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LB Mike D'Andrea (official thread)

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MililaniBuckeye said:
Uh, maybe because he didn't have the same amount of experience as Katzenmoyer and Wilhelm? Neither of them got hurt, and D'Andrea was stuck behind an All-American in his true frosh year and saw next to no PT. Mike has had a lot of breaks go against him and never got the experience to allow him to "let his head catch up with his body". Even Wilhelm said himself that when D'Andrea catches on the the mental part of the game, look out. He made several run-down tackles in the Cincy and Marshall games that I can recall, and he seemed to be in position a lot more than he was in his limited PT the previous two years. Keep in mind that it was his first season as the starter, giving him a chance to have the game sink-in, and it was really starting to click for him.

If he remains 100% healthy for 2007, he will be the most talented MLB on the team and Tressel will start him, especially as a fifth-year senior. If he's 100% by mid-season, he may just take over the MLB from Schlegel, and no one has been complaining about Schlegel's play.

Some people have blown him off solely because he didn't come in and take over the game like everyone thought when he was recruited.
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My point is with bringing up Wilhelm and Katzenmoyer is that D'Anderea hasn't shown he can fill the hole and make a tackle like those two. Wilhelm showed that as a sophmore. I think that is very important for a MLB, especially at Ohio State.

I haven't blown him off because somebody like Kenny Peterson had a break out season as a 5th year senior. Still, D'Andrea hasn't done much in 3 seasons. These injuries have really cost him in his development. Practice is very important to somebody that doesn't have it mentally on the field. How exactly is missing fall (and spring???) camp going to help D'Andrea take over the job from Schlegel like you said he may do? No one complains about Schegel because he can consistently make plays against the run. Schlegel did end up 3rd on the team in tackles, 2nd in sacks, and 1st in TFL.

D'Andrea played a lot in blow out wins against Kent State, San Jose State, and Indiana in 2002. He played in every game but Cincinnati. I remember getting some spot time (along with Pagac) when Wilhelm went out. He was on special teams as a true freshman. D'Andrea couldn't even beat out Fred Pagac in 2003. Pagac was not even All-Big Ten. You said IF he catches on to the mental part and I agree but he really didn't show me much last season in those 3 1/2 games. D'Andrea only averaged 4 tackles in his 3 starts, while Schlegel averaged 7 in all 12 games (which includes 4 games he didn't start). There is no way he is going to start ahead of Schlegel this season when he comes back. I will guarentee you that. You said in another post that D'Andrea was tearing it up before he got injured, 4 tackles a game for a MLB at Ohio State is not going to cut it.

Let me say I want to see D'Andrea get the mental part down because a phsyical freak like him at MLB is devasting. Though, in my opinion he may never have the instincts at MLB to even get to All-Big Ten level. You either have those instincts like a Hawk or you don't. You put up is injuries on top of that and I wouldn't be surprised at all if Hoobler starts ahead of D'Andrea in 2006.
 
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MililaniBuckeye said:
Uh, maybe because he didn't have the same amount of experience as Katzenmoyer and Wilhelm?
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MD still has time to make his mark, and I think he will, but regarding Katzenmoyer, the big Kat was absolutely dominating as a true freshman..he was a freak that didn't need experience...his instincts and freakish physical attributes was all he needed
 
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Listening to JT's call-in show on 1460 right now ... notes:

1. Steve Winner and Rob Harley (great great nephew of Chic Harley), both 5th year senior walk-ons, have been awarded full scholorships.

2. Miami OH is fast and experienced, so the team knows how dangerous they are. They're taking Miami very seriously. JT knows just about every kid on the Miami roster, including their high school exploits. The staff is aware of which receivers and tailbacks were QBs in high school, so they're ready for every gadget play in the book that Miami could run to gain an edge. Noted the number of seniors on the Redhawks team, and that in the last three years they have played at LSU, at Iowa, and at Michigan, so they will not be intimidated by the Shoe or the crowd noise.

3. Zwick is ready to go and is "just like Craig" in regards to intelligence (blitz recognition, hot reads, audibles). Zwick "didn't miss a beat" by being out of practice. If Troy or Todd want to start, they "better start practicing like it's their job to lose," because Justin sure is.

4. Dionte is a force at FB. When he's in the game "somebody is going to get hit. 80% of the time it'll be defender, maybe 20% of the time it'll be a guard getting hit in the back, but you know when Dionte is in there somebody is going to get hit."

5. Schnitker is down to 242 and ready to go for the season. Schnitker is the #1 back for single back formations because his size and speed make it impossible for defenses to know if he's in for pass protect, run/pass option, or between the tackles. All other backs are at sizes that the defense can gameplan against jersey numbers in the backfield. Staff apparently self-scouted tendencies last year for what defenses did based on backfield personel that prevented the running game from going.

6. Mo Wells will see playing time and is pushing Pittman. Wells is great in pass protection and earned PT. Not once did JT mention Haw.

7. Everett is ready for corner. Asked about his INT against PSU and he responded with, "the most important play will be the next play ... I haven't thought about PSU." Says he's defended man-on-man against the four best receivers in the country (Ginn, Holmes, Gonzo, and Hall) so he's ready for anybody. Is aware he's probably going to be picked on alot as QBs will stay away from Youboty until Tyler proves himself.

8. Nader Abdallah's family is out of LA and moving to Columbus to live with him for a couple of months. Everyone in Nader's family got out of NO okay.
 
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Great to see Winner and Harley get schollies. I always love it when guys that have been in the program for years get a reward for their hard work. I remember Rob being on crutches when they unveiled Chic's retired number last year at the PSU halftime.

Hope the Abdallah family has a smooth relocation to C-Bus, I'm sure they've lost a lot this week, like thousands of others.
 
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6. Mo Wells will see playing time and is pushing Pittman. Wells is great in pass protection and earned PT. Not once did JT mention Haw.
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looks like it was true after all. Haw might not be all that bad, but it sounds like the other three are breaking out. I don't think its necessarily related to the drug thing at all.
 
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Dryden said:
5. Schnitker is down to 242 and ready to go for the season. Schnitker is the #1 back for single back formations because his size and speed make it impossible for defenses to know if he's in for pass protect, run/pass option, or between the tackles. All other backs are at sizes that the defense can gameplan against jersey numbers in the backfield. Staff apparently self-scouted tendencies last year for what defenses did based on backfield personel that prevented the running game from going.
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Wow, possibly the most interesting quote out of a Tressel press conference I've seen. It solves a lot of the mystery of Schnitker's increased role. I love hearing things like this out of a coaching staff. They had very real problems in the running game last year that did not revolve aound having the best "horses". This is easy to see when even the weaker teams stop your run game. There will be no waiting around for the next Orlando Pace and Eddie George, the staff will maximize the talent they have and give them every opportunity to succeed. The offensive philosophy and scheming continues to evolve.
 
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4. Dionte is a force at FB. When he's in the game "somebody is going to get hit. 80% of the time it'll be defender, maybe 20% of the time it'll be a guard getting hit in the back, but you know when Dionte is in there somebody is going to get hit."
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That's funny.
6. Mo Wells will see playing time and is pushing Pittman. Wells is great in pass protection and earned PT. Not once did JT mention Haw.
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Tress was on 700WLW last night in Cincy. Furman asked about the running backs, and said "Coach, I assume Pittman and Haw will get the bulk of the carries." JT went on to talk about Pittman, Schnittker, and Wells and what they each bring. Never mentioned Haw.
5. Schnitker is down to 242 and ready to go for the season. Schnitker is the #1 back for single back formations because his size and speed make it impossible for defenses to know if he's in for pass protect, run/pass option, or between the tackles. All other backs are at sizes that the defense can gameplan against jersey numbers in the backfield. Staff apparently self-scouted tendencies last year for what defenses did based on backfield personel that prevented the running game from going.
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That is huge, IMO. If a knowledgable fan knows your tendencies, imagine what the opposition is able to pick up.
 
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coxew said:
That is huge, IMO. If a knowledgable fan knows your tendencies, imagine what the opposition is able to pick up.
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I was wondering about self-scouting last year. Let's hope that some well-done homework can result in some 'bait-and-switch' plays that result in defenses being completely out of position.
 
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Dryden said:
5. Schnitker is down to 242 and ready to go for the season. Schnitker is the #1 back for single back formations because his size and speed make it impossible for defenses to know if he's in for pass protect, run/pass option, or between the tackles. All other backs are at sizes that the defense can gameplan against jersey numbers in the backfield. Staff apparently self-scouted tendencies last year for what defenses did based on backfield personel that prevented the running game from going.
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I caught a little bit of that show yesterday, and this is what I thought was most interesting. Tressel even said that Schnitker would even be used "at tailback," though I'm guessing that he's just talking about a 1-back set.
 
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FWIW, In the practice session shown on ESPiN the other day, Schnittker was at TB in the "I" with Stan White at FB.

I'm thinking that Haw is not being mentioned at all because he is not eligible for the game. Once he is eligible to play, then JT will begin discussing where he stands. He probably is 4th in the depth chart at this point, though.
 
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NightmaresDad said:
I'm thinking that Haw is not being mentioned at all because he is not eligible for the game. Once he is eligible to play, then JT will begin discussing where he stands. He probably is 4th in the depth chart at this point, though.
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For how long is he not eligible? I hadn't heard this before.
 
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