Like Kryptonite for Line Talent
Won’t you break the curse, sir?We try our hardest not to be that blog. You know, the one where the writers rant and complain all day and in between call for the firing of various coaches and/or mascots. The coaches are human, have families to take care of and we shudder at the thought of someone watching film of us on the job.
But reflecting on the fact that only two Buckeye offensive linemen have been drafted in the past three years — none higher than in the 6th round — and it’s time to speak up a little. After all, Jim Bollman is playing with our emotions.
Since 2004, Ohio State has brought in some of the top line talent in the country coming out of high school, but it just hasn’t translated at Columbus. Let’s recap, shall we (star rankings refer to Rivals’ grades):
Kyle Mitchum, 2004 (****)
Micthum was a Parade and USA Today All-American, played in the Army All-American Bowl and Rivals had him as the 4th-best prospect in the state of Pennsylvania. He left Ohio State with the same number of starts as me (though to be fair, he was injured for a good part of his career).
Ben Person, 2004 (****)
Out of Xenia, Person was Ohio High’s 3rd-best prospect in the state and Rivals’ 10th-best guard prospect in the country. He started 13 games as a junior and nine as a senior on a group largely considered to be among the weaker lines in recent memory. He went undrafted last week and has a free-agent tryout with the Detroit Lions.
Steve Rehring, 2004 (***)
Rehring, by way of West Chester Lakota, arrived in Columbus as the Rivals’ 29th-best tackle prospect nationally and the 15th-best prospect in the state of Ohio. He started 10 games as a sophomore, 13 as a junior and 8 as a senior, but amazingly, seemed to regress with each season. He also went undrafted last week, but has a workout with the Bengals, likely thanks to Coop pulling some strings for him.
Alex Boone, 2005 (*****)
Boone was Mr. Everything: a Parade and USA Today All-American, participant in the US Army game, Rivals’ 3rd-best tackle prospect nationally and Scout.com’s #1 prospect in the Midwest. He played in 11 games as a frosh before starting 10 games for the loaded 2006 team at left tackle. Hopes were high, to say the least. But, after being exposed by the Gators in the championship game that year, he followed the same trajectory as Rehring, starting all 26 games his junior and senior season, but never really getting to that next level. He was undrafted as well, but signed a free agent contract with the 49ers shortly after the draft.
Jim Cordle, 2005 (****)
Cordle was Rivals’ and Scout.com’s 7th-best guard prospect in the nation and the #4 prospect in the state of Ohio out of Lancaster. He started 13 games as a sophomore and 12 more last season as a junior. He has a good chance to be a captain for his senior season, but barring an amazing year, it’s hard to see him going any earlier than the 6th round of the 2010 draft.
Current Players
Last year, the Buckeye brought in tackles Mike Adams (*****), Mike Brewster (*****) and J.B. Shugarts (****). The three represent the best line class of this decade, yet only Brewster has been able to claw his way into early playing time, starting at center as a frosh. Shugarts has been injured for much of his Buckeye career, and Adams, after getting hurt early last season is battling a former tight end for the open spot at left tackle, despite being given every opportunity to grab the spot.
So, what’s the problem? The easy answer is Bollman. After all, Tressel had to step in and take over motivational duties last seasons shortly after Spielman accused his group of engaging in a pillow fight against the mighty Bobcats of Ohio. But are there other factors? Is Director of Football Performance Eric Lichter culpable in any way? Is it the training table? Is the easy access to cheap Natty Lite at play?
One thing is for sure. If the line doesn’t step up its play this season after going head-to-head with a dominant defensive front every day in practice, something has to change. There’s just too much talent going to waste as it stands right now.
Amen.
This also brings to mind that butch davis comment about recruiting players that are too close to the finished product already.
Boone’s a good example, he peaked early, was crowned the next great thing, and then partied like it.
I hope the best thing for adams is fighting for that starting position. Hell, let his ass ride the bench if he doesn’t want to beat out miller. Miller obviously wants to start.
………..it seems that the only piece of the puzzle over the last few years that is missing is ————— motivation. There have been times when the Buckeyes mail it in and against mediocre teams that is usually enought. Against better competetion, well….. different story. Gotta get fired up, kick ass, and keep the foot on the throat of an adversary when they are down. Bollman does not appear to have the ability to instill that instinct and he dictates the mood of the O-line and the Offense. I have been screaming it since the 2006 debacle in Arizona… Bollman must go. I respect him, his family, etc…. but for the sake of the program he has to go.
Makes you wonder what Bollman and the boys do at practice and film session.
Well, when I heard that they dont even push the 5 man sled in practice…EVER….it made me really wonder how you can have this position at such a prestegious program. I mean really, my HS offensive line had to push that sled from end-zone to end-zone. And THAT was why we were able to win games with the run!
Is that tat on Pryor’s arm for real? It looks like it was photoshopped to me.
huh?
oh damn…haha..i have an osu tat..nothing of that status and magnitude though…dude is serious
post a link, can’t seem to find the picture you’re talking about.
Its in “Good Shizzy”
yeah, i’d like to see it as well.
I thought when Peterson came in from Miami (OH) things would improve but not. The Buckeyes need to have a solid year where the offense clicks in the passing game and the running game for the lineman to draw attention. I think this year could be the first of two years where that happens.
If Tressel must keep Bollman on, get him a kick ass offensive line assistant coach. We had a “speed coach” for a couple years, why not an extra o-line coach?
but butch reynolds is awesome and i got to meet him in elementary school.
I agree on the sled issue. We have been turning out weak “finesse” lineman for far too long.
It’s especially incriminating that our best current lineman is a transfer from Michigan. This says nothing but bad things about our ability to develop the O-Line. Let’s hope Boren doesn’t regress as well.
great article and analysis. you’ve identified Buckeye nation’s number one concern. if the famed “Block O” class can’t be dominating how will Tress be able to pretend Bollman can coach?
I think Bollman is too spread out. All of his focus needs to be on the offensive line. It is clear he is not capable of managing both the line and the offensive coordinator duties.
To Mitchum’s defense, he was injured most of his Ohio State career.
Good point, I’ve updated the post.
Seems like all of our lineman are injured for long periods of time. You can’t blame that on Bollman, but I will.
Whats the point here guys? Just because a kid is a good blocker in high school doesn’t mean anything. Bollman has put more O-linemen in the league then most coaches over the last 8 years. This years line will be fine you guys need a vacation…chilax.
Tampa, I’m guessing you haven’t had your coffee yet this morning. It’s true that just because a kid comes out of high school highly regarded, that doesn’t mean he’ll do well in college.
But, just like recruiting rankings as a whole, the numbers have meaning in aggregate.
Coach Bollman? I knew it.
Boone was quoted after the Texas game that it was the first game he had watched film to prepare for. I’ve heard explanations as to why sleds are not necessary and many teams don’t use them anymore. But how the eff can a three-year starter get by without studying film? What the hell – do they just lift weights and eat for practice?
This says it all: All-Americans during the new Millenium: (from Ohio State Buckeyes football on wiki)
* 2000: Mike Doss (SS)
* 2001: LeCharles Bentley (C), Mike Doss (SS)
* 2002: Mike Doss (SS), Andy Groom (P), Mike Nugent (PK), Matt Wilhelm (LB)
* 2003: Will Allen (DB)
* 2004: Mike Nugent (PK), A. J. Hawk (LB)
* 2005: A. J. Hawk (LB)
* 2006: Troy Smith (QB), James Laurinaitis (LB), Quinn Pitcock (DL)
* 2007: James Laurinaitis (LB), Chris Wells (RB)
* 2008: James Laurinaitis (LB), Malcolm Jenkins (CB)
How many OL/OT/OG do you count? Same case can be made on the DL, save Pitcock…
Oh, and my vote is for the cheap Natty Lite and beer pong.
Agreed, OSU had 1 O-Lineman that started in the NFL last year (Mangold). Barton is already on his 5th team since being drafted last year and Boone didn’t get drafted…I’ll say it all summer, the success of 2009 will come down to the O-Line’s ability to give TP some time.
And during the past 20 years, the three best offensive linemen to come out of Ohio State, Pace, Stringer and Bentley, were all developed by Cooper’s staff.
Mangold has a chance to be great in the NFL, but that’s about it from the Tressel/Bollman era.
how was Will Smith not an AA in 02?
too busy gettin jiggy with it
I don’t think it makes this site low-brow to suggest we need a shuffle at the coordinator position. From what I see across the country, there’s a lot of fluidity at those positions. We’ve been stuck in a rut for a while, and change can really energize a team. We love Tress. There were times all throughout Woody’s career that he was burned in effigy. Buckeyes these days would consider such a thing with Tressel blasphemy.
I guess it’s like this: Let’s say USC walks into the Shoe and shuts us out, or at least beats us soundly, holding Pryor to nothing. That will be the SEVENTH big game in a row where we either lose or got trounced. Seven? Shouldn’t this have stopped at no more than 3? Yet, here we are riding out our 6th big game loss, hoping that doing the same thing will yield a different result – definition of insanity.
Maybe the question should be, “why aren’t we angrier about this?”
When you put it like that, it’s hard to argue why we shouldn’t be angrier.
I’m reading the book “1968″ right now, maybe some of you have it or have read it. Early in the book, it goes over what it was like to learn the Robust formation from Woody Hayes, which comprised the entirety of a 2-3 hour lecture from the man. Every man on the play had to be in a certain spot, and every part of his body had to be in a certain spot, at certain time as the play progressed. The line had to be exactly so many inches away from each other and from the guys across the ball. If you were off by an inch, Woody would go ape-shit.
In fact, one time a lineman was saddlebagging it, and got pushed to the ground by the defense. Woody came over while he was on the ground and KICKED him repeatedly, saying “you better never dog it again, you sunvabitch.”
I don’t know if our Buckeyes do this, but another thing that team used to do was take freshmen linemen and have them try to tackle a fence on the first day of practice, over and over and over again. Basically, these kids would be beat to hell by the end.
From what I heard last year, BOLLMAN DOESN’T EVEN USE A TACKLING SLED! After watching defensive ends blow by a double-team during the Spring Game, I have to say that this doesn’t bode well for our chances against USC. Tressel has always said he’s been an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” guy. Well, this shit has been broken for going on 3 years now. When will they fix it?
There is a direct correlation between recruiting and success, if you aren’t top 20 in the country, you are truly hit or miss. That being said, when I heard the NFL scout say that Boone’s main weakness was technique, I was convinced Bollman was a HUGE problem.
There is no leadership in the locker room, period. This team has lacked a kick you in the ass killer instinct leader, since Wilhelm and Doss left. Tress just isn’t that type of coach. Hopefully TP and Boren will help this problem.
I think the Bucks will bring it home in 2010.
Spielman just got the nod for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Congrats to one of my favorite Buckeyes of all time.
and he had one of the best buckeye mustaches of all time too
Hell yeah! Definitely my favorite buckeye of all time…
It’s pretty sad to see all this talent go to waste.
I read somewhere last week about how former Buckeye linemen were talking about how Bollman is teaching the wrong things and that they (the alums) would coach the line completely different. That’s when I lost faith in what Bollman was doing.
I meant sometime last year, sorry.
Bollman’s personality seems to be rather laid back compared to someone like Dantonio or Fickell. The offensive line needs to be a fired-up, angry group in order to succeed. I’m not sure Coach Bollman has the necessary fire in his belly to be a good leader for the line. On the other hand, I think he does well as an OC. The solution, as many others on this thread have pointed out, is to hire another assistant to coach the line only. Or just turn it over to Peterson or someone else on the staff.
We try our hardest not to be that blog. You know, the one where the writers rant and complain all day and in between call for the firing of various coaches and/or mascots.
I think this is the part where I tug at my collar, David Letterman-style.
But hey, you guys are relentless optimists. There’s nothing wrong with that.
The blocking has been awful for many years. The players have come and gone. Bollman remains. And the situation does not improve. Coincidence? I think not.
Well it’s obvious to me that the problem is not the guys coming in but what happens to them when they are here. The Bucks need an Oline coach that will get them into a mean unit that will take your head off. One problem is they don’t decide if they are a spread team or a I formation team. Every year they switch back and forth depending on who the QB is, and that has to be hard on the Oline to essentially learn a new system all the time. Also all the prep was made last year to protect a pocket QB only to have that blown up in week 3. So all the Spring and Fall practice was over once the move to Pryor was made b/c it’s a totally new offense. That is why I hope they don’t get the Montana kid and instead get the kid from Wayne, who is more Pryor like, for 2011.
All that preparation sure did a whole lot to keep Boeckmann’s jersey clean.
guys, osu has not- has not- had a dominate line since 1973. Think, when is the last time you remember a line that was consistently great all year. 1973. The Pace lines would play well in some games and disappear in others. Michigan 1996 that line could not score a td inside the 5 on 3 possesions and had to settle for fg’s. Our short yardage play under Coop was awful if you remember. During spring practice Bollman did break out the sleds, but that won’t fix it. OSU has had recruiting problems with linemen for years and years as far as numbers are concerned and that could be part of the problem. The last two recruiting cycles have seen osu bring in more linemen then usual. They will bring 3-4 in this year so maybe the light has gone on. We shall see.
The line play was consistently excellent under Coach Bruce (1979-1987).
Let’s face it, this article was dead on the money. Bollman has done far less with so much that it warrants his termination.
People seem to be afraid of stating the obvious. Jim Bollman has not gotten the job done, isn’t getting it done presently, and there are no signs that he will get it done in the future. FIRE Jim Bollman – NOW!
Say what you want about Maurice Clarett, but the O-line that year was pathetic and if not for #13 the Buckeyes don’t go to the NC game let alone win it. He literally carried that less than average O-line into scarlet and gray glory.
Fixing the Buckeyes is easy:
1. Get a new AGGRESSIVE o-line coach who can create some angry young men in the trenches…OH AND DON’T MAKE HIM THE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR. (Correct me if I am wrong but I have never heard of an o-line coach also serving as o-coordinator…if anyone has please let me know, but only if that team had a high scoring offense).
2. Get a new AGGRESSIVE offensive coordinator who understands the need to use all of his weapons (ummm that would include the tight ends), and let him actually call the plays. Why recruit all of that talent if you’re not going to use it.
Just two things that stand in the way:
1. Tressel hasn’t learned that his offensive philosophy is stuck in the 1990’s and that his job should now be to coach the coaches and let a creative mind call the plays.
2. Tressel is loyal to a fault…and therefore Bollman’s job security is likely in tact
Let me conclude by saying I love Tress and wouldn’t trade him for the world, but as Dr. Phil says “You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge”. Hopefully Tress will acknowledge the problems and make the painful, but necessary changes in order for his program to step up to the next level.
I’ve said this before but it’s worth mentioning again:
One definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.
Whoever thought that one up had to have Bollman in mind.
These words ring more true as this season goes on – boring offense and horrific execution despite superior talent. FIRE JIM BOLLMAN!