Eleven Warriors

Yesterday was Mother's Day and while many of us were enjoying brunch and showering our wives and/or mothers with gifts, Gary (Ind.) West Side's Lonnie Johnson topped us all by committing to become the 8th member of Ohio State's football class as a gift for his mother, Nora.

Johnson has speed in bunches and plans to play wide receiver for the Buckeyes. While there were discussions of academics holding up an offer from Ohio State, Johnson told us that wasn't the case. "The reports about my grades were not true," he said. "I just wasn't ready, and was going through some personal stuff."

Welcome to the show, Mr. Johnson.

In late-breaking news Sunday night, our own Jeremy Birmingham reported that former Texas commit Demetrius Knox will make an official visit to Ohio State for the Penn State game in October. That's a night game, so Meyer and his staff will be doing what they do best: selling an incredible atmosphere to an elite offensive lineman.

BIG HELP ON THE WAY? Per Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports, Tulane big Josh Davis will take an official visit to Columbus soon.

A 6-foot-8 forward, Davis has one season of eligibility remaining and would be able to play for Ohio State right away. He averaged 17.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game for the Green Wave last season, going off for 27 against Georgia Tech in the opener and 21 and 15 against Memphis in the Conference USA tournament.

Davis will also take visits to San Diego State and Gonzaga. Wherever he lands gets an instant upgrade.

In other basketball addition news, here's class of 2014 big man Dave Bell earning straight As on the height test next to former Buck Dallas Lauderdale.

There are only 268 short days until one of my favorite days of the year. A day that is full of presents and surprise announcements and news - both good and bad - that shapes the future for those you love. 

Marcelys Jones started the Buckeye 2014 class off right.

Of course, I am talking about national signing day. Next year, on February 5th, there will be somewhere between 17-25 current high school juniors (or maybe junior college football student-athletes) that take the next steps in their football careers by putting pen to ink with the intention of becoming the next wave of Buckeye greats. Eight of those players have presumably already made a verbal commitment to Ohio State to join their class, and those seven have gotten the Buckeyes off to a great start for 2014.

As I've gotten older, I've realized (most unfortunately) that time seems to go faster and faster with every passing year. So much can change from one day to the next, let alone week-to-week or month-to-month.  It is with a grain of salt then that I present to you, our faithful and dear 11W readers, my thoughts on how Ohio State's offensive 2014 class will finish up. 

These are prognostications based on the best available information that I currently have, and are most certainly likely to evolve as the days go by. Other guesses - and make no mistake, even the best recruiting analyst is guessing - are most certainly going to come down the line.

Without further adieu, here's what I see come February, position-by-position, starting with the offense. You'll notice that at each position I've listed multiple players, with the player I feel is most likely to join the class listed first, and it filling in subsequently based on if the Buckeyes "miss." Current commitments are listed in red, and the players in green represent the players I feel Ohio State has the best chance of landing. Other players, in black font are the "next" group. You'll notice that I've taken the liberty of moving a few players - like commitments Parris Campbell and Sam Hubbard - into the position that I feel they end up playing at Ohio State. That, of course could change based on what the staff sees, other signees, etc.

Take a look after the jump.

Even in victory, Mike Conley Jr.’s doubters persist.

Fluke, hot streak, just one of those games. Those are some of the excuses Conley’s critics have used to describe his heady play. But it is starting to be drowned out by the admiration of his supporters.

Now in his sixth NBA season, Conley has improved each year, a progression from oft-injured rookie to budding superstar. His rise has been consistent since high school, where he was an All-American beside teammate Greg Oden. The duo went on to prominence at Ohio State before their NBA careers went in opposite directions.

Conley was the fourth overall pick in the same draft that Oden went No. 1 to Portland. While Conley was a top-five selection, if the state of their careers was discussed today without names, most would recognize Oden as the catalyst in a playoff push. Instead, it is Conley.

If Saturday night's alright for fighting, what do we Saturday morning? I imagine there's some level of calisthenics we all have to do in order to prepare for fighting tonight.

Perhaps such preparation for tonight's fight comes in the form of a Saturday Skull Session, which leads off with the latest black eye Rutgers has to show around the country.

 RUTGERS CAN'T BUY A BREAK (SPOILER ALERT: IT CAN'T AFFORD ONE). Of course, all of this has to happen with Rutgers delivered to the Big Ten. We can't LOL at the Big East for this, in large part because it no longer exists in its familiar form.

We're all aware of the recent basketball scandal at Rutgers, which saw its former head coach, Mike Rice, videotaped hurling verbal abuse at his players and using basketballs a projectiles at his players' faces. The scandal became even bigger than it could have been because Rutgers' then-athletic director, Tim Pernetti, was aware of the extent of the abuse and offered a small punishment that did not fit the crime. His effort to rehabilitate Rice proved inadequate and eventually he resigned his position.

Meanwhile, Rutgers hoped to start anew by hiring Eddie Jordan to lead the program into the Big Ten. Eddie Jordan is arguably Rutgers' basketball highest profile alumnus, having been a part of the school's celebrated 1976 Final Four team and rising to the top ranks of basketball coaching with the Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards, and Philadelphia 76ers.

If only he were an alumnus of the actual university he attended.

It turns out Eddie Jordan did not graduate from The State University of New Jersey like the athletic department claimed he did in 1977.

Around the Oval is Eleven Warriors' weekly love letter to Ohio State sports that don't get the coverage they should.

Another week, another conference championship. After seeing the men's tennis team revel in their fantastic Big Ten tournament win, the Ohio State men's lacrosse team decided to get in on the act themselves, winning the ECAC Championship after beating rivals Denver.

Having already upset the No. 2 seed Loyola in the semi, attentions turned to the championship and a Pioneers team who—like Loyola—had gotten the better of the Buckeyes during the regular season. That game finished 10-9, and Saturday's final was just as tight with a halftime score of 6-6. Each team took the lead in the third quarter but again honors were even once the final period began. 

Parity remained in tact until a little over four minutes were left on the clock, when professional scorer Logan Schuss scored his fortieth goal of the season to give the Buckeyes an edge that felt like a championship-winning one. Fast forward a minute and that was no longer the case. Denver's Eric Law found a way past goalie Greg Dutton to tie things up yet again. When all seemed to point to an extra session, sophomore Turner Evans combined with Jesse King to fire a shot into the net and score the winning goal with only :24 remaining. 

The 11-10 victory gave the program their first ECAC title, and now they host an NCAA tournament game for the first time, against Towson on Sunday at Ohio Stadium. The game is at 3 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNU. 

Let’s face it, being a fan and/or alum of THE Ohio State University is a source of great pride. One of the most common ways that Buckeyes show their pride is by taking the now-famous O-H-I-O photo.  As with anything in life, there are right ways and wrong ways to do this.

A bit sloppy with the H, bro, but a decent overall effort.

Our goal here is to help you avoid the pitfalls of taking a bad O-H-I-O picture and maximize the quality of your keepsake photograph. You don't want to embarrass yourself, and Buckeye Nation. Don't worry, we’ll show you plenty of examples after the jump, noting the positives and negatives involved.

There are three major components to preparing a high quality O-H-I-O photo — location, form, and creativity.

Location is the least important element in your picture. Obviously, the more exotic the locale, the more interesting your photo will be. An underwater O-H-I-O in scuba gear, although done many times before, is much more interesting than your back yard (unless you have a really cool back yard).  The top of Kilimanjaro is a better location than your local dog park. Ohio State fans have taken pictures all over this world of ours, from Peru, to Cameroon, to Afghanistan, to China, to Australia, and everywhere else. The best O-H-I-O photos capture the flavor of their locations.

Form is a very important part of your O-H-I-O experience. If you’re going to do this thing, be sure to do it right. If you’re an O, make your arms as round as possible. An H should hold its arms up straight as if signaling a Braxton Miller touchdown pass. Extend the arms directly above the shoulders, with elbows straight. The I is the trickiest letter to represent. The best I is achieved by placing the hands together, with full overhead arm extension and as little elbow bend as possible. Pay attention to your body type, and be honest. Are you really an I or you more of an O?

Creativity can make your O-H-I-O stand out from all the others. Using a landmark as a letter is a good idea if you pull of the execution correctly, and it’s essential when you have less than four people. Standing next to the Washington Monument and using it as the I is only acceptable when accounting for viewer perspective. Your I shouldn’t tower a hundred feet over the other letters, after all. Also, using the Washington Monument is pretty cliché at this point. You can do better.

Let’s look at some examples:

The changing colors of leaves is how most in the Midwest judge the evolution from summer to fall. Red hues turn to orange and the air becomes more crisp. But in Piqua all one needs to do is look at a resident’s driveway. If there’s an Indian head painted on, it’s football season.

That doesn’t mean locals aren’t pondering the glory of football the other eight months of the year. The town of roughly 21,000, located some 30 miles north of Dayton, is distinctly Ohio. There are fields where farmers put in a hard day’s work, downtown businesses, working class neighborhoods and football.

“When you talk about Piqua football, it’s definitely a year-round situation,” said head coach Bill Nees. “You can pick up the newspaper in January or February and find articles. It’s almost like a year-round process, even with the media giving everyone updates with what’s going on.”

They’ve been playing high school football in Piqua for more than a century. Five times the Indians have finished undefeated. The lone state championship came following the 2006 season, when Piqua, led by Brandon Saine, capped a 13-2 year with a victory over Pickerington Central.

“It is one of those places where everyone knows everyone,” said Piqua native and former Ohio State defensive end Matt Finkes. “When you’re in high school and you play football everyone knows who you are. Football is a big part of the culture. It’s a great atmosphere.”

Good morning and welcome to your Friday Skull Session. 

It's not every day that Ohio State picks up a transfer from another big school that is willing to pay his own way, but that's exactly what happened yesterday when Jeff Greene, Georgia Tech's leading receiver, agreed to walk on at Ohio State.

Earning comparisons to former Yellow Jacket and current New York Jet Stephen Hill, Greene is a physically impressive wideout (6-4/210) and two seasons of Big Five conference football under his belt.

Greene had grown frustrated with life as a receiver in Paul Johnson's flexbone option and his coaches were equally frustrated with his attitude. It wasn't that Greene didn't know what he was signing up for – the Yellow Jackets under Johnson regularly lead the nation in rushing attempts – but Tech's campus in Atlanta is just 24 miles from Greene's hometown of Fayetteville and on National Signing Day 2011, it seemed like the right choice.

Shortly after leaving Georgia Tech in December, Greene briefly considered Arkansas and Cincinnati as potential destinations. Ohio State entered the race because his father currently lives in Columbus. Following a trip to visit the school and coaches this week, Greene agreed to walk on for the Buckeyes Wednesday. He'll enroll for the summer term, which begins June 10, and take part in team activities.

Per NCAA transfer rules, Greene must sit out the 2013 season. He'll be eligible to play for Ohio State in 2014 and has two years of eligibility remaining.

Setting the Scene

The year was 1996 and excitement was brewing in Columbus. The Buckeyes were returning a veteran football team that had gone undefeated in 1995 until it all came crashing down at the end of the season with back-to-back losses to Michigan and Tennessee. Still an 11-2 season was nothing to scoff at.

The Scarlet and Gray were charged with replacing a number of key offensive pieces including Eddie George, Bobby Hoying, and Terry Glenn. However, the team had a veteran defense to lean on including CB Shawn Springs, DE Matt Finkes, DT Mike Vrabel, LB Greg Bellisari  and NG Luke Fickell.

The Buckeyes got out to an amazing start winning their first two games against Rice and Pitt by a combined score of 142-7. 

It seemed even with the loss of their offensive nucleus, the Bucks remembered how to put up points in bunches. Credit can be given to players who stepped in immediately like RB Pepe Pearson, freshman WR, David Boston, freshman RB Michael Wiley and the emergence of a successful two QB system in Joe Germaine and Stanley Jackson (though I could have played QB successfully behind the wall that was Orlando Pace).