Greetings, sports fans... and welcome to the first Friday of 2012. I hope for your sake, the past year has treated you better than your beloved Ohio State Buckeyes have, and that your upcoming year holds as much promise as that of the 2012 Buckeyes.
You don't need yet another person reminding you of all that's gone down this past season for the Ohio State football program, you lived it. Just enjoy the fact that your last week of ever seeing a Bollman coached offense, is finally coming to an end.
EVERY NEW BEGINNING COMES FROM SOME OTHER BEGINNING'S END. I've quoted Semisonic's Closing Time far too many times this season, it was just that kind of season. And, as the song tells us, with the end of the 2011 Ohio State football season, we can officially welcome in 2012.
Tuesday marked the first day of the Urban Meyer era, with a 45 minute team meeting early that morning, not even a full 24 hours after the Gator Bowl. Though the major story to come out of that meeting was an apparent Twitter-ban by Meyer (later claimed to be untrue/a misunderstanding, by several players via... you guessed it, Twitter), it may have been lost in all the commotion that the team seems very pumped about what is to come.
Jake Stoneburner tweeted that he is, "back for senior year, leading this team, and shocking the world!" On Wednesday, Stoneburner also mentioned that he was watching Aaron Hernandez highlights, and is very excited about what is to come with the new offense at OSU. Carlos Hyde tweeted, "I'm excited and the whole coaching staff is excited for next season #2012 is going to be one exciting season!" And, while Corey "Philly" Brown didn't exactly tweet out his thoughts on the upcoming season, he did speak the truth by saying, "Michigan wouldn't be half the program they are today without the players they got from ohio." Some things just never get old.
The players aren't the only ones that see good things ahead for Ohio State, pundits do as well. Athlon Sports named Ohio State as one of their top three "teams on the rise" for 2012, along with Texas and Washington. The major criteria for the selections was teams that are expected to surpass the success of their 2011 season, a feat that shouldn't be too difficult considering the Buckeyes' 6-7 season, but it should also be noted that Athlon expects Ohio State to have at least 10 wins, after beginning the year as the Leaders-division favorites.
PENN STATE COACHING SEARCH COMES TO AN END. ESPN reported Thursday night that Penn State is set to hire Bill O'Brien, the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, as their new head coach. The official announcement is expected on Saturday.
Once made official, this will mark the end of a long, frustrating coaching search for PSU, beginning from the firing of long-time head coach Joe Paterno on November 9th. O'Brien has been with the Patriots since the 2007, and spent time at Duke, Maryland, Georgia Tech and Brown (oddly enough, both his and Paterno's alma mater), prior to his departure from the college game to the NFL.
In a (rather aggressive) show of support for interim head coach Tom Bradley, legendary former Nittany Lion linebacker, LaVar Arrington, was rather outspoken Thursday with his thoughts, should the university choose to hire someone outside the "football family." Arrington, along with some other former players of the PSU football team, hinted at disassociating with the program if they didn't agree with the hire.
"I will put my Butkus (Award) in storage. I will put my Alamo Bowl MVP trophy in storage," Arrington said. "Jerseys, anything Penn State, in storage. Wherever Tom Bradley goes, that's the school I will start to put memorabilia up in my home. I'm done. I'm done with Penn State. If they're done with us, I'm done with them." Arrington also went on to discuss his impression that excluding Bradley from the future of the program, would be the university's implication that it is severing ties with its entire history.
In other news, Wikipedia is fast.
The final chapter of the 2011 college football season.
STAY IN SCHOOL, KIDS. Ranked 3rd among potential QBs (behind Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III) in the upcoming NFL Draft by Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay, Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones announced Thursday that he will be returning to Norman for his senior season. Jones joins Montee Ball and Matt Barkley as players that have chosen, despite decent NFL prospects, to skip the draft.
Following up a disappointing season in which the Sooners were the preseason favorite to the win the national title (silly voters, national championships are for the SEC!), Jones listed his unfinished business as a big factor in his decision to stay at Oklahoma. "I want to accomplish the goals that I set before I got here, and there is still a lot more to do. I want to make sure I've exhausted every effort in that area. And I want to be a senior. I enjoy being at OU and with my teammates and look forward to graduating with the guys that were in my class when I got here," Jones said.
The Sooner also went on to discuss his confidence in the team's chances next year, given the other players that will be returning from the 2011 team. For a more in-depth look at what Jones brings to the table for the 2012 Sooners, Berry Tramel tells you all about it.
I GET OLDER, THEY STAY THE SAME AGE. For those of you who love all things recruiting, the US Army All-American Bowl takes place this Saturday at 1pm EST on NBC. Want to know who to look for, from a Buckeye perspective? Commits Adolphus Washington and Tommy Shutt will both be playing. Targets Stefon Diggs, Joel Caleb and Kyle Dodson will all be there as well, though Dodson won't be playing do to an injury. All mentioned players are on the East team.
In case you missed Alex's write up of the Under Armour All America Game, check it out.
PLUS ONE. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, who advocated a plus-one model back in 2008, is now expecting some progress in the discussions in upcoming months. Specifically, he anticipates "meaningful discussions" about changes to the current system, and possibly a four-team playoff. For Slive's interview with CBS, just click here.
HAPPY FRIDAY. This Penn State writer seems really optimistic about O'Brien... I can't be the only one that feels like this woman might've wanted to pull a Gloria James on the Honey Badger... Probably the worst word choice in college football since your Penn-State-fiasco-quote-of-choice... If you're scared to try drugs, you can try this instead... This whole coaching staff gives me the creeps... And, just because.
