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

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Thanks for the information. If he does declare and we do draft him he will play middle linebacker in our D since we have enough OLBs. However, like I said Bill likes players with versatility, take for example Mike Vrable who plays OLB primarily but he also plays ILB, 4-3 DE and TE with 10 career receptions all for touchdowns, or Adalius Thomas who plays primarily ILB, but also can and has played OLB, 4-3 DE, 3-4 DE, DT, CB and SS, even Seau plays fullback on goal line situations and Troy Brown our receiver plays CB and nickel. Of course he isn't required to play more than one position full time but as long as he has the versatility to be able to learn one or 2 more positions and be able to play them for one or two downs a game just to add a wrinkle to the opposing team that would outstanding, has he play any other positions while with the Buckeyes? From what I hear the kid is a leader and that would be outstanding given that our team is loaded with leaders and he has a chance to learn from our linebackers whom 5 of them are over 30 years old and still playing strong. The problem with have is that we are missing some serious speed at LB because we rely too much on power and confusion/smarts to beat other teams and because our guys are too old and this has left us vulnerable to running teams specially with guys like LT and Westbrook. I truly hope that he declares because this is the only year that we might come close to sniffing the guy in the draft, next year we will provably be picking back in the late 20s again and there are not other ILB that look worth taking in the top 15..
 
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Outside of special teams, James hasn't played any other position at Ohio State. I don't see any problem with him adapting to new roles if thats what Belichick has in mind. When your team choses to draft any Jim Tressel coached OSU player, the constant you're going to get is a guy who is a leader, and is willing to take the extra time and effort to help their team any way he can. Laurinaitis came in as an unheralded high school recruit, worked his ass off and became the guy he is today. 100+ tackles in a system where he is far from being the focus - he will get the job done at New England if that's where he goes.
 
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Outside of special teams, James hasn't played any other position at Ohio State. I don't see any problem with him adapting to new roles if thats what Belichick has in mind.
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He's played multiple LB positions. With his hands and athleticism, I think he could be an able target on special teams like Vrabel, but I'm not sure we'll see him there.
A.J. went #5 overall. It's going to be hard to top that.
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Yeah, going to 5 wins hurt that chance... even if Oak wins & SF loses, the pats (via SF) still stay ahead with the tiebreaker.
 
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rocketman;1038927; said:
Outside of special teams, James hasn't played any other position at Ohio State. I don't see any problem with him adapting to new roles if thats what Belichick has in mind. When your team choses to draft any Jim Tressel coached OSU player, the constant you're going to get is a guy who is a leader, and is willing to take the extra time and effort to help their team any way he can. Laurinaitis came in as an unheralded high school recruit, worked his ass off and became the guy he is today. 100+ tackles in a system where he is far from being the focus - he will get the job done at New England if that's where he goes.
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Well sounds like the he is the guy that we need, I do hope that he declares and if Darren McFadden is off the board this is the guy that I think we should draft.
 
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PatsDynasty;1038875; said:
Thanks for the information. If he does declare and we do draft him he will play middle linebacker in our D since we have enough OLBs. However, like I said Bill likes players with versatility, take for example Mike Vrable who plays OLB primarily but he also plays ILB, 4-3 DE and TE with 10 career receptions all for touchdowns, or Adalius Thomas who plays primarily ILB, but also can and has played OLB, 4-3 DE, 3-4 DE, DT, CB and SS, even Seau plays fullback on goal line situations and Troy Brown our receiver plays CB and nickel. Of course he isn't required to play more than one position full time but as long as he has the versatility to be able to learn one or 2 more positions and be able to play them for one or two downs a game just to add a wrinkle to the opposing team that would outstanding, has he play any other positions while with the Buckeyes? From what I hear the kid is a leader and that would be outstanding given that our team is loaded with leaders and he has a chance to learn from our linebackers whom 5 of them are over 30 years old and still playing strong. The problem with have is that we are missing some serious speed at LB because we rely too much on power and confusion/smarts to beat other teams and because our guys are too old and this has left us vulnerable to running teams specially with guys like LT and Westbrook. I truly hope that he declares because this is the only year that we might come close to sniffing the guy in the draft, next year we will provably be picking back in the late 20s again and there are not other ILB that look worth taking in the top 15..
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Dang, who's your coach - Chuck Bednarik?

Seriously, don't count your Lil' Animals before they're hatched - we're not quite through with this one yet - hopefully.
 
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NightmaresDad;1040335; said:
Dang, who's your coach - Chuck Bednarik?

Seriously, don't count your Lil' Animals before they're hatched - we're not quite through with this one yet - hopefully.
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Well I am just trying to find out more about some of the Prospects that have the best chance at being drafted by the Pats and what they bring to the table. 2 years ago people where very surprised that we drafted Lawrence Maroney (a RB) in the first round but I was already well aware that we might have drafted one so I looked into some of the RBs available for us to pick and I thought it was a great pick. Now I am not sure if James is even going to declare but I wanted to "educate" myself about this prospect if in fact we have a chance to pick him.
 
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International Herald Tribune: Humble Laurinaitis doesn't believe he belongs among Ohio State's great linebackers

Humble Laurinaitis doesn't believe he belongs among Ohio State's great linebackers

The Associated Press
Saturday, December 29, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio: Before he leaves Ohio State ? after one more game or one more season ? James Laurinaitis will undoubtedly rank among the school's top linebackers ever.

This astounds Laurinaitis. The son of a WWE icon, he still thinks of himself as a work in progress despite winning earlier this month the Butkus Award, given to the nation's top linebacker, and the Nagurski Award a year ago as top defender.

"It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable to be mentioned in the same category as A.J. (Hawk) or Chris Spielman," he said during the Buckeyes' preparations for their BCS title game showdown with LSU on Jan. 7 in New Orleans. "To be honest, I don't even feel like it's necessary yet. I'm so humbled to even be up for these awards and to think of the past players that have been up for the awards. It's so humbling and such a blessing. I still don't feel like I'm on the same level as those same players."

Others disagree.

For instance, LSU coach Les Miles has no trouble putting Laurinaitis among the best players in his position, at Ohio State or any other school.

"I watched Laurinaitis' highlights and no guy should be allowed to have that many highlights," he said. "He is one of the finest players in college football."

Ohio State has churned out several quality linebackers, including Randy Gradishar, Tom Cousineau, Bob Brudzinski, Stan White, Marcus Marek, Thomas "Pepper" Johnson, Spielman and Hawk, who now plays for the Green Bay Packers.

cont'd...
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Dispatch

College football
Stay or go?
Gholston, Jenkins, Laurinaitis are latest Ohio State underclassmen faced with the decision of whether to leave early for NFL
Sunday, December 30, 2007 3:49 AM
By Ken Gordon


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
1230_osu_gholston_sp_12-30-07_C1_9D8TS5V.jpg
David Foster | Dispatch
Defensive end Vernon Gholston
1230_osu_jenkins_sp_12-30-07_C1_9D8TS66.jpg
Renee Sauer | Dispatch
Cornerback Malcolm Jenkins
1230_osu_laurinaitis2_sp_12-30-07_C1_9D8TS88.jpg
Neal C. Lauron | DISPATCH
Linebacker James Laurinaitis

They were driving to the airport last week, through Minnesota snow and ice, when Joe Laurinaitis got a glimpse into his son's conflicted heart.
James, a junior linebacker, wants to concentrate on Ohio State's Jan. 7 date with Louisiana State in the national championship game. Any talk of he and his teammates entering the NFL draft is a distraction he is determined to avoid.
But the reality is that within a week of returning from New Orleans, Laurinaitis and a dozen other OSU underclassmen will be forced to make a decision college players have been facing for 18 years: Stay or go?
Joe Laurinaitis is a businessman, a former professional wrestler. To him, with James pro-jected as a top-10 pick, the decision should be easy.

Continued......
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Lima
Laurinaitis prefers to dodge spotlight

 Jim Naveau | [email protected] - 12.30.2007
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]COLUMBUS ? By birth and by being a middle linebacker, James Laurinaitis comes with one set of expectations, but he quickly creates another very different set of them upon closer observation.
His father Joe Laurinaitis had a long career as a flamboyant professional wrestler under the name ?The Animal.?
Other than a few tattoos on his arms, it would be hard to think of another way the younger Laurinaitis? exterior persona even approaches flamboyance.
He plays a position where many players hit with uncommon intensity on the field and seethe with it when they?re off the field and aren?t running into someone.
Think of the 8.0 on the Richter Scale tackle Andy Katzenmoyer put on Missouri quarterback Corby Jones in 1997. Remember Chris Spielman?s smoldering intensity as he paced the sideline with his helmet on when he didn?t start his first game at Ohio State.

Cont...

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