So…behold…the new footballs being used by the Wolverines.

This is the continuation of the ratcheting up the rivalry to ten-year war levels. Woody and Bo are no doubt smiling. Of course, there are still differences between the two eras. Woody and Bo were actually very, very, very good friends. Urbs and Hoke really don’t have any previous relationship to go on. They ate ribs together that one time, but I don’t think they regularly hang out. In fact, Urban has expressed his dislike towards the dirty, rotten traitors like Hoke. Growing up in Ohio and rooting for Michigan should be illegal, frankly, unless you have a darn good reason like a relative going there or a severe head injury that renders you completely unable to read a map.

As one of the commenters so eloquently stated; their footballs aren’t made in Ohio, but half of their team is. For that matter, so was your coach. Go home, Hoke, you’re drunk! Actually, don’t go home. Stay up in AA with the other scoundrels.

P.S. I like that this rivalry is fun again.

We all know that Woody Hayes was one tough S.O.B. Anyone who has lived in the Columbus area for any amount of time or who follows Buckeye football has heard their fair share of Woody stories. There was that time that he pushed his car across the Ohio border when it ran out of gas in Michigan, simply because he didn’t want to spend a dime in That State Up North, for example.

They all seem somewhat unbelievable, but they are told by so many that were close to Woody that you can’t help but think they are true. Woody was Bill Brasky before there was a Bill Brasky. He was The Most Interesting Man in the World before Dos Equis was even imported to the US. He was a living legend.

For this reason, there was only mild shock when Urban Meyer talked about that time in the locker room when Woody Hayes…oh…just read it below.

“So I guess Ohio State had lost the bowl game, so Earl Bruce brings in Woody Hayes. I had been there just a week and I’m thinking, ‘Holy, this is Coach Hayes.’ I’m sitting in the back. Coach Hayes was not healthy at the time, but stands up and starts laying into the coaching staff about toughness. That we have no toughness in the program. That’s why we lost the game. On and on and screaming, this old guy pounding the table. He says, ‘We have no toughness, and the reason is because you’re not tough. No one on this staff is tough enough, and that’s a problem.’

“He reaches down and grabs this box, slides the top and there was something in the box moving around. He reaches in and he pulls out this turtle. He reaches down, this turtle’s snapping and he says, ‘I’m going to show you toughness.’ He unzips his pants and takes out whatever he takes out. The turtle reaches up and snaps at him. You see the veins and the sweat (on Hayes). He screams at the coaches, ‘That’s toughness! That’s f’n toughness!’ He reaches down, pokes the turtle right in the eye and it falls off. He wipes the sweat off his forehead and says, ‘That’s the problem. We don’t have anybody in this room tough enough to do that right there.

“(One assistant) raises his hand and says, ‘Coach, I’d do this. Just promise not to poke me in the eye.’”

One would think there are other ways of proving your toughness, but Woody was never one for subtlety.

Urban Meyer doesn’t always say things that are popular with people not named Urban Meyer. In the past, he has made comments about the BCS system, the SEC and recruiting practices that ruffle many a feather of many a fan and opposing coach. The funny thing is, though, he’s usually right and people who hate what he says will often begrudgingly admit that he is right.

Count me in that camp. I really disliked Urban bashing others while stating Utah deserved a shot, but he was right. I really disliked his talk about Florida deserving a shot at OSU because the SEC was stronger than the B1G, but he was right. I could go on and on and on. He just has a way of making people admit things they don’t want to admit about themselves. He’s like the Dr. Drew Pinsky of College Football. He tells you things you don’t want to hear until you are a broken shell of a human and are forced to pick your sorry butt up and better yourself, and it all plays out in front of a National audience.

Well, he’s doing it again and the target of his comments are his fellow B1G coaches and their less than stellar recruiting efforts.

OK, not Brady Hoke. Brady Hoke did just fine. That’s the point. The rest of the B1G was followed up by a respectable class at Nebraska and “wow…that sucks” classes from every other B1G team.

Here are the B1G class rankings, per Scout.com. Just for fun, I’ll toss in future B1G schools Maryland and Rutgers:

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
11. Nebraska
31. Rutgers
37. Wisconsin
42. Illinois
43. Michigan State
44. Penn State
45. Northwestern
49. Maryland
t50. Indiana
52. Iowa
57. Purdue
74. Minnesota

Now, sure, PSU can be excused for their performance due to their sanctions, but the rest of the conference? Well, when you are being out-recruited by teams like Kentucky (39) and Vanderbilt (19), it’s not really a good sign for the direction in which the conference is heading. Rutgers and Maryland were mocked as “not being what is needed to boost the conference” and they finished better than 9 and 4 current B1G teams, respectively. If anything, the B1G is dragging them down.

Don’t give me the “some coaches can do more with less” spiel, either. Yes, that is true to an extent. In fact, it is what the fans of Kirk Ferentz pointed to for their early 2000′s success. However, the disparity in B1G recruiting and SEC recruiting wasn’t quite as huge in those days as it is now. For example, the bottom feeders in the SEC were not passing up teams like Michigan State or Wisconsin in the rankings.

Also, the argument can be made that it’s easier to do “more with less” when you spend a season playing, well, less. It’s easy to gain bowl eligibility, or even win your division, when you only have to play two or three teams per year.

Hey, I don’t like saying it, either.

Honestly, the B1G was not as bad last year as some would like us to believe. That was pretty evident in some Bowl games that were much closer than expected when considering two of the top teams were ineligible and the conference was fighting up a weight, so to speak. It matters none, however, as perception is reality and the perception is the B1G sucks.

I call this the BTN Effect. As soon as the BTN basically took B1G football away from ESPN, ESPN cared little for the B1G. They went all in on the SEC. Now, yes, SEC teams were beating up on B1G powerhouse OSU, but the other teams weren’t doing that badly against comparable competition. The SEC was top heavy and, in my opinion, that is still more of the case than what you hear from the South. It is all SEC, all the time and it is hard to recruit against perspective. If you are a 17 year old kid who wants the glory of D-1 football, would you rather be at an SEC school, even a bad one, where The Worldwide Leader is constantly kissing your tail or at a B1G school where you are universally mocked by pundits if you are not wearing Scarlet and Gray or Maize and Blue?

Urban isn’t doing this just for the good of the conference, of course. He’s doing this for the good of The Buckeyes. Rankings are still subjective and beating top-tier competition in prime-time looks a lot better than whipping a lackluster Minnesota Gopher team at noon.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. It could go well, or it could further ostracize Urban. He’s clearly not on the Christmas card list of many of his B1G brethren. It’s a conversation that someone needed to have, though, if the B1G wants to be a player again. The B1G needs to overcome the perception. It’s not easy, but it’s possible. Urban is just the guy to jump start the conversation as he won’t sugar coat anything.

The first topic of discussion will likely be how stupid the “Gentleman’s Agreement” junk is. It’s business, whether society wants to admit it or not. The SEC gets that and the B1G needs to get it, too.

Happy signing day, Buckeye Nation! With a few huge grabs today, Ohio State has catapulted to the number one spot on Scout and number two on Rivals, 24/7 and ESPN. The major spike in the ratings can be attributed to the commitments of four-star WR James Clark and five-star DB Vonn Bell. An additional boost was given on Monday when former Oregon commit Dontre Wilson flipped to The Buckeyes. Wilson is an All-Purpose back who is expected to fill the needs in the slot in the Urban Meyer offense.

The major drama today will be centered around four-star RB Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott committed to OSU back in April, but took a last second trip to Mizzou, his parents’ Alma Mater and home state school, and has gone virtually silent. He is announcing his intentions this afternoon at 4PM Central time. Some in the know say the signs are favorable for him to stick around, but losing him would be a tough blow.

The main focus of this class was clear…speed. Meyer has said that he will need playmakers and speedsters to take The Buckeyes to the next level and he has certainly landed his fair share of them. This is arguably the best class in Ohio State history when considering the needs on both sides of the ball and the holes that needed to be plugged.

We’ll update the list of those who have signed their LOI as they come in. This list also includes those who have already enrolled at OSU from the class of 2013. Welcome to Columbus, new Buckeyes!

Eli Appple – CB 6’0″ 184 Vorhees, N.J. Eastern High (Enrolled in January)

J.T. Barrett – QB 6’1″ 225 Wichita Falls, TX Rider High (Enrolled in January)

Cam Burrows – CB 5’11″ 200 Trotwood, OH Trotwood-Madison High (Enrolled in January)

Tyquan Lewis – DE 6’3″ 223 Tarboro, NC Tarboro High (Enrolled in January)

Tracy Sprinkle – DE 6’2″ 241 Elyria, OH Elyria High (Enrolled in January)

Joey Bosa – DE 6’5″ 270 FT Lauderdale, FL ST Thomas Aquinas

Gareon Conley – ATH 6’2″ 170 Massillon, OH Washington High

Evan Lisle – OL 6’6″ 290 Centerville, OH Centerville High

Darron Lee – ATH 6’2″ 205 New Albany, OH New Albany High

Billy Price – DL 6’4″ 305 Austintown, OH Fitch High

Jalin Marshall – WR 6’0″ 190 Middletown, OH Middletown High

Tim Gardner – OL 6’5″ 320 Indianapolis, IN Lawrence Central High

Jayme Thompson – DB 6’2″ 185 Toledo, OH Central Catholic High

Michael Hill – DL 6’2″ 305 Pendleton, SC Pendleton High

Mike Mitchell – LB 6’4″ 225 Plano, TX Prestonwood Christian High

Donovan Munger – DL 6’4″ 290 Shaker Heights, OH Shaker Heights High

Dontre Wilson – RB 5’10″ 174 DeSoto, TX DeSoto High

Trey Johnson – LB 6’2″ 220 Lawrenceville, GA Central Gwinnett High

Christopher Worley – S 6’3″ 195 Cleveland, OH Glenville High

Corey Smith – WR 6’1″ 190 Akron, OH Eastern Mississippi C.C.

James Clark – WR 5’11″ 170 New Smyrna Beach, FL New Smyrna Beach High

Marcus Baugh – TE 6’4″ 245 Riverside, CA John W. North High

Vonn Bell – DB 6’1″ 190 Rossville, GA Ridgeland High

Ezekiel Elliott – RB 6’0″ 198 St. Louis, MO John Burroughs School

Mark Dantonio is as entrenched in Buckeye lore as an opposing coach could possibly be. He spent some time in the early 80′s as a grad assistant for OSU and eventually returned as their defensive coordinator. He was pretty good at that, too. OSU won the National Championship in 2002, due in large part to his defense. He churned out six first team all Big Ten performers and 13 NFL draft picks during his three year stint. That’s not a bad resume and a big reason why Buckeye fans hated to see him go.

It all seems like a distant memory.

Dantonio had some stern words directed towards Urban Meyer relating to his “poaching” of recruits. It carried over to this weekend with tapegate which really seemed to be a non-issue that was blown into an issue seeing as how everything was taken care of between the two schools and no further action had to be taken. As I am not sure of the B1G rules on tape past the fact that they have to provide it, I’m not even sure there was a law broken.

Now, Ohio State is firing back sending tape to the B1G that appears to show a Michigan State player gouging Johnathan Hankins in the eye. Hankins appears to have his facemask, which is a penalty, but I’m not sure an eye gouging is an appropriate response.

So, why the bad blood? It’s no secret that Dantonio has a close, personal relationship with Jim Tressel. Tress was his boss at both Youngstown State and OSU. He fiercely defended Tressel, going so far as to call him a “tragic hero” at one point. After he was forced to resign, it seemed as if Dantonio flipped the switch from having fond memories of OSU to hating them with every ounce of his being.

It hasn’t gotten any better with Meyer, either. It’s pretty clear that, for whatever reason, he doesn’t particularly care for him. He may see the Buckeye Nation love fest and willingness to move on from Tressel as a slap to the face of his friend. I don’t really know. I do know that it will be fun to watch them slug it out on the recruiting trail as Meyer tries to build his fence around the state of Ohio.

Meyer is different than a lot of the B1G coaches. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The B1G needed a top-notch coach to light a fire under the collective behinds of the other 11. If the B1G wants to climb from the depths of mediocrity, they need it. Sure, it might be harder for the other 11 to recruit or possibly to win, but it’s a huge step towards restoring the B1G to national prominence.

By the way, the eye gouging? I know a lot of people are saying that this stuff happens in the pile. It’s true, it does. Some are also saying that Hankins “started it” by grabbing the MSU defender’s facemask because apparently in Sparty World the two offenses are completely equal. It might seem whiny to some people but I do question if it would have even come up had MSU not taken the first shots. I don’t know.

I do know one thing, though, and that is Dantonio has a history of this kind of thing happening with defensive players under his watch and Buckeye fans remember that all too well. So if you’re going to tell me that Urban Meyer is the sleaze in the weekend fiascos, I have to respectfully disagree.

Buckeye fans have been treated to an emotional roller coaster since that fateful day that Tatgate broke. By treated I mean kicked, knocked down, kicked again and then given a swirly.

Tress was gone, Fickell was tossed into an impossible situation, recruiting was in the toilet, Meyer came along, the class improved, the intensity improved and many of us spent time in The Horseshoe on a horribly crappy day to watch the new edition of the Buckeyes for the first time. Many fans are now expecting that the roller coaster is peaking and this will be an outstanding season. Many are predicting a chance to play a spoiler role. Even more feel that 10 wins + is a reasonable assumption.

Will there be disappointment? It’s possible, and this is why.

1. New system

Braxton fits the prototype for a QB in a Meyer-type system and Meyer himself has praised him to no end. He will, however, still have to learn said system. Going from what was barely even a system at all under Bollman to a complex situation will take a mental adjustment. It is entirely possible that this year will have a steep learning curve associated with it. Fortunately, this is the best year to do that with no post-season.

2. Stupidity running rampant

This wasn’t the best off-season for Buckeye football players who like to make dumb choices. Meyer responded well in cracking down rather hard, but hopefully that lack of discipline is under control. Now, I know, most of the incidents were relatively minor and nowhere near the level of what has happened at other schools, but it’s still an expression of questionable judgment. If there is a team that is being looked at under a microscope, it’s OSU Football. If these off-field incidents turn into on-field distractions, there could be a huge issue with morale.

3. Motivation

The opportunity to play spoiler should be enough. The Buckeyes can play loose and literally ruin other peoples’ seasons. That’s a pretty fun role to play. If you aren’t playing to improve your own position, you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Will the team see things that way as the year plays out? They can still end the season ranked highly in the AP, possibly even #1 if they can pull off an undefeated year, but as the year drags on and they hear about every team but themselves, it could have a negative consequence. As they realize the season is over the Saturday after Thanksgiving and other teams are “playing for something” can they keep their intensity?

I can be counted among the group of people who feel the Buckeyes will be just fine. I even have the vibe that this could be a special season that Buckeye fans will always remember. Trying to temper that, however, might not be a bad idea.

The Buckeye football team will be the subject of a series of all-access specials on ESPN/ESPNU. The show, Training Days, will offer a behind the scenes look at the Buckeye football team as they prepare for Urban Meyer’s first season as head coach.

With extensive behind-the-scenes access to on- and off-field play, team meetings and campus facilities, ESPN cameras will introduce players and coaches as they work through pre-season training across six days. Viewers will see four, 30-minute specials on ESPNU (August 14-17), a five-part series across College Football Live (August 19-23) and a one-hour special on ESPN (August 22).

Training Days has previously featured the Sooners and the Crimson Tide, so the Buckeyes are in good company.

My feelings on ESPN notwithstanding, I’m pretty much as stoked as I can possibly be about this. I can’t fathom how they can possibly spin this series into anything negative, though I have been surprised at some of their efforts in the past. In a sense, the cameras being around can also help train any newbies on being under a constant microscope prior to the beginning of the season. With Urban Meyer in town, that microscope will likely be even more focused.

This show should also help bridge the time between the start of training camp and the start of the season rather nicely. Because, honestly, I know that I am not the only Buckeye that needs a little dose of football.

Urban Meyer was a highly desired commodity in the coaching world. So, what did it take for OSU to land him? Take a look for yourself as his full contract has been put out there for the entire world to see. He will be paid a total of $4.4mil per year, placing him third in the country behind Mack Brown and Nick Saban.

Some highlights:

• His base salary is $700K per year. Yes, base.
• He got what was essentially a signing bonus of $250k
• There are retention bonuses totaling $2.4mil for 2014, 2016 and 2018.
• He will receive $50k for winning the B1G Leaders Division, $100k for winning the B1G Championship game (due to sanctions, this season the Buckeyes need to finish with the best regular-season record in the conference for Meyer to receive this bonus), $150k for a BCS bowl berth (can be achieved this season by being ranked between 3rd and 10th in the final BCS standings), and $250K for reaching the BCS National Championship Game (can be achieved this season if Ohio State finishes 1 or 2 in the final BCS standings).
• If Ohio State receives more major NCAA violations relating to Tatgate and associated fallout, Meyer would be able to leave. He would also receive $1.5mil for every year remaining on the contract.
• $1.4mil per year thanks to the Nike contract.
• Incentives for high cumulative GPAs on the team ($50K for 3.0, $100k for 3.3, $150k for 3.5).
• Required attendance for Coca-Cola at one event per year and $10k per year from Coke.

Basically, he got a sweet deal.

Jake Stoneburner and Jack Mewhort were suspended indefinitely after a run-in with the Shawnee Hills Police Department this past weekend.

I think I speak for all of Buckeye Nation when I say that I am sick and tired of all of the negative press the Ohio State football players earn the team. They are just out of control. I mean, what kind of hoodlums were recruited by the coaching staff to place themselves in so much trouble with the law and running around all thuggishly and…

Wait, what prompted the arrest? Peeing in public? Where? At the Bogey Inn after the Memorial Tournament? Oh…

Now, don’t get me wrong, breaking the law is breaking the law. And, no, running is never a smart idea. But, still, in the grand scheme of things this is so minor. However, you wouldn’t know it from the cries of “THUGS!” “URBAN MEYER IS DIRTY!” etc that are coming from points outside of Columbus. Of course, people tend to overlook that both players are Seniors and were in no way recruited by Urban Meyer to The Buckeyes. They are also overlooking that Urban really brought the hammer down on these guys for this.

Neither player will be allowed access to the football facilities until their cases are resolved. The arraignment is June 11th, but their attorney is hopeful it will be resolved prior to this. One would think it would have to be given the relatively minor charges. Of course, stranger things have happened, especially where Ohio State Football is concerned.

Also, it appears as if the SHPD considered pressing felony charges on the two players as an office was injured. Was it at the hands of Stoney and Mewhort? Well, not exactly. He fell and broke his thumb as he took off after them. Not that I am surprised that Shawnee Hills would consider this, mind you, but that also seems extreme.

In fact, this whole thing is just a lesson in extremes. Extreme reactions from all sides have lead to yet another black eye. A minor one, but a black eye nonetheless.

Let this be a lesson to you all; if you attend a PGA tour event, decide to partake in some liquid refreshments and can’t hold it…try. Now, I’ve been to the Bogey Inn at Memorial Tournament time and I understand that the restroom line is ridiculously long, but don’t let this happen to you.

And if it does, for goodness sake, just stop the flow and don’t run.

I remember Memorial Day 2011 as if it were only yesterday. I was out in pretty much the middle of nowhere camping. We were getting ready to pack up and head back home and I walked into the camper to put some things away. I looked down and saw my phone and that I had a message. It ended up not just being one text message. It was more like 12 text messages, all from different people, all to tell me the same thing.

Jim Tressel was no longer the coach of The Ohio State Buckeye Football Team.

What? I mean, I knew this wasn’t a hoax as the people involved didn’t all know each other, and I also knew that deep down inside this was what had to happen in the best interest of the team, but I was blown away. I remember I walked out of the camper in a daze and looked at the other half and said “Jim Tressel just resigned” and it felt surreal. On the entire trip back, I just kept sitting there and thinking the same thing over, and over, and over.

“How in the world did this happen?”

Now, any Buckeye fan out there knows the answer to that question as well as I do. The atmosphere in Columbus is one where these kids are treated as Gods. The community, by and large, will bend over backwards to extend that star treatment. When this happens, the sense of entitlement grows. Some kids get out of it unscathed, some do not. Sometimes it takes one to become the “ring leader” and things take off. This would be the case of Terrelle Pryor. His hands were all over this mess. Unfortunately, others that needed the cash went all-in.

» Continue reading “Buckeyes: The Year That Was”