Brandon Zimmerman
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Instant Analysis: Pridgeon and Slade Injuries
Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Just a short while ago, Coach Meyer announced the injuries of Malcolm Pridgeon and Darius Slade. Pridgeon will be out at least three months as he works his way back from a knee injury and Slade will miss the entire season due to an Achilles injury. While neither guy was expected to start, both injuries are a severe blow to the second team depth chart which was already lacking experienced players. Let’s take a look at how this effects the team:
Pridgeon and the Slobs
As most of you already know, Pridgeon was a five-star Junior College (JUCO) transfer and a member of the 2016 recruiting class. In February, I predicted the 6’8” 285 pounder out of Nassau Community College to start at left tackle for the Buckeyes. As the spring practices were completed and before Pridgeon was on campus, junior Jamarco Jones was named the starter at left tackle and sophomore Isaiah Prince was the
The loss of Pridgeon will hurt the offensive line depth.
frontrunner to be named the starting right tackle. Just a few weeks ago, I explained how this left Pridgeon behind the power curve needing to either knock off Jones or Prince at the top of the tackle depth chart or move inside and compete at the vacant left guard position.
With Pridgeon out of the picture for the foreseeable future, it is safe to assume that Prince and Jones will be your tackles when the Buckeyes line up against Bowling Green. This also leaves the only real open competition on the offensive line to the left guard spot where it is down to true freshman Michael Jordan, redshirt sophomore Demetrius Knox, and redshirt freshman Matt Burrell.
The biggest loss will be the versatility and game experience Pridgeon would have brought to the Buckeyes. If any starter went down, I think the Buckeye coaching staff would have been comfortable with Pridgeon filling in whether it was at guard or tackle. Now instead of a JUCO transfer, they may have to look at a redshirt or true freshman to come in against a team like Oklahoma.
Slade Out for the Season
Darius Slade came to the Buckeyes as a three-star recruit out of New Jersey where the Buckeyes were in love with his size and athleticism from the beginning. He had a pretty good spring which led many to be excited for Slade to be a member of the defensive end rotation which will be trying to replace one of the best ever in Joey Bosa.
Slade was projected to be in the rotation at the defensive end position to back-up the starters; redshirt sophomore Sam Hubbard and junior Tyquan Lewis. He would have been battling with junior Jalyn Holmes, redshirt freshman Rashod Berry, true freshman Nick Bosa, and another true freshman Jonothan Cooper to work his way up the depth chart.
As far as impact this year, I think the Buckeyes will still have a strong rotation of the six healthy guys I mentioned before. Barring injuries, I still expect this to be an extremely productive bunch out of the defensive end positions. Let’s hope Slade has a quick recovery and is able to come back next fall healthy and ready to compete once again.
Here's a link to Ohio State coach Urban Meyer's media day press conference transcript (& video): https://t.co/b11KjvXJBn
— Jerry Emig (@BuckeyeNotes) August 14, 2016
The post Instant Analysis: Pridgeon and Slade Injuries appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Just a short while ago, Coach Meyer announced the injuries of Malcolm Pridgeon and Darius Slade. Pridgeon will be out at least three months as he works his way back from a knee injury and Slade will miss the entire season due to an Achilles injury. While neither guy was expected to start, both injuries are a severe blow to the second team depth chart which was already lacking experienced players. Let’s take a look at how this effects the team:
Pridgeon and the Slobs
As most of you already know, Pridgeon was a five-star Junior College (JUCO) transfer and a member of the 2016 recruiting class. In February, I predicted the 6’8” 285 pounder out of Nassau Community College to start at left tackle for the Buckeyes. As the spring practices were completed and before Pridgeon was on campus, junior Jamarco Jones was named the starter at left tackle and sophomore Isaiah Prince was the
The loss of Pridgeon will hurt the offensive line depth.
frontrunner to be named the starting right tackle. Just a few weeks ago, I explained how this left Pridgeon behind the power curve needing to either knock off Jones or Prince at the top of the tackle depth chart or move inside and compete at the vacant left guard position.
With Pridgeon out of the picture for the foreseeable future, it is safe to assume that Prince and Jones will be your tackles when the Buckeyes line up against Bowling Green. This also leaves the only real open competition on the offensive line to the left guard spot where it is down to true freshman Michael Jordan, redshirt sophomore Demetrius Knox, and redshirt freshman Matt Burrell.
The biggest loss will be the versatility and game experience Pridgeon would have brought to the Buckeyes. If any starter went down, I think the Buckeye coaching staff would have been comfortable with Pridgeon filling in whether it was at guard or tackle. Now instead of a JUCO transfer, they may have to look at a redshirt or true freshman to come in against a team like Oklahoma.
Slade Out for the Season
Darius Slade came to the Buckeyes as a three-star recruit out of New Jersey where the Buckeyes were in love with his size and athleticism from the beginning. He had a pretty good spring which led many to be excited for Slade to be a member of the defensive end rotation which will be trying to replace one of the best ever in Joey Bosa.
Slade was projected to be in the rotation at the defensive end position to back-up the starters; redshirt sophomore Sam Hubbard and junior Tyquan Lewis. He would have been battling with junior Jalyn Holmes, redshirt freshman Rashod Berry, true freshman Nick Bosa, and another true freshman Jonothan Cooper to work his way up the depth chart.
As far as impact this year, I think the Buckeyes will still have a strong rotation of the six healthy guys I mentioned before. Barring injuries, I still expect this to be an extremely productive bunch out of the defensive end positions. Let’s hope Slade has a quick recovery and is able to come back next fall healthy and ready to compete once again.
Here's a link to Ohio State coach Urban Meyer's media day press conference transcript (& video): https://t.co/b11KjvXJBn
— Jerry Emig (@BuckeyeNotes) August 14, 2016
The post Instant Analysis: Pridgeon and Slade Injuries appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...