Eleven Warriors

11W Community Interview: Kyle Berger

Jeremy Birmingham — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

The 11W Community Interview is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people. You submit the questions, vote on them, and then we pass the top ones on to the biggest names in the world of Ohio State athletics.

The subject of tonight's 11W Community Interview – our first – is Cleveland St. Ignatius junior linebacker Kyle Berger. After narrowing his list to Ohio State and Michigan, he chose the Buckeyes to become the 7th commitment in Urban Meyer's 2014 class.

We caught up with the 6-foot-2, 218-pound tackling machine a month ago, but we felt he'd be a great candidate to kick off this new series. He answers readers' questions on everything from nicknames, recruiting, school and the origin of his Twitter nom de plume.

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What recruits are you recruiting the hardest to join the 2014 class? – TDIBLE2132

KB: Personally, I've been recruiting Chase Winovich the hardest. We've been texting a lot and stuff and are planning to go up to OSU in one of the next couple weekends together. I've also talked with Mark Andrews.

How close was it with Michigan? – OhioWhiteSnake

KB: Honestly, it was really close between the two. Both programs are so much alike, great facilities, a rich football history, and good coaches. There was so much to like about both schools. But in the end, I just had this certain feeling about OSU when I stepped on campus that I didn't get anywhere else.

What other OSU prospect would you most like to play alongside? – Buckeye-In-SEC

Almost "Lost" to a rival, Berger found OSU.

KB: It'd be awesome to play with Chase. I think we're so much alike as players and the coaches agree. It'd just be sweet playing with almost like another you on the opposite side of the field. We're both hard-nosed kids and we'd get after each other in practice and make each other so much better.

Are you planning to enroll early? How exciting or frustrating is it to be committed to a program, but still have a least a few months - up to a year - from being in it? – Basso Profondo

KB: Unfortunately, St Ignatius doesn't allow me to enroll early. It's kind of a bummer but it'll be nice to enjoy my whole senior year instead. Its definitely frustrating knowing you can't just go there right away and start school and football. It'd be nice to just start working out with Coach Mick and beginning school. But like I said before, it'll be nice to have my whole senior year. You only go through high school once and I'll be at OSU for at least 4 years so I just have to wait it out until my time comes.

What is your biggest strength that you'll be bringing to the Bucks? What's one aspect of your game looking to improve between now and enrolling? – CalgaryBuck

KB: I think my biggest strength will be my hard work and dedication to the team. Anything a coach tells me, I work to fix it the very next play and I always do. I never have to be asked twice to do something. If I need to move to Mike (MLB), I absolutely will and will learn it as fast as possible without questions asked. The aspect of my game I'm looking to improve the most is my size. I was a "skinnier" linebacker, so I got to work to add muscle weight while keeping speed. I'm at about 218-pounds, so I've already gained about 15 pounds this offseason and have gotten faster too so I'm going to keep working on that.

What course of studies do you plan to pursue at Ohio State? How much did that influence your decision? – GV9

KB: I plan to be an orthopedic surgeon or a sports medicine doctor so I'll be on the the pre-med track. I will most likely major in biology with a classics (language) minor. I take Latin now and I love it (laughs), but it honestly had a huge impact on my decision. Football only lasts so long so you have to have a backup plan. Ohio State has a great medical school and I got to talk to the head doctor of their hospital and he was able to tell me a lot of great things about the medical program at OSU.

How difficult was it to balance recruiting, school, football and life during this process? Would you say time management or support structure was most important? – JedKat

KB: It really was difficult to balance school, recruiting, and life. Ignatius really teaches kids time management skills so that was a huge help. But I didn't hear anything from schools until after football season so that helped a bit. My parents were also very helpful during the process, they helped me notify coaches when I was supposed to call them or had to study or go to practice and stuff. They always stressed school first because it's obviously the most important. Then after homework was when I would talk to coaches. It got super annoying having to calls multiple coaches everyday when i just wanted to watch Netflix or something (laughs).

What was the worst recruiting pitch you heard? – D1145Fresh

KB: Honestly, I didn't hear a bad recruiting pitch. Every coach I came in contact with was very nice and always had great things to say. Really, the only "bad pitch" I heard was being called "Alex."

Tell us something that makes you unique, a special talent, skill, etc. – BME_Buckeye

“Really, the only ‘bad pitch’ I heard was being called ‘Alex.’”

KB: Haha I get a ton of crap from my friends for this but I'm going to say it anyway, I love playing chess. I learned in like 1st grade and have loved playing it ever since. I haven't played as much lately but like up until sophomore year, I would play everyday. Also, I am obsessed with "Lost," as you all probably know due to my Twitter name being "Hugo Reyes. (I guess we know what he's watching on Netflix.)

Before you committed, did you follow Ohio State recruiting through Eleven Warriors or other sites regularly like us fans? If so, what kinds of comments about you boost your confidence or bother you the most? – TAE1986

KB: Honestly, I didn't at all. I tried to stay away from all that as much as possible. I stink at not caring what others think (laughs) so I was afraid of reading tons of negative comments. My mom read all that stuff and of course her "Mom mode" would take over when she'd see a mean comment and I would hear her talk back to the computer screen.

Thank you to all the Buckeye fans that asked questions and thank you all for your support! I will give my all for Ohio State, Coach Meyer, my family, and Buckeye Nation through my time at OSU. Can't wait to be playing in the Scarlet and Gray.

Jake Stoneburner's Next Step Takes Place in Title Town

Kyle Rowland — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

The disappointment was brief. The dream may have been shattered, but in a matter of moments the end result was ultimately the same: an opportunity to play in the NFL.

Jake Stoneburner was not drafted. It came as a surprise to many, especially after an impressive series of workouts leading up to the draft. Stoneburner displayed the skills to front office personnel that made coaches and fans so giddy when he was being recruited. Ultimately, though, he slipped through the seven-round process.

But it’s a big boy business and that isn’t lost on Stoneburner. That’s why the mood was upbeat when the Green Bay Packers contacted him to become an undrafted free agent. Stoneburner will keep that undrafted status in the back of his mind for a little extra motivation.

“Teams didn’t pick you for a reason,” he said. “You’ve got to figure out what that reason was and you’ve got to take that and critique it. Take it with you to Green Bay and show teams they made a mistake in not drafting you. You don’t want to act too crazy up there and act like you’re some nut job that wishes he’d have been drafted, but you definitely have to have a chip on your shoulder.”

There was logic in the reasoning why Stoneburner remained on draft boards for 254 picks. He’s had two knee injuries, including a torn meniscus last season, and he never quite lived up to his potential at Ohio State, though it can debated whether that was his fault or not.

But the Dublin native was a safe free agent pickup with tremendous upside. Stoneburner, with Troy Smith throwing passes, put on a show at Ohio State’s Pro Day in March. At 6-foot-3, 249 pounds, he has the size combined with speed that NFL tight ends are known to utilize.

At Pro Day, Stoneburner was impressive in pass-catching drills, running crisp routes and flashing the speed that could make him a steal for the Packers. His 4.52 40 was among the fastest times for all tight ends eligible for the draft.

In four years at Ohio State, Stoneburner caught 53 passes for 714 yards. But nearly 25 percent of his receptions went for touchdowns.

“Why not Jake Stoneburner?” Smith said.

“Why not Jake Stoneburner?”

Green Bay hopes the tight end takes that same approach, because the franchise has largely been built on front office decisions during the NFL Draft weekend. Fifty-seven players attended the Packers’ rookie orientation and they were given a history lesson.

Tom Crabtree, a fellow Central Ohio native, also went undrafted. He might not have the same cachet of Green Bay legends such as Bart Starr or Brett Favre or even current players Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews, but hard work and a can’t-lose attitude paid off for the undrafted free agent. After being waived by Kansas City in 2009, the Packers took a flier on him – and it paid off.

Crabtree played in 41 games over the past three seasons, a total of 462 offensive snaps. He had a reception and a tackle in Super Bowl XLV, which Green Bay won, but most of Crabtree’s production was of the blocking variety.

“Frankly, I’ve changed the philosophy of our program,” Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy said. “We’ve been noted as a draft-and-develop football team, but we’re really a draft-and-undrafted football team. That’s what the facts show and something we take a lot of pride in.”

The Packers might have a whopping seven tight ends on the roster, but it’s a position that’s always been loaded during general manager Ted Thompson’s tenure, and few of the producers have been must-get players.

Jeremichael Finley is the only tight end Green Bay has drafted in the first four rounds in drafts conducted by Thompson. It’s not lost on Stoneburner, a student of the game. He understands his place and that his services mesh with the team identity and what fans look for in a Packer.

“(Their offense) suits me almost to a T with the way they split out Jermichael,” Stoneburner said. “I felt like it was a good opportunity to come in. It’s a great atmosphere here to come in, compete and hopefully earn a roster spot.

“It’s there for me to make it. I just have to perform.”

“I think I ended up in the best possible situation. I’ve seen a lot of people go undrafted and play a long time in the NFL.”

Exhibiting all his skills appeals to Stoneburner, and he believes Green Bay will allow that. Blocking will be expected, and Stoneburner is underrated in that department. But it’s his athleticism that will turn the most heads.

A bum knee will not be something holding Stoneburner back. He recently gave himself a clean bill of health, as did doctors, and expects to be at full speed for the foreseeable future.

“I don’t feel pain and I’m able to run,” Stoneburner said. “Its just some doctors thought it looked torn and some didn’t. Some teams weren’t willing to take the waiver on my knee, especially because I’ve torn it two years in a row now.”

Easing the pain is Rodgers, arguably the top quarterback in the league and the best that money can buy. With the draft winding down, Stoneburner and his agent, Eric Metz, were in contact with 10-15 teams. One franchise – the Seattle Seahawks – even indicated they would draft the tight end, though that never came to fruition. One wish Stoneburner had was to play with a star quarterback. Consider it granted.

“I wanted to make sure I had a set quarterback that is known for throwing the ball,” he said. “I’ve never really been able to have that. In high school I kind of had that, and I was able to thrive in that. So when I was looking at free agency, I wanted a set quarterback that’s going to be there for a while that I know can throw the ball around. (Rodgers) just happens to be pretty good at it.”

Stoneburner will also have familiar faces around him, former Buckeyes Ryan Pickett and AJ Hawk.

“I've heard that Green Bay is the Ohio State of the NFL, so I don’t mind that,” Stoneburner said. “I think I ended up in the best possible situation.

“I’ve seen a lot of people go undrafted and play a long time in the NFL.”

Ohio State Knocks Off USC, Ending Four Year Reign of Troy

11W Staff — Sun, 19 May 2013 01:54:11 +0000

Photo: @OhioState_MTEN

The revenge tour for Ohio State men's tennis marches on. Two days after avenging an early season loss to No. 12 Texas A&M in the round of 16, Ty Tucker's squad knocked off USC, the tournament's four-time defending champion, in a 4-3 thriller at the University of Illinois' Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.

The Trojans had knocked Ohio State out of two of their last four NCAA tournament appearances.

The two teams split in singles play, but the Buckeyes won the doubles point when Devin McCarthy and Ille Van Engelen won a 9-7 tie-breaker over USC's Emilio Gomez and Roberto Quiroz. The win was a bit of an upset as the higher-ranked Gomez and Quiroz had represented Ecuador in Davis Cup play in April.

The win was Ohio State's 25th in a row, but things only get tougher from here. Next up: a date with top seed UCLA (28-1) in the national semifinals at 2 p.m. Monday.

Saturday Skull Session

Vico — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

If it'll help you find these Saturday Skull Sessions any more enjoyable, just know that this feature will be replaced with game previews and afternoon open threads in just over three months. As it is, we'll talk about some miscellanous news items here and there in the wide world of college sports.

MAURICE CLARETT TRYING HIS HAND AT RUGBY. File this under the category of things of which Ohio State fans have known for some time. However, national media is picking up with this story on Maurice Clarett and running with it, so we can talk about it.

Relax: it has nothing to do with a stolen car from ten years ago, nor should it make Kirk Herbstreit afraid to send his hypothetical college age children to Ohio State to play football.

Though Maurice Clarett had a stint with the UFL's Omaha Nighthawks for two years following his release from his prison, his gridiron days may be coming to an end. Clarett is 29 years old, which is an advanced age for a professional football running back. Clarett takes diligent care of himself and the time in prison equates to less figurative tread on the tire, but that does not change his position much. As a result, Clarett is trying to make it in a similar sport: rugby. He announced not too long ago that he was serious about being an Olympian in the sport. The upcoming 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will see rugby debut as a medal-awarding sport.

Yesterday, the Columbus Dispatch announced that Maurice Clarett will be playing in the Tiger Rugby-sponsored Ohio Rugby Sevens Invitational in Mechanicsburg on May 25. Tiger Rugby is the rugby development program, based in Columbus, Ohio, that has the task of selecting a team to represent the United States in Rio in 2016.

We obviously wish Maurice Clarett well as he pursues this shot at glory in 2016. He will be 32 going on 33 when the Rio games come, but this age should mean less in rugby than in professional football. What's more germane to the conversation is learning the differences between the two games that belie their prima facie similarity.

Really, one wonders if this is the next step for former college football players and NFL washouts. Professional football has no real development program like Major League Baseball's farm system, nor does it have the multi-layered hierarchy of professional squads like European soccer. If players don't land one of 53 roster spots on a given NFL team, the options are UFL, Arena League, or Canadian Football. This would be acceptable if college football wasn't churning out prospect after prospect every year. This could become a new thing, provided there is sufficient fan interest in rugby across the United States to keep the enterprise afloat.

YOU NEVER HAVE AS MUCH MONEY AS YOU THINK YOU DO. Did anyone watch ESPN's 30 for 30 titled Broke? ESPN's 30 for 30s (for me) are a curious block of programming on the network. Namely: they're not inexcusably terrible like most of ESPN's other programming. In fact, they're routinely very good. Okay, some of them suck out loud and should not have been done.

Further, this particular installment featured Darren Rovell, and his presence on that film did not make me want to punch him in the face. One of the things he mentioned on that 30 for 30 is that athletes (and NFLers especially) never like to hear that the smartest and most efficient thing they can do with their $10 million dollar contract is invest it wisely so that it grows to $11 million.

Instead, athletes invest in high risk ventures like car dealerships and sports bars and compound the problem by giving money to every family member or "friend" that sees them as a cash cow. It's how, among other things, athletes like Andre Rison, featured prominently in that 30 for 30, can go from a one-time $17 million dollar contract with the Cleveland Browns (over 5 years) to having no money.

This week saw a few more cautionary tales emerge to the fore, namely in the form of NFLers still on lucrative rookie contracts who have family members and "friends" who are already asking for money, or extorting it.

Tyron Smith, a former right tackle for the USC Trojans, was drafted ninth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year, $12.5 million dollar contract with the Dallas Cowboys. Shortly thereafter, his family came calling and demanded their cut. Deadspin abbreviated Tyron Smith's allegations against his family as follow.

Smith says he gave his family a "substantial" amount of money, but after the last of the agreed-upon installments, they almost immediately began demanding more.

Smith alleges that his family stole more than $1 million from him, money that just disappeared out of the account kept by a financial planner they had recommended.

Smith had to file a restraining order against his mother and stepfather, after they "threatened the physical well-being of Tyron and the life of his girlfriend."

In training camp, a brother that Smith hadn't spoken to “in a long time” showed up at the Cowboys facility, and had to be removed by security.

While Smith was on the road for a game, two of his sisters showed up at his home and confronted his girlfriend. She called 911, and the police report says they were there to “harass and torment” Smith “in the pursuit of collecting financial gain.”

Tavon Austin, arguably the darling of college football fans watching this year's NFL Draft, could be next in line for this horror story. No one who's followed Tavon Austin in college at West Virginia, or in his preparation for the NFL Draft, had anything bad to say about his character. The worry wasn't that Austin would find trouble, but trouble would find him in the form of he people he knew from his old haunts in Baltimore. Austin, who is scheduled to sign a rookie contract worth $12.6 million dollars (including a $7 million dollar signing bonus) is finding out that he has a lot of "cousins" in Baltimore.

But, more than anything, the biggest adjustment has been dealing with everyone that comes out of the woodwork when fame and imminent fortune show up on the doorstep.

“Just people,” Austin said. “Everybody expects a lot of things from you as far as money. Everybody wants to be around you. My phone doesn’t stop ringing now. It feels like they’re counting my bank account now. So that’s probably the hardest thing for me right now, just people.

“I’ve got a lot of cousins now. The whole (city of) Baltimore is my cousin now. We’re going to just try to keep focused and let my mother and all of them handle it.”

The Broke 30 for 30 might be a cautionary tale, but hardly one stationary in time. There are lessons to learn from it for the athlete. However, there are few lessons applicable to the people proximate to an athlete who see a lucrative professional contract as an interest-free loan or gift.

Wes Lunt finished 81/131 for 1108yds as QB.

SO WHERE CAN WES LUNT GO? It's almost trivial to argue that restrictions on transfers in college football are silly. Nick Saban can club-hop with the best of them, Rich Rodriguez can leave West Virginia on the altar for That Team Up North, and Lane Kiffin can be Lane Kiffin -- all with basic impunity. However, a college football player wants to leave a program to explore other options, and then there are problems.

Alas, I won't bore the reader any more with that argument, but I will bring up the latest college football player to be added as a footnote in this argument: Wes Lunt.

Wes Lunt was a true freshman quarterback for Oklahoma State in 2012, having graduated from high school in December 2011. He replaced the outgoing Brandon Weeden as Oklahoma State starting quarterback, which is no small feat.

He started his collegiate career with an 11/11 129yd performance in an 84-0 win against Savannah State. He followed that with a 37/60, 436yd, 4 TD, 3 INT performance against Arizona, albeit in a losing effort.

He injured his knee on the 4th play of the next game against Louisiana Lafayette and played in only two games thereafter. He asked for a transfer after the season after recognizing the logjam at quarterback entering the spring.

Mike Gundy has granted that transfer, but only on the following conditions: Wes Lunt cannot transfer to a team in the Big XII, the Southeastern Conference, or the Pac 12. Wait, it gets better. Wes Lunt is forbidden from transferring to Southern Miss and Central Michigan. Eastern Michigan? Fine. Central Michigan? DENIED.

Ostensibly, Gundy is blocking Wes Lunt from transferring to schools in the same conference (understandable), or teams from conferences with which the Big XII shares its two most prominent bowl arrangements (Cotton Bowl [SEC], Alamo Bowl [Pac 12]). As for why not Southern Miss or Eastern Michigan? No clue, dude. Central Michigan does play two games against Oklahoma State in 2015 and 2016, though.

The announcement of this restriction list comes as it seemed that Wes Lunt was eyeing Tennessee and Vanderbilt as possible destinations. For all intents and purposes, Mike Gundy basically constricted Wes Lunt's choice set to just Illinois, which now seems like the odds-on favorite to land Lunt. Lunt is from Rochester, which is an hour and a half from Champaign. I-L-L, I-N-I, Mike Gundy.

MISCELLANY. Copa del Rey silliness... Related... "Aggravated robbery", of a $447 bong. Go Zips... Titus Young's situation is no longer funny... Sacramento Kings aren't going anywhere, if you're into that kind of thing... Steve Alford and New Mexico agree on the terms of his buyout...

PROGRAMMING ALERT. Ohio State Men's Tennis gets familiar foe in NCAA Quarterfinals: USC... That match is this evening at 5pm ET... Men's lacrosse plays Cornell in NCAA Quarterfinal... That game is 12:30pm ET and can be seen on ESPN2... Baseball hopes to split the season-ending series against Indiana, which won in extra innings last night. The Big Ten title is on the line. That game will be on BTN at 4:05pm ET. Go Bucks.

Ohio State Football Recruiting Notebook: 5/17

Miles Joseph — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:00:00 +0000

It been a couple of weeks since our last edition of the Ohio State Football Recruiting Notebook and quite a bit has happened in the world of OSU recruiting over that time.

The biggest news occurred this past Sunday when Gary (IN) West Side wide receiver Lonnie Johnson made a surprise Mother's Day announcement and committed to the Bucks over Kentucky and a couple of other schools. We'll have a little more on his commitment later in the notebook.

There were also a couple of recruits on campus yesterday. This marks the first time in a while the Buckeyes have hosted any prospects on campus. We'll have a little more on the two visitors Noah Furbush and Hjalte Froholdt later in this edition notebook.

There is also a report that perhaps the best defensive player in the country will be committing in a couple of weeks. This player was once very high on the Bucks, but is likely to commit to a B1G rival.

We also saw the staff continue their trek across America where they extended a bevy of offers. We'll tell you all the players who received an offer from OSU over the duration of the last seven days.

Finally we will tell you which former Buckeye targets committed to other schools and we'll take a peak into the future of Ohio State football recruiting in this week's edition of the Recruiting Notebook.

The Buzz

First and foremost the Buckeyes picked up their eighth commitment of the 2014 recruiting class in Gary (IN) West Side athlete Lonnie Johnson. Johnson made a big splash with his surprise commitment on Mother's Day.

The 6-3/190 freak athlete could play either wide receiver or cornerback at the college level. As things stand right now he figures to come to Columbus as a wide receiver.

Our next news item comes in the form of campus visitors. 2014 Kenton (OH) linebacker Noah Furbush and 2015 Warren (OH) defensive tackle Hjalte Froholdt became the first players to come to Columbus for an un-official visit in quite some time.

Peppers will likely head to Michigan

Furbush, a 6-4/235 linebacker has offers from Michigan, Michigan State, and other notable schools. The Bucks have yet to offer, but I don't think an eventual offer is out of the question. If OSU did come in with an offer, they would be very tough to beat in this race.

The 6-5/275 defensive linemen, Hjalte Froholdt, a native of Denmark, has spent the school year in the states. He came away from his visit to OSU with an offer from the Buckeyes.

He told Jeremy that he would like to continue playing football in the US, but one of his parents would need to moves to the States with him in order for him to continue pursing a football career in the United States. He will be a very interesting prospect to monitor over the next couple of years.

2014 Paramus (NJ) Catholic defensive back Jabrill Peppers recently announced he would be making his college decision on May 26th. Michigan is his likely destination as things stand. If the Wolverines could be upended for his services, Penn State or Stanford would be other potential destinations.

The Ohio State staff offered a lot of prospects in the 2014 and 2015 classes over the past week.

On the offensive side of the ball, they extended offers to Haines City (FL) running back Dacorius Law and Houston (TX) Kinkaid athlete Marvin Saunders. There were also a few 2014 defensive players offered including Winter Park (FL) defensive lineman Trent Harris and New Orleans (LA) St. Augustine defensive back Jermaine Roberts who is currently committed to the Texas Longhorns.

There were also class of 2015 players offered in the last week. On the offensive side of the ball, Pompano Beach (FL) Blanche Ely wide receiver Devante Peete, Orlando (FL) First Academy tight end Garett Williams, and Pittsburgh (PA) Baldwin offensive tackle Sterling Jenkins picked up offers from the Buckeyes. Finally class of 2015 defenders who received offers include the likes of Suffield (CT) Academy defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, Hollywood (FL) McArthur defensive back Kendrell McFadden, and Cocoa (FL) athlete Jamel Dean.

It will be interesting to monitor the recently offered prospects interest in the Buckeyes in the coming weeks.

Happy Trails

The Buckeyes didn't lose out on too many prospects they were interested in last week. There are only two notable players who chose other schools.

Hebron (KY) Conner quarterback Drew Barker committed to the Kentucky Wildcats last Friday. The Bucks were very interested in Barker at one point in the process, but they never offered him.

Lastly Southfield (MI) defensive end Lawrence Marshall, a former Buckeye commit, committed to Michigan last Saturday. Marshall committed to OSU in February, only to de-commit from OSU shortly after his commitment. It was very un-likely he would end up at OSU after de-committing. Marshall is a very solid pickup for Michigan.

Looking Ahead

I don't think we'll see any visitors for the rest of May, unless we see a surprise visitor pop up out of the blue. Things will start to pickup on this front in June when school let's out and the staff starts hosting their summer camps.

The staff will continue scouring the country evaluating and offering prospects who catch their eye.

Around the Oval on Friday, May 17

Grant Miller — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Around the Oval is Eleven Warriors' weekly love letter to Ohio State sports that don't get the coverage they should.

We begin this week with more on the success of the Buckeye men's lacrosse team, a subject that our own Kyle Rowland profiled yesterday. After clinching their first ECAC title last week, spirits were high when the team hosted Towson in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Ohio Stadium.

The visitors took a quick lead, giving the Buckeyes an early indication that this game wouldn't be easy in any degree. After five minutes of scoreless play, Ohio State was finally on the board through Logan Schuss. Towson scored again four minutes later, but they seemed to lose concentration towards the end of the quarter when Ohio State scored three in just over 100 seconds.

It was a beautiful Saturday at the Horseshoe for men's lacrosse

Four more goals in the second quarter gave the Buckeyes an 8-4 halftime advantage. Any chance Towson had of keeping the game competitive seemingly left at the intermission, their weak total of two second-half goals meant Ohio State won the game by a comfortable score of 16-6.

Logan Schuss and Jesse King anchored the Buckeye offense as usual, with six and five total points respectively. The win was OSU's first in the NCAA tournament for five years. Elsewhere Cornell beat Maryland 16-6 meaning the Big Red are the Buckeyes opponents this Saturday. The quarter-final is Saturday at 12:30 all the way in College Park, Maryland, and will be on ESPN2.

The Unstoppable Force

Last week also began the NCAA tournament for the much-heralded Ohio State men's tennis team. After winning the Big Ten tournament, the Buckeyes began their journey against Cleveland State last Friday. Much like the opponents they faced in the conference tournament, Cleveland State also proved no match for the Buckeyes. Another doubles point was secured before Blaz Rola, Devin McCarthy and Constantin Christ combined to give Ohio State a 4-0 victory.

Matches against Washington and Texas A&M followed, and it was more domination from Ohio State. Smith, McCarthy and Peter Kobelt were the singles winners against the Huskies in a 4-0 win. Diaz joined Smith and Kobelt as winners against the Aggies who were defeated by the same score.

The Buckeyes now find themselves in the national quarter-finals against USC. This will be the first round where the Buckeyes face a higher-ranked team: the Trojans are the four seed while the Scarlet & Gray are the five. The match is Saturday at 5 p.m. in Urbana, Illinois. The winner will play Monday in the national semi-final.

Big Ten Decider

Rain pushed the opener of Ohio State baseball's important home series against Oregon to Saturday, but the delay didn't seem to affect either team's defensive performance. Buckeye starter Brad Goldberg and Oregon's Tommy Thorpe only gave up one run a piece, pushing the game to extras. Things were still tied in the 11th when Ducks DH Mitchell Tolman's single drove in two runs. With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th, Ryan Cypret had a great chance to tie or even win the game for Ohio State, but closer Jimmy Sherfy struck him out on four pitches to give Oregon the 3-1 win.

Three runs in the first three innings were all Oregon needed in the nightcap, shutting out the Buckeyes 4-0. On Sunday, a wild pitch allowed the visitors to score the game's only run, securing a 1-0 win and the series sweep.

Louisville made the trip north on Tuesday for one game at Bill Davis Stadium, and the Buckeyes' struggles continued. Early runs—three in the first and one in the second—once gain put Ohio State in a whole. The Buckeyes got on the board for the first time in 23 innings with three runs in the sixth, but that was after the Cardinals had already added to two more, leading to a 6-3 win for the visitors.

There was no time to weep for the Scarlet & Gray, because their final series of the season is this weekend at home to Indiana. One the line: a potential Big Ten title. OSU is one game behind the Hoosiers, and needs two out of three wins to clinch a share of the conference title, and a sweep to win it outright. In the opener last night, things started exactly as the Buckeyes wanted. Patrick Porter's RBI triple in the seventh broke a 1-1 tie, and the home team took game one by a score of 2-1.

Now, the Buckeyes are only one win away from a share of their first Big Ten title since 2009. The two teams are at it again this evening at 6:35, with the finale tomorrow at 4:05. Both game are at Bill Davis Stadium and will be screened on BTN.

Track and Field titles

This past weekend Ohio State hosted the 2013 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, with both the men's and women's track & field teams achieving notable success.

Franklin's weekend performance highlighted her exceptional talent

The men finished in sixth place, with two individual winners on the final day. First there was senior Michael Hartfield, who added victory in the triple jump to his long jump crown the day before. Freshman Billy Stanley was the other big winner, capturing the conference javelin crown. Elsewhere sophomore Timothy Faust placed second in the 200m and third 100m.

The women's team finished in an even better position of third. Friday saw senior Alexis Thomas take the hammer throw competition with considerable ease. On the final day a team of Ashlee Abraham, Aisha Cavin, Christienne Linton and Adenike Pedro won the 4x100m relay by .82 seconds. Ohio State's other champion was Alexis Franklin, whose 400m hurdle victory helped her to capture the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award this week.

With the conference championships over, both squads travel to Greensboro, North Carolina next weekend for the NCAA East Regional.

B1G Athletic Directors Attempt to Bring Sexy Back

Michael Citro — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:30:00 +0000

The Big Ten athletic directors' meetings generally provide some mildly interesting tidbits of information in the midst of the desolation we call the off-season. It gives them a chance to congregate, discuss matters integral to college football, smoke stogies and eat endless supplies of Ro-Tel — at least that’s what I imagine happens at these meetings.

Among the many topics the ADs discussed was the current game day experience and how to make it more exciting. The B1G might be widely considered a stodgy, old boys’ network of stuffed shirts, and perhaps deservedly so, but at least the athletic directors are trying to change that perception, as Chad mentioned earlier this morning. They want to make the B1G fun again, which in turn should help the league’s coaches recruit better players and produce a more exciting on-field product.

Michigan State AD Mark Hollis said:

"It's not your grandfather's conference any more. There's so much greatness and so much tradition that needs to be continued and talked about, but also try to add a little unique freshness that's unique to young kids."

Making the football better is the critical factor in growing the B1G’s brand and changing the national perception that the conference’s best days are long gone. There are two ways to make that happen — improve the coaching and land better players in the recruiting process.

Improving the coaching means attracting the best available talent, both on the head coach and the assistant level. You do that with money. The Big Ten may be catching up in the coaching salary race, relative to the other major conferences, but it still has a way to go when it comes to paying assistant coaches. Ohio State and Michigan are more-or-less keeping up with the nation’s other elite football programs, but the Minnesotas and Purdues of the world still have some catching up to do.

Urban Meyer is the league’s only “rock star” coach and it didn’t take long for him to recognize the Big Ten’s problem is that it’s largely failing (as a conference) in the national recruiting picture. Meyer wasn’t shy about his opinion on the matter, and a glance at the recruiting rankings backs up what he said.

Outside of Ohio State and Michigan (and perhaps Penn State), recruiting is not what it needs to be for the Big Ten to challenge the SEC as the nation’s best conference, top to bottom, regardless of what Bob Stoops says.

Kentucky and Louisville are starting to grab the kinds of kids that used to end up in East Lansing and Iowa City. Some B1G schools are having trouble keeping their state’s best prospects at home. It’s early in the 2014 recruiting cycle, but healthy Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin programs shouldn’t be getting beaten by Baylor, Vanderbilt and Duke. But here we are.

Glass wants to bring the "cool factor" to IU. Good luck, sir.

There are several components to improving recruiting, such as hiring charismatic coaches that can relate to today’s players, impressing them with the best facilities and stadium experiences, and appealing to their sense of style with exciting uniform combinations. The B1G's athletic directors have direct control over all three of those phases.

In Meyer, Brady Hoke and Bill O’Brien, the conference has three guys who have proven their ability to land top recruits. (And it’s especially impressive what O’Brien has done with an essentially crippled program that can’t lure kids with the promise of a bowl trip.) The rest of the conference has to catch up. Purdue’s hiring of Darrell Hazell may prove fruitful in that regard, but as of yet he’s unproven and the rest of the league is not quite measuring up right now.

But there are things that can be done to help the coaches with recruiting, and that’s what our ADs have been focused on. Stadium upgrades, new state-of-the-art facilities, flashy alternative uniforms, and improving the game atmosphere are all ways to bring sexy back to the B1G — to make it the kind of conference in which the top kids will want to play.

Penn State has taken an interesting approach. The Nittany Lions are working on putting together a trip to Ireland for a game, which could mitigate a lost bowl game in a recruit’s eyes. Wouldn't you rather visit the Emerald Isle than Jacksonville or Houston?

The overall experience of attending a game, an aspect that the ADs can influence, is a big part of recruiting. Many schools have been addressing that on their own already. Minnesota recently built a new stadium. Ohio State and Michigan State upgraded their video screens. Sparty is renovating Spartan Stadium to the tune of $20 million, while Ohio State is working on upgrading cell service. Things are happening.

Getting fans in the seats hasn’t been an issue for some schools, but at places like Northwestern, Minnesota, Purdue and Indiana, it’s been an ongoing problem to solve.

Indiana AD Fred Glass says his focus is squarely on the game day experience:

"More highlights, more scores, more fun, coloring outside the lines a little bit," Glass said. "We'll play to our strengths — the band, the cheerleaders, the pageantry of college football, flags and color, engagement of students — and spent a lot of time really trying to enhance that. That's not only a great thing for our fan experience, it translates into the cool factor for recruits who come in."

But even places where attendance has been strong, it’s the overall atmosphere that has suffered — and it’s the students that provide the atmosphere and the energy that programs crave and coaches can sell to recruits. Even That Team Up North has had issues with getting students out of their beds and into the stadium. Some have even (hilariously) resorted to bribery to get kids to show up:

Word from Coach Hoke: Free glazed donuts for all students before noon home games. #goblue
— Laura Raines (@itsraininglaura) April 24, 2013

Minnesota used school resources to study the problem and find solutions.

(Minnesota athletic director Norwood) Teague had a group from Minnesota's Carlson School of Management study student attendance at the school. They found that students want a gathering place before games, so the school is providing an entire parking lot near the stadium, Teague said, which will be monitored.

And of course, night games are a big part of building atmosphere. The athletic directors have opened their minds to more games after dark, leading to the league’s most extensive slate of night games ever this upcoming season. They’re even rethinking the whole “no November night games” policy. Just don’t tell Gene Smith you want The Game played after dark or he’ll question your well-being.

Personally, I think The Game at night would be outstanding. A conference should absolutely showcase its best games in prime time. It would be an ideal way to package the Big Ten for potential recruits and probably wouldn’t hurt television ratings either. It would certainly help bring sexy back.

Pride of Ohio: Amanda

Kyle Rowland — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:30:00 +0000

When it comes to success in relation to town size, few schools can match Amanda-Clearcreek. The village of Amanda, located in Fairfield County some 30 miles southwest of Columbus, is home to 742 residents. Not 7,000. Seven hundred.

But don’t let that fool you, this isn’t a district that fields a small team and gets steamrolled every week, only winning when an unimpressive opponent is scheduled. Instead, the Aces have etched their name among the top programs in the state of Ohio.

From 1981-2009, the entirety of the Ron Hinton era, Amanda went 285-90-3. That includes back-to-back Division V state championships in 1999 and 2000, as well as runner-up finishes in 1997 and 2003. Hinton, a member of the Ohio High School Football Coaches' Association Hall of Fame, turned Amanda into one of the premier high school programs in the state and south-central Ohio’s most consistent winner.

During one 11-year span, the Aces advanced to the state semifinals eight times.

“At Amanda, football has sustained the most excellence over a period of at least 10 years,” said director of athletics Michael Patrick. “That’s evident when you look at the Mid-State League championships. I can’t even think of the number in my mind. Then you consider of the eight schools, Amanda is seventh or eighth in size. It’s small, but yet they’ve found that drive to be excellent in football. Without question, the Hinton family is the patron family of success in this district.”

Referring to Amanda, Ohio, as small can be deemed a considerable understatement. The cliché “blip on a map” and “blink and you’ll miss it” are apt descriptions of the rural village located in the heart of Ohio. It’s a whole three-tenths of a square mile.

Find it on Google Earth and you quickly realize it’s literally surrounded by cornfields in every direction. East of town on a piece of land with a sagging elevation sits “The Pit,” home of the Amanda-Clearcreek Aces. The name came from Hinton who wanted to give the school an identity when he arrived. Combined with the geography, it gives opponents the feeling of being trapped. It’s turned into quite a homefield advantage over the years and a community gathering place on Friday nights in the fall.

More than 1,300 people show up to watch the Aces play, doubling the size of the town on game nights. There’s reserved seating for 700, and the renewal rate is near 99.9 percent. Patrick had 400 people renew during one night, causing him to miss the scrimmage he was attending.

“If I screwed that up it would be bad for me,” he said, laughing. “It’s a passage. Grandparents and parents buy seats for their kids to make sure they are all sitting in the same place.”

Many of those in the stands have a direct connection to someone on the playing field. Amanda is a town filled with legacies. Generations of families attend school in the district with a high concentration of boys playing football.

Amanda, Ohio

Population: 742
Where: 39.650, -82.743
County: Fairfield
Zip Code: 43102
Area Code: 740
Fun Fact: Amanda is too small for a police force.

“Just about every roster has very common names on it that have a legacy connection,” Patrick said.

Amanda is a one-stoplight community where crime is virtually nonexistent. People happily leave car doors unlocked and allow children to play in the yard unattended, free of worry. Modest houses line the street and quaint buildings, some more than 100 years old, dot the downtown landscape.

When you enter town, you quickly realize the caliber of the football program. Signs trumpet the school’s success and serve as a warning for visiting teams that Friday night will more than likely be treacherous.

“Fans want to be in the stadium two hours before the game,” Patrick said. “You already have tailgating in place. It’s a very important part of the school culture.”

A caravan can be seen leaving town when the Aces play conference foes such as Logan Elm, Bloom-Carroll and Fairfield Union.

“You know when Amanda arrives, all you have to do is see the orange and black,” Patrick said.

The frenzied atmosphere gets its start during the dog days of summer in August. On hot and humid mornings and afternoons, the Amanda-Clearcreek football team can be spotted on the practice field. No drill is left undone and no tackling sled remains stationary. It’s constant action for hours.

It’s at that same time that the town turns its eye to the fall. Recreational softball winds down, golf leagues slow and high school football comes to the forefront.

“There’s just a natural energy when two-a-days start,” Patrick said. “It’s closely watched. Parents park in parking lots to watch their kids participate. The biggest indicator of the passion for football in Amanda is the biddy program. There are a lot of kids that participate in the biddy program and learn the way of a warrior.”

It’s said that teams take on their coach’s personality. In most cases, that’s true. It’s no different in Amanda, where the Aces possess the blue-collar work ethic and attitude of head coach Dale Olney, who doubles as a firefighter.

Olney is someone who doesn’t draw attention to himself and actually shied away from the head-coaching job after Hinton left for Chillicothe in 2010. After pestering from the administration, though, Olney, who was the defensive line coach under Hinton, accepted Amanda-Clearcreek’s overtures.

“He’s every well accepted in this community,” Patrick said of Olney. “He’s a good man, people know he knows football. He’s about as unassuming as you can find. He’s a very grass roots kind of guy. He’s just a worker. Everyone knows he’s the head football coach. He’s got that mantra.”

In three seasons, Olney had taken the Aces to the playoffs twice. During the postseason, Amanda morphs into an even more passionate football paradise. Ohio supports its football programs, but rural communities mixed with the playoffs creates an even more potent amalgamation of enthusiasm and anticipation.

“Anyone that has success in the playoffs, it’s a contagious moment,” Patrick said. “The excitement grows and the community spirit is excellent.”

A contributing factor to Hinton’s sudden departure was a failed operating levy that forced the district's athletic department to charge athletes substantial rates to play sports. Hinton’s leave was stunning and the pay rate left many staggered. The football team felt the effects immediately, as the roster went from 75 to 60 players.

But the community rallied and displayed the hard exterior it has for decades. When the financial situation was at its low point, fundraisers throughout the community were organized. Sports at Amanda-Clearcreek survived, a levy passed and the football roster is plentiful again.

“It’s been impressive learning football here,” said Patrick, who’s an outsider. “They’re very devoted. It’s a great group of men. They take on kids that a lot of programs would say, ‘You’re not athletic enough for us,’ and then they make them into men on the field. It’s impressive to watch the process.”

Pride of Ohio: St. Henry | Martins Ferry | Piqua | Amanda

Friday Skull Session

Chad Peltier — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Last night was one of the worst nights of my life: The Office aired its final episode.

Sure, things have been a little different since Michael Scott punched out for the last time (Will Ferrell - not exactly the right fit), but The Office has been with me for a long time.

It was even one of the first things my future in-laws and I bonded over.

But enough of my Office eulogy. I hope other Scranton fans enjoyed last night's episode, because now it's time to get down to some Buckeye news.

NEW FRIENDS. 2014 is going to be a big year. Besides being the trial run for the new College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes play Virginia Tech and Cincinnati, and the Big Ten receives some new friends in Maryland and Rutgers.

The Big Ten released the 2014-15 football schedule yesterday, which includes new Big Ten ~~punching bags~~ valuable conference members Maryland and Rutgers.

The Buckeyes get to visit Maryland first on October 4, which will definitely be a treat for you D.C.-based Buckeye folks. Rutgers brings some New York attitude (I actually have no idea if that's true) to Columbus two weeks later on October 18.

D.C. Buckeyes actually get all of the fun next year, as the Buckeyes will also play Navy in the August 30 opener at the Ravens' M&T Stadium in Baltimore. You lucky dogs.

LEGENDS AND LEADERS TRYING TO GET A COOLNESS UPGRADE. So apparently the Big Ten isn't seen as being very cool, hip, swag, or whatever the kids are saying these days.

Dwight was always (maybe) a Buckeye fan at heart.

At least that's the case according to Michigan State's AD Mark Hollis:

"Part of that is to make the league be perceived in reality what it is, and that's a little bit more hip, a little bit more cool...It's not your grandfather's conference any more. There's so much greatness and so much tradition that needs to be continued and talked about, but also try to add a little unique freshness that's unique to young kids."

Dr. Saturday thinks that maybe some good uniform changes might be useful, but understands that it's a hard balance between tradition and cool.

However, Frank isn't really right when he says that, "Rich Rodriguez tried bringing his own spread offense to Michigan, and he was pretty quickly run out of town when it didn't work." As Three and Out made clear, it was the defense and lack of administration support that doomed RichRod, not his spread offense.

It's not that the Big Ten doesn't have innovative and interesting offenses, good uniforms, or exciting players. The Big Ten "isn't cool" because it hasn't won as many out of conference games as the SEC.

Oregon is cool because of its uniforms, USC is cool because of LA and movie stars, Alabama is cool because it wins championships, but Big Ten teams need both tradition and winning.

Tradition is a cool thing, but the Big Ten sure could use some more victories over the SEC.

QUIETLY DOMINANT. The Buckeyes baseball team has been quietly excellent this season, just defeating Indiana 2-1 to move in to a tie with the Hoosiers for first place in the conference.

They improved to 34-19 and 15-7 in conference play with only two games left in the regular season.

If you're looking to catch some of that final baseball action, the Buckeyes and Hoosiers play their second game of three at 6:35 this coming Friday night (BTN).

NOTRE DAME IS SOLID. Whether we like it or not (I'm almost positive that you don't), all indications are that Notre Dame is at least somewhat "back" in college football.

The Domers got hammered by Alabama in the national championship, but their statistical performances over the past few years show signs of steady growth in all of the right areas - a defense that limits big plays, an offense led by a multi-year starter at quarterback, and fantastic talent at key skill positions. Just take a look at this depth:

The Irish have just so damn many blue-chippers at this point. Of the five returning or incoming running backs above, three are former four-star recruits and one is a former five-star. Of the nine returning or incoming receivers and tight ends above, five are former four-star recruits.

Why am I telling you this? Because it affects Buckeye recruiting in the Midwest. Charlie Weis's teams and Brian Kelly's early teams could recruit offensive skill guys just fine - it was the defense that was always suspect.

However, according to Bill Connelly, Notre Dame's front seven depth chart includes 4 former 5-star recruits and 10 former 4-star recruits. That includes longtime Buckeye target and brother of Rod, Jaylon Smith. Buckeye fans don't really have an incentive to want Notre Dame to regain any kind of traditional power that I can think of, because it just means losing more players like Jaylon.

CLOSING LINKS. To invade your Brazilian nightmares... LOVE this Patriots uniform redesign... LSUFreek is back with some more Hair Swaps: Rivalry Edition (spoiler, Mark Richt has lost control of his bro hair)...Some NFL RB stats for you... QB recruit Brandon Harris has a top 7... Lost city in the Amazon?... Who are Ohio State's peers?

Turning Points, Volume Three: An '88 Comeback

Jeff Beck — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:30:00 +0000

Setting the Scene

The year was 1988, and for the first time in 9 years, Ohio State had a new head man leading the Scarlet and Gray out of the tunnel.

On December 31st 1987, a 50 year old John Cooper was introduced as Ohio State’s 21st head coach.

He was chosen from seven candidates and was ultimately selected based on his sterling resume.

Cooper served for 15 seasons as an assistant at Iowa State, Oregon State, UCLA, Kansas and Kentucky before accepting his first head coaching position at Tulsa in 1977.

For 8 years Cooper served as Tulsa’s field general, and in each of the last 5 years of his tenure the team won the Missouri Valley Conference league championship.

Coop looked so young in '88.

In 1985, JC was selected as Arizona State’s head coach and in three years he tallied a 25-9-2 record including a Rose Bowl victory over Bo Schembechler's Michigan Wolverines.

In his first season as head coach of the Buckeyes, Cooper would need every last shred of that experience as he was tasked with replacing all but five starters on the defensive side of the ball.

However, Cooper could take solace in the fact he had a talented stable of running backs to rely on including Vince Workman and Carlos Snow.

The Buckeyes kicked off the season with a 26-9 win over Syracuse in front of the then largest opening day crowd of all time (89,768). The victory would break the nation-leading 14 game win streak of the Orangemen in front of a nationally televised audience.

Hoping to ride that momentum into their ensuing contest, the Buckeyes left Columbus the following week to play the Pitt Panthers. Unfortunately, the second game of the season would be a far different story as the Buckeyes got stomped 42-10. Adding insult to injury, the following Wednesday RB, Workman, was released from the team after confessing to accepting money from an agent.

Needless to say, Cooper had a deflated team heading into its Sept. 24 matchup against LSU. The clash would be the first time an SEC team had set foot in the ‘Shoe since Kentucky in 1935.

Left for dead.

With roughly 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter and trailing 33-20, the Buckeyes were in need of a miracle.

Little did anyone know, the Scarlet and Gray would require just one minute and 18 seconds to turn coal into diamonds.

Turning Point: A Walk-On Gets It Done

It took sophomore QB, Greg Frey just 10 plays to move the ball 59 yards for a score. The drive was capped by a Snow 5-yard run up the gut with 1:56 left to make it 33-27.

It was then that Cooper took a chance. Conventional wisdom would dictate an onside kick, but instead Coop chose to kick the ball deep, relying on his defense to get the ball back.

The kick went for a touchback and quickly the Silver Bullets had LSU at 3rd and 12 on their own 18.

With no timeouts left on the Buckeye sideline, everyone in the stadium expected a clock killing run.

Instead LSU chose to toss it resulting in an incompletion and stopping the clock at 1:38. The Tigers’ drive had consumed only 18 seconds, and now the Buckeyes were going to get the ball back.

Not wanting to chance a muffed punt, LSU chose to run their punter out of the endzone for a safety, giving them the option to kick off or punt from the 20.

Head Coach, Mike Archer, elected to punt and the kick was returned 30 yards by Buckeye walk-on, Bobby Olive, to the LSU 38.

The walk-on.

With no time-outs left the Bucks were in a crunch. In three plays the Scarlet and Gray were able to move the ball to the LSU 20, but they faced a 3rd and 7 to move the chains.

That’s when offensive coordinator, Jim Colletto, dialed up a play that had worked earlier in the game for a gain of 19: “Confirm 63 Y Bench”. The call was a post pattern run toward the center of the field targeting Olive.

With 44 seconds remaining, Frey dropped back on 3rd-and-7 from the LSU 20 and let it fly. The throw was too long, but Olive made the adjustment, laying out for it in the endzone. With the highlight-reel grab the Buckeyes had pulled off the impossible, coming back from 13 down to go up 36-33.

The Tigers would have one last chance from their own 34, but four downs gained only 3 yards.

With seven seconds left, the fans stormed the field, as OSU snapped Louisiana State’s streak of 14 road game victories.

That's what a walk-on can do for you.

Until next week, Turning Points…out.