Simon made a play in the PeeSU game that I think pretty well summarized his entire career in my mind, and it also made me lament the fact that he will nearly impossible to replace. It wasn't anything that will show up in the regular box score, although he will get a pass broken up notch in the record books, but it was nonetheless a great football play. It was a passing down, a 3rd down I am pretty sure, and Simon was lined up on the left edge. He got his usual great jump off the ball putting the right tackle at an immediate disadvantage. McGloin looked to make a quick dump pass to pick up the short yardage needed to move the chains. Simon didn't have time to get to McGloin but during his spin move to the inside with his back facing McGloin he instinctively raised up his hand in an attempt to block the pass. He couldn't even see McGloin or the ball, but in a very John Simon-never-say-die way he blocked/deflected the pass and it fell harmlessly incomplete. Beautiful!!!
Big Hank is certainly being drooled all over by NFL execs/coaches like my keyboard when watching Kate Upton dance the cat-daddy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCUnWIs88CQ), but man I hope he stays in Columbus for another season. Please Johnathan, enjoy the ride. I could never judge a kid for pursuing his chosen career, especially with the finite nature of NFL careers, but IMHO Hankins is a major key in the 2013 team winning a B1G Championship and maybe more. He simply eats up blockers like no one else on this team/in this conference/maybe in the country. Every play he seems to get push into the backfield and he is relentless, often making tackles from sideline to sideline or downfiled where most interior DLineman rarely venture.
Losing Simon and Hankins would be a huge blow for next year's team. I know there is talent galore on the DLine, but I don't think there is anyway there won't be a sizeable drop off is the two of them are gone in 2013.
Noah Spence and Diesal Washington will fill the void. By the end of their careers, they will be as good or better than Simon/Hankins.
I won't really miss Simon truth be told but the man played like one against PSU. Another equally impressive, all be it unheralded play against PSU came after the falsestartsack. He wa lined up over Right Tackle on 3rd down and sniffed a draw play out pre snap. He flowed towards what looked to be an open hole between C and LG, got occupied by both players and forced the RB to bounce outside into Shazier's waiting arms. Shazier may have even got a TFL on the play but Simon created the entire thing with an absolutley wonderfull display of instinct and quickness. I've been pretty hard on him this year but I thought the PSU game was the best he's played from start to finish. He didn't have the great stat line like he did against Nebraska, but when you hold the opposition to bubcus on the running game, Simon has to get some of the credit. He was a HUGE part of the stout run D PSU was banging its head up against Saturday.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
No doubt they are super talented. Can they dedicate themselves like Simon and Hankins have. I hope so.
I also expect Tommy Schutt to have a chance to be very solid.
vacuuming sucks
Hank really should go. It would be best for himself and his career, but some part of me (the part that is a buckeye fan above all) has this thought that he will stay.