Time for another wander around the BBN for a look back at the week in Ohio State Sports. Oh, and be sure to check out one of the newest places for news from Buckeye Athletics, Unscripted Ohio, from our friends Chris and Jeremy and the Buckeye Sports Bulletin/Yahoo!/Rivals family. It’s a great resource… and we hope to add them as the seventh seal on the BBN in the near future.
We’ll toot tBBC’s horn first this week, if only to give best wishes to our own Jim, who ties the knot to his beautiful fiance today. Mazel Tov, guys… Enjoy your amazing day and your time together on the honeymoon. Oh, and remember: come August his heart belongs to Urban.
James led off our double look at recruiting this week, covering the post- spring game options for football’s class of 2013–
Most people are projecting 21 as the upper limit of scholarships in 2013, so with Heuerman on board (speculation as I write this- ed. He verballed to Notre Dame… what can you do?), that leaves approximately seven spots to fill.
On Friday, Joe talked hoops, given that there are still some options for the Buckeye 2012 class now that transfers and the NBA have increased Ohio State’s numbers-
Now that it seems that the rest of Ohio State’s open scholarships will be turned down for other programs across the country (Amile Jefferson, Anthony Bennett), Thad Matta and company will be looking at the best transfer options and gauging interest in the upcoming month.
Yet, there is still one more interesting option that has evolved from the class of 2012…
The team from the Buckeye Blog evaluated last Saturday’s Spring Game, first with a take on the “Hoot And Holler” drill that kicked off the game–
This is exactly what the 2012 Ohio State team will be playing for – pride and respect. There is no Rose Bowl or Big Ten Championship to play for this year, and some (including myself) have worried about where the motivation will come from for the players. Worry no more. This new coaching staff has instilled a competitive spirit amongst the Scarlet and Gray ranks that was palpable throughout the stadium during this drill.
The review continued by evaluating not only the quarterback performances, but the way that their new coach is grooming them to be the tip of the spear for the new Buckeye offensive philosophy-
Although I’m still a fan of Big 10 style threeyardsandacloudof football, at some point even a successful Jim Bollman offense gets frustrating (not to mention the emotions associated with an unsuccessful Bollman offense). Meyer has said that this is still Ohio State and that we can expect to see a solid running game come fall. Unlike 2011 however, not only will there be the threat of a passing game (which was non-existent at times last year), we should actually have a solid passing game in place.
While there were a number of great articles at TSB this week, the one that made national news was Michael’s interview with Kyle Dodson, which addressed the “Bret Bielema” allegations of a “bumping” recruiting violation-
(Sporting News Editor Jeff Price) told the Lantern that: “There were no corrections, clarifications nor retractions with regard to ‘Hayes’ story on Meyer. What do you think about those statements?
KD: I think it is flattering I have been talked about in such a major publication, but as an insider they should retract those statements. In the end, it does not matter, it is not the truth and I am not sure why they are pushing the issue.
This is NFL Draft Week, and should have been the celebration of the career of former Buckeye Quarterback Terrelle Pryor; but instead, his name is stricken from the minds of many shell-shocked Ohio State fans. Grant looked deeper at this issue, and tried to not only make sense of it all but to restore our memories of #2-
You can argue that Pryor brought everything upon himself, which he did. Nobody would deny that. But to become the single focal point for most of an enormous fan base to aim their venom seems a bit off. He was an Ohio State Buckeye – he is an Ohio State Buckeye – and he’ll always be an Ohio State Buckeye. Like it or not we have photos, video and record books to prove it. I’m just not sure 51% of the fans will ever again embrace him as that, and to me that’s extremely unfortunate.
The guys at OHD have started a great series for the off season, where each of the writers is taking time to write about their favorite Ohio State athletes of all time. This week, Nate weighed in on Michael Redd–
To me, Michael Redd signifies the heart, determination, and will that is needed to have a long productive career in the NBA. But his hard work as a Buckeye, and his stroke that was deadly sweet like sugar cyanide, is what endeared him to me when I was just a young Scarlet and Gray bleeding basketball fanatic. His humility and grace are rare within players with Michael Redd’s level of talent and potential. That is why he is My (and many other fans) Favorite Buckeye.
And we end where we started- with recruiting, as SYR broke the news that Ohio State’s class of 2013 had added yet another defensive star–
Lewis Neal is a 6’2″ 235 lbs 3 star DE/LB from Wilson, North Carolina. Rivals list Neal as the 16th best DE in the country. Scouts has him listed as the 28th best LineBacker in the country. 247sports and ESPN both have him as high 3 stars. Lewis Neal brings a lot to the table in his ability to play multiple positions and in multiple schemes. As we watch recruiting it is becoming more and more clear that Coach Meyer intends to go to a 5-2 base defense and get after the QB.
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