I like the talk about flipping Johnson/McMillian and possibly getting Mitchell (2013), Garrett, McMillan, Booker, etc in 2014 but my question is... Have we forgotten about our 2012 LB class? Last I checked Williams, Perry, Marcus, and Perkins are pretty darn good they're just young. I know we are looking for depth, but we need to consider those kids having an opportunity to learn the system and play. Maybe I'm missing something... Are these 2013 kids going to come in and play over the 2012 kids right away? I'm not mad, like the interest from all these talented kids, but wondering if we've forgotten about the 2012 kids.
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I think Mitchell and Johnson would start next year
I certainly haven't forgotten the 2012 guys. Depth is a concern for sure, and God bless Zach Boren for coming in and playing linebacker when he was needed, but I don't ever wanna see OSU in a position where they have to do that again. I still think Curtis Grant could become the player we all expected him to be and I think there are some really good players who came in with the 2012 class @ LB. The best case scenario is for OSU to keep bringing in talented linebackers every year and keep reloading. I don't really care who starts, I just don't wanna see the linebackers be a weak part of our defense in the future.
Really praying your correct on Grant, TENN, 'cause he's been MIA since the beginning of the year. Makes you wonder what happened that he made it that far into Urban's doghouse.
"The revolution will be televised."
Tennbuckeye nails it. Plus, I think you're seeing the lines between safety and LB and DE and LB increasingly blurred in some situations, especially with dynamic athletes, so I think you really want that depth. By year's end, two of our biggest hitters and playmakers were Shazier and Bryant (no disrespect to any of the other players who really turned it on); I think these are the guys Meyer will continue to target.
Bringing in top talent pushes everyone to get better.
I haven't forgot about them but it does say a lot when Urban moves Boren over from O than giving one of the young guys who had way more time to learn the defense a shot at playing
Yeah, but I think more than anything it was the mental side of things. Boren is a very smart guy and being in the program as a senior he is capable of making that type of move. I think as these young guys become more comfortable their natural abilities will begin to show. There is a huge transition from high school to college just from a life stand point, not even talking about the football end for these guys. They will get better and be ready for a more active roll next year.
"I'll fire when I'm god damn good and ready! You got that?" - Pete "Maverick" Mitchel
The guys were freshman and of course Grant is a sophomore. Klein wasn't very good and Sabino broke his leg and you had a bunch of young guys so Boren to LB was a move out of neccessity. These young guys will be really good, it just takes time. I caution anyone who thinks Mitchell will just come in here and dominate from the get go. He's a VERY athletic kid, but it takes more than athletecism to start and be a difference maker.
All those you mention are OLBs. We need a MLB in a bad way. Curtis Grant needs to come around.
I could see Cam Williams starting at the middle, and Perry outside along with Shazier
4-6 seconds of relentless effort
They have allowed us to forget about them. No, on a serious note, they are young and still learning. Some of them should have that light go on that typically happens in the year two transition. looking forward to seeing who steps up this year. After all of the praise that grant received I will be cautiously optimistic.
I haven't forgotten Luke Roberts either =)
That's what I HATE about the recruiting phenomena in college football. We get so excited every time a player commits, but we forget about 75% of those players by the time next the recruiting class rolls in. All hype for the "next big thing." I could relate some of the recruiting fans to a little kid who buys Assassins' Creed III, and then a week later Call of Duty comes out and the "less new" video game is completely forgotten. (Sorry for the very specific video game example, that "little kid" is my younger brother, haha)
October 20th: National Kenneth Guiton Day
Ha ha, nice analogy! I say that even though I'm one of those not young guys who has zero familiarity with Assassin's Creed.
I am excited to see the Buckeyes stockpile defensive talent, though. Not because I've forgotten about the 2012 class but because I've also not forgotten about the weird chain of events that led to the talent depletion in the LB corps from the 2009, 2010, 2011 classes.
If they throw enough 4 and 5 star LBs at the "problem" - and assuming that the staff's talent evals are solid - the LB unit will become a force again in the very near future (and, heck, they got to be pretty darn good this year after Boren moved over).
my money is on jamal marcus being named a starter for next year
Perry had a real nice play in the game on Saturday. I think he gets a real good look at SAM linebacker
I think the starting LB will be perry, grant, shazier. Perry is good and i gotta believe grant pulls through his junior year and i think meyer pushes him this year to get him ready.
Alex if you are correct the speed we will have at LB would be crazy. Now if they will be sure fire tacklers man lookout. Also agree Meyer will have Grant motivated and ready for a breakout role. Shazier is a manchild.
That seems like a reasonable list of starters, but I won't be surprised if the competition is really tight at MIKE and SAM. We have a lot of young players who are all developing, and they have about 5 months until the Spring game and 9 months until the 2013 season starts. We also can't forget about Connor Crowell being in the mix along with Perry, Cam Williams, Grant, Perkins, Marcus, and possibly Roberts. That isn't even considering 2013 kids who might need a little more time to develop.
Boren was able to move to his position because he already knew his job. When he was a FB he was running through the same holes, just on the opposite side of the ball. While before he was clearing that hole, now he was stuffing it. He was surprisingly good against the pass before the year ended, but his strength was stuffing run lanes, the same run lanes he opened for 3 years
I think the LBers will be a suprising strength next year, with a few warm up games to figure out what's what before the drive to a potential title.
I don't think many LBers can step in and play right away, Shazier did because the 2011 depth was bad, and 2012 wasn't much, if any, better
Excuse me, Luke Roberts > etc.
Don't forget that when Curtis Grant was in high school he was sure to come in and start as well.
If you don't play like a monster against high school competition you will not be recruited by OSU and the other top programs. The question is always what do they play like when everybody on the field is a monster. The only sure thing at LB next season is Shazier. Beyond that, I'd go with Curtis Grant and Josh Perry until somebody else proves they can do it against a player who isn't getting taken by his mom to see Twilight: Breaking Dawn .
Upvote for the Twilight reference :)
"Sherman ran an option play right through the south" - Greatest.Civil.War.Analogy.Ever
Perry made a few plays Saturday. He wouldnt have been in The Game if the staff didnt think he was improving greatly. Too big a game to put in a novice. I have no doubt, however, that some of the new faces next season will have to come in and perform. We lose too much back there with Boren and Sabino graduating. And with us losing Simon and possibly Hankins the LBs will need to be even better than they were this season. Especially if Spence and Washington get hurt or have down years next season. You never know anymore.
"Sherman ran an option play right through the south" - Greatest.Civil.War.Analogy.Ever