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TE Jake Ballard (Super Bowl Champion)

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LitlBuck;1293162; said:
Shouldn'tsome of the stuff go over to the rumor mill. It is just not good to be posted in a player's thread. It does no one any good.
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When his quotes have been in the national media, it's not exactly a rumor. His comments became a story, and thus belong in this thread.

He may well already wish he hadn't said some things, but they can't be taken back.

BP's posters do need to remain within the guidelines when commenting about the situation.
 
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buckeyesin07;1293290; said:
Ballard's comments seem pretty ridiculous, given Pryor's 4-0 as a starter and the fact that he put the team on his back to win the game in a hostile environment at Wisconsin.
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For those of us old enough to remember, this is a similar scenario to when Art Schlicter replaced Rod Gerald in 1978. Rod was extremely popular with his teammates and was replaced by a true Freshman. There was alot of noise. This will eventualy pass...Just win baby!
 
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Buckrock;1293294; said:
For those of us old enough to remember, this is a similar scenario to when Art Schlicter replaced Rod Gerald in 1978. Rod was extremely popular with his teammates and was replaced by a true Freshman. There was alot of noise. This will eventualy pass...Just win baby!
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interesting. care to expand more on that over in pryor's thread? any of the other old timers remember this?
 
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This team has not lived up to its preseason hype. For players who came back to win a national championship, it has to be a real disappointment. Whether its Jake or whomever, there are no doubt some players who have their noses out of joint about the way the team is portrayed in the press.

The risk of starting Pryor was that a leader of the senior players was being benched and that this just might ignite some intra-team groups (i.e., "the seniors" vs. "the young pups"). Perhaps Jake's comments speak to some of that.

But what Jake needs to understand is that Todd is on the bench, in large part, because the offensive line has not been doing their job. Todd lacks the mobility required to run for his life, play after play. This started with Michigan State last year and it continued thereafter.

If Jake really wants to do the best for this team, he will focus on what he needs to do personally to protect his quarterback this week. Dantonio will be coming after Pryor on every snap.

If Jake wants to do the best he can for his own legacy at Ohio State, he'll remember that fans value loyalty to Ohio State and professionalism. There's no better place to look for an example than Todd.
 
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Steve19;1294373; said:
This team has not lived up to its preseason hype. For players who came back to win a national championship, it has to be a real disappointment. Whether its Jake or whomever, there are no doubt some players who have their noses out of joint about the way the team is portrayed in the press.

The risk of starting Pryor was that a leader of the senior players was being benched and that this just might ignite some intra-team groups (i.e., "the seniors" vs. "the young pups"). Perhaps Jake's comments speak to some of that.

But what Jake needs to understand is that Todd is on the bench, in large part, because the offensive line has not been doing their job. Todd lacks the mobility required to run for his life, play after play. This started with Michigan State last year and it continued thereafter.

If Jake really wants to do the best for this team, he will focus on what he needs to do personally to protect his quarterback this week. Dantonio will be coming after Pryor on every snap.

If Jake wants to do the best he can for his own legacy at Ohio State, he'll remember that fans value loyalty to Ohio State and professionalism. There's no better place to look for an example than Todd.
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GPA.
 
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Official.site

Spring Profile: Ballard Embracing New Leadership Role

Name: [URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059468"][URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059468"][URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059468"]Jake Ballard[/URL][/URL][/URL]
Hometown: Springboro, Ohio
High School: Springboro
Position: Tight End
Year: Senior
Last season: Split time with [URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059370"][URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059370"][URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059370"]Rory Nicol[/URL][/URL][/URL] and was often on the field in two-tight end sets
This season: Will assume a majority of the tight end play as a senior leader

by David Oglethorpe, OhioStateBuckeyes.com
[URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059468"]
[URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059468"]Jake Ballard[/URL][/URL] has spent his first three years at Ohio State playing with or
behind [URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059370"][URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059370"][URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059370"]Rory Nicol[/URL][/URL][/URL]. Now, with Nicol off to the NFL Draft, Ballard finds himself with a starting job and the expectations that come with it.

"Now that Rory's gone theres a lot more responsibility and I can't rely on him like before," Ballard said after a recent practice. "We split time last year and we both had a lot on our shoulders. Now most of that falls on me with these young tight ends around."

The youth that Ballard mentions comes in the form of two freshmen, [URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1383724"]Nic DiLillo[/URL] and [URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1383746"][URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1383746"][URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1383746"]Jake Stoneburner[/URL][/URL][/URL]. DiLillo, a redshirt freshman from Madison, Ohio, and Stoneburner, a first-year player out of Dublin, Ohio, will both be looking up to Ballard for guidance.

"They're both coming along really well," Ballard said. "Jake is coming over from wide receiver and he's a fast tight end for us and he's blocking well. They're learning as fast as they can so we'll see what happens when they get thrown into the fire a little bit.'

Ballard is well known on the field as a blocking tight end, but over the past few years, in that predominantly blocking role, he has still been able to tally some strong offensive numbers. In his sophomore year, he posted 15 receptions and two touchdowns, good for 149 yards. A year later, Ballard pulled in five catches for 73 yards. But in Coach [URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059367"][URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059367"][URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059367"]Jim Tressel[/URL][/URL][/URL]'s new packages, Ballard sees a more offensive role for the tight ends.

"Obviously we block first and catch second, but I think that the tight end position will bring something different to the table," Ballard said. 'I think we'll spread the field a little more and catch a few more balls and be more involved in the receiving game."

After a promising year last season, the Buckeyes are looking to improve on a 10-3 (7-1 Big Ten) season and are hopeful for the future. Ballard looks at the season one game at a time but he feels the team can "go all the way." As for his own performance this year, Ballard promises to do all he can.
"I'm going to work hard every day, make some big blocks, some plays receiving and I hope to get the respect of all the fans out there."
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I was looking at an early list of the top 25 players by position for the 2010 draft and was somewhat surprised to see that Ballard is not on the list for TE's. Guess I probably shouldn't be surprised given how little he has been used in the passing game but I just think he's extremely talented and will get drafted based on size/athleticism alone. Of course, hopefully he will be more involved in the offense and can get some recognition that way as well. Then again I've been hoping for more TE involvement in the OSU offense for year. Anyway, I believe that Ballard is the most talented TE at OSU since Dudley and it would be a shame for him to continue to be underutilized.

Scout.com: 2010 NFL Draft - Top Tight End Prospects
 
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