Our Honor Defend

In the Hive

Well, well, well, look who we have here. It’s you again, huh? I will admit, I’d be lying if I said I was surprised. I mean, this is the Monday Morning Hive, just about the greatest thing since peanut butter and chocolate formed the greatest tag-team since The Legion Of Doom. Make no mistake, the Hive is glad to have you back and will put forth the due diligence to make sure you enjoy your time here. There was a lot of action over the weekend, so have a seat, prop up your feet, and let us get to the Five for the Hive!

Buckeyes Get Drafty
It pains me to say this but, the Pittsburgh Steelers are, if nothing else, a smart well-run organization. Which is why they draft Ohio State Buckeyes. In the 2011 draft they picked up Cam Hayward (a personal favorite of mine on defense). This year, the Steelers were the first NFL team to draft a Buckeye when they took former OT Mike Adams in the second round. No need to rehash the mistakes that cost him literally millions of dollars by slipping out of the first round. Suffice it to say the Steelers got first round talent for a discount. Personally, I hope he succeeds (along with Hayward) but the Steelers finish no better than 8-8. That would be ideal. For me. (Go Bengals)

Speaking of Cincinnati, the Bengals used one of their picks in the sixth round to draft RB Dan “Boom” Herron. A decade ago, it seemed as if the Bengals drafted a Buckeye player every single year. That hasn’t been the case as of late, but this pick really excited Bengals fans, myself included. The Bengals filled a need with the selection, but it remains to be seen how much of a chance Boom will be given to get playing time.

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In the Hive

Greetings and salutations, Hivesters. Yes, it’s another addition of the Friday Morning Hive, this time guaranteed Rebecca Black-free! While many of us will be looking at the clock on the wall at work waiting for quitting time and the release of the weekend, some former Buckeyes will be watching their watches with a whole other pressure weighing on them, waiting to get that phone call from a NFL team and finding out where, if anywhere, they’ll report and make a crack at a professional roster.

Let’s be honest, there isn’t a single kid who receives a scholarship from the OSU football program who doesn’t have designs on a career in the NFL. And for the most part, they’re on the right track – there are currently 37 former Ohio State players in the NFL, and the Buckeyes had 71 first-round picks in the draft’s history entering last night.

However, that number didn’t change during the first round festivities Friday night in New York City. Ohio State’s best shot at a first-round draft pick was Mike Adams, but the offensive lineman slipped out of the first round. Don’t fear, though, Adams shouldn’t wait too long today before he finds out his fate.

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In the Hive

Well, here we go again. It’s Thursday morning and it’s time to hive. As you’re all well aware, we’re now mired in the no-man’s land located post-basketball and post-spring game. For those of you in Columbus, look outside your window. See that dreary weather? See that cold rain slowly making its way to the sidewalk? That’s how my heart feels right now.

In the Desolate Wasteland, an Oasis
Today, though, I am offered a brief respite from my woe as the NFL Draft kicks off this evening 8pm. Now the chance that we’ll see a Buckeye drafted tonight is slim. Mike Adams stands the best chance of hearing his name called, but the recent revelations regarding his recreational drug use and the less-than-spectacular performance he put on at the combine will likely cause the offensive tackle to slide into round two.

Other Buckeyes hoping to hear their names called this weekend include center Mike Brewster, running back Boom Herron, linebacker Andrew Sweat, wide receiver DeVier Posey, and offensive tackle J.B. Shugarts, who will no-doubt prematurely walk up to the podium during round one, about 40 hours before he is actually drafted. Most of these players won’t hear their names called until Saturday, if at all, but all should be on rosters by Sunday night.

An interesting case to consider is that of DeVier Posey. NFLdraftscout.com has Posey listed as its 22^nd best WR (of 284) and #171 prospect overall, a solid 5^th round grade. From a pure talent standpoint, he’s probably 3^rd round-worthy, but two five-game suspensions led to a 12 catch 2011 season and sent Posey’s draft stock tumbling.

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Swish: The sound after a perfect fluid motion. A Michael Redd constant.

Back In The Day
Every Buckeye remembers that one play, that one game, that one player that hooked them as a fan for life. Even those of us born into raging religiously devout Buckeye families still had that singularly seperate beat that distinguished our fandom from the collective and became a personal obsession. I have earlier memories of Buckeye basketball than those from the Jim O’Brien era. Even as a child I remember my father rooting for Lawrence Funderburke, Chris Jent, and of course Jimmy Jackson. My allegiance, and subsequent obsession, did not take hold however until watching Michael Redd in 1999.

Before he started high school at West Senior High School Michaels father James told him “this is my house“. James had been a star at West Senior and was recruited by the big names in college basketball at that time. But by the time Michael was finished he averaged 25 points per game as a senior and had effectively turned WSHS into his house. As a local kid growing up in Columbus, Michael became a fan of Jim Jackson and Ohio States All-Time leading scorer Dennis Hopson. Redd was recruited coming out of high school by the likes of Iowa, Cincinnati, and even Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. Luckily, Michael decided that his place was at home and chose to play for the Buckeyes, fifteen minutes from where he grew up.

Redd In Scarlet And Gray
His first season at Ohio State was, let’s say, rough. Even though Redd made his mark early on and led the team in scoring with 21.9 points per game, the team had a 15 game losing streak in the middle of the season and finished 8-22. It was the worst finish for an Ohio State basketball team since 1928-29. However, as the lone bright spot, Redd came to college with the ability to put the ball in the hoop and put that on display every game. At the end of his first year his average was the highest in the Big Ten. It was the first time ever that a true Freshman led the conference in scoring. Even with names from the past like Dennis Hopson, Rick Mount, Isiah Thomas, Steve Alford and Eervin “Magic” Johnson, Michael Redd was the first.

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In the Hive

Last week’s story about the Wisconsin men’s basketball player Jarrod Uthoff’s desire to transfer became a major media talking point.  The fact that a college athlete was seeking to transfer was not a big deal, it happens all the time.  What made this news story interesting was that Badger coach Bo Ryan had a long list of schools that Uthoff was not allowed to transfer to; that list included the entire Big Ten, the entire ACC, Iowa State, and Marquette.  A coach restricting a player from transferring to a conference opponent is not new and makes a lot of sense, why let a player who knows your system go to a conference foe who you will face at least once a season.  Thus Ryan’s decision to deny Uthoff the chance to go to another Big Ten school is fairly reasonable, as is the decision to block any transfer to Marquette, Wisconsin’s rival.  Iowa State and the ACC being on the list make no sense however.  Sure there is a chance that Uthoff could end up on a team that the Badgers would face in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge but that chance is small and is the Challenge really that big of deal?  Iowa State makes even less sense other than the fact that Uthoff is from Iowa and this may just be Bo Ryan being vindictive.

After this story broke, the sports media exploded with every reporter and talking head known to man registering their opinion on the matter, with most of them criticizing Bo Ryan’s decision.  Most of the media felt that while the NCAA rules permit a coach to restrict where a student athlete can transfer to, Ryan went to far in this case.  I agree with this, Ryan should have just restricted Uthoff to not being able to transfer to a Big Ten school or to Marquette, going beyond that makes no sense as the chance of any of those schools ever facing Wisconsin while Uthoff is still there is very low.

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