Eleven Warriors

Jim Tressel, football coach. That’s the association most people make of the former Ohio State head coach. It’s no wonder – he did spend 36 years as a coach. But Tressel’s true calling is mentoring young people.

From the moment he walked onto a University of Akron field in the fall of 1975, Tressel has had a keen eye on helping his players grow both on and off the playing field. When recruits enter his presence, they are just teenagers. Oftentimes, when they leave, Tressel has helped mold them into productive members of society.

That’s what brought him back together with a handful of his former players on Saturday afternoon in a warm high school gym outside Youngstown. Maurice Clarett, the enigmatic star of Ohio State’s lone national championship team of the past 44 years, was hosting a charity basketball game that raised funds for a youth center near his hometown.

Clarett’s odyssey from star football player turned convict is a well-told tale. But following a nearly four-year stay in prison, he has succeeded in putting his life back together. At the center of it all has been Tressel.

Yesterday, the Big Ten made realignment official, which means millions of fans and league alumni no longer have to consult Google to determine which teams plays in each division. With the new East and West divisions, all one has to do is draw a line just west of Bloomington.

The key points from the league's announcement, which also included a plan for a nine-game conference schedule are as follows:

• When Rutgers and Maryland join the Big Ten for play in the 2014 season, the league will realign in East and West divisions.
• In the East: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers.
• In the West: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin.
• Each school will play the other six schools in its division plus two teams from the other division in 2014 and 2015.
• 2016 will bring the nine-game conference schedule, meaning each school will play three teams from the other division in addition to the six in its own division.
• Beginning in 2016, East division teams will play five Big Ten home games and four Big Ten road games in even-numbered years, with the West playing five league home games and four league away games in odd-numbered years.
• All teams will play every other Big Ten team at least once every four years.
• Indiana and Purdue is the only protected cross-division matchup that will be played on an annual basis.

"With the first pick in the 2013 NFL draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select Eric Fisher, offensive tackle, Central Michigan University."

Don't look him directly in the eyes

That was the start of this year's NFL Draft, and with those words Roger Goodell, the NFL's beloved overlord, set off an avalanche of nonsensical finger-wagging across social media networks and throughout locker rooms across the nation as coaches encouraged their young players with a chorus of "See? You don't have to be a five-star player to get to the NFL. Rankings don't matter; how hard you work matters."

It sounds good, doesn't it? There's obviously some truth to that, as what you put in to any job generally equates to what you get out of it, but the numbers don't lie: stars do matter. Maybe not to the degree that recruiting services and analysts alike would like them to, because they don't want to acknowledge that while there's a significant amount of science to discovering the best of the best from tens of thousands of high school players around the country, at the end of the day you "can't measure heart" and all those other niceties that turn a below average offensive tackle from Rochester Hills who didn't even earn an offer from Western Michigan into the top pick in the NFL Draft.

Weathermen and recruiting analysts, each of them correct about the same percentage of the time, and the underlining reality is this: even the best of them is just guessing, according to most people.

The facts are debated time after time and every year there's a player who proves the "experts" wrong, but it stands to reason that the stars do matter, although like any other statistic, you can could make them say whatever you want.

What else matters? Coachability? The program you end up in? The region you're from? Who coaches you and utilizes your skills to the utmost? Certainly. 

As expected, earlier today, the B1G Council of Presidents/Chancellors approved changes to the existing football divisions and the reinstitution of nine-game conference schedules. 

The newly named East and West divisions will take effect in 2014 and play out like this: 

The alignment puts all Eastern Time Zone teams in the East Division and all Central Time Zone teams in the West Division with the exception of Purdue. 

The conference press release continues:

Each school will play the other six schools in its division plus two teams from the other division in 2014 and 2015, which will serve as transitional years in which the schools will still be playing eight-game schedules. Beginning in 2016, each school will play three teams from the other division as part of its nine-game schedule. The cross-division games will include one protected matchup on an annual basis between Indiana and Purdue.

On the scheduling, the nine-game conference slate will begin in 2016. 

During even-numbered years, teams in the East will host five conference home games while the West squads will host five conference home games in the odd-numbered years. 

The change brings back a nine-game conference slate for the first time since the 1983 and 1984 seasons. 

During the 2014 and 2015 seasons, teams will play each of the other six schools in their division plus two teams from the other division. 

Gene Smith is now in his eighth year as the director of athletics at Ohio State. Manning the largest department in the country with deep pockets and plentiful resources sounds easy, but the Buckeyes are not immune to problems. 

That was evident two years ago. But now Ohio State is positioned for annual success in football and men’s basketball, while several Olympic sports continue to finish near the top of the Big Ten.

Smith has seen it all during his seven years in Columbus – a Rose Bowl win, two Final Fours, the stunning fall of a coaching legend and his own status questioned. He sat down with Eleven Warriors recently to discuss the ever-evolving state of college athletics, night games in Ohio Stadium, Twitter and much more.

The 2013 NFL Draft came and went with only three Buckeyes – defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, defensive end John Simon and tackle Reid Fragel – selected, but several other members of Urban Meyer's first Ohio State team quickly signed undrafted free agent deals with teams around the league soon after the draft ended.

Jake Stoneburner, Zach Boren, Travis Howard, Orhian Johnson, Nathan Williams, Etienne Sabino, and Garrett Goebel all earned NFL camp invitations by signing contracts Saturday night. As anyone that's seen Hard Knocks can tell you, making a team as an undrafted free agent is tough sledding, but it can be done. Just ask Arian Foster, Wes Welker or Antonio Gates.

Reid Fragel had an unconventional four seasons in Columbus, entering as a tight end and leaving as an All-Big Ten right tackle. He based the decision on his NFL future, and after being selected by Cincinnati with the 34th pick of the 7th and final round of the draft (240th overall), it appears Fragel made the right decision.

John Simon is headed to Baltimore. 

The Ravens selected Simon with the 32nd pick of the 4th round, 129th overall, where he'll join a crowded group of backers that includes Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, and others.

Simon told the Ravens he was ready to get to work, saying "They're just a tough, hard-nosed team and I feel that's how I play the game. I'm just excited to be part of the organization and look forward to getting to practice."

Last night brought the good news that Johnathan Hankins is a New York Giant, selected by the team in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft. Unless you happen to be a Redskin, Cowboy or Eagle fan, this is great news. Hankins is going to a great organization and will have an opportunity to learn from some of the best, including Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka, Shaun Rogers and other proven vets.

Today, the draft concludes with rounds four through seven. Buckeyes still on the board include:

• DE/OLB John Simon - Projected to go in the fourth round
• OT Reid Fragel - Projected to go in the fourth or fifth rounds
• TE Jake Stoneburner - Projected to go in the sixth or seventh rounds
• DE/OLB Nathan Williams - Projected to maybe go in the seventh round

Look for other Buckeyes, including Zach Boren, Etienne Sabino, Travis Howard, Orhian Johnson and Garrett Goebel to receive phone calls before Monday with undrafted free agent offers.

TV: NFL Network - 12:00 p.m. ET

College football's offseason is chugging along. August will be here before too long, though spring has only just begun in the Midwest and we still have to suffer summer before a long-sweltering summer has put a bead of sweat now on your battered brow.

Alas, today we'll start with the NFL Draft. Hopefully, you don't mind.

 B1G LIFE. B1G STAGE. B1G SECOND DAY DRAFT SELECTIONS. The Big Ten has been maligned in recent years for the overall quality of football it puts on the field of play and on your televisions. We can qualify this in various ways, but denying it is hard. Arguably the best conference of the 1990s (and, perhaps, unarguably the deepest), the Big Ten is better known for Legends and Leaders than many legends or leaders on the gridiron right now. If not for the Cowboys selecting Wisconsin guard Travis Frederick at 31st overall, with one pick to spare on Thursday, the B1G could've been without a first-round NFL Draft selection for the first time in ages.

The conference fared much better on Friday. Our own Johnathan Hankins found a home in the Big Apple, selected by the New York Giants in the second round (49th overall). The first Big Ten selection of the second round was Kawann Short, to the Carolina Panthers as the 44th overall pick.

It kind of grew from there. Michigan State's Le'Veon Bell was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 48th overall pick, right before Hankins. Montee Ball was chosen by the Denver Broncos with the 58th overall pick. Illinois' Hugh Thornton and Penn State's Jordan Hill were selected back-to-back by the Colts and Seahawks, respectively, with the 86th and 87th overall picks.

Here are some other notable selections from Friday night.