• 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.

2008 tOSU Special Teams discussion (official thread)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
plum diamonds buckeye planet
Sort by date Sort by votes
craigblitz;1290892; said:
Speaking of special teams... D. Torrence is having a nice year on ST for sure. Watch him next week, he is always around the ball.
Click to expand...

Not only him but Shaun Lane is an absolute beast, I don't understand how he is in on every play, this kids awesome
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

Ohio State football
Kick-return unit feels pressure
Overall, special-teams play has improved
Saturday, October 18, 2008 3:38 AM
By Ken Gordon


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


Meet Curtis Terry, current Ohio State defensive end and former sore thumb.
That's how Terry felt, at least. As a member of the Buckeyes' struggling kickoff-return unit, he was conscious of standing out on a team that treats every kicking play as a precious moment.
"You never want to be on that one special team that's lacking," Terry said with a grin.
Although the kickoff returns have languished near the bottom of the national rankings for a second straight season, every other unit has been stellar.
The Buckeyes rank in the top 25 nationally in net punting, punt coverage and kickoff coverage, and in the top third in punt returns.
"We're ranked pretty high up, but we set our own standards," fullback Ryan Lukens said. "This football program is always held to a national standard, so being No. 1 in the Big Ten is not always the best. We want to also be the best in the nation."

Continued................
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
:confused:I guess what is confusing to be is why doesn't Pettrey do all of the place kicking. I know he is now designated as the one to do all FG attempts from inside the 20 but I thought he had a stronger leg and was much more accurate than Pretorious. In fact didn't RP miss some very easy chip shots early this season. I guess I would just take the more accurate kicker and stick with him.
 
Upvote 0
CPD
Two-kicker system working well for Buckeyes

by Doug Lesmerises Thursday November 13, 2008, 10:27 PM


Columbus - Two kickers warmed up for Iowa last week as the Hawkeyes prepared for a game-winning field goal against Penn State, and if Ohio State is looking at a 30-something yarder to beat Illinois on Saturday, you should see the same double dose of kickers on the Buckeyes sideline.
Last week, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz chose walk-on Daniel Murray over true freshman Trent Mossbrucker, and Murray made the 31-yarder to knock off the No. 3 Nittany Lions. If the Buckeyes need a kick to keep alive a shot at what could be a $14 million spot in a BCS bowl, it'll come down to either senior Ryan Pretorius (14 of 18 this season) or junior Aaron Pettrey (5 of 5), neither of whom arrived at Ohio State on a scholarship. When it comes to kickers, game-changers can still start out as afterthoughts.
Pretorius, from South Africa, was a rugby player who mailed out tapes of himself kicking and arrived in Columbus as a preferred walk-on. Pettrey, from Kentucky, had smaller school offers, but instead delayed his entry at Ohio State, enrolled at community college and then paid his own way for a quarter when he did get to campus.
"We were talking this morning in a meeting," OSU coach Jim Tressel said Thursday, "how do you have the good fortune to have a guy walk in the door and be a starter? That wasn't any great recruiting we did with Ryan. On the other hand, you have Aaron Pettrey, who we kept kind of delaying -- why don't you wait a little bit until you come, it'll be better for the team. So we were fortunate."

Cont...
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
fourteenandoh;1337315; said:
Holy cow! I just watched some highlights and the kick team really brought the boom on saturday. That was fun to watch.
Click to expand...

Kudos to the ST units all year! After last year, this year was a great improvement. I can't recall one huge return against us. A lot of guys doing some great hitting and making very sure tackles all season. And I love the fact that a lot of starters play in kick coverage. Awesome to see JL, MJ, and MF going full blast on the punt.

Lane is my MVP. He seemed like he never missed a tackle and was always around the ball. Jenkins made some huge plays thought this year too. Just a nice turn around by the Special Teams...they were much more special. Moving forward with Thomas on kicks and maybe Posey on punts I think we'll be solid next year returning. It might not be easy to replace the heart of Shaun Lane though. Great senior year for him.

:oh::io:
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
I would like to commend the special teams for putting the two punt returners in a staggered formation against TSUN. I had been wondering why teams didn't do this when facing rugby punters.

Mesko was very successful with the rugby punt this year, kicking it down the left side (from the punter's POV) - it may look odd but TSUN was second in the nation in net punting coming into The Game.

tOSU had one returner in the normal position, and the other a few yard ahead to the right, closer to where a rugby punt would land. The first rugby-style punt was fair caught (by Hartline, I think) for about a 30-yard net, and after that wasn't attempted much. One of the 'normal' style punts was returned by Ray Small for over 80 yards when the score was 21-7, setting up the 8-yard toss to Robo that pretty much iced The Game.

Kudos to the special teams coaching for taking away something that TSUN had used very successfully during the season.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top