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Collegiate Sports News and Views from Big Ten Land

Big Ten admits guffaw from OSU-Illinois game!

July 30th, 2008 Keith Godfrey

Not that this changes anything but Big Ten head of officiating, Dave Parry, recently admitted that the officiaiting crew made a serious mistake by not reviewing a controversial call in the first quarter of last years Ohio State - Illinois tilt. The non-call/review erased what would have been a Buckeye fumble recovery and led to an Illin i touchdown. The final score … 28-21 in favor of the Illini.

Does this change anything? No. However, it is refreshing to see the Big Ten admit the error. The correct call could have easily changed the outcome of this game, Illinois would not have gone to the Rose Bowl, the Buckeyes would still have their conference winning streak intact, and there would have been less bickering around their involvement in the BCS Title game.

A couple of interesting notes from the article:

  • Tressel didn’t want to waste his challenge so early in the game. Seems reasonable thinking that a more crucial play could come up later. Hindsight is always 20-20 but it seems to me challenging that play would have wiped out a huge 80 yard run by the Illini and could have swung some serious momentum to the side of the Buckeyes.
  • It appears that the head referee of that game, Steve Pamon, is no longer officiating games. Pamon and his crew had already come under fire during the Penn State - Purdue game earlier in the season; that is in addition to the concerns with the OSU - Illinois game. Yahoo! Sports also did a story on Pamon that indicated he had a shady side to himself. Zoinks!

In the grand scheme of things .. this is all nothing and I understand that. But isn’t it sometimes nice to consider things that might have been. Kind of like when I sit back and contemplate the fleeting chances I once had to meet Jessica Biel. In reality they were next to none but our fathers know each other and I’ll be damned if that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a chance!

 

 

A Closer Look: Ohio State

July 28th, 2008 Keith Godfrey

 

A quick look at Ohio State’s schedule:

August 30

Youngstown State (FCS)

Sept. 6

Ohio University

Sept. 13

@ Southern Cal

Sept. 20

Troy

Sept. 27

Minnesota

October 4

@ Wisconsin

October 11

Purdue

October 18

@ Michigan State

October 25

Penn State

November 8

@ Northwestern

November 15

@ Illinois

November 22

Michigan

Clearly, the Buckeyes have the most difficult out-of-conference matchup - at Southern Cal on September 13. Outside of that game the clash against Troy proves to be the Buckeyes other challenging out-of conference opponent.

The Southern Cal game proves to be interesting an accompanies many story lines. Pete Carroll versus Jim Tressel - two of the greatest coaches of this generation who bring together two of the greatest dynasties of this era, two vaunted defense led by All-American linebackers, Carson Palmer’s ill-willed words against the Buckeyes, and more!

I think the key to who breaks this game open is whose offense gets the first break; currently that nod goes to the Buckeyes. Outside of Joe McKnight there is not much experience on the offensive side of the ball for the Trojans; however, this USC under Pete Carroll and they seemingly always deploy a very talented offense.  With that said I think one has to look inside the trenches at the lines.  Ohio State will deploy a very talented offensive line against a USC line that proved to be feisty last season only giving up 84 yards per game on the ground while also  getting to the quarterback 45 times. However, that line replaces two starters who went in the first round of the NFL draft and for that reason I think the nod goes to the Buckeyes.

I fully expect of tough hard fought game against USC but I cannot see the vaunted Buckeye defense led by potential All-Americans James Laurinatis and Malcolm Jenkins yielding too much against an offense that returns only one starter on the line and will breaking in a quarterback who proved to be inconsistent last year.

Expect the Buckeyes to enter Big Ten play undefeated at 4-0. That’s where things get dicey.

The schedule makers were not very kind to Ohio State. While the Buckeyes open the Big Ten season against a rising Minnesota squad from there they face Wisconsin, in Madison, at night and then in succession - Purdue, at Michigan State, and back home for a prime time contest with Penn State. Thankfully the Gods of scheduling gave the Buckeyes a week off between the Penn State tilt and the game at Northwestern.

Two games out of this stretch scare me more than any - the two night time contests. The last time the Buckeyes went to Wisconsin at night they walked away with a loss and everyone knows that the best thing to go with a Wisconsin sausage is some of that delicious Milwaukee’s Best. Camp Randall will be rowdy and if the Badgers new quarterback Allen Everidge can come into his own this could spell trouble for all of the Big Ten. Wisconsin yields a formidable offensive line and one of the studliest running backs around in Pajamas (PJ) Hill.

Penn State could surprise people around the country this year. While everyone expects Daryll Clark to be at the helm full time I wonder if JoePa will deploy the antithesis to the Boeckman-Pryor combo and spell the speedy shifty Clark with Devlin. I know it sounds weird but it gives the defenses more to prepare for and more film to watch. We will see. The loss of Sean Lee on defense will be tough to overcome but Penn State likely possesses one of the toughest defensive lines in the Big Ten. Penn State always plays the Buckeyes tough and what better way to legitimize yourself than a big victory over the Buckeyes, in prime time, at the ‘Shoe.

Of course Illinois, and the Battle for Illibuck, will be another great challenge the game that everyone is looking forward to is the game against Michigan and it’s first year coach Rich Rodriguez. The past three Michigan first year coaches have been victorious against the Buckeyes and Rodriguez would surely love to continue that streak. Many folks, naively or not, think that Roddy will try to run the ball 70% of the time still that is highly unlikely unless incoming frosh Justin Feagin is just stoopid good. Expect a balanced attack that spreads the ball around and searches for advantages against every defense. I’m not predicting a big win but I think the Buckeyes prevail this year.

My preseason prognostication puts the Buckeyes at 12-0 and returning to the BCS National Championship game. Expect heart attacks at USC, at Wisconsin, at home against Penn State, and with Michigan. However, expect a strong, experienced, determined, Buckeye squad to win an unprecedented third straight outright Big Ten title and to challenge for their first national title since 2002.

Uh-OH-IO

July 28th, 2008 Keith Godfrey

Ohio State junior defensive tackle Doug Worthington was arrested Saturday for DUI and additionally was ticketed for speeding (41 in a 25) and there was an issue with the vehicle’s registration. The Columbus Dispatch’s Ken Gordon has promised a story regarding the incident in tomorrow’s paper. The story can also be found at BuckeyeXtra.

This is the second arrest of an Ohio State football player in the past three weeks. Eugene Clifford was arrested for assault and has been released from the team; he did have a bit of a rough past including a possession charge shortly after signing his LOI in 2007.

To the best of my knowledge this is the first incident that Doug Worthington (who is two weeks shy of 21 years of age) has had since his arrival in Columbus. If that is truly the case I expect him to sit out against Youngstown, not start against Ohio, and potentially not start versus USC. In addition I would imagine Worthington will find himself performing extra sprints and lifts.

In the wake of the Kevin Grady DUI I am quite surprised to see another Big Ten (football) athlete picked up for the same offense so shortly afterwards. A strong message needs to be sent. While it appears Mr. Worthington didn’t imbibe all of the spirits of several small villages like Mr. Grady had the message needs to be the same - that you are expected and will be held to a higher standard.

At least Worthington doesn’t need to worry about Mike Barwis releasing wolves and going all Chuck Liddell on his @$$ though.

Big Ten Preseason Thoughts

July 13th, 2008 Keith Godfrey

A few months back, following Spring practices I posted my pre-fall Big Ten predictions; I still feel rather confident about them but perhaps things will change before I ultimately make up my mind come mid-August. However, the other day I picked up The SportingNews’ College Football ‘08 preview. Disgusting.

I can’t decide if it’s the inaccuracies I have discovered so far or my general lack of agreement.  For a refresher my post-Spring predictions looked like this:

  1. Ohio State 12-0 (8-0)
  2. Wisconsin 10-2 (7-1)
  3. Penn State 10-2 (6-2)
  4. Illinois       10-2 (6-2)
  5. Mich State   9-3  (5-3)
  6. Purdue        7-5  (6-2)
  7. Michigan    6-6   (4-4)
  8. Iowa           6-6   (4-4)
  9. N’Western   5-7  (3-5)
  10. Minnesota  3-9   (1-7)
  11. Indiana       2-10 (1-7)

Now, please give me a break on how the records play out … that was just a fun experiment without looking at each team’s schedules (i.e. pulling it out of thin air). The SportingNews sees the Big Ten shaping up like this (they call the top 8 teams bowl eligible and place each in a bowl):

  1. Ohio State
  2. Illinois
  3. Wisconsin
  4. Michigan
  5. Purdue
  6. Michigan State
  7. Penn State
  8. Northwestern
  9. Iowa
  10. Indiana
  11. Minnesota

The clear differences are how we respectively feel about Illinois, Penn State, and Michigan. In all honesty I cannot figure out their Michigan prediction.

First thing I notice is they predict Michigan as a preseason 18th in the nation. Excuse me, did I miss something? No one outside of Vegas is believing that! Nevermind that Michigan is perpetually the most overrated team in the nation; no other Big Ten team is in the Top 15. Michigan fans you can certainly thank preseasons rags like this and others who boast you up based on your tradition of winning. It’s a great tradition - don’t get me wrong - but voting Michigan so high simply because they’re Michigan is simply foolish sometimes. Nevertheless this is their right so I continue on.

The mag seemingly starts to contradict itself at this point; unfortunately Michigan fans it flubs up all over you. For each conference they assign a team that is ascending and descending. Michigan earned the descending crown for the Big Ten with commentary that reads as such:

The Wolverines won’t be down for long, but expect a dip as the program transitions to Rich Rodriguez’s spread offense. Not only is a quarterback need, but Michigan’s offensive line and receiving corps are a work-in-progress as the offense adapts to a new scheme.

Now, consider last season when Ohio State had serious questions surrounding it’s offense and the prevailing thought was the defense would have to carry them. They started out the preseason at number 11 which many called lofty for a team with an unproven QB, who lost their top 2 receivers to the NFL, and their starting running back. Sound familiar.  I believe this number 11 slot was earned strictly on what was returning on the defensive side of the ball which was far more formidable than what Michigan has returning this season.

So excuse me if I seem mildly confused at this point. I flip to the write up on Michigan and all hell breaks loose. I can’t find one positive comment about the offense!At least Beanie Wells was a mostly proven commodity coming back and the Buckeyes had several returning lineman on offense. They can’t find a positive thing to say about Michigan’s offensive side of the ball.

The cause of much of the angst is the apparent absence of a capable quarterback to make Rodriguez’s spread offense hum … A lumbering drop back passer, Mallett wasn’t the fit for this attack. But is apparent number 1 Steven Threet? … While he is more athletic than Mallett, Threet is still cut from the traditional-quarterback mold.

The article goes on:

With Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington both having left early to the NFL, there is no doubt that Greg Mathews is Michigan’s top veteran wide out. But how many passes will be thrown his way in this offense?

Running backs:

Mike Hart’s departure leaves a gaping hole at running back. The answer may be a tailback-by-committee.

The article also points out, which I have neglected to consider, that Michigan coaches were already teaching the zone blocking scheme so that does put the line a little bit ahead of the curve. However, this is a line returning one starter, Steve Schilling, who got decimated against Ohio State last year and needs to show considerable improvement.

Saying nothing positive about an offense leaves me at a complete loss. I don’t care how dominant a defense you have - if you can’t score you can’t win. The 2004 Penn State team only gave up an average of 15.27 points per game and finished 4-7.

Which leads me to this … how can the SportingNews completely fawn over this defense? A defense that last year gave up on average 21.4 points per game, 156.8 yards rushing a game, and an average of nearly 5 yards per play?

A defense on which they say Morgan Trent is the best player?! Morgan Trent?! Someone help me. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t stunned by how inept Morgan Trent appeared.

Their thoughts on Michigan, were they placed them nationally, and within the Big Ten, caused me the most consternation. Additional thoughts are this:

  1. I think they’re a wee bit high on the Illini. They seem to think their defense is going to be some wrecking ball and while I believe that Vontae Davis is going to be stellar nobody can replace J Lehman. The Illini gave up 21.8 points per game last year and over 375 yards per game. On offense, Juice has to prove he can be consistent, Mendenhall must be replaced (Dufrene showed flashes of brilliance) and Arrelious Benn will need to have a formidable threat emerge at the other receiver position.
  2. I think they’re a bit soft on Penn State. Something just reminds me of 2005 Penn State here; especially if Daryll Clark is as special as he looked in last season’s Alamo Bowl. The loss of Sean Lee does hurt, yes, but this is Linebacker U.
  3. I don’t think they give enough credit to Bret Bielema and the Badgers. Quarterback questions may abound in Madison but Allen Evridge does have some experience and its not as if he doesn’t have a mammoth line and tremendous backs to rely on (hello, ala Todd Boeckman?).

Those are my thoughts. Overall, the magazine has been a good read and provided some good insight to the upcoming season. I just wish it would have been more consistent with their thoughts and where they ranked teams.

Arresting Developments

July 9th, 2008 Keith Godfrey

I’m a little frustrated right now. I was sitting here planning to do this whole piece on blasting UM running back Kevin Grady for his obscene DUI arrest last week and then Eugene (seriously who still names their kid Eugene?) Clifford goes off and gets arrested for assault.  Then I have to go and read Stewart Mandel be all logical about the increased attention give to arrests.

I did a blog for the Columbus Dispatch site BuckeyeXtra.com last season after Antonio Henton’s arrest asking people to have patience and to remind everyone that these are just kids; and who can’t remember making mistakes between the ages of 17-23? I tend to still agree with that original assessment. However …..

Clifford is likely gone from the team and I believe this to be true regardless of the outcome of his case. This is arrest number 2 since he signed his LOI and is his fourth disciplinary issue all together. Not a good track record and especially more so considering you were already residing in the coach’s doghouse. Have fun playing 1-AA ball.

What to do with Grady is a little bit more difficult to ascertain. First of all, he’s never been in trouble before. BUT! blowing a .281 isn’t like saying ‘oh, I’ll have one more and leave’ and you just blow over the legal limit. In case you’re unaware .281 is more than 3.5 times the state legal limit.

Male BAC chart

Grady weighs in at a bit more that 220 pounds so according to this chart (and there is no indication on how long Grady was drinking) the quickest Grady could have achieved this blood alcohol level is within 3 hours at about 6 drinks an hour - or about 18 drinks. Wow! How does one get behind the wheel thinking that is safe? How does anyone let anyone else get behind the wheel after consuming that many drinks. Think about this … he could have been drinking longer meaning he had even more drinks.

Here is the real kicker … some sites suggest that death is possible any point about .25.

There is, however, one last issue with Grady’s arrest running through my head and that is Hot Rod Richy Rodriguez (who by the way decided he has some integrity today - more to come later). Perhaps if that was not the guy who brought to us the names Chris Henry and Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones I could be a little less skeptical about Rodriguez’ history of disciplinary actions.  Oh and I know, I know … Maurice Clarett and the whole those who live in glass houses things … do me a favor and shove save it.

I understand that a coach cannot be completely responsible for his players at all times and that some kids come with baggage but by and large I have been pretty pleased with how Tressel has handled incidents with his teams. You might make some mistakes when picking guys but how you handle them once they’re yours speaks volumes about you.

I personally feel that Rodriguez needs to step up and make an example of young Mr. Grady. First because this is his first disciplinary issue since his arrival. Second, because of the perception that he is a weakling when it comes to disciplinary measures. I saw you hand this kid over to Barwis and a several week suspension is in order.

I learned some things in NYC

June 22nd, 2008 Keith Godfrey

Things I learned in NYC

  • My blogging friend Tracy is awesome. We had a nice dinner on Friday night (we were joined by my dad and her husband, Eddie) at The Redeye Grill. I’m looking forward to blogging with her again this fall at The Columbus Dispatch.
  • Even though I have been there 3 times prior to this trip Times Square continues to amaze me. Seriously, that many people? We stayed in Times Square at The Hotel Mela. Nice, contemporary joint.
  • Little Italy on a Saturday is pretty much the awesome.
  • It is a shame they’re tearing down Yankee Stadium. When I learned that they would be making the area into public parkland I was a little less ashamed that America was losing one of it’s historical markers. I wasn’t ashamed at all when I learned that the new Yankee Stadium was (or is being built) on public parkland. Tracy compared it to the Bronx’s Central Park.
  • The Reds can actually play some ball when they like to. A couple of great defensive plays by Edwin Encarnacion and Paul Janish probably saved the game for the Reds (it kept it 0-0). The Reds broke it open in the 7th and Corey Patterson hit a home run right at us (after I screamed at Dusty Baker for leaving him in!).
  • Greg Oden is much bigger in real life. Yeah, I met him. Shook his hand. No picture though. I’m not kidding, his hand literally swallowed mine! Awesome.

So that’s it. Many great stories and we met some interesting folk just walking around. Sorry another great trip with Dad had to end so early (6 AM flights suck by the way) but it’s nice to be at home with my girls!

I saw (stole) the sign

June 18th, 2008 Keith Godfrey

Ace of Base - I saw the sign

Five Man Electrical Band - Signs, signs, everywhere there’s signs.

Any more sign songs?

Michigan Football out to have a song thanking two former ball boys for figuring out that a Northwestern coach was stealing signs (which is legal) in a 1997 game. Don’t believe me? Read.

Yikes.

I can’t decide what to laugh at. The fact that it was two ball boys who figured out what was going on or that they had to tell the coaches twice that it was happening? Perhaps it’s the fact that the Northwestern coach figured out whether a run play or pass play was coming based simply on where the center’s hands were placed in his stance? Even more so humorous that the signal into the NW defense was as simple as a finger towards the ground (run) or to the sky (pass)?

Funniest thing is this: somehow Michigan State’s plays, according to this coach, were easier to read. HOW?!? What did they do, hold up a sign that indicated what they were doing?

No wonder Tressel prefers the quarterback run to the sideline to take plays. Sweater vest equates to smart.

The Ohio State All-Futures Team

June 16th, 2008 Keith Godfrey

This whole idea of naming an All-Futures team is a bit of a stretch as it is no lie that predicting what young men can become on the college football field can be tricky. James Laurinaitis and Malcolm Jenkins were both 3-star prospects coming into Ohio State. Upon departing after this upcoming season they will both likely be top ten (if not top 5) NFL draft picks.

I’m not going to necessarily name someone at every position; however, I will name the people who I am certain will have a significant effect for the Buckeyes during their careers. Without further adieu …. The Ohio State All-Futures Team.

Terrelle Pryor

I know this comes across as cliche but let’s face it - this guy is the highest touted recruit to step foot on the campus of The University of Ohio State The Ohio State University. I’m curious how he shrunk 2 1/2 inches and lost a whole bunch of pounds in the offseason but I digress. This guy is going to be good.

 He’s going to be fun.

Lamaar Thomas

Holy stud running back from Maryland Batman!! This guy will be to Ohio State what Sam McGuffie will be to Michigan. Look out world as speed is coming to the Big Ten (and the Buckeyes) in massive numbers. Watch Lamaar.

 

DeVier Posey

Another speedster and with flypaper hands. The next Ted Ginn Jr.? I know that was supposed to be Ray Small but, yeah, that’s worked out well.  While these upcoming highlights aren’t much (except for the last play) it does display his quickness and his hands - two great attributes.

 Cam Heyward

Ok, not fair .. he has a season under his belt. Well, shut up. Ok, he was a Freshmen All-American but his role on the D-line increased exponentially when Vern Gholston left early. I don’t think it is any exaggeration that Cam could go down as one of the best D-lineman in Ohio State history. Watch how the true freshmen made an LSU back look slow.

 

Mike Adams, Michael Brewster, JB Shugarts

I won’t make you watch vids of offensive lineman because, well, that would be just downright offensive. But it is true that Ohio State brought in three of the top offensive lineman in the nation in last seasons recruiting class and they’re bound to be good with graduations abounding after this season. I would expect they’ll each be on the two-deep after Fall practice.

Keith Wells

Yikes! He looks mean. Well, doesn’t look mean, I am sure he is handsome and if pressed for an answer by him directly I may even kiss him (hey! he’s big and mean!). This guys is fast and even though he’s coming in as a defensive end recruit this video shows him dropping into zone coverage as a defensive back. Wow!

 

Etienne Sabino

Speedy and smart inside linebacker from Florida. Sabino came early and participated in Spring Drills. Apparently he showed up and played his arse off because there are rumors he’ll be more than a special teams hero this season. I present to you, Etienne Sabino.

 

Dane Sanzenbacher

He scored Ohio State’s first touchdown of the 2007 season and he’s going to be good. Think Anthony Gonzalez but prettier.

Dane Sanzenbacher

Down ladies, down.

In all seriousness, I feel Dane is going to be a good one. Maybe there is a slight bias seeing as how he hails from the same school my nephew plays at but in all fairness I think 2008 is a breakthough year for this fella.

So Buckeyes, did I miss anyone? Let me hear your thoughts.

And for all of my Michigan friends and fans …. does this guy remind you of Howard Dean at all? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeyeah … and we’re going to Washington, and Oregon, and Ohio, and then we’re going all the way to the Alamo Bowl …. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeyeah. God bless you Mike Barwis (warning: language)

 

Go Bucks!

Can I make a recommendation?

June 2nd, 2008 Keith Godfrey

Here is my recommendation and I hope fans of all schools will use it. Stop using the whole number of arrests by a football program as some sort of knock on your rivals program.  For example to the buffoon Michigan fan who on the freep.com insinuated that as soon as Jim Tressel starts graduating as many players as he has arrested he can be taken seriously. Off the top of my head in just the last season alone 3 schools in the Big Ten have had more players arrested than Ohio State has in the last several. In 2007 Ohio State had one player arrested, Antonio Henton for solicitation.  Those other three schools?

  1. Penn State - who had six players arrested regarding THE SAME INCIDENT!!
  2. Michigan State- who had three players arrested regarding THE SAME INCIDENT!!
  3. Michigan - who had two players arrested for assualt as well as a handful of other arrests.

Seriously, everyone stop with that crack back. It just doesn’t apply anymore.  There are a plethora of schools facing legal issues in and out of the Big Ten. These are kids (supposed amateurs) playing a sport we love to follow. Can we not all harken back to when we were 17-23 years old and recall some of the shenanigans we got ourselves into?

The All-Tressel Defensive Team

May 29th, 2008 Keith Godfrey

The All-Tressel Offensive team did generate some controversy and I am fairly certain this team will as well. Let us face it, over 7 years it is easy to probably think one player over another may or may not have been better than another at the same position. The important things that matter during those 7 years, however, are 6-1, 4 Big Ten titles, 1 National Championship, and 6-1.

Defensive End

The Buckeyes have maintained a stable of great defensive ends over the years and none have been greater than Vernon Gholston. Gholston is an obvious choice for this team as he walked away as the all-time season sack leader in Ohio State history. So, who should join him? Ohio State has seen - Simon Fraser, Jay Richardson, Will Smith, and Darrion Scott, all play under Tress, as well as up and comers, Cameron Heyward, Lawrence Wilson, and Robert Rose. Your bookends on the All-Tressel defensive line are:

Vernon Gholston:

 

Will Smith: There are no videos out to display Will Smith’s defensive prowess off the end, however, Smith did finish with 23 career sacks (10.5 his senior season). His total sacks over his career ranked him fifth in Ohio State history at the time. He was eventually drafted 18th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft.

Defensive Tackle

A position that hasn’t been a strong point for the Buckeyes over the years. The recruiting has changed as of late to recruit faster and stronger interior defensive lineman but that doesn’t mean the Buckeyes haven’t had a couple of tough men on the inside since Tressel’s arrival. Your top two defensive tackles on the All-Tressel team are:

Tim Anderson a stud out of Clyde, Ohio and was actually an Ohio State champion wrestler in high school. This wrestling prowess led to his power on the inside which punished offensive lineman and wound up leading him as a third round draft pick in the NFL.

Quinn Pitcock outside of having an awesome name the Piqua, Ohio native was a force on the inside line for the 2005 and 2006 Buckeyes. His prowess and strength led him to be a third round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Linebacker

Forget Penn State and their black shoes and their Dan Connor’s, Paul Posluzny’s, and LaVrar Arrington’s. Nobody has got a thing on Ohio State’s linebacking corps over the past few years. Seriously, who can step on: Bobby Carpenter, Matt Wilhelm, AJ Hawk, Anthony Schlegel, Cie Grant, James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman, and up and coming studs, Etienne Sabino, Thad Gibson, and Austin Spitler? The answer … NOBODY.  Your All-Tressel linebacker crew is:

AJ Hawk in one word was a stud on the collegiate level. Outside of marrying Brady Quinn’s slacked jawed sister everything this guy did was right. Just watch Hawk and fellow All-Tressel team linebacker Bobby Carpenter own folks in this video:

 

 And your final member of the All-Tressel linebacking crew is …. James Laurinaitis who could simply go down as the most decorated and successful linebacking in all of Ohio State history.

 

Cornerbacks

Not a slouch of a position for the Bucks over the years either. Since Tressel’s arrival there have been some great corners like - Antonio Smith, Dustin Fox, Chris Gamble, Malcolm Jenkins, and Ashton Youboty. Your All-Tressel team at corner is:

Malcolm Jenkins a man who was a sure fire first round pick in this past years NFL draft and a fella who probably still hasn’t played up to his potential. Wow. Check out Malcolm:

 Ashton Youboty undoubtedly left school a year too early but his play was always exceptional. If you remember Ashton was highly involved in what lead to this great meltdown ….

 

This was certainly not a …….

… but I’ll be darned if it’s still not great.

Safety

I love this position. I never played ‘defense’ in pick up football as a kid … I played safety because I wanted to kick your tail when I had the chance. It’s true. There have been a couple of guys who have done this at Ohio State since Tressel started in 2001 and they were not named - Donnie Nickey, Will Allen, Nate Salley, or Anderson Russell. They were however named:

Mike Doss … need I say more … the very end of this vid says it for me.

 

Donte Whitner… you know .. I was trying to come up with some words about Donte Whitner so I went looking through highlight videos and then my wife said I was boring her. Then I thought … is this the life of a sports blogger … am I that much of a loser. Good chance, yes. But …

… whoever posted that sucks harder. Thank you random Youtube user for making me feel better about myself. Wow. By the way, wicked pick.

Ok, the All-Tressel Defensive Team is set …. thoughts?

My first is this … it’s 10:15 pm and Michigan still sucks.