According to Rusty Miller, Gene Smith has confirmed that the NCAA's committee on infractions will hand down its final ruling on their case at 3 p.m. EST today. Many experts are predicting that a bowl ban will not be levied against the Buckeye football program, and that the NCAA will likely add on more probation and scholarships lost. Obviously the NCAA is completely unpredictable, so today's news still is very nerve-racking for Buckeye Nation.

Good luck trying to get some work done today, we'll be back with more details this afternoon! 
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Brionte Dunn will be a Buckeye!
Dave Thurman (11:18 am)

A few quick notes to help get you through a Wednesday, eleven days before Christmas.

-Brionte Dunn, all 6'1', 220 lbs. of him, recommitted to the good guys last night after meeting with Urban Meyer, saying he is 100% a Buckeye!  This is great news because Brionte is a big, fast running back with incredible potential.  But just as important, he is not headed up north, after flirting with joining the ugly helmets in Ann Arbor.  Dunn, who prepped at Glen Oak High School in Canton, rushed for 1,700 yards this season despite missing a couple games with a fractured pelvis. He rushed for over 2,000 yards his junior season.

-Everett Withers, presently serving as the defensive coordinator at North Carolina, will join the Buckeye staff.  The 48-year-old Charlotte native will most likely be working with the defensive backs, but Meyer let it be known that Luke Fickell, and not Withers, will be in charge of the defense in 2012.  Withers brings an impressive resume including stints at Louisville, Texas, and the Tennessee Titans, and is a nice addition to Meyer's staff.

-The Buckeye hoopsters are back in action tonight taking on South Carolina-Upstate (6-4).  OSU held onto their number two ranking in spite of being dealt their first loss at Kansas.  Although the game should not be much of a contest, it offers a few reasons to watch: 1) LaQuinton Ross should make his debut for the Buckeyes as he is now eligible.  Most scouting services listed him as the best of this year's freshman, and it will be interesting to see if he carves out any time in the rotation; 2) Jared Sullinger has missed the past two games with back spasms, and nobody is sure whether or not he will play.  My guess is that he will be on the bench one more time, since the opponent is far from imposing, although they did push Dayton on Sunday; and 3) How much will we see the young guys, who have looked pretty good in limited action?  Like most fans I have enjoyed the high-flying entertainment offered by Sam Thompson and J.D. Weatherspoon.  Hopefully we'll get to see them and the other youngsters tonight.  Both Shannon Scott and Amir Williams could be valuable down the stretch this year and need to play as much as possible right now. 
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Urban has added another spread genius in Herman.
Drew Thurman (1:05 pm)

Well, Urban Meyer's staff is starting to take shape. The big news last night was that Iowa State's offensive coordinator, Tom Herman, would be the new quarterback coach at Ohio State. That news got confirmed this morning, even though it appears it wasn't supposed to be. There are also reports that he may be the offensive coordinator as well, so I guess we will see when the university officially announces the news.

Herman's name is one that probably hasn't been on your radar. Well, it's time for you to get caught up to speed and realize that Urban has hired one of the best young coaches in the business. Here is a little background on him via CBS Sports:

As for Meyer's new quarterbacks coach, Herman is relatively young (36 years old); he graduated cum laude from California Lutheran in 1997 and has been an assistant coach ever since. He has been Iowa State's offensive coordinator for three years, as he was brought in with Paul Rhoads before the 2009 season. Under Herman, the Iowa State offense has scored 20.5, 23.7, and 23.6 points per game in those three years. Previously, Herman was the offensive coordinator at Rice for two years, and he spent time as an assistant at two other schools in Texas for the six season prior to that. Herman also spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Texas after graduating from college.

I would also encourage you to check out this piece on Herman from Bruce Feldman or this one from the Iowa State Daily. Also, you will really like this guy after watching him here and here. Seriously, watch those videos, then check out the rest of the news roundup...
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Dave Thurman (9:59 pm)

As Urban Meyer works tirelessly to build his coaching staff, Buckeye fans are becoming a little impatient.  At his press conference, Meyer made it clear that he is going after the very best and intends to build an all-star staff of assistant coaches.  Right now, he is carefully working to assemble the parts that will enable him to build a dynasty at Ohio State.  It won't be long until we know exactly who all the key players are, but since we're an anxious lot, let's take a look at some of the candidates and make a few guesses.

What We Know:

Besides the knowledge that Urban Meyer will be the head coach in 2012, we are confident of two other assistant coaches:

Luke Fickell - Meyer has made it clear that Luke was offered, and Fickell has been equally clear in letting us know that he has accepted.  However, nobody is sure exactly where Fickell will fit into Urban's master plan.  The speculation is that he will either coach the defensive line of the linebackers.  My guess would be the D-line. 

Mickey Mariotti - The Director of Strength and Conditioning at Florida has been lured to Columbus by Meyer, and will work in a similar position.  He is known for not only helping players develop strength but having great success in increasing their speed.

What Seems Probable:

Stan Drayton - Drayton is a fine coach and a top-notch recruiter who has had the unenviable job of mentoring the young, depleted receiving corp this season at Ohio State. The fact that he coached with Meyer down at Florida won't hurt Drayton's cause.  Although he could remain with the receivers, many in the know think he may move to the running backs, which is where he has previous experience. 
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We'll be honest, we stole the idea for the TweetBeat. Our intentions are pure though. Past and present Buckeyes make Twitter an amazing tool, and many of you miss the most entertaining and interesting tweets that hit our timeline. So to save you time, we'll browse the Twitterverse for you and bring you the can't miss tweets.

In this week's TweetBeat we check out tweets pertaining to life, sports, and Urban Meyer. Here's what you missed...

Random Thoughts on Life:
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Dave Thurman (8:31 pm)

Gator Bowl officials are dancing in the streets, which is pretty amazing considering the 2012 edition of the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl will be a match-up of 6-6 teams, as Ohio State meets Florida. However, not only does the contest feature two of the more storied programs in the nation, each of which have loyal followings, but it is also a rematch of the BCS National Championship Game played five years ago in Arizona.  Additionally this game has the extra magic of being coined the "Urban Bowl,"  featuring Meyer's former team facing his future squad. And if all that isn't enough, the Buckeyes will make its first appearance in the Gator Bowl since 1978, when OSU dropped an 18-15 decision. That game was marked by coach Woody Hayes’ infamous punch of a Clemson player after a late interception, leading to Hayes' firing the following day. No doubt about it, this is a made for TV event.

The game will be played Monday, January 2nd, at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, kicking off at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, and will be televised by ESPN2. Although Urban Meyer has been hired as the new head coach, he will not be on the sideline for the Gator Bowl, but Luke Fickell will be at the helm one last time. 

Call me old school but I don't think 6-6 teams should receive bids to play in bowl games.  However in this era of commercialization it would be a mistake to not accept the invitation, not only because of the financial advantage it presents to the university but also the extra days of practice in provides the players and coaching staff.  A young Ohio State team can benefit greatly from the bowl practice, and one has to believe that Urban Meyer will be able to observe and analyze the talent that will be his in 2012. 
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Dave Thurman (3:54 pm)

As expected, Ohio State's Braxton Miller was named B1G Conference Freshman of the Year today.  The Dayton native took over as the starting signal caller for the Buckeyes in the season's fourth game and posted solid numbers: 67-134, 997 yds, 11 tds, 4 int. passing; and, 144-695, 4.8 ypc, 7 tds rushing.  Maybe most impressive was the way Miller played in close contests with the game on the line.  He showed the ability to make big plays even though stymied by a predictable offense, and in spite of lacking playmaking receivers.  Congratulations to Braxton Miller, who should become a great one before his career in Columbus is over.

Other award winners:

-Offensive Player of the Year: Montee Ball, Wisconsin
-Defensive Player of the Year: Devon Still, Penn State
-Coach of the Year: Brady Hoke, Michigan

No word on whether Jim Bollman is in the running for assistant coach of the year or not!
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Multiple sources have confirmed this morning that Urban Meyer has accepted the job to become the head coach at Ohio State. Rumors have swirled about this move for over a week, and now things will come to a finale today. In fact, the press conference to introduce him will be tonight at 5:15 pm.

What is truly interesting about this move is the reactions from Buckeye commitments and recruits. Bucknuts and 247Sports have done some incredible work on that front, and you can read it here, here, and here. It appears that Bri’onte Dunn seems to be the only recruit that is having any issues with the hiring of Meyer.

Also of note will be who will make up Meyer's staff. Word is that Meyer met with Luke Fickell this morning in person to talk about him remaining on the staff. It also looks like Stan Drayton will stay on board. Outside of the current staff, Mike Stoops has been the most speculated name over the last 24 hours. We should fine out more on those fronts tonight.

We will keep you updated as more news comes...
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We'll be honest, we stole the idea for the TweetBeat. Our intentions are pure though. Past and present Buckeyes make Twitter an amazing tool, and many of you miss the most entertaining and interesting tweets that hit our timeline. So to save you time, we'll browse the Twitterverse for you and bring you the can't miss tweets.

In this week's TweetBeat we get serious as we check out tweets pertaining to Urban Meyer and Michigan week. Here's what you missed...

Thoughts on Meyer and Buckeye uncertainty:
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Per OhioStateBuckeyes.com:

Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier has been named the Big Ten Conference freshman of the week. The league announced the honor Monday based on Shazier's personal-best 15-tackle performance Saturday against Penn State.

Shazier, making his first collegiate start, had a game-high seven solo tackles to go along with eight assists. The 15 tackles represents the most by a Buckeye since linebacker Ross Homan recorded 15 in 2009 vs. Wisconsin. The last Buckeye to top 15 tackles was linebacker James Laurinaitis; he had 17 in a 2007 game vs. the Badgers.

Shazier, the second Buckeye to earn freshman of the week accolades this season (Braxton Miller was honored after his big game vs. Wisconsin), now has 39 tackles on the season, including five tackles for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles. He also blocked a punt that led to a touchdown in the win over Wisconsin.
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