Our Honor Defend

While Buckeye fans and underclassmen on the football team bask in the glow of the Rose Bowl victory over the Oregon Webfoots, likely to keep themselves warm amidst the deep freeze moving across the Midwest, the upperclassmen are either preparing for the NFL upon graduation or, in the case of Thaddeus Gibson, making the decision whether or not to try their chances in the NFL and forgo their senior season. Gibson, one of the three seniors-to-be (along with Cam Heyward and Chimdi Chekwa), has already made his decision.  He will go pro.

The move surprises me a little bit, but not too much in light of recent reports where Gibson was mentioned as giving very strong, very credible, signals that he was ready for the next chapter in his life.  Gibson, as you may remember, piqued the interest of Buckeye fans everywhere when he mentioned that the goal of the 2009 season was to destroy everything moving.  He followed that with a successful season, leading the team in TFLs (13) and chipping in 4 sacks on top of 45 tackles.  Where this move surprises me is the fact that Gibson is playing the same LEO position for Ohio State that Vernon Gholston did.  This position typically translates to an outside linebacker at the next level, where the size and speed of everyone participating is knocked up a notch.  With Gholston struggling, and having the “bust” label come up, I would’ve thought that Gibson would be a little hesitant because prospective hirers would be a little hesitant.  Instead, he feels he’s up to the challenge.

I don’t mean to be rude to Gibson, but the Buckeyes are very fortunate to have a very talented backup at the same position: Nathan Williams.  Williams was one of the breakout freshman of the 2008 class and, while he does not necessarily pile up stats as a reserve, he gets good pressure on the QB when he is on the field (3rd on the team in sacks).  To that extent, we are covered in spite of the loss of Gibson.  Losing Cam Heyward would make me a doubly sad panda.

Unfortunate as the news is for Buckeye fans, it does allow for excitement to see where Gibson heads in the upcoming NFL draft.  We’ll cheer him as he goes.