Spring Game (recruiting and observations)

[furls]

Set up as a place to talk spring game. This should be a HUGE recruiting weekend, almost as important as the actual spring game.

Lots of names to watch for commitments in the near term (may not get all this week):
-Anzalone
-Bosa
-Hurst
-Quick
-Neal
-Heuerman

to name a few. It will also be interesting to see who does not show up. If Love does not show then it is a clear indication that his ship has sailed. In Love's case, I will not cry in my beer if he ends up with Pelini (tOSU landed 5LBs in 2012s class and they will have a couple in 2013, the position group already has a lot of youth in Grant and Shazier).

[furls]

Confirmation just came in that Love will not be at the Spring Game, looks like he is out. Does an offer go to Tim Kimbrough? Word is if he gets an offer he commits on the spot.

[e0y2e3]

Never underestimate the bond between Y-town and the Bo. Same school that hosted the greatest football coach in the history of the state..... ties that bind and stuff.

And kind of silly this is Kimbrough's fourthish visit. Dude has literally just been waiting for this offer.

And Heuerman is announcing 4/27.

[Erie Warrior]

Is there a live feed for this game?

[e0y2e3]

Big Ten Network.

[furls]

THere is a lot to be said for a kid like Kimbrough that is as good as he is and desperately wants to be a Buckeye. The kid has come to tOSU 50000 times and still does not have an offer from the Bucks among his 20+. I love kids like that.

[furls]

It was pretty impressive watching Shazier defeat Sabino in the 1:1's, Sabino outweighs him by about 20lbs. Mewhort vs. Simon was very impressive too.

Mewhort is fucking huge. The kid looks as strong as anyone. Wonder if he can still move well enough to be a true LT. No doubt he is bigger, nastier and more focused than the last LT.

[furls]

Miller looked really sharp on the first series. Love the pace of the new offense and I like the short passing game. That is going to be a bitch for others.

[furls]

Philly Brown doing what he does best, hearing footsteps and dropping balls.

[furls]

This offense is going to be a bitch to defend next year when Miller is able to run. This looks like it could be like RG3 at Baylor last year.

[furls]

Offense has kind of bogged down a little, but we really haven't seen any of the running that is supposed to be featured in this offense. The goal is to really work on the throwing game.

[furls]

Mike Thomas, 8 catches for 78 yards. I think we found our #2 WR. I am not buying Philly Brown as a WR, has 2 drops today and given his track record over the last 2 years.... there is no reason to believe he will ever be able to catch the ball with an y consistency.

Thomas is not going to scorch you for 40-60 per play, but at least he catches the ball effortlessly. I'll take Thomas sitting down in the weakspot in the zone and picking up 10 in traffic. I think Evan Spencer may regret being injured for the spring game, cuz Thomas' stock is rising.

[furls]

Shitty weather, but still drew 81,112. That is a good showing for the '13 recruits out there today.

[furls]

Philly Brown drops a pitch, between 2 nice passes. SMH.

[furls]

Shazier makes an excelling stop on the freshman RB Brionte Dunn on 4th and 1, brings back memories of the goaline stand he personally made against scUM last year. He is going to be fucking amazing!

[StewieG]

Shazier is gonna be awesome. He's the next big defensive star on this team.

Does Thomas remind you of Michael Jenkins at all? Tall, lanky, not someone who's going to burn by you down the field. But he's got good hands, runs nice routes, and seems to have already developed a rapport with Miller.

[furls]

Very much reminds me of Jenkins, just a little shorter. Thomas is list at about 6'4 but most that I respect say he is closwer to 6'2.

[furls]

I really don't understand all the love for Philly Brown. I don't see a guy that runs through contact or has the wiggle to avoid it. He is a HR threat but only if he catches the ball (not a given) on a go or post route.

[furls]

Watch for Heuerman and Bosa commits today...

[furls]

Impressive TD run by Rod Smith. Kid looks like a manchild. Tyrone Williams has put on some serious muscle as well. If Williams can get his shit together he would be a SERIOUS weapon at 6'5 or 6'6 225.

[furls]

Is it me or does Chase Farris look like Doug Worthington out there?

[e0y2e3]

FWIW: It was said before the game that they would be focused on the passing O, as Meyer is happy with the run O and wants to improve it.

[furls]

Yeah, what we saw today is not exactly indicative of what to expect from tOSU's offense going forward. THere were some things that were obvious additions to the O... the design passes to the backs in the flats (that's a new wrinkle), the crossing and drag routes. Exciting stuff.

We will see some design QB runs, but where I think we will see this O really present problems is running with that back with the D spread over the field.

I liked the pace of the play. They were lined up and ready about 10 secs after the last play ended. That is great shit, don't let the D substitute.

[furls]

Anzalone is the first domino to fall this week. Committed after the game.

[pup]

For anyone who has not watched it yet, the circle drill...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7GGqIQwjl4

[motherscratcher]

For anyone who has not watched it yet, the circle drill...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7GGqIQwjl4

Guiton ran over Miller. Maybe we should make him a safety.

[pod2dawg]

Love is a Cornhusker. Bo does have massive street cred at his alma mater Cardinal Mooney. Love is a very good player , but not sensational . He is relentless and gritty, but not in Shaz's league, at least not yet.

[e0y2e3]

FWIW: don't sell Tress tooooooo far short here. He got soft, but my first concussion I ever got was after YSU lost a game and one of his best friends lined up the O and D linemen about twenty yards apart and just made us kill each other to toughen us up. All coaches do that drill at some point or another, but no one does it before the spring game.

[mattvan1]

the design passes to the backs in the flats (that's a new wrinkle), the crossing and drag routes. Exciting stuff.

If the thought of simple route trees being called "exciting" by knowledgeable fans is not an indictment of the previous "system", then I don't know what is.

[peeker643]

the design passes to the backs in the flats (that's a new wrinkle), the crossing and drag routes. Exciting stuff.

If the thought of simple route trees being called "exciting" by knowledgeable fans is not an indictment of the previous "system", then I don't know what is.

You know what excites me?

14-0 and a national championship game. If it's because of 38 m-routes to backs that's great. If it's because they run 'Dave' 38 times and win that's great.

It's still a simple matter of someone stopping whatever it is they're running.

When the next coach comes in and re-dedicates the Buckeyes to smashmouth B1G football he'll be lauded for that approach at that time.

It doesn't make the slightest bit of difference.

[furls]

the design passes to the backs in the flats (that's a new wrinkle), the crossing and drag routes. Exciting stuff.

If the thought of simple route trees being called "exciting" by knowledgeable fans is not an indictment of the previous "system", then I don't know what is.

You know what excites me?

14-0 and a national championship game. If it's because of 38 m-routes to backs that's great. If it's because they run 'Dave' 38 times and win that's great.

It's still a simple matter of someone stopping whatever it is they're running.

When the next coach comes in and re-dedicates the Buckeyes to smashmouth B1G football he'll be lauded for that approach at that time.

It doesn't make the slightest bit of difference.

That's a solid take Brian. The backup is always better than the starter and the new coach is always better than the old one. Look no further than UF for proof of that one. They can't help but tell us how Muschamp is better than the guy that brought them 2 national championships.

I am a firm believer that you can win with just about any system as long as it suits your personnel and it is well executed. I can say that the change in Miller has been substantial. His footwork was much better in the spring game than at any point last year, that is probably a part of the reason for the sudden change in accuracy.

The OL was improved in the spring game, but it was hard to really say because the fronts were so vanilla and the blitzing was so rare.

I can say that based on the physical changes in the players (some losing weight others gaining it), the obvious changes in fundamentals, Meyer's recruiting prowess and a real life, coherent "system" on offense I think tOSU can be scary good in the near future. 14-0 may not be out of the question in 2013, but it is hard to really walk to far down that line before Meyer coaches his first game.

I am looking forward to seeing Meyer hang 60 on teams by getting our second team decent reps. One of my biggest beefs with Tressel was that he would bring in the backups in the 3rd quarter and proceed to take a knee for the rest of the game, depriving young players of valuable reps to prevent making Indiana or Minnesota from feeling bad about themselves. My opinion.... running up the score is a dick move, but if you can't stop my second string that is your fucking problem. These guys came to OSU to play and I am going to let them. Meyer has a similar philosophy.

I was most excited about the pace of play. The ball was ready to be snapped within 10 seconds of the previous play being blown dead. THis allows the offensive staff to identify personnel mismatches, prevent substitutions and then take advantage of them. It is the one thing I really like about Chip Kelly.

[mattvan1]

the design passes to the backs in the flats (that's a new wrinkle), the crossing and drag routes. Exciting stuff.

If the thought of simple route trees being called "exciting" by knowledgeable fans is not an indictment of the previous "system", then I don't know what is.

You know what excites me?

14-0 and a national championship game. If it's because of 38 m-routes to backs that's great. If it's because they run 'Dave' 38 times and win that's great.

It's still a simple matter of someone stopping whatever it is they're running.

When the next coach comes in and re-dedicates the Buckeyes to smashmouth B1G football he'll be lauded for that approach at that time.

It doesn't make the slightest bit of difference.

Uh, um, ok. National championships excite me too.

But not sure you're gonna win any running off tackle 38 times. I mean if you're bagging on me for disrespecting the memory of Tressel and what they accomplished then ok fine.

But if you're suggesting that you are going to miss the O wizzardry of Jim Bollman, or that his scheme was tailor made to win games outside of the B10, then I'm not so sure I would agree.

BTW, my post was only in response to Mike's unintentionally funny comment on the "excitement" of seeing bubble screens and crossing routes. Not any type of negative comment on the previous regime.

Long live the Dave Play!

[pod2dawg]

the design passes to the backs in the flats (that's a new wrinkle), the crossing and drag routes. Exciting stuff.

One biggest knocks on the Vest had always been not doing the above , getting our athletes in isolation one on one. The pros can't guard the backs out of the backfield, and the underutilization of drags & crosses, and not incorporating the TE was....perplexing to say the least.

So perplexing, major big time skill players would avoid signing on with tOSU..well outside TP.

The other of course was the mundane offensive philosophy.

Urban wants to get more snaps. More chances for our better guy to beat theirs. Exploit that weakness wherever it may be. Continuous pressure horizontal and vertical....you can't load up and take away everything. TE, back, WR, dual threat QB.

The D will be an aggressive attacking style, everyone will be excited to get in on the highlight reel.

It is the dawn of a new age at the shoe. If you don't believe check out the national recruits we are attracting.

[jb]

Mike Thomas, 8 catches for 78 yards. I think we found our #2 WR. I am not buying Philly Brown as a WR, has 2 drops today and given his track record over the last 2 years.... there is no reason to believe he will ever be able to catch the ball with an y consistency.

Thomas is not going to scorch you for 40-60 per play, but at least he catches the ball effortlessly. I'll take Thomas sitting down in the weakspot in the zone and picking up 10 in traffic. I think Evan Spencer may regret being injured for the spring game, cuz Thomas' stock is rising.

We found our 1?

[jb]

The way the teams were mixed and matched, and the injuries and Simon sit out makes it somewhat hard to tell what is really out there. Here is what I think I know from Saturday.

Hyde is a plodder. No way he holds off Dunn who showed more on 1 carry that I've ever seen from Hyde.

Smith is an interesting change of pace.

Thomas is a keeper. The way he suckered Roby late was pretty special. Roby is supposed to be good but he played to me like he was Checkwariffic Saturday. Anyway, let's say it's half full and Not Phillipp Michael Thomas is the top WR by September.

I heard all the pro Miller commentary after the game, but didn't see it. This passing game looks to still be mired in a (Belli)sorry state. Ugh. Kid is still wild and make decisions like me at 2am after 3 shots of Patron on top of 5 hours of pounding beer. I hope Urbs is all that and fall is good to him. I swear he looks worse than when he was at wayne throwing the ball. I wouldn't START Guyton, but AFAIC other than that pick, he looked consistently better. It was fun when Miler re-enacted the Wisconsin TD pass though.

Sabino is still an overrated putz.

Shazier may be the reincarnation of Jack tatum at LBer.

Christian Bryant had a very nice day.

I wouldn't be that optimistic about this team yet, but all the pieces weren't on display, and some important ones at that. It will take a while and even for Meyer be a process. They need a great late summer camp to get the kinks out. The broken passing play where Miller runs is still the best O play in the book.

And as usual, Peeker doesn't get it about Urbs. There's leading indicators and lagging indicators most of the time. Wearing shorts, the circle dill, and yet keeping Carman Ohio at the end? Guy just gets it. Everything he does is so GD impressive. It is only a matter of time.

[danwismar]

Devin Smith didn't play for the Scarlet the other day, but if he had, we might have seen what went on all spring...that he and Miller have established a real connection. I think he's got the ability to be a #1. Thomas has the bloodlines...his uncle is Keyshaun Johnson...but I'm not ready to anoint him the #1 on this team. For a couple years there, Dane was the best receiver on the team, but nobody was calling him a #1, in the sense that handle is used these days. In an offense that uses 4 or 5 receivers all the time, I'm not sure how important it is to have a guy you hang that handle on.

[furls]

I don't think Thomas can stretch the field; he doesn't have to in this offense. If he had Smith's speed he would be a 5* and would probably be playing WR at USC or something (or some other WR factory). Smith has great hands and runs good routes. I think Thomas may have more receptions, but Smith will have more yards (and TDs). I feel much better about the WRs after watching that game.

This team will be a different animal with its actual defense playing. Think about it, they had 2 first rounders and probable AAs sitting on the pine for the entire game (Simon and Hankins). Roby played a very pedestrian game and was flat out taken to school by Thomas (adding to how impressive his day was).

I am still waiting for a good FS to emerge.... WIll it be Tanner?

Sabino is still a putz. Here is hoping that Jamal Marcus or David Perkins is ready day one.

[jb]

This team will be a different animal with its actual defense playing. Think about it, they had 2 first rounders and probable AAs sitting on the pine for the entire game (Simon and Hankins).

Wholly indépendant of the fact he's kick ass player, where does Johnny play on Sunday?
He's a man w/ out a position at the next level.

He'll need a transition projection to DE or 3 - 4 Lbers. maybe BB takes a flyer, but doubt it'll be round one.

[danwismar]

I think Simon's NFL position is DE. He could play at a weight anywhere from 260-285 lbs, depending on where the coaches want him to be. He's quick/fast enough, and certainly strong enough to play the end as a pro. Beef him up to 295-300 and he could play inside as a 3-technique guy. I don't see him cutting it as an OLB.

[jb]

I think Simon's NFL position is DE. He could play at a weight anywhere from 260-285 lbs, depending on where the coaches want him to be. He's quick/fast enough, and certainly strong enough to play the end as a pro. Beef him up to 295-300 and he could play inside as a 3-technique guy. I don't see him cutting it as an OLB.

I don't know that he has body mass to do that. Hopefully he is taken by a 1 gap 4-3 team and gets to play his natural position. Or a SS DE. Reminds me of Randy White, but different era.

[JCoz]

At this point I dont think his "natural position" is in the interior. I think he's a SSDE and his best opp is like you said, a one gap 4-3 end.

I think he will do just fine on Sundays and someone is going to get a nice value in the 2nd by chosing him.

[danwismar]

Reminds me of Randy White, but different era.

Great comparison.

[e0y2e3]

Point is, JB is right, Johnny Simon will never, ever, ever be a first round NFL draft pick unless people get that "Tebowy" about him.

[furls]

Yeah, stretched it calling him a 1st rounder. He will be a fairly early pick (2-4) but not first simply because he has the wrong body for his speed (or the wrong speed for his body). Not fast enough to be a 4-3 WDE, too small to really be a 4-3 SSDE and no one wants to pick a SSDE in the first anyway. You get my point though, Simon (although he will not be a first rounder in the draft) has first rounder impact on the field.

[e0y2e3]

Oh, you are right as well. Simon may be one of the two or three most impactful players in CFB this year based on what I am reading and seeing.

[jb]

Oh, you are right as well. Simon may be one of the two or three most impactful players in CFB this year based on what I am reading and seeing.

+ 1 w/ Eye.

Spot on Furls.

I just was thinking on a tangent. No dispute of your original point. Cheers.

[furls]

Nah JB, no hate here. It is a good point. It is a shame that a guy with his work ethic is "genetically limited" if you can call it that (his genes are better for football than 99.999% of us!). Hopefully he can work his way on to the field somewhere in the NFL. I think he can be a player there, the question is... can he find a team that will use him in the right spot.

[bucknutz94]

Reminds me of Randy White, but different era.

Great comparison.

Does anyone see Simon being a Mike Vrabel type player in the league?

[pod2dawg]

Point is, JB is right, Johnny Simon will never, ever, ever be a first round NFL draft pick unless people get that "Tebowy" about him.

JB ..Brilliant comparison!

John Simon set records in tCardinal Mooney weight room. That ain't easy.

His Dad coaches my son in little league football so I am familiar with the cloth from which he is cut, and listen to your friend pod2dawg and mark this down....

Johnny Simon will break records (has) in tOSU weight room. That ain't easy either.

He will be an absolute unblockable dominant force for us this year and get the recognition he deserves.

This ain't Te-bowy Ei-yo, he will go late in the first round BECAUSE of the success of a Randy White .

He does not know the meaning of quit.

He will be a DE not LB and prosper on Sundays.

[e0y2e3]

No it ain't, but I am telling you, the Scout insiders say the Urban means it when he calls him a Tebow type leader. I don't mean that as an insult (CFB wise Tebow was great).

And Simon's dad is terrifying.