• New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.

2007 tOSU Football Outlook

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
Best Buckeye

Best Buckeye

Pretending I'm a pleasant person is exhausting.
Staff member
iF there is already a thread where this fits move it please. I couldn't find anything in search.
For those of you who are already wondering about next year here is an excerpt from ozone
http://ohiostate.scout.com/2/584043.html

For better or worse next year?...Here?s the challenge: Every playing position counts, and (as all Zen masters know) you can only get better or worse as you go. You can never stay the same. So, let?s look at next year?s Buckeye football lineup and decide how we will come out.
Look at each of the positions and tell me: ?better or worse?. By my rules, anyone that returns is always better in the JT system (particularly seniors). Just look at the miracles we know as Antonio Smith and Jay Richardson and Brandon Mitchell. Here?s my summary. Feel free to agree or (gulp!) disagree.
Running Backs: Better; I say Pittman comes back and Beanie will be twice as good as what we?ve seen to date; and Maurice Wells is a year older and there is new grist for the mill with both Brandon Saine and Boom Herron.
Fullback: Better; Don?t get upset, yet! Stan White is terrific. But, as a pure blocker, the era of Aram is about to unfold. Plus, Dionte Johnson is not exactly chopped liver?
Quarterback: Worse; No question here. We could have Art Schlichter and Joe Germaine both coming back in one uniform and no one would be better than Troy Smith.
Tight Ends: Better; Nicol is back and Ballard is older and Andy Miller is just coming to the party.
Wide Receivers: Better; That?s right. I know that Teddy Ginn will be ?Teddy Gone?, but ? give me a break here, people: Gonzalez and Robiskie and Small and Hartline and Lyons and Dukes?lots of great route runners with great hands and great speed. Just great?
Offensive line: Better; This could go either way, I admit. But Barton and Boone and Rehring are back and I project Cordle to live up to high expectations at center. That means three line positions will be better and one maybe slightly worse. How about the Downing slot? Either Person or Skinner or Mitchum OR Connor Smith will step up?
Defensive Ends: Better; The Bucks lose Jay Richardson, who has been special. But coming back bigger and stronger, are Vernon Gholston, Lawrence Wilson and Robert Rose. Plus the new recruits?
Defensive Tackles: Worse; Like the Troy Smith explanation, anyone that replaces Quinn Pitcock is worse. Losing David Patterson makes it double-worse. That said, watch out for Todd Denlinger?
Linebackers: Better; Easy here because we lose ?part-time starter? John Kerr and the next seven are all back! Bigger and faster and adding Thaddeus Gibson and Ty Moeller to the mix.
Safeties: Better; Mitchell is gone and he was a steadying influence back there. YET?Anderson Russell and Jamario are both future NFL talents. And they are backed by Aaron Gant, Nick Patterson and Grant Schwartz PLUS the advent of Clifford and Oliver. All in all, that?s better.
Cornerbacks: Better; A no-brainer. Over-achiever Antonio Smith is gone (and God bless?), but the ?other? starters are back in Washington and Jenkins and both Amos and Coleman come back experienced. That might be better than anyone!
Kickers: Better; They are all back: Trapasso, Pettrey and Pretorious.
So, scoreboard? That?s only two positions where the team will be worse. And a whole lot of places where the Bucks will be better. Can the defense be better overall? As Damon Runyon liked to say: ?The test doesn?t always go to the strong and the race doesn?t always
 
Fullback: Better; Don?t get upset, yet! Stan White is terrific. But, as a pure blocker, the era of Aram is about to unfold. Plus, Dionte Johnson is not exactly chopped liver?
Click to expand...
Shades of WeAreSC.com, anyone?
Wide Receivers: Better; That?s right. I know that Teddy Ginn will be ?Teddy Gone?, but ? give me a break here, people: Gonzalez and Robiskie and Small and Hartline and Lyons and Dukes?lots of great route runners with great hands and great speed. Just great?
Click to expand...
Sorry mr. bucknuts, Lyons does not possess great speed, nor does Dukes have great hands. Will Gonzo be back?
Offensive line: Better; This could go either way, I admit. But Barton and Boone and Rehring are back and I project Cordle to live up to high expectations at center. That means three line positions will be better and one maybe slightly worse. How about the Downing slot? Either Person or Skinner or Mitchum OR Connor Smith will step up?
Click to expand...
Isn't cordle still 3rd string?
Defensive Tackles: Worse; Like the Troy Smith explanation, anyone that replaces Quinn Pitcock is worse. Losing David Patterson makes it double-worse. That said, watch out for Todd Denlinger?
Click to expand...
#3 DT Joel Penton is gone as well. Hopefully our converted DE's have a big offseason
Safeties: Better; Mitchell is gone and he was a steadying influence back there. YET?Anderson Russell and Jamario are both future NFL talents. And they are backed by Aaron Gant, Nick Patterson and Grant Schwartz PLUS the advent of Clifford and Oliver. All in all, that?s better.
Click to expand...
Will the new guys set up the D as well as Mitchell?
 
Upvote 0
jwinslow;647625; said:
Isn't cordle still 3rd string??
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what the depth chart says, but he certainly has been coming in as the backup to Datish...and has gotten a lot of forward push, from my seat in A deck it looked like he blew his guy out of the way on Zwick's TD
Edit: Just saw a highlight vid, he didn't blow anyone out on the Zwick sneak, because Minnesota oddly enough didn't line anyone up over center...that's certainly some terrible defensive call
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
jwinslow;647625; said:
Shades of WeAreSC.com, anyone?
Sorry mr. bucknuts, Lyons does not possess great speed, nor does Dukes have great hands.
Will Gonzo be back?Isn't cordle still 3rd string?#3 DT Joel Penton is gone as well.
Hopefully our converted DE's have a big offseason
Will the new guys set up the D as well as Mitchell?
Click to expand...

If Gonzo comes back, and I think he will, we will be just as good at WR, maybe a tad less explosive. Not counting on Dukes or Lyons, but on Robo and Hartline (and Small)

Denlinger has played great so far and will be a stud, Worthington looks very good as well. Abdallah has been the disappointment so far, but has 2 years left to improve. Don't forget about Larimore, either. He will contribute and be in the rotation next year. We won't be as dominant, but wwe son't be "bad" by any stretch of the imagination.

Defensive backfield will be better next year, for sure, with all the experience gained this year by the young guys.

Bottom line: '07 Offense: Running game better, passing game worse (better running game makes it easier on passing game, though)

'07 Defense: DOMINANT - just punt on first down to avoid embarrassment/injury
 
Upvote 0
First he forgot Skinner. He is going to move into that guard spot IMO.

As for WR you don't lose Teddy Ginn and get better. That is a joke and a half.

I agree with him about safties as long as Russell comes back at 100% and can make the calls.

I also think he is discrediting the lose of A Smith a little too much. He has been like a 3 lb out there in the nickel package.

I do agree tho if the D-line can move guys around and find a way to get pressure on the QB we will be a very dominant Defense.

As for O you don't lose Troy Smith and Teddy Ginn and still be close to where you were.
 
Upvote 0
as far as whether the receivers will be better, worse, or just as good; i don't think it matters. our receivers will still be extremely potent. losing ginn, we'll be less athletic but just as reliable. from what i've seen from robiskie and hartline, they have true hands with exceptional ability after the catch. robiskie knows his position in-and-out, and hartline has such savvy field awareness. hartline reminds me of gonzo: each knows where the defenders are and each finds open seams. if we believe ginn sr. (and why shouldn't we?), small will develop into a speed threat somewhat like jr. has. i have no reservations about next year's receiving corps. well, the only reservation i have is not direct: quarterback's ability to give them the ball.

i agree that next year's season largely hinges on two positions: quarterback and defensive line. the defensive line worries me less (no offense to this year's) because the pressure from the ends will be immense, and the linebackers will plug holes. i'm looking forward to seeing what larimore offers.

next year will be smashmouth football. our offense is going to be saying, "we're going to run; you can't stop us." our defense is going to be saying, "get some more physical therapists."
 
Upvote 0
Best Buckeye;647608; said:
Quarterback: Worse; No question here. We could have Art Schlichter and Joe Germaine both coming back in one uniform and no one would be better than Troy Smith.

So, scoreboard? That?s only two positions where the team will be worse. And a whole lot of places where the Bucks will be better. Can the defense be better overall? As Damon Runyon liked to say: ?The test doesn?t always go to the strong and the race doesn?t always
Click to expand...

I agree that the offense will be worse at this position. But that is a very key position. They don't make special rules to protect quarterbacks for nothing. I think that the transfer of Ohio State's success from 2006 to 2007 will depend largely on how next years quarterback will do. Whether it is Boeckman or Schoenhoft or Henton - whoever it is needs to be another Craig Krenzel. He can't be expected by us, the team, the coaches, or himself to actually win any games. But he also can't make mistakes.

I think that the 2007 quarterback will hear some boos. Many fans are spoiled by having Troy Smith. You never want to be the guy AFTER the legend. You want to be the guy who follows the guy who follows the legend. If next year's quarterback can just hang in there, and not make too many mistakes, Ohio State will be in a BCS bowl game, possibly with an attempt to repeat as national champions.
 
Upvote 0
crazybuckfan40;647654; said:
First he forgot Skinner. He is going to move into that guard spot IMO.

I also think he is discrediting the lose of A Smith a little too much. He has been like a 3 lb out there in the nickel package.
Click to expand...

I think that Skinner stays at right tackle and starts there in his final year of 2008. He looked a lot like Schafer earlier in his career playing everywhere on the line, but seems to be settled at RT. IMO, Person beats out Mitchum for the guard spot next year.

Anyone know what spots Browning, Smith, and Kerr are practicing at?

I also have high hopes for the d-backfield, as long as they can find a leader to make the calls. I love Antonio Smith, but I think Washington, Amos, and Coleman can take their games to the next level in 2007.
 
Upvote 0
The good thing is that this year, we have been so incredibly dominant. We might be worse and still be able to win the NC.

The question becomes, who else will be better next year?

In regular season, our first 8 games are not against really big teams.

Penn State: AM will probably be improved, as will the OL. The D will still be strong and we play in Happey Valley. But probably by this time, our new QB will be settled.
Wisconsin: New QB. Great D. OL will lose that left tackle (what's his name), but will be able to sustain excellence with Oglesby and (probably) Clay, not to mention returner PJ Hill.
scUM: Assuming Henne and Hart return, they will have 4th year starting QB and RB. The most difficult team we will face. On top of that, the game is played at the brothel. How good is their D going to be next year? I think it will be about the same, with the DL losing some potency with Woodley and Branch gone.
 
Upvote 0
TheStoicPaisano;647701; said:
I think that Skinner stays at right tackle and starts there in his final year of 2008. He looked a lot like Schafer earlier in his career playing everywhere on the line, but seems to be settled at RT. IMO, Person beats out Mitchum for the guard spot next year.

Anyone know what spots Browning, Smith, and Kerr are practicing at?

I also have high hopes for the d-backfield, as long as they can find a leader to make the calls. I love Antonio Smith, but I think Washington, Amos, and Coleman can take their games to the next level in 2007.
Click to expand...

Well at this point I think Barton will be back next year and don't see him giving up the RT spot.

So I think Skinner at this point in time would be considered our 6th lineman and they will play him at guard and at one time I do believe he was getting reps at C so he could play there too. The thing about the lineman we recruit is that they are versatile and can play pretty much any position.

In 08' If Boone stays all 4 years I wouldnt be suprised to see Rehring move to the RT and keep Skinner inside, or if they like Rehring and Boone beside each other they will then let Skinner move outside.

I know I might be in the minority but Whaley straight up took the second center spot form Cordle so I would not be suprised at all to see him start at center next year.

As for the other guys I see Person and Mitchum getting quite a bit of pt.

As for positions for Smith, Browning, and Kerr I think Kerr has been playing a lot of tackle when in the game and Browning is a guard all the way IMO, and Smith will either play guard or rt.

I agree that those guys will take their game to a new level, but A Smith is quietly making a ton of plays for this defense.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top