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Ohio State Football Afternoon Notes: Linebackers, Numbers, & the Mad Hatter
David ThurmanJan 10, 2011
Drew Thurman (1:20 pm)
Trey DePriest who? Back in July when DePriest decided to head to Tuscaloosa to join Saban and company, many in Buckeye Nation worried about the future of the linebacker position at Ohio State. Not that long ago the Buckeyes had more depth at that spot than about anywhere on the field, but at the time of DePriest's announcement the future did provide some concerns. Both Homan and Rolle were graduating after the season (and also Moeller), leaving just a handful of guys left. Thankfully with Moeller's medical redshirt and Sabino's redshirt this season, the staff at least bought themselves some time.
Well, the tide has turned over the last month. The staff received commitments from Conner Crowell and Ryan Shazier, which were both huge considering a month earlier many worried that OSU wouldn't nab any linebackers in this class. Now with National Signing Day just around the corner, the Buckeyes are in the mix with three highly ranked guys.
The first is Curtis Grant, who has become a more serious option since Urban Meyer decided to step down. He is an elite linebacker, and while the staff has an ugly history when it comes to top ranked players late in the process, the coaching carousel this season might help them sway Grant the Buckeyes way. The other two guys are James Vaughters and Ejuan Price. Vaughters chose Standford back in June, but will be taking some visits thanks to Harbaugh's departure. Many believe that if he does decommit, OSU will be the destination. As for Price, well he has been torn between Iowa and Ohio State for months now. Personally, I think he stays closer to home and picks the Buckeyes.
All in all, things look bright at linebacker in this class. While grabbing Jordan Hicks and Trey DePriest would have been awesome, the staff is doing their best to make us forget about them.
Numbers, Numbers! Remember all the talk of Pryor throwing the ball 25-35 times this season, thanks to Tressel's bold prediction in the preseason? Well, many had their doubts that number would actually be reached, and well, it didn't. Jeff Svoboda's tweeted this earlier today:
"Final number was 24.8 per game, 28 more passes this year than last. So a bit of a gain, but not exactly a passing bonanza."
Brandon Castel of The Ozone did respond to that tweet with a juicy little tidbit of his own:
"25.6 if exclude Illinois game where he got hurt."
Trey DePriest who? Back in July when DePriest decided to head to Tuscaloosa to join Saban and company, many in Buckeye Nation worried about the future of the linebacker position at Ohio State. Not that long ago the Buckeyes had more depth at that spot than about anywhere on the field, but at the time of DePriest's announcement the future did provide some concerns. Both Homan and Rolle were graduating after the season (and also Moeller), leaving just a handful of guys left. Thankfully with Moeller's medical redshirt and Sabino's redshirt this season, the staff at least bought themselves some time.
Well, the tide has turned over the last month. The staff received commitments from Conner Crowell and Ryan Shazier, which were both huge considering a month earlier many worried that OSU wouldn't nab any linebackers in this class. Now with National Signing Day just around the corner, the Buckeyes are in the mix with three highly ranked guys.
The first is Curtis Grant, who has become a more serious option since Urban Meyer decided to step down. He is an elite linebacker, and while the staff has an ugly history when it comes to top ranked players late in the process, the coaching carousel this season might help them sway Grant the Buckeyes way. The other two guys are James Vaughters and Ejuan Price. Vaughters chose Standford back in June, but will be taking some visits thanks to Harbaugh's departure. Many believe that if he does decommit, OSU will be the destination. As for Price, well he has been torn between Iowa and Ohio State for months now. Personally, I think he stays closer to home and picks the Buckeyes.
All in all, things look bright at linebacker in this class. While grabbing Jordan Hicks and Trey DePriest would have been awesome, the staff is doing their best to make us forget about them.
Numbers, Numbers! Remember all the talk of Pryor throwing the ball 25-35 times this season, thanks to Tressel's bold prediction in the preseason? Well, many had their doubts that number would actually be reached, and well, it didn't. Jeff Svoboda's tweeted this earlier today:
"Final number was 24.8 per game, 28 more passes this year than last. So a bit of a gain, but not exactly a passing bonanza."
Brandon Castel of The Ozone did respond to that tweet with a juicy little tidbit of his own:
"25.6 if exclude Illinois game where he got hurt."
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Will "The Mad Hatter" burn TSUN? Since Rodriguez was fired and Harbaugh bolted for the NFL, all the talk up in Michigan has surrounded Brady Hoke and Les Miles. While I have been a Hoke fan since his Ball State days, and really believe he is the better choice for UM, it appears AD Dave Brandon is going after the proven commodity. Rumors are that Brandon will interview Miles sometime this week, possibly Tuesday. It will be interesting to see if there is more than just speculation going on here.
If you remember back in 2007, Miles was considered the leading candidate for the job. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, Miles was preparing for the SEC championship game, and came out in an unusual presser saying he intended to stay at LSU. The next week he signed a contract extension.
So what's different this time? Well, for one he is not coaching a national championship contender, and is in the middle of the SEC West with Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas. Not only that, but the irrational fans down in the Bayou have grown a bit tired of Miles' crazy coaching decisions and lack of offensive firepower. It's a great time for him to leave.
Little brother can recruit. Butch Jones, who went a whopping 4-8 this season, is putting together arguably the best class in UC's history. Scout.com ranks the Bearcats No. 37 overall (Rivals.com No. 39), which pretty impressive considering they have never broken the top 50. With guys like Jameel Poteat, Shaq Washington, Nick Temple, Patrick Coyne and Akise Teague, the future looks bright in Cincinnati.
Tony Gerdeman for the win! Gerdeman gets the award for my favorite tweet of the day:
"Michigan's opponents scored 458 pts this year. The opponents of Ohio State and Wisconsin scored a combined 453 pts."
It's really too bad that Rodriguez and Robinson can't be around Ann Arbor for a few more years.
If you remember back in 2007, Miles was considered the leading candidate for the job. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, Miles was preparing for the SEC championship game, and came out in an unusual presser saying he intended to stay at LSU. The next week he signed a contract extension.
So what's different this time? Well, for one he is not coaching a national championship contender, and is in the middle of the SEC West with Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas. Not only that, but the irrational fans down in the Bayou have grown a bit tired of Miles' crazy coaching decisions and lack of offensive firepower. It's a great time for him to leave.
Little brother can recruit. Butch Jones, who went a whopping 4-8 this season, is putting together arguably the best class in UC's history. Scout.com ranks the Bearcats No. 37 overall (Rivals.com No. 39), which pretty impressive considering they have never broken the top 50. With guys like Jameel Poteat, Shaq Washington, Nick Temple, Patrick Coyne and Akise Teague, the future looks bright in Cincinnati.
Tony Gerdeman for the win! Gerdeman gets the award for my favorite tweet of the day:
"Michigan's opponents scored 458 pts this year. The opponents of Ohio State and Wisconsin scored a combined 453 pts."
It's really too bad that Rodriguez and Robinson can't be around Ann Arbor for a few more years.
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.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
