ohiobuck94
Buckeye Beach Bum
I gotta see these guys in action. :)
Against Purdue, OSU was missing both starting safeties (Whitner and Everett) and Fox played only briefly on special teams because of a groin pull. The Boilermakers drove the length of the field in the final minutes and scored the winning touchdown.
Is the secondary’s physical style counterproductive? Might the coaches try and tone them down a bit for the sake of staying healthier?
"Coach Tucker last year tried,’’ Youboty said of departed secondary coach Mel Tucker. "But it’s football, you can only hold us back so long.’’
By Ken Gordon THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Being a linebacker means A.J. Hawk is hardwired to appreciate good hits. He gets excited just talking about them.
"I remember two years ago, when (Ohio State safety) Nate (Salley) hit a guy from Washington on the sideline,’’ Hawk said, his face brightening at the memory. "He almost knocked himself out. He was lying on the ground, we had to pick him up. The other guy was hurting worse than him.’’
The scene is not uncommon with the current group of Buckeyes defensive backs. As a unit, they are attracting as much attention for their tackling as their coverage skills.
"You watch Nate, Donte (Whitner), Tyler (Everett), all those guys, they come up and hit people,’’ Hawk said. "Even guys like Ashton (Youboty) and Sirjo Welch, they hit you at corner. We’ve had a big tradition of that here. The defensive backs have always been physical guys, and I think it’s no exception.’’
Certainly, it’s not a revelation that the school that produced Jack Tatum should own a reputation for defensive backs who love to punish people.
But the 2005 secondary might be setting itself apart in that regard. In his spring practice preview, coach Jim Tressel said if he had to single out one area of improvement last year, it would be the physicality of the defensive backs.
"I really thought there was an evolution in the way our defensive backs put hits on people and just came to the ball,’’ Tressel said. "And sure, there were some passes completed, but there were some people struck pretty good after they completed some passes.
"And I think this group has a chance to continue that.’’
Youboty said it all starts with Whitner, a junior strong safety who tackles people with ferocity. It’s as if he’s trying to stick his helmet clean through to the other side.
"It’s kind of a domino effect,’’ Youboty said. "Donte just tries to go kill everybody, so you’ve got to stay up to his standards.’’
What about Salley, though? He’s been nicknamed the "Hit Man’’ and "Nasty Nate’’ over the years.
"Oh, Nate gets the hits,’’ Youboty said. "It’s just that Whitner wants the hits. He’ll go out of his way to get a hit.’’
There are two potential drawbacks to this style. One is trying so hard to lay the wood that you miss the tree completely.
New defensive backs coach Paul Haynes pored over game film from last year and decided to issue a challenge to his charges.
"We miss too many tackles for me right now,’’ Haynes said. "One thing that we’ve got to get better (at) is tackling. We have the ability to be great hitters — guys are big and they can run — but they’ve got to learn how to be a little bit lower and use their power.’’
The other concern is injury. Of the six defensive backs who played most often last year, four missed at least one start to injury. One of the two who didn’t (Everett) underwent postseason knee surgery.
And that doesn’t consider the impossible-to-measure factor of their diminished effectiveness when they played in games at less than 100 percent.
Against Purdue, OSU was missing both starting safeties (Whitner and Everett) and Fox played only briefly on special teams because of a groin pull. The Boilermakers drove the length of the field in the final minutes and scored the winning touchdown.
Is the secondary’s physical style counterproductive? Might the coaches try and tone them down a bit for the sake of staying healthier?
"Coach Tucker last year tried,’’ Youboty said of departed secondary coach Mel Tucker. "But it’s football, you can only hold us back so long.’’
Holmes tweaks hamstring
Receiver Santonio Holmes suffered a pulled hamstring in practice Tuesday, but the injury is not believed to be serious. Holmes said he hopes to return in a week to 10 days. Spring practice ends with the spring game April 23 in Ohio Stadium.
Against Purdue, OSU was missing both starting safeties (Whitner and Everett) and Fox played only briefly on special teams because of a groin pull. The Boilermakers drove the length of the field in the final minutes and scored the winning touchdown.
Is the secondary’s physical style counterproductive? Might the coaches try and tone them down a bit for the sake of staying healthier?
"Coach Tucker last year tried,’’ Youboty said of departed secondary coach Mel Tucker. "But it’s football, you can only hold us back so long.’’
By Ken Gordon THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Being a linebacker means A.J. Hawk is hardwired to appreciate good hits. He gets excited just talking about them.
"I remember two years ago, when (Ohio State safety) Nate (Salley) hit a guy from Washington on the sideline,’’ Hawk said, his face brightening at the memory. "He almost knocked himself out. He was lying on the ground, we had to pick him up. The other guy was hurting worse than him.’’
The scene is not uncommon with the current group of Buckeyes defensive backs. As a unit, they are attracting as much attention for their tackling as their coverage skills.
"You watch Nate, Donte (Whitner), Tyler (Everett), all those guys, they come up and hit people,’’ Hawk said. "Even guys like Ashton (Youboty) and Sirjo Welch, they hit you at corner. We’ve had a big tradition of that here. The defensive backs have always been physical guys, and I think it’s no exception.’’
Certainly, it’s not a revelation that the school that produced Jack Tatum should own a reputation for defensive backs who love to punish people.
But the 2005 secondary might be setting itself apart in that regard. In his spring practice preview, coach Jim Tressel said if he had to single out one area of improvement last year, it would be the physicality of the defensive backs.
"I really thought there was an evolution in the way our defensive backs put hits on people and just came to the ball,’’ Tressel said. "And sure, there were some passes completed, but there were some people struck pretty good after they completed some passes.
"And I think this group has a chance to continue that.’’
Youboty said it all starts with Whitner, a junior strong safety who tackles people with ferocity. It’s as if he’s trying to stick his helmet clean through to the other side.
"It’s kind of a domino effect,’’ Youboty said. "Donte just tries to go kill everybody, so you’ve got to stay up to his standards.’’
What about Salley, though? He’s been nicknamed the "Hit Man’’ and "Nasty Nate’’ over the years.
"Oh, Nate gets the hits,’’ Youboty said. "It’s just that Whitner wants the hits. He’ll go out of his way to get a hit.’’
There are two potential drawbacks to this style. One is trying so hard to lay the wood that you miss the tree completely.
New defensive backs coach Paul Haynes pored over game film from last year and decided to issue a challenge to his charges.
"We miss too many tackles for me right now,’’ Haynes said. "One thing that we’ve got to get better (at) is tackling. We have the ability to be great hitters — guys are big and they can run — but they’ve got to learn how to be a little bit lower and use their power.’’
The other concern is injury. Of the six defensive backs who played most often last year, four missed at least one start to injury. One of the two who didn’t (Everett) underwent postseason knee surgery.
And that doesn’t consider the impossible-to-measure factor of their diminished effectiveness when they played in games at less than 100 percent.
Against Purdue, OSU was missing both starting safeties (Whitner and Everett) and Fox played only briefly on special teams because of a groin pull. The Boilermakers drove the length of the field in the final minutes and scored the winning touchdown.
Is the secondary’s physical style counterproductive? Might the coaches try and tone them down a bit for the sake of staying healthier?
"Coach Tucker last year tried,’’ Youboty said of departed secondary coach Mel Tucker. "But it’s football, you can only hold us back so long.’’
Holmes tweaks hamstring
Receiver Santonio Holmes suffered a pulled hamstring in practice Tuesday, but the injury is not believed to be serious. Holmes said he hopes to return in a week to 10 days. Spring practice ends with the spring game April 23 in Ohio Stadium.
