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DB Dustin Fox (National Champion)

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buckeyepup said:
I'm always amazed at the mentality of some people concerning white athletes.
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Well that is a whole can of worms I was not intending...I was pointing more to the coverage commentary as has been debated on these boards numerous times but people still would not believe that Dustin was performing his role in the scheme.
 
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How many people ran as fast as Dustin? 2, Galloway and Underwood (who transferred)
How many jumped as high as him? 0.
Could any of the recent CBs tackle like Dustin? definitely not, one fo the best we've had in that regard.
Were there better leaders at CB while he was here? IMO no.
Did any of them start four years at a pro-DB pipeline to the NFL? No.

The boundary corner left him out of position at times, but it was a far cry from blown coverage like we have seen from guys like Underwood or even Gamble.
 
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o school in the country puts more DB's into the pros than tOSU including "the U".
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Yeah, I'd agree with that. We've had some pretty good athletes in the league that have been solid. Rumph struggled his first year (played pretty well his 2nd) and Buchanon has been good at times, just not consistent. It's hard to argue that Ed Reed is probably the best DB in the league. We've had our number of DB's in the league but no one too spectacular (except Ed).

As far as the white aspect. . . the 40 times are good, but I'd put more stock in the pro agility run. Playing cornerback is all about the hips and the way you move them and when and when not to turn them. Fox's 40 time may have been awesome but he could use better agility. I can say that I really don't know how good his agility is. Whenever I watched OSU games in the past few years, the main thing I noticed about him was the PI calls. He seemed to be pretty good at that. I'm not sure how many he had, but there were more than your usual DB. But I would agree, he was very underrated as a DB. I will agree with most you guys on that.
 
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Good thread going here. A couple things:

Brandon Lloyd: http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/396021

Walter Young: http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/396138

It was Young and not Lloyd (who stands 6'0"), who was the guy giving Fox fits during that Illinois game. Young was listed at 6'6" at the time (although his NFL profile says that he's 6'4") and he was constantly going over the top of Dustin during that game.

Dustin Fox was a solid, but not spectacular corner for the Buckeyes. He had some great physical attributes (speed/vertical/explosiveness) but lacked the ideal qualities for a corner, which are most prominently: hips/fluidity, change of direction, and closing burst. Playing the boundary corner position, he did what was asked of him, which was to keep the WR in front of him, and make the big play-saving tackle. He certainly did not get burnt repeatedly as some have suggested, but he did not make the highlight-reel interception and return plays either, which gave Gamble more notoriety. He has the skills and makeup to be a great free safety in the NFL, who can slide over to corner in a pinch.

As for the whole black/white corner discussion, that's probably a lot of speculation/BS. We don't know all the criteria that go into NFL evaluations, but I'm pretty sure a pro team will take the best player for a position, regardless of his race. Jason Sehorn was the last prominent white CB, but there will be others if they have the skills. Other than Dustin Fox, other freak athlete white DB's I can think of are Adam Archuleta and John Lynch. Steve Bellisari and Eric Crouch would have also been candidates, if they would have committed to playing the position. Those two were great overall athletes as well.
 
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SC"U"Mbuster said:
Dustin Fox was a solid, but not spectacular corner for the Buckeyes. He had some great physical attributes (speed/vertical/explosiveness) but lacked the ideal qualities for a corner, which are most prominently: hips/fluidity, change of direction, and closing burst.
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You are so off the mark that it's not even funny. Fox had the best closing speed out of all the corners we had since 2001, including Gamble, Underwood, and Youboty. His closing speed was precisely the reason he had so many PI calls against him...he closed in so fast that he beat the ball to the receiver despite being played back so far by the scheme. If you watch him cover receivers, his hip movement and change of direction were as good as anyone we had. Those attributes are what made him the starting corner for three full seasons. Now, Gamble had better instincts due to being a WR himself, and Youboty is a markedly better cover corner, but to say Fox lacked any corner attributes is ludicrous.
 
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indianacane02 said:
Yeah, I'd agree with that. We've had some pretty good athletes in the league that have been solid. Rumph struggled his first year (played pretty well his 2nd) and Buchanon has been good at times, just not consistent. It's hard to argue that Ed Reed is probably the best DB in the league. We've had our number of DB's in the league but no one too spectacular (except Ed).
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Except for Ed Reed (Ravens) who is an absolute stud, the "U" has had more hype than production in the pros, when it comes to DBs. Living in the Bay area I got a first-hand look at both Rumph and Buchanan, who were hyped plenty when they got here. Buchanan had some moments as a return man and fewer as a CB for the Raiders, but did not pan out. Rumph has been a total bust for the Niners. As for other "U" DBs in the NFL, guys like Starks (Cardinals) and Little (Browns) have had some success, but guys like the aforementioned Rumph and Buchanan, as well as Taylor (Redskins), have been total busts up to this point. Their production and hype in college has not translated to the pros. Maybe someone like Rolle (Cardinals) this year can slow that trend.

As for Buckeyes vs. Hurricanes in the pros, there is no comparison as to which schools alums actually continue producing (I'm surprised at how many people actually think there's pro-level parity between the schools): off the top of my head I can think of Springs, Moore, Winfield, Plummer, Clements, Ross, Doss, and Gamble, who collectively have had considerably more success than their counterparts from Coral Gables.

MililaniBuckeye said:
If you watch him cover receivers, his hip movement and change of direction were as good as anyone we had.
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Sorry, but you are also far off with that assessment. The knock against Dustin has been that he's too stiff in the hips and is not fluid in and out of his breaks. He has great straight-ahead speed but hasn't shown the agility of an NFL corner, which is why he's being projected at safety.

Was he a solid corner for us? Absolutely. Was he a pure corner in the mold of a Springs or a Winfield? No.
 
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I was agreeing with that statement from the Buckeye fan. I agree that OSU has had more success with their DB's than us. As far as Sean Taylor being a bust, if you ask Washington fans last year, when he was on the field, he played very well for a rookie. If he stops hanging around the wrong people and starts growing up soon, he could be great. Physically, he's one of the most gifted DB's to come out of the draft in a long time.

But yes, I do agree OSU has had more success as we've had some busts in the secondary.
 
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this fucking sucks.....fox is the kind of guy that just needs to be given the opportunity to play. once he gets that oppurtunity, he will shine. a big fear of mine is that he won't be given a fair opportunity, because people, for whatever reason, tend to overlook him. thankfully tressel, tucker, et. al. did not.
 
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From the Canton Repository, Dustin's rookie season is officially over...

Vikings not waiting for Fox’s arm to heal
Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Dustin Fox’s rookie season in the NFL ended Monday as the Minnesota Vikings placed him on injured reserve.

The GlenOak High School graduate, a third-round pick out of Ohio State, originally was expected to miss four to six weeks after breaking his left arm, the same one he injured during his senior year in college.

Fox went to Columbus during mid-August to have Ohio State University doctors replace the plate on his arm. The procedure was considered successful.

Fox was hurt while making a tackle during a practice in late July, the first day the Vikings were in full pads. Prior to his injury, Fox (5-foot-10, 190 pounds) was listed as the second-team free safety and was expected to be used in nickel and dime packages and on special teams.
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