Eleven Warriors

I don't hold Vince Young's 2005 MNC Longhorns in high esteem - because they were handed the crystal, by a USC team high on itself.

By the same reasoning, the SEC's ongoing championship streak can be deemed fraudulent. It can be argued the SEC was USC's biggest beneficiary, between 2006-2008, when the Trojans lost a combined 5 games.

Had Southern Cal taken care of business (and pollsters been as generous - then - as they have been to Bama this year), I believe USC would have won two out of three BCS titles, against the SEC.

Alabama vs. LSU will not give us a true champion - because of the polls and the BCS. This game will merely make SEC-dominance, more mythical. 

Great story I came across. Go Bucks.

You won't be able to read or hear about this story on ESPN, Sports Illustrated, or the Columbus Dispatch this week. You see there is nothing, as a fallen people, that we like better than a story of a good man who also has fallen - sad isn't it. (Believe me, I know from personal experience!) We get a weird sort of pleasure reading about it, listening to all the details, and then making comments about it to our friends, family, and posting comments about it all over the Internet. Twisted - I know, but think of how many times we participate in this. Well, this is my blog and I've decided I'm going to do something different. I'm not going to condemn anyone, but I'm also not going to excuse anyone. What I really want you to see after this blog entry is that our legacies do not have to be defined by our failures, our sins, our mistakes despite what some TV commentator might say, but they can be defined by the grace of God working through us day in and day out.

Well, in light of that, I would like to remind you or maybe tell you for the first time my story of Coach Tressel and the legacy that he will carry in my family.

On Aug 17th my son was run over by a lawnmower. It just so happened that on that day Bryson was wearing his brand new #33 jersey. Bryson was probably the biggest 4 year old OSU football fan ever and was so excited about his new jersey . In fact, his dad had on a matching jersey. Turns out his daddy used his jersey to tie around Bryson's leg to stop the bleeding and Bryson's jersey was cut off. While I was in the emergency room with Bryson before he was life-flighted to Columbus Children's hospital he let me know that he was upset about his new jersey . I assured him we would get him a new one, but never did I dream how things would turn out for him.

Bryson had his leg amputated and then spent quite a bit of time in the hospital as he healed. During that time, through a series of events that I'm not even sure of, Coach Tressel was made aware of Bryson's accident and his love for the Buckeye's. It wasn't a couple of days later and Coach Tressel came to meet Bryson in person. He came alone: no cameras, no media, no support crew. He came. He encouraged. He let us tell him Bryson's story. He let us take his picture with Bryson. He gave Bryson some signed hats and a covered note pad. He promised to get Bryson to a OSU football practice and to an Ohio vs Michigan game (since that always falls on the weekend of Bryson's birthday). All of that was great, but what left the biggest impression on me was when he handed us his business card and wrote his personal cell phone number on the back. He told us to call if we needed anything - are you kidding me! Who does that! I will tell you - not somebody who is only interested in lining his pockets or winning football games. We were of no value to him, my husband is a youth pastor, we don't live in Columbus , & we aren't alumni of the university. We were just a hurting family who he took time for, in the middle of football season, to encourage.

He fulfilled his promises to Bryson. Bryson was able to go to two OSU football practices and went to the Ohio State/Michigan game the next year and sat in the most amazing seats. On the notebook he gave Bryson he wrote, "The Buckeyes are cheering for you."

As was first reported on pay sites and the like then later corroborated (ironically through twitter), Urban Meyer's first act beyond forcing the players to meet at 7 AM the morning following a game and long flight back to Columbus was to forbid the Ohio State football players from using the popular social media service twitter.

Much of what needs to be said has already been hashed out in the comments in the Buckshot linked above, however, cutting briefly to brass tacks:

• You either get twitter¹ or you don't. If it's not your cup of tea, your opinion is probably that this is a good thing.
• You're not right (at least not in full). Freedom for young people to embrace responsibility while establishing their independence and sense of self/identity is paramount to the college experience, the experience of a student athlete, and what helps establish the tone for individuals for the rest of their lives. Yes, while the majority of what the athletes have to say amount to minutiae at best, it's no different from much of the jawing that goes on around the bunk beds four student athletes share in the towers or in a curiously accessorized off-315 apartment multiple players spend the majority of their times at. There is bad, wasteful narcissism on twitter², but these kids being themselves don't constitute it. 
• If you genuinely believe telling 18-22 year olds to not use a website/communication medium is an effective form of discipline, you're not considering the wide variety of channels and avenues these individuals have to potentially distract themselves. Lest we forget that (now former) Kansas coach forbid his players from cursing as a means to instill morals and self discipline (2-year profanity free seasons of 5-19 football later...) while Louisville coach Charlie Strong attributed a critical November conference loss to the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and the distraction it caused his team. Speaking as someone who would stay up watching golden era seasons of The Simpsons then sleeping through Psych 110, stay in the dorms until the only possibility was to arrive at recitation at asshole o'clock to play an extra quarter of Madden 05 on PlayStation 2, or, you know, forego homework/studying to do the sort of taboo things college students on their own for their first time (and certainly without the time commitment of a student athlete in a money sport), if individuals want to find a distraction from their obligations/responsibilities, they will. Need proof? Call it Facebook. Google+, BlackPlanet, WorldStarHipHop, Reddit, StumbleUpon, or whatever; taking away one channel does not remove the television. If Meyer and co. were carrying out such an initiative strictly for disciplinary purposes, I'd be ripping it a new one for being the same mindless, hollow class of motivating tactics that removing the names on the back of a jersey or taking the logos off a helmet until a player earns them  fit into . Without the utmost creativity (or an audience with an attention span shorter than most television shows and an acumen to match), gimmicky ploys like that seldom amount to anything that pushing the proper buttons would anyway (see: the removal of Nebraska black shirts under Bill Callahan or the green Notre Dame jerseys under EVERYONE).
• Lastly, the above premise (that this is some kind of disciplinary tactic) is completely bunk. This is almost assuredly strictly for restriction of trade purposes. Urban and his deputies are masters of pre-emptive crisis communication and they want to control the message by any means necessary. If you support Machiavellian strategery and playbooking from the likes of Rove and Carville, celebrate this move accordingly and get ready for more of the same.

Whew. The further irony of people whining in either direction about the topic on social media (particularly at going to such lengths as to merit our questioning their credentials to even be on it in the first place) is hopefully not lost on us, but what is important is to remember the good times we had. Regardless of your stance on players' freedom of speech/expression or your thoughts on the medium/practice as a whole, laughing is something we all champion dearly. Sure a twitter blackout may snuff out a few amateur level scoops that beat types, bloggers, and fans would love to claim first dibs on (which, you know, is something obnoxious internet comments from the mid 2000's did), but what it will really deprive us all of is the unintentional comedy vicariously living through someone with a uniquely different world view than our own can provide. We begin with food, which Ohio State players left little to the imagination as to what they liked. In order:

Someone (Bucksfan?) posted in a comment thread about how we've all been saying the B1G will be coming back soon ... for the past half decade... and it got me thinking: 

It's not "cyclical" this time around and they arent coming back. The decline of B1G football is a permanent trend and we have to start looking out for ourselves.

Look at all the factors. Does tradition matter? Yes Do coaches matter? Hell yes. But what it all comes down to is where a certain few very talented 18 year old kids decide to go to college. And to us factors such as academics and tradition and whatnot are supremely important so we presume that 18 year old kids have the same mindset. Some of them do. But, I don't know about you guys, when I was 18 my brain worked in a far simpler, narrower way.

Apologize in advance if this is a gross oversimplification, but the first and foremost factor is

1.) Kids just dont wanna go to places where its COLD AND DEPRESSING during LONG stretches of the year. And where the girls aren't as hot (according to perception; we know it's not really true). Hate to say it but if we're all honest with ourselves we would all admit that 18 year old kids will always rather go somewhere warm, sunny with beaches filled with bikinis. That's just how the mind of an 18 year old kid works.

And in today world, where ANY hyped recruit is on a national radar, schools in place like the Mid west don't stand a chance in the long run, over an aggregate amount, when it comes to competing for recruits with places like Florida or California. Back in the heyday of the B1G people recruited through MAILINGS and LETTERS. That shit takes FOREVER. If you were a talented kid in Iowa USC might somehow get word of you and acquire precious little video footage of you. Great. They send you a letter. But your local Iowa HC could come to your house and go up to your doorstep and sit down on your couch to have a chat with you and your parents. That's a huge advantage. Nowdays it's all completely different in our world of texts, twitter, private charter jets, etc. (See: our very own beloved URBZ already stealin' out of state recruits).

2.) The other factor was that back then, the states where B1G schools are located were more populated, and thus producing more talent. There's still tons of talent coming out of the mid west, but since the entire region is declining as a whole it's just not the same amounts. This alone wouldn't be fatal but when you add in the national recruiting part then you can see why. Look at Minnesota: once upon a time they won Nat'l championships. Nowadays they're fielding a barely MAC-level team. No kid from outside of Minny who is highly touted will go within 500 miles of it. ANd look at all the in-state talent that they still manage to produce but leaves (Lil animal, Floyd, etc).

What it comes down to is just an inevitable decline in the state of big ten football. And it is, more or less, tied to the decline of the Mid west. You can ask why this happened and all other questions about it but that doesn't change the fact that it's reality.

If we continue to YOKE ourselves to the B1G and all these sinking schools, we won't have that same flexibilty once the CFB landscape shifts again. Instead of trying to drag these hanger-ons kicking and screaming into the 21st century, we should just leave them behind. Leave the B1G and go independent if we have to. Start a Buckeye Network. Hell I'd be the first to subscribe. We could schedule real teams like USC every year. OSU is a national brand and we have the largest alumni base in all of CFB. (see THIS: http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/19/the-geography-of-college-foo... )

The rest of the B1G is terrible and trending even more downwards. Go down the list school by school.

Michigan: ok eSECPn says they're "resurgent" this year, but we all know that they AREN'T and if they can't poach recruits from Ohio they're done.

Nebraska: highly touted addition to the B1G turns out to be a Rich Man's ILLINI

PSU: Really? #nuclearcrater

Iowa: lost to Iowa St.

Sparty: They Sparty a lot. And yet this is the golden age of MSU football. Does anybody think they have a higher ceiling than what they are now? 

Nerds: belong in the Ivy league or Patriot league

Indiana: just sad. .500 MAC team at best.

PurDONT: (too angry about our losses to them to even type)

Illini: career underachievers

Wisky: feasting on inferior competition by running up points and losing whenever they play anyone who matters. Aren't and will never be nationally "elite". 

Minny: Should be put out of their misery. 

THESE are the clowns we would be investing our future with. The rest of the B1G combined doesn't touch OSU in terms of what we bring to the table versus what they bring.

The bottom line is that the B1G needs us way more than we need them. It's time to start exploring other long term options.

We've been saying the B1G will be back for more than half a decade. Well people have been saying Notre Dame will be back for more than a decade and a half.

I say we, as Ohio State, should secede from the B1G before it's too late. Or at the very least break off and form our own Network, get our own TV deal, and rule the B1G like TExas does the big12. Texas basically figured out the game eariler than we did (thanks, incompetant dimwits Gee, gene). The Big12 needs texas WAY more than Texas needs the big12. Texas could go to the PAC (and make concessions, but still). They could go independent. Because of this leverage, the Big12 basically bends to their every whim. And when the other big12 schools are of no use to them anymore, they'll cast them aside and hop onto a superconference or go independent or who knows what when a playoff finally arrives. The point is, they have control over their own destiny. Either it's time we decide to take charge of the B1G and make it nat'l relevant again (ie kicking out some schools and adding others), or we begin to put our chips in our own pot (Buckeye Network) and start contigency planning. Because if things stay the way they are heading, soon we'll be stuck in a Big East type scenario. 

Hello Blogosphere! This is my first real blog post of any sort of importance. I decided, since I'm an avid sports fan and I'm part of The Ohio State University Athletic Band, that I should post about the sporting events I go to.

For those of you who don't know about athletic band (a-band for short), we're the little brother of the marching band in pretty much every way, shape, and form. Marching band members are in our band, we have woodwinds (unlike our all brass brethern), our directors are the same, and, heck, we even practice in the same place. The difference is we play for every other sport, but football (minus the Spring Game. That's our big game of the year). I get a grade for watching sports, why wouldn't I take that class? Last year, I got an A by going go all the men's basketball home games and getting stuff for free. Is there a better class? Well, maybe the lego class...

So, being in a-band and a general sports fan, I end up going to a lot of events that have little to no coverage by buckeye sport outlets. In an effort to add a little more to these less-than-popular teams, I'll write a post game wrap-up of the events I attend. So, without futhur ado, the first installment of "Sports Thoughts."

THE TEAM: Women's Ice Hockey

THE VENUE: Ohio State Ice Rink (next to St. John Arena on the campus side)

THE PRICE: Free. Everything. Posters, autographs, attendance. It's a nice event for people with kids (as there were a lot there), since the crowd is tame, and you can put your kids in your favorite Ohio State gear to support one of our 36 varsity sports. 

THE OPPONENT: Princeton

THE OUTCOME: 2-2 in regulation, 0-0 in OT, and 2-1 in the shoot out (aka: we won)

THE COMMENTS:

Admittedly, I don't know much about hockey. The extent of my knowledge is that Canadians love it, it's extremely physical and fast paced, it's on ice, everyone on the team gets to play (so no one is complaining about not using the bench/3rd stringers), and the puck has to go into netted goals. So, in a way, like soccer on ice, but with real physical contact and things that can actually kill you. Armed with my scarce knowledge, I watched my first game of the year.

Coming in about 5 minutes late after waiting for my friends, the score was 0-0. The Bucks were in control for most of the period. Pucks were flying, and there were many near makes. However, the first period ended with scoreless. I noticed that Princeton's team were like Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde when they switched out (for those of you who don't know, hockey teams switch out their whole team of 5 on the ice every few minutes. According to my hockey fan friend, it's very, very tiring to be skating at that level with all that gear on. Makes sense if you think about it). Half of their team were not as aggressive on offense, whereas the other half of the team would hound the puck.

After Zamboni-Man (because who doesn't want to be that super hero?) turned the rink into shiny glass, the second period commenced. The Bucks came out energized, quickly scoring a goal within the opening minutes of the period. Seconds after the goal, one of our players tripped the opposing player. One person in the crowd, angered by the call, proceeded to call out "That's a terrible foul, for those of you who don't know," which I found both informative and hilarious.

Princeton, thankfully, was unable to convert their power play (after a foul is commited, the team that commited the foul is down a person on the ice for 2 minutes). Then, we got complacent. We were mostly playing defense, with a few exciting breaks and near misses of the goal to put Princeton away. In the closing minutes of the second period, Princeton's Mr. Hyde side made themselves known, scoring a point to tie the game. With less than a minute to play in the period (and M*ch*g@n still sucks!), the Bucks scrambled to try and score, but were unsuccessful. 

The intermission that followed featured a cute little 3rd grader doing more tricks, spins, and jumps on skates than I could possibly ever accomplish without seriously maiming myself or others. Of course, Zamboni-Man made his apperance, and, shortly thereafter, the thrid period began. In an eerily familiar fashion, the Buckeyes came out on fire. They quickly made a goal to bring the score to 2-1. However, midway through the period, Princeton fought back with their own goal. Somewhere in this period of time, Princeton fouled us, and, instead of a power play, we got a shot on the goal, which, unfortunately we did not score on.

With about 4 minutes to go, tied at 2-2, we committed a foul, pulling a player from the ice. Princeton was on a power play. Two tense minutes passed. Princeton were hustling their backsides off, and, try as they might, could not make a goal to finish the game. Once back to full strength, the Buckeyes recieved a momentary spark. Yet, the final horn blared at the end of regulation, score still 2-2. 

Into a 5 minute overtime period we found ourselves. Both teams were hustling like never before. Their energy levels were amped. The Bucks found themselves taking several good shots with better saves by Princeton's goalie. At the end of the 5minutes, neither team could actually score the much convented goal. 

In his final appearnce of the night, Zamboni-Man glassed up the middle of the rink, making the perfect, slippery lane for the following shoot out. Princeton had the first shot. Starting from the top, the Princeton player weaved left and right before firing the puck at our goalie. Unfortunately, it went in. With a 0-1 disadvantage, our shooter began her trek down the ice. With a move of her own, she, too, scored on Princeton's goalie, bringing the shoot out score to 1-1. Tense as ever, the crowd watched as the second Princeton player started her way towards our  goal. This time, though, her shot was blocked. Natalie Spooner, Ohio State's own Canadian National Team member, scored the deciding point. Thus, the first of a two game series came to a close, with the Buckeyes on the winning side.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• The crowd at the games are pretty knowledgeable. They know who the players are, and what's happening. It made the whole event much more enjoyable.
• There were a lot of little kids there. So, if you live in the Columbus area, and want to go to a Buckeye sporting event without breaking the budget, this as good a choice as any other.
• After going to football and men's basketball games, and even volleyball games to a lesser extent, the cheering at women's hockey games leave something to be desired. 
• Mass crowd reactions are funny and amusing.
• Overall, the game was enjoyable. I'm going back tomorrow with the same friend.

Make sure to read the offical game review.

Joe Bodolai (1949 - 2011)

Former SNL writer and television producer Joe Bodolai is dead of what appears to be a suicide. He was 63 years old.

He was a very witty and droll guy (his "headline" following the Casey Anthony verdict was about Florida's landmark decision to legalize post-birth abortions) and even in his common prose was unable to keep the sarcasm and wit from flowing. That is often the case with people who are funny for a living.

Comedy is often borne out of pain. While it's hard to pinpoint what it was that drove him to take his own life, there are a few things about Bodolai that we do know: He was a Cleveland sports fan, and he loved the Browns and the Indians. That in and of itself is the best kind of pain for a comedy writer: The tortuous, self-loathing and occasionally funny kind.

Bodolai was also a Buckeye fan and an 11W commenter and contributor, who was quite vocal throughout the Tatgate scandal about putting what was happening in Ohio State into the proper context with what was being perpetuated outside of Columbus.

He left what now obviously looks like a suicide note and leaves behind two sons.

RIP, Joe.

I am a frequent visitor, though I rarely post anything (feeling inadequate in the face of such erudition as permeates this site).  I thought I would take this opportunity to thank everyone at 11W for their hard work and dedication in bringing me, and the myriad of other Buckeye fans, their unique brand of incisive reporting, breaking news, rational analysis, and strategic placement of troll faces.  I think the thing I most appreciate is the sense of humor which informs all of your endeavors, reminding us that, though it may seem like life or death more often than is logical or healthy, what we are obsessing over is a game, something which should bring us joy and camaraderie.  I raise a cup of badass wassail to all of you who have made me laugh and think and cheer through this most difficult of years, and I look forward to a new year, as Buckeye Nation rises from the ashes of unjust immolation and takes its rightful place at the head of the B1G table.  Merry Christmas and Go Bucks!!!!

I am just craving on more and more recruiting news. I like joel caleb, but I think that diggs and neal are better. Bummed that cyrus jones took us out of the running because someone on here predicted that we would get him. Hopeful for Dodson, Diamond and Williams. Also, how would you rank the three top recruiting services ESPN, Scout, and Rivals? Would would be #1, #2 and #3. Seems like Espn ranks south players way higher than the other two. I am also in hope that Urbz could get some people to pick the Ohio State hat during the High School All-American games. He did this spectacularly at Florida and it seemed like when we had Tressel, the Ohio State hat would be up there, but never picked.

A little something I put together. Enjoy!

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how
His coaching used to make me smile
And I knew if we’d had our say
We’d flip off the N-C- double- A
And maybe he’d be coaching for awhile
But February made me shiver
With all the news ESPiN delivered
Bad news on ev’ry website
The nation was joyed by our plight
I can’t remember if I cried
As we sang Carmen to him and his bride
Something touched me deep inside
The day… The Sweatervest… died
 

So bye, bye to that Sweatervest guy
Drove their loaners past the Olentangy acting so fly
Them good ol’ boys were busy watching ink dry
Singin ”aint it great to be a Buckeye”
Yes its great to be a Buckeye

Did you read the Book of Hayes
And do you have faith in running Dave
As the Vest would tell you so?
And do you believe that the Buckeye Band
Is the finest in all the land?
Will you stay to sing Carmen hand-in-hand?
Well I know you fell in love with him
After that Fiesta win.
We cried with Neutron Man.
“We got the best damn team in the land”!
I was a lonely freshman Ohio Buck
With a scarlet tee in a pizza truck
But it seemed to us we were out of luck
The day The Sweatervest died.
 

They were singin:
 

Bye, bye to that Sweatervest guy
Drove their loaners past the Olentangy acting so fly
Them good ol’ boys were busy watching ink dry
Singin ”aint it great to be a Buckeye”
Yes it’s great to be a Buckeye
 

For ten years in him we put our trust
A return to “three yards and a cloud of dust”
But that’s now how it used to be.
When Cooper coached against the Wolverines
He’d often lose to those bastard fiends
But The Vest went nine and one with much ease
Oh but while The Vest looking down
The Five were in the wrong part of town
Spring practice was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Tressel talked to Sarniak
About his 5-star quarterback
The details never were exact
The day, the Sweatervest died

And they were singin':

bye, bye to that Sweatervest guy
Drove their loaners past the Olentangy acting so fly
Them good ol’ boys were busy watching ink dry
Singin ”aint it great to be a Buckeye”
Yes its great to be a Buckeye
 

Behold! Behest! The Sweatervest
Led them again to the BCS
This time against the Razorbaaaaaaaaaaacks
In the first half we were beating their ass
As Mallett would try another forward pass
But Heyward got to Mallet for a sack
At halftime we were gloating loud
We’d silenced the opposition’s crowd
Then a botched safety call
And a punt block gave them the ball
But when Mallet needed a quarter field
The Silver Bullets refused to yield
Do you recall what was the feel
Before, the Sweatervest died?

The Five were singin':

bye, bye to that Sweatervest guy
Drove their loaners past the Olentangy acting so fly
Them good ol’ boys were busy watching ink dry
Singin ”aint it great to be a Buckeye”
Yes its great to be a Buckeye
 

Oh, and there we were all in one place
Reading reports in cyberspace
No one came to the Vest’s defense
So they damned the Scarlet, damned us Gray
All the haters had a field day
Because, scandals are a hater’s only friend
And as I read every transcript page
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
The committee tried their best
The break that Sweatervest!
And as Dohrmann typed his lies all night
To exacerbate the Buckeyes’ plight
I saw Mark May laughing with delight
The day, the Sweatervest died

And they were singin':

bye, bye to that Sweatervest guy
Drove their loaners past the Olentangy acting so fly
Them good ol’ boys were busy watching ink dry
Singin ”aint it great to be a Buckeye”
Yes its great to be a Buckeye
 

I met a girl who hated Blue
I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
And I went down to my favorite bar
Where I’d watch The Vest coach from afar
But the man there said the Vest, wouldn’t coach.
And in The Oval the students wept
The players cried and hadn’t slept
But not a word was spoken
The Vict’ry Bell was broken
And TP, who had done the most
To dishonor us and Woody’s Ghost
He took the last flight toward the coast
The day, the Sweatervest died

So bye, bye to that Sweatervest guy
Drove their loaners past the Olentangy acting so fly
Them good ol’ boys were busy watching ink dry
Singin ”aint it great to be a Buckeye”
Yes its great to be a Buckeye

Bye, bye to that Sweatervest guy
Drove their loaners past the Olentangy acting so fly
Them good ol’ boys were busy watching ink dry
Singin ”aint it great to be a Buckeye”

First posted at Inside The Shoe (includes video highlights)

Although the 2012 recruiting class has not yet been finished, with the recent hiring of Urban Meyer, 2013 has already perked some interest into Buckeye fans across the country. With that said, here are our efforts to give you the in-depth knowledge about who Ohio State's top targets are.

There's a reason that '13 wide receiver recruit Robert Foster starts off our 2013 recruiting profiles: He's simply the best of the best. The junior from Central Valley has already been offered from a multitude of schools, including our very own Buckeyes. Ohio State isn't the only one noticing the game-breaking receiver, as Foster currently holds offers from Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Penn State, West Virginia, Virginia, Rutgers, Pitt, and Purdue.

At 6'2'', 175 pounds, Foster could very well be one of those few players that you don't say no to. All-State in Class 3A as both a wide receiver and a punt returner during his sophomore season, he put up some serious numbers: 45 carries for 406 yards with 3 rushing touchdowns, and 25 receptions for 520 yards. As a junior, Foster did a little bit of everything in helping the Warriors finish 11-1. He caught 37 passes for 584 yards and five touchdowns, including a long of 99. He rushed another 36 times for 419 yards and two scores, including a long of 55.

He can play defense, too: From his safety spot, Foster registered 57 tackles, four interceptions, three pass breakups and a forced fumble. His team lost in the state championship, but heading into next year will no doubt be an exciting one for Foster as he returns as a senior with a lot of attention focused on him and his team as they try and make another title run.

If you've ever heard the phrase "Hold your breath when (they) get the ball" it applies perfectly for Robert Foster. The kid has a knack for coming up with plays when his team needs them the most. Returning punts, kickoffs, or just short passes intended to get a first down or a couple of yards can easily turn into 70+ yard plays on one quick move. With Urban Meyer's type of offense, Foster would be a great fit as a go-to receiver. He is by and far one of the most explosive players in the country. He is literally a threat to score any time he touches the ball, and has game changing speed with the ability to change gears at any point in time.

There’s a reason why his coach puts him in so many situations. Whenever he’s involved, good things tend to happen. Even with the punting. Last year in a game against New Castle, Foster was punting from deep in his own end. The snap went over his head and bounced through the end zone. But Foster managed to stop the ball just inches from the back of the end zone. With his heels nearly touching the end line, Foster picked up the ball, surveyed the field in front of him, and then he took off. He returned the ball to the 40-yard line, giving his team a first down.

Robert is elusive in the open field and is a very dangerous return man, which makes him very versatile, something that Urban Meyer has proved time and time again that those types of players are his favorite. See: Harvin, Percy. Foster is a big time vertical threat who can go up and get the ball but also possesses outstanding ball skills and seems to come up big when he needs to.

He is still raw and learning with every rep, but that's what junior year is for: refining your skills and getting ready for that break-out senior year. He's already got the talent and his skill set is very high already, now he needs to work on the little things and refine them. Foster is the #1 ranked Wide Receiver in 247's Top 247, and also the #14 prospect overall.

For the video highlights of Foster's sophomore and junior year, please visit the orignial post at Inside The Shoe