It’s that time of year again when Ohio State’s juniors decided if they are going to stay for one more season, or forgo their senior year to enter the NFL Draft.

Yesterday, when defensive end Vernon Gholston opted to play football on Sundays, I was not surprised. But when cornerback Malcolm Jenkins decided to stay one more year to play for the Buckeyes, I must say I am stunned.

While there are other juniors contemplating the same thing, it appears that there should be only one other junior that has a difficult decision to make, middle linebacker James Laurinaitis.

Of the six web sites I have visited offering their analysis of the 2008 NFL Draft, all three seem to be locks in the first round, if they do declare.

On Rivals.com, draft expert Frank Croyle lists his top 31 picks in the 2008 NFL Draft (note: there are only 31 first-round selections after the New England Patriots had to forfeit their pick due to SpyGate.) He has Laurinaitis going No. 7 to the aforementioned Patriots, Jenkins at No. 10 to the New Orleans Saints, and Gholston picked at No. 15 by his hometown Detroit Lions.

Croyle also states that “Jenkins looks like the No. 1 cornerback in this class.”

Croyle is also the only “expert” who has junior left tackle Alex Boone in the first round of any mock draft I have found, going to the Pittsburgh Steelers with their 24th-overall pick.

On Croyle’s web site, DraftInsiders.com, he states that “Launinaitis is an explosive player but still developing. He probably enters the draft and could be a top 10 selection with a strong workout. I love him but he is still raw in some key areas.”

At NFLDraftCountdown.com, has Gholston tabbed with the sixth pick going to the Oakland Raiders, while Laurinaitis is eighth by the Patriots, and Jenkins at No. 14 to the ‘Aints.

Scott Wright states that “Gholston isn’t merely a workout warrior because he has the production to go along with the measurables. Able to project to either defensive end in a 4-3 scheme or outside linebacker in a 3-4, Gholston would be an excellent fit in the Raiders defense.”

At FootballsFuture.com, Laurinaitis would be the seventh player selected by the Patriots, followed by Jenkins at No. 10 to the ‘Aints, and Gholston at No. 15 by the Lions.

Robert Davis points out that “after workouts, Gholston could go higher than this. He has the talent and production to be a prime pick.”

On DraftKing.com, Laurinaitis is sixth to the New York Jets, Jenkins 10th by the ‘Aints again, and Gholston the 13th-overall selection by the Carolina Panthers.

On NewNFLDraft.com, Laurinaitis is the seventh overall pick to the Patroits, Jenkins 10th to the ‘Aints, and Gholston 16th-overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals.

At NFLDraftDog.com, Gholston is listed seventh, Laurinaitis is ninth, and the only Jenkins listed is Mike, not Malcolm, a cornerback from South Florida.

One is going to have to assume that since this site does not include Malcolm Jenkins in their first round mock draft, that they have already taken him off the board, even though it says their rankings were updated on Janaury 3.

You almost have to wonder if Jenkins, a native of Piscataway, N.J., who has probably dreamt of playing pro football at the Meadowlands and kept seeing his name mentioned with the Saints, if that had any impact on his decision.

“It was a difficult decision, but he followed his heart and he followed his passion,” Gwendolyn Jenkins said of her son Friday night to Cleveland Plain Dealer sports reporter Doug Lesmerises. “I think it’s a decision he’s not going to regret. You would hate for kids to make a decision based on outside pressure and live to regret it.”

Though I can’t speak for Boone and Freeman, I will assume they will stay one more year. Wide receiver Brian Robiskie said he was staying, too.

Former Ohio State standouts Mike Doss and A.J. Hawk all stayed for their senior seasons under head coach Jim Tressel, maybe Laurinaitis could surprise us once again.

“When we played Florida, we looked slow,” Laurinaitis said in the same Plain Dealer article. “When we played LSU, we looked fast, we just made mental mistakes again and again. You look at the score and it looks like we don’t belong on the field, but we were really just a few momentum plays away.”

If Laurinaitis does return, and he has until Tuesday to make his decision, I will be looking forward to a much nicer vacation destination, next January.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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Ohio State (12-3, 3-0) looks to win their fourth consecutive Big Ten contest this season, and their 20th conference win in a row overall as the Buckeyes travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, to take on the Purdue Boilermakers (10-5, 1-1), Saturday afternoon. Tip-off at Mackey Arena is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network with Tom Hamilton and Tom McCormick.

The defending regular season and tournament champion Buckeyes have not lost in Big Ten play since suffering a 72-69 setback against Wisconsin on Jan. 9, 2007, in Madison.

Much like Ohio State, Purdue head coach Matt Painter has to rely on several freshman after some key losses.

Gone from last year’s team that went 22-12 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament were the Boilermakers top two scorers, forward Carl Landry and guard David Teague, due to graduation.

But Painter also lost junior shooting guard Chris Lutz, who transferred to Marshall, and junior forward Gordon Watt, who was kicked off the team just weeks before Purdue’s season-opener when he was arrested for the second time in three years for an alcohol-related offense.

On top of that, Purdue has been hit with the injury and flu bug.

Three Boilermakers average slightly more than 10 points per game, and two of which are freshman.

Leading Purdue in scoring by just a fraction is 6-foot-8 freshman swingman Scott Martin (10.5 ppg), but he rolled his left ankle with 10:42 remaining in the first half against Michigan State, Tuesday night.

The Boilermakers top rebounder and third best scorer, 6-foot-8 freshman forward Robbie Hummel (10.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg), missed the MSU game because of the flu.

Though not sure if Hummel will be in the starting lineup against the Buckeyes on Saturday, senior point guard Tarrance Crump is still bothered by a sprained left he suffered, last week. Crump, who is averaging 6.1 points per contest has not scored in the Boilermakers last two games.

Second on the team in scoring is 6-foot-4 sophomore guard Keaton Grant, who is averaging 10.4 points per game. He’s also the Boilermakers best three-point shooter, knocking down 45.6 percent (57-for-135) of his shots from beyond the arc.

Painter’s usual starting five includes 6-foot-3 freshman guard E’Twaun Moore (9.7 ppg), 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Chris Kramer (8.0 ppg), 6-foot-10 center JaJuan Johnson (7.0 ppg), along with Hummel and Grant.

Off the bench there’s 6-foot-4 junior guard Marcus Green (3.7 ppg), 6-foot-9 junior forward Nemanja Calasan (7.4 ppg), plus martin and Crump.

Purdue is coming off a tough loss to Michigan State, as the Boilermakers rallied from a 25-9 deficit with 8:28 remaining in the first half, seizing a 50-45 lead with 14:07 left to play against the Spartans.

Purdue led 72-69 with 3:11 to go before Michigan State scored nine of the game’s last 12 points to win 78-75.

The Boilermakers had a chance to tie the game with six seconds left, but Grant misfired on a three-pointer.

Kramer tied his career high with 19 points, and Calasan, a junior college transfer, scored a career-best 18.

Other than Michigan State, the only other ranked team Purdue has faced was when the Boielrmakers took on then-No. 20 Louisville, defeating the Cardinals 67-59 in W. Lafayette, Dec. 15.

The Boilermakers lost three times to Ohio State last season, including once in the Big Ten tournament.

Tags: Men's Basketball by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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In arguably the most dominating performance of the season, the Ohio State Buckeyes have now done something that the previous two Big Ten champion teams did not do. And that’s go 3-0 to start the conference slate.

In fact, the last time OSU won four of more games to begin league play was in 1991, when the Buckeyes won seven consecutive contests that featured a starting five which included Mark Baker, Jamaal Brown, Jimmy Jackson, Treg Lee, and Perry Carter.

But you have to put it into perspective. This year’s squad has not faced a team in the upper echelon of the Big Ten yet, as Iowa, Northwestern, and Illinois are a combined 0-8 in conference play so far this season.

Be that as it may, this should give this young Buckeye team some confidence heading into what looks like to be the toughest three-game stretch of the schedule, all on the road. Beginning Saturday, OSU will run the gauntlet in a week’s time, playing at Purdue, at sixth-ranked Michigan State, and at eighth-ranked Tennessee.

Against Iowa, the Hawkeyes trailed just 18-14 with 10:54 left in the first half after Tony Freeman’s three-pointer.

But Ohio State scored 15 unanswered points by attacking the basket, not settling on deep jumpers, with five field goals coming from the paint on short J’s, lay-ups, and dunks.

In the final 10:54 of the first half, the Buckeyes outscored the Hawkeyes 27-3 to take a 45-17 lead into the locker room.

David Lightly scored all 14 of his points in the first half, and Othello Hunter knocked down 12 of his 14 points in the first 20 minutes.

Ohio State called off the dogs at the first media timeout with 15:39 left to play when Matta substituted his entire starting five as the Buckeyes held a commanding 56-21 advantage.

The final 16 minutes belonged to reserve Eric Wallace, a 6-foot-5 freshman swingman, who scored 10 points and pulled down eight rebounds, and 6-foot-1 sophomore point guard P.J. Hill, who chipped in seven points and dished out three asssists to just one turnover.

Iowa was led by Freeman, who scored 21 points.

The Buckeyes finished the game going 33-for-63 (52.4%) from the field, but were just 6-of-20 (30.0%) from beyond the arc.

Against Ohio State’s accordion-style, 3-2 zone defense, Iowa shot just 33.9 percent (19-for-56) from the floor, and hoisted up the rock 33 times from three-point range, making just six (18.2%).

Biggest stat of the game? Points off turnovers – IOWA 3,OSU 24.

Iowa committed 15 turnovers, while Ohio State had just six.

The Buckeyes also outrebounded the Hawkeyes 36-33.

Up next, Ohio State travels to W. Lafayette to take on the Purdue Boilermakers. Tip-off at Mackey Arena is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Tags: Men's Basketball by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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Two good friends will reunite this evening as Thad Matta’s Ohio State Buckeyes (11-3, 2-0) take on Todd Lickliter’s Iowa Hawkeyes (7-8, 0-2) at Value City Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised by the Big Ten Network.

Lickliter was an assistant during the one season Matta was head coach at Butler. After Matta took over for Skip Prosser at Xavier, Lickliter assumed the head coaching position at Butler.

Matta played at Butler when Lickliter was an assistant under former Bulldog coach Joe Sexson. Both Matta and Lickliter would eventually become assistant coaches under Barry Collier at Butler.

Lickliter, who spent six seasons as the head coach at Butler, posted a 131-61 (.682) record, and led the Bulldogs to four post-season tournament berths, including trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2003 and 2007.

Lickliter replaced former Iowa head coach Steve Alford, who resigned to coach at New Mexico.

The Hawkeyes will be without the services of freshman forward Jarryd Cole, who is sidelined for the remainder of the schedule after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while dunking during Iowa’s win over Southeastern Louisiana, Dec. 29.

Cole, who was one of three freshmen in the starting lineup, was averaging 6.6 points and 4.8 rebounds a game.

“We don’t have any choice but to go on but we’re going to miss Jarryd a lot,” Iowa coach Todd Lickliter said. “I thought he was making progress. He’s got a presence about him that’s very positive.

With Cole out, junior forward Cyrus Tate moves into the starting lineup. He is averaging 4.8 points and 3.1 rebounds.

“Cy and Jarryd are pretty similar in what they can do,” Lickliter said. “Both are capable of being physical. What Jarryd’s injury does is give you one less guy. Your rotations are shortened and people are playing extended minutes.”

Iowa’s leading scorer is 6-foot-6 senior guard Justin Johnson, who is averaging 15.5 points per game.

Second on the Hawkeyes in scoring is 6-foot-1 senior point guard Tony Freeman, who had missed 10 of Iowa’s first 11 games of the season with a fractured left foot. He is averaging 11.4 points per outing.

Rounding out the starting five is 7-foot senior center Seth Gorney (3.1 pgg), and 6-foot-6 freshman guard Jake Kelly (6.7 ppg).

Off the bench, 6-foot-10 senior forward Kurt Looby leads the Hawkeyes in rebounding (6.5 rpg).

Iowa has only played two ranked opponents and both were Big Ten foes as the Hawkeyes dropped a 79-76 to Indiana in Iowa City, and lost to Wisconsin, 64-51, in Madison.

Tags: Men's Basketball by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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Back in August, I predicted that Ohio State would end up 10-2 on the season with a good chance of being invited to a BCS bowl game. Most experts felt that OSU was a year away from contending for a national championship, and that 2007 was going to be be a rebuilding year.

My prediction was pretty bold considering the fact that the Buckeyes lost a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Troy Smith, and his two favorite targets that were both picked in the first round of the NFL Draft, Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez.

I figured that with an inexperienced quarterback going into hostile environments like Michigan and Penn State, should prove to be too much for a young signal-caller and I chalked up those as losses.

Granted, the schedule was fairly light, but who knew nearly a decade ago when the agreement between the two schools was reached that Washington would be as bad as they are now.

For the 2008 and ’09 seasons, Ohio State will take on the Southern California Trojans.

In Ohio State’s season-opener against Youngstown State, quarterback Todd Boeckman played well in his first start, completing 17-of-23 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes to a 38-6 win.

A week later against Akron, Ohio State led just 3-2 at halftime before the Buckeyes ended up winning 20-2, thanks to two touchdown passes from Boeckman, one to Brandon Saine, and another to Brian Robiskie in the second half.

In Ohio State’s first road game of the season, the Buckeyes amassed 481 yards of total offense to defeat Washington, 33-14, in Seattle.

Back in Columbus for the Big Ten opener a week later, Ohio State routed Northwestern 58-7 as Boeckman threw four touchdown passes, three to Robiskie.

The Buckeyes spent the next two weeks on the road, taking care of Minnesota, 30-7, as Beanie” Wells rushed for 116 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns against the Golden Gophers.

Against Purdue in West Lafayette, Boeckman threw two touchdown passes to lead the Buckeyes past the Boilermakers, 23-7.

A Mid-American conference opponent was sandwiched in between Big Ten foes as the Golden Flashes from Kent State were handed a 48-3 defeat at Ohio Stadium.

Michigan State ventured down to Columbus a week later with the Buckeyes jumping out to a 24-0 lead, but the Spartans scored 17 unanswered points, one on a interception return and another on a fumble return for touchdowns as Ohio State held on for a 24-17 victory.

Then the Buckeyes traveled to Happy Valley to take on the Nittany Lions. Chris Wells ran for 133 yards while quarterback Todd Boeckman threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns as Ohio State handily defeated Penn State 37-17.

A week later at Ohio Stadium, Beanie Wells rushed for 128 of his 169 yards in the second half with three touchdowns to lead Ohio State to a 38-17 win over the Wisconsin.

The Buckeyes breezed through the first 10 games of the 2007 slate, but found the 11the game against Ron Zook’s Fighting Illini, led by quarterback Juice Williams and the spread attack, too much to handle. The Illini stunned the sellout crowd at Ohio Stadium with a 28-21 upset victory.

Against Michigan in the Big House, Beanie Wells rushed for 222 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes to an outright Big Ten title as Ohio State defeated Michigan 14-3.

That’s leads us to the BCS National Championship Game.

Ohio State jumped out to a 10-0 lead against LSU after a 62-yard run by Beanie Wells and a 25-yard field goal by Ryan Pretorius.

But it was the highlty-touted Buckeye defense that sprung leaks like the Titanic did after hitting an iceberg.

The Tigers scored three touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 24-10 lead into halftime.

The momentum swung mightily in LSU’s favored when it appeared that Robiskie had hauled in a a 21-yard touchdown pass from Boeckman, but he bobbled the ball and it was eventually knocked away on a third-and-3 play. Ohio state then tried a 38-yard field goal, which was blocked.

The rest of the game belonged to LSU.

Several things led to the demise of the Buckeyes, most notably was the fact that the defense couldn’t stop a fat lady from an all-you-can-eat buffet. Yes, the turnovers and the penalties stung, too, but you’re not going to win too many games giving up 38 points.

That leads us to next year.

Who stays, and who goes? I am going to assume that junior linebacker James Laurinaitis, junior defensive end Vernon Gholston, and junior cornerback Malcolm Jenkins all leave for the NFL.

Everyone else on defense will return except senior linebacker Larry Grant.

On offense, the only starter gone will be senior right tackle Kirk Barton.

Beanie Wells will emerge as one of the best running backs, if not the best, in the country. The entire receiving corps return, too.

The question is, while Boeckman may be good enough to led Ohio State to a Big Ten title, is he good enough to led them to a national title next year?

I think backup quarterback Antonio Henton will definitely get a shot, and maybe even Ohio State implements a two-quarterback system next season.

Only time will tell.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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It has been exactly 50 days since Ohio State ventured into “The Big House” to take on annual rival Michigan on a cold, misty November day in Ann Arbor, with the Buckeyes prevailing 14-3.

Now it’s roughly about 36 hours until kickoff as Ohio State makes its second-straight appearance in the BCS National Championship Game, and taking on yet another foe from the Southeastern Conference, this time the LSU Tigers.

The Buckeyes have been through this before, though I am sure they are hoping for a much better outcome.

As a fan, the time between playing Michigan in the regular season finale and the BCS title game was not as excruciatingly painful as it was last year. And it’s a safe bet that the Buckeye players are chomping at the bit, too.

Currently, Ohio State is a 3 1/2-point underdog. I like being the underdog. Serves as great motivation, which I think was lacking last year at this time. Of course, there’s a certain DVD that Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel handed out before Christmas that will also serve as a great motivational tool, as well.

I know most of the “talking meat puppets” from the national media, most prominently at ESPN, aren’t giving the Buckeyes much a chance against the Tigers. But here are some key factors:

Below is a list comparing the Buckeyes and Tigers in the major statistical categories. I really don’t much other than the fact that both teams seem evenly matched. LSU has a slightly better offense, while Ohio State has a slightly better defense. And as they say, defense wins championships:

Can’t forget the speed chart…

My prediction: OSU 26, LSU 17
I guess Ohio State kicker Ryan Pretorius is one of the many that comes up big.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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