Pryor was involved..... shocker.  It's so hard to root for that guy.  He's such a knucklehead.  Looks like Milller is going to get on the field sooner than expected.  Has Guiton transferred?

Pryor was involved..... shocker. It's so hard to root for that guy. He's such a knucklehead. Looks like Milller is going to get on the field sooner than expected. Has Guiton transferred?

 

So is this when we discuss where Pryor is going in this year's draft?

I'm not sure he is going to enter.  Not with this black eye and a season which has seen his stock drop nearly every week.  He really might be better just coming back and playing a shortened season.  Posey and Adams, on the other hand....

I've heard Herron's the most likely to leave...

Herron was most likely gone even before this.  Not because the NFL is holding its collective breath to have the opportunity to draft him, but because the young guys are absolutely breathing down Boom and Saine's necks.  They should have played more this year, in fact.  It is not that hard to argue that Hall, Berry and Hyde are all more talented than Boom and Saine.  We also got a redshirt (Smith) who can get it done and will be ready to play next year.

Pryor was involved..... shocker.  It's so hard to root for that guy.  He's such a knucklehead.  Looks like Milller is going to get on the field sooner than expected.

 

Totally agree!!!  This disappointment is the capper to a long string of disappointments for Pryor at Ohio State. 

 

Time for OSU to turn the page.  Touted QB recruit Braxton Miller, who plans to enroll in January, will be available for Spring Football.

Much more about these suspensions from today's Columbus Dispatch:

 

Ohio State pays the price: NCAA suspends four stars, two reserves for selling memorabilia, getting discounts

 

Who fills in?

 

Posey's mom blames NCAA for players' money plight

 

NCAA news release on Ohio State violations

I'm not sure he is going to enter.  Not with this black eye and a season which has seen his stock drop nearly every week.  He really might be better just coming back and playing a shortened season.  Posey and Adams, on the other hand....

 

This black eye will have no bearing outside of ohio. Nobody in the pros cares if he sold some memorabilia (that was his to sell, btw, so I'm philosophically not seeing the problem with any of this) to get some ink. Stupid, maybe, but not illegal. That is violates some arbitrary NCAA regulation won't impact his draft status.

 

His season, well that's another story. How much benefit will he get coming back for a half a season? That's presuming the guy who's replacing him hasn't established a rhythm/ chemistry with the team and is now 'the guy'. So then what? He's sat out a full season.

 

This all presumes he's willing to come back and pay the $2,500 he owes to remain eligible. I still say he's gone.

I hope he goes pro.  It'll be tough rooting for him.  Not that I think this was some huge affront to my fandom or something but it certainly finally pushed me from just trying to ignore what gets quoted coming out of his mouth to having a general dislike of the guy.

I'm not sure he is going to enter. Not with this black eye and a season which has seen his stock drop nearly every week. He really might be better just coming back and playing a shortened season. Posey and Adams, on the other hand....

 

This black eye will have no bearing outside of ohio. Nobody in the pros cares if he sold some memorabilia (that was his to sell, btw, so I'm philosophically not seeing the problem with any of this) to get some ink. Stupid, maybe, but not illegal. That is violates some arbitrary NCAA regulation won't impact his draft status.

 

His season, well that's another story. How much benefit will he get coming back for a half a season? That's presuming the guy who's replacing him hasn't established a rhythm/ chemistry with the team and is now 'the guy'. So then what? He's sat out a full season.

 

This all presumes he's willing to come back and pay the $2,500 he owes to remain eligible. I still say he's gone.

 

He was thought of as a knucklehead before this incident, which will only amplify that perception of him.

 

As far as what is wrong with selling the memorabilia, you have to look at it from the right angle to see what is wrong with it.  Suppose Pryor drives up to Cleveland and sets up a table on Public Square.  From there, he proceeds to give his autograph to anyone who gives him $20.  It is his autograph to sell, yet the issue is not that but why people are buying it.  NCAA rules are designed to prevent the student-athletes from earning any money, by any means, that they would not have been able to earn sans being a NCAA football player.  Thus, selling the memorabilia violates the rules, which are carefully explained to each and every team each and every year.  If what Pryor and Co. was allowed, it would create a very slippery slope.  They knew it was wrong and should be punished.

 

Sure, they are being made an example of.  Take a look at any CFB game and I would suspect there is at least $100,000 of body art on the field.  If the NCAA did a true audit, it would lose half its players for the first 5 games next season, I'm sure.

I agree he broke the rules, as established by the NCAA. I think those rules are arbitrary at best, as is their enforcement. If the NCAA truly felt this is an offense worth punishing, then the punishment should be immediate. But there's money to be made....which circles back to my main problem with the way the NCAA conducts itself in regard to 'student athletes' and who benefits from them.

 

But to the original point, I maintain that while Pryor is, and is perceived in the NFL, as a knucklehead, he's backed into a corner. Unless he's got $2,500 he's willing to part with for the next year (hey, maybe he can sell some stuff to raise the money....), and unless he thinks it's worth the gamble to sit out half a season and hope he even gets a chance to redeem himself, the opportunity of even going pro in the later rounds is greater than the upside of his last abridged season. He's lost some money as a result of this season, for sure, but I'm certain there's a team out there that's willing to make a bet that his talent is greater than his lack of common sense.

 

Tressel says Pryor, other sanctioned juniors pledge to return for senior season

Thursday, December 30, 2010 - 10:53 AM

By Tim May, The Columbus Dispatch

 

NEW ORLEANS -- Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said this morning that the five junior players who are scheduled to serve a five-game suspension at the start of next season, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, had to pledge they would return for their senior season before being included on this Sugar Bowl trip to play Arkansas on Tuesday night.

 

Tressel said he told the five they "have to make any decision based on the future and (leaving early for the) NFL prior to us leaving for our bowl game.  It wouldn't be fair if someone was able to participate" and then leave.

 

With that prerequisite, the pledge of allegiance was unanimous, Tressell said.  They came from Pryor, running back Dan Herron, receiver DeVier Posey, left tackle Mike Adams and backup defensive end Solomon Thomas, who are facing five-game suspensions to start the 2011 season after it was discovered they sold personal awards and memorabilia before their eligibility was done, a violation of NCAA rules.  Reserve linebacker Jordan Whiting will be suspended one game next year because of his transgression.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2010/12/30/Tressel-says-Pryor-other-sanctioned-juniors-pledge-to-return-for-senior-season.html?sid=101

Alright, Ohio State it's all on you! After that abysmal showing yesterday from the Big Ten, you are the only team left that can restore honor to the north. Beat Arkansas! It won't be easy, but the reputation of region and conference is on the line. Yesterday proved the mainstream media correct. Michigan State choked horribly (and Alabama played like the best team in the country), Michigan choked horribly, Penn State looked sloppy, and Wisconsin should not have lost. The SEC just destroyed the Big Ten (all those derisive "Little Ten" comments came true). But there is still hope.

 

Arkansas lost to Alabama, and Ohio State usually performs better under pressure than Michigan State and Wisconsin, so everyone is still excited for this one. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm rooting 100% for Ohio State. The SEC has gotten arrogant and downright mean. Somebody from the Big Ten needs to take down one of these high-speed southern corn mashers. No pressure...

I haven't been too excited about OSU's Sugar Bowl match-up against Arkansas.  And after the sanctions against Pryor and others, I was less excited.  But after the New Year's Day Big Ten Bowl Blowout - I'm with C-Dawg on this one.

GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!

I cant believe they almost let that slip away

That was a fun game - after the game-winning pick. :wink:

Some of the players at the center of the tatoo scandal came up big tonight.

 

Pryor - 300+ total yards, MVP

Herron - TD

Posey - TD

Thomas - HUGE Interception

Big effin' WIN!!

If that Alabama player had managed to pick up the ball after the blocked kick, he could've walked into the endzone, game over.  He knew it too

If that Alabama player had managed to pick up the ball after the blocked kick, he could've walked into the endzone, game over.  He knew it too

 

There is absolutely no way that the Alabama player could have picked up that ball and ran. Thoroughly impossible.

If that Alabama player had managed to pick up the ball after the blocked kick, he could've walked into the endzone, game over.  He knew it too

Alabama?

 

Yeah, and if Boom Herron simply holds onto the ball on his 4th & 1 dive, if OSU gets one of four chances at INT's, if they recover one of three Arkansas fumbles, if they don't get jobbed by that safety call after progress was stopped 8 yards forward from where he was tackled...  If, if, if...  See how that works?

I'm not sure what the rule says in bleck and white, but I always thought the second you are forcibly pushed back into the endzone, the play is blown dead and the ball is marked at the point of forward progress.  I don't buy this "disengaging" argument the announcers were talking about.  If that was the case, why not pick a player up, carry him into the end zone and then let him go once 5 or 6 of your teammates are there to make the play?

I'm not sure what the rule says in bleck and white, but I always thought the second you are forcibly pushed back into the endzone, the play is blown dead and the ball is marked at the point of forward progress.

 

That's my understanding of the rule. Can't say that I've ever seen a runner make it out of the end zone & get called a safety. 

If that Alabama player had managed to pick up the ball after the blocked kick, he could've walked into the endzone, game over. He knew it too

Alabama?

 

Yeah, and if Boom Herron simply holds onto the ball on his 4th & 1 dive, if OSU gets one of four chances at INT's, if they recover one of three Arkansas fumbles, if they don't get jobbed by that safety call after progress was stopped 8 yards forward from where he was tackled... If, if, if... See how that works?

 

And if Arkansas doesn't drop 4 or 5 BIG passes it's probably an entirely different game.  Mallett is the real deal... he made some incredible throws last night.  Might end up being the best QB in the draft if he goes.  We'll see if the combines prove him or Luck to be the better QB.

 

Now, about the safety, I can understand Buckeye's fans frustration with the officials because they didn't blow the whistle earlier, but the fact is that they didn't.  The play continued into the endzone (as it should have IMO) and Herron broke free, BEGAN FORWARD AGAIN, and was then tackled in the endzone for a safety.  If they would have blown the whistle before he broke free then the ball would have been moved to his forward progress point.  Since they didn't blow the whistle the safety was the correct call.

^ drops are part of the game.  What's with this "if" BS???  OSU had drops, fumbles, missed fg, blocked punt, etc.  The better team won. period.

I'm not sure what the rule says in bleck and white, but I always thought the second you are forcibly pushed back into the endzone, the play is blown dead and the ball is marked at the point of forward progress.

 

That's my understanding of the rule. Can't say that I've ever seen a runner make it out of the end zone & get called a safety.

 

I've never heard of this rule.  Once a player is pushed back and breaks the plane of the endzone the play is IMMEDIATELY whistled dead?  It may APPEAR to be called this way, but I don't think there's any rule on the books like that.  It's really up to referee discretion as to when the players chance of forward progress has ended.  In the case of Herron, he seemed to be pushed back so fast that the officials didn't even have a chance to blow the whistle before he broke free and was ultimately tackled.

 

Stuff like forward progress isn't so black and white in football.

All in all, OSU wins due to Crappy play by Arkansas.  Arkansas made some really bad plays that were undefended by OSU such as dropped passes, and going all the way back to the first quarter, not picking up a fumble.  Arkansas should have won, but they literally beat themselves. 

I think the key distinction, which should have caused the ref to blow the whistle, is that Herron was not simply "hit back"..... he was in the Arkansas player's grasp and pushed back about 10 feet all while in that grasp.  His forward progress had stopped.  And, yes, if he had broke free and taken it 100 yards to the house, Arkansas would have a legitimate gripe.

All in all, OSU wins due to Crappy play by Arkansas. Arkansas made some really bad plays that were undefended by OSU such as dropped passes, and going all the way back to the first quarter, not picking up a fumble. Arkansas should have won, but they literally beat themselves.

 

I agree with that. Im glad OSU won but, wow, I cant believe they almost let that lead slip away in the end

^ drops are part of the game. What's with this "if" BS??? OSU had drops, fumbles, missed fg, blocked punt, etc. The better team won. period.

 

I agree. 

That was one of the most entertaining football games in years, though I'm sure quite a few Ohio State fans had minor heart attacks after that blocked punt ("Uggghh, no, it's happening again!"). But they hung in there and stopped one of the best offenses in the country. Pryor looked incredible last night too. The reason Arkansas made some of those mistakes is because Ohio State put the pressure on them (though that one guy did choke on a perfect pass). Arkansas looked nervous last night, though their quarterback was insane. That touchdown pass in the end zone was flawless. Mallett might be the best passer in America. But overall, the Buckeyes did their job in restoring honor to the north.

 

Arkansas should have won, but they literally beat themselves.

 

They looked nervous. This was a big stage, and they were playing the best Ohio State team in years. I'm more impressed they mounted that comeback. Ohio State had it in the bag by halftime. Arkansas just really got their sh!t together on a few drives to make it competitive. Ohio State did not play sloppy. It was close because because Arkansas had a lot of fight left in them and Ryan Mallett has no equal when it comes to precision.

 

I agree with that. Im glad OSU won but, wow, I cant believe they almost let that lead slip away in the end

 

It makes for better television. :wink:

hey they held on, but oh man -- typical aggravating osu bowl game.

I'm not sure what the rule says in bleck and white, but I always thought the second you are forcibly pushed back into the endzone, the play is blown dead and the ball is marked at the point of forward progress. I don't buy this "disengaging" argument the announcers were talking about. If that was the case, why not pick a player up, carry him into the end zone and then let him go once 5 or 6 of your teammates are there to make the play?

 

Once you get pushed back, it is up to the ref to decide if your forward progress has been stopped and the play is over.  If the whistle is not blown and you aren't tackled, you are either free to surrender the play (go down and not try to go forward again) or to attempt to continue the play by moving forward.  So a player may push you backwards but then not finish off the tackle and you could move forward again and gain 20 yards...or get tackled back in the end zone this time for a safety.  If he picks you up, carries you backwards and lets you go and you just fall down, you get forward progress from the point you were first pushed back.

 

It's a judgment call, but it's up to the ref to determine if the player regained the freedom to make forward progress after the initial hit and if the player attempted that forward progress.

Pretty funny:

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/ncf/news/story?id=5998053

hey they held on, but oh man -- typical aggravating osu bowl game.

 

That second half reminded me of way too many Browns games this year.

I'm not sure what the rule says in bleck and white, but I always thought the second you are forcibly pushed back into the endzone, the play is blown dead and the ball is marked at the point of forward progress. I don't buy this "disengaging" argument the announcers were talking about. If that was the case, why not pick a player up, carry him into the end zone and then let him go once 5 or 6 of your teammates are there to make the play?

 

Once you get pushed back, it is up to the ref to decide if your forward progress has been stopped and the play is over. If the whistle is not blown and you aren't tackled, you are either free to surrender the play (go down and not try to go forward again) or to attempt to continue the play by moving forward. So a player may push you backwards but then not finish off the tackle and you could move forward again and gain 20 yards...or get tackled back in the end zone this time for a safety. If he picks you up, carries you backwards and lets you go and you just fall down, you get forward progress from the point you were first pushed back.

 

It's a judgment call, but it's up to the ref to determine if the player regained the freedom to make forward progress after the initial hit and if the player attempted that forward progress.

 

You are talking about being pushed back by a hit.  I am talking about being grasped and forced back, all while under the defender's control.  Two different concepts.  Is it a judgment call if I grab you at the 20 and pull you back into the end zone?  Hell no.  Where's the line?  How far can a defender drag you back before it stops being a judgment call?

I'm not sure what the rule says in bleck and white, but I always thought the second you are forcibly pushed back into the endzone, the play is blown dead and the ball is marked at the point of forward progress.  I don't buy this "disengaging" argument the announcers were talking about.  If that was the case, why not pick a player up, carry him into the end zone and then let him go once 5 or 6 of your teammates are there to make the play?

 

Once you get pushed back, it is up to the ref to decide if your forward progress has been stopped and the play is over.  If the whistle is not blown and you aren't tackled, you are either free to surrender the play (go down and not try to go forward again) or to attempt to continue the play by moving forward.  So a player may push you backwards but then not finish off the tackle and you could move forward again and gain 20 yards...or get tackled back in the end zone this time for a safety.  If he picks you up, carries you backwards and lets you go and you just fall down, you get forward progress from the point you were first pushed back.

 

It's a judgment call, but it's up to the ref to determine if the player regained the freedom to make forward progress after the initial hit and if the player attempted that forward progress.

 

You are talking about being pushed back by a hit.  I am talking about being grasped and forced back, all while under the defender's control.  Two different concepts.  Is it a judgment call if I grab you at the 20 and pull you back into the end zone?  Hell no.  Where's the line?  How far can a defender drag you back before it stops being a judgment call?

 

It's always a judgement call.  Obviously they don't like to let players get forced back 10 yards and bodyslammed to the turf, so they're likely to blow it dead before that happens but it's still up to the refs discretion.  Like I said earlier, Herron got hit hard and pushed back very fast, but he did manage to break free at which point he attempted to move forward again.  Jam40jeff hit the nail right on the head... it's a judgement call by the ref.  The ref could have blown it dead and would have been just as correct as allowing the play to continue.  Since they didn't blow it dead the safety was the correct call.

Everything is a judgment call, in the most basic sense of the word.  Holding is a judgment call and rarely gets called if it is inside the clips.  And, once again, I agree that a player HIT back into the end zone is fair game.... but not a player pulled or carried into the endzone.  I think you two are relying too much on the fact that forward progress is not reviewable...... no matter how blatant the error.  The safety was the right call because the whistle hadn't blown.... but that doesn't mean that the ref shouldn't have blown the play dead in the first place.

Couple of recent articles about the five seniors facing five-game NCAA suspensions this fall.  Graduating receiver Dane Sanzenbacher is interviewed about who he thinks might emerge as team leaders next season in lieu of the five suspended seniors.

 

Ohio State football: New leaders must emerge next season

Sunday, January 16, 2011

By Tim May, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Losing 24 seniors, including 10 starters, meant that defining new leaders was going to be a major challenge for the Ohio State football team in 2011.  But now the Buckeyes will do so knowing that five seniors are facing five-game NCAA suspensions this fall.

 

"I don't think it's going to be easy at all," receiver Dane Sanzenbacher said.  "It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out."  Sanzenbacher knows leadership.  Going into the 2010 season, he was elected one of six captains.  By season's end, he was voted team MVP and most inspirational player.

 

His eligibility exhausted, he's now an observer of what promises to be a curious offseason and beginning to the 2011 season.  The five players - left tackle Mike Adams, tailback Daniel Herron, receiver DeVier Posey, quarterback Terrelle Pryor and defensive end Solomon Thomas - aren't just ordinary players.  They all played prominent roles in a win over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl this month.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/01/16/new-leaders-must-emerge-next-season.html?sid=101

 

---

 

This article looks at the NCAA committee that will be hearing the five-game suspension appeal.  It also looks at three other football appeals to the committee in the 2010 season by other schools that the committee rejected.

 

Ohio State football: Deck seems stacked against OSU in appeal of suspensions

Sunday, January 16, 2011 

By Ken Gordon, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Here's some bad news for anyone who is hopeful that five Ohio State football players will get their five-game NCAA suspensions reduced on appeal:  Based on recent precedent, and given the criticism the NCAA has received recently for several of its decisions, a reduction is far from a given, and may be termed unlikely.

 

Ohio State is expected to soon have its day in court, so to speak, when the NCAA's Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement has a conference call with Ohio State officials and the five players.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/01/16/deck-seems-stacked-against-osu-in-appeal-of-suspensions.html?sid=101

Well, now it appears the much mocked Big Ten division names will stay around for next season after all.  Here are the two division names and the teams in each division.

 

Leaders: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin.

 

Legends: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern.

 

Big Ten to test division names in 2011

 

PARK RIDGE, Ill. (AP) — Legends and Leaders, the names for the Big Ten's two new divisions, are sticking around.  At least through next football season.

 

Big Ten chief communications officer Diane Dietz said Friday that the league will do market research during the 2011 season to see how the names play out.  "We've always said we've heard the feedback. We're listening. We want to test them and the only way to test them is to let them do what they were intended to do," Dietz said.

 

MORE: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ja1-3_wZPc8pbMTmSGabfDgKZHPQ?docId=27ea3f0684624f69a6771e64964d183d

Darned if Tressel didn't get the "Tattoo Five" stay at OSU for their senior season after all!

 

It’s Official: “Buckeye Five” Sticking to Pledge, Brewster Staying Too

By Brandon Castel, The O-Zone.net

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the first time since 2003 Ohio State will not lose any underclassmen to the NFL Draft.

 

The NFL released its official list of underclassmen declaring for this year’s draft, and nary a Buckeye was found.  That means all five of the OSU juniors who will be suspended to start next season opted to return for their senior seasons in Columbus, along with junior center Michael Brewster.

 

READ MORE: http://www.the-ozone.net/football/2011/underclassmen_draft.html

It appears the Glenville pipeline has a leak with Aundrey Walker, the massive OL, signing with USC over OSU.  There were questions about his work ethic, so it might not be that big of a letdown.

 

Still waiting to hear about the LB from Virginia, Curtis Grant.  He would be a huge get.

 

OSU for whatever reason seems to have bad luck on signing day with these last minute decisions.  I guess these recruits who wait to signing day to hold a big presser are more of the "look at me" bunch that don't fit as well in JT's system.

 

On a related note, one of our signed recruits, Chris Carter out of Cle JFK, seems to have found himself in a bit of trouble for "fondling" some younger girls he was measuring for ROTC uniforms.  Uh-oh.....

^Thats what happens when these young players look up to the pros like big ben  :-P

Everyone named chris carter must have good hands.

It appears the Glenville pipeline has a leak with Aundrey Walker, the massive OL, signing with USC over OSU.  There were questions about his work ethic, so it might not be that big of a letdown.

 

Still waiting to hear about the LB from Virginia, Curtis Grant.  He would be a huge get.

 

OSU for whatever reason seems to have bad luck on signing day with these last minute decisions.  I guess these recruits who wait to signing day to hold a big presser are more of the "look at me" bunch that don't fit as well in JT's system.

Looks like a few big fish swam away.  But, overall, another very impressive recruiting class for Tressel.  Curtis Grant did choose OSU.  Here's a couple of links to some articles from the Dispatch:

 

OSU football: Adding to the family - Several members of a top-10 class, including highly ranked linebacker, cite Ohio State's tightknit atmosphere; Cleveland lineman is among a couple of high-profile misses

 

2011 Ohio State recruiting class (Full listing of the 23 players)

 

How they rank the classes (Rivals.com/Scout.com/ESPN)

 

On a related note, one of our signed recruits, Chris Carter out of Cle JFK, seems to have found himself in a bit of trouble for "fondling" some younger girls he was measuring for ROTC uniforms.  Uh-oh.....

That one deserves a "C'MON MAN" from Ohio State's original Chris Carter!

Looks like the Buckeyes football program, or at least Tressel is in some deep shit.  Anyone else think the NCAA will come down on hard as them as they did USC if these rumors are true?

Tressel suspended 2 games.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/Ohio-State-suspends-head-coach-Jim-Tressel-for-NCAA-violation-030811/?gt1=39002

Such a shame.  This really does stain his rep.

Im sure everyone knew before the bowl game.