2007 tOSU Football Season Discussion (merged)

[crazybuckfan40]

You have to love how the seniores and upperclassmen arent just out there for themselves, but they want to pass what they learned onto the younger guys to help them be successful in their careers.

BTW did anyone mention we are loaded at LB for years to come.

 

[BayBuck]

Returning a more-experienced defense, most of our O-line/TEs and both kickers; will lose some key offensive skill positions but feature big-back Beanie: 2007 looks like the return of "Tressel Ball" -- and I can't wait!

:osu:

 

[kc286496]

Long time follower of Buckeye Planet forums; finally decided to get a login so I can post. I guess I can officially kiss my job goodbye now!

Anyhow, I got into it today with a business associate who is a Michigan fan and we started breaking down next year's OSU and scUM rosters. Here is what I came up with off the top of my head. After reading some posts on this thread, I clearly missed a few things. Totally forgot about Washington. Forgot that we even had Mark Johnson. So much talent in this program. Uggh. Note that this guy lives in Connecticut and doesn't know all the basic stuff we know.

OSU?s significant losses:

QB Troy Smith--Ouch
WR Teddy Ginn--Ouch
WR Anthony Gonzalez--Ouch
RB Antonio Pittman--Ouch
C Doug Datish--Ouch
OL T.J. Downing--solid, but replaceable
LB John Kerr--listed as a starter, but only played in running situations. Plenty of LB?s revolving in and out should replace him without issue.
FS Brandon Mitchell--had a solid senior season, but replaceable with more talented, young guys
DE Jay Richardson--tough loss, top recruit from last year Robert Rose should step in though
DT David Patterson--tough loss
DT Joel Penton--quality backup DT
DT Quinn Pitcock--absolute monster; requires two offensive linemen in pass protection and really allowed for Laurenaitis to fill gaps and get to 100 tackles.
CB Antonio Smith--came out of nowhere to turn in a great senior season; very replaceable though
FB Stan White, Jr.--powerful blocker, but backup Dionte Johnson has plenty of experience, too, and we should look tough out of the I-formation

Next year's lineup as I see it:

SE Brian Robiskie--was only a sophomore this year; will be a great one before his time is up; comparable to Michael Jenkins
FL Ray Small--same high school as Ted Ginn and Troy Smith; almost as highly touted as Ginn coming out of high school
SE Brian Hartline/Devon Lyons/Albert Dukes--lots of young talent; we'll have to see if any develops game-breaking ability
TE Rory Nicol--mediocre TE; needs to improve or will lose his spot.
OT Alex Boone--monster run blocker. Will be 1st team all Big 10 in ?07 easy
OG Steve Rehring--experienced. should be a stud.
C Jim Cordle--could be as good as Mangold/Datish before his career is over
OG Connor Smith?--was top O-Line recruit in the Midwest last year out of Cincy Colerain;
OT Kirk Barton--rounds out what should be a great O-Line
RB Chris Wells--Behind this line, I expect huge numbers
QB Todd Boeckman--the big question mark. 6?5?, 235 lb. Has looked pretty good in the Scarlet & Grey game. We?ll see...

CB Malcolm Jenkins--future 1st round NFL pick
FS Jamario O'Neal/Anderson Russell--O'Neal could become one of the better safeties in the Big 10 next year if his work ethic is there
SS Nick Patterson--Wow, this group is looking better and better...
CB Kurt Coleman--watch out for this kid; was a special teams monster this year and loves to hit people.
LB Marcus Freeman--Underappreciated, but this kid will play on Sundays. Reminds me of Cie Grant
LB James Laurenaitis--nose for the ball, always in the right place at the right time.
LB Ross Homan--Will get a chance to start in 07; plenty of experienced guys rotating in though; Larry Grant, Curtis Terry & Thaddeus Gibson (both Cleveland Glenville guys)
DE Robert Rose--Dominated the US Army All American Game last year, winning defensive player of the game. Total stud.
DT Sian Cotton--Played a lot as a freshman, but disappointed since. Needs to step up.
DT ??? ---biggest concern is right here. No depth at defensive tackle. Somebody will have to step up big time.
DE Vernon Gholsten--Man-child; cannot be blocked. Maybe slide over to tackle and let Doug Worthington or Lawrence Wilson start at end?

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Long time follower of Buckeye Planet forums; finally decided to get a login so I can post. I guess I can officially kiss my job goodbye now!

Anyhow, I got into it today with a business associate who is a Michigan fan and we started breaking down next year's OSU and scUM rosters. Here is what I came up with off the top of my head. After reading some posts on this thread, I clearly missed a few things. Totally forgot about Washington. Forgot that we even had Mark Johnson. So much talent in this program. Uggh. Note that this guy lives in Connecticut and doesn't know all the basic stuff we know.

OSU?s significant losses:

QB Troy Smith--Ouch
WR Teddy Ginn--Ouch
WR Anthony Gonzalez--Ouch
RB Antonio Pittman--Ouch
C Doug Datish--Ouch
OL T.J. Downing--solid, but replaceable
LB John Kerr--listed as a starter, but only played in running situations. Plenty of LB?s revolving in and out should replace him without issue.
FS Brandon Mitchell--had a solid senior season, but replaceable with more talented, young guys
DE Jay Richardson--tough loss, top recruit from last year Robert Rose should step in though
DT David Patterson--tough loss
DT Joel Penton--quality backup DT
DT Quinn Pitcock--absolute monster; requires two offensive linemen in pass protection and really allowed for Laurenaitis to fill gaps and get to 100 tackles.
CB Antonio Smith--came out of nowhere to turn in a great senior season; very replaceable though
FB Stan White, Jr.--powerful blocker, but backup Dionte Johnson has plenty of experience, too, and we should look tough out of the I-formation

Next year's lineup as I see it:

SE Brian Robiskie--was only a sophomore this year; will be a great one before his time is up; comparable to Michael Jenkins
FL Ray Small--same high school as Ted Ginn and Troy Smith; almost as highly touted as Ginn coming out of high school
SE Brian Hartline/Devon Lyons/Albert Dukes--lots of young talent; we'll have to see if any develops game-breaking ability
TE Rory Nicol--mediocre TE; needs to improve or will lose his spot.
OT Alex Boone--monster run blocker. Will be 1st team all Big 10 in ?07 easy
OG Steve Rehring--experienced. should be a stud.
C Jim Cordle--could be as good as Mangold/Datish before his career is over
OG Connor Smith?--was top O-Line recruit in the Midwest last year out of Cincy Colerain;
OT Kirk Barton--rounds out what should be a great O-Line
RB Chris Wells--Behind this line, I expect huge numbers
QB Todd Boeckman--the big question mark. 6?5?, 235 lb. Has looked pretty good in the Scarlet & Grey game. We?ll see...

CB Malcolm Jenkins--future 1st round NFL pick
FS Jamario O'Neal/Anderson Russell--O'Neal could become one of the better safeties in the Big 10 next year if his work ethic is there
SS Nick Patterson--Wow, this group is looking better and better...
CB Kurt Coleman--watch out for this kid; was a special teams monster this year and loves to hit people.
LB Marcus Freeman--Underappreciated, but this kid will play on Sundays. Reminds me of Cie Grant
LB James Laurenaitis--nose for the ball, always in the right place at the right time.
LB Ross Homan--Will get a chance to start in 07; plenty of experienced guys rotating in though; Larry Grant, Curtis Terry & Thaddeus Gibson (both Cleveland Glenville guys)
DE Robert Rose--Dominated the US Army All American Game last year, winning defensive player of the game. Total stud.
DT Sian Cotton--Played a lot as a freshman, but disappointed since. Needs to step up.
DT ??? ---biggest concern is right here. No depth at defensive tackle. Somebody will have to step up big time.
DE Vernon Gholsten--Man-child; cannot be blocked. Maybe slide over to tackle and let Doug Worthington or Lawrence Wilson start at end?

Nice breakdown!

A couple notes:
--Gibson is from Euclid, not Glenville.
--Sian Cotton is no longer with the team.

 

[kc286496]

Nice breakdown!

A couple notes:
--Gibson is from Euclid, not Glenville.
--Sian Cotton is no longer with the team.

HAHAHAA!! No longer with the team! Goes to show you that I need to pay a little closer attention. I thought for sure Gibson was from Glenville. Not sure how I could confuse him with Bryant Browning!

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Welcome to the planet but a couple things...

Cotton is no longer on the team and Gibson attended Euclid high school not Glenville. Also Rose and Worthington are on their way to DT probably and guys like Denlinger and Larimore have gotten high praise from the coaching staff.

 

[jwinslow]

OG Connor Smith?--was top O-Line recruit in the Midwest last year out of Cincy Colerain;

Will he beat out Person & Mitchum?

SE Brian Hartline/Devon Lyons/Albert Dukes--lots of young talent; we'll have to see if any develops game-breaking ability

I'm guessing you meant SL for Hartline & Dukes? I think you'll see Lyons as a SE.

FS Jamario O'Neal/Anderson Russell--O'Neal could become one of the better safeties in the Big 10 next year if his work ethic is there

O'Neal is very athletic, but I see Russell beating O'Neal again unless his injury lingers

SS Nick Patterson--Wow, this group is looking better and better...

Patterson will need to have a stellar offseason to factor into the defensive backfield, imo. He struggled a lot this year.

DE Vernon Gholsten--Man-child; cannot be blocked. Maybe slide over to tackle and let Doug Worthington or Lawrence Wilson start at end?

Manchild yes, but I'm not sure he's been unblockable this year. Worthington has already converted to DT.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Cotton is no longer on the team and Gibson attended Euclid high school not Glenville.

Great post. I agree. :p

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Great post. I agree. :p

LOL yours too...

As for Gholston being unblockable I would say he was the about the only one that was really getting pressure on Leak...

Look for a huge year from him next year...

 

[kc286496]

Manchild yes, but he's been blocked the last few games. Worthington has already converted to DT.

Gholsten is a beast and will be a sure-fire 1st round pick by the end of next season. Hopefully, he sticks around for four years.

I really like Rose at DE and don't like the idea of moving him to DT. But with our depth at end and shortage at tackle, whatever is best for the team. Bottom line is that we have tons of depth at LB and in the secondary. Previous great OSU defenses ('05 and '02) were IMPOSSIBLE to run against. We didn't have that invincibility this year, although we were fortunate to get a lot of takeaways. I fully expect next year's D to be much more dominant.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Gholsten is a beast and will be a sure-fire 1st round pick by the end of next season. Hopefully, he sticks around for four years.

I really like Rose at DE and don't like the idea of moving him to DT. But with our depth at end and shortage at tackle, whatever is best for the team. Bottom line is that we have tons of depth at LB and in the secondary. Previous great OSU defenses ('05 and '02) were IMPOSSIBLE to run against. We didn't have that invincibility this year, although we were fortunate to get a lot of takeaways. I fully expect next year's D to be much more dominant.

There is a whole thread on the DT/DE depth in the recruting forum if you are interested.

And I agree about the running D. At times it almost made me want to puke due to the defenses we have had over the past couple of years. Especially when we would just sit in nickel and let teams run all over us.

 

[kc286496]

I also think some people on this forum are seriously underestimating Wisconsin next year. I think they return like 19 of 22 starters. That's sick. I realize Stocco and Thomas are big losses. But to return a nucleus like that? They will be formidable and pulling off a victory against them will be no easy task. I think we are a two loss team next year. I think we'll drop the game at PSU and split with Wisky/scUM. I hope I'm wrong obviously, but just trying to be realistic. If we win two of three from those schools, we should have a shot at a Big 10 title (at least a share) and a potential BCS bowl again. That would be a great season. A decent season probably has us in the Capital One or Outback.

I hope we ride that big offensive line, let Chris Wells carry us, and go back to the Tressel-ball ways that brought us back to national prominence. We complained about the lack of flashiness at the time, but I miss that style of ball. Frustrates the heck out of OSU haters!

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I also think some people on this forum are seriously underestimating Wisconsin next year. I think they return like 19 of 22 starters. That's sick. I realize Stocco and Thomas are big losses. But to return a nucleus like that? They will be formidable and pulling off a victory against them will be no easy task. I think we are a two loss team next year. I think we'll drop the game at PSU and split with Wisky/scUM. I hope I'm wrong obviously, but just trying to be realistic. If we win two of three from those schools, we should have a shot at a Big 10 title (at least a share) and a potential BCS bowl again. That would be a great season. A decent season probably has us in the Capital One or Outback.

I hope we ride that big offensive line, let Chris Wells carry us, and go back to the Tressel-ball ways that brought us back to national prominence. We complained about the lack of flashiness at the time, but I miss that style of ball. Frustrates the heck out of OSU haters!

I thought Wisky lost both of their safties, QB, OT and some other guys, but maybe I was wrong.

As for Michigan I don't see a very dominant defense up there at all. Very good offense, but no defense, could cause them to struggle if Henne or Oline have bad days which they have shown to do at times...

 

[bassbuckeye07]

Now that the smoke is starting to clear Im starting to feel good. I think next year looks like we should go 10 and 2 maybe better maybe worse. The season after that tOSU should be poised to make another NC run. At USC will be as hyped as the Texas games were, Wells will be a junior and a heisman favorite. RS or TB will have a season under their belt and the D will be sick.... that being said im starting to come out of the house a little more.

 

[23Skidoo]

I also think some people on this forum are seriously underestimating Wisconsin next year. I think they return like 19 of 22 starters. That's sick. I realize Stocco and Thomas are big losses. But to return a nucleus like that? They will be formidable and pulling off a victory against them will be no easy task. I think we are a two loss team next year. I think we'll drop the game at PSU and split with Wisky/scUM. I hope I'm wrong obviously, but just trying to be realistic. If we win two of three from those schools, we should have a shot at a Big 10 title (at least a share) and a potential BCS bowl again. That would be a great season. A decent season probably has us in the Capital One or Outback.

I hope we ride that big offensive line, let Chris Wells carry us, and go back to the Tressel-ball ways that brought us back to national prominence. We complained about the lack of flashiness at the time, but I miss that style of ball. Frustrates the heck out of OSU haters!

I think Wiscy will be a force in the B10 next year. I don't know if anyone else caught the youngster Donovan filling in for Stocco... but wow, he's got skill, he's got toughness, and he's got grit. Throw in PJ Hill, Beckum, and that they keep their entire Oline minus Thomas -- that's a potentially dangerous offense.
For us, if Pittman was staying I think we'd see the cloud-of-dust. But with just Beanie as a pure runner combined with our talented receivers and Mo catching out of the backfield, I think we'll stay pretty balanced on offense.