Eleven Warriors

There are plenty of eyes outside of Columbus, Ohio that are currently pinned directly on the football and basketball programs of The Ohio State University. We know this because many are accompanied by a voice commenting on everything from our special teams coach and his ‘distaste’ for kickers to the color of our point guard’s skin.

Nothing goes unnoticed when it comes to the teams of Thad Matta and Urban Meyer, be it on television or behind the scenes, and for good reason: the one-two combination of their programs is as good as you’ll find today at the Division-1 level.

The winning ways of Thad Matta – bringing NBA talent such as Oden, Conley, Cook, Turner, Sullinger and Thomas through the Jerome Schottenstein Center in recent years – coupled with the ultra-successful era of Jim Tressel, has brought on hatred from all corners of the college sports world.

Fans from other schools have a strong dislike for the two programs for obvious, competitive reasons. Certain members of the media seem to have an axe to grind with one or both Buckeye programs as well, beginning with ESPN’s Mark May who often goes out of his way to speak negatively about the Ohio State football team. Even an Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at Northwest Florida State, as well as a recently resigned high school basketball coach, hates Thad and his Buckeyes.

A few of Urban Meyer’s peers became vocal two winters ago when he entered the fray in Columbus and began plucking their verbally committed recruits at will. Were they genuinely calling him out for his ethical standards when their programs have a history of similar behavior, or was it simply their first opportunity to get a dig in on a man they knew had loftier, yet more achievable, goals than them?

Typically in any case such as these I may prefer the media and competition keep the Buckeyes out of their mouths and worry about things they can actually control. In this situation – this set of circumstances – we should welcome the jeers.

These talking heads, be it media or coaches, aren’t discussing just how far the Buckeyes have fallen. They’re not publishing random opinions as to why either Matta or Meyer is running a .500 program. They aren’t even talking about Terrelle Pryor or Bobby DeGeronimo anymore.

No, instead they’re talking about how our standout point guard’s rosy cheeks, connected to his white body, infuriate people. They call him annoying and, if you’re Rick Reilly, ask his teammates if they agree. They may actually be on to something…

For those outside of Columbus who may dislike Aaron Craft it’s for many of the same reasons the exact same people disliked Jim Tressel. Both are quiet and unassuming, always find the right words to say, regardless of topic, and generate ways to lead their team to wins.

“You can be a nice guy - or you can be smart - or you can win. But you can’t do all three! Rabble rabble.”

Sure you can, and Thad Matta found him one in Craft.

Matta already brought a number-one overall NBA draft pick through the program (Oden) with a couple of ringers to help him get to the national championship game as freshmen (Conley, Cook). He attracted an eventual Naismith winner (Turner) from Chicago. He signed up a happy-go-lucky local kid (Sullinger) who bled scarlet and gray and displayed a Magic Johnson-like smile, annoying everyone from State College to Lincoln, while here and then exited stage left to join one of the most storied franchises in professional sports.

Now Matta has this astronaut of a student-athlete who not only excels “in the classroom and in the community,” but also has rosy cheeks, is staying all four years AND can lock down All-American point guards without slapping the floor before doing so?

C’mon, Thad. Now you’re just trolling America, and they’re responding.

How dare you infuse a basketball coach who collects players that can beat us all into a university who already gets its fair share of publicity for what they do in Ohio Stadium. It’s too much, OSU.

You must have some kind of ego, OSU, to go through what you did in 2010 and 2011 just to turn around and bring a rock star “home.” That guy will almost certainly exceed the successes of his predecessor, who we already grew to hate. You couldn’t leave well enough alone when we had our day in the sun celebrating the demise of Coach Tressel?

Hiring Thad put Ohio State basketball back on the national map, seemingly for good. Bringing Urban on board, especially after the turmoil that engulfed the football program over the previous eighteen months, simply added gasoline to a group of outside opinions that were already spewing fire.

Matta is rolling right along, just completing his fourth straight Elite Eight appearance, the longest current streak in America.

Meyer is getting his feet under him in Columbus, doing his “best” to bring a 6-7 bunch up to their potential while loading up with his own talent in the classes behind them. So far so good – he’s been the head coach for exactly 491 days and has yet to allow his win-loss ledger to endure a single blemish.

Around this time last year, in a move that surprised most, ESPN teamed up with Meyer and Ohio State and allowed us a rare glimpse into the program under a new regime with their All Access series. It was nothing short of must-see TV for Ohio State fans. Rest assured, enemies of the state were tuned in as well.

Just as they were then, and for the very set of reasons it’s a wonderful time to be a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes, all eyes are on us. Not every pair seeks to lift our sports programs upon their shoulders, but they’re present for a reason. 

Thad Matta and Urban Meyer have their respective Buckeyes in the national news. It doesn’t matter if it’s basketball season, football season or the off season.

Whether it’s Sam Thompson lifting off to contribute to another #SCTop10 or Devin Smith making a circus catch for six, all eyes are on us.

Whether we’re announcing All-Big Ten honors or scholar athlete lists – whether our football coach is too aggressive or our point guard is too white - all eyes are on us.

Think Nick Saban isn't watching every Urban Meyer move from ESPN to The Dispatch? You assuming Jon Calipari has his head buried in the sand and doesn't notice Thad's threat?

If so, in either case, you would be wrong - and we shouldn’t want it any other way.
 

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.

On Saturday night it was revealed to us all that the Heisman Trust had awarded this year’s memorial trophy to Texas A&M redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel in a close race that had Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o receiving the most votes for a defense-only player in the history of the trophy. Looking at it from any angle you wish, the right player received the honor of the three who were invited to participate.

But under any other circumstances than those with which this year’s trophy was awarded, that honor would have been bestowed upon Ohio State’s sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller.

Let me be clear about one thing – Miller was not robbed of the 2012 Heisman by the A&M quarterback. He wasn’t any more or less deserving of the award than Te’o, Kansas State’s Colin Klein or the eventual winner, “Johnny Football.” What happened in the events leading up to and during Saturday night’s ceremony were not reason to further the conversation of the integrity (or lack there of) in the world of college football.

The Heisman Trust got it right and the two opening sentences within their Mission Statement will tell you as much:

The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work.

Johnny Manziel was certainly deserving of the honor, but the entire situation was a lost opportunity for one young Buckeye and the university for which he represents.

Entering the 2012 season with no ticket to punch to the Big Ten Championship Game, no eligibility for a bowl invite and a clear ending point to the schedule – November 24th versus Michigan – voters from every region were in an awkward spot with regards to Ohio State.

We wondered if an AP National Championship was within reach but were soon told that wouldn’t be the case through the votes cast by sixty national writers on a weekly basis. Those votes should have told us everything we needed to know about the Heisman Trophy back in October, but fans held onto hope for Miller.

We really should have known better.

For just a moment let’s imagine The Ohio State University football program hadn’t been ineligible for post season play in 2012. All things remaining equal – and assuming the Buckeyes go into Indianapolis as clear favorites against Nebraska two weekends ago and come home with a B1G Championship – history tells us they would find themselves in this season’s National Championship Game facing undefeated Notre Dame for all the marbles.

History also tells us that our quarterback would likely enter that contest having just taken the honorary tour of ESPN’s Bristol, Connecticut campus as the Heisman Trophy winner.

Let’s be honest, the Heisman Trophy process isn’t all that difficult to figure out regardless of how heated the arguments become in the days leading up to the ceremony. In general, the following applies:

• The brightest star on the best team is the frontrunner. Period. Don’t get this confused with the “best player” on the best team. We heard nothing out of Tuscaloosa this season. They certainly have a best player, but their brightest 2012 star roams the sidelines under a headset and doesn’t stiff arm anyone except Les Miles.
• If you play quarterback then you get bonus points with no questions asked. You are the frontrunner before the run begins.
• If you didn’t score a touchdown on the offensive side of the ball all season long then you have zero chance of winning the Heisman Trophy unless every quarterback with a .500 record died before November.

So how does this apply to 2012?

Had Colin Klein kept Kansas State undefeated, he’s your default winner last Saturday night. He took snaps from center, had star power and momentum and was the clear leader of the top-ranked team late in the season. Baylor eliminated him.

Turn around and hand the ball off to Manti Te’o four or five times inside the three yard line and get him on the scoreboard, Coach Kelly. Had you done that he would have won the Heisman by a wide margin. He was easily the brightest star on your undefeated team, but you didn’t.

Add Braxton Miller to the Heisman equation and imagine anyone outside of Buckeye Nation gave a damn about Ohio State this season. Beyond the shadow of any doubt you may allow to creep into your mind, Miller receives that trophy last Saturday night. Of those in attendance, none match what he did. Not one of them.

It doesn’t matter that his numbers trailed off in November, Miller was the poster child for the Heisman formula, especially in a season where the winner had accumulated multiple losses: He was the brightest of stars - from the quarterback position, mind you - on an undefeated team. He beat teams with his arm, his legs and his video game jukes whether he was in the open field or standing in a phone booth with three defenders.

Unfortunately the sanctions that came down on the program late in 2011 extended from physical restrictions on scholarships awarded and bowl invitations to the way the Buckeyes, as a team and as individuals, were treated by those tasked with voting for national rankings and award recipients. Neither Braxton Miller nor Urban Meyer could control that. They, along with rest of the Buckeyes roster, did just as they could in 2012 - they beat everyone on their schedule and did so behind the efforts of their on-field star. From that perspective the season was an amazing success, but under different circumstances it could have been so much better.

All bets are off for 2013 and when Heisman votes are cast next November those appointed to do so may be in a position to vote for the brightest star on, effectively, a 25-0 team - and they will.

Earlier today the Eleven Warriors guys posted Drew Sharp's Detroit Free Press piece in the BUCKSHOTS section and after reading it once I had to read it again. And again. And a fourth time. As passionate fans of whatever program or sports organization we wish to support we often find ourselves on the defensive side of a debate, typically accompanied by some level of personal bias, but sometimes you simply disagree with what someone has to say. For me, this would be one of those times.

Sharp, careful to add "crooked ways" within the headline of his story, decided to take it upon himself to declare Ohio State the one program in the Big Ten Conference willing to be unethical enough to compete on a national stage. He focuses on the fact that the school honored the 2002 national title team, Jim Tressel included, last Saturday between the first and second quarter of The Game and he mentioned Urban Meyer by name only once within his 534 chosen words, but this article was aimed directly at Meyer or - at a minimum - aimed at The Ohio State University because of their new head coach.

There are a couple of things that have stuck in my mind as I've continuously tried gauging the overall outlook of the fan base as it relates to the Tressel Era and how they (we) choose to think of it:

1. Most everyone agrees what he did was against the rules, 'illegal' or not, but never found a place in their heart to store significant hate towards the man because of the things he brought to the table over a decade's time, football and otherwise.
2. The above personal decision was made far easier with the hiring of Urban Meyer. Afterall, I believe the fan base wants to remember the Tress we knew for ten years, minus the puzzle pieces the NCAA discovered in late 2010.

With those two thoughts in mind, let's go back to Saturday's celebration. Those not connected to the football program by alliance or fanhood despise what they saw on their televisions (or live, in Sharp's case) as players from that 2002 championship team hoisted Jim Tressel on their shoulders to the approval of 105,000-plus within Ohio Stadium. They don't understand how a fan base, much less an entire institution, can celebrate a man who brought a "Failure to Monitor" upon their historically successful football program.

What they fail to realize, in my opinion, is that the hiring (and subsequent success) of Urban Meyer has allowed us all to look forward to likely successes while looking backwards at the recent success that brought the program to where it is today rather than the downfalls that took the program to where it landed in 2011. Last year was a season of epic frustration for all involved, inside and outside of the lines on the field, but now serves as a simple bridge between (potentially) two successful eras of Ohio State football.

The Buckeyes were 11-0 going into Saturday's first half celebration.....as fans, what is there to dwell on?

According to Drew Sharp, plenty.

I've maintained this for years, much to the chagrin of Michigan fans fooling themselves that the Wolverines and Buckeyes are competitive equals. For better and worse, Ohio State's actions last week reaffirmed why it's the Big Ten's only reasonable shot at restoring national credibility.

The Buckeyes have no conscience.

Pardon me? Exactly what does Saturday's celebration, or willingness to do so, have to do with being competitive equals? The university didn't know of Jim Tressel's actions (or lack there of) as they unfolded behind the scenes. Neither did Urban Meyer or the twenty-five commitments who pledged their services to his program in the 2012 recruiting class. I simply don't understand the point Sharp is trying to make.

But the more important countdown begins after tonight's (B1G Championship) game when the Big Ten finally can get the team it really wants on this stage -- the Buckeyes.

So now it's a conspiracy?

Sharp's holier-than-thou article lays direct aim at a university that he chooses to call, "ethically flexible." Would he have taken the time to opine had Ohio State kept Luke Fickell in charge and posted a 7-5 record this season? What if the Buckeyes had dusted off another name from coaching's unemployment line and gone anything but 12-0 two seasons after dismissing Jim Tressel? Certainly not.

His post wasn't aimed at the university at all, in spite of the adjectives he chose to use to describe it. It wasn't aimed at Jim Tressel, the players who lifted him to their shoulders last Saturday or the fans who cheered him. His cross hairs were directly pointed at Urban Meyer and his still-unblemished record as head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. They were pointed at the success of the future, the potential of another dominant decade of Ohio State football and the position the conference is now in to play catch up. Again.

He started his article with a tone of astonishment: "It was a surreal moment, but it underscored with absolute clarity Ohio State's football mission statement."

He was pretending to describe Saturday's celebration of a former Ohio State football coach returning to the stadium he ruled for a decade before a fall from grace. Instead it was the perfect description for the 26-21 cap put on a perfect season by a man who will change the competitive landscape of an entire conference.

He was right in one sense - the Buckeyes are indeed the Big Ten's only reasonable shot at restoring national credibility, but for reasons Drew Sharp was unwilling to admit in print.