A line from Sarah's Skully this morning got me thinking about one of the great mysteries of the JT era, and that is how a supposedly conservative and "boring" offense produced some of the great CFB skill players of the BCS era: Mo C, Troy Smith, Teddy Ginn, Beanie Wells, and Terrelle Pryor. This mystery is compounded by their subsequent, let's say "quiet," NFL careers. Is Russel Wilson that much more talented than Troy Smith, or did Troy just not find the right team and the right opportunity? Colin Kapernick is the starting QB at the Super Bowl and TP has less than 10 completions in his NFL career. TG is returning punts and has been outperformed in the league --on the same team-- by Brian Hartline! Ray Rice is off to the Super Bowl and Beanie is likely just off. And of course we all know the Mo C saga.
So, the question is how can this be? Are they just getting drafted by the wrong teams? Was the JT offense more inventive than the ones theese players landed on in the NFL? Or if these players really weren't that talented, how did they have such productive careers at OSU? Here's a final bonus question for anyone interested in playing: is there any skill player on today's roster, or in the 2013 recruiting class, that will excel in the NFL?
Rod Smith
"Anything less than flagrant is just playing grab ass!"
Troy was a malcontent with a poor attitude (Heisman fever) who may have had a chance to redeem himself prior to his illness. Beanie is made of glass. Teddy was/is fast and not much else. Mo C was crazy. TP was such a prima donna athletic freak that he was a Raiders/Al Davis crushpick. All were superior college players; each hit their ceiling in a league where they were no longer superior.
Not an old story in the NFL. Just because we as fans thought the sun rose and fell with their accomplishments in Scarlet and Gray doesn't mean they were necessarily pre-destined for NFL success.
yes, no, D, False, none of the above and 2.
I hope that answers your questions!
Part of the success (or failure) of some of the OSU players is that the system made them excel in college. Troy Smith was a good player at OSU where the system was built around him; but he was not the best fit in Baltimore with their pro-style system. Antonio Pittman was great because OSU had a fantastic O-line, but played behind Steven Jackson for a number of years in St. Louis.
The other wildcard is injuries. How many great athletes in college fail due to the physicality of the NFL? DeVier Posey was coming on strong for the Texans until he got injured in the playoff game this year. Anthony Gonzalez was great for Indy until he kept getting hurt.
Finally, look at the other side of the coin - many Buckeyes have been very successful in the NFL. Hawk, Laurinitis, Donte Whitner, Galloway, etc. Some are mediocre NFL talents - Jake Ballard, Brian Hartline, etc.
There's nothing to be ashamed of with OSU's NFL success/failure rate.
...And crazy-ass Santonio Holmes has been an on again/off again really good to great NFL talent.
D. Anthony
I agree - Holmes was/is good to great, but a complete head case.
Obviously, I didn't have the time or space to include everyone. Other cases could be made for Alex Boone, Orlando Pace, Antoine Winfield, Terry Glenn, Nick Mangold, etc.
You might want to take a look at the percentage of great skill players from all colleges that have successful pro careers. Its miniscule.
Its not OSU in particular- college is a different game than pro.
When you compare Russel Wilson to Troy Smith you're talking about a teams willingness to completely mold the offense around what the player can do. I just don't think any team Smith landed on would have done that. Pete Carrol and the Seahawks took a chance and it paid off.
Just a life long Buckeye fan wanting to talk to other lifelong Buckeye fans. Our honor defend, we will fight to the end for OOO HIIII OOOOOO!
not to mention the fact that precedence showed that the spread could succeed in the NFL... That wasn't around when Troy came out.