Questions for the Audience
The response I’ve gotten wasn’t particularly resounding, but, friend of the program, WSAS, is on board. I’d still love to get the folks like tBBC on board, and indeed everyone. But failing that, I hope a couple readers will contribute their thoughts to this set of questions. If it seems like this is a poor excuse for a post to compensate for being mired in a load of work? Well… you’re right.
But moving on…
01. Heater at Bucknuts reported recently that Jake Stoneburner might be on the move to tight end after all2. I’m optimistic that some great things will follow. But what do you make of this move, if it happens? Will Stoneburner get lost at a position that the Buckeyes’ offense hasn’t taken advantage of since Ben Hartsock? Or might this actually mean some diversification of playcalling (H-back sets, drag routes) and a chance for Stoneburner to be unstoppable?
02. Ohio State will host no in-state MACrifices at the Shoe in 2009, though it will go to Cleveland to play Toledo. The Buckeyes didn’t even have an in-state school scheduled for 2010 until it finalized an agreement with Ohio not too long ago. I love this, and I’d love to see more of it (absence of in-state schools on Ohio State’s schedule). What say you?
03. Signing Day wasn’t that long ago. What recruit in the 2009 class has a breakthrough performance in 2009 like Nathan Williams had last season? In other words, is there someone in the class who will have an immediate impact in spite of low hype?
04. I think everyone agrees that Boom Herron will replace Beanie as starting tailback, but his backup will probably get some carries through the course of the season. Lesmerises implies that’ll be Carlos Hyde, freshman from Naples, Florida. Who do you think it’ll be and why?
Bonus
I uploaded the 1977 Orange Bowl Drive-Thru to the YouTube-o-vision™ thingie that I do. If you were unaware, the 1977 Orange Bowl was the first non Rose Bowl bowl game in Ohio State history and, as it turned out, a moment worth saving as the Buckeyes ran up 27 unanswered points in the 27-10 victory over the Colorado Buffaloes4.
If you were also unaware, this was the mid-70s and NBC had some amazing pictures for player bios this game. I uploaded every one that they showed below. Two questions follow:
- What picture of the bunch is the best?
- How pretty is Jeff Logan?
A few other pics, just for fun.
- Yes, for the dozens… AND dozens… of our readers… [↩]
- Nothing is set in stone at the moment, but the words used to describe the move were “natural order of things” and “a done deal”. Those words certainly fly against Darrell Hazell’s insistence that he was a wide receiver [↩]
- Mmm… weasel words… [↩]
- FYI: The starting tight end for the Buffs was the father of those Hasselbeck brothers, most famous one being Matt. Emery Moorehead, also a tight end, is Aaron Moorehead’s father. [↩]
Damn shame what happened to Logan’s hair. Guy was balding by the time they filmed that ‘77 documentary on Woody.
PS don’t forget. I have OSU tapes. Football and basketball from about 89 through 2000– I can dig them out and catalog them if you lilke. Email me if you’re interested. I’m getting married in May and they’re going in the dumpster if I don’t find a home for them.
Tony Reeds pic is the best. Interesting stuff on Stonebruner. Wonder how he feels about it
I think that Ray, not Archie, was the best all-round athlete in the Griffin family. Though, Archie was really-really good at the thing he did. Ray could do it all.
Yeah, I gathered that too about Ray in watching him play. Archie and Ray were both great athletes, but Archie had the benefit of playing a position more amenable to winning two Heismans.
Great family, all Buckeyes.
Jeff Logan is a pretty man, and still is after all these years: http://www.mccloyfinancial.com/ecard.cfm?ID=74174
The longer hair definitely served him better. Long hair is a very sensitive topic with Vic, natch.
oh yeah, questions…
1. It’ll be a good thing once he can accustom himself to a down formation on the line of scrimmage. Presently, lining up next to a tackle is something he isn’t comfortable with and I don’t see him as an H-back, sadly (the coaches just won’t do it). But yeah, I hope Stoney is for it since his comments suggested that he’s all for playing. Here’s to him playing.
2. I don’t know, MACrifices are nice and easy, except when we’re left with that Bobcats debacle in 2008. God almighty I hated that game. I’ll be against scheduling the in-state MAC schools once one of them beats us.
3. Put me down for Dominic Clarke or one of the fullbacks. I don’t think fullbacks will play that big a role in 2009, but the position will be overrun with freshmen. Dominic could be a nickelback his freshman year.
4. I think Saine gets the backup nod, and I hope he’s pieced it together to be a contributor by this, his junior season.
5. The world is not ready, man. It ain’t ready.
Bonus: OMG EMERY MOOREHEAD SHIRTLESS
re: stoneburner, if Tress and co ever figure out how to involve the TE outside of blocking
two words: TRAVIS. BECKUM.
1. I’m despairing that ANY TE, even a potential nightmare for opposing LBs like Stoneburner, can get a fair chance to shine in a Tressel offense – I mean, we’ve got one of those guys now w/ Ballard, and he almost never gets his number called. Vico, you mentioned Hartsock – but I remember even him being woefully underutilized other than on 3rd-and-kinda-long plays and in the red zone. Maybe LiC can force the issue, since we know he’s at least not afraid to look for the TE from time to time.
2. I’m of two minds on the games vs. Ohio schools – I love keeping that payday in-state rather than having it go to schmucks like San Diego St. and Troy, and the (oxymoron alert) sentimental logic of giving these kids the chance to play in the ‘Shoe makes sense to me. On the other hand, simple mathematics dictates that, one of these days, Ohio State WILL lose one of these games – and that’ll be a day of Appy St.-style rejoicing for the haters.
But what I think doesn’t matter; the University and Tressel seem set on continuing the practice. Given that, I suggest the following:
- No more Penguins. Sure it’s nice to throw a bone to the people who gave us The Senator, but the real and perceived drag on schedule strength from playing a 1-AA team makes this unacceptable.
- No Cincinnati. They’re just getting too good, and the bitch of it is that when/if they ever did beat us, the perception of it would just be too damaging (even though they’re in a BCS conference, have a different regional recruiting focus, etc., it would still be a David-Goliath thing w/ the media), and the other side of that coin is that we get no credit for beating them no matter how good they are.
What does that leave? A four-year rotation of Toledo, BG, Ohio and Miami. I can live with that, I guess – it gives every kid at those schools their one shot at the Buckeyes, and that’s enough.
3. Johnny Simon. DT is still a position of weakness for us, and his mix of size, STRENGTH, attitude, and smarts should mean that he can contribute meaningfully this fall.
4. Hyde is probably the #2, if for no other reason than size in short-yardage and goal-line situations. I’m gonna be pissed if all they ever do with Berry is what they did with M. Wells – i.e., run him off-tackle as if he were twice the size he is.
5. I like Evege in his current role of hype man on the sidelines. Dude gets more TV time now than he ever would if he was actually on the field.
BONUS: First, Jeff Logan is not pretty at all. Second, Ray Griffin definitely is the smoothest, and with that background he looks ready to bust out with “I’M ON A BOAT!”
Whoops forgot Akron and Kent St. – but no biggie, screw those guys.
1) I am ever hopeful that the TE will make a miraculous recovery and reappear as a real part of the tOSU offense. I am hopeful (and not in a pollyannish way) that the type of offense we will see next year with LeBron in Cleats at QB will create all kinds of opportunities for passing to a TE. With the lack of quality or reliable (that means you B Saine) backups at RB, I expect to see a little more passing. Of course that assumes that LiC develops his passing skills over the off season. I always thought Jake would eventually end up at TE because of his frame.
2) Having just completed my 31st season as a season ticket holder means I have sat through some miserable blowouts. Whats the difference between blowing out Utah by 60 or Houston (and their ridiculous cowboys in full length dusters in 90 degree heat) or Rice, and blowing out our little brothers at Kent? I’d rather we help the in state school. The exception to that is the nimrods down in Northern kentucky who think they are going to surpass tOSU as THE football power in the state. Screw ‘em. If they have so little respect for tOSU, let find a juicy payday somewhere else.
3) MEH. Nathan Williams is the poster boy for exactly why I pay NO atttention to recruiting. For every Terrel Pryor theres an AJ Hawk who when he was signed the “experts” criticized Tressel for wasting a spot in the class on a nobody LB when we signed all those studs like Carpetner and D’Andrea and White. No one, not even St Jim, knows who will make an impact next year out of this class. There will be busts and breakouts. Just sit back and cheer them on.
4) I’d like to think it will be Brandon Saine, but I wonder if he isn’t too fragile. Therefore, since I love speed, Mr Berry excites me. But remember my answer to question 3.
5) All American towel waver baby.
Bonus 1) Tony Reed. Dude’s hat is smoooth.
Bonus 2) Prince Valiant was brave, but never pretty.
1) Hopefully Stoneburner can be the type of TE that FORCES our offense to take advantage of him. That’s the only way he doesn’t get lost in the abyss that is the OSU TE.
2) Unless it is Cincy. I would love to see a rivalry started with Cincy now that they are a legitimate (using the word loosely) BCS contender. That could only help our SOS.
3) Jordan Whiting on special teams. He works hard and is focused to do whatever it takes to help the team……I look forward to him laying some BIG HITS on special teams.
4) I’m going to agree that it will be Carlos Hyde. He offers something different than Herron. He is a big guy that will come in on 3rd and short and redzone situations the way Beanie did as a freshman. (In no way am I comparing him to Beanie, I’m just saying he will be used in a similar way as Beanie was as a freshman.)
5) What are you trying to do?!? Cause a worldwide panic?!? Quick, tone down the Donnie Evege before someone gets hurt!
Bonus) How could the Jeff Logan pictures not be the best……women fainted the world around!
I like the in state games, but it has been overplayed. Three on the schedule in one year is ridiculous… keep it to 1 per year (to keep some $$ @ home) and then play some regional opponents non-conference.
We’ve been buried in work over at MotSaG, but we’d love to do some type of Buckeye Blog Roundtable. We’ve been in a bit of a blogging funk recently, but this post may provide the impetus for a post. Keep us in mind with your Block O Table plans.
2.) Now that Cincinnati is in a BCS conference, why shouldn’t Ohio State and Cincy open their seasons against each other? It would help both teams’ SOS. An early loss by either team would not have that much of an impact down the stretch. It’d be nice to have an in-state non-conference rivalry. It’s not like the schools don’t have a history together (see 1960-62 NCAA basketball championships).
As for playing other in-state schools…I-AA teams should be off the table for all I-A teams. They don’t play in the same post-season so why the hell are they even allowed to play each other. Trust me, I enjoyed watching TSUN lose to App. State, but it shouldn’t have been allowed.
Other states schools (Toledo, Miami, BG, OU, etc.) would be ok every once in a while. Everyone needs a break.
1.) I’ve been saying it for awhile, but I believe a big tight end is just what has been missing from this offense for some time. After Hartsock, Ryan Hamby was supposed to be the next big thing and that didn’t work out. Then Louis Irizarry (sp?) decided to start mugging people. I feel like a guy like Stoneburner would really give Pryor a nice weapon for the red-zone and those pesky 3rd downs.
2.) I am also sick of beating up on the MAC and god help us if we lose one of those games. Mark May would lick his chops for soemthing like that. Here is what I suggest: The SEC/ACC/Big 12/Big East Gridiron Challenge-Every season each conference leaves one weekend open and they get a good non-conference game on the schedule. They line it up like the ACC/Big 10 challenge in hoops. This prevents the SEC and the Big 12 from scheduling high school teams and it keeps the Big Ten from scheduling more than one Mac School. Look at our schedule in the late 80’s. In one season we played Oregon, WVU and LSU! Nothing good ever comes from those small games (see Yompton State this year and Beanie’s Toe).
3.) 2009 Recruiting Class breakthrough-This is tough because a lot of these guys have been hyped up pretty well-the only guy that nobody is talking about is Jordan Hall. I know Ohio State is stacked at RB-but if you get asked to play RB at TOSU, you must have the ability to tote the rock better than others.
4.) Brandon Saine is still on the roster-he still ran the 100 in HS faster than Teddy Ginn-he still weighs over 200lbs. Saine was hurt all last year-did we forget about him?
5.) I’m interested to see the new faces in the secondary. We’ve had all these recruits come in and heard nothing from them because we’ve had the same guys in the secondary. I’m interested to see the open competition. Watch for Jamie Wood.
1) I’m up for anything that means we utilize our TEs more (and I seem to be echoing the chorus here). Hopefully Pryor’s ability to keep plays alive with his legs will continue increase TE use/production which will then clue the coaching staff in to the fact that they have additional useful weapons. But if they aren’t going to actually utilize Jake at TE then keep him at WR; though I agree with bup x 3 that if they could get their heads around it that Stoneburner could be OSU’s T Beckum. I just don’t want to see the kid’s talent wasted if the coaches aren’t going to take advantage of it at that position.
2) I’m on the fence about MAC flavored cupcakes; I’m all for keeping the cupcake money in-state, but I’d also like to see college football move away from cupcake filled schedules (though I doubt this will happen). I’m OK with 1 MAC-rifice a season, but NO MORE I-AA (err…FCS) teams on the schedule, ever.
3) I’m with El Cab, a breakout at DT would be awesome because I think that’s our weakest position on the field. So I guess the most likely candidate there would be Simon.
4) Brandon Saine where the fuck are you? On paper this kid should be nothing short of frightening, unfortunately he’s turned out to be far too much of a track star in pads thus far. I REALLY hope he can turn the corner and become a serious contributor all over the field–in theory this kid could be a threat at RB or in the slot (he’s shown that he has decent hands in the past). So I guess I’ll go with Saine and hope that he finally has a breakout season.
5) Viva la dirt-stache!
1. Stoneburner is going to be a real asset early on in the season. Without having Beanie, I think the offense will become more balanced and Pryor is going to go to his TE or Slot Receiver a lot as he gets more and more comfortable with his passing game. I expect more production out of our TEs for 2009 and hopefully more PAT.
2. An in-state MAC school is better than FCS team, a Sunbelt team, a WAC team, etc. Ideally I would like eliminate two non-conference games and play all the teams in the Big Ten and then play two non-conference games – one big one and one semi-big one. A powerhouse and a mediocre BCS school is my preference. But that will never happen so bring on the Rockets! Hopefully in 2010 we can contain Boo Jackson.
3. I think Corey Brown will be a starting CB. But a 5* is not low hype. I think Carlos Hyde will have a bigger impact on the running game than Berry and Hall since he is built like a Mack Truck.
4. I think my answer to number 4 can be found in number 3. I think Hall redshirts and Berry doesn’t do anything special. I am a little worried that Berry is the next Mo’ Wells. I am also a little worried that Carlos Hyde is the next Lydell Ross. What can I say – I am a worrier. Whatever it may be, Hyde should not be allowed to wear #30 or visit strip clubs in Columbus and Berry shouldn’t be allowed to wear #34 or grow dreads.
5. Donnie Evege wears number 30 and I’m just not ready to see that number on the field again.