You're thinking like an Ohioan gottaplan. Outside of George and maybe Galloway and Glenn, what non-Ohioans think about the rest of the WRs and RBs you listed? All are fine players, but does the average NFL fan think of them that often?

I can't help but think Lebron had an influence (indirect, or possibly even direct given that they went to the same high school and that Lebron is "around") on this overly-dramatic buildup to a Decision.

 

ANYWAY, Cardale made the right choice. There would be many problems with him joining the draft:

 

PROBLEM: 3 games? 3 games. NFL scouts don't care about 3 games. They don't care about one season. They want a solid resume that shows you can handle the long haul.

 

PROBLEM: NFL scouts don't trust Ohio State players in high-profile offensive roles such as QB, RB and WR. Can you blame them? Over the past 25 years their NFL careers have been spotty at best. Defensive, kickers and OLs have decent records in the NFL out of OSU.

 

PROBLEM: Pay attention to player introductions and hear all the mid-major school players that are out there starting in the NFL. Why are these guys out there banging away while big-school college phenoms flame out? Everything changes for many players a few years after school. I don't know why; I was never a good athlete. But the scouts look for guys that they can get a few years out of.

 

PROBLEM: OSU got so good so fast about halfway though the season that the other teams weren't even ready. Cardale was often given lots of time to get rid of the ball. Would that happen in the NFL?

 

 

LeBron went to St. Vincent St. Mary's in Akron.  Michael Thomas is from LA.  MT and Cardale did attend "Fork U" military academy together briefly.

You're thinking like an Ohioan gottaplan. Outside of George and maybe Galloway and Glenn, what non-Ohioans think about the rest of the WRs and RBs you listed? All are fine players, but does the average NFL fan think of them that often?

 

quickly, name another school that has recently put more players in the NFL.  Post just upthread makes the same comment that so many NFL players now are from minor schools...

 

LeBron went to St. Vincent St. Mary's in Akron.  Michael Thomas is from LA.  MT and Cardale did attend "Fork U" military academy together briefly.

 

Yeah I mixed up the Glenville thing with someone else.

I think Troy Smith was a decent NFL prospect..... at least on par with Germaine.  We certainly haven't had a Top 10 pick QB in forever.

 

OSU has produced some decent WRs.  The above list doesn't include Hartline and Philly Brown, two of the more recent successes in the pros.

 

The strength of the program, for as long as I've been watching it, has been the DBs.  Winfield, Whitner, Springs, Jenkins, Clements, Doss, Allen, Plummer, Gamble, Harper, Fox, Nickey, Moore, Ross, Salley, Kelly, Youboty,  Several pro bowlers in there.  Some who didn't live up to expectations, but all were considered solid to excellent pro prospects.

I think Troy Smith was a decent NFL prospect..... at least on par with Germaine.  We certainly haven't had a Top 10 pick QB in forever.

 

OSU has produced some decent WRs.  The above list doesn't include Hartline and Philly Brown, two of the more recent successes in the pros.

 

The strength of the program, for as long as I've been watching it, has been the DBs.  Winfield, Whitner, Springs, Jenkins, Clements, Doss, Allen, Plummer, Gamble, Harper, Fox, Nickey, Moore, Ross, Salley, Kelly, Youboty,  Several pro bowlers in there.  Some who didn't live up to expectations, but all were considered solid to excellent pro prospects.

OSU has produced "decent" WR's?

 

Cris Carter, Galloway, Glenn, Holmes, Boston are beyond decent.  Guys like Jenkins, Drew Carter, Hartline, Ginn, etc. have had decent contributions in the NFL.

That's strange to me, because the pass defense has been our Achilles' heel much more often than our run defense in recent seasons.

That's because the quality of our DB depth has not been all that great.

 

^^Decent might have been a little bit of an understatement.  Point was that our DBs have typically turned into better pros.  Chris Carter is also dipping pretty far back in the archives.  Amongst Galloway, Glenn, Holmes, and Boston you have two pro-bowl appearances collectively.  Compare that to 7 for Winfield, Whitner, Springs, and Clements.

The Ohio State national championship celebration has been set for Saturday, January 24 on 11:00am at Ohio Stadium

 

http://www.landgrantholyland.com/2015/1/13/7541237/ohio-state-2015-championship-parade-celebration-date-time

Some pretty great photos of the National Championship Game at the links (and a sampling below):

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/photos-ohio-state-at-the-2015-national-championship-game

 

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/1/13/7536409/ohio-state-national-championship-celebration

 

 

 

 

Every time someone wins a trophy, anyone handling it should wear gloves.

I saw an internet rumor stating that Braxton Miller was enrolled at OSU for spring classes, therefore he must be staying on at OSU for his senior year.  I have no idea if he's enrolled or if that means he's coming back, but count me as shocked.  I thought he was leaving even before Cardale Jones' decision to stay and definitely thought he was leaving after.

It is confirmed that he is enrolled in Spring classes.  Not sure that means he is staying.  Just a guess, but he might not be able to transfer (and not lose a year of eligiblity) until he graduates from OSU.  I, for one, think he is staying.

It is confirmed that he is enrolled in Spring classes.  Not sure that means he is staying.  Just a guess, but he might not be able to transfer (and not lose a year of eligiblity) until he graduates from OSU.  I, for one, think he is staying.

 

What do you think his motivation/rationale is for coming back to play his last year at OSU?  Desire to win another National Title?  He's got a VERY crowded QB field now with a 33% shot at winning the start, at best, and that's assuming his shoulder is 100%.  Perhaps his shoulder isn't 100% and that's what's limiting other schools from making him a good offer?  Many people suggesting he won't play QB and will transition to some type of halfback...

Like I've said before, Braxton is not an NFL QB.  He needs to avoid the same mistake so many great athletes have made..... Terrell Pryor, Eric Crouch, etc...... of not realizing that before his college career is done.  It is very hard to transition to a new position once you are in the NFL, like Crouch tried to do, especially if you are a QB.  It works every now and then, a la Randle El and maybe Denard Robinson (who was really nothing more than a RB who took the snap in college), but is rare.  And it is becoming more and more of a common tragedy the more college programs are using the QB position in a non pro-style offense.

Some Roster News:

 

- Ineligible DE Noah Spence is transferring to Eastern Kentucky and not entering the NFL draft.  Since Eastern Kentucky is an FCS-school, Spence can play there next season, with the hopes of improving his draft position.  Also, no Ohio State underclassmen declared for the 2015 NFL draft.  This cleveland.com story has a list of OSU underclassmen who declared for the NFL draft over the past 10 years and a list of 11 Big Ten underclassmen who declared for this year's draft: http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2015/01/noah_spence_transferring_to_ea.html

Some Coaching News:

 

- Current OL coach Ed Warinner has been promoted to the offensive coordinator position.  Former Nebraska assistant Tim Beck has been hired as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.  Beck was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the past 3 seasons at Nebraska.

 

- The two will combine to replace the duties of former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tom Herman, who is now the head coach of Houston.

 

- Warinner has been co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the past 3 seasons at Ohio State.  Warinner will continue coaching the OL.  Beck will report to Warinner, much as Warinner previously reported to Herman.

 

More about this at http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2015/01/22/osu-football-warinner-01-22.html and at http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2015-01-14/ohio-state-buckeyes-new-offensive-coordinator-urban-meyer-cardale-jones

I hope Spence can salvage his career.  I don't know what EKU plays, but it was a smart move if they run anything similar to a 3-4 so he can get some reps at OLB.  Spence's future in the NFL is probably not as a hands in the dirt pass rusher.  He does not have the bulk to hold up at the point of attack in the pros IMHO.

 

With Spence now gone, and Miller and Frazier graduating, that weak side DE spot opposite Bosa has me a bit concerned.  There's potential in some recent recruits, but nobody I would consider in the class of Spence or Bosa.

At title celebration, Braxton Miller indicates ‘we’ve got another year’

Posted by John Taylor on January 24, 2015, 11:49 AM EST

 

Saturday morning, fans gathered at Ohio Stadium to celebrate Ohio State’s title in the first College Football Playoff.  And, it appears, they may have been party to some “breaking” news.

 

As each player was introduced, Braxton Miller was greeted with a “one more year!” chant from those huddled in the Columbus cold.  In speaking to the throng, Miller seemed to indicate that a return to the Buckeyes, not a transfer to another football program as most have expected, is in the cards for 2015.

 

MORE: http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/24/at-title-celebration-braxton-miller-indicates-weve-got-another-year/

Here's what two Dispatch reporters had to say about Braxton's "announcement" on their twitter feeds:

 

Tim May @TIM_MAYsports

Braxton Miller: "Privilege and honor to be part of this team. Guess what, we've got another year to do it. So go Bucks."

11:26 AM - 24 Jan 2015

 

Rob Oller @rollerCD

Not to reach too far, but Braxton Miller sounds like someone who -- at the moment -- expects to return to OSU next season.

11:27 AM - 24 Jan 2015

http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls14/story/_/id/12222887/ohio-state-buckeyes-celebrate-their-title-ohio-stadium

 

http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2015/01/24/1-football-celebration.html

 

http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2015/01/watch_the_best_of_ohio_states.html

 

http://btn.com/2015/01/24/photos-see-shots-from-ohio-states-national-title-celebration/

 

45,000 fans at 'The Shoe':

 

 

 

The National Champions entering 'The Shoe':

 

Urban and Zeke:

 

Heuerman, Zeke and the OSU Prez:

 

Three #1 QB's and Joey:

 

The Coaches Poll #1 Trophy:

 

The AP Poll #1 Trophy:

 

The College Football Playoff Championship Trophy:

 

Braxton, Cardale and J.T.

 

 

Gotta get those selfies:

 

And celebrate with the Buckeye fans:

 

 

Yesterday was CFB's National Signing Day.  Before we look at Ohio State's 2015 recruiting class, let's look back at the starting rosters for the 2014 National Championship team:

 

Interesting tweet I read yesterday.  Out of 22 starters in this year's Super Bowl, not one 5-star recruit

Ohio State's 2015 recruiting class is being ranked from a high of #6 (ESPN, 24/7) to a low of #9 (Rivals, Scout).  This is the 5th straight Top 10 recruiting class for OSU.  OSU ranked #1 out of the Big Ten schools.  More info below:

 

Top 25 recruiting classes:  http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2351860-national-signing-day-2015-ranking-top-25-recruiting-classes

 

Ohio State's recruiting class (ranked #6):  http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2351860-national-signing-day-2015-ranking-top-25-recruiting-classes/page/21:

 

Total signees: 27

- 5-star players: 1

 

Top dog: 5-star LB Justin Hilliard

Impact players to watch:  4-star ATH Jerome Baker, 4-star ATH Torrance Gibson, 4-star DE Jashon Cornell

Potential sleeper: 4-star WR K.J. Hill

Interesting tweet I read yesterday.  Out of 22 starters in this year's Super Bowl, not one 5-star recruit

 

That's an example of what I've been talking about with players from mid-major schools and people who aren't really well-known in college coming to dominate the NFL later in life. Those player introductions full of Middle Tennessee States and Oregon States tell the story.

There's a lot to be said for hunger and work ethic.  If you come up in a prime-time program, you are probably already jaded to some extent by the time you get to the pros.

The Top 75 recruiting classes ranked by ESPN:  http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/classrankings/_/class/2015/date/20150204

 

All schools ranked by Scout:  http://www.scout.com/a.z?s=143&p=9&c=14&view=2&yr=2015

 

All schools ranked by Rivals:  http://sports.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/teamrank/2015/all/all

 

The 14 B1G schools recruiting classes ranked at BTN:  http://btn.com/2015/02/04/national-signing-day-urban-meyer-ohio-state-sign-big-tens-top-class/

 

The general consensus was that Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State has the best recruiting classes.  With Wisconsin, Nebraska and Illinois is the next tier below.  The weakness of the Michigan class was a surprise.  Michigan had multiple de-committments during Hoke's disasterous final season and during the long Harbaugh hiring process.  One of the biggest was losing Detroit-area RB Mike Weber to Ohio State.  ESPN had Michigan 14th, dead last in the Big Ten rankings.  Certainly, Harbaugh's future classes will be much better - but his first year might be a bit rough at UM.

In the many interviews Urban Meyer had gave yesterday, he talked about the dual needs to build the quality CFB program.  First, recruit the best talent available.  Then, develop that talent.  This season's defense shows some examples of that:

 

-- Eli Apple - 5-star CB recruit from NJ who reshirted as a true freshman and then started this season at CB.

-- Darron Lee - 3-star recruit from central ohio who played QB and safety for New Albany; he medically redshirted, bulked up and started at OLB this season.

 

http://btn.com/2015/02/04/video-watch-your-big-ten-coachs-national-signing-day-interview/

Forgot to post this recap from what is becoming another SB Nation go-to site for me.  Great rundown of all 27 players with links to individual posts with much more information on each player:

 

http://www.landgrantholyland.com/2015/2/4/7968505/ohio-state-football-national-signing-day-results-recap/in/7740184

Awesome video....

 

Two months later, it seems to me like this championship isn't getting as much hoopla as 2002. Man people talked about that 2002 win over and over and over. They still bring it up all the time.

 

Was it that people were shocked about what happened this time? Have people not had enough time to buy memorabilia and build shrines to the season in the corners of their basements like they did with 2002?

Maybe because most people who experienced this last one also experienced the win in 2002. Wasn't the last one prior to that in the late 60's?

That could be it too. It's "normal" now.

It also has to do with the nature of the game against Miami and the fact that it was such an upset, IMO.  The win against Oregon was almost an anticlimax after they beat Alabama.

Indeed. So a championship is "better" when you're expecting it? That shouldn't be the case, but it seems to me that people feel that way. In many seasons during the 2000s, OSU fans went into the season expecting to win out every year. In 2002, that expectation was fulfilled so it affirmed people's beliefs. People like it when that happens. Meanwhile in 2014 no one expected anything good after that VT loss.

To the victors go the rings:  http://www.landgrantholyland.com/2015/3/27/8299729/ohio-state-2015-championship-rings-photos

 

Dude with the hairy backhand does not have a future in the watch/ring modeling business

Urban Meyer got a contract extension through 2020 that will pay him $5.8 million in 2015 and an average of $6.5 million per season after that.  This makes him the second-highest paid head coach in CFB (only behind Alabama's Nick Saban at $7 million):

 

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/12681718/ohio-state-buckeyes-make-urban-meyer-second-highest-paid-coach-extension

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/117887/urban-meyer-gets-expected-deserved-raise

 

A record crowd of 99,391 for yesterday's spring game at the Shoe.

Below is a recording of yesterday's live stream of the Buckeyes national championship team being honored at the White House:

 

 

The video of the event begins at 23:41 in the above stream recording.  First, the team files onto the risers behind where the President will be speaking.  Then President Obama, Urban Meyer, AD Gene Smith and OSU President Michael Drake are introduced at 27:56 and make their way to the stage.  President Obama begins speaking at 28:36.  Urban Meyer speaks at 36:23.  The team presents the President with an OSU "Obama 44" jersey at 38:00 and has their team photo with the President at 38:41.

 

That was the end of the formal ceremony.  But I think my favorite moment came a little later.  It looked like the President was leaving.  But at 39:46, he spotted Archie Griffin in the crowd and brought him up to the stage.  Then on stage, he spotted Cris Carter and invited him on stage too.  Both Archie and Cris got their photo with the President.

More photos and video clips about the White House visit: http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2015/04/ohio_state_white_house_bosa_sh.html

Sports Illustrated ‏@SInow  50m50 minutes ago

Ohio State's Braxton Miller talks his move from quarterback to receiver with @SIPeteThamel http://on.si.com/1IpHY3a 

 

Sports Illustrated ‏@SInow  37m37 minutes ago

Ohio State's Braxton Miller has been working out at receiver all summer, he told @SIPeteThamel http://on.si.com/1HMLtgF  pic.twitter.com/NawdbOQva3

 

Smart move

 

In other news, Joey Bosa's little brother, Nick, committed to tOSU. Arguably a better HS player than his big bro was, believe it or not

Well Bosa, Marshall, and two others were suspended today for the first game of the season for breaking athletic department rules, whatever that means. Not a huge loss, but will maybe cost Ohio State a few touchdowns in the inevitable drubbing that they're going to lay on VaTech.

The other two are Dontre Wilson (H-Back) and Corey Smith (WR).  With Braxton Miller moving to H-Back, Marshall has been focusing on WR. 

Smart move

 

In other news, Joey Bosa's little brother, Nick, committed to tOSU. Arguably a better HS player than his big bro was, believe it or not

 

So great grandpa will keep watching the games with Woody.  :)

Ohio State a near-unanimous No. 1 in preseason coaches’ poll

 

Ever since Ohio State finished off its magical, and some would say improbable, postseason run by hoisting the first-ever College Football Playoff trophy, and with the talent it has returning, it’s been widely assumed that the Buckeyes would be ranked No. 1 entering the 2015 season by nearly major poll.  After the first release, OSU is on its way to doing just that.

 

In yet another sign that a fresh college football season is right around the corner, the Amway coaches’ poll was released late Thursday morning and — surprise! — OSU is ranked No. 1 in the country.  Perhaps the only real surprise is that the Buckeyes weren’t a unanimous selection, receiving “just” 62 of the 64 first-place votes.

 

MORE: http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/07/30/ohio-state-a-near-unanimous-no-1-in-preseason-coaches-poll/

Sports Illustrated released their preseason Top 25.  OSU is ranked #1:  http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/08/05/sports-illustrated-preseason-college-football-top-25

 

 

Unanimous #1 selection in the AP poll

 

4 ESPN preseason All-Americans - Elliot, Elflein, Bosa, Bell

Interesting tweet I read yesterday.  Out of 22 starters in this year's Super Bowl, not one 5-star recruit

 

That's an example of what I've been talking about with players from mid-major schools and people who aren't really well-known in college coming to dominate the NFL later in life. Those player introductions full of Middle Tennessee States and Oregon States tell the story.

 

The last guy left in the NFL from the Braylon Edwards trade is Jason Trusnik, who went to Ohio Northern.  London Fletcher had a 16 year career and may make the Hall of Fame, he went to John Carroll.