Eleven Warriors

Interview by Curt Heinrichs

Curt Heinrichs: Thanks again for taking some time to speak with me. This past weekend, you had what’s become a tradition for the wrestling Buckeyes, and had a home match on the road, so to speak. How did that tradition come about?
Tom Ryan: We just felt that in the business that we’re in, which is serving our community, why would we not take our show on the road to various high schools and communities around the state. The central focus is a current wrestler that’s been a standout for us, and that was a bunch of them. We’ve got Cody Magrum (Senior 184 lbs) and Drew Stone (Sophomore 125 lbs) and we had the Bergmans (JD and Wes). Going to Oak Harbor was an easy choice.

CH: It also has to help that the community of Oak Harbor is absolutely nuts about wrestling, too.
TR: That’s right. That sure did factor into the decision.

CH: Your Buckeyes took on a tough Illinois team and the Buckeyes were able to win 7 of the 10 matches en route to a 25-9 victory. I spoke with Coach Jaggers following the match, but what were some things that you saw that you liked?
TR: I think a lot of the critical matches went our way. Not all of them, but a lot of the critical matches. Whether it was the crowd or whatever it was, we were able to win in critical positions and the energy from the crowd certainly helped. I think that Logan Stieber being back in the lineup was a boost for everybody (defending National Champion Stieber had been out of the lineup for several weeks with a leg injury). Overall, we wrestled well and came out on top.

CH: One of the matches I noticed was at 174 with Nick Heflin beating Jordan Blanton in a matchup of top 10 wrestlers. From top to bottom, the Big Ten is absolutely ridiculous at 174 (at the time of this match, 8 of the top 10 wrestlers in the country at 174 lbs were from the Big Ten). Maybe with Nick getting the late victory, is that something that will help with seeding at the Big Ten Tournament?
TR: It’s not so much with seeding, but it will help him mentally. He’s had a couple of wins over top opponents and a couple of losses to tough opponents. Nick’s coming off of a pretty significant hand injury. He was out for 6 weeks and has been back for 3 now, so we’re seeing the results of consistent training. I think Nick believes he can win a national championship, and a win like that will only help his confidence. We’re really happy that Nick pulled out a big win there.

CH: Speaking of the Big Ten Tournament, Freshman Kenny Courts was able to knock off Gonzalez, who was the defending Big Ten champ at 197 lbs. Do you see Kenny sticking in that role, or will we see Andrew Campolattano come back in the lineup at 197?
TR: Andrew isn’t healthy right now, so we don’t have a choice other than to go with Kenny. Kenny wasn’t a strategic choice to put in there, but that was the way it worked. Andrew is hurt, Kenny is a 184 pounder who was willing to step up and ended up beating the defending Big Ten champion. Kenny is wrestling well and you’ll see him in that spot this weekend. The thing about Kenny is that he weighed in at 184 and wrestled 197. He didn’t wrestle a full match, which is unacceptable for the kind of conditioning we like our guys to have. He found a way to win, and we’re happy with that.

CH: Any time you’re up 8-0 after the 1st minute, that’s a pretty good start to your match. Looking forward, the Buckeyes have 2 duals this weekend, starting on the road at Michigan on Friday and on Sunday at home against Penn State. What’s that like for these guys, having to make weight 2 times in a weekend. Does that wear on the wrestlers, especially with a day off in between?
TR: I think that compared to some things in life, this isn’t so tough. You’ve got to make weight twice, travel to Michigan, and come back home to wrestle Penn State on Sunday. We try to keep it in perspective. There are a lot of people in the world with tougher things to do than weigh in on Friday and Sunday. The bottom line is that we’re looking for incredible performances at this time of year. Michigan is obviously the big rivalry for Ohio State. That’s going to be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network, and after that, we’ll get a chance to beat Penn State. First things first is Michigan. It’s a big match and we’re looking forward to it.

CH: Since you mentioned it, Michigan has been down in the past couple of years. Does that maybe take some of the intensity from that rivalry, or is it still first and foremost?
TR: It’ll always be important. They were ranked as high as #11 before they dropped. They have the same group of guys, and as we’ve seen in college wrestling, matchups are absolutely critical. Penn State was #1 and Iowa was #3 last weekend, but the matchups really favored Iowa. In this duel, we’re favored, but if we take these guys lightly it could be close. If we go in there and hold our ground, we can score some bonus points here and there and win the match.

CH: If you wouldn’t mind, let’s break down the key matches between the Buckeyes and the Wolverines.
TR: Well there are 10 weight classes and we’re going to be heavily favored in 4 of them. Does that mean that we’ll absolutely win those? No, but we have a great shot. At 133 (Logan Stieber), 141 (Hunter Stieber), at 157 (Josh Demas), and at 184 (CJ Magrum).  We should be able to pick up some bonus points in those matches. To win the dual, we’ll need 1 more win. At 125, we’ll have Boyle (UM) vs Triggas in what is going to be a critical match. They’re both tough and both are capable of a big win. At 149, that’s actually a rematch of the 3rd place match of last year’s Big Ten Championships. Both guys won 4 state titles in high school, both are not accustomed to losing, so (Eric) Grajales (UM) and (Cam) Tessari is going to be a big one. The 174 lb match is the next big one with Heflin and Yates. We’re probably favored a little bit there, but Yates is a tough competitor. At 197 with Huntley and Courts should be outstanding. In order for us to lose, we’ll need to lose all of those and probably heavyweight, which is a weight where we’re probably favored. The dual meet looks like we’re favored, but that’s why we wrestle, right?

CH: You’ve got Penn State at home on Sunday. They were beaten at #3 Iowa last weekend, but held on to the #1 ranking this week. Let’s talk about that match up.
TR: I would say that against Penn State, we’re in the same type of position that Michigan is in against us. Is it winnable? Yes. Do a lot of things have to go our way? Yes. You know that in sporting events every day, things have to go the right way. We’ve got to get the crowd involved early on.
Nikko Triggas (AA for the Buckeyes) and Nico Megaludus (NCAA runnerup as a freshman last year for PSU) is a big match, and we have to win that match.
At 133 and 141, we’re going to need bonus points. If you look at the Penn State lineup, those are tough kids, hard-working kids, but they’re not at the level of the rest of the team.
At 149, we’ve got to win. They’re slightly favored at 149 and 157 (with twins #8 Andrew and #5 Dylan Alton) with the Alton brothers against our Tessari and Demas. We’ve got to have wins at those weight classes.
At 165, they have the David Taylor Special. Mark Martin is our freshman against a 4th year junior. We’ve just got to hold our ground and keep the match close like he did against (Illinois’ Conrad) Polz and try not to give up bonus points. If it goes our way, it’ll come down to bonus points.
At 174, we’ve got another huge match that we’ve got to have. They’ve got (Matt) Brown, who is a competitor and a goer. He was ranked as high as 4th or 5th against Heflin. Ohio State has to win at 174 to be able to win the match .
At 184, Penn State has Ed Ruth, who is probably one of the best wrestlers in college wrestling. We’ve got to hold our ground there and Cody has to stay gritty and keep the match close.
At 197, the match is interesting because they have (Quentin) Wright who could win the national tournament. We’re probably favored at the lower weights, but they’ve got the edge in the upper weights.
At heavyweight, there’s another critical match that we’ve got to have. Heavyweight, 174, 157, 149, 141, 133, and even 125. If we win those matches, we win the dual.

CH: I spoke with Cam (Tessari) last Friday night, and he mentioned he’s going to try and “peak in March.” That’s a familiar sentiment for a lot of guys, but what can you do as a staff to help guys wrestle their best in the postseason?
TR: Training picks up and we know it’s been a long season. The goal is to be at their best in March and the training changes quite a bit, which is the biggest thing. We start to shorten workouts and focus on technique and individual strengths and weaknesses. We want to make sure that guys’ strengths are super strengths and the holes in their games close up. When you’ve great athletes and guys that want to win and know how to win, they achieve when it matters the most. I think Cam is one of those guys. He was an All-American last year and we think he can do it again this year.

CH: I was especially impressed when he lost his first match at Nationals last year and won 7 straight to finish as an All-American.
You have an exceptionally young team. Is youth an advantage that’s on your side or does that youth expose itself as the season wears on?
TR: I don’t think so. I think that every year in high school, matches are so competitive and there are so many great kids coming into college. It’s really competitive. We have a great group of young guys and each of them want to win a national championship for this institution. Overall, I’d think the older a guy gets, the better he gets. The future is bright with our young team winning as young guys. We’re only going to improve in coming years.

CH: As we mentioned before, you have coach J Jaggers on your staff who has been at the top of the NCAA podium a couple of times recently. How has J as a coach an asset to these young guys who’d like to get there for themselves?
TR: J brings the “I did it” factor. He was a 3 time Academic All-American and a 2 time National Champion. He is a tremendous coach who is good in all positions. He is an incredible asset for our staff. He’s an X factor for us and we’re happy to have him as a coach.

CH: The last question for you tonight deals with recruiting. It was announced that this week, the Buckeyes got the commitment from maybe not one of the biggest names, but certainly one you were glad to land. I’m talking about your son, Jake Ryan. What does it mean for you to have your son to further his career and join your team in the wrestling room?
TR: It means a tremendous amount to me. I’m blessed that he has developed a love for the sport. He started late and really only started in 9th grade. He really fell in love with the sport. He’s got a great high school coach and he’s going to really help this team push for a national championship. I’m proud of him and I’m glad he decided to stay home and wrestle for the Bucks.

Massillon (OH) Washington ATH Gareon Conley is one top prospects in the state of Ohio for the class of 2013. Conley was a Michigan commit for about nine months, but de-committed back in December, a couple of weeks after Ohio State offered him a scholarship. Conley took a visit to Columbus from December 5th-7th and committed to the Bucks on the visit. I caught up with Conley to talk about the feeling of officially becoming a Buckeye and more:

• Signing: "It felt really good to officially get the process over with. It's an honor to play for Ohio State, Coach Meyer, and the fan base. It's truly an honor."
• Why he chose OSU: "I feel more comfortable as a Buckeye. I know I'll always have people there for me and I'm an Ohio boy."
• Other Signees: "I probably talk to Darron Lee the most. It's a really good class, I can't wait to play with them."
• Meyer: "We have a really good relationship. He's a great coach and I'm excited to play for him."
• Devin Smith (Cousin): "We have a very good relationship. We went to school together and he's one of the main reasons I decided to play football."
• Favorite recruiting memory: "My officially visit to Ohio State when I committed. It felt like home."
• College position: CB or WR (most likely CB)
• Interested in studying business
• Message for Buckeye Nation: "I can't wait to get to Columbus and play football."

Full Recap of the OSU victory over Illinois on February 1, 2013

Interviews by Curt Heinrichs

Assistant wrestling coach J Jaggers spoke with Curt Heinrichs following the #5 Buckeyes' victory over #6 Illinois. Jaggers was a 2-time NCAA Champion in his career as a Buckeye, as well as a multiple time Academic All-American. Jaggers is in his 2nd year as an assitant coach.  

Curt Heinrichs- On the Illinois match…What did you as a coaching staff like about the match?

J Jaggers- Obviously we liked the box score (25-9 in favor of the Buckeyes). I think with us, we never try to get too low when we lose and never try to get too high when we win. That was a good Illinois team that we just beat. To win 25-9 against a team that’s ranked 1 slot lower than you is pretty good. When you go back and look at individual matches, there are things you can critique with each match, probably with exception to 133 lbs (#1 Logan Stieber pinned #8 Daryl Thomas in the 1st period).
Triggas at 125 needs to work on leg attack defense. He gave up a 5 point move and took himself out of the match.
At 133, it took a little too long to get his offense going, but when he doubled up his attacks, he scored the takedown.
Hunter (Stieber) has got to score more points in the 3rd period. He kicked the guy’s butt for the 1st 5 minutes and in the last 2 minutes, it was even. You’ve got to keep building your lead.
CH- Have you been working with Cam (Tessari) on some of that scramble-type wrestling? Some of that
Looks pretty familiar to those who remember you as a wrestler?
JJ- A lot of that’s him. You can’t teach some of those positions, but we scrap in practice for sure. The more times you’re in those positions, the better you’ll do with it.
(Josh) Demas has got to find a way to get the major (in a major decision, the winning wrestler has between 8 and 14 points more than his opponent at the conclusion of the match, earning 4 team points). He had the major with 1 minute left. You see it all the time that a guy is able to escape with 5 seconds left and there goes the major. Josh was taking him down at will, so we wanted him to go ahead and get another takedown to ice the major. He wasn’t able to use enough juice to get that takedown at the end.

Mark Martin did an excellent job against the #8 kid in the country. Polz is tough and Martin needs a signature win. He kept it tight and took him out of his comfort zone, but wasn’t able to get out from the bottom.
(Nick) Heflin did a good job. I’d still like to see him get his offense going a little bit more. He’s working on it a lot in practice and it’s starting to come out a bit in his matches. Tonight was a little glimpse of it. We saw it a little bit with those post-double legs. We’re used to seeing Nick Heflin shoot 3 times in a match, tonight it was 6. I’d like to see him shoot 14 in a match.
Kenny Courts weighed in at 186 and wrestled the Big Ten champion at 197. He did a good job of getting the win, but that style of wrestling in the 3rd period isn’t what we’re about.

Pete (Capone) did a great job. There aren’t going to be any high-scoring matches at that weight. He controlled the guy on his feet and never was in any danger. He got out from the bottom and almost turned him.

As a whole, we can be excited. We beat a pretty good team by a wide margin. We can ride back to Columbus (from Oak Harbor, Ohio, where the dual meet was held) and take a step back when we watch the film individually with our guys.

CH- Your alma mater St. Peter Chanel (where Jaggers won 4 Ohio High School State Championships) is closing after this year. What’s that mean to you?
JJ- Graham (Coghill, long-time Chanel coach) retired last year and a friend of mine, Tim Scarl, took over the program. He’s young and brings a lot of energy. I can’t comment on high school wrestling as a college coach, but it’s a little sad. My son won’t be able to go there and won’t even know what it was by the time he grows up, but that’s that.

Ohio State senior 184 lb wrestler and Oak Harbor Alumus CJ Magrum dropped a close 2-1 decision in front of his hometown crowd against ranked Illini wrestler Tony Dallago.
CH- Of all of the matches you’ve wrestled in this gym and on this mat, does this one really stand out to you?
CJ Magrum- For sure. This is the most packed I’ve ever seen the gym and a lot of people I know came from far away to come here. It’s just awesome to get the opportunity to wrestle here again.

CH- It was a close match. Obviously you’d like it to go in your favor, but talk a little bit about how the match panned out. Do you look forward to getting another crack at Dallago at Big Ten’s or Nationals?
CJM- We’ve wrestled like 3 times so far in my career. I know that I’ll probably run into him at Big Ten’s or Nationals, so I’m not too worried about it.

Cam Tessari, a returning All-American for the Buckeyes hails from nearby Monroeville, Ohio. Tessari earned a dominant 6-1 decision against Caleb Ervin of Illinois.

CH- What’s the distance from Monroeville to Oak Harbor?
Cam Tessari- About 30 minutes or so.

CH- You’ve obviously got a lot of family and friends in the crowd. Do you feed off of that energy from the stands, or do you just block it out once you hit the mat?
CT- I try to hit the mat and block it out. It’s also a lot of fun to see familiar faces in the crowd and mingle a little bit with people I know before and after the match.
CH- Obviously you’re used to wrestling after a pair of Stiebers (Tessari, Logan Stieber, and Hunter Stieber were all teammates at Monroeville High School and all won 4 Ohio State Championships). Do you feed off of the energy from Logan and then Hunter when you step on the mat? Does their high level of competition push you to succeed as well?
CT- I don’t like it (laughs). They’re always going out there and winning and putting me on the spot. Really though, I’m used to it and it’s good to see them succeed and it does help me a little.
CH- You rode Ervin tough when you got on top. Was that the gameplan, or was that what you saw working and stuck with it?
CT- I was working to get a turn, but I wasn’t able to. The gameplan coming out was to neutralize his top game and I was able to do that and get the W.
CH- You were an All-American last year as a true freshman (Tessari lost the first match at Nationals, then reeled off 6 straight decisions before losing in the 3rd place match. Tessari ended up placing 4th). You stumbled a bit early on this season. What are you doing to get back on the podium this year?
CT- I’m trying to peak in March. I didn’t have the best start to the season, but I’m working my way back up. I’m just trying to peak in March and make my way to the National Championship.

Buckeye wrestler Kenny Courts has burst on to the collegiate scene, currently ranked #16 at 184 lbs. Courts bumped up to 197 lbs to take on defending Big Ten champ, #13 ranked Mario Gonzalez of Illinois. Courts stormed out to an 8-0 lead after the 1st minute of the match and was able to hang on for a 13-9 decision.
CH- Kenny, great match! You came out and attacked right off the whistle. Was that the gameplan, to come out fast, build a lead, and hold on?
KC- I wasn’t trying to hold on. He was big and relentless, so that’s how it ended up. I tried not to be as passive as I’ve been in the past because that’s gotten me nowhere. I tried to treat it like a high school match and lay It on my opponent. That’s what I stopped doing and I’ve started getting back to it.
CH- You’ve wrestled most of the year at 184 lbs, but you were up at 197 tonight. What’s the difference in your mind?
KC- Basically I think the guys are a lot better at 184. The guys at 197 are bigger and stronger, but they don’t have as many shots to worry about. That’s the difference, but I’m not looking forward to wrestling up there soon. I’m happy to get a big win over a good guy, but I’m ready to move on.

Returning All-American sophomore Hunter Stieber is currently ranked #2 in the country at 141 lbs. Stieber continued his undefeated season by earning a major decision against Illinois’ Stephen Rodrigues.
CH- You grew up just a few minutes down the road (from Oak Harbor, in Monroeville). What’s it like wrestling in front of a lot of family and friends near your hometown?
HS- We actually have a pretty large crowd from Monroeville that follows us around. It’s nothing too different, but it’s cool coming back here to wrestle in front of all  of my family and friends again.
CH- You followed your brother who had a big pin. Do you feed off of that energy?
HS- He got a pin, but I wasn’t able to get one. I definitely feel that energy after he gets a big win, though. The way he wrestles gives me a lot of energy.
CH- You’re #2 in the country and undefeated. Do you have #1 (Oklahoma’s Kendric) Maple in your sights or do you not even worry about that?
HS-I just try to do the best that I can do. That’s all I can do right now. I don’t know when I’ll wrestle him, hopefully in the NCAA finals, but I can’t worry about that right now. I’m obviously going to keep an eye on him so there are no surprises, but that’s all I can do for now.

Last June, Indianapolis (IN) OG Timothy Gardner committed to Ohio State, or at least he thought he did. It turns out there was some miscommunication between Timothy and the staff and he did not have an offer at the time. The coaches asked Gardner to shed 30 pounds and if he achieved that goal, they would offer him a scholarship. He achieved that goal by the end of July. He was offered at Ohio State's "Friday Night Lights" camp and he committed on the spot. Today he signed his national letter of intent and officially became a Buckeye. I caught up with him to talk about what it meant to become a Buckeye and more:

• Officially a Buckeye: "It's a great feeling to be going to Ohio State. It's something I have always dreamed of and my dream came true."
• Why he wanted to play for OSU: "Well I just took everything into consideration. I just felt at home and it was the best fit for me."
• Preparing for college: "I'm just getting myself physically and mentally prepared for when I enroll in June."
• Coaches: "I talk to Coach Warinner two to three times a week. I also talk to Coach Coombs and Coach Meyer."
• Playing offensive guard at the college level.
• Future teammates: "I love all of them. We all talk a lot."
• Favorite recruiting memory: "I really liked the official visit. They fed us well (laughs).
• Goals: "To graduate college, to get better as a person, and improve on the football field."

Today the Buckeyes officially added 24 new players, which could grow to 25, depending on where Johnny Townsend ends up. I caught up with Toledo (OH) Central Catholic safety Jayme Thompson to talk about officially becoming a Buckeye shortly after he signed his NLOI:

• Signing/Becoming a Buckeye: "It felt amazing. I'm getting closer to my ultimate goal of playing in the NFL. I'm very excited to get to Columbus and play football."
• Favorite memory: "My favorite memory is Urban Meyer telling me, "I don't recruit against West Virginia, I really want you to be part of this program/tradition," and I said, "I wanna play for The Ohio State University."
• Position in college: "Probably free safety, but I might play the STAR position when I come in as a freshmen."
• Relationships with other signees: "It's a group of me, Ezekiel, Cam, and Eli. We're all really close."
• Playing in OSU defensive backfield: "That's kind of why I wanted to come, there's good, strong depth back there, it's one of the best in the country."
• Players he recruited to OSU: "I helped recruit Vonn Bell, James Clark, Mike Mitchell, I talked to him a lot on his official, Donovan Munger, and Mike Hill.
• Living up to Dane's legacy: "There's some pressure, but not really a lot."
• "Message for Buckeye fans: "I'm just extremely excited for the upcoming season. Go Bucks!"

Jayme is currently playing basketball for Toledo Central Catholic. They are one of the best teams in the state. He will enroll at Ohio State in June.

Here is the current scholarship count following NSD. 58 returning players and 24 signed letters of intent. Johnny Townsend is still in the queue.

As you can see, if the Buckeyes do indeed add Townsend to this count, it would mean that one of the players below would not be on the roster come the start of fall camp.

We are not in the business of mentioning potential names, as that is not right to the players, but I'm sure by taking a look below you can probably take a good guess at who some of those players would be.

The 2013 recruiting class is one of the best in program history and this roster is looking stacked on paper. Of course, young player will need to step up and veterans will need to do their jobs for this team to click on all cylinders, but I think OSU has the coach to make that happen.

QB (4)- Miller, Guiton, Jones, Barrett

RB (6)- Hyde, Hall, Smith, Dunn, Ball, Elliott

FB (0)

WR (10)- Brown, Spencer, D. Smith, Thomas, Fields, Epitropolous, Marshall, Clark, C. Smith, D. Wilson

TE (4)- Heuerman, Vannett, Thomas, Baugh

OL (14)- Mewhort, Norwell, Linsley, Hall, Decker, Dodson, Underwood, Boren, Farris, Baldwin, Lisle, Elflein, Gardner, Brown 

LEO (3)- Spence, Miller, Moore

DT (8)- Schutt, Bennett, Hale, Carter, Pittman, Hill, Price, Munger

SSE (3)- Washington, Bosa, Sprinkle

LB (11)- Shazier, Grant (keeping at LB for now), Perry, Williams, Perkins, Roberts, Marcus, Mitchell, Johnson, Lewis, Worley

CB (8)- Roby, Grant, Griffin, Reeves, Murray, Apple, Burrows, Conley

S (9)- Barnett, Bryant, Brown, Bogard, Tanner, Powell, Thompson, Lee, Bell

K (1)- Basil

P (0)

LS (1)- Haynes

The first big holiday of 2013 is here as college football's National Singing Day is finally upon us. As is normally the case the last few days and weeks have been a whirlwind of commitments, de-commitments, rumors and guesses but today the rubber meets the road as kids all over the country put pen to paper to fax machine and decide where they will spend the next few years of their young lives. Some stay home and some make their first commute to college via plane ticket. Some even get tattoos and then commit to the rival. The scenarios on NSD are endless, and the 11W recruiting team have already made their predictions for Wednesday's outcome, but the real story today will be told by the kids.

While we all have our eyes directly set on the decisions of James Clark and Vonn Bell, the storilines surrounding Taivon Jacobs and Ezekiel Elliott will insure we're glued to the news stream clear through the afternoon as they both decide if they want to remain close to home or take a one way ticket to Columbus in hopes of one day holding up a crystal football.

The Vonn Bell situation, perhaps the most difficult for anyone to comfortably predict, may have taken a turn for the worse Tuesday night when Tennessee head coach Butch Jones made a cryptic Twitter post of his own...

Ending the night on a positive note, just received some great news a few mins ago! #VFL twitter.com/UTCoachJones/s…

— Butch Jones (@UTCoachJones) February 6, 2013

All is fair in the cut throat world of recruiting and those who follow it from a distance, but there may not be a better one in the game than our own Urban Meyer. His performance on the field over his celebrated career speaks for itself, none of which came without blood, sweat and scheme, but the level of success he's experienced on the field started with the level of talent he brought into his programs from the recruiting trail. Let's take a closer look at Meyer's recent recruiting performance - by the numbers - before he snags his last couple of commits of the 2013 class.

12,411  |  Total miles traveled by Meyer's current twenty-four man 2013 class, including Taivon Jacobs and Ezekiel Elliott, to get from their home towns to the campus of THE Ohio State University. That's exactly 126 miles further than the travel required to get from Lane Avenue to -- Haixi, China.

2,212  |  Distance, in miles, from Riverside, CA to The Ohio State University, a trip that 6'4" 4-Star TE Marcus Baugh will make in order to wear the Scarlet and Gray.

1,625  |  Total combined weight of the defensive linemen Urban Meyer has brought to Columbus since arriving in late 2011, representing a healthy average of 270.8 pounds each.

439  |  Days since TSUN last beat Ohio State in football. Five days earlier it was announced that Urban Meyer had been taken off the broadcast schedule by ESPN for The Game, causing 3.1 million sportsgasms to occur within Buckeye Nation in a 24-hour span.

298  |  Days until Urban Meyer moves his record against TSUN to a tidy 2-0 while holding the title of head football coach at Ohio State.

80  |  Number of commits Meyer has signed from the ESPN 150 since its inception in 2006, including eleven thus far in his current class.

76.25  |  Average height, in inches, of the six defensive ends Meyer has signed to the Buckeyes in his first two classes.

57.75%  |  The percentage of Meyer's 187 commits (108) since his first year in Gainesville who were ranked as 4-Stars by the Rivals recruiting service.

27.27%  |  The percentage of Meyer's 187 commits (51) since his first year in Gainesville who were ranked as 4-Stars by the Rivals recruiting service.

25  |  Number of commits from the state of Ohio that Meyer has signed since arriving in Columbus.

17  |  The number of 4-Stars (Rivals) in Meyer's 2010 class, his last with the Florida Gators, representing the most he's ever signed in one class. Empty cupboard, Gator Nation? Cool.

17  |  Different states represented by the commits of Meyer's first two recruiting classes for the Buckeyes.

12  |  Different states represented by the current commits to Ohio State's class of 2013.

11.76%  |  The percentage of Meyer's 187 commits (22) since his first year in Gainesville who were ranked as 5-Stars by the Rivals recruiting service.

11  |  Number of recruits Meyer has flipped to Ohio State who were once committed to another program, including seven in his first three months in Columbus and four more in his current class.

3.21%  |  The percentage of Meyer's 187 commits (6) since his first year in Gainesville who were ranked as 2-Stars by the Rivals recruiting service, three of which were kickers including Johnny Townsend in this year's class.

0  |  The total number of career intercollegiate losses Urban Meyer's class of 2012 has recorded since officially joining the program at this time last year.

Plenty of these can and will change as signatures come rolling in on Wednesday, and I can't see making any updates to it, but this should get you started for what will undoubtedly be a day of celebration around Buckeye Nation. Need a glimpse of the current roster slots as it stands now? Alex built just that a few weeks ago and has updated it as news has came in ever since, revised through Monday night's commitment of Dontre Wilson.

Enjoy the day, guys and gals. It should be an exciting one.

Recap by Curt Heinrichs

Last night, the #5 ranked Ohio State Buckeye wrestling team (ranking according to January 29th NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll) took their youthful show on the road to Oak Harbor High School to lock horns with #6 Illinois. While it was a home match on the schedule, Oak Harbor HS was not the familiar confines of St. John arena to most of the Buckeyes. This wasn’t the case for all of the Buckeyes as redshirt senior CJ Magrum and redshirt sophomore Drew Stone wrestled their high school matches on the same mat that last night’s dual took place. It has been a recent tradition that Ohio State has wrestled one home match outside of Columbus, often at the high school of one of the upperclassmen on the team.

The match was announced as a sell-out and the gym was packed with enthusiastic Buckeye wrestling fans young and old. An estimated 2,200 fans were in attendance, and though the match took place over 2 hours away from Columbus, the crowd looked and sounded like a crowd from the (614) area code, complete with Buckeye superfan and fixture Big Nut in the front row.

As a hat tip to the hometown wrestlers, the action kicked off with an exhibition match between a pair of Buckeyes with hometown favorite Drew Stone took on Josh Whitt, a graduate of nearby Oregon Clay High School (outside of Toledo). Stone scored first with a takedown, but ultimately fell by a score of 6-4.

The match officially started at 125 lbs with a pair of previous All Americans butting heads. Nikko Triggas (ranked #12 in the most recent Intermat rankings) of the Buckeyes matched up against Jesse Delgado (#5 Intermat). Triggas, a pinning machine with experience on a international level in Greco Roman wrestling, wasn’t able to overcome a rough first period and fell to the higher-ranked Delgado. Delgado utilized a pair of 1st period takedowns and a set of 3 backpoints to storm out to a 7-1 lead after the first 3 minutes. With Triggas unable to turn Delgado in the 3rd period, Delgado was awarded an additional point at the conclusion of the bout thanks to having over a minute of riding time advantage and he won by a score of 8-1, giving the Illini a 3-0 lead to start the dual.

Magrum and Stone weren’t the only locals to be making a homecoming to the northwest corner of Ohio. Defending NCAA champion Logan Stieber (along with brother Hunter Stieber and teammate Cam Tessari) hails from nearby Monroeville, Ohio, which is only about a 30 minute drive from Oak Harbor, so a large contingency of Monroeville fans made the short trip to Oak Harbor to watch the Logan’s return to the lineup. The elder Stieber had been out of the Buckeyes lineup for a number of weeks due to a minor injury, but was back at full-strength, putting his undefeated season record and #1 ranking on the line against Illinois #8 ranked (Intermat) Daryl Thomas. Stieber scored a quick takedown and wasted little time in locking up an armbar and half nelson and was able to pin Thomas in just 2:04 of the first period. The quick pin gave the Buckeyes a 6-3 advantage, a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the evening.

Following up older brother Logan, Hunter Stieber took the mat boasting an undefeated record and #2 ranking against unranked Stephen Rodrigues. Rodrigues is filling in for returning All-American BJ Futrell, who’s out nursing an injury. Futrell is ranked #3 in the Intermat rankings, so a potential matchup between him and #2 ranked Stieber and would have been the signature match of the duel and a possible preview for the Big Ten Championships. Stieber took charge of the match from the opening whistle and outscored his opponent 7-1 in the opening frame. When the final horn sounded, Stieber had amassed a grand total of 3:05 of riding time en route to a 10-2 major decision, extending the OSU lead to 10-3.

The 3rd consecutive Monroeville graduate took the mat next when returning All-American Cam Tessari (#19 Intermat) took on Caleb Ervin. The 1st period saw the best scramble of the evening, but it ended with a potentially dangerous call from the referee when Tessari torqued the knee of Ervin just a bit too far for the referee’s liking. In the 2nd period, Tessari exploded up from the bottom and scored a reversal and 3 nearfall points while amassing 1:35 of riding time. Ervin chose to go down in the 3rd, but was unable to get out from the bottom as Tessari imposed his will on the Illini wrestler with some tough riding on top. Tessari earned the decision by a score of 6-1 and improved his record to 12-6 on the season. The additional 3 team points made the score 13-3 in favor of the Buckeyes.

At 157 lbs, Westerville native Josh Demas put his quickness on display as the 18th ranked wrestler (Intermat) took on Matt Nora. Demas changed levels at will throughout the match and was able to score 4 takedowns throughout the match with a variety of duckunders and double-legs. With an escape and an additional point for riding time, Demas moved the team score to 16-3 with a 10-3 decision of his own.

After a short halftime intermission which saw members of the Oak Harbor youth wrestling program wrestling on the mat, St. Edward graduate Mark Martin took on #8 ranked Conrad Polz of Illinois. The 1st period was scoreless and Polz was able to escape from the bottom in the 2nd. In the 3rd period, OSU’s Martin was unable to escape and Polz earned a 2-0 decision with a 1 point bonus for riding time. The Illini victory cut the team deficit to 16-6.

With the #2 H. Stieber vs #3 Futrell match not happening, the bout at 174 became the marquee matchup as #7 Nick Heflin of the Buckeyes took on #8 Jordan Blanton of the Fighting Illini. Last year, both Heflin and Blanton were All-Americans, placing at the NCAA tournament 5th and 4th respectively. At the time of publication, 8 of the top 10 ranked wrestlers (according to Intermat) in this weight class were from Big Ten schools, making each conference match-up vital for potential seeding at the Big Ten Tournament in a few weeks. After trading escapes in the 2nd and 3rd periods from referee’s position, the match (as so many of Heflin’s tend to do) went to a 1 minute overtime period. Heflin capitalized on the opportunity and scored a takedown in the overtime period, sealing the deal. The usually even-keeled Heflin was fired up with the 3-1 victory and implored to crowd to make some noise. Heflin’s decision victory extended the Buckeyes’ lead to 19-6.

At 184 lbs, 3 time NCAA tournament qualifier and Oak Harbor graduate CJ Magrum took the mat to face Illinois’ #20 ranked Tony Dallago. The Oak Harbor community gave Magrum a warm welcome in the form of a standing ovation as he took the mat. Magrum hasn’t competed much this year for the Buckeyes as he’d had some difficulty beating out teammate Kenny Courts for the 184 lb slot, but Magrum was able to recapture the position in time for this homecoming match. Magrum was nearly able to score a takedown in the first period, but was unable to finish before the end of the period. Dallago escaped from the bottom in the 2nd and was able to control Magrum for the duration of the 3rd period. The pro-Magrum crowd wanted a number of stalling calls on Dallago throughout the course of the 3rd period as Dallago was unable to return Magrum to the mat a number of times when he stood up off of the whistle. Eventually, Magrum was awarded 1 point for 2 stalling calls against Dallago, but Dallago had amassed nearly 2 minutes of riding time and earned a 2-1 decision to cut the Buckeye lead to 19-9 in the team score.

At 197 lbs, Kenny Courts (who was recently ranked #15 at 184 lbs by Intermat) filled in for teammate Andrew Campolattano against defending Big Ten Tournament Champion and #13 ranked Mario Gonzalez. If watching Courts in action has taught fans anything, it’s to make sure you are in your seat and paying attention when Kenny wrestles, or you might miss a flurry of scoring. Courts didn’t disappoint with a quick takedown and a pair of 3 point nearfalls utilizing tilts. Just 60 seconds into the match, Courts had gotten out to a lead of 8-0 on his larger opponent. At the end of the 1st period, Courts led 10-4, but was unable to tack on any more takedowns to achieve a major decision. It appeared that Courts was struggling to move the bigger Gonzalez, but was able to cling to a 13-9 decision, clinching the dual match for the Buckeyes with a score of 22-9.
At Heavyweight, scrappy #12 ranked Peter Capone locked horns with Chris Lopez. After a scoreless 1st period, Capone was able to score an escape with a nice Granby roll seconds into the 2nd period. The Buckeye was able to ride out his opponent in the 3rd period and defeated Lopez by the score of 2-0 with the riding time bonus point added on. With the victory, Capone put a cap on the dual with a final score of 25-9.

The youthful Buckeyes, who only trotted out 4 upperclassmen in the dual, were able to win 7 of the 10 matches and were lead by bonus points from each of the Stieber brothers. The Buckeyes will conclude their regular season next weekend when they hit the road to take on Michigan on Friday night (televised at 6:00 ET on Big Ten Network). The Buckeyes will then return to the friendly confines of St. John Arena to take on formerly #1 ranked Penn State (formerly because they were knocked off by #3 Iowa around the same time the Buckeyes were dispensing of Illinois) on Sunday at 4 PM.

i know this is does not mean vonn bell is a lock to Ohio State, but this is definately a big confidence boost. Mike Farrell is the best recruiting insider i have seen. I rarely see him miss on a recruit prediction. This has got to mean something, right? Bell i believe is a cant-miss, do-everything-possible to get. With mike being somebody i trust. i do belive bell will announce for ohio state on NSD. i know its just a guess, but rivalsmike is the godfather of recruiting and a guy who has a history of being correct.

Great Sign for the buckeyes with Bell.

He also predicted wilson to oregon, which is obviously not good for buckeyenation. Wilson taking an official to texas esssentially means nothing. i believe he wants an offense that suits him perfectly, and Texas just is not on the same level with the Ohio State and oregon systems.

He predicts Ezekial Elliot to Ohio State as well. i think there will be some drama, but ohio state i think will land zeke. but, it is enough to have me scared on this.

James Clark, is not in the rivals250 so no prediction. but, i dont believe we will get him. i dont think we have a good enough relationship with him. He is a great wide reciever. i think he is vaslty under-rated, but unfortunately we will not see him scarlet and gray.

Cameron Hunt he predicts Oregon. We have no shot with hunt. He has eliminated ohio state.

Due to the recent addition of my alma mater to the Big Ten, and since I am a life long Ohio State fan, I thought I would share my knowledge of Rutgers, and some personal views on its football program.  Hopfully this will enlighten some B1G fans unfamiliar with Rutgers.  Even better would be if I could help change some people's perceptions of one of the Big Ten's newest members, and at the very least offer you something you may not know about Rutgers University.

Background:

As long as I can remember I have been an Ohio State fan, and that is mostly due to my mom growing up in Ohio and my dad attending OSU.  I am still a die hard OSU fan, but I also am now an adult and have now lived in New Jersey for 20 years.  I graduated from Rutgers in 2011, and I am pretty well versed on their football program and everything that goes along with its tradition as the birth place of college football.  In case you are not familiar with college football history, I will explain the 'birth place' reference.  Princeton and Rutgers played the first intercollegiate football game in 1869 when the country was still recovering from the civil war and Princeton was stilled known as the College of New Jersey.  Now I will try not to bore any of you with more fun facts you can find on Wikipedia.  Ultimately college football has become a question of, 'what have you done for me lately?'.  Thus I will try to avoid boring you with anymore history lessons about Rutgers.  I just wanted to point out that Rutgers offers the Big Ten another feather to add to its cap with a history already full of rich football tradition.

2012-2013 Season:

Currently Rutgers is coming off a Big East title and a 9-3 regular season that began 7-0 with a win over an SEC team in Arkansas (that win looked a lot better in the early weeks of the 2012 season).  Their season changed once they lost to a stubborn Kent State team which ended their rapid clime up the college football polls.  They still managed to finish the season with a Big East conference championship.  However, it was a season that finished on a low note with losses over Pitt and Louisville, which forced them to share their Big East title with Cincinnati and Louisville.

2013 Russell Athletic Bowl:

Due to the disappointing loss to Louisville in their final game of the season, Rutgers denied itself a chance to play in the Orange Bowl, which would have marked their first appearance ever in a BCS bowl.  The tie breaker went to Louisville due to their victory over Rutgers.  Rutgers then went on to lose their Bowl game 13-10 in OT to a stubborn Virginia Tech team. Rutgers had a 7-3 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Virginia Tech fought back to tie the game and then went on to win it in over time.

Looking back at their 2012-2013 season Rutgers is probably satisfied with what their first year head coach was able to accomplish, especially with no previous head coaching experience and a very young group of players.  They will lose two players who decided to forgo their senior and redshirt junior seasons respectively, by entering the NFL draft.  Both losses will hurt, especially since one of those players is their star Running Back Jawan Jamison (who reminds many Rutgers fans of a former Rutgers Scarlet Knight, who is getting ready to play in the Super Bowl this weekend, Ray Rice).

First year head coach Kyle Flood set a Rutgers record after starting his tenure 7-0.  In February 2012 Flood was promoted after long time Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano decided to leave for a NFL job as the new head coach of the Tampa Bay Buc's.  Flood only had two days before national signing day in 2012 to keep his class together, and he largely succeeded in his effort to hold the recruiting class together.  He even was able to add another top offensive lineman to finish a class that many people regard as Rutgers' best recruiting class in history.

Recruiting History and Outlook:

Rutgers' rapid improvement under Greg Schiano and now Kyle Flood is due in large part to their stronger ability to keep a lot of the North Jersey and specifically Bergen County recruits in state.  Bergen Catholic and especially Don Bosco Prep are almost always ranked in the top 25 nationally, and often produce the best HS football talent the state has to offer.  Rutgers also recruits South Florida rather well due to Greg Schiano's ties he developed as Miami's Defensive Coordinator in 1999 and 2000.  He coached former NFL defensive player of the year, safety Ed Reed (Ravens), and also super bowl champion Jonathan Vilma (Saints) during his brief tenure at Miami.  After Schiano's departure for the NFL, Rutgers have not missed a beat in recruiting, and are still able to benefit from the recruiting contacts Rutgers' assistant coaches developed in Florida during the Schiano era.  They also have a number of their offensive coaches who joined Rutgers after the 2011-2012 season from Pitt.  Besides these coaches being use to the grind of major college football recruiting, they also brought experience in recruiting Western PA, Maryland, and the Midwest from their previous post at Pitt.  The experiences at Pitt will probably be valuable to Rutgers now that they are joining the Big Ten.

The table below is just a glimpse at how Rutgers have recruited in comparison to the rest of the nation and the Big Ten over the last 5 years according to Rivals.com.  I compared Rivals' data to the available ESPN.com class rankings along with 247, and I decided that since all the sites rankings are relatively similar that I would just offer the Rivals data, and if people wish to compare the data more closely they can take a look at the other sites on their own.

Rivals.com rankings from the last 5 complete recruiting classes

Year    Avg stars    Nat. Ranking        Rank within B1G     Total Commits
2012     3.26                24                          3                              19
2011     2.96                32                          6                              24
2010     2.75                64                          9                              24
2009     3.00                38                          8                              23 
2008     2.65                46                          8                              20

Conclusions:

The recruiting data are obviously not exactly jaw dropping, but if they were bringing in top 10 classes, I think it would be more worrying relative to how that talent is translating to the field.  Rutgers is not Alabama or Florida, but all the available evidence from their latest results and recruiting information (with the exception being 2010) seems to indicate Rutgers will be able to compete in the Big Ten.  They are ranked in the top half of the Big Ten or close to it by recruiting services almost every year since they started their rapid improvement as a program 5-8 years ago, and the results are starting to show on the field on a consistent basis.  They also have proven they can win their bowl games.  Rutgers had a 5 game winning streak in bowls, which was the longest active streak in the nation before their loss to Virginia Tech this past year.

If I had to compare Rutgers' football program to a current Big Ten program I would have to say Michigan State is very close in their yearly recruiting rankings and also relative to their improved play on the field even if both programs have not yet achieved a level of yearly success in the wins loss column.  There will probably be a short adjustment period when Rutgers enter Big Ten play at the start of the 2014-2015 season, but I think the evidence indicates that they are not the worthless addition that many pundits and fans within the Big Ten have made them out to be. 

In fact ESPN.com formulated a list of schools which should or could become college football powers very rapidly (within 2 years).  Rutgers was amongst ESPN's top 5 when they looked at all the programs currently in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), and asked experts what schools are best positioned to become consistent contenders for BCS bowls and conference championships in the next few years.  They based their rankings off their conversations with 'experts', who were often members of other staffs or administrations at big schools around the country that are familiar with the programs in question.  The people ESPN talked to almost all mentioned Rutgers' massive enrollment (amongst the largest in the country), their proximity to talent rich recruiting areas along with television exposure, and the recently upgraded facilities that are on par with any school in the country.  Due to these reasons there is a belief that Rutgers is considered to be a 'sleeping giant' amongst many college football insiders.

Outlook in the Big Ten:

Ultimately I would predict that Rutgers is an 8-4 team with at least a .500 record when they join the Big Ten in 2014.  As I have pointed out, Rutgers has everything they need to become a football power, and it will be exciting to see how they make the transition to the Big Ten.  Rutgers' true identity is found on the defensive side of the ball, and it is certainly a strength for them usually, and this is probably due to their focus on recruiting great athletes with the speed to compete against almost anyone in the country.  On offense they tend to rely on power running and consistent if not prolific passing on the offensive side of the ball.  The foundation of their program is on recruiting very good defensive and offensive linemen, because like most programs they feel success often starts in the trenches.  Rutgers would seem to project very well as a member of the Big Ten conference and I recommend keeping an open mind to the newest member.

I hope this description of Rutgers' football program (through the eyes of a die hard OSU fan and Rutgers alum) will have helped to broaden people's knowledge and hopefully offer a reason for B1G fans to show some interest in Rutgers.  I know people who are 30 years or older probably still have an image of Rutgers that is based off of their reputation in the 1990s, which was essentially that they were the worst team in college football.  Due to the common image many people have of Rutgers has caused 'us' as Big Ten fans to look at Rutgers as nothing more than an addition to the Big Ten's geographic footprint in the country's largest television market.  Thinking of Rutgers in such a narrow manner has caused people to forget that Rutgers is no longer a team that wins one game a year and that they will bring a good program to the conference, and have the potential to become one of the great programs if they continue to improve.  Ultimately I think people will be pleasantly surprised (maybe angered) by the quality Rutgers will add to Big Ten football.  According to most reports around Rutgers back in November, they wanted assurances from the Big Ten conference that they would be in the same division as Ohio State.  This is likely because Rutgers wants to open up the Ohio area for recruiting and for their own internal financial reasons.  Around NJ it is widely believed that the Big Ten did assure Rutgers they would be in OSU's division, but only time will tell if that is the case. Personally I am happy they are joining the Big Ten and I hope they end up in the same division as OSU, because that will allow me to get great tickets to OSU at Rutgers games.

Visiting Rutgers in the future? 
For future reference New Brunswick, which is the town where Rutgers' main campus is located, is a great place to come watch a football game in my opinion.  If any Buckeye fans are thinking about making the trip sometime for an OSU game here, I would say it is worth the 9 hour drive across PA.  There are plenty of nice restaurants and bars around campus, as well as great tail gating before, during and after games.  It is also a great college town if you are interested in experiencing the Rutgers' nightlife.  If you come to New Brunswick do not leave without visiting the world famous Grease trucks on College Ave.