Eleven Warriors

This is a few days old already, but if you haven't seen it, you're in for a shock. Actually, you're probably not. At any rate, turn the volume down or hit the headphones up before you listen because these fine gentlemen make the Michael Richards incident look like a slip of the tongue.

Feel free to draw your own conclusions about which type of environment is better for you as a student-athlete, Mr. Fine Southern Recruit.

(Via FanHous, Deadspin)

In a game of runs, Tennessee had the biggest as they unleashed a 25-6 haymaker over a span of 9 minutes to turn a 49-43 hole into a 68-55 lead before holding on to capture a 74-69 decision over Ohio State this afternoon in Thompson-Boling Arena.

Showing no quit, the Buckeyes responded with a frantic 14-4 run behind Evan Turner and Othello Hunter to close to 72-69 with 1:52 left but the Buckeyes wouldn't score again missing 3 threes, including 2 by 'Arctic Jon' Diebler, en route to their 3rd straight loss. The losing streak is tied for the longest in the Thad Matta era.

Once again, OSU started out in zombie mode with 5 turnovers in their first 10 possessions spotting the Vols a 12-2 run and a 16-6 lead before finally settling in led by Turner and Hunter.

The duo combined for 18 points and 16 rebounds willing the cold shooting Buckeyes to trail just 33-28 at intermission. Hunter's inspired play included 3 blocks and 2 delicious dimes to give the Bucks a jolt of confidence while Turner compensated for Koufos' early disappearing act with 10 rebounds on his way to a career high of 13 (depending on whether you believe the box score or the play-by-play).

Despite trailing throughout the half, the Buckeyes didn't resort to launching nothing but threes (0/7), instead using penetration and backcutting to cash in at the free throw line, hitting 12 of 14.

Just like the loss to Sparty on Tuesday, the Buckeyes started the second half on fire posting an 18-6 run fueled by 10 points from some kid named Kosta Koufos to take a 46-39 lead at the 15:54 mark before Tennessee's aforementioned 25-6 blitz. Koufos scored all 13 of his points in the final 20 minutes continuing his season long inconsistent and soft performance.

The double-doubles by Hunter (17pt, 14reb) and Turner (21pt, 13reb) were complemented by Koufos' 13 and a 10 point, 5 rebound effort from David Lighty. The balanced scoring from the starters was sorely needed as Jamar Butler was held to just 8 points (2/10 FG, 1/7 3FG) although he dished out 7 dimes.

As for the OSU bench (basically Turd and Diebs), they were held was to zero points and 4 rebounds while the Vol bench racked up 26 points, 17 boards and 13 assists. Diebler's 0'fer was his second in three games pushing his cold shooting streak to 2/24 in the last 4 games. The kid is known to be notoriously streaky but you have to wonder if Matta will soon change his sub pattern giving Wallace a shot and/or more minutes to PJ Hill.

Although a loss is a loss, there were some positives in today's tilt. For one, Turner showed again that he's bound for stardom. He has stat-stuffer ability committing just 2 turnovers along with 10 boards. Look out once he fully matures and expands his basketball IQ.

I was also impressed with the Buckeyes' ability to keep it close in the face of a 2/20 effort from long range. They made a point of looking to drive creating 22 FTA's building on the 16 and 24 trips earned against Sparty and the Boilers.

Ohio State will look to get back on track Tuesday night against the Fighting Illini, whom OSU defeated 74-58 kicking off the conference slate back on January 3rd.

Ohio State 12-5, 3-2 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

January19, 2008 3:30 PM ET —— Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, TN

#7 Tennessee 15-1, 3-0 SEC Roster | Schedule

OPPONENT: Tennessee will be looking for revenge against the Buckeyes in Knoxville Saturday at 3:30. Ohio State beat Tennessee twice last year, by a combined 3 points, in two of the most competitive games seen last season and this year's game sold out in less than 30 minutes. Tennessee's arena seats over 21,000 fans, so you know how important this game is to their program.

Of course the Volunteers are lead by one of the most colorful coaches (see photo right) in Bruce Pearl. I really like Bruce Pearl and his ability to sweat through an undershirt, dress shirt, tie and blazer while on national television. Pearl is in his 3rd year at Knoxville and is looking for his fifteenth 20 win season in sixteen years of coaching. He also pimps himself pretty well on his website, CoachPearl.com.

The Volunteer full court press killed Ohio State last year and with almost everyone returning from that team, one can expect the same style of play. Tenn. will look to trap only if the ball is inbounded to the corner and then fall off into a man defense. Thad had to bring Greg Oden up to help break the press last year, so I expect him to use Kosta or Othello in similar fashion today, but hopefully it is earlier than later.

Tennessee is fourth nationally in scoring offense at 86.3 points a game, but rank 82nd in field goal shooting at 46.6 percent. If you remember anything about Tenn. from last year, it should be their love for the deep shot. Once again, Bruce has his team shooting three's at a rapid rate, ranking 8th nationally at 9.6 makes per game (154 of 434).

The Vols are not a good rebounding team, grabbing just over 37 a game, with 14.4 of those coming on the offensive glass. With all the experience on the floor, it is no surprise this team takes care of the rock, turning it over only 12.5 times a game to go against 20.1 assists and over 11 steals. They are licking their chops at the sight of David Lighty and Evan Turner-over coming to play.

KEY PLAYERS: Tennessee's season has been impressive thus far, with wins over Temple, Xavier, West Virginia, Gonzaga, Univ. of Miss. and most recently Vanderbilt, with their only loss coming to Texas November 24th. They will run mainly 8 players at Ohio State, looking to extend their current winning streak to 11 games and their home winning streak to 25.

Tennessee will start 3 senior guards and 2 sophomore big men. Chris Lofton (#5 6'2" Sr.), JuJuan Smith (#2 6'2" Sr.) and Jordan Howell (#15 6'3" Sr.) will lead the 3 point barrage coming Ohio State's direction.

Lofton was a preseason All-American selection, but has struggled shooting this year and his scoring average is down to 13.5 points a game. He is playing less minutes (28/game) and shooting 34.3 percent from the floor, but is enjoying a career high 2.6 assists per game. Amazingly, 135 of his 183 field goal attempts have been from behind the arc, explaining his poor shooting year.

Smith is leading this team in scoring at 14.9 points a game in only 26 minutes. He also loves to launch from deep, as 119 of his 175 FG attempts have been from there, while also chipping in with 3.1 caroms and 2.6 assists per contest. Howell replaces that Bradshaw kid from last year as the token white senior starter, scoring 7.2 points and dishing out 2.9 assists per game. His percentage of field goals from deep is even more remarkable, as only 9 of his 75 attempts this year are from inside the arc.

You may remember Tyler Smith (#1 6'7" So.) from last year, an all freshmen selection from the Big Ten. He received a special exemption from the NCAA, allowing him a return home to Tennessee from Iowa, as his father was very ill. He has made an instant impact, leading this team in shooting (57%), assists (3.6) and steals (2), while ranking second in scoring and rebounding at 13.3 and 5.6 per game respectively.

Wayne Chism (#4 6'9" So.) has also been impressive lately, recording 18 points and 18 rebounds in their win over Vandy Thursday night. On the year, he is scoring 8.5 a game (double digits in 4 of last 5) and leading the team in boards at 5.9 a game. Ohio State may want to foul him every time, as he only shoots 37.9 percent (11-29) from the charity stripe.

Bruce's main three reserves will be Ramar Smith (#12 6'2" So.), J.P. Prince (#30 6'7" So.) and Ryan Childress (#34 6'9" Jr.). Prince made his debut with the team seven games ago and has helped this team tremendously. He is scoring 11.3 points, gathering 3.9 boards and dishing out 2.1 assists a game. Smith and Childress will give the Vols almost 13 points, 6 boards and 5 assists in combined action

NOTES: The Vols home winning streak of 25 is the 5th longest in the nation... Bruce Pearl ranks 3rd amongst active coaches in career winning percentage at 78.4 percent (377-104)... Tennessee is 41-4 under Pearl, when scoring 80 or more points... The Volunteer school loves to recognize current coaches, as this game will be played on "Summit Court" in an arena that sits on Phillip Fulmer Way and yes, Gravy Boats are available at concession stands.

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BUCKEYE BREAKDOWN: Ohio State is playing their third road game this week and will look to get back on the winning track, but it will take their best effort in order to accomplish that feat. The baby Buckeyes took it on the chin at Purdue and Michigan St. after starting the conference season 3-0 for the first time since 1991. This will be there last non-conference game.

Sometimes I forget how spoiled we were last year with OSU's freshmen and simply how much Thad lost from that team. This week has seen a return of Ohio State's shooting woes, as they connected on only 38 percent of their shots (44-116) and an even more dismal 12-46 from deep (26%). Another disappointing aspect of their poor shooting is the lack of offensive rebounding, as Ohio State has managed to grab only 16 of their 72 missed shots.

I watched a little bit of Tennessee against Vandy the other night and I really do believe Ohio State can pull off a victory, if they can do a couple of things. Tennessee is small and will give Ohio State open shots, so this could be the game their shooting can get back on track. Tennessee still takes crazy shots and Ohio State will need to take advantage of opportunities when these shots are off target.

Also, Tennessee likes to run a high flex and weave style offense, so Ohio State will not have to chase the Vols around all day, saving energy for offense and suckering Tennessee into 3point shots all day. If the Vols are cold from downtown and Ohio State can control the rebounds, they can pull this off. I am not worried too much about Tennessee's press, throw it in to Koufos or Hunter and then back to Butler, the defense will then fall back to half court.

KEY PLAYERS: Once again, I feel I should just put Jamar Butler's name here and walk away. He is in a great battle with D.J. White of Indiana for the conference player of the year, but obviously needs his teammates to step up in order to win that award. Jamar scored the last 14 points at Michigan State, the 3rd time this year he has scored 12 or more consecutive points in a game. Jamar also scored his 1,000th career point against MSU and set a another school record, by hitting his 31st straight free throw.

A couple of 11W readers brought up the point of P.J. Hill playing a bit more and moving Jamar over to the 2 spot. I believe this is going to be the case Saturday, as mentioned Tennessee is small and quick, so P.J. should get some minutes to help control the turnovers. This will take pressure off Jamar, as teams have dogged him full court recently.

It has been a tough week for Koufos, Lighty and Diebler. All have seen their scoring and field goal averages dip, as they combined to shoot 15 of 52. Diebler is 4 of 23 from threeland in his last four games, including a current 0-14 slump. Hopefully he went and got him a Slump Buster. If Kosta applies himself all game, he could reach a double-double.

NOTES: Thad Matta is 4th on the active winning list at 77 percent (195-58)... Butler is the 43rd Buckeye to reach the 1,000 point mark, with all-time leader Dennis Hopson sitting at 2,096... The game will be televised on CBS.

Although we're all Jackets fans, we don't really cover them because every time we start to, they go on an 8-game skid. However, this goal has earned a spot on the front page.

We're a little under three weeks out from national signing day and that can mean only one thing: you're going to be hearing more about Terrelle Pryor than you had ever thought possible.

The latest news is that he spoke to LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton over the phone and has added LSU to his list of approved suitors.

If you're Pryor, you have to listen to what the Tigers have to say. Crowton's gameplan for the national championship game was nothing short of brilliant and he has to be salivating at the thought of plugging Pryor into his system.

LSU joins Michigan and Oregon as schools Pryor will visit before signing day. He's in Ann Arbor this weekend, LSU the next and Oregon February 1st and 2nd. The thinking is that Pryor doesn't want to get too far away from moms, but this is the mind of a teenager we're dealing with.

The consensus among the recruitniks is that it most likely will come down to a decision between the Buckeyes and Wolverines. As it should.

Michigan, of course, was completely out of the picture until the arrival of the father-figure and mentor to Chris Henry and Pacman Jones last month. Now, in an interesting twist, West Virginia has been badgering the NCAA about the documents that Rodriguez shredded on his way out the door.

Was a Pryor infraction sent to the the shred bin? Is it a reflection of character that he informed a star recruit of his decision to move on before telling the kids on his team? Those are unknowns, but we do know that the quarterback poised to start at Michigan next season left with a quickness, saying "I didn't get a chance to ask a lot of questions", about his meetings with Rodriguez. Signs are pointing North.

Ohio State, meanwhile has been doing its part. The Vest was in Pryor's home for a visit just yesterday and he hopes to hang on to Vince 2.0 after leading the derby for much of the past 5 months. The 2008 class is already top 3 material, but adding Pryor would push it into the top spot.

Rivals.com caught up to Pryor and asked him about his leader and the Buckeye sticker on his helmet at the Army All-American game:

"I don't have a leader. We were all having fun at the U.S. Army All American Bowl with the Buckeyes on the helmets and I'm close to a lot of those guys, but I won't know where I'm going until I at least visit Michigan and maybe another place."

So coy.

He's going to have his fun for the next 20 days and toy with millions of fans, the whole while handing out quotes. If that's not enough for you, be sure to tune in to the WWL at noon on February 6 to see him announce.

The Buckeyes have agreed to a home-and-home series with Oklahoma starting with a September 17, 2016 visit to Norman. The Sooners will visit Columbus on September 16, 2017 to complete the series.

Besides the fact that I'll be 58 and 59 when those games are played, it's pretty awesome news for schedule defenders that worked overtime in 2007. No doubt exciting for all of you that have been waiting to catch a game at a stadium with "Gaylord" in its name as well.

Both institutions run premiere programs, so there's little chance we'll get a Washington surprise when the games finally arrive. Assuming both current coaches make it to the matchups, which is no given considering Stoops could be anywhere by then and Tress may presently be in the middle of his Buckeye career, it's a nice pairing of the two coaches that have had the worst luck in BCS games during the middle of this decade.

The teams have only met twice before, with the Sooners winning in the Shoe in 1977 and the Buckeyes getting one back in Norman in 1983. Both exciting games and lucky for you, Buckeye Commentary has the A/V.

Great news to be sure, but I'd love to see the school focus efforts on scheduling home-and-homes with SEC schools.

Once again, Jamar Butler did all he could to keep Ohio State in the game but in the end Sparty's superior depth, rebounding and a huge first half lead proved too much to overcome in a 66-60 defeat tonight in the Breslin Center.

The game got out of hand early as OSU missed 8 of their first 9 shots before Kosta Koufos hit a short jumper pulling OSU to 11-5 with at the 12:33 mark. Izzo's squad promptly responded with a 16-2 run featuring buckets by 5 different players to take a commanding 27-7 lead with 7:12 remaining in the half.

The MSU lead would swell to 32-11 before a Matt Terwilliger triple sparked a 10-2 run to close the half cutting the lead to 34-21. Still, it didn't appear OSU would make a game of it considering the Spartans led 19-12 on the glass and 16-6 in bench points while holding the Buckeyes to 33% from the floor including 14% (1/7) from distance.

To Thad Matta's credit, however, OSU came out of the locker room looking to build on the momentum generated with the late first half burst.

Butler got it started with a three pointer to eclipse the 1,000 point mark for his career setting off a 15-5 run capped by another Terwilliger three slicing Sparty's lead to 39-36 at the 15:41 mark. Amazingly, the two runs combined allowed Ohio State to outscore MSU 25-7 over the 7 minute span.

After a horrid opening stanza, Othello Hunter scored 7 of his 8 points in the second half including a big bucket pulling OSU to 49-45 with 9:50 to go.

Unfortunately, the Buckeyes would go without a field goal over the next 4 minutes scoring just 3 points on a free throw from The Ghost of Jon Diebler before Butler hit a pair at the stripe making it 55-48 with 6:54 remaining. Butler got zero help the rest of the way scoring OSU's last 14 points twice cutting Sparty's lead to 5 in the final minutes.

In the end, this was a game Ohio State wasn't expected to win and certainly didn't deserve to win. The Buckeyes were outrebounded 39-28 including a ridiculous 17-6 on the offensive glass as Izzo wore down the outmanned OSU frontline by rotating his bigs throughout the night. At last count, MSU turned those o-boards into at least 21 second chance points.

Supporting Butler's 21 points and 7 assists, Terwilliger added 8 points and 5 rebounds in 21 minutes while Hunter chipped in with 8 points and 3 caroms. David Lighty also added 8 points and 5 rebounds however he missed two costly free throws with OSU trailing 59-53 with just over 3 minutes to play. Shockingly, Lighty had just 2 turnovers while fellow turnover machine Evan Turner had 3 miscues to go along with 7 points and 3 boards.

With another decent performance from PJ Hill (2 reb, 2 stl, 0 TO) in limited action, I'm beginning to wonder if he shouldn't get more minutes at the point so Butler can look to score even more from the 2 spot. Taking a few minutes away from either Lighty or Turner might decrease turnovers and give Butler a little on court rest. Plus, as Corey and I discussed, Butler doesn't run the high pick and roll with the same effectiveness as Conley did limiting his scoring opportunities off the bounce.

Trust me, I'm not saying Hill should get 20+ minutes but maybe 12-15, playing alongside Butler for most of those, might help generate a few more points.

Lastly, from the Who Gives A Damn file, the Buckeyes dropped to 27-1 in games where Terwilliger records at least 4 points. That said, give Da Wiggler his due. He played a pretty good game tonight especially compared to Koufos' 4 point (2/7 FG), 4 rebound, 3 block effort.

Ohio State 12-4, 3-1 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

January15, 2008 7:00 PM ET —— Breslin Center East Lansing, MI

#11 Michigan St. 14-2, 2-1 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

OPPONENT: Michigan St. is going to be pissed. They set a record low on Saturday night by scoring 18 points in each half against Iowa, the same team Ohio State beat by 31, three nights earlier. That loss ended Michigan State's eleven game win streak (only loss is UCLA, 11/20), one which had pushed them to a number 6 ranking.

This is going to be a battle and it will be interesting from the beginning how it is refereed. Michigan St. comes in scoring 75.1 points a game, a +12.8 margin. As expected they get quality shots and shot 49 percent from the floor and 35 percent from deep. Michigan St. gets to the line over 21 times a game and make an impressive 74 percent of them.

Teams are shooting 38.5 percent against Michigan St. and 32.4 percent from beyond the arc, which is good for 3rd and 5th respectively in the conference. The Spartans do seem to foul quite often, as opponents are getting to the line 17 times a game.

Michigan St. leads the Big Ten in rebounding margin at +10.1 and are notoriously wicked on the boards. It is no secret rebounding is a weakness of Ohio State and this will be a key factor for tonight's game. If OSU gives up too many second chance points, they will lose.

MSU also leads the conference in assists per game at 18.4 per contest, which is good for tenth nationally. However, the Spartans turn the ball over more than their opponents, 14.6 to 13.5 and are averaging 18 turnovers in conference play.

KEY PLAYERS: MSU is lead by two dudes, Drew Neitzel (#11 6'0" Sr.) and Raymar Morgan (#2 6'7" So.), both of which are equally dangerous and lead this team in almost every offensive category. Neitzel's scoring is down a bit this year, averaging only 13.2 points per game, but leads the conference in assists to turnover ratio at 4.59 to 1. He is only shooting 41 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3land, dishing out 4.9 assists per game.

Morgan, an Ohioan, is having a breakout season, leading the Spartans in scoring (17.6), ranking second in rebounding (7.1) and has scored in double figures 20 straight games. He is shooting 58 percent on the year and has attempted only 15 threes, electing to take 106 free throws and make 79 of them.

Goran Suton (#14 6'10" Jr.) leads this team in rebounding at 8.1 per game and scores 9.3 points, ranking him third on the team. The 6'10" hometown favorite might give Ohio State's bigs a little trouble with his range, passing skills and rebounding tenacity. This will be Kosta's biggest test since Texas A&M.

Marquis Grey (#41 6'8" Jr.) and Travis Walton (#5 6'2" Jr.) should round out the starting five. Grey will bring more size and scores over 6 points a game, while also grabbing almost 5 caroms. Walton is another Ohioan who doesn't score too much (3.3) and hasn't made a three pointer all year, but dishes out 4.5 assists a game, good for 2nd on the team.

Kalin Lucas (#1 6'0" Fr.) and Durrell Summers (#15 6'5" Fr.) are Tom Izzo's young talent who help score off the bench, while Red-Headed Stepchild Drew Naymick (#34 6'10" Sr.) leads the team in blocks with 24. Lucas and Summers give the Spartans over 16 points, 5 boards and 5 assists per game, while Naymick will chip in with 4 boards and 3 points per.

NOTES: Michigan State scored 18 points over the last 28:08 against Iowa... Michigan St. grabs 44.4 percent of their missed shots... Tom Izzo is 174-22 at home during his career at MSU, including a redunkulous 151-13 in the last 11 years.

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BUCKEYE BREAKDOWN: Hopefully, Ohio State will also be pissed. They are coming off their first conference loss in over a year and look to win their fourth straight against MSU, two of which have come at the Breslin Center.

I am very interested to see how Ohio State responds, as they have not fared well against aggressive, trapping defenses. Ohio State still leads the conference in overall and 3point shooting defense, at 37 and 28 percent respectively. However, turnovers are still a major concern at 13.8 a game, including 20 against Purdue and Michigan St. will force Ohio State away from the basket once again.

Ohio State still holds strong at 70 points a game and their shooting dipped to 45.9 percent after the Purdue game. This team still has stretches of not looking inside and relies on the three pointer too much. It also seems that Ohio St. has not run as many set plays this year, one of the features I enjoy most from Thad's coaching. They have to get inside scoring tonight.

KEY PLAYERS: Will someone besides Jamar Butler please show up today? Butler is doing everything he can to lead this team and Thad has been smart at resting him before T.V. timeouts. However, they need a consistent second and third option to emerge. Lighty and Diebler have returned to their milk carton status, after a combined 2-19 effort last game.

I hope the coaches talked to Diebler about him fading away on every shot he takes. There were times in the Purdue game where he had faded back to half court before the ball hit rim. I was standing up for Diebler in an argument with a buddy last week and had to eat some crow after his Purdue performance. If he can not make shots, then his overall game seems to get hampered. Lighty just needs to make layups, he can't miss too many more can he?

I don't put much blame on Koufos and Hunter for not scoring consistently. As mentioned, this team will forget they have 2 capable Bigs inside and both guys are forced to step away from the hoop in order to get their shots. With that said, these two have been better at holding off defenders when the occasional entry pass is attempted.

What are your impressions of P.J. Hill and Dallas Lauderdale? Both have seen increased time lately and I expect the same tonight. Hill scares me with the ball, but is getting more comfortable with playing big time hoops. Lauderdale doesn't see many shots, but has been an effective sub inside over the last 4-5 games.

NOTES: On the year, Ohio State has 248 assists and 220 turnovers... OSU ranks 9th in the conference with 11.38 offensive boards a game, but rank 2nd in defensive rebounding with 26.19... Jamar still leads the conference in assists and free throw percentage... He has tied the school mark with 25 straight free throws... The game kicks off Super Tuesday on ESPN, but I will warn you the night is sponsored by KFC, so be prepared to get bombarded by "tasty vitals" commercials.

DE	Cameron Heyward	SO
DT	Doug Worthington	JR
DT	Todd Denlinger	JR
DE	Lawrence Wilson	JR
LB	Marcus Freeman	SR
LB	James Laurinaitis	SR
LB	Rolle/Spitler/Moeller/Sweat	--
CB	Malcolm Jenkins	SR
CB	Donald Washington	JR
SS	Kurt Coleman	JR
FS	Anderson Russell	JR

When Laurinaitis announced his intention of returning for his senior season, the 2008 defense was basically locked down, save for the battle for Larry Grant's vacant spot at linebacker.

Facing a potential defection of four stud juniors, fans were granted a January miracle (one week late, alas) when Gholston was the only one of the four to announce his early exit.

The defense returns 9 starters from a unit that was rock solid all year with the exception of one outing against a "damn strong football team" executing a brilliant gameplan.

The Gholston loss is obviously huge. He is to talent what Marco Cooper was to "getting into a little bit of trouble". Still, you have to like Heyward coming back with a full year of experience and don't sleep on Wilson. You could make an argument that with his return from injury the Buckeyes are actually returning 10 starters.

After getting manhandled in New Orleans, the interior line should benefit from the extra year of conditioning and experience. A crew that was heavily rotated at times, "backups" Nader Abdallah and Dexter Larimore also return to add depth behind Worthington and Denlinger.

The backer corps, despite breaking in a new starter, will be one of the better units in the nation. Thankfully Laurinaitis reads this blog and based his decision to return solely on the fine unsolicited advice offered in these parts because despite tremendous numbers on the season, he should dominate games as a senior. Like a Butkus winner should. Complimenting him will be Freeman, a guy many fans think may be every bit as good as Laurinaitis.

Larry Grant, the lone senior on the 2007 squad, vacates his spot to the winner of the Rolle/Spitler/Moeller/Sweat derby. Spitler will be looking to put the punt whiff in the past, Sweat has great size and I know there are plenty of Rolle and Moeller fans, but this one is probably a long way off from being settled.

All four starters return in the secondary, and one thing is for certain: Coleman and Russell better bring their blitzing shoes. The surprise return of Jenkins teamed with a seasoned Washington at the corner spot should allow the team to show more man-to-man looks instead of the dreaded zone we've seen picked apart on the biggest stage the last two seasons.

And how much saltier do nicklebacks come than Chimdi Chekwa? He's currently on the Antoine Winfield ascent where he saw a ton of nickle time as a freshman and sophomore only to blow up his last two years when finally getting a corner spot of his own.

So this is all great, right? Fans are on a high. They've seen their teams soundly beaten by senior-laden SEC squads the past two seasons and have a new ray of hope. And it couldn't have come at a better time in regards to wound-licking and all that.

Still, the defensive coaches should use this opportunity to dial it up a bit and come with a more aggressive scheme. The zone got to go. Bring back that bump-and-run of Springs-Howard and Winfield-Plummer past.