Bleacher Report - Articles by Zero Null

Ohio State Football: How Good is Good Enough?

Zero Null — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:22:52 -0400

I think we're all in agreement that there's a pretty good chance Tressel could have his best Buckeye team this fall. No apparent weaknesses. Yet, will his best be enough to topple the premier team of this decade, in their place?

A veritable Florida State of the aughts, the Trojans are so consistently good that whenever there's an uncertainty about who should start as the preseason No. 1 team in America, USC is thrown in as part of the top cluster.

Sure, Southern Cal only returns 11 starters from a team that was supposed to win it last year, but that's all good—the last four recruiting classes were ranked 1st, 1st, 2nd, and 8th on signing day.

We'll break this game down in due time, but over the course of this summer, these five things keep popping into my head and are scaring the crap out of me:

1. Taylor Mays

USC's free safety is gigantic for his position at 6'4" and 230 pounds. Oh, did I mention that he's run a 4.25? He's a Pryor-like super freak on the defensive side of the ball. The Trojan secondary isn't expected to be quite as good as it was last year, but Mays may be the best defensive back in the nation. Think Sean Taylor, but Bigger, and hunting Boeckman ducks.

2. Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing

The West Coast version of Laurinaitis and Freeman, but bigger. Maualuga passes out pain and Cushing has earned all-conference nods at two positions. The loss of Rivers is not insignificant, but the fact that the Trojans are well positioned to take on the strength of the Buckeye offense should give pause.

3. Those Running Backs

When most teams spell their workhorse, the drop-off in talent is evident when the backup takes the hand-off. When USC spells a running back, the guy getting the carry was likely the nation's top-rated running back at one point in high school.

Johnson, McKnight, Gable, Tyler—the Trojans are loaded. Granted, USC's line shouldn't be as good as it's been in recent years, but with that kind of depth, the Buckeye defense can't afford a play off.

4. Pete Carroll and His Gigantic Big Game Gonads

Pete's the one coach that's pretty hard to hate. Chill guy, good with the players, and absolutely money in big games. Since he's turned around USC, the only big game he's lost was to arguably the greatest college football talent of the last quarter century. And that was to prevent his team from three-peating.

While his teams drop the occasional game to inferior competition, they simply do not lose big games. And the game on 9/13 is a tad big.

5. Will Ferrell

I haven't trusted that guy since Elf.

Who or what is on your nightmare list for the USC game?

Michael Redd Joins Olympic Team

Zero Null — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:04:33 -0400

Michael Redd will be a member of Team America. Although it won’t be official until later Monday, most of the team was known over the weekend as the NBA cemented its hold on the league that keeps secrets the worst.

If you doubt that for one second, think about the last time you found out about the league’s MVP award from the official announcement.

Redd’s downtown game has been an element the national team has sorely missed during the last three marquee international events. In 2002, the team, coached by George Karl, finished sixth in the World Championships. That team holds the distinction of being the first squad consisting of NBA players to lose an international game.

In the 2004 Olympics, the team went 2-2 during opening round play and fought like hell to secure the bronze after losing to Argentina in the semifinals. That team featured some incredible guards, but none of them were genuine outside threats.

In the 2006 World Championships, Team USA once again advanced to the semifinal round before losing to Greece and settling for the bronze. LeBron, Carmelo and Wade captained this squad, but again, the team didn’t feature a long-range guy.

Redd joined the national team for the 2007 FIBA Americas Tournament and bonded responded. Coming off the bench, his 14 points per game were good enough for fourth-best on the team, and he developed a rapport with Kidd and Kobe, both of whom will be on the ‘08 squad.

I have fond memories of the original Dream Teams and want nothing better than to see the United States return to its place on top, but you keep wondering if athleticism will get it done against fundamentally sound opponents that have quickly closed the talent gap on us.

The projected roster, if you’re interested.

Jay Paterno Is Rocking the Vote

Zero Null — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:28:45 -0400

Penn State quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno is evidently a pretty big Barack Obama fan. Disregard the fact that pops is a lifelong Republican—Jay has started a blog at Obama’s official website. Hilarity of epic proportions has quickly ensued.

Zack Mills, Galen Hall, Anthony Morelli, and RichRod are all commenting, and as you might have guessed, they’re all hammering him about football. It appears as if Jay is deleting these comments, even going so far as to respond to defend censorship accusations:

"They were deleted because they have no relevance to this campaign. They are comments that belong on football web sites and not political web sites. If you want to discuss football feel free to e-mail me and I will happily discuss anything you want.

It is not censorship, it is called relevance."

Still, many comments are getting through, including one asking Jay what he was doing tending to the blog at 10 a.m. on a Friday morning (he defended this as well). You have to wonder how long they can keep this blog up.

Even when trying to tackle serious issues like offshore drilling, the first commenter wants to know if Jay has mastered throwing the ball over the middle yet. Later, in that same thread, RockStar Games was kind enough to offer copies of Grand Theft Auto IV:

"Dear Jay,

We’ve seen a lot of press this past year about how you are using EA Sports’ NCAA Football 2008 to help with your game-planning. Well we at Rockstar Games think we could be of significant help as well since the Penn State offense has seen more car crashes than our recent release of Grand Theft Auto IV. We’d like to help. If there is any interest, please give us a call."

If you have a few extra minutes, hit up the comments and you’ll be in stitches. And please keep politics out of the comments here. This is a Whig Party blog, after all.

(Via Happy Hour Valley)

Hoops Nugs: Bob Huggins in the Hide the Booze Edition

Zero Null — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:26:31 -0400

Lock up the liquor—it was announced yesterday that Bob Huggins and his WVU Mountaineers will visit Value City Arena next year, with a return trip to Morgantown the following season.

I know many in Buckeye country are fond of the old slickster from his days as Eldon Miller’s assistant, but I’ve always found him smug and slimy and hated his UC teams that featured thugs like Danny Fortson, Kenyon Martin, Ruben Patterson, and my personal favorite, Donald Little.

Remember him? He’s the one who taped his roommate to a chair, burned him with a coat hanger, launched free weights at his dome, and hit him with a whiskey bottle before stabbing him in the leg. Damn, Capone.

That said, I can’t argue with how Huggy Bear turned around UC, put Kansas State on the map, and now has WVU in the upper tier of the Big East.

Am I in the minority in my feelings towards Chuggins?

In other news, former Cyclone forward Wesley Johnson will visit Ohio State in the coming weeks. The 6'7" Johnson is also heavily considering Syracuse, WVU, and Pitt and will have two years of eligibility remaining starting with the 2009-10 season.

Matta likes Johnson as a sorta-power forward that can step out on the wing and hit the three. He averaged over 12 points a game last season despite playing on a bad wheel.

Ohio State Football: Antonio Henton Headed Home?

Zero Null — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:52:21 -0400

ver since it became clear that the Buckeyes had a good shot at getting Terrelle Pryor, we’ve been wondering about the fate of sophomore-to-be Antonio Henton.

After getting off to a great start, some naughty stuff went down. He was later reinstated and supposedly had climbed his way back into a position to be rumored as a change-of-play option in the MNC.

He never saw the field that night, and the next time we had a chance to see him on the field, he was outplayed by Bauserman.

There were rumors of a possible transfer to Georgia Southern back in late January, but today they kicked up again—and in earnest:

Ohio State quarterback Antonio Henton has reportedly told his Buckeye teammates he’s headed for GSU, an ESPN writer confirmed to the Statesboro Herald Wednesday. Georgia Southern’s B-term for summer classes begins next week, and second-year GSU coach Chris Hatcher said he couldn’t discuss transfers until then. Henton could not be reached for comment.

Henton, a 6-foot-2, 232 pound Fort Valley native, already has Georgia Southern ties—Eagle offensive coordinator Rance Gillespie was Henton’s high school head coach at Peach County. Henton was tabbed the 2005 Georgia Offensive Player of the Year as a senior when he helped his team to the Class AAA state title, the first in Peach County’s history. He threw for 2,117 yards and 30 touchdowns his senior year and was touted as one of the best multi-threat quarterback prospects in the country coming out of high school.

If Henton is headed South—and the Facebook never lies—we wish him the best of luck. He made a simple mistake hundreds of miles away from home, and a change in scenery and some home-cooking should be just the thing to give him the best chance of furthering his football career beyond college.

And to the droids without any feeling besides Buckeye pain and joy, yes, that means one more scholarship for the ‘09 class.

Buckeye Skivvies on Hold

Zero Null — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:13:07 -0400

Columbus-based Victoria’s Secret is about to roll out a collegiate line of cooter covers, sweats, and tank tops, but Les Wexner’s own Ohio State Buckeyes will not be a part of the original 33 schools to go Pink.

According to the Dispatch, Wexner’s role as head of Limited Brands coupled with his spot on the OSU Board of Trustees has made striking a deal for some Buckeye booty britches a bit of a chore considering OSU is a state university, leading to potential conflict of interest issues.

Maybe I’m just a perv, but can’t we all set aside our differences in an effort to get more coeds and cougars into some Buckeye-based undergarments?

Minnesota Football: 11W’s Sneak Peak

Zero Null — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:00:26 -0400

We’re counting down the days until kickoff by profiling a different Big Ten team each week. Today, the Golden Brewsters are up.

Tim Brewster wasn’t interested in any rebuilding project after Glen Mason was fired, and he assured the Gopher faithful before last season that anything short of a Big Ten championship was going to be a disappointment.

Unfortunately for tight end Tim, the Gopher season turned out to be a half-assed re-enactment of Brewster’s Millions, as Tim was the highest paid coach per victory in the 2007 season, earning a million dollars per victory.

COACHING: I have to believe Tim Brewster’s seat is a little warm heading into this season. There is no doubt the Big Ten conference as a whole is down, and when you go 1-10 in a season, there is going to be added pressure the following year. Timmy better produce this fall or the Gophers may look for another coach to open up their new outdoor stadium next fall.

OFFENSE: Tight end Tim has implemented a spread offense, and sophomore Adam Weber is back to build upon his team-leading passing (2,895 yards) and rushing (617 yards) numbers from last season. Weber is joined by seven retuning starters on offense, including leading receiver Eric Decker, who caught 67 passes for 909 yards and nine touchdowns.

Minnesota will have to replace starting tailback Amir Pinnix with sophomore Duane Bennett, who will look to improve upon his 4.7 yards per touch last year. Even though Weber’s leading receiver is back, the Gophers don’t have much returning in terms of depth, and the loss of Earnie Wheelwright is going to hurt.

Ralph Spry, Tray Herndon and Jack Simmons each caught 20 or more passes for 200-plus yards last year, and each one will be looking to make his mark during the Metrodome’s last Big Ten season.

DEFENSE: The lowly Gophers lost their leading tackler and sacker from last year in Dominique Barber (100 tackles) and Mike Sherels (2.5 sacks) respectively, which is huge considering they led the defense to a Division I-worst ranking last year. Senior linebackers Deon Hightower and John Shevlin will have to step up and lead seven retuning starters towards last-place redemption.

KEY GAME: I would venture to say that every game on Minnesota’s schedule is important this year. The Gophers are one of these punk-ass teams that has brought the Big Ten’s reputation down over the last couple of years, and this team will need to win all of their OOC games against Northern Illinois, at Bowling Green, Montana State, and Florida Atlantic to help their overall record.

BEST CASE: The best case for Minnesota is 7-5, with a 3-5 Big Ten record. To go along with the aforementioned OOC victories, Minnesota could win home games against Indiana, Northwestern, and Iowa.

WORST CASE: The worst-case scenario is another last-place finish. Tight end Tim may have 15 starters back and a top 25 recruiting class, but I don’t see Minnesota having an above-.500 season, which is going to cause some major rumblings. Remember, Glen Mason led the Gophers to five straight bowl appearances before being canned.

I will give the Gophers all four victories OOC, but I see a 1-7 Big Ten record, pushing Timmy’s conference record to 1-15. I still think Minnesota made a horrible mistake letting Glen Mason go, and they are going to be paying for it for years to come.

The spread offense is a great concept, but it takes a few years to get the talent up to par, and Minnesota could be opening their new stadium next year having lost 19 conference games in the last three years.

Minnesota will be the doormat of the Big Ten this year, as I think they will struggle once again on both sides of the ball. Tim Brewster didn’t have any head coaching experience before his hiring in Minneapolis, and his team comes in riding a ten-game losing streak.

He may know how to coach tight ends, but the overall game concept is still a challenge to Brewster, and I think Minnesota will finish last in the Big Ten, going 1-7 in the process.

Ohio State Football: Looking Back—The Legacy of 1998

Zero Null — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:45:10 -0400

We conclude our look at the 1998 Buckeye football team by examining the team’s legacy and trying to figure out what most of that team is up to these days.

There’s certainly a strong argument to be made that the 1998 team was the most talented Buckeye squad of the past quarter century. True, the 2002 squad closed the deal, but stop for a minute and think of what Tressel would have accomplished at the helm of the 1998 team. Take nothing away from Cooper—his recruiting operation took the program to a new level—but he’s no Tressel.

1998 was not only Cooper’s best team, it was his last good team for that matter. The 1999 opener would see his ninth-ranked Buckeyes soundly beaten by Butch Davis and the Hurricanes in the Kickoff Classic. The defining play came on the Buckeyes’ first possession when Michael Wiley was run down from behind by Miami linebacker Al Blades.

The Canes would go on to earn a 23-12 victory, but the score wasn’t even that close. Miami was back on the map and used that game as a springboard to three years of dominance, while the Buckeyes sputtered to a 6-6 finish. Sixteen months later, after an 8-4 season and an Outback Bowl embarrassment, Cooper was jobless.

Today, some coaches and players from that 1998 team are still involved in football, while others are off the radar. Cooper never coached again but will be formally enshrined in the College Football Hall of fame in four weeks.

Offensive coordinator Mike Jacobs served a stint at Oklahoma State and is now the interim head coach at Mesa Community College. Defensive coordinator Fred Pagac parted ways with Ohio State upon Tressel’s arrival and spent time with the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs before joining the Minnesota Vikings in 2006, where he’s still employed as the team’s linebacker coach.

Upper Arlington native John Tenuta, the defensive backs coach on the 1998 team, is currently the assistant head coach at Notre Dame after a successful run as the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech.

Quarterback Joe Germaine is lighting up the AFL for Danny White and the Utah Blaze. He had the misfortune of going to the Rams right when the Kurt Warner Experience was coming online, but will probably be an AFL first-ballot Hall-of-Famer if such a thing even exists. Michael Wiley spent three years in with the Cowboys and is now something of a nightclub impresario in Columbus.

Wide receiver David Boston left after his junior season and was an Arizona Cardinals first-round selection in 1999. He would lead the NFL in receiving in 1999, and greatness appeared to be around the corner until a rash of injuries and the steroids bug landed him out of the NFL.

He’s currently attempting a comeback with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, but injuries may be throwing a curve into his plans once again.

Wide receiver pipes?

Dee Miller has his own insurance agency in Hilliard and does analyst work for 1460, while Ken-Yon Rambo is making somewhat of a name for himself in the CFL as well. Tight end John Lumpkin is currently a Chase branch manager in the Dayton area and wants to add you to his network.

Left tackle Tyson Walter was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL draft, but is now out of the league. He’s most famously remembered for suing former teammate LeCharles Bentley for $2 million dollars for punching him in the face in 2000. He was awarded $6,000.

Rob Murphy is another former Buckeye playing in the CFL and was recently named the league’s top lineman for the second consecutive season.

Defensive end Rodney Bailey was drafted by Pittsburgh in the sixth round of the 2001 NFL draft. He’s currently listed as a backup defensive tackle with the Arizona Cardinals. Ryan Pickett is a Packer and end Brent Johnson is playing with Rob Murphy on the BC Lions of the CFL.

Andy Katzenmoyer, the guy most thought was the can’t miss prospect on the ‘98 defense, is currently coaching at his alma mater Westerville South after a neck injury forced his early retirement from the NFL. He recently launched a fitness website and had his first child in April.

Meanwhile, fellow backer Na’il Diggs has enjoyed a productive career at the next level and is currently playing for the Carolina Panthers. Jerry Rudzinski is currently working as an analyst for Bucknuts and “still maintains his relationship with the Ohio State program and staff.”

All five members of the 1998 team’s nickel package went on to play in the NFL, cementing the unit as one of the finest in school history. Nate Clements, or Lockdown 22, earned a couple of Pro Bowl selections in Buffalo before signing a fat contract with the 49ers.

Antoine Winfield is still doing his thing for the Vikings—leading the team in tackles by a defensive back despite missing six games last season—and Ahmed Plummer spent five years with the 49ers before injuries forced his retirement. Strong safety Damon Moore spent four years in the NFL, three of them with the Eagles, and may or may not be selling cell phones in Grove City these days.

Ten years removed, the 1998 team still holds up. The talent collection on that team rivals any to have come before or after, and although they were part of one of the saddest days in Buckeye football history, time and a decade of excellence has helped heal old wounds. If anyone has additional updates on the whereabouts of members of that team, we’d love to hear them.

Related Posts:

Big 10 Football Predictions: Bloggers Know

Zero Null — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 01:36:46 -0400

It’s mid-June, and that can only mean one thing: preseason ranking time. Magazines are hitting the newsstands, and diligent bloggers everywhere are analyzing and debating the predictions—the Great Steele likes Georgia only slightly better than Penn State, you say?

The media will assemble in Chicago next month to vote on the conference favorites and likely award winners, but we have you covered for now. The fine Northwestern blog Lake The Posts has compiled the prognostications of fellow conference bloggers and released the first-ever Big Ten Bloggers preseason rankings.

According to guys that write in their mothers’ basements, the Big Ten should shake out like this (11W ballot rankings in parens):

1 (1)		Ohio State: No shocker here. LTP notes that Wolverine blog Maize & Blue Nation turned in the only ballot that didn’t have the Buckeyes at the top. Cute.
2 (4)		Penn State: Conference bloggers (and Steele) both like the Nittany Lions a little bit more than we do. They have a lot of talent coming back and the Morelli curse is lifted, but Joe Pa (and staff) get a no-confidence vote out of us.
3 (2)		Wisconsin: We’re so conflicted. On one hand, Wisky should be tough in ‘08, but on the other hand we’re convinced that Bielema will destroy everything that Barry built.
4 (3)		Illinois: Buckeye fans probably have good reason to be a little more bullish on the Illini than the conference at large.
5 (6)		Michigan State: As much as we’re Dantonio believers, it’s hard to escape that “Little Brother” bit.
6 (5)		Michigan: The rest of the conference bloggers seem to agree with us that year one of the Rodriguez era may be a little bumpy.
7 (9)		Iowa: Our colleagues think a little higher of Iowa than we do, which is basically that Ferentz has lost the program.
8 (7)		Purdue: Painter is back for his ninth season, but that’s about it in terms of returning talent.
9 (8)		Northwestern: Bachér and Sutton are poised for big seasons. We’re not sure they’ll go 8-4 as LTP insists, but they’ll be dangerous.
10 (10)		Indiana: With the loss of Hardy, the Hoosiers’ season hinges on whether or not Keller returns from suspension.
11 (11)		Minnesota: Mmm.. Tight ends. But seriously, those loaded (by Gopher standards at least) classes will pay off some year. Just not this year.

So, not too much divergence from our peers. How does your top 10 11 look?

Iowa is starting to recover from the devastating flooding of last week, but help is still needed in the area. I’m embarrassed to admit that I had underestimated the scope of the issue until reading about it at BHGP. The Iowa City video that they link to is jaw-dropping: residence halls and power plants underwater.

Since it’s fashionable these days to think of Buckeye fans as knuckle-dragging baby-eaters, I can’t think of a better way to help dispel that notion than to take up Hawkeye State’s request and make a donation to the American Red Cross that serves the region.