A total of eight now-former Ohio State players were selected in the two-day, seven-round spectacle known as the 2007 NFL Draft. And three Buckeyes were picked by the world champion Indianapolis Colts.

On the first day, the Miami Dolphins surprising chose wide receiver/returner Ted Ginn Jr. with the ninth overall pick, bypassing Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, even though Daunte Culpepper has been injury-plagued during his two seasons in south Florida.

While you can’t teach speed, Ginn’s selection so high in the first round is a bit puzzling. While I think he will eventually be a very good No. 2 receiver in the NFL, I don’t think that merits where the Dolphins picked him in the draft.

Ginn had 59 receptions for 781 yards and nine touchdowns last year, and added one kickoff return and one punt return for touchdown.

In three seasons for the Buckeyes, Ginn had six punt return touchdowns and two by kickoff.

With the final pick of the the first round, the Colts selected Ginn’s partner in crime, wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, who hauled in 51 passes for 734 yards and eight touchdowns during Ohio State’s 2006 campaign.

Gonzalez is penciled in to take over the No. 3 slot receiver position that was once occupied by Brandon Stokley.

In the third round with the 98th overall pick, the Colts selected defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock, who had 38 total tackles with eight sacks for the Buckeyes in 2006.

On the second day, the first former Buckeye to hear his name called was running back Antonio Pittman, who was taken by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round with the 107th overall pick.

Clearly, Pittman would of benefited by staying in college for his senior year, and with Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush occupying the top two slots on the Saints’ depth chart, playing time for Pittman will be very limited during his rookie season, though his selection might foreshadow the departure of McAllister after the 2007 season.

Three former Buckeyes were drafted in the fifth round, as Oakland took defensive end Jay Richardson with the 138th overall pick, Indianapolis selected another Ohio State wide receiver using their 169th choice to nab Roy Hall, and finally Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Troy Smith was chosen by the Baltimore Ravens with the 174th overall pick.

Richardson was an excellent late-round gamble, who is best suited for the strong-side end position in a 4-3 defense.

Hall, who only had 13 receptions for 147 yards on two touchdowns during his senior year for the Buckeyes, stands 6-foot-2 and weight 229 pounds, has a NFL-type body and ran sub-4.4 times in the 40 during the NFL Combine.

Smith, who will likely be the third-string quarterback for the Ravens during the upcoming season, will have the perfect mentor in 34-year old Steve McNair as the starter in Baltimore.

McNair, who may have a season or two left in the tank, and Kyle Boller in the final year of his contract, Smith might have the opportunity down the road to compete for the starting job with the Ravens.

Smith was 199 of 297 for 2,507 yards with 30 touchdown passes and only five interceptions while completing 67 percent of his throws last season for Ohio State.

What may have hurt Smith’s chances of being drafted higher might have been due to the fact that he didn’t workout at the NFL Combine.

The last Buckeye selected in the draft was center Doug Datish, who went in the sixth round (198th overall) by the Atlanta Falcons.

Several other Buckeyes are awaiting to be signed as free agents following the draft, including defensive tackle David Patterson, and tight end/fullback Stan White Jr.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker
No Comments »

In all of the mock NBA drafts around the Internet, Cook’s name is not one of the 60 listed to be picked in the two round selection process.

Now Butler is going to throw his name into the NBA hat?

“By entering the draft and not signing with an agent, Butler would reserve the option of returning to Ohio State for his senior season while making himself eligible for the NBA pre-draft evaluation camp May 29 through June 4 in Orlando, Fla.” according to the article by Baptist.

Only three now-former Buckeyes are expected to be drafted in June. Oden, Conley, and Ron Lewis are consensus picks in every mock draft I have seen.

I have always understood that signing a contract for millions of dollars and playing a sport professionally is everyone’s dream, sometimes you have to be a little more realistic.

At this time, I will assume that Butler will be back for his senior season, and I would also hope that Cook wakes up before it’s too late. Both could use one more year on the college level to develop their game.

If Butler stays in Columbus for the 2007-08 season, he will be the only returning starter for the Buckeyes. And with Butler the only one really capable of playing point guard on the roster, he should see nearly 40 minutes of playing time.

With point guard Anthony “Noopy” Crater on Matta’s list of commitments for 2008, it’s highly unlikely that he would dive into the JUCO ranks for a point guard, meaning there won’t be much depth at that position next season.

Matta has hinted that David Lighty or incoming freshman Evan Turner could play point guard as either a starter or backup.

Tags: Men's Basketball by Matt Barker
No Comments »

Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel and his coaching staff added two more commitments to the growing list for the class of 2008, as the Buckeyes hauled in one of the nation’s top offensive tackle prospects, Tuesday afternoon.

J.B. Shugarts of Klein (Texas) High School held a press conference to announce that he will attend Ohio State. He also said he plans to graduate high school in January in order to enroll at OSU early enough to participate in next year’s spring practice session.

Shugarts, a 6-foot-7 1/2, 285-pound tackle, narrowed his choices from Florida, Oklahoma, LSU, Texas A&M, and Ohio State. He was in Columbus last weekend to watch the spring game.

“One school stood out above the rest and is the right fit for me,” Shugarts said at his press conference. “I am honored and proud to pledge my commitment to coach Jim Tressel and the Ohio State University.”

Shugarts is the third top-rated offensive lineman declaring his intentions to play for Ohio State from the class of 2008, joining 6-foot-5, 300-pound center Michael Brewster from Orlando’s Edgewater High School in Florida, who announced his decision over the weekend.

Dublin Coffman’s 6-foot-7 1/2, 300-pound tackle Mike Adams made his decision known last month.

Also announcing his decision on Tuesday to play for the Buckeyes in 2008 was 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end/linebacker Nathan Williams from Miami Trace High School in Washington Court House, Ohio.

Rounding out the current list of commitments for Ohio State from the class of 2008 are: wide receiver/tight end Jacob Stoneburner (6-5, 220) from Dublin Coffman, running back Devoe Torrence (6-2, 215) from Canton South, wide receiver DeVier Posey (6-3, 190) from Cincinnati LaSalle, and punter Ben Buchanan (6-0, 185) from Westerville Central.

Coach Tressel had stated earlier that the class of 2008 would likely have 15 incoming freshmen (just like the class of 2007 did) with eight in the fold already. Still waiting to hear from quarterback Terrelle Pryor from Jeanette, Pa.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker
No Comments »

Just over 75,000 fans ventured into Ohio Stadium for the last game that will feature a natural grass playing surface, and to soak up the abundant sunshine while watching some stellar defensive plays.

But if you were one of the many who was hoping to see one of the three quarterbacks step up to become the front-runner for the starting job, you probably left disappointed.

The Gray team defeated the Scarlet squad, 17-9, in a game that featured two defensive touchdowns to just one scored by an offensive unit.

Both teams combined for a mere 389 yards of total offense in 99 plays from scrimmage, though there were three, 12-minute quarters, and the fourth quarter began with 10 minutes on the game clock.

The three quarterbacks, junior Todd Boeckman, sophomore Ron Schoenhoft, and redshirt freshman Antonio Henton were in a word, unspectacular.

The Scarlet squad drew first blood when linebacker Marcus Freeman picked off a Henton pass and raced 49 yards for a touchdown.

Ryan Pretorius’ PAT was blocked by redshirt freshman defensive tackle Dexter Larimore and the score was 6-0 in favor of the Scarlet with 8:44 left in the first quarter.

The only other scoring in the first half came when Pretorius drilled a 37-yard field goal with 11:44 remaining until intermission that put the Scarlet squad ahead 9-0.

Arguably the best sustained drive of the afternoon netted zero points.

After taking over on downs at the 18-yard line, the Gray team drove 78 yards in 12 plays, thanks in part from the help of punter A.J. Trapasso.

Faced with a fourth-and-11 at the Gray 39 yard line, Trapasso rushed around the left end on a fake punt for a gain of 16 yards and a first down.

On the very next play, Schoenhoft connected with junior wide receiver Devon Lyons down the middle for a gain of 39 yards that put the ball on the Scarlet 6.

After two running plays by tailback Maurice Wells netted two yards, Schoenhoft threw two incompletions as the Gray team turned the ball back over to the Scarlet squad on downs.

The Gray team got the ball right back five plays later when junior defensive end Alex Barrow intercepted a Henton pass at the Scarlet 23 yard line.

Unable to move the ball in three tries, the Gray team settled for a 40-yard field goal by Aaron Pettrey that trimmed Scarlet’s lead down to 9-3 with 9:47 left in the game.

The only offensive touchdown was scored by the Gray team following a short punt by John Thoma that put the ball at midfield.

In eight plays, Schoenhoft was 3-of-4 passing for 32 yards, including a six-yard strike to tight end Brandon Smith for a touchdown.

Pettrey’s successful PAT try put the Gray team ahead 10-9 with 5:24 remaining.

The Scarlet squad, led by Boeckman, began their next drive on their own 20 yard line, and advanced the ball into position for a possible game-winning field goal.

On a second-and-6 at the Gray 13 yard line, linebacker Larry Grant came around the right side and hit Boeckman hard, forcing and recoving a fumble before racing 80 yards for a touchdown with 30 seconds left to play.

In the battle of the quarterbacks, Boeckman completed 6-of-14 passes for 103 yards for the Scarlet squad, but was sacked twice and lost a fumble.

Playing for both teams, Schoenhoft was a combined 7-of-15 for 83 yards with a lost fumble, while Henton was 8-for-16 for 45 yards, but threw three interceptions.

Junior tailback Maurice Wells led the Gray team in rushing with 48 yards in 14 attempts. The Scarlet squad was led by sophomore Joe Gantz, who had 10 rushes for 36 yards.

Sophomore running back Chris “Beanie” Wells did not play due to a sprain ankle, but figures to be “The Man” on offense this fall.

The top receiver on the day was Lyons, who hauled in three passes for 72 yards.

For this game, the Buckeyes wore “VT” stickers on the left side of their helmets. There was also a moment of silence before the game for the 32 victims of Monday’s massacre at Virginia Tech.

On Sunday, the natural grass will be rolled up in preparation for the new artificial FieldTurf surface that should be in place at Ohio Stadium by June.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker
No Comments »

According to a published report in today’s edition of the Indianapolis Star, three-fifths of Ohio State’s “Thad Five” are going to enter the 2007 NBA draft.

Greg Oden Sr. told Star reporter Jeff Rabjohns that the heralded trio of his son Greg Jr., Mike Conley Jr., and Daequan Cook will meet this weekend in Indianapolis.

On the web site, draftexpress.com, their 2007 NBA mock draft has three Buckeyes listed going in the two round selection process, but one of them is not Cook.

Oden is their No. 1 pick, while Conley is slotted as the top point guard in the draft and the 10th-best player available.

Also, draftexpress.com has shooting guard Ron Lewis as a mid-second round selection, but Cook’s name is not listed in the mock draft.

It’s a little surprising that Conley would not only leave, but selected as high in the draft, even before point guards like Texas A&M’s Acie Law IV and Florida’s Taurean Green.

But Oden’s departure, I believe, was a foregone conclusion.

“Why not, as long as he finishes school in the offseason? He’s the kind of kid that, even though he’ll have a lot of money, he needs to do more than just basketball. They had an exciting season, but why take the chance on him getting hurt?” Oden Sr. told the Star.

Conley Jr. and Cook can still return to school if they don’t sign with an agent, though all three will be represented by Conley Sr.

While Oden Sr. was eager to talk to the media, his mother, Zoe, stated that “Greg told me he wasn’t ready to talk about it just yet.”

One intriguging scenario for Cook is that if he would enter the NBA draft and not be selected, he would thus become a free agent meaning that any team could sign him, even during the season next year, if he returns for his sophomore year to play for the Buckeyes.

Kentucky center Randolph Morris declared himself eligible for the 2005 NBA draft after his freshman season, but he did not sign with an agent. After going undrafted, he returned for his sophomore and junior seasons under Tubby Smith.

Morris, though, sat out the first 14 games of his sophomore season because of an NCAA penalty related to contact with an agent.

Morris signed a two-year deal with the New York Knicks just five days after the Wildcats lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament last March.

If Conley leaves, that means the only one capable of playing point guard will be senior-to-be Jamar Butler.

The most troubling quote in the article was from Oden’s former coach Jimmy Smith:

“He’s averaging like nine shots a game, and he’s shooting 60 percent or better. It’s frustrating for him. They want him to play all this defense, then they want to go down and shoot the three. By talking to him, I know it’s frustrating to him that he doesn’t get the ball as much as he should.”

- It’s a little hard to shoot the ball when you are sitting on the bench due to foul trouble. - Matt

Tags: Men's Basketball by Matt Barker
No Comments »