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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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James Laurinaitis is an unfinished product as far as these rankings go.

I could never really understand ranking a current player with "All-Time" greats. Doesnt the word time as in standing the test of, have to mean something? JL is great, and he may turn out to be the greatest, but he has one more season to go. If he does what he can all season then he'll solidify his name amongst the great ones.
 
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It's obiously true that JL's legacy isn't finished, but he has aready been the recipient of a Nagurski Trophy and a Butkus Award.

If he wins another national award this year, I believe he will become the first player to win a major national award in 3 different seasons. That would be extremely impressive.

Personally, I've got Spielman, Gradishar, and Hawk on the first level of Buckeye LB's; and Cousineau, Marek, and Katzenmoyer in the next group, among guys that have completed their careers. But if JL wins another national award this year, I think he'll have to be placed among those in that first group, all that hardware would call for it.
 
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Awards

Awards mean very little, especially when comparing players between years.

Hawk and Speilman were less highly decorated, but much better than James has been to this point in his career. Currently, he has more in common with Paul Pozluzney than Hawk or Speilman.
 
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MiStar;1227589; said:
Awards mean very little, especially when comparing players between years.

Hawk and Speilman were less highly decorated, but much better than James has been to this point in his career. Currently, he has more in common with Paul Pozluzney than Hawk or Speilman.
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Ehhh, you're most likely gonna go into the red with this post.. I won't ding it.. However, I think JL is leaps and bounds better than "Poz" but I don't disagree with Hawk and Speils being better at this point in their career.
 
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MiStar;1227589; said:
Awards mean very little, especially when comparing players between years.

Hawk and Speilman were less highly decorated, but much better than James has been to this point in his career. Currently, he has more in common with Paul Pozluzney than Hawk or Speilman.
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How can you say that Hawk and Speils are "Much Better" than JL at this point in his career? I'm not disagreeing because at this point JL has another year to go so I can't really judge him but I'd like to hear your reasoning.
 
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There were sub-optimal components of Spielman's game that are seldom, if ever, mentioned around here. Indiana coach Bill Mallory spoke about those attributes pretty openly, generating a bit of a buzz at the time.

Spielman is definitely one of my all-time favorite Buckeyes; but the point here is that he wasn't perfect. How many people remember that?

Is it too early to determine JL's place in the pantheon of great Buckeye linebackers? Yes.

But he would still be in that discussion if he had been drafted in April. With one more year to add to his legacy, the sky is the limit.
 
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MiStar;1227589; said:
Awards mean very little, especially when comparing players between years.

Hawk and Speilman were less highly decorated, but much better than James has been to this point in his career. Currently, he has more in common with Paul Pozluzney than Hawk or Speilman.
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I agree to some extent...however, Hawk had a better DL in front of him to free him up better than JL has. I think JL has the potential to be as good, but I still think Hawk is the best at this point. We can make a better judgement at the end of this year.
 
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How big of a role will Laurinaitis have is setting up the defense? It sounds like the coaches are going for more modularity in defensive players instead of specialists this year (re:ozone). I imagine the MLB will be the one responsable for getting the players into the correct sets. This might be his greatest contribution for the year.
 
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OregonBuckeye;1227946; said:
You're rolling on the laughing floor? :tongue2:
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Some days are like that. At least the fourth time I called the cops on my ex-wife for custodial interference and contempt of court they listened and I have my kids with me tonight. I wish we didn't have the show down in the lobby of my daughter's school but oh well. All's well that ends well.

Still think James as a field general kicks as even if I can't spell or abriviate for shit.
 
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