With only a few position groups (defensive backs and linebackers, namely) still to perform at the NFL combine, data is flowing in on the the four Buckeyes that have already worked out and so far, it's a mixed bag.
Beanie totes the rock in Indy (NFL.com photo)Robiskie has done the most to help his stock, turning in top 10 performances in the vertical jump, 3-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle. He's earned praise for his precision routes and fundamentals and the 4.49 he popped on his second 40 attempt likely earned him some additional jack.
Beanie, for his part, matched Moreno in the bench press (25 reps), slightly edged him in the 40 (4.59 -- though to be fair, Moreno did quite well on the agility drills) and topped all running backs in the broad jump. So, that explains this. And this.
Still, durability is on the minds of many GMs when it comes to Wells. Take this from his analysis at NFL.com:
Negatives: Primary concern -- and the only one that will keep him from being a top 10 pick -- is Wells' struggles with durability. Fought nagging injuries throughout much of his career at Ohio State and some have questioned whether he knows the difference between pain and injury. Sat out three full games and parts of several others (including the 2009 Fiesta Bowl -- his final game in a Buckeye uniform) with foot, hamstring and head (concussion) injuries.
Ouch.
It hurts so much to read that because it's true. I cringed a bit when Chris pointed this out after the Illinois game because it was the giant elephant in the room when discussing this team for the past few seasons. When he was healthy and chugging, there was nobody like him. Unfortunately, we only got to see that about 70% of the time. It does kind of make you wonder about things like whether or not you'd rather have a guy like Pittman, who was nowhere near as talented (though still a great player in his own right), but was on the field every Saturday or a back like Beanie who gave you devastating-awesomeness when he wasn't hobbling to the sideline. I love the guy -- his name will go to my first-born -- but what are the odds he plays a 16-game season anytime soon?
Getting back to the Combine, Boone seemed to get through the interview process by doing what he had to: manning-up and being candid. He finished fourth at the bench (33 reps) amongst linemen, which will certainly help, but as you would imagine, didn't register on any of the speed or agility drills. His negatives:
Negatives: May need to play right tackle in the pros, as he is more of a mauler than an athlete. ... Lumbers in space, and does not play through the whistle. ... Needs more consistency using his punch to keep pass rushers off balance. ... Does not move his feet or hands quickly enough to handle explosive speed on the edge. ... Also loses his balance when sustaining because he leans too far forward and his hands are not inside the body. ... Plays too upright in pass protection. ... Lacks great flexibility to adjust to oncoming blitzers.
Finally, Hartline did extremely well in the agility drills, including the top time amongst receivers in the 60-yard shuttle, which leads me to believe there's a chance he gets drafted after all. Though we've been brutal on him for talking a big game and failing to produce, it had to have been tough breaking in a new (running first) quarterback and we wish him the best.
There. I've said something nice about Brian Hartline. Can you?
Comments
no....... nothing nice comes to mind. Thanks for being a Buckeye Brian and your greatest play was taking 3 guys out in one tackle for Gonzo 3 years ago!!!!!!
I think everybody who's ever been to this site could have written that piece about Boone.
True. Sadly, how many other of this past year's O-linemen did that negatives list describe well?
Re: Boone
With all those negatives/concerns, what exactly are the positives?
Positives: He is big.
Over the past couple of years we've called for Bollman's head because of our consistently bad offensive line play. I'm beginning to see that he's only half at fault. (I still want to see a new O-line coach.) You can only go so far with mediocre talent. We haven't had a starting lineman in the NFL since Mangold (correct?).
that being said, If next years line, with Shugarts, Cordle, Brewster, Mewhort, Adams don't look better than last years line already - Bollman has to go before he ruins what appears to be the biggest influx of o-line talent in his tenure. That's also my prediction for the starting line this year, until midseason when Marcus Hall beats out Cordle.
Boone seems like a guy who plays football because he is big and strong, and it is an opportunity to get recognition/money. He clearly does not have a burning passion for the game itself. He is one of those guys that as a fan, you ask yourself " why do I care so much? " when you see a player that will be less upset then you will be if the Bucks lose the game.
Let's hope Beanie can prove the naysayers wrong and have a productive NFL career.
Off topic:
Kevin Harlan just said Ohio State is now a bubble team. He said, there is something that is just not there with that team, I can't put my finger on it....
I'm surprised Beanie only managed a 4.5 - I've seen him torch enough secondaries that I would have expected it to be faster.
Isn't that the problem with that whole monkey show in Indianapolis? Who cares what someone did on the football field- wearing full pads and carrying the ball- when you can get some parking cones and some stopwatches in a climate controlled environment?
Dont really have anything nice to say to Hartline, except congrats on getting engaged maybe. LOL
Beanie may well do himself a favor by falling to the 15-25th pick. Who wants to play for the bengals? really? if he goes to the eagles or a team in the NFC East that pounds the ball, he can expect a great career I think.
I'm interested to hear the take on Laurinaitus. As a steeler fan, i'd love to see an opportunistic linebacker like him in lebeau's defense.
And he can drink 40 beers which is an impressive stat but doesn't translate as well onto the field.
Maybe you are right Josh, but certainly part of that is a coaching issue. Hell look at Boone's rightup in this article. A five star blue chipper coming out of St Ed's and my guess is he hasn't improved a lot at OSU. Maybe his fault but part of that comes down to coaching and teaching.
brian hartline is most likely a good dude who never quite fit in ohio states offense. nothing wrong with that. good luck in the NFL, and thanks for busting your ass while you were a buckeye.
It does in some NFL circles
Brian Hartline is an entitled, self serving, crybaby, quitter. I hope whoever is dumb enough to draft him signs Michael Vick as their QB and he doesnt get enough balls thrown his way AGAIN!!!
If you've got game and you leave early to get the cheddar, then more power to ya, do your thing playa.
If you quit the team because you dont like who the QB is, and the team really needs you the next year, and chances are you're not gettin drafted, then youze a biiotch.
yeah i'm not going to heap praise on hartline just because he has raised his draft stock. he had a ridiculous number of drops this year, was a problem in the lockerroom because his buddy got benched, and did nothing to emerge as a leader despite intimating he was going to be one.
the dude had a lot of promise, but i think he got a big head and lost the hunger he needed to be a good player
You are a pathetic person.
Coaching.
I would rather see them take Hayward-Bey
That Bollman has not already been fired spells doom for this offensive line regardless of when/if he's let go next year. He's already got his tentacles on them; I imagine come the fall they'll be the roly-poly softies we saw for all of September and most of October last year.
Your probable starting line is Adams, Boren, Brewster, Cordle and Browning. That's three five star prospects, one of which was Michigan's best offensive lineman outside of Jake Long two years ago, and two grossly inconsistent veterans. The prognosis is not good, and I don't see it improving until Bollman is outty
FIRE MATTA HIRE KYRZEWHIRERMEOAG KRYSEKEIAOVGIOMEAIOVMEASKI AWAY FROM DUKE HURR
He's actually a pretty powerful run blocker, it's pass pro that is his problem (as is the case with the rest of his line).
Iball is an overweight Jewish kid from surburban Cleveland. Prove me wrong.
He is not available. But his mentor is.
So let me get this straight.
You are advocating the firing of a coach who took us to the championship game two years ago.
Check one in the "fucktard" column.
You then advocate replacing him with Mike Kyzeimwovaiowvmeoaski's mentor, one Bob Knight, currently receiving overtures from Jawja, a real basketball powerhouse.
He is 68 years old.
This might be one of the stupidest things I've ever read.
Hey, instead of hiring Bill Belichick, let's hire Bill Parcells! BRILLIANT!
We are all now less intelligent for reading iball's post.
Hartline did some good things for us while he was here, we should all wish him the best in his future.
People seem to be forgetting that Hartline was a redshirt Junior. He fullfilled his 4 years. He is not leaving early, he is leaving on time. Who are we to tell him he should stay a fifth year. He has already received his degree.
Pogue, you really going to call that browning holds onto his starting position? I could see boren over mewhort, but not Browning over Shugarts, barring any nagging shoulder issues.
Regardless of when he left, Hartline was a baby. I expect more leadership from a 4th year guy instead of his backdoor whining about Boeckman getting benched while dropping balls in between. Can't believe some of you are sticking up for him. I don't wish Hartline ill-will at the next level (not that I think he'll stick with a team anyway) but I agree with what iball is trying to say.
Tressel.
Upperclassmen.
Remember who we're talking about. Pryor over Boeckman was the exception, not the rule.
I think Browning will start. I haven't given up on him yet.
Moving in a different direction from Hartline bashing/defending. How is Brian Hoyer the top Senior QB at the combine? He is a bum that barely went .500 in the big ten. I personally would rather have Boekman sitting on my bench in the nfl instead of Hoyer. I've read multiple posts saying he moved into the middle rounds, like 5 or 6. Can someone explain how please? Oh and us small words.
I guess sometimes my humor goes unnoticed so I will spell it out.
I never said to fire him, just said his coaching is lacking when compared to others in the Big10. Just because they went to the Final Four doesn't mean he is a great coacy-----see Jim O'Brien.
I don't get this at all either. Every time I hear someone talking up Hoyer I think back to his games against OSU, the Bowl Game he single handedly lost to BC, this year's bowl game and so on. The guy is mediocre on his best day
Laurinaitis ran a 4.8 and 4.81. Freeman ran 4.67 and 4.7 (8th best among LB's)
Maualuga ran 4.83.
Freeman also tied Maiava and Cushing for most bench reps for LB's at 30.
Don't need to bring religion into this
Damn, where are you getting those numbers? NFL.com sucks and only posts top performers.
Wow, the slow plodding Ohio State linebackers are actually a tad bit faster than USC's unstoppable, pink thong wearing Maualuga. I don't believe it, it must have been an OSU alum clocking the 40's. Amazing how an event like the combine can show that maybe there isn't such a lack of speed in every conference other than the SEC or the campus of USC.
Freeman is looking beastly. Too bad he was saddled with an injury all year. Without that, it's looking like he would have overtook JLau as the premier LB this season. What might have been.
And Cushing is a converted DE so not really fair comparison.
I know I am kind of late on the conversation, but I totally agree that it would be good for Beanie to slip a little. There are some good teams that he can slip right into their system and get playing time quickly and succeed. I think he's going to do awesome in the NFL. I know he would get dinged up and there are some questions, but I think he's going to be a stud with out a doubt.
Hey asswipe... I have listened to your nastiness for far too long. Don't be an antisemitic dickhead!!!! Prove me wrong that you are a prejudice, negative, insulting, condescending anus.
Maybe so, but they stills stomped our ass on the field.
Hey, I resent that remark! I'm a negative, insulting, and condescending asshole, thank you very much, but not prejudiced at all.
How do you know I'm not Jewish?
While I don't think his response was antisemitic (or at least his intent was not to be), you're probably right in the fact that religion (and politics) have no place on this blog.
Apologies. I was just making light of the fact that his street-talk was a tad overdone, as if compensating for his whiteness.
Last time i checked this was an open board and i can post whatever the F I want.
If you dont agree with my feelings toward Hartline fine!!But dont bring race and intelligence into it, Ive never once attacked anyones intelligence or made assumptions of an ethnic background.
Pogue, you dont know me and Im not the only one tired of you tryin to play message board police everyday. And now for some idiotic reason something I say about a player who you dont even know personally, causes you to defend him with an ethnicity based attack.
Wil, please dont read any more of my posts, you obviously cant afford to lose anymore intelligence.
But to issue some facts, Im a hardworking father of three from the Dayton area, that went to a predomonantly black high school and have friends from all backgrounds. I also try to keep an open mind and not classify people from my computer desk. And since I seem to be the only grown up in this situation, Im willing to let by gones be by gones and squash it. GO BUCKS!!!
Personally, I thought Beanie would put up huge numbers in a Fiesta Bowl win and ride of into the sunset.
Instead, he puts up huge numbers in the first half (looked like he could have gone for 200+), and has to sit out as the team struggles to get back in the game then lose.
A healthy, rumbling, tumbling Beanie that put up 200+ yards on Texas would have made it impossible to not be in the top 10. Instead, everyone sees him sitting on the bench as the team loses.
It's unfortunate, but teams have very real concerns over his game to game health.
makes you wonder what Ohio State players would do if they were playing for USC.
What drugs are you smoking?
He has that light stick from Men In Black that makes scouts forget he's not a good quarterback.
"Some question whether he knows the difference between pain and injury."
That's a load of shit. Beanie PLAYED in 2007 with a broken wrist and a chipped ankle. Beanie was MADE to sit out with his foot injury - that was the team doctors' decision, not Beanie Wells's. He was DIAGNOSED with a concussion during the Texas game.
Beanie wants to play, people, and you're an idiot if you think otherwise.
I swear that those guys at USC are either 'roiding like mad, or doing speed or cocaine before big games. How else do you explain them completely losing control of themselves during the Rose Bowl (spilling onto the field, Maualuga dancing on Erin Andrews, planting flags in end zones)? Or how about explaining how Maualuga just tore a hamstring during the combine? The first thing I thought of was...he was on stuff at USC.
They're extremely well conditioned and coached.
Hell, their fullback somehow out ran our defensive backs and linebackers on that wheel route - that could never happen without some sort of chemical aid.
Though Cushing is definitely juicing. His mantits tell me so.
He's an ex-running back and it was a blown coverage.
So we are all in agreement that Jews have caused this latest three game skid for the basketball Bucks, and likely were the masterminds of our two MNC losses as well. Glad we got that settled.
Yea I thought the pain and injury comment was a little overboard myself. I think its just some scouting director looking for a negative. Just because the coaches at OSU actually care about your career instead of pumping you full of painkiller, Beanie gets penalized.
Everybody was on Adrian Petersen for being "injury prone" and he turned out OK, so whats the difference?
I've seen Adrian Petersen at both levels, there is a difference.
Its funny how standing there waiting for a D1 athlete to make a move then reacting, somehow gets misinterpreted as "blown coverage".
As for Mowalugy, having a scared QB telegraph a pass directly into your numbers helps.
chip, not sure Im following.
Bob Hunter commentary: OSU could be playing its way out of tournament
Wow, you mean losing three straight is a bad thing?
What are you talking about? The coverage was blown. USC lined him up at tight end, Freeman, thinking Russell had Havili, let him go. Blown coverage.
I don't ......... but that kinda shit donesn't belong here.
You are a nasty sob.
we don't know if you are jewish.
we do, however, know you are a jack ass.
And all of the wars in the world, sugartits.
I look at it like a glass half full. They are playing themselves into the tournament...the NIT!
Coleman was on a blitz and got taken out like he often did.
that can be the only reasonable explanation. we add at least 2 qbs on our roster that i'd prefer over hoyer
Another stud LB, gimme gimme gimme.
Yeah Durham came out of nowhere but I love getting OOS prospects--this kid is going to be good and I'll talk about him when I assess the start and what needs to be finished for the 2010 class....
whiteness??? give me a break douche..... would you have called someone the N word to talk about their blackness?? keep talking mouth and you will confirm the level of your stupidity.
Iball is a good human being..... and thanks for your input and for taking an idiots slams with such grace... and yes some of us are tired of his crap as well.
ALEX,
Thanks for the recruiting input, you took an already gooey moist delicious 11W cake and drizzled it with creamy frosting. (okay that sounded wierd).
But anyway, I love recruiting almost as much as the game itself.
Jenkins ran 4.53
40 time is the most over rated stat ever. Football speed and track speed is totally different. Jerry Rice didn't have a good 40 time and he was the best ever.