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LB Coach James Laurinaitis (2x B1G DPOY, 2006 Nagurski, 2007 Butkus, 2008 Lott, 3x All-American, OSU HOF, National Champion)

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jwinslow;1417251; said:
He has big hair and big hits. America doesn't have the attention span to notice the mistakes inbetween.
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So I didn't miss something. Disappointing to hear our Buckeyes getting ripped left and right, and the top LB in the draft having what seems to be a bad workout and not getting anything for it at all.

At least someone is escaping the unfair/somewhat unfounded criticism of the talking heads.
 
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What I admire about James is that he isn't worried about the money. Yeah, sure he wants to go early but any competitive player wants to go early. He is a genuine person who loves the game of football so much that wherever he goes, I have no doubt he will be successful.
You can't say the same thing about all players gifted with that kind of talent.
 
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Draft profile: James Laurinaitis, Ohio State linebacker
Posted: March 3, 2009

This story first appeared in the Tuesday, March 3, edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today for free.


My biggest fear about the NFL is ... Not getting a fair shot to truly show what kind of player and person I am.

The NFL player I'll be completely starstruck by is ... Randy Moss because of the fact that I grew up in Minnesota rooting for the Vikings.

I don't think I'll bust because ... I simply won't allow myself to. I'm too strong-minded. It's not about the money for me. I truly love the game of football and won't be satisfied until I'm the very best that I can be.

I daydream about my first sack being called by ... Al Michaels. He's a legend and just did the Super Bowl. I would love to be in a few of those.

The NFL player I'd love to have as my teammate is ... I can't pick just one. I'll go with one on each side of the ball. On defense, I would definitely have to go with Ray Lewis. Ray is obviously a linebacker like me but, most importantly, I try to emulate the intensity and physicality that he plays the game with. On the offensive side of the ball, I'll go with Ben Roethlisberger because all he does is win. At the end of the day, that's what's truly most important. Just win, baby!

The NFL player whose poster was on my wall was ... Deion Sanders. What a phenomenal athlete and playmaker ... and entertaining to boot.

The 40-yard dash is ... Overrated, for sure, but that's OK. It's part of the process and I have confidence in my ability to blow it out of the water.

The thing I'll miss most about college game day is ... The campus atmosphere and electricity. Whether it's at home in Columbus -- nuts -- or on the road at Happy Valley -- the whiteout -- or Michigan -- the band -- it's truly a unique experience that I'll always cherish. The passion for -- or sometimes against -- Ohio State football is like no other.
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SportingNews.com - Your expert source for NFL Football stats, scores, standings, blogs and fantasy news from NFL Football columnists
 
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Rick Gosselin of the Dallas News looks at rugged Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis.

DD.comment: The folks over at the NFL Network reported, during their February 23rd telecast, that Laurinaitis' unofficial, hand-timed 40 yard dash results at the Combine were in the mid-to-high 4.8's. Since most hand-times are faster than the electronic times, we figured Laurinaitis ran in the low-to-mid 4.9's, which would have been bad news for him. Turns out, according to the numbers we got from an N.F.C. team, his official 40 times were a pair of 4.76's. That's not blazing the track, but it's good enough to keep a middle linebacker with his overall talent and agility in the first round mix.
 
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Link

Who Will Take James Laurinaitis in the 2009 NFL Draft?

March 05, 2009 by
Jessica Ann

James Laurinaitis was fortunate to come from an athletic family. His father was a professional wrestler and his younger sister was one of the best girl hockey players in their home state of Minnesota. James himself spent a lot of time playing hockey and it appeared he could have his choice of professional hockey or football. Fortunately to football fans, he decided to make football his professional career.

The years of playing hockey though was apparently very helpful in keeping him quick on the field. I guess since you have to make quick moves and change directions with ease in hockey, that could only help to improve your football game when it's time to make instinctive decisions on which direction to go for the best outcome. Early on he excelled in football being named Minnesota's Defensive Mr. Football as a senior in high school. He went on to win the Nagurski Award in 2006 as a sophomore at Ohio State, the Butkus Award and Bedinark Trophy in 2007 among other accolades.

He was recognized as one of the most proficient linebackers in college. He was also named the Big Ten Preseason Defensive Player of the Year by Big Ten Media in 2007. He looked very promising to enter the draft in 2008, however his loyalty to the Buckeyes made it an easy decision to stay for his senior year. That was probably a smart move as he also picked up the Lott Trophy in his senior year. These are all things that the teams will be looking for in the 2009 NFL draft.

Laurinaitis, at 6'3" and 249lbs. will be a wanted commodity in this year's draft. He has the speed, the strength and the instincts to make him a good fit for any NFL defense so many teams may be looking at him. According to fftoolbox.com he is expected to go relatively early in the draft but will have competition from USC's Rey Maualuga for the top linebacker pick. One thing that could inhibit his spot is the fact that he didn't play in the Senior Bowl along with the other top linebackers who played and apparently played well. Unfortunately, he had decided to play relatively late and then ended up with the flu and could not play.
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osugrad21;1423295; said:
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Wow. JL's up to 249? Sounds like he's making a push to be considered a Mike, despite people saying he'd be better suited for outside. Anyone else think it's silly that the "draft gurus" are questioning the ability of a three time major defensive award winner? They can question the level of competition in the Big Ten. They can question how far off the line most of his tackles came. But they cannot question the fact that JL was the first choice to replace a senior starter (after injury) as a true freshman, and then went on to become one of the best defensive players in college for three consecutive years, leading his team in tackles, playing in two NC games, setting the all time record for tackles in one. That does not happen by accident or luck. That happens when an athlete commits to making improvement over a long term basis. Any NFL team that does not have the scouts to recognize that quality in JL will not have success, no matter who they draft. Lately, I am less concerned with what pick our Buckeyes go in the draft than the quality of the organization they go to.
 
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Despite lofty college career, Laurinaitis must tackle NFL skeptics
March 7, 2009
By Rob Rang
NFLDraftScout.com Senior Analyst

It's rare for a linebacker -- even an Ohio State linebacker -- to be the face of college football. But that's precisely what James Laurinaitis was for much of his career with the Buckeyes. Most football fans know Laurinaitis by name. Most are also aware that his father is Joe Laurinaitis, a professional wrestler who went by the character name "Animal" of the tag team The Road Warriors. And fans know of the tradition at linebacker at Ohio State, that becoming a star there and following in the footsteps of Randy Gradishar, Tom Cousineau, Chris Spielman and A.J. Hawk, among others, comes with immense expectations.

Laurinaitis has been labeled an overachieving, highly instinctive -- if marginally athletic -- linebacker whose rise to NFL glory was predestined the day he chose Ohio State.

And as it turns out, most would be wrong.

It's hard to imagine Laurinaitis, the fifth player in NCAA history to earn AP All-American honors three consecutive seasons, was barely recruited out of high school. But only two Division I programs offered a scholarship -- his home state Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Buckeyes. It wasn't for a lack of prep achievement. Laurinaitis racked up 193 tackles, including 28 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles, on his way to leading Wayzata High School to the 5A Minnesota state championship game. He was the state's Defensive Mr. Football in 2004.

Why didn't more schools pay attention? Many thought Laurinaitis was going to be the next Wayne Gretzky.

Laurinaitis played hockey and baseball in addition to football in high school. He gave up baseball after his sophomore season, but continued to play hockey. By his senior season, he had been voted team captain and all-conference in one of the top hockey regions in the country. The US Junior National Team invited him to their practices in Colorado. He declined because that was time Laurinaitis wanted to dedicate to preparing for football. Laurinaitis does believe his hockey background pays dividends off the ice. "I think it helps a lot," Laurinaitis explained in a phone interview. "The thing with hockey, I was one of the bigger guys and I was forced to learn to take angles to cut off smaller, quicker guys. It helps you flip your hips. If you have to make a 180 degree turn, you really have to flip your hips. It is harder to do it on the ice than it is to do it on the football field."
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Despite lofty college career, Laurinaitis must tackle NFL skeptics - NFL - CBSSports.com Football
 
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