Our Honor Defend

By the lofty standards for the football factory in Columbus, the 2010 NFL Draft was a little disappointing.  After the first two days if the new protracted NFL draft format, all Buckeyes who had put their names in the draft were still waiting to be taken.  At the end of the third and final day, four Buckeyes were selected.  Thaddeus Gibson (4th round – Steelers), Doug Worthington (7th round – Steelers), Kurt Coleman (7th round – Eagles), Austin Spitler (7th round – Dolphins) were all rewarded for their 4-5 years of service with an opportunity to make millions playing the game they love at the professional level.

Gibson found a good fit with the Steelers, as much as I despise that team.  Gibson was popular among the Steelers coaches at Ohio State’s Pro Day festivities precisely because he could thrive as an attacking outside linebacker in Buckeye alumnus Dick Lebeau’s 3-4 scheme.  He will join a second round pick from Virginia Tech, Jason Worilds, as a collegiate defensive end having to make the transition to outside linebacker, but, already, Gibson’s service as the weakside “Leo” defensive end for Jim Heacock should assist him.  Yes, it is the same position that Vernon Gholston played, who has struggled greatly in his two seasons as a pro.  Nevertheless, Gibson showed more versatility at the same position (arguably less explosiveness as a pass rusher) and has the athleticism to serve the Steelers well on special teams… as the Steelers are getting trounced by the venerable Cleveland Browns.

Doug Worthington was selected in the 7th round to join him in Pittsburgh.  Nominally a defensive tackle at Ohio State, I am fairly certain Worthington will be asked to serve the Steelers as a strongside defensive end in their 3-4 scheme.  Beyond that, I don’t know what else to add to Worthington and the possibility that he is on the roster in the fall.  Not the most athletic player, Worthington can nevertheless use his size to fill up space on the line of scrimmage.

Kurt Coleman was picked by the Eagles with their compensatory pick, completing an exodus of Buckeyes to the Keystone State.  Being drafted so late in the 7th round is probably not what Kurt Coleman expected, but Buckeye fans will probably ensure the oblivious Eagles fan that they are getting high value for that pick.  Coleman himself may attest to something like that.  Coleman will try to bring some aggression to the Eagles, likely starting out on special teams (if he is on the active squad in time for the 2010 season) before working to crack the two-deep on defense.

I was not expecting Austin Spitler to be drafted, but those that know more than me were telling me to not be surprised if the Dolphins don’t try to take him in the 7th round.  Sure enough, they were right.  My only complaint now was that the Dolphins did not have the last pick in the draft as Spitler was just a few picks away from being the 2010 NFL Draft’s “Mr. Irrelevant”.  Spitler had a great workout at Pro Day and the Dolphins, quickly putting together a Big Ten All-Star Team in South Beach, swooped him up with their last pick in the draft.  Spitler will have to make the transition from  a strongside linebacker in Ohio State’s 4-3 defense to an inside linebacker in Miami’s 3-4 defense.  Given what I wrote about him a few months ago, I am very excited for him and hope he can stick in Miami.

While these four Buckeyes will forever get to tell their future children and grandchildren that they are of an elite class of athlete (comparatively speaking) that was good enough to be drafted into the NFL, several other Buckeyes secured try-outs and invites immediately following the draft.  Briefly: Jimmy Cordle and Jake Ballard are en route to the New York Giants, Ray Small will head to Minnesota, Rob Rose will try out with Pete Carroll’s Seattle Seahawks, Lawrence Wilson will head to the Bears, Anderson Russell to the Redskins and Aaron Pettrey signed a free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers.

As always, Godspeed to all the former Buckeye players as they pursue their dreams.

In a non sequitir aimed at fostering conversation, how did your pro team of choice do over the weekend?

Miscellany

• So, there was a spring game, right?  Yep, there was.  I am going to try to recap all of it on a post for Monday.
• Again, by Buckeye standards, having a 4th rounder and three 7th rounders is disappointing.  There was a minor tizzy about there being no Buckeye taken after the first two days of the draft, despite selections from Indiana and Purdue and a forthcoming pick from Northwestern (Corey Wootton).  The last time the Buckeyes had no one taken in the NFL Draft was 1998.  You may remember that 1998 team; minus one colossal blunder, it was ridiculously good.  The 2010 NFL Draft should say more about the upcoming 2010 season for Ohio State than it does about a faltering placement rate in the NFL.  But that’s just my opinion.