebacker - Bleacher Report
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State Football: Meet Dante Booker, the Buckeyes' Next Freak Linebacker
Bleacher Report
Since Urban Meyer took over at Ohio State in 2012, the Buckeyes defense has been fueled an athletic freak at linebacker. From 2012-13, Ryan Shazier brought his rare blend of speed and power to Ohio State's outside linebacker position, leading the team ...


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Buckeyes give back at Goodwill Special Skills camp - NBC4i.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes give back at Goodwill Special Skills camp
NBC4i.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio – In just under a month, the Ohio State football players report to camp and begin workouts for the fall season. Today, the players took the field at The Woody Hayes Athletic Center to help instruct special needs athletes at the Goodwill ...
See Ohio State football's new Bosa era on display: It's freshman Nick in Joey's familiar No. 97cleveland.com

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Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett named to Davey O’Brien Award watch list
Alexis Chassen via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Another day, another award watch list for the Buckeye quarterback.

“Ohio State junior quarterback and two-time team captain J.T. Barrett is one of 30 quarterbacks named today to the Davey O'Brien Award watch list.”

- Ohio State Buckeyes


The award, presented by the Davey O'Brien Foundation, is the second watch list the quarterback has been added to ahead of the 2016 season — the first being for the Maxwell Award. The Davey O’Brien Award will announce 16 semifinalists on Nov. 10, and will select three finalists Nov. 22. The Award winner will be announced on Dec. 8 at The Home Depot College Football Awards.

Without a quarterback competition to muddle up the division of first-team snaps, consistency could lend well to another season full of school and conference records broken, and another run at the National Championship. Barrett is 15-2 as the starter for the Buckeyes, and is the clear starter heading into 2016. He stands just a few touchdowns, completions and percentage points away from upending several records held by both Braxton Miller and Troy Smith, and with two years of eligibility left, will almost certainly surpass them.

With some early Heisman talk as well, the junior quarterback is looking to add quite a bit of hardware to his trophy case come season end.

“...pairing Elliott with the Cowboys O-line will be an exciting thing for the Cowboys.”

- One.Cool.Customer, Blogging the Boys


The Dallas Cowboys don’t have a lot to be excited about offensively with the latest round of suspensions and aging quarterback, but they do have Buckeye Ezekiel Elliott. Already considered one of the top prospects for Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2016, Elliott projects to be the main target this fall.

As a three-down back, Elliott will shoulder most of the load and is projected by ESPN to have a 1,200-plus yard season — making him worth the fourth overall pick in the draft. His toughness will be tested as veteran rusher Darren McFadden broke his elbow over Memorial Day weekend and will be limited early on. And with a defense that has three starters facing suspensions to start the year, Elliott needs to do what he can to keep the ball moving and keep them on the sidelines as much as possible.

While most analysts are down about the overall offense for the Cowboys, no one is overlooking Elliott, whose name you can expect to hear a lot on Sundays this fall.


Fifteen new Buckeyes might be in the NFL, but that doesn’t stop them from coming back to campus when they need a good workout. With July being a relatively relaxing period in between offseason workouts and training camp, some players go on vacations or get married, and some go back to their alma mater to continue training. The extra time these young NFL players are putting in will only help develop and jettison their potential, and when they head to their first training camp, they’ll be well-conditioned and ready to go.

Vonn Bell already has a comfortable spot on his new team in New Orleans, but Powell, having signed as a undrafted free agent with the Seahawks, is still working for a roster spot. Training with someone who has already impressed during offseason workouts can’t be a bad thing for the safety/special team player as he gets ready to make a run for the final 53-man roster.


Powell, Bell and Grant weren’t the only ones on campus this week, with Braxton Miller, Cardale Jones and Jalin Marshall all getting in workouts at the Woody Hayes Athletic Facility into the wee-hours of the night. Route-running, foot work drills and even some THROWS by Braxton Miller were all part of the midnight workout. Joshua Perry was also spotted around the WHAC in the weight room during the week. No days off!

They may suit up for different teams now, but they are still brothers in Columbus and continue to work together and train together in their off time. They might not be friends on Sundays, but they’ll always cheer for the same team on Saturdays.

STICK TO SPORTS

• Nintendo is releasing a mini NES Classic Edition this November!
• Could people handle a Game of Throne app that resembles Pokemon Go?
• Note to self: Don’t jump a fence at the zoo in search of Pokemon...

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Just three Buckeyes included in Sports Illustrated Top 100 - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Just three Buckeyes included in Sports Illustrated Top 100
247Sports
McMillan: "The Buckeyes return only three starters on defense, but McMillan is a pretty good one around which to build. The versatile linebacker led Ohio State with 119 tackles last season in addition to four tackles for loss, five quarterback hurries ...
JT Barrett is sick of Buckeyes teammates playing Pokemon GoComcast SportsNet Chicago
JT Barrett has had enough of Pokemon, gamesESPN (blog)
Barrett, Beathard and Armstrong are Big Ten's top QBs entering 2016Today's U (blog)

all 8 news articles »

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JT Barrett is sick of Buckeyes teammates playing Pokemon Go - Comcast SportsNet Chicago
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


JT Barrett is sick of Buckeyes teammates playing Pokemon Go
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
J.T. Barrett doesn't care if Pikachu is on the 50-yard line. He wants his teammates to get back to work. The Ohio State quarterback starred in a video tweeted out by the Buckeyes on Thursday, in which he is tired of the Internet-fad shenanigans of ...
Just three Buckeyes included in Sports Illustrated Top 100247Sports

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Video: Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett is tired of Pokemon Go craze
Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor via Big Ten Network

Pokemon GO this, Pokemon GO that. The game, released earlier this month, has the world abuzz. It also has millions of players walking all over, everywhere, in hot pursuit of more than a hundred species of Pokemon.

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Biddle chat transcript: What position battles are at forefront? - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Biddle chat transcript: What position battles are at forefront?
247Sports
Instead of going into this season with an unproven redshirt freshman at quarterback, the Buckeyes are returning a player in Barrett who finished fifth for the Heisman during his only season as the full-time starter. QB is the most important position on ...


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Hackensack (NJ) Hudson Catholic
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/216439/jahvon-quinerly
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 170 lbs

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Wow, some marvelous golf going on today. Phil was back and better than ever with that 63. He almost drained that last putt for the record at 62. Long way to go but should be a good one.

Make it five future Buckeyes now pre-season All-Americans - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Make it five future Buckeyes now pre-season All-Americans
247Sports
It is very well known how good the Ohio State Buckeyes' 2017 recruiting class is. It is the country's No. 1 recruiting class in the 247Sports recruiting rankings. So it did not come as a big surprise that Ohio State has the most commitments on the Max ...
100 Teams in 100 Days: Bob Funk's Foot Bails Out Ohio State's 1965 TeamEleven Warriors

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Ohio State’s NFL rookies look to take the league by storm
Alexis Chassen via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


You could be hearing “THE Ohio State University” a lot more this fall.

The Buckeyes may have had an impressive showing in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, but those selected in later rounds still have a good chance of seeing playing time come the start of the regular season. The five non-first rounders with the greatest chance of making an impact their rookie season include three offense and two defense players.

It didn’t take long for several Ohio State players to make names for themselves with their new teams; with hard work and dedication, they are scoffing at any indication they won’t be successful at the next level.

Michael Thomas


The Saints are already excited for their new WR3. Thomas has impressed with his work ethic and commitment to his craft; quarterback Drew Brees liked the extra reps Thomas asked for after practice, and the extra time he spent learning at the facility.

The transition from college to the NFL can be tough with so much to learn; putting in the effort early on as a rookie not only earns you respect, but quickens the time between newbie and starter.

The chemistry between QB Brees and his new wideout has been likened to that of Marques Colston, which could mean big things for Thomas in New Orleans.

But as Thomas would likely tell you himself, “Shhhhhh”.

Vonn Bell


Thomas wasn’t the only Buckeye to head to the Saints, with Vonn Bell being picked up shortly after the wide receiver. Bell has impressed at the next level, not only with his “ball-hawking” abilities, but also his potential and commitment to special teams.

“To me, the thing that really stood out is his ability to play specials teams, and his ‘want to’ to play special teams,” Aaron Glenn, Saints secondary coach, said after rookie camp. “A lot of times that tells you a lot about a player. They’re a starter – how do they operate on special teams? He made a lot of good tackles on special teams. That says a lot about who he was, a special teams guy and a starter on defense.

It’s no surprise that someone coming from an Urban Meyer-coached team would feel strongly about the importance of special teams, but the rarity for starters wanting to put in the extra work and extra load on their bodies for the position is lauded in the NFL.

His defender skills won’t go to waste but you could see Bell as a starter right away in a special teams role.

Braxton Miller


The Texans didn’t hide their excitement for their latest wide out draft pick, with the highly regarded former quarterback being one of the wild cards of this years rookie class. With only one season at receiver under his belt, but the kind of athleticism most coaches dream about, his potential in the NFL has been somewhat hard to discern.

Texans head coach Bill O’Brien faced Miller and the Buckeyes back in 2012 and 2013 when he was the head coach during Penn State’s “transitional” years. Knowing the kind of competitor Miller is had to give the coach confidence taking the young talent in the third round of the draft, and noted soon thereafter they have a plan for Miller.


Miller may not be a starter when the regular season kicks off in early September, but he is sure to see some playing time and could contribute right away. As he gets some reps under his belt, he’ll be able to settle into a rhythm and really make a dent in the offensive roster, but will need some consistent success to build up his confidence at the next level.

Nick Vannett


One of the biggest steals of the draft will (predictably) be the tight end out of Ohio State. The Seahawks are already excited about the potential of the “Gronk-like” Buckeye; Vannett’s size is a big plus, but add to that his ability to protect the quarterback AND catch the ball, he’s looking at a good place to jump start his career in Seattle.

“He’s surprised us,’’ head coach Pete Carroll said after mini camp. “He has surprised us, We knew that he could catch the ball and all that, but he’s a very natural catcher. He shows the savvy and instincts that you hope a guy has. I know (quarterback) Russell (Wilson) has really clicked into him. He picked up on it and has already shown trust and working the ball his way. He’s exceeded our expectations a little bit in only a positive, great way for us.’’

Such high praise from a coach who knows first-hand the possible issues transitioning from college to the NFL could bring. The team is excited to get him in pads and see his blocking ability later in the summer, but for now is looking like the No. 2 tight end behind Luke Willson — Jimmy Graham is still rehabbing, but could wind up losing his backup role if the rookie continues to shine.

While Vannett might not be a starter right away, the Seahawks tend to play multiple tight ends, and could lend to the Buckeye contributing throughout the year.

Joshua Perry


The linebacker was not only drafted by the San Diego Chargers, but first-round pick and Ohio State teammate Joey Bosa was the one who announced the pick. The unique situation led to two Buckeye superstars landing on the same defense out west, and landed them as roommates when they first headed to camp.


Unsurprisingly, Perry stepped out into the community his first week in San Diego to learn how he can contribute off the field. As a fan favorite at Ohio State, he will undoubtedly win the hearts of Charger fans everywhere. Perry doesn’t want to limit his success to just that off the field, and looks to contribute early on as well.

Chargers linebackers coach Bob Babich spoke about how Perry can find success his rookie season, explaining, “So number one, he needs to make sure he does a good job on special teams. Then as a linebacker, there is a lot that has been thrown at him this spring as far as scheme. He is doing just fine, but the longer he is in the scheme, the better player he’ll become. All we want to do in the linebacker room is play fast. If you make a mistake, we talk about making it full speed. That is all we are trying to do, and Joshua is doing a good job.”

Perry is one of the selfless players who is willing to do whatever is needed to help the team, whether it be on special teams or defense. As he gets more adjusted to his new schemes and teammates, he’s sure to find just as much success as he had in college.

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BTN Big 10K Selects Kyle Schwarber as Grand Marshal
BTN Communications via Big Ten Network

The Big Ten Network today announced Chicago Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber as the grand marshal of the BTN Big 10K. Schwarber will join thousands of Big Ten fans and runners on Aug. 6, 2016, for 10K and 5K runs, as well as a football-themed tailgate party afterwards. “It will be a blast to relive my Big Ten days at one of Chicago’s best summer tailgates,” said Schwarber, who was an All-American baseball player at Indiana University. “I can’t wait to see Big Ten and Cubs fans hit the city streets to represent their schools and support Special Olympics Chicago.” Schwarber

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Ohio State's 'All-Century' team: Best lineup since 2000 - ESPN (blog)
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State's 'All-Century' team: Best lineup since 2000
ESPN (blog)
4 overall NFL draft pick was also instrumental in the Buckeyes' 2014 national championship run. RB Chris Wells: He's fifth all-time in OSU career rushing yards, and only Elliott rushed for more since 2000. WR Michael Jenkins: He holds the school record ...


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Can Indiana beat Ohio State football? A 3 percent chance the Buckeyes could lose - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Can Indiana beat Ohio State football? A 3 percent chance the Buckeyes could lose
cleveland.com
Ohio State will host Rutgers the week before hosting Indiana. Chances to beat Ohio State: 3 percent. Last year, we gave Indiana a four percent chance to beat the Buckeyes in Bloomington. They nearly did. Ohio State had to defend an end zone throw as ...
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Nick Weatherspoon, 4-star 2017 PG, has Buckeyes in top 10: Ohio State basketball recruiting - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Nick Weatherspoon, 4-star 2017 PG, has Buckeyes in top 10: Ohio State basketball recruiting
cleveland.com
There are a few in the class whom the Buckeyes have targeted. One has officially included Ohio State in his final list of schools. Nick Weatherspoon, a four-star point guard from Camden, Miss., released a new graphic on Thursday morning with his top 10 ...
4-star TE sets visit to Ohio StateLand-Grant Holy Land

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Pre-Fall Outlook: Ohio State “Slobs”
Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


As I wrote about in February, one of the major question marks for the 2016 Ohio State offense will be the offensive line. They lose three starters and must turn to young, albeit highly touted, student athletes to step in and protect quarterback J.T. Barrett. After spending their entire Buckeye career learning from Ed Warriner, the 2016 version of “The Slobs” will be coached by Greg Studrawa who coached at Ohio State as a GA in 1997 and was with Coach Meyer in Bowling Green. Studrawa coached the offensive line at Louisiana State University from 2007-2013 and then at Maryland from 2014 to 2015.

Since February, we have found out one of those three open starting spots were filled when Coach Meyer named Jamarco Jones as the starting left tackle. He joins returning starters Pat Elflein and Billy Price as the only known starters on the offensive line.

Jones, a junior, has spent his first three seasons backing up Taylor Decker and will finally get his shot to shine. The lone senior, Pat Elflein will move from the guard position over to


Elflein and Co. will look to open holes for Barrett and the running backs.


center. As a guard, Elflein was a two-time first team All-Big Ten winner. At right guard, the Buckeyes will be in good hands with junior Billy Price returning to team up with Elflein and open some running lanes. Last year, Price earned third team All-Big Ten honors.

With those three set to anchor the line, that leaves the left guard and right tackle position open for competition by at least six players. At right tackle, the clubhouse leader is Isaiah Prince who was on the verge of being named the starter at right tackle by Coach Meyer. I think the only reason why he hasn’t been named the starter is because the team wanted to see what JUCO transfer Malcolm Pridgeon brought to the table when he enrolled this summer.

Pridgeon is the biggest wild-card here as he could shake things up quite a bit. A five-star recruit and a massive human being at 6’8” and 285 pounds, Pridgeon may take control of the right tackle position in fall camp and cause some dominoes to move around such as Jones or Prince moving to


Ho will Pridgeon play into the offensive line rotation?


guard.

At left guard, it is an absolute crap shoot on who is going to start. There are five guys who could realistically start here. The first two are Jones and Prince who could be displaced by Pridgeon at one of the tackle positions. If one of them is moved, I would place bets on it being Jones simply because of his size playing better in the middle.

The other three competing for the starting job are true freshman Michael Jordan, redshirt sophomore Demetrius Knox, and redshirt freshman Matt Burrell. Jordan took almost all of the starting team reps during spring practice but I am a little hesitant and think it may have been nothing more than some psychological warfare being played by the staff to get Knox and Burrell into gear.

Knox was a highly touted guard coming out of Texas where he was ranked as the number two guard in high school. Not to be out done, Burrell was also a highly rated prospect coming out of Virginia. He was a consensus four-star recruit and Top-100 player by all recruiting services. Jordan was also a four-star recruit out of Michigan. All three of these guys will be in a heated battle to start on the new look offensive line and I think the coaching staff would feel comfortable with any of the trio.

Other players to keep an eye on in the fall to make moves are junior Evan Lisle (guard) and sophomores Brady Taylor (center) and Kyle Trout (tackle). Anyone of those three could make major strides which could shake up the offensive line and move people around. To read about more of the younger guys, go back and check out my article from February.

Pre-Spring Predicted Depth Chart Pre-Fall Predicted Depth Chart
LT Malcolm Pridgeon
Isaiah Prince
Jamarco Jones
Malcolm Pridgeon
LG Billy Price
Matt Burrell
Demetrius Knox
Evan Lisle
C Pat Elflein
Billy Price
Pat Elflein
Brady Taylor
RG Demetrius Knox
Evan Lisle
Billy Price
Matt Burrell
RT Jamarco Jones
Isaiah Prince
Isaiah Prince
Malcolm Pridgeon

The biggest change was sliding Prince into the starting offensive line. I think Pridgeon can be very good but Prince did a heck of a job in spring camp and I think Barrett feels comfortable with Jones and Prince as the bookends to the line. It is just hard to anoint Pridgeon as a starter based off of some JUCO tapes. If he blows away the staff, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jones bumped inside and taking the LG job from Knox/Jordan/Burrell.

The post Pre-Fall Outlook: Ohio State “Slobs” appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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4-star TE sets visit to Ohio State
Bret Favachio via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


A top flight TE sets his visit schedule, while a couple other recruits are visiting today

Ruckert to attend FNL


With Ohio State’s Friday Night Light’s quickly approaching, more and more visitors will continue to announce their presence for the annual event at Ohio Stadium and sure enough, on Wednesday a new name popped up.

Tight end Jeremy Ruckert ( Lindenhurst, NY / Lindenhurst Senior), a 6-foot-5, 220-pounder, revealed on his Twitter account that he will make a host of visits throughout the next two weeks and one of those stops will be to Columbus for this months FNL event.


Ruckert is currently graded as a four-star prospect and the 111th overall player in the 2018 recruiting cycle. The Empire State standout is also slotted as the 7th best TE in the country and the second best player from the state of New York.

As things stand now, Ruckert has already received an offer from Ohio State. So, it’s possible that he simple makes the trip just to get a feel for the coaching staff and enjoy the atmosphere that will almost certainly be an impressive one per usual. However, Ruckert could also compete in hopes to show the coaches that he should be the Buckeyes No. 1 TE on the board.

It’s (un)official visiting time!


As Meyer’s staff dishes out an offer, they field unofficial visits from running back T.J. Pledger (West Hills, CA / Chaminade) and cornerback Brendan Radley-Hiles (Calabasas, CA / Calabasas).

Both are ranked at No.7 at their respective positions as well as being top 15 players from the state of California.

On Twitter, both showed Buckeye nation some love.


Even though both Pledger and Radley-Hiles are members of the 2018 class, that didn’t stop Buckeye hypeman (and 2017 class commit) Tate Martell from getting BuckeyeNation amped for their visits.

Buckeye basketball sends out an offer


The men’s basketball program has entered in the sweepstakes for point guard Jahvon Quinerly (Jersey City, NJ / Hudson Catholic). The 6-foot-0, 170-pounder now has 16 offers for his commitment in the 2018 class.

Currently, the Buckeyes have one hard commitment in the 2018 round courtesy of Dane Goodwin (Columbus, OH / Upper Arlington). Getting Quinerly out of the Jersey Area would be huge get. However, the likes of St. John’s, Connecticut, Villanova and Seton Hall are all competing for the top 10 PG’s commitment, according to 247Sports.

As Quinerly’s recruiting process heats up, we’ll have you covered.

An update on Lindsey from the recruiting experts


In yesterday’s edition of State Secrets, you read about 2017 wide receiver Tyjon Lindsey (Corona, CA / Centennial) confirming his attendance for FNL. Now, there is another status update on the 5-foot-9 speedster.

On Wednesday, both Josh Newberg and Brian Stumpf of 247Sports.com predicted that the five-star prospect and Top 5 WR will choose the Scarlet and Gray when it’s all said and done.

Make no mistake, Lindsey is a major target for the Buckeyes at a position of need. Right now, Ohio State has yet to pick up a commitment from any WR in this year’s class but the good news is that two respected recruiting analysts feel that Lindsey will be one to ultimately wind up a Buckeye - at least at this point.

One big key for Ohio State in this battle is 2017 quarterback Tate Martell (Las Vegas, NV / Bishop Gorman). The Buckeye commit was former teammates with Lindsey at Bishop Gorman and is undoubtedly in his ear about joining him in Columbus in hopes of forming a dynamic QB-WR duo for Head Coach Urban Meyer and Ohio State.

If Ohio State can ultimately seal the deal with Lindsey, it would instantly widen the gap for the top recruiting class in the country. Lindsey, as mentioned above is a five-star prospect and the 30th best player in this year’s class.

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