OL Orlando Pace (7-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl Champion, CFB HOF, NFL HOF)

[Buckskin86]

Jim Tressel might be at a crossroads wondering which way to go, but his two predecessors - Earle Bruce and John Cooper - attest that there is life after coaching Ohio State football.

Cooper made that point to Tressel's wife, Ellen, the other day at the Memorial Tournament. He was working as a charity volunteer in a hospitality tent when she appeared, he said.

"I hugged her neck and said, 'Ellen, great to see you out here,'" Cooper said. "And I told her, 'Tell Coach to get out here, too. Hey, he doesn't have anything to hang his head about. Get out. Enjoy life, for goodness sakes. Don't let somebody else determine whether you are happy or not.'"

Tressel, who already was to be suspended the first five games this season for an NCAA rules violation, was encouraged to resign a week ago by president E. Gordon Gee and the board of trustees through athletic director Gene Smith. Cooper was fired by athletic director Andy Geiger after the 2000 season, Cooper's 13th. Bruce was fired by school president Ed Jennings the Monday before the 1987 Michigan game during his ninth season.

Cooper was 64 when he was fired the day after a lopsided loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. He thought for a time that he might try to coach again.

"But then, you're not going to get an Ohio State or a Notre Dame or a Southern Cal-type coaching job at that point," Cooper said. "If you want to coach, you have to go someplace to try to rebuild a program, and I wasn't going to do that."

Cooper said that once Tressel takes stock of his life, he will understand that this is just the beginning of a new phase.

"My attitude is I've got so much to be thankful for in my life," Cooper said. "I've got my health. I've got my family. I've got a great wife I've got two great kids, three great grandbabies.

"Some people ask me why I didn't leave here, and I tell them Columbus is a great place to live. I told Kirk Herbstreit this (before he moved to Tennessee this year after continued criticism from some Ohio State fans), 'Don't let somebody else dictate whether you're happy or not.' The same thing goes for Jim."

http://www.dispatch.com/live/conten...ow-what-tressel-is-going-through.html?sid=101

 

[Buckskin86]

Big O on ST. Louis radio...start at Segment 4...

http://www.kfns.com/podcast/Episodes.aspx?PID=1949

 

[Buckskin86]

John Cooper feels bad for Buckeyes
Former coach: It's not a happy time for anyone
Jun. 9, 2011
Written by
Joe Reedy

Still living in Columbus, John Cooper, who is a Scouting Consultant for the Bengals, said he hopes to get together with Tressel soon for a round of golf but also said that Tressel has nothing to be ashamed of. / Enquirer file photo

CINCINNATI -- John Cooper has a unique perspective when it comes to Ohio State. He can empathize with what former coach Jim Tressel is going through but also is a big supporter of interim coach Luke Fickell, who is a former Cooper player.

Still living in Columbus, Cooper, who is a Scouting Consultant for the Bengals, said he hopes to get together with Tressel soon for a round of golf but also said that Tressel has nothing to be ashamed of.

?Ohio State is losing a great football coach. He did as great a job as you can do,? Cooper said. ?My advice to Coach Tressel is you can't run and hide, you have nothing you can be ashamed of. When you coach at OSU or any high profile job you're not going to please everyone. I feel same way about Carson Palmer -- you can't run and hide. I'm not going to let anyone else dictate whether I'm happy or not.

?I feel bad for (university president) Dr. (Gordon) Gee and (athletic director) Gene Smith. It?s not a happy time for anyone. Everyone including myself is anxious to see what happens when they meet with the NCAA in August and what kind of penalties there are.?

Cont...

http://communitypress.cincinnati.co...hn-Cooper-feels-bad-Buckeyes?odyssey=nav|head

 

[BB73]

Congrats to Orlando on being voted into the tOSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

Official.site

Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2011 Announced

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame will grow by 11 members this year, as six men and five women will be inducted the weekend of Sept. 9 and 10 the Men's Varsity O Alumni Association and the Women's Varsity O Alumnae Society announced Wednesday. The class will be officially inducted Sept. 9 during a ceremonial dinner and introduced to the public at halftime of the Ohio State home football game against Toledo Sept. 10.

The 2011 class includes: Didi Albrecht (rowing), Raj Bhavsar (men?s gymnastics), Mitch Clark (wrestling), Katy Craig (women?s track and field), Mike Doss (football), Jessica Marshall (pistol), Orlando Pace (football), Leo Raskowski (football), Stacy Roth (softball), Bobby Watkins (football) and Kristen White (women?s golf).

Women were first inducted into the hall in 1993, with 91 women enshrined through 2010. Marshall will be the first member of the pistol team to be inducted into the hall of fame. Craig and White give women?s track and field and women?s golf eight inductees each, while Albrecht and Roth both raise the rowing and softball numbers to five.

The hall of fame was created in 1977 and has inducted 255 men through fall of 2010. The addition of Doss, Pace, Raskowski and Watkins moves the all-time number of former football players in the hall to 103. Bhavsar will be the sixth gymnast, while Clark will be the ninth wrestler enshrined.

Reservations are now being accepted for the Hall of Fame Dinners Sept. 9, with the men and women holding separate ceremonies in The Archie M. Griffin Ballroom at the Ohio Union. Both the men?s and women?s events begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m., with dinner and the ceremony starting at 6:30 p.m.

The cost to attend the women's event is $50 per individual, with tables of eight available for $400. Reservations and payment are required in advance, with the deadline Aug. 26. A printable reservation form is available online at www.osuwomensvo.com. At the dinner Andy Geiger will be presented with the Barbie Tootle Buckeye Spirit Award and Tara VanDerveer will be honored with the Phyllis Bailey Career Achievement Award.

Individual reservations for the men's event are $75, with tables of eight available for $600. Visit www.osumensvo.com for online reservations, a printable reservation form and payment options. Payment cannot be accepted at the door and the reservation deadline is Aug. 26.

For questions about the dinners contact the Varsity O office 614-688-3707 or email [email protected].
...
Orlando Pace
Football 1994-96

Orlando Pace, a two-time first team All-American and two-time All-Big Ten selection, started in every game for the Buckeyes between the 1994-1996 campaigns. During his time at Ohio State, Pace became one of the most dominant offensive linemen ever to play the game. Playing one of the most challenging positions in football, Pace did not allow a sack in either of his last two years. He was known for his famous "Pancake Block" his junior year, finishing the season with 80 of those (knocking his defender to the ground and on his back). He redefined the role of an offensive lineman with his amazing downfield blocking. In 1995, he made college football history by becoming the first sophomore to win the Lombardi Award. As a junior, he again made history by becoming the first two-time winner of the trophy. Pace also was awarded the Outland Trophy and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1996 ? the highest finish by a lineman since a second-place finish by Ohio State's John Hicks in 1973. Pace was the Football News Offensive Player of the Year in 1996 and received the Chicago Tribune's Silver Football as the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten. As a freshman, Pace was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in 1995 and 1996. The native of Sandusky, Ohio, also was a finalist for the Maxwell Award in 1996. Pace was selected by his teammates as Ohio State's MVP in 1996 after leading the squad to a co-Big Ten championship and a 20-17 victory over Arizona State in the 1997 Rose Bowl.

After his three years at Ohio State, Pace entered the 1997 NFL Draft and was selected first overall by the St. Louis Rams - becoming the third Buckeye in program history to be taken No. 1 overall. The five-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowl selection played in 13 seasons in the NFL, including 12 with the Rams, which was highlighted by a Super Bowl ring in 1999 after the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV.

Cont'd...

 

[Buckskin86]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuyWal9-_gQ"]2011 RUNIT Orlando Pace Linemen Camp - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Buckskin86]

Luke Fickell's old coach (John Cooper) remains bullish on the Buckeyes: Bill Livingston
Published: Monday, August 29, 2011
By Bill Livingston, The Plain Dealer

AP photo
"Woody Hayes won here, Earle Bruce won here, I won here, Jim Tressel won here, and Luke (Fickell) will win here because we have better players," former OSU coach John Cooper says when explaining why he's upbeat about the Buckeyes' 2010 season.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Remembered at Ohio State more for what he did not do than what he did, John Cooper is now the man who coached the man who will coach the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Which might put Cooper, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, back in the good graces of the Columbus faithful. Depending, of course, on how his former player, Luke Fickell, does in the one year guaranteed as head coach in the wake of the memorabilia sale scandal by OSU players and Jim Tressel's resignation for covering it up.

Ohio State opens the season Saturday in the Horseshoe against Akron.

There was certainly unfinished business during Cooper's 1988-2000 tenure: Didn't beat Michigan (2-10-1). Didn't win bowl games (3-8). Didn't act like he was from here or was satisfied with the talent here. (He wasn't.)

Then again, he didn't knowingly play ineligible players. Didn't hide the fact of their violations from his superiors. Didn't lie to the NCAA about it.

"Everything in football and life is timing. I never lost to a bad Michigan team," said Cooper. "The last three years, anybody who coached Ohio State would have beaten Michigan. We'll beat them this year too, because we have better players."

Cont...

http://www.cleveland.com/livingston/index.ssf/2011/08/luke_fickells_old_coach_john_c.html

 

[ScriptOhio]

Re: "Woody Hayes won here, Earle Bruce won here, I won here, Jim Tressel won here, and Luke (Fickell) will win here because we have better players,"

and

"I never lost to a bad Michigan team," said Cooper. "The last three years, anybody who coached Ohio State would have beaten Michigan. We'll beat them this year too, because we have better players."

He's saying that he didn't have the better players (vs scUM) in 10 of his 13 years here. If so why not?

 

[Buckeye86]

"I never lost to a bad Michigan team," said Cooper. "The last three years, anybody who coached Ohio State would have beaten Michigan. We'll beat them this year too, because we have better players."

He's saying that he didn't have the better players (vs scUM) in 10 of his 13 years here. If so why not?

I'm pretty sure he's saying GBYBMYMSOB.

 

[BUCKYLE]

Re: "Woody Hayes won here, Earle Bruce won here, I won here, Jim Tressel won here, and Luke (Fickell) will win here because we have better players,"

and

"I never lost to a bad Michigan team," said Cooper. "The last three years, anybody who coached Ohio State would have beaten Michigan. We'll beat them this year too, because we have better players."

He's saying that he didn't have the better players (vs scUM) in 10 of his 13 years here. If so why not?

Lloyd Carr was what...6-1 against Coop?

Jim Tressel got the coach that fucking owned you fired in favor of Rich motherfucking Rodriguez.

Edit: Hot News...not so much.

 

[jlb1705]

Coop's right in one respect - he never got to face a M*ch*g*n team that was capable of losing to Appalachian State. Then again, even if he did I'm sure he would have found a way to get the Buckeyes to crap the bed against them too.

I for one am done resenting him though, and I welcome his presence as a head coach emeritus. These days I tend to focus more of the positives from his era than the negatives. In spite of the fact that his teams ruined my birthday every year and sucked out loud by the time I showed up as a freshman at Ohio State, his teams brought me plenty of great memories.

 

[Woody1968]

Re: "Woody Hayes won here, Earle Bruce won here, I won here, Jim Tressel won here, and Luke (Fickell) will win here because we have better players,"

and

"I never lost to a bad Michigan team," said Cooper. "The last three years, anybody who coached Ohio State would have beaten Michigan. We'll beat them this year too, because we have better players."

He's saying that he didn't have the better players (vs scUM) in 10 of his 13 years here. If so why not?

I think he is saying that scUM sucks.

In fairness to the old coot, the Big Ten was pretty much the toughest conference in the latter part of his tenure. I think he's trying to say, "OK, so I sucked against the weasels, but it isn't like they were total dogshit when I was the coach."

 

[BUCKYLE]

Coop's right in one respect - he never got to face a M*ch*g*n team that was capable of losing to Appalachian State. Then again, even if he did I'm sure he would have found a way to get the Buckeyes to crap the bed against them too.

He never got to face them because that TSUN team didn't exist until James Patrick motherfucking Tressel beat their program, coach, and fans into submission

 

[cdiddy70]

Vintage Cooper.

Never understood that elements like motivation/toughness/team are critical factors in winning tough games. Basically coaches don't matter other than recruiting. It is like an IROC car race.

Aside from his being cheap and his wooden pig (was there ever a human interest story during his era other than that) his "better players" mantra is his calling card.

Might explain why the breadth of his former QB's (Herbies) analysis boils down to "Speed" and "looking preety in the Uni".

 

[MaxBuck]

Coop ... never got to face a M*ch*g*n team that was capable of losing to Appalachian State. ... if he did I'm sure he would have found a way to get the Buckeyes to crap the bed against them too.

I for one am done resenting him though ...

What's wrong with this picture?

 

[stowfan]

Coop's right in one respect - he never got to face a M*ch*g*n team that was capable of losing to Appalachian State. Then again, even if he did I'm sure he would have found a way to get the Buckeyes to crap the bed against them too.

I for one am done resenting him though, and I welcome his presence as a head coach emeritus. These days I tend to focus more of the positives from his era than the negatives. In spite of the fact that his teams ruined my birthday every year and sucked out loud by the time I showed up as a freshman at Ohio State, his teams brought me plenty of great memories.

I hate to disagree with you my bro-hammer, but that UM team was loaded.
Pretty much the same team that went into the "the game" rated #2 in 2006. Same team that Handily beat Florida in a bowl game at the end of the year.

Hennie, Hart, Manningham, Avant, Woodly, Branch just to name a few.