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- Thread starter Buckin' A
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RugbyBuck
Our church has no bells.
I read somewhere yesterday that Kerr had two or three plays at MLB where he flat stood the ball carrier up in the hole. We have to have that consistently to complement our speed on the corners and in coverage and I think we'll get it out of Kerr and MDA. Surely, no one can really see us starting Animal, Jr. at MLB this year over those two.
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crazybuckfan40
Head Coach
Yep he met Beanie in the hole twice and both times Beanie didnt go forward.
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our depth this year is nothing like last year. In 05, we had 3 returning starters and two other standouts (mDa & Free) that were injured. This year we have a roster full of inexperienced linebackers.
I don't have a quote, but I believe Heacock or someone talked about how he felt we could rotate about 5 guys at LB and not drop off at all.
kerr was very solid, not outstanding. when was the last time mDa stayed healthy? Both are good possibilities, but neither seems unbeatable like Freeman.
Laurinaitis was also impressive. If Terry continues to come on strong, the argument might become 'how can you keep Animal on the sidelines'?
I think it's too early to tell. What was apparent at the scrimmage is that we have a lot of talent in Terry, Laurinaitis, Homan, Kerr, & Freeman.
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Get used to hearing the words "Ohio State linebackers" and "reload" a lot on TV and radio this fall.
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BN $ (Biddle)
4/11
Dave Biddle does a good job interviewing Coach Beckman about the secondary. Antonio Smith, Malcolm Jenkins, Jamario O’Neal and Nick Patterson would be the current "starters" with Anderson Russell as the nickel back.
4/11
Dave Biddle does a good job interviewing Coach Beckman about the secondary. Antonio Smith, Malcolm Jenkins, Jamario O’Neal and Nick Patterson would be the current "starters" with Anderson Russell as the nickel back.
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Talk about a youth movement in the secondary. Three sophs (Jenkins, O'Neal, Patterson) and three redshirt frosh (Russell, Amos, Washington). Throw in the four true freshman (Coleman, Chekwa, Gant, Schwartz), and you've got some real competition over the next several years. I'm not even going to go into who we are recruiting. Now, one scrimmage does not make a season, and there will be some growing pains, but you have to like the direction that these guys are headed in.
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Times Recorder
4/12
No-names hope to post big games for OSU defense
By JON SPENCER
News Journal
<!-- ARTICLE TEXT --> <!--ARTICLE TEXT--> COLUMBUS -- If Ohio State's first football scrimmage of the spring is any indication, a printed roster will be cherished more than a close parking space at the annual Scarlet and Gray game next week.
Three of the defensive standouts were guys thought to be hiding in the witness protection program: Anderson Russell, Alex Barrow and Andre Amos. And those are just the strange faces whose first names start with A.
One of the elder statesmen on that side of the ball is third-year sophomore linebacker Marcus Freeman. And he didn't even play last season because of an injury.
"A big thing is we're all coming in together," said Freeman, speaking for a kiddie corps expected to fill most of the nine vacancies on defense. "We're all going to be young and inexperienced, so we'll have to lean on one another."Surprisingly, the new-look, no-name defense upstaged a veteran offense in the scrimmage, forcing five turnovers to win back the scarlet jerseys for the first time in three years. The 69-68 outcome was decided when a 58-yard field goal attempt by first-team kicker Ryan Pretorius was blocked on the final play.
"These kids are competitive; I thought the hitting and enthusiasm (on defense) was good," coach Jim Tressel said. "But real confidence happens over time. Perhaps we made a small step in that regard. These kids want to be good and uphold the tradition of excellent Ohio State defense."
It won't be easy. The Buckeyes led the nation in run defense last season and ranked fifth in total defense en route to a share of the Big Ten title and a convincing 34-20 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.
Gone from that starting unit is the entire back seven, led by All-American linebacker A.J. Hawk and safeties Nate Salley and Donte Whitner. All seven appear bound for the NFL.
Tackle tandem Quinn Pitcock and David Patterson represent the only holdovers.
"The opportunity is there," Vernon Gholston, a sophomore end out of Detroit Cass Tech, said. "You don't like to lose nine guys; you'd like to have some experience in there, but the talent is still here to roll right through with a new group.
"The whole defense (from last year) left us with what it takes to be leaders, competitive on the field and knowing how to work."
Barrow, a sophomore end out of Dublin Coffman, recovered a fumble caused when veteran end Jay Richardson hit quarterback Troy Smith. The line applied a good pass rush throughout the scrimmage, benefitting from the absence up front of offensive starters Doug Datish and Kirk Barton.
"We're thirsty; we're all fighting for spots and trying to get in good with the coaches," Barrow said. "We got fired up, maybe too fired up sometimes. (The defensive was flagged for excessive celebration after cornerback Mike Roberts leveled wideout Brian Hartline.) But it was good to see us compete. We got to see which guys had some fight in them.
"We've just got to figure out who our best guys are, work hard through the off-season, and I think we've got an opportunity to be as good as last year."
Russell, a redshirt freshman listed behind Jamario O'Neal at strong safety, stripped freshman tailback Chris Wells of the ball and recovered the fumble. Amos, a redshirt freshman cornerback, made one of the two interceptions. Freshman linebacker Ross Homan, an early enrollee out of Coldwater, had the other, both thrown by Rob Schoenhoft.
Homan and fellow linebacker Larry Grant, the junior college defensive player of the year out of Community College of San Francisco, made an impression on Smth.
"It's the presence he brings to the field," Smith said of the 6-3, 225-pound Grant. "He has a linebacker's attitude that I think we're going to need. Ross shows glimpses of A.J. There's a quiet presence about him and he's always around the ball, making something happen."
Freeman, John Kerr and James Laurinatis started at linebacker in the scrimmage, but Homan, Grant, Curtis Terry, Chad Hoobler and Austin Spitler were part of the rotation.
It might take that kind of depth to offset the loss of Hawk and sidekicks Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel. They were regarded in many circles as the nation's No. 1 linebacking crew.
"I don't think you can compare us to last year's group by any means," Freeman said. "We're not trying to be them, because we can't. We just want to jell as a defense as much as we can."
4/12
No-names hope to post big games for OSU defense
By JON SPENCER
News Journal
<!-- ARTICLE TEXT --> <!--ARTICLE TEXT--> COLUMBUS -- If Ohio State's first football scrimmage of the spring is any indication, a printed roster will be cherished more than a close parking space at the annual Scarlet and Gray game next week.
Three of the defensive standouts were guys thought to be hiding in the witness protection program: Anderson Russell, Alex Barrow and Andre Amos. And those are just the strange faces whose first names start with A.
One of the elder statesmen on that side of the ball is third-year sophomore linebacker Marcus Freeman. And he didn't even play last season because of an injury.
"A big thing is we're all coming in together," said Freeman, speaking for a kiddie corps expected to fill most of the nine vacancies on defense. "We're all going to be young and inexperienced, so we'll have to lean on one another."Surprisingly, the new-look, no-name defense upstaged a veteran offense in the scrimmage, forcing five turnovers to win back the scarlet jerseys for the first time in three years. The 69-68 outcome was decided when a 58-yard field goal attempt by first-team kicker Ryan Pretorius was blocked on the final play.
"These kids are competitive; I thought the hitting and enthusiasm (on defense) was good," coach Jim Tressel said. "But real confidence happens over time. Perhaps we made a small step in that regard. These kids want to be good and uphold the tradition of excellent Ohio State defense."
It won't be easy. The Buckeyes led the nation in run defense last season and ranked fifth in total defense en route to a share of the Big Ten title and a convincing 34-20 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.
Gone from that starting unit is the entire back seven, led by All-American linebacker A.J. Hawk and safeties Nate Salley and Donte Whitner. All seven appear bound for the NFL.
Tackle tandem Quinn Pitcock and David Patterson represent the only holdovers.
"The opportunity is there," Vernon Gholston, a sophomore end out of Detroit Cass Tech, said. "You don't like to lose nine guys; you'd like to have some experience in there, but the talent is still here to roll right through with a new group.
"The whole defense (from last year) left us with what it takes to be leaders, competitive on the field and knowing how to work."
Barrow, a sophomore end out of Dublin Coffman, recovered a fumble caused when veteran end Jay Richardson hit quarterback Troy Smith. The line applied a good pass rush throughout the scrimmage, benefitting from the absence up front of offensive starters Doug Datish and Kirk Barton.
"We're thirsty; we're all fighting for spots and trying to get in good with the coaches," Barrow said. "We got fired up, maybe too fired up sometimes. (The defensive was flagged for excessive celebration after cornerback Mike Roberts leveled wideout Brian Hartline.) But it was good to see us compete. We got to see which guys had some fight in them.
"We've just got to figure out who our best guys are, work hard through the off-season, and I think we've got an opportunity to be as good as last year."
Russell, a redshirt freshman listed behind Jamario O'Neal at strong safety, stripped freshman tailback Chris Wells of the ball and recovered the fumble. Amos, a redshirt freshman cornerback, made one of the two interceptions. Freshman linebacker Ross Homan, an early enrollee out of Coldwater, had the other, both thrown by Rob Schoenhoft.
Homan and fellow linebacker Larry Grant, the junior college defensive player of the year out of Community College of San Francisco, made an impression on Smth.
"It's the presence he brings to the field," Smith said of the 6-3, 225-pound Grant. "He has a linebacker's attitude that I think we're going to need. Ross shows glimpses of A.J. There's a quiet presence about him and he's always around the ball, making something happen."
Freeman, John Kerr and James Laurinatis started at linebacker in the scrimmage, but Homan, Grant, Curtis Terry, Chad Hoobler and Austin Spitler were part of the rotation.
It might take that kind of depth to offset the loss of Hawk and sidekicks Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel. They were regarded in many circles as the nation's No. 1 linebacking crew.
"I don't think you can compare us to last year's group by any means," Freeman said. "We're not trying to be them, because we can't. We just want to jell as a defense as much as we can."
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Cleveland PD
4/12
OSU FOOTBALL
Secondary primary for Bucks
Wednesday, April 12, 2006 Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus -- Antonio Smith walked on at Ohio State with an academic scholarship. He's a mechanical engineering major who has been a Buckeye for four seasons, along the way establishing himself as a special teams demon in three seasons on the field.
Right now, he's a starting cornerback. A starting cornerback who switched back from safety, who has never really played defense and who qualifies -- in the secondary Ohio State will send out there in the fall -- as a savvy veteran.
The other starting corner, Malcolm Jenkins, started four times as a freshman last season, and played key downs as the nickelback. But no one else has ever started on defense -- not sophomore safeties Jamario O'Neal from Glenville High or Nick Patterson, nor freshman nickelback Anderson Russell.
The changes have made for an interesting spring for safeties coach Paul Haynes and cornerbacks coach Tim Boeckman. But the coaches say they're having a jolly old time teaching. Athletically, they say this secondary matches up with seniors Tyler Everett and Nate Salley and juniors Donte Whitner and Ashton Youboty, who both declared for the NFL draft a year early and could be first-round picks.
"I think they're going to be great," Haynes said Tuesday after the Buckeyes completed their eighth practice of the spring, with seven remaining. "Across the board, they're strong, they're physically impressive and they can all run."
Though not set in stone, the starters have already done the right things to earn their spots.
Jenkins: The only player with a starting spot waiting for him in the secondary. "He's been in the fire," Boeckman said. "To jump in there as an 18-year-old freshman, the experience he gained against Texas, to start against Penn State . . . he knows what he's doing."
Smith: He just earned his first football scholarship starting with spring quarter, and now he's a starter and had the best performance in the jersey scrimmage among the corners. "He's one of those kids that does everything right, on and off the field," Boeckman said. at anybody else would have."
O'Neal: It's natural to want to compare him to Whitner, two Glenville grads playing the same position. That's not fair yet. "Their energy is a little bit the same, but Donte's was a lot higher," Haynes said. "But he's playing right, which he wasn't even in bowl practice. So he's come a long way with doing the right things and being in the right spots."
Patterson: He jumped over more experienced senior Brandon Mitchell. "Brandon has to be more productive and we've got to see it if he wants to play," Haynes said. "Nick had a great winter workout. He competed his butt off and was always first in line and communicated well and I think he deserves it."
Russell: O'Neal's backup at strong safety has the cover skills to come in as the nickelback, a spot that's like a 12th starter in Ohio State's defense. "He will bring us [Whitner's] energy," Haynes said. "He plays 100 miles per hour, he just has to get it under control."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-4479
4/12
OSU FOOTBALL
Secondary primary for Bucks
Wednesday, April 12, 2006 Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus -- Antonio Smith walked on at Ohio State with an academic scholarship. He's a mechanical engineering major who has been a Buckeye for four seasons, along the way establishing himself as a special teams demon in three seasons on the field.
Right now, he's a starting cornerback. A starting cornerback who switched back from safety, who has never really played defense and who qualifies -- in the secondary Ohio State will send out there in the fall -- as a savvy veteran.
The other starting corner, Malcolm Jenkins, started four times as a freshman last season, and played key downs as the nickelback. But no one else has ever started on defense -- not sophomore safeties Jamario O'Neal from Glenville High or Nick Patterson, nor freshman nickelback Anderson Russell.
The changes have made for an interesting spring for safeties coach Paul Haynes and cornerbacks coach Tim Boeckman. But the coaches say they're having a jolly old time teaching. Athletically, they say this secondary matches up with seniors Tyler Everett and Nate Salley and juniors Donte Whitner and Ashton Youboty, who both declared for the NFL draft a year early and could be first-round picks.
"I think they're going to be great," Haynes said Tuesday after the Buckeyes completed their eighth practice of the spring, with seven remaining. "Across the board, they're strong, they're physically impressive and they can all run."
Though not set in stone, the starters have already done the right things to earn their spots.
Jenkins: The only player with a starting spot waiting for him in the secondary. "He's been in the fire," Boeckman said. "To jump in there as an 18-year-old freshman, the experience he gained against Texas, to start against Penn State . . . he knows what he's doing."
Smith: He just earned his first football scholarship starting with spring quarter, and now he's a starter and had the best performance in the jersey scrimmage among the corners. "He's one of those kids that does everything right, on and off the field," Boeckman said. at anybody else would have."
O'Neal: It's natural to want to compare him to Whitner, two Glenville grads playing the same position. That's not fair yet. "Their energy is a little bit the same, but Donte's was a lot higher," Haynes said. "But he's playing right, which he wasn't even in bowl practice. So he's come a long way with doing the right things and being in the right spots."
Patterson: He jumped over more experienced senior Brandon Mitchell. "Brandon has to be more productive and we've got to see it if he wants to play," Haynes said. "Nick had a great winter workout. He competed his butt off and was always first in line and communicated well and I think he deserves it."
Russell: O'Neal's backup at strong safety has the cover skills to come in as the nickelback, a spot that's like a 12th starter in Ohio State's defense. "He will bring us [Whitner's] energy," Haynes said. "He plays 100 miles per hour, he just has to get it under control."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-4479
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Smith has to be the biggest suprise in the spring so far. Its a great story of a former walk-on who has busted his but to get his opportunity and now he has a chance at starting.....great stuff.
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BuckeyeRob
Yeah, whatever...
With all due respect to hard work and over acheiving, this is OHIO STATE and no matter how you want to color it, its NOT good when a walk on is listed as a starter in the secondary.
An old adage says that the further from the line of scrimage your position plays the easier it is for youth to play the position. Im sorry but when I read that a former walk on has beat out SCHOLARSHIP players Im GRAVELY concerned about the secondary.
Im not meaning this to come across as a slam on anyone except that you have to question the recruiting if a SENIOR walk on is better than anyone recruited in the last 3 recruiting classes especially given the number of DB's OSU has recruited over that period of time. You shouldnt miss, that bad.
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BuckBackHome
Wolverine is largest member of weasel family
Yeah, you would never want a walk-on at a critical position like WR. Someone like Terry Glenn would be terrible.
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Fungo Squiggly
Mortal enemy of all things Bucky
Yahoo Pickem Champ
Former Game Champion
'18 BPCFFB II Champ
'18 Keeper League Champ
Or....perhaps Antonio Smith has turned out to be a much better player than anyone anticipated and he is outplaying some very good scholarship players.
No one was complaining when Terry Glenn was a standout WR here. Chad Cacchio was another very good walk-on. It's unusual, but not unheard of, for a walk-on to be better than a scholarship player.
*step AWAY from the ledge* :p
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After watching Jenkins last year and realizing his talent, hearing the praise heading the way of Amos and Coleman, and knowing that tOSU has two of the best secondary coaches in the nation guiding the unit, to hear Coach Beckman say Smith was the most impressive of the group is enough for me.
Walk on or not, if the kid can play, the kid can play. Why assume that there were a number of misses in recruiting the secondary as opposed to assuming there was one miss...Antonio Smith.
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