Game Day

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The Transition and Start of a New Era

About a year ago, I approached a friend of mine about an idea I had.  Driven by the hatred of poorly run forums and paid sites, I wanted to create my own place for Buckeye Football chatter.  We decided to start a Facebook page.  The Buckeye Board was a no-brainer for me because I needed a place to write but wanted to do it with a controlled fan base.  There was too much negativity surrounding the program and other forums, and I wanted The Buckeye Board to be a place where attitudes were positive.

As time went on, The Buckeye Board expanded not only in the number of fans and members; but through different social media outlets.  After the Facebook page came the blog and Twitter. The exposure that The Buckeye Board was getting caught the attention of a few guys.  In this business, everybody is looking to grow; and Ohio State has more writers revolving around the program than any other school in the nation.  There were talks of a new site with multiple small-time bloggers becoming one big one, but The Buckeye Board held our ground for a few reasons.  Bret, Charles, and I do this for fun and want to keep it that way.  There is also a bond that has been built between us that keeps us all together.  We respect each other, and that has created a positive "workplace" that non of us really wanted to turn our backs on.  All of the stuff you see through Twitter, Facebook, and this blog is something we've written because we wanted to.

Over the past Summer the members of The Buckeye Board have been approached with multiple offers to leave, but we still stayed.  With our eyes set on the 2012-2013 football season we started discussing ideas of how to move forward as a team.  An updated website was the #1 thing on our list.  We didn't want to just have a blog anymore.  We wanted a website with forums so we could continue to grow and interact with Buckeye Nation.  As time went on we found out that in order to make that step a financial investment was necessary, and we weren't really interested in doing that.

Recently, we were approached by a site who has very similar goals as us. We had so much in common, and this site was already running at the level that we wanted to take ours. It's still early in the process, and we thought there wasn't a better time or opportunity to make the transition.

Part of this transition is making sure that we don't lose any fans because our whole objective is to connect Buckeye Nation, so even though our blog will now be gone, we are simply changing names of the Facebook page and our Twitter accounts. To tell you how early in the transition this is, we haven't even figured out what the Facebook page will be called; but we will be bringing you the same coverage. On Twitter, the name changes were easy; but have not kicked in yet. We're going to wait until the new site gets configured before we make the full transition, but we are definitely in the middle of making this move.

As for our new partners, the site is relatively new. It's called Buckeye Empire (buckeyeempire.com), and has a great group of individuals working for them. The addition of The Buckeye Board's staff and their new forums has us all very excited for the future. Make sure to head over to check the site out, and click the "Forum" link and register in the upper right-hand corner to join the forums so we can all chat.

We look forward to seeing you on the other side as we all start a new chapter.

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Les Horvath wore #22 at Ohio State. He won the Heisman trophy and has had his number retired. 2012 commit David Perkins was the 22nd member of the 2012 Buckeye class. Both Horvath and Perkins came from South Bend, IN....coincidence?

23 Days

Get To Know: Keita Bates-Diop

Ohio State has offered  a number of recruits in the last few weeks.  One of those recruits is 2014 University High School (IL) Forward Keita Bates-Diop.  Keita has impressed coaches from across the country this summer and it shows, picking up offers from the likes of the Buckeyes, Michigan, Illinois, DePaul, Kansas State, Purdue and more to go along with recent interest from Michigan State.  The 6'7 190lb Forward had a great  AAU season and really enjoyed "How well we did as a team and how well I did in different aspects of my game".  Keita feels his versatility is one of his strengths on the court but knows he has a few things to work on "Probably my strength and being consistently aggressive".  Last week the Junior received a phone call he might never forget "Coach Matta called me and we talked for a little while then he said they would like to offer me a scholarship to The Ohio State University" "It felt good".  It does not take a scout to know that Keita Bates-Diop will be a name we might end up hearing for quite some time.

As always feel free to follow me on Twitter @BuckeyeBoardCD

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Edd-ie!!! Edd-ie!!! Edd-ie!!!

26 Days

On October 15, 2005 the potent Ohio State offense ran into a tough Michigan State defense. The Buckeye O got off to a pretty rough start as they struggled to put points on the board. Other than one big TD pass to Santonio Holmes, the Spartan defense held Buckeyes scoreless through the half.

Ohio State trailed 17-7 with just seconds to go in the 2nd quarter when the Spartans were on the move and tried to rush their field goal unit on the field.

Amidst confusion the Spartans made a mistake that changed the entire game. As the ball was snapped, Buckeye defenders rushed from the left side of the line blocking the field goal attempt. As shown in the picture, Ashton Youboty scooped the ball up and returned it for a 72 yard touchdown as time expired. That score changed a potential 20-7 halftime deficit to 17-14, and it couldn't have come at a better time with Ohio State's offense struggling to reach paydirt up to that point.

The Buckeyes ended up winning the game scoring 5 touchdowns. Four of those five touchdowns were 46 yards or longer with the Youboty scoop-and-score being the longest.

Today marks 26 days until the Buckeye football team takes the field again. Much like Tressel, Coach Meyer has placed a huge emphasis on special teams. Meyer's teams are known for winning the special teams battle. They have been known to field solid return teams, and he has placed a huge emphasis on the kicking game right from the start of his time at Ohio State. Not only does Meyer spend a ton of time coaching kickers, but he wasn't shy to go offer a scholarship and get a verbal commitment from a big-time punter. Something many might not know about Meyer's teams is that they're one of the top kick-blocking teams in the nation, so while we hope our offense doesn't struggle like that day back in 2005, we are hoping for more exciting blocked kicks like the one from this picture.

28 Days

In 2001, Ohio State had the responsibility to do what Jim Tressel promised they would do 310 days earlier. They had to make us proud of their performance on the field. In no way did the man guarantee a win, but deep down inside he knew that was as close as he could get to saying That Team Up North was going down.

The Buckeyes got that win on the running of #28 Jonathan Wells. Wells busted the game wide open with early touchdowns, and he ended up rushing for 129 yards and 3 TD's which is why he gets 3 snapshots in day 28 picture of the Countdown To Buckeye Football.

5 years after that historic game came another historic game. In fact, this one was the most historic game in modern day football for the Buckeyes. The 2006 #1 Buckeyes vs #2 Wolverines featured many stars.

One of the guys that hadn't heightened his status that high yet was Buckeye freshman RB, Chris "Beanie" Wells. Wells donned the #28 jersey just as the other Wells had done, and in earily similar fashion, he busted the game wide open with a 52 yard touchdown in the second quarter. The 235 lb freshman was widely regarded as a power back, but this run showed otherwise. Just as athletes have evolved, so has The Game.

This game ended up accounting for the most points ever in the series as the Buckeyes beat That Team Up North 42-39, and Wells teamed up with Antonio Pittman to rush 23 times for 195 yards and two memorable touchdowns.

Wells accounted for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes 2007 14-3 victory in Ann Arbor which led the Buckeyes to their 2nd consecutive BCS National Championship appearance.

Wells then busted a 59 yard 1st quarter touchdown in the 2008 game against That Team Up North. He totaled 134 yards on 15 carries in that game.

Today marks 28 days until Buckeye Football kicks off. Camp started yesterday, and we are ready for this new era of Buckeye Football to hit the field. Coach Meyer has one goal for this season, and that is to make the great state of Ohio proud. We've heard this before, right?

Buckle up because Buckeye Football is right around the corner.

29 Days

Setting The Tone and Expectations For 2012

With the season rapidly approaching and tension somehow growing, I thought it was a good idea to take a step back and get mentally prepared for what is about to occur.

First off, as a member of Buckeye Nation I realize how hard it is to please us...thanks Tress. The first time I understood this was in 2007 when we lost to Illinois. I was 23 at the time and pouted like a little kid. I had followed the program for years but was definitely in the peak of my over-dependant fanhood. The games were everything to me, and I spent the whole week digesting what happened and what the next game means. I still am very much a fan, and probably even a little too involved, but I don't have any more crazy supersticians or an attitude issue following a loss. Looking back, I realize how pathetic I was, but I give partial blame to Jim Tressel because he spoiled the crap out of me. Even in '07 when we lost to Illinois, we still beat M:ch:gan and backed into a National Championship Game appearance, something that 99% of other schools would've been thrilled with. It's hard to be too upset with what went down that season especially considering the transition we made from the '06 season losing Smith, Ginn, Gonzalez, and Pittman; but at the end of the Illinois game, I was pissed.

That's a FUMBLE!!!

The missed fumble call that rolled out of the endzone, the illegal pick play that resulted in a TD, and the fact that we were playing the most penalized team in the B1G who somehow got away with holding call after holding call were all part of my frustrations that night. Throw in our usually stellar defense's inability to get Illinois' offense off the field, and you can see how I could be extremely disappointed.

I now understand, and hopefully all of you reading understand, that we are a tough group to please because we are knowledgeable and passionate about the game. We're not as focused on the W's and L's as much as the X's and O's...which translates to W's and L's, but that aspect of the game is never perfect; and you'd drive yourself crazy if you looked too far into it. That's the coach's job, and we should leave those frustrations to the coaches.

You get guys that are going to false start at the worst time, guys that are going to drop game-sealing passes that hit them square in the hands, and guys that are just going to make dumb decisions on and off the field. It's part of the sport at this level, and it sucks.  These guys have to learn from their mistakes, and even though they made mistakes, I still think their best interests were for this great university.  Things have happened in the past, but we have to remember that we are all on the same team.  What happens with the players and coaches on and off the field is out of our control. It is frustrating, but what can we do?  We can cheer and whine like we always do and like we will continue to do, but just remember that we are all on the same team here.

Looking at 2012, it's easy to be excited and very easy to have expectations that are shooting through the roof. We return experience on both sides of the ball and have brought in a hell of a coaching staff that will add a much better offense to a program where defense has been dominant.

The defensive unit should be much better than last year. It all starts up front as John Simon and Johnathan Hankins get another year under their belts. They have both taken advantage of this transition period by stepping up into leadership positions. The rest of the D-Line will look up to them and go as they go. I expect this unit to be the strength which allows the Buckeyes to matchup very well with rushing teams, like Wisconsin, which could funnel a lot of teams into an aerial attack.

The addition of 5* freshman DE's Noah Spence and Diesel Washington, and the possible return of Nathan Williams, are what sets this line up a notch, especially from last year when they struggled to pressure opposing QB's. I look for this new staff to find ways to get pressure because they have plenty of athletes to accomplish that feat.

The corners have to be the next best aspect of this defense. Bradley Roby, Travis Howard, and Doran Grant are expected to perform very well this year. Roby burst onto the scene last year and was pretty consistent. Howard had high expectations heading into last year and didn't quite live up to expectations. He wasn't a total letdown, but he is definitely now the #2 CB. That's clearly shown on the depth chart by having Grant listed as a co-starter to him. These guys are expected to be excellent this year. The increased pass-rush and the added off-man coverage should help their performance.

The big question for this secondary, in my mind, is the safeties. Christian Bryant and CJ Barnett have shown glimpses of excellence but also have been beaten badly in coverage. They might be the best run-stop safety tandem in the B1G, but they need to start making more plays in the passing game. Instilling fear of getting smacked when coming over the middle is a great thing, but they have to learn to cover the whole field. The good thing is that they were young last year, and practicing against Meyer's O will teach them lessons about coverage. Only sophomores last year, they have a chance to grow; and Coach Withers is surely going to help them.

Curtis Grant

The linebackers are going to have to get much better. Curtis Grant takes over at Mike, and expectations are still very high. He had his struggles a year ago, but he has the physical tools to be a playmaker right away.

Ryan Shazier had a big finish to last year and is probably the highest anticipated LB for this season. Like Grant, he's a sophomore and has the physical tools to be a great playmaker. He had issues last year with over-perusing. He was small for a LB, but you wouldn't know it by the way he hits. He has the attitude that you want in a Buckeye LB. He's added some muscle from his 5:00 am workouts with Simon and Grant, and he has had a chance to prepare for his starting role on the Silver Bullet squad, so I expect big things from him this year.

Etienne Sabino is a candidate for the award for individual most benefitting from the new strength and conditioning coach. For a junior outside LB, he didn't make many plays and looked slow. His foot speed and quickness need to improve if he's expecting to get to guys like Denard Robinson. He is being pushed by the two sophomore LB's and needs to step up into more of a leadership role this year if he doesn't want to be totally overshadowed by those two. I would expect him to have a much better year and leave Ohio State in style.

I'm not going to go too in depth on covering the offense just because I don't think we know what we're looking at quite yet. We saw a brief preview in the spring game, and where I do think that base offense is what we'll see early in the year, we missed out on quite a few elements. Braxton wasn't running the ball, Evan Spencer didn't play, Stoneburner played little, and Jordan Hall, the x-factor, wasn't playing. We all know that Braxton can run the ball, but it'll be interesting to see how often the Buckeyes use it and in what manner.

I think the passing game has to get going first. Philly Brown can stretch the field, and I would even look for him to get some handoffs this year in Hall's abscence. He'll grab attention from the defenses which will allow us to nickel and dime our way down the field. I think Stoneburner, Devin Smith, Michael Thomas, and Evan Spencer are all going to be a big part of that short and intermediate passing game. Verlon Reed and Tyrone Williams are others that may have a role in the offense, and Ricquan Southward is another freshman that could get a shot to show off.

Thomas burst onto the scene in the spring game, and he's not scared to do whatever is asked of him in this offense. He's big for a slot guy but has solid hands and speed. Many think he's going to just outright explode onto the scene this year.

We're going to see this a lot this year

I think Devin Smith is the next "Big Thing" to roll through Wide Receiver U. He's got all the tools to be a great receiver, and he is a big play waiting to happen, right Wisconsin?

This offense will be much more comfortable with each other now that they've all played together for a year. Yes, they are playing in a new offense; and I do think that will catch up with them at some point; but they have the potential to be fantastic.

The passing game will be complemented by a strong rushing game. Carlos Hyde is in better shape and has a burst to break big runs. Hyde did post the fastest 40 time of all the RB's.

Hall is the X-factor whenever he returns, and when he is full-go he'll be a force in this offense.

This team is much more mature than last year on both sides of the ball. This team has some Senior leadership but will return the core of this team next year.

There are so many things to look forward to this season with the new players, new coaches, new offense, new coverage schemes, new focus on the kicking and return game, and the same old hatred for our B1G rivals. It's really going to be a fun year, and that's for sure; but what is a realistic expectation?

The up-tempo offense should put up more points, but it also causes an increased risk of turning the ball over. The Tress in all of us cringes at that thought, but I think part of a better offense is taking those risks. We want more excitement, so get ready for it.  Remember, these players were brought up in Tressel's system, so maybe we get the best of both worlds.

I think the offensive transition will cause issues at some point this year, but when? A good bet is always big away games such as Michigan State and Wisconsin. This team is hungry and on a mission, and I really think they will finish better than 8-4. I think the UCF and Cal games could pose problems with being so early.  Much of our success could come from momentum of the previous week, so that could put us in trouble with Cal as UCF could be a frustrating game for us.  Those two B1G road games that I listed could also be trouble.  We will get to see how Coach Meyer handles Purdue as they've given us fits for years, so hopefully we don't take that week off again.  By my calculations, this is our year to win that game; so the real worry with the Boilermakers is in 2013.

More will be made clear once some snaps are taken, but I'm totally buying into the Urban Meyer hype.  We were a 6-7 team with basically a horrible offensive coordinator and tons of freshman and sophomores playing.  Six of those seven losses were by 7 points or less.  Miami was the only game that wast within reach, so this team wasn't far off from a much better season which is why I really believe Urban can make a quick turnaround.

These players on a mission, and the coaches are right there with them. They're all locked and loaded and ready to prove themselves.  Funny that we're just starting camp today!

I think a 10-2 season is definitely within the realm of possibility, but I won't be surprised if this team is looking for perfection come Nov. 24th when TSUN comes to town.

I'm really trying to be rational here, but there's just so many pieces that fit together. This season will be successful, and Ohio State will start to become more appealing to even more top recruits in the nation. I'm forecasting that the start of a dynasty is on our hands in Columbus. Make sure you're apart of this!