Eleven Warriors

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/headlinin-bret-bielema-takes-anti-urban-crusade-higher-125223138.html

No need to read the story, here's a recap.

The B1G coaches were snacking at TGIFridays as they reminisced on the coaches of yesteryore.  Tressel and Carr and Tiller and that loveable Zooker. And a big sigh for JoePa.  Then a man from parts unwanted moseyed in unpreterbed by the stroll through memory lane.  He took a seat in solitude, it was time to celebrate two months of hard work.  But there was man who didn't take too kindly.

"I say, I say, that there was my recruit!" Uttered Bret as beads of sweat formed on his angry brow.  Urban just sat there, said not a word.  He didn't fear what was foaming at the mouth.  This was the same brave soul that once recruited toe to toe with savage beasts as Sir Bulldog, The Displaced Northerner, & Senor Fun & Gun.   He chewed up The Hog, and, rumor has it, emerged unscathed from the mortiferous Sabanacolypse.

Maybe it wasn't losing the recruit that sparked Bret's ire, but the feeling of hopelessness.  Jealousy was the culprit.  You see, Bret's conference had only two titles in 43 years while Urban came from a land that wins each and every one.  Both hands of Urban were anchored down by a massive championship ring.  They were a melodic symphony of precious metals that made the B1G coaches feel somewhat less.  Many shied away, but not Bret.

By now the decibels were increasing, "I say hey you, them there was my recruit!" The shriek was deafening to the ears.  The bartender ducked for cover.  Urban smirked, just a smirk.

Bret hoisted a barstool, it had no weight in his angry hand.  "Urban, I say you give him back or..."  Bret stumbled for words, before dADdy Alverez came in between.  Bret's pride was now replaced by hubris as there was nothing he could do.  The recruit was gone and never coming back.  Urban was being Urban, nothing more.

The B1G's good ol' days are decaying; the antidote...  May I present the new sheriff in town, Urban Meyer.  In his two month tenure he constructed a highway; if the whimpering continues, that's exactly where you can go.  This man gets it, as for the other 10 souls... it may be time to take the offramp.

And, if Bret thought this recruiting season was brutal, wait until next year when the sheriff has 6 times as many bowless months to woo the five star prizes.

OSU and their one true rivalrly will live happily ever after.  Everyone else, enjoy being fodder.

(ps, if you like this, forward it to a friend... this cost me an hour of sleep :) )

Urban Meyer's response, “Sometimes they say, ‘How can you go recruit a young guy committed to another school?’ You ask a question, ‘Are you interested?’ If they say no, you move on.

“If they say, ‘Yes, very interested,’ then you throw that hook out there. If they’re interested, absolutely"

THE TEAM: Ohio State Wrestling Team

THE DAY: Feb. 3, 2012

THE PRICE: It appeared free for students and cheap for everyone else

THE PLACE: Historic St. John’s Arena

THE OPPONENT: Michigan

THE RESULTS: Ohio State 24 – Michigan 13

THE GLOSSARY:
First, I will warn you I grew up in a football-wrestling family. All my cousins at one point in time played both football and then wrestled in the winter. I’ve been going to meets since I was in 3rd or 4th grade. I have been to multiple high school state championship meets (that are 3 days long where the first two rounds have 10 and 9 mats respectively). My dad coaches it, and I was a mat stat and film girl in high school. I still go to the high school championship. In short, I know the wonderfully underrated sport of wrestling quite well. I’ve watched at least half of our team win state championships before coming to OSU. So, before we go any further, I am going to introduce you to some terms that I will be using quite a bit for those of you unfamiliar with the sport.

Weight Classes: The maximum weight a person can weigh to wrestle in that category.  There are 10 in college wrestling: 125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165, 174, 184, 197, and Heavy Weight (between 198-285 lbs).

Neutral: both wrestlers are standing up

Tying Up: when the wrestlers tangle their arms together, trying to push at each other

Shot: when one of the wrestlers makes a move, usually grabbing one or both legs of the opposing man

Take Down: when the wrestler who is usually on top has control of the other wrestler’s hip/body (worth 2 points)

Escape: when the wrestler on the bottom ‘escapes,’ causing the two to be at a neutral position (worth 1 point)

Reversal: when the control is switched between the two wrestlers (2 points to wrestler taking control)

Back points: when the wrestler on top causes his opponent’s back to be 45 degrees or closer to the mat (if held for 3 seconds, it’s worth 2 points; if held for 5+ seconds, it’s worth 3 points)

Fall/Pin: when the wrestler in control forces both shoulder blades to touch the mat (automatic win, time recorded)

Ride Time: The amount of time a wrestler has control of his opponent, or is on top. If the measured time exceeds one minute, the wrestler receives a point at the end of the match

Choice: Who controls what position they want to be on, top or bottom

How Over Time Works: If the score is tied after 3 regulation periods of 3 minutes each, there is one minute of sudden death/automatic win. It is started from a neutral position, and the first person to score a point (or get a take down) wins. If the score is still tied, then there are two 30 second periods. A coin is flipped, and the winner get’s their choice for the first period. For the second period, they switch, and, whoever scores the most points, wins. However, if, after both periods the score is still tied, the whole process is repeated once more. In the case that after 6 periods of over time (two of which are automatic win, four of which are 30 second switch offs) the score is still tied, the winner is decided by ride time.
So, without further ado…

THE COMMENTS:
I went to this as a band event for a friend and was not disappointed. After playing a few cursory tunes, we began our two hour show of what the #6 Buckeyes could do to the #12 Wolverines (sounds familiar?).

It started off with Ohio native, the 16th ranked 125 pounder in the nation, Johnni Dijulius . He came to Ohio State after winning 3 Ohio State Championships (which is another post for another day if you guys want it). It started off with two quick take downs by Johnni, quickly racking up 4 points to take a nice, early lead. However, he never could actually convert on them, and thus the first period ended. In the second period, he started on the bottom, preferring to get an escape point to bolster his score. However, shortly there after, he was taken down by his opponent, Grant Pizzo. With the score 5-2, and five seconds away from tied or worse, Dijulius made an escape with 10 seconds left in the second period. With OSU starting on the top for the third period, Michigan escaped, bringing the score to 6-3. The next few minutes were spend with Dijulius dangerously tying up before being taken down again to tie the score at 6-5. Dijulius struggled on the bottom, denying the Michigan grappler the points he sought. However, with 36 seconds left in regulation, Johnni pulled a reversal. With the score 8-5, he rode out the rest of the match, and added another point from his 1:43 ride time to round out the score to 9-5. With this win, the Buckeyes took the lead, 3-0, against Michigan to open the night.

For the good guys at 133, #3 Logan Stieber stepped onto the mat to face #16 Zac Stevens (for the record, I don’t like that Zac either). Within seconds, Logan took Zac down to the mat, before letting him escape, score standing at 2-1. Within 30 seconds, the elder Stieber had another take down, but he wasn’t as careful that time. Instead, Zac pulled a reversal, riding Logan on top, and bringing the score to 4-3. Quickly realizing his mistake, Logan escaped. The rest of the first period was spent tying up, as Zac tried not to be taken down once again. However, he ended up making a big mistake. When given the choice, Zac decided to take the bottom and maybe improve his score. Logan had other things in mind. With 46 seconds left in the second period (and M*ch!g@n still sucks!), he stuck Zac. With a loud cheer across the arena, the Buckeyes moved to 9-0 on the day.

Jarrod Boone at 141 had to face #1 Kellen Russell. Sadly, Jarrod was out of his league. Kellen played with Jarrod from the opening whistle, easily taking him down within the first minute. However, to Jarrod’s credit, he never gave up or gave in. He kept the match at 2-0 for the rest of the first period, not allowing Kellen to gain any back points from him. Jarrod started the second period on the bottom and eventually worked his way out. This only led to his inevitable take down once again.  Another gimme escape signaled to all wrestling fans one thing: Russell was simply playing with the mouse, hording points like a dragon guards its treasures. The third period saw more of the same. Kellen started on the bottom, quickly earning his escape point. Simply toying with Boone caused him to stall a second time, giving Russell yet another point. Within a second, Jarrod laid on the mat, the result of another Russell take down.  The match ended a miserable 2-11, giving Michigan 4 points as a team (score 9-4 for those keeping track).

The mat then saw another marquee match between 149 pounders #14 Cam Tessari of Ohio State and Michigan’s #7 Eric Grajales. Despite the high rankings of both wrestlers, Grajales won quite clearly. Appearing evenly matched that the beginning, the difference between the two, unfortunately, was that Grajales was much more aggressive. He got the only take down in the first period with little more than a minute left. The second period started in a different kind of stalemate. Tessari started on top, and, for half of the period, worked Grajales into the mat, trying to turn him and get back points. Alas, that wasn’t to be. Instead, Grajales escaped, and they resumed their tying up from earlier. The third period did not end well for Ohio State’s Tessari. He never escaped from the bottom, and nearly gave into Grajales, barely making it out. However, the match ended 0-7 in Michigan’s favor. The team score tallied to 9-7.

Taking the mat next at 157 were #20 Josh Demas from the Scarlet and Gray corner and Brandon Zeerip from that other one.  They were evenly matched throughout the whole the first period, both wrestlers tried to take the other down. At one point, Zeerip caught and held one of Demas’ legs in the air, trying to grab it back, and suck him into a take down. However, Demas was having none of that. He hopped around on one foot to and fro. Zeerip then tried to flip him over onto the mat, only to have Demas some how flip, land on his foot, free his other leg, thus restoring the fully neutral position, body crouched, arms in front of him. The crowd applauded for just this stunt alone. The second period saw Demas on top, but he could not score any back points. Instead, Zeerip escaped from him, gaining his only point. The rest of the period consisted of long tie ups between the two, neither fully taking control. Thus, the third period began with Demas on bottom. It took little over a minute, but he escaped, scoring his point. Neither wrestler could take the other down. Regulation ended with the score being 1-1. A small break and a tune was played before the sudden victory/death minute long period began. Both wrestlers came out more aggressive than ever, trying with everything they had. The crowd roared to life when Demas took Zeerip down to the mat for his 3-1 win, bringing the team totals to 12-7.

The next match between Jedi Derek Garcia and Sith Lord #14 Dan Yates started after an intermission of shots (which is not usual at most duel meets). At the beginning, Garcia used the force (Coach Fickell, being the honorary assistant coach of the night, probably tried to teach him a thing or two) to his advantage, taking Yates down. Even when Yates escaped, they were mostly even. In fact, this good luck streak went into the second period where, after escaping from the bottom, Garcia took him down again. Granted, it didn’t last long. Yates, once again, escaped from Garcia, but this time, he took advantage of the shift of power to the dark side. The third period started with Garcia on the bottom, sucking some wind. He eventually escaped only to be hounded on by Yates. Relentlessly, score 5-3 in favor of the Jedi, Yates kept on getting good shots, most of which resulted in stalemates. However, with 4 seconds left in regulation, he got the take down, tying the score and bringing the match into overtime. Sadly, Garcia went down quickly, forking over another Ohio State loss. The team tally was 12-10.

The best match of the night, in my opinion, belonged to the 174 pound gladiators. Suiting up in the scarlet and gray was #7 Nick Heflan who faced the maize and blue’s #8 Justin Zeerip. Oh, how the titans clashed. The first period, nothing of statistical importance happened, however, that is quite the beguiling story. Both Heflan (new hero) and Zeerip were at each other the whole time. The were throwing shots at each other, single legs, double legs, flipping, twisting, trying to get that covenanted first blood in take downs. To start the new period, Heflan took the down, hoping to pull off a reversal for some points. However, those plans were foiled as the elite wrestlers squared off once more. Their metaphorical blades clashed against one another, trying to find a weakness in their opponent. However, the buzzer blared before a chip in the armor could be found; so started the third period. Heflan contained and rode Zeerip longer than he was rode earlier, but the slippery wolverine escaped and brought the total score to 1-1. As the clock wound down to 0 in regulation, both tried their best to some how pull off that take down, but neither succeeded. The first minute-long sudden-victory-death period came and gone without a single point. There were many attempts, but each parried and blocked the other’s advances. For the first time that night we entered into the two thirty-second-long periods. The coin flipped, and Heflan chose the bottom. When he escaped from Zeerip, OSU fans cheered, only to remember, there was at least one more period left. Unfortunately for the Scarlet and Gray clad, Zeerip escaped Heflan’s grasp. The first overtime came to a close. The second one only began. That second minute-long sudden-victory-death round found both wrestlers tired, but intense. Both swiped at each other, hoping to catch the other off guard or too tired to do much else. This proved fruitless as the second round of thirty-second periods started. Zeerip chose to go down. However, when he escaped, Zeerip took Heflan, taking him down out of bounds. Michigan fans were a tad upset about that call, but it was right. Zeerip, for all he did, pulled a reversal or take down on Heflan, however they were out of bounds, and thus those points did not count (to say that Michigan fans were not happy about that call is a bit of an understatement). Dutifully, Heflan sat at the bottom for the last time that night while Zeerip, after a lengthy referee review, stood around talking to his coaches. Once the wrestling commenced, Heflan escaped and survived the rest of the period. The score ended 3-3, but, since Heflan had more riding time, both he and The Ohio State University won, extending the lead to 15-10. Did I mention Heflan is my new hero?

Moving on to the 184 weight class, Ohio State’s very own #10 C.J. Magrum faced off against Hunter Collins. Much like the 141 class earlier, Collins became the plaything of Magrum as he practiced take down after take down, with some escapes peppered in. The first period was testament to what Magrum could do. Two take downs, and their escapes, were quickly tallied. However, Collins did not go down without a fight. In the second period, when he selected to go down, he went down. He did not allow himself to get stuck, but eventually escaped. Of course that meant that the third period started with Magrum acquiring more points from an escape, quickly followed by a take down. Collins managed to escape that trap one last time, but could not beat Magrum. The match ended 8-3, and the team scores were 18-10.

When 197 pounder, #20, Andrew Campolattano took the mat to wrestle with Chris Herald, no one knew what was going to happen next. Maybe Andrew himself, but that would be the extent. What followed was not a long, drawn out clash like the Heflan-Zeerip bout earlier. No, what happened was that Andrew of the scarlet and gray ended up pinning Chris in 18 seconds flat. It’s hard enough to pin someone in high school. Harder the further in the tournaments you get. Going to college is a whole new level, and it takes even more to be able to compete let alone pin. Andrew, though, made it look easy, as if he were trying to win a bet with some friends, seeing how fast he can pin a dude. Well, they know now. 18 seconds. That’s it.

With the victory already assured (team scores were 24-10), our heavy weight brawlers came on the scene. #18 Peter Capone (our guy) went against #10 Ben Apland. While this was not as flash or as juicy as past matches, it was a fitting end for the night, almost. Capone started strong, taking down Apland. Yet, with thirteen seconds left, he broke free. In the second period, Apland chose down, and was man handled. Capone illegally held or clasped his hand, which gave Michigan a point. Later, a reversal sealed his fate, and, well, it was history. He lost the match 2-4, but that didn’t matter.

Why? Because we beat Michigan, 24-13. Also, we don’t give a damn for the whole state of Michigan ‘cause we’re from O-HI-O!

THE RANDOM THOUGHTS

• There were some kids sitting around me towards the back.  They knew what they were talking about. It was both impressive and cute.
• Luke Fickell looks like a good father. He was both amusing/playing with his kids the whole match. Just the random things I see.
• Why does the band get no love? We don’t get balls from the ball blaster or T-Shirts from anyone. Why?
• If there are mistakes about the matches or the people, names, etc., please excuse me. I’ve been up for over 24 hours at this point in time, and cannot think quite straight.

Remember to read the official release!

Here is Coach Meyer's statement, just released from OSU:

“I was pleased to take part in a productive, regularly scheduled meeting of the Big Ten Conference coaches today in Chicago. We had an opportunity to discuss a number of issues with each other and conference staff, including those that have arisen this week. It should be noted that my coaching staff is in full compliance with our recruiting efforts, and no one on this staff did anything illegal or unethical. We will continue to comply with NCAA rules and recruit with relentless effort, especially the great state of Ohio. “I want to thank Commissioner Delany for his insight and leadership, and at this point we all look forward to moving past this week and getting ready for the start of spring football.”

By John Gasaway, ESPN Insider

On Saturday, Ohio State will play at Wisconsin, and the conventions of sports writing suggest it's foolish to write a piece about how great any team is right before it plays in Madison. You may have heard that the Badgers tend to win a very high percentage of such games, and at the moment Bo Ryan's team is riding a six-game winning streak.

It's entirely possible that the Buckeyes will lose when they visit Wisconsin. After all, Thad Matta's team has already lost at Indiana and Illinois, and while those teams are very good they're not what one would call historically formidable. (The Hoosiers are currently ranked No. 20 in the nation, while the Illini are unranked. For the record OSU also lost at Kansas on Dec. 10, a game it played without Jared Sullinger.) But maybe the conventions of sports writing -- and of polling -- could benefit from greater awareness of an admittedly dull fact: losses do happen, even to the best teams.

We've been waiting patiently for 36 years now for the next version of Indiana in 1976, and we're still waiting. Perhaps Murray State will win the national championship this season and fill that longing for the Perfect Season. While we wait, I want to say a word or two about a plainly imperfect Ohio State team.

This is the best team in the country right now
The Buckeyes are my choice as the No. 1 team in the country, and, yes, I realize mine is a minority view. Maybe even a solitary view. In this week's polls OSU didn't receive a single No. 1 vote from a writer or coach anywhere in the nation. (Not one!) Still, I don't think the disagreement here is really so pronounced. These are all exceptionally strong teams we're discussing, but a top 25 only allows you one No. 1, and I just happen to think the team in Columbus is the strongest.

Kentucky and Syracuse have fewer losses, but in the course of tracking each possession recorded by 157 teams in conference play, I've come to the conclusion that if we played this season 500 times or so Matta's group would emerge as the top team. In conference play, Ohio State's played two games decided by single digits and, you guessed it, the Buckeyes went 0-2, dropping games to the Hoosiers and the Illini. In every other Big Ten game, though, OSU has won with ease. Meantime Syracuse is 4-1 in Big East games decided by single digits, and Kentucky's 2-0 in such games in SEC play.

Maybe this means the Buckeyes aren't clutch and they "don't know how to win the close ones." We'll find out, of course. That's what March and April are for. Meantime I'm wagering that the ability to blow opponents away most of the time is also an important metric.

Ohio State and Kentucky may both turn out to be unusually mighty
It's rare to see a team outscore its major-conference opponents by more than 0.20 points per possession, but this season we're seeing two teams do just that. Two guesses who those teams are (see table).

TEAM YEAR MARGIN
Ohio State 2012 +0.28
Kentucky 2012 +0.25
Kansas 2008 +0.24
Texas 2011 +0.20

For the record I expect these numbers to come down for both the Buckeyes and the Wildcats. Both teams are yet to play their toughest games: at Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan State in OSU's case, and at Vanderbilt and Florida in UK's case.

But the numbers can fall and still mark these two teams as uniquely strong. And what's impressive about Ohio State's performance in particular is that the Buckeyes have recorded this scoring margin in the Big Ten. By common consensus, by the RPI and by measures much more sophisticated than the RPI, this is the best conference in the country, one that after years of futility is all of a sudden beating the ACC annually in that challenge the two conferences have. When your team is outscoring the best conference in the nation by the largest margin seen from any major-conference program in the past five years, you earn my vote as the No. 1 team in the country. One man's opinion.

Great offense, greater defense
The Buckeyes are an excellent team when it comes to scoring (their strength, go figure, is efficiency in the paint), but it's also true that before all is said and done offenses like those of Indiana or Michigan State might eclipse Matta's team in terms of effectiveness on that side of the ball. Right now all three offenses are neck-and-neck in performance during Big Ten play.

But where OSU has simply kicked down the wall and opened up an entire new wing of possibility is on defense. In this instance I think our eyes are doing us a disservice: Ohio State on defense just doesn't look as impressive as Kentucky does on defense. Yet the numbers say the Buckeyes have the superior D and, indeed, it isn't even particularly close. How can that be?

Simple: Ohio State as a team, and Jared Sullinger as a player, doesn't block shots. To see the Wildcats' Anthony Davis swatting away shots and altering many others is to register, correctly, much of what makes Kentucky so excellent on defense. But the Buckeyes' strengths are less dramatic and more cumulative. Basically, Matta's brought together four things that have no business being brought together: excellent interior field goal defense, an abundance of forced turnovers (take a bow, Aaron Craft), dominance on the defensive glass and a near-total lack of fouling.

How effective has this combination been on defense? Consider this: Even if Ohio State's Big Ten opponents never committed a single turnover, this defense would still be better than Indiana's.

And then there's the small matter of Jared Sullinger I feel like Sullinger has somewhat been overlooked nationally this season. Maybe it's because he hasn't had that one monster game that we can all point to. But at the end of the day this is still a Blake Griffin-level performer, one who makes 60 percent of his 2s, draws six fouls for every 40 minutes he plays and shoots 76 percent at the line. Sullinger is also one of the top defensive rebounders in the country. (Meanwhile his offensive rebounding has dipped, perhaps in part because he's now dutifully putting in the cameo appearances on the perimeter required of any big man in his preparatory year leading into the NBA draft.) Craft, Deshaun Thomas and William Buford all bring something to the table, goodness knows, but Sullinger is quite simply one of the two or three best players in the country, even if he is somewhat overlooked.

None of which guarantees that Ohio State will win the national championship, of course, or even make the Final Four. Last year Texas recorded an unbelievably impressive per-possession performance in the Big 12, for example, and if the Longhorns parlayed that into an unbelievably impressive NCAA tournament run I must have missed it. But right now all we have to go on are the games and possessions that teams have played so far in 2011-12. And to my eyes no one's been more impressive over the course of its games and possessions than Ohio State.

The following was posted by an Administrator at Buckeye Planet: 

"With permission to repost Nevada....Jaamal has been granted his release."

It's been discussed for a while now that Berry is going to be one of the ones leaving the program but it's a done deal now. Best of luck to the young man- I hope his past troubles stay in the past and do not continue to follow him into the future. Always going to think of what could have been with Jaamal Berry though.. Huge talent, but glad to have some clarity on this issue, especially given Meyer's perpetual talk of "character", you had to know this was coming. 

As much as I could make this a Jamal Marcus post, because I think he was universally underrated, I wouldn't quite call him a hidden gem at this point. Once Urban said his highlights bordered on "ridiculous", the cat was pretty much out of the bag, so to speak. Plus, at this point, Marcus is like that 12 seed in the brackets during March Madness that everyone is picking to get the upset- not as much of a Cinderella story as the 12 seed that nobody picks. 

For this class, the young man who I think could be the biggest sleeper is WR Ricquan Southward ( 6'2, 190) out of Lakeland, FL [ http://rivals.yahoo.com/miami/football/recruiting/player-Ricquan-Southwa... ]. Lakeland is a great football HS- some of the more recent products are the Pouncey brothers and Chris Rainey. You can find his highlights here: http://vimeo.com/30317915 *. Southward is one of the least talked about kids in this class (although maybe he's the smartest? Jumping on his verbal right before Urban was hired seems like a very intelligent, calculated move given how fast the schollies dried up once Urban took over). Southward had limited exposure in HS given that he was behind several D1 players at Lakeland. He only started at WR in his senior year, but when he did, he set the single game record at Lakeland for both receptions (12) and receiving yards (238). 

When I watch Southward's film, the Buckeye that I am most reminded of is Santonio Holmes, and not just because both were underrated 3* prospects out of FL. They're similar in size and stature, although Ricquan is listed at about 3 inches taller. Really impressed with Southward's timing on his jumps, thought he got good air when he went up- Just look at him go over that DB on the first play. Also, very underrated speed- definitely has ability to take it all the way. Most of all though, I like how physical he is with the ball- runs hard and does not shy away from contact. 

Also, on the FlaVarsity 160 rankings, which rank the top 160 players in FL, Southward made the biggest jump out of any player this year. He started out at 145 and ended up at 61. This is how the FlaVarsity described Southward, "Southward has a game similar to that of Dallas Cowboys WR Dez Bryant. He is strong, big, and very physical. He is a true playmaker with the ball in his hands and always a threat to score on special teams. " Anybody else want a Dez Bryant in S&G? Ha. Regardless of whether or not he is THAT good, I still think this kid is going to be a very special Buckeye.

Lastly, here is an article from the local paper on Ricquan in regards to NSD: http://www.polkpreps.com/news/article/30193/polks-top-athletes-put-their-college-commitments-down-in-writing/

As always, Go Bucks!

*If anyone has a link to a better quality video of Southward's highlights, I would really appreciate them being posted!

I've been reading 11w since about september of this year, and I cannot tell you all how much I appreciate this site. The content is unrivaled, from game coverage, previews, recruiting (alex and jeremy are killing it these past few weeks!), and all sorts of other things. But I think the biggest advantage that this site has over other news outlets (namely ESPN) is the civility of the readers (which i think is a reflection of the tone set by the staff at 11w) and commentors. I just got done reading (and getting into a couple troll fights haha) the comments section of some espn article about osu (can't even remember what the article was about) and I have decided that the dregs of society, the absolute low, is the people who comment on these articles (not all, just some, but they are extremely vocal). Sure, there are disagreements here, although not as often seeing that all of us are buckeye fans, but I have never seen an argument. I've always seen it as a very healthy debate, with everyone showing their due respect, and not making things personal. so yea, this post is fairly pointless, but after reading the comments on espn, I almost lost faith in the internet. you all keep me sane, and remind me that there are some people out there on the interwebs with a soul. peace out everyone

Just found this interesting because I saw on the crawl that of the ESPN U Top 150 that 53 of them signed with SEC schools today according to the WWL.  So I got curious and checked out Scout and Rivals, here is the breakdown

ESPN Top 150

SEC : 53

PAC : 24

ACC : 23

Big XII : 21

B1G : 12

Rivals Top 150

SEC : 41

PAC : 32

ACC : 26

Big XII : 16

B1G : 15

Scout Top 150

SEC : 47

PAC : 26

B1G : 24

ACC : 17

Big XII : 16

Max Preps Top 150

SEC : 39

PAC : 29

B1G : 25

ACC : 18

Big XII : 14

247 Top 150

SEC : 43

PAC : 28

ACC : 22

B1G : 17

Big XII : 15

Of course you have to account for the SEC having 14 teams, but they dominated all the lists.  However, they were really dominant on the ESPN list and not so surprisingly the B1G had the fewest top 150 on the ESPNU list.  Just found it interesting.  After a while you just have to laugh.