Our Honor Defend

For the third part of our 19 (or 20) part series, I decide to take a look to the unheralded guy who started it all. Ben Buchanan grew up a Buckeye fan and wasted no time in realizing his dream of playing in the Scarlet and Gray. In the following sections, I look at the (rather short) recruitment and commitment of Ben Buchanan and laud what might very well be the ultimate “Tressel recruit”.

Height: 6’0
Weight: 195lbs
GPA: 3.7
Early Enrollee: Nope.

His Recruitment: Ben’s recruitment was probably over before it ever began. Buchanan grew up a Buckeye fan, grew up the child of Ohio State alumni, even went with his family to the 2003 Fiesta Bowl. Like most good Ohio boys, he grew up dreaming of playing for the Buckeyes. Of course, kickers are not something you just waste scholarships on, and a fortuitous set of two factors had to be present to make Buchanan a lock for a scholarship. First, Ohio State had clear need for special teams in this class. The last kicker or punter to come in on a scholarship before Buchanan was AJ Trapasso in the 2004 class. Granted, Pettrey would come in on grayshirt, Thoma would walk on and Pretorius had a successful audition for a scholarship, but, the point being, all 4 special teamers on scholarship will enter this coming season as either seniors or juniors. Taking a special teamer, especially a kicker, becomes a very wise use of a precious scholarship, even with Devin Barclay on the roster.

Second, justifying the strategic use of this scholarship is Buchanan playing both as both a kicker and a punter. Moreover, it’s just not enough in saying that Buchanan dabbled as both a kicker and a punter at Westerville Central: he excelled as a kicker and a punter. Highlighting this is the early ripples Buchanan made at the Buckeye Kicking Academy in 2006, hosted at Upper Arlington HS and hosted by Buckeye heroes Andy Groom, Mike Nugent and Dan Stultz (Cooper’s kicker for his last year as coach). Invitations were limited to the top 40 kicker prospects in the state of Ohio regardless of class, and competitions in the Academy were delineated for both kicking and punting. Buchanan was invited as a combo player (kicker and punter), allowing him to compete in both the kicking and punting competitions. He won both. The exact details shared on BuckeyePlanet are almost mesmerizing to read. Ben won the punting competition with a 47yd spiral into the wind. The real story was the battle in the kicking final, where Ben won by hitting consecutive field goals from 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, yards out — alternating by hash — and clinched the victory by hitting from 60 yards out to tie a record set by another Buckeye hero BJ Sander. Apparently Buchanan was so good in his mechanics that Mike Nugent and Dan Stultz saw nothing to correct.

Absent the inviting space on the depth chart and Buchanan’s utility as a combo player, Buchanan could still be a Buckeye (could have even got a scholarship for other considerations, for all I know), but could have also headed elsewhere (Notre Dame was interested in him, so too Tennessee). Walking on is not uncommon for kicker, but Ben was fortunate to get a scholarship for a position that coaches aren’t big fans of burning a scholarship on. Of course, Ben earned his scholarship too, and was offered on Feb 28 2007.

His Commitment: Again, Ben’s recruitment was over before it ever began. A lifelong Ohio State fan who worked with Dan Stultz on kicking since he was in the fifth grade left little doubt where Ben wanted to be. When Ohio State offered, Ben jumped on the offer as soon as possible noting that, if his objective was to be a Buckeye, why wait? On March 2, 2007, Ben Buchanan became the first commitment in what would develop to be a stellar 2008 recruiting class. For Ben, being a lifelong fan was cause enough, but Ben, like a lot of recruits in this class (Willie Mobley and Keith Wells come to mind) were enamored with Ohio State for the “family” feel that the coaches bring to the locker room. With his recruitment over, Ben returned back to his schoolwork, baseball endeavors and football preparations.

Buchanan Bunch: Naturally, upon his commitment, Ben was asked about how he could help the recruiting process for 2008, and Ben responded:

BB: Honestly, with my academics, baseball and the recruiting process taking most of my time, I have not been able to speak with many prospects. Now that I am a Buckeye, I intend to do all that I can to help the best talent in the country suit up in the scarlet and gray!

What followed from Ben’s commitment was the formulation of one of the best recruiting classes in recent memory at OSU. Mike Adams would commit just 8 days later, and there was much rejoicing there. Indeed, Mike Adams, DeVier Posey, Jake Stoneburner, Michael Brewster, Nathan Williams and JB Shugarts would all commit just under two months after Ben. So why do we call it the Brew Crew again? Post hoc ergo propter hoc, bitches. I’m not sayin’ I’m just sayin’. The pull factor of being part of a recruiting class that included a world class punter should be enough for any 5-star athlete. Then again, I have severe mental problems and an unhealthy obsession with punters as a priceless offensive weapon. Therefore, I find myself referring to this class as the Buchanan Bunch since nobody is around to correct me.

Of course, Ben himself wouldn’t agree with my assessment:

“That’s really not my style,” Buchanan said with a laugh. “I’m not like Brewster with his Blackberry or anything like that. Nobody could do what he does. Mike’s personality allows him to do an excellent job in attracting kids to Ohio State. He’s kind of the ringleader, but I surely want to my part in bringing in a great class. I kind of follow Jake and Mike’s lead and they know they can count on me to help out where I’m needed.”

Bah, whatever. I like my story better.

Ben Buchanan, the Technician: Scouting Ohio has their montage on Ben Buchanan (linked near the end of the post), thought a good portion of it is hard to see given how Scouting Ohio embeds their footage in the web browser. That said, the footage shows why Ben is so valuable as a kicker and a punter. Ben’s range is 60 yards (see above for Buckeye Kicking Academy), and in a game against Alder, Buchanan narrowly missed a 61 yarder by a hair, though accuracy was never in question. As a junior, Ben averaged 41 yards a punt with a long of 62 and never missed a PAT. Through his senior year, Buchanan was perfect within 50 yards. His misses from the high 50s out was certainly not for lack of leg strength. As a junior, 80 percent of his kickoffs were for touchbacks. Granted HS kids kick off at the 40 and Buchanan never really launched one into the bleachers on a kickoff, but it does show great promise. The footage on Scouting Ohio shows why. Simply put, Ben wastes no time in attacking the ball. There’s no long wind up, no wasted motion, nothing that Ben does that would invite a blocked FG on his part. Ben requires a very short windup¹, and once that ball is snappped, it’s gone lickety split. It could very well be leg strength that allows for such a short windup, but it’s still very efficient, and makes him that much better.

Ben Buchanan, the All-Around Good Guy: Of all the recruits in this class, Ben might very well be the consummate “Tressel kid”, which may in part explain why OSU offered him a scholarship so early in the process. A complete resume of Ben’s endeavours can be seen here. Ben is a devout Christian, and it goes beyond just going to Church on Sunday because he knows of nothing else. He’s serious about it; so serious about it that he has even done missionary work in Honduras and elsewhere in Central America with his Church. He volunteers at a YMCA soup kitchen to provide food to the homeless. Ben also hits the books like a champ, carrying a 3.7 GPA and picking up numerous accolades as a scholar athlete. He draws rave reviews not just for his kicking prowess, but his humility and work ethic. A pervasive philosophy for the Tressel staff at least appears to be that there’s no discernible difference in on-the-field performance versus off-the-field performance, and that realizing the former is actually a function of the latter. Suffice to say, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about Ben Buchanan filing a false police report about the contents of a stolen loaner vehicle, nor would we have to worry about him going the way of Jonathan Skeete. Expect to see Ben at in newspaper clippings about his community service: voluntary and not punitive. Credit, of course, to mom and dad for doing an excellent job with Ben.

The Nickname: I know it; you know it; the American people know it. Ohio State kickers are supposed to get their own little prolonged cheer as they line up for a PAT. That’s just the rule, and it’s not our fault that Ryan Pretorius, as neat of a story he is and how he came to Ohio State, does not have a last name that’s amenable to such fan participation. Nevertheless, Nugent had “Nuuuuuge”, Huston had “Huuuuuuu”, so what does Ben get? The likely candidate will make reference to his last name and, from what I’ve read, I like the idea of his nickname being “Boom-cannon” given that powerhouse leg of his. Therefore, I propose the cheer of “Booooooooom” as he lines up for the PAT, even though William Herron has made his claim to that nickname. Whatever it is, it must be made explicit during a PAT attempt. That’s just the rule. Everybody knows that.

Where He Excels: I mentioned earlier, but within 40 or so, there is no wasted motion on Ben’s part during a kick. Zero. Whatever technique improvements Ben makes will essentially be the most minor adjustments from what I’ve seen. Whatever extended role Ben plays on the special teams for the Buckeyes, it seems clear to me he’s the FG kicker of the future.

Must Work On: Might want to pack on a few pounds if he’s going to be doing punting as well. That said, I don’t know if Ben will be handling all of Ohio State’s special teams duties, for it seems like you could wear him out pretty quickly. Of course, given the quality coming in, I don’t expect Ohio State offenses to be punting the ball that much anymore, but nevertheless the issue is there. Most kickoffs sailed deep into the endzone for a touchback, but HS kickers kick off from the 40 (I think). From what I’ve seen, Ben could stand to add a little more oomph to his kick, but that may be just because I think every kickoff should be a touchback².

Redshirt? More than likely. Ben seems to think he will redshirt as well and wait a year to see the field. Smart move, too.

You Might Remember Me From Such College Greats As: BJ Sander and Mike Nugent come to mind, but by God does that stack the deck against Buchanan in terms of expectations. Of the two, I see a lot more of BJ in Ben, especially in the punting game. If you were an opposing player, when Sander took the field, you knew you the punt did not end well for you. Similar scenario with Ben in HS as he kept working on the Ozzie punt³. Nuge seemed more invincible than Ben does, but remember, Nuge did struggle mightily in 2001.

Miscellany: Army All-American, though did not play due to an injury. It’s regrettable, since the kicker they had go in place of Buchanan sucked noodles (he was some Georgia kid). That kicker turned the East’s special teams during the game into Amateur Hour, and he should feel bad… Will participate in Big 33, one of 4 Buckeyes to do so… Varsity shortstop at Westerville Central, averaging about .380 at the plate… I don’t know what to make of this image… 2nd Team All-Ohio as a freshman kicker. Not bad at all.

The Quotable Ben Buchanan Fluff Piece: Oh, there’s tons of quotes here.

A few can be found in either one of Ben’s Straight Six features.

4) When your career is over, how would you like people to remember Ben Buchanan?BB: I hope that I will be remembered as a great person and a Godly man, a leader and a friend. I hope to be someone who made a difference in many people’s lives and was always there to help!

BPRT: You are the first member of what could be an incredible class for 2008. What sealed the deal for the Buckeyes?

BB: For as long as I can remember, I have been a Buckeye. Some people asked me why I committed so early to Ohio State? The answer is simple: I am and always will be an Ohio State Buckeye! It’s in my blood. My father graduated from Ohio State and took me to my first Buckeye game in the ‘Shoe when I was 4. The academics are great and our traditions are unrivaled. I heard that the Bucks were a family and I felt that when I first met the Coaches. Coach Peterson was great! To have the opportunity to learn from Coach Tressel sealed the deal for me. It’s an honor for me to be an Ohio State Buckeye!

BPRT: Who are some of the players you would like to see join you in the class of 2008? Do you plan to help recruit them?

BB: I will do everything in my power to help Ohio State beat Michigan, win a Big Ten Title and a National Championship. It all starts with recruiting. I plan on attending Pro-Day after my baseball practice on March 10th to help recruit. Hopefully, I will see Mike Adams and Jake Stoneburner from Dublin Coffman there to encourage them to be Buckeyes.

Never Forget.

BPRT: What changes do you expect in your life now that you are a future Buckeye?

BB: I am part of a much bigger family now! My parents taught me that every time I leave my home, I represent my family, my school, and my faith. My actions reflect upon them. Now that I’m a Buckeye, I need to uphold the high standards set by Coach Tressel, my teammates and all Buckeyes before me.

“Off the field, I want to use my position to glorify Jesus Christ,” Buchanan exclaimed. “I’m a very spiritual person and I make no excuse for that. I’m looking forward to speaking at Athletes in Action or Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and if my position as a football player opens those doors, then I’m all for it. I want people to see the type of person I am, and to represent this university in a positive manner. I want to be a leader in the classroom, as my academic career means so much to me. I want to get a degree from Ohio State and I’m very much interested in things other than football in my life. I’m ready to make contributions in the community and be a valuable team player on this football team. That’s a big reason why I chose to play for a man like Jim Tressel. Out value systems are so similar and that means a lot to me, having a head coach that I respect so much. I always want to be a person who does the right thing. My parents taught me that from the beginning and I owe them everything.”

This last one comes from Scout’s feature on the Making of the Brew Crew, paying careful attention to Ben Buchanan. Other important reads on Ben can be seen here, and here.

Highlights: Scouting Ohio has their footage of Ben Buchanan, and one more clip can be seen on Ben’s Rivals.com profile, though it is not very exhaustive. Below, I link Ben Buchanan’s Army All-American Press Conference, where he was formally introduced as a future participant in the annual January festivities in San Antonio.

So, Ben, consider yourself Better Known… I guess. I think.

1. I don’t know what it’s called in the kicking profession. I’m just speaking layman’s [↩]
2. Hell, if you’re going to score against the Buckeyes, go the full 80 yards. I hate giving opposing teams the opportunity to cut into that distance on the kickoff. Underscoring this is how horrific our kickoff coverage team was in 2007 [↩]
3. high spiral punt aimed at pinning teams in their 10 yard line [↩]