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Clifford suspended (Washington OK to play) In Championship

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buckeyesin07;1034220; said:
I'm not sure I would agree with the AP's calling Clifford a "top reserve," having only played in 4 games and made 8 tackles (most of which were on special teams).
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Including the failure-to-wrapup gaff that allowed the NW kickoff returner to get loose and score their only TD and ruining the shutout.
 
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This is no means a slight on Washington because I feel he is a good cover corner but to those who are worried that this is like the sky falling in I just wanted to give you an excerpt from the December 17th Sporting news with a Big 10 coaches perspective on tOSU defense. From page 34

"The defensive line is big and physical. Vernon Gholston is a stud, the best end in the league. Coaches I talk to at Ohio State tell me they can't block Cameron Heywood in practice. ... The linebackers speak for themselves. James Laurinaitis can run and is physical. I think he overshadows the guys on the outside. Those guys are pretty good, too. ... I like the secondary, but I'm surprised Donald Washington starts at corner. He's not very fast or athletic. But he's surrounded and protected by a lot of good players back there."

Couldn't find the story online so that is why I posted it. Now this is only one coaches perspective but I don't think we should go into total meltdown about this. If you were going to rank the players on the defense 1-11 with 1 being the most important to 11 being the easiest to replace Washington would be 11. Once again not a slight against Washington's skills just a comment on how deep we are at that position and how strong we are at all of the others. I am getting less and less worried about this with every passing moment. With our coaches and our personnel by Jan. 7th this could not only be a non issue it could be a huge positive. Chekwa or Amos will step up - 99.9% positive.
 
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NastyDogg72;1034319; said:
This is no means a slight on Washington because I feel he is a good cover corner but to those who are worried that this is like the sky falling in I just wanted to give you an excerpt from the December 17th Sporting news with a Big 10 coaches perspective on tOSU defense. From page 34

"The defensive line is big and physical. Vernon Gholston is a stud, the best end in the league. Coaches I talk to at Ohio State tell me they can't block Cameron Heywood in practice. ... The linebackers speak for themselves. James Laurinaitis can run and is physical. I think he overshadows the guys on the outside. Those guys are pretty good, too. ... I like the secondary, but I'm surprised Donald Washington starts at corner. He's not very fast or athletic. But he's surrounded and protected by a lot of good players back there."

Couldn't find the story online so that is why I posted it. Now this is only one coaches perspective but I don't think we should go into total meltdown about this. If you were going to rank the players on the defense 1-11 with 1 being the most important to 11 being the easiest to replace Washington would be 11. Once again not a slight against Washington's skills just a comment on how deep we are at that position and how strong we are at all of the others. I am getting less and less worried about this with every passing moment. With our coaches and our personnel by Jan. 7th this could not only be a non issue it could be a huge positive. Chekwa or Amos will step up - 99.9% positive.
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Great points...

Just imagine that we replaced the name "Donald Washington" with the name "Jim Cordle". Think about the implications of that for a second.

Moral of the story: It could have been worse.
 
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wadc45;1034331; said:
And let's put to bed any speculation that there are other players involved because that is just not true. I personally verified that with two people who would know.
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Precisely why I put the word "imagine" in a large font. I wanted it clear that it was just an example to prove that things could be worse and nothing more.
 
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DaddyBigBucks;1034327; said:
Great points...

Just imagine that we replaced the name "Donald Washington" with the name "Jim Cordle". Think about the implications of that for a second.

Moral of the story: It could have been worse.
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that's what I'm thinking...it's not like they're gonna put Tank out there to fill the spot
 
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DaddyBigBucks;1034327; said:
Great points...

Just imagine that we replaced the name "Donald Washington" with the name "Jim Cordle". Think about the implications of that for a second.

Moral of the story: It could have been worse.
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Jim Cordle doesnt have the hips to play CB. :biggrin:
 
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NastyDogg72;1034319; said:
This is no means a slight on Washington because I feel he is a good cover corner but to those who are worried that this is like the sky falling in I just wanted to give you an excerpt from the December 17th Sporting news with a Big 10 coaches perspective on tOSU defense. From page 34

"The defensive line is big and physical. Vernon Gholston is a stud, the best end in the league. Coaches I talk to at Ohio State tell me they can't block Cameron Heywood in practice. ... The linebackers speak for themselves. James Laurinaitis can run and is physical. I think he overshadows the guys on the outside. Those guys are pretty good, too. ... I like the secondary, but I'm surprised Donald Washington starts at corner. He's not very fast or athletic. But he's surrounded and protected by a lot of good players back there."

Couldn't find the story online so that is why I posted it. Now this is only one coaches perspective but I don't think we should go into total meltdown about this. If you were going to rank the players on the defense 1-11 with 1 being the most important to 11 being the easiest to replace Washington would be 11. Once again not a slight against Washington's skills just a comment on how deep we are at that position and how strong we are at all of the others. I am getting less and less worried about this with every passing moment. With our coaches and our personnel by Jan. 7th this could not only be a non issue it could be a huge positive. Chekwa or Amos will step up - 99.9% positive.
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As far as DW not being "very fast or athletic" (not your words, I know), I really can't think of anything more stupid than that comment. Washington is one of the more "fast and athletic" guys on the team; here are his high school stats - 4.5 forty. 4.12 shuttle, 40" vertical, two-time state long jump champion (he placed second as a senior). My guess is that Washington is even more "fast and athletic" now that he has been in the OSU S&C program for a while, but what do I know....?

Cornerback is arguably the most important position on any defense (a pass-rushing DE is the other) - that's why so many CB's are "over-valued" in the NFL draft. To lose a starting CB - any staring CB - is a big loss to a defense. Losing one of Washington's calibre should not be underestimated - he's certainly not the "easiest to replace" on defense. I'd place Washington fourth behind Gholston (pass-rushing DE), Jenkins (lock-down CB), and Laurinaitis (spiritual leader of the D). Although Chekwa has occasionally been impressive in the nickel packages, he is clearly a step down from Washington, and I have real doubts about O'Neal, Amos, Lane or anyone else as his replacement at nickel back.
 
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unionfutura;1034367; said:
when the news first broke it sounded like he was gone for good, not just this game. Now hearing that a little talk will take place between Eugene and the staff. It's the typical where are your priorities at type of meeting when kids get into trouble.
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I would hope getting suspended from a shot at playing in the BCS Title game would be a strong lesson for both of these guys.
 
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