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Jim Delany wants to destroy the SEC! (Photo via ESPN.com)
Drew Thurman (9:44 am)

This weekend we found out that the Big Ten was accelerating the timetable to expand the conference after previously announcing they would take 12 to 18 months. Prior to this latest discovery, the thought of adding another one to five teams seemed like nothing more than a dream, but now it appears that it is a quickly becoming a reality.

If your like me, your already sick of all this expansion talk. It's getting old reading writers and bloggers list potential candidates, and even more annoying is the constant drama going on with Notre Dame. If it wasn't enough that they appear every Saturday on NBC or that the media spends more time talking about their losses than most team's wins, this expansion talk has now put them even more in the spotlight. So, excuse me if I want this expansion stuff to pass quickly.

Unfortunately, it has most likely just begun. Jim Delany and the Big Ten may be opening a can of worms, that could have expansion be a central issue in college football for years to come. As Matt Hinton of Dr. Saturday says, the Big Ten might be starting a conference war.

"Under that timeline, the Big Ten -- and the Pac-10, too, which wants to have its new configuration in place when it goes into negotiations for its new television contracts this summer -- could send the first domino in the great Conference Realignment Wars of 2010 tumbling before the start of the season, a potentially torturous process depending on how many teams the Big Ten decides to poach. By the end of the year, the chaotic march toward the long-envisioned age of the superconference, already responsible for the death of the old Southwest Conference and dozens of other eruptions that have shaped the landscape over the last 40 years, is likely to resume in full force as the SEC mulls its counterattack and the "affected conferences" scramble for their lives." 
 
 
One of the biggest stories all spring has been the absence of OLB Jonathan Newsome and WR Duron Carter from spring practice. Both have been battling academic issues, and today Newsome was finally able to return to the practice field after being clear academically. Jeff Seeman had this to say:

"Jonathan Newsome was back in uniform for the first time this spring, and was making an impact immediately.  Newsome's return leaves only Duron Carter as the only non-injured player missing from the team."

Apparently, Newsome was running with the second-team defense today at OLB. It's feels great to have him back, and I expect big things in the future from Newsome. Hopefully Carter's issues will soon be resolved as well.
 
 
Pryor proved in the Fiesta Bowl a year ago just how hard it is to guard a tall, athletic player. The obvious height advantage makes life easy, especially in the redzone.

Well, in case any of us forgot, 6-7 215 pound Tyrone Williams shows up on campus this fall. Thanks to Erik Yost of The Lantern, we can once again remember the potential of this under the radar recruit. He offers some intangibles that no other current Buckeye wideout can, and could be a huge tool in the future. Steve Helwagen of Bucknuts had this to say:

“There aren’t a lot of Randy Moss-type players. That is going to be able to create some mismatches for Ohio State in the red zone where they can throw him a jump ball,” Helwagen said. “We saw that in the Fiesta Bowl two years ago where Todd Boeckman threw the ball to Terrelle Pryor, and Texas had no defense for it.”

I always hoped Pryor could somehow play multiple positions on the field at once, maybe now he can!
 
 
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Lots of names and lots of speculation this spring. (Photo via TheOzone.net)
Dave Thurman (2:47 pm)

Well the first week of Spring Practice is in the books, and as usual there are some compelling stories coming out of Columbus.  Since both Drew and I now live out of state we have not seen any of the action personally, but are relying on the excellent reports that have been posted by numerous eyewitnesses.  As I sought to harmonize this information it became apparent that there are a few things about the 2010 edition of the Buckeyes that are becoming obvious:

1. Terrelle Pryor is still inconsistent but seems more relaxed.  I think it is fair to say that he is never going to be a pure passer who hits a high percentage of his throws.  However, with his amazing athleticism, if Pryor is confident and relaxed there is no reason he can't have an excellent year.

2. The third wide receiver spot is up for grabs.  With Duron Carter still ineligible, the fight is on for playing time.  Although Taurian Washington is listed as the number three guy, everyone raves about Chris Fields who may be the next great one at OSU.  Both Posey and Sanzenbacher are looking good, and should have excellent years.  The surprise so far is Grant Schwartz, who might actually see a few snaps this season as a second team receiver.

3. Defensive tackle depth is extremely thin.  After Simon, Larimore, and Goebel, there are only question marks.  Adam Bellamy is in the two deep right now and Jonathan Hankins reports in the fall, but neither has ever taken a snap.  The fact that Connor Smith and Evan Blankenship have both auditioned at DT this spring tells us two things: they aren't expected to make an impact on the o-line this year; and, defensive tackle is desperate for bodies to throw out there.  On the other hand, defensive end looks well stocked, with the young guys progressing nicely.

4. Offensive tackle is still not set.  While everyone expects to see the Block-O guys (Shugarts and Adams) start against Marshall, both Andy Miller and Marcus Hall are battling, and nothing is written in stone.  It is nice to finally have some depth at this position, and all four guys should be solid.
 
 
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Drew Thurman (1:04 pm)

The vast majority of the time we try to be unbiased in regards to Buckeye issues on this blog, but every once in awhile we let you know who we are really rooting for. This is one of those moments.

I have to tell you that there is no player I want to succeed more in 2010  than Mike Adams. He has had his issues off the field and has struggled becoming the lineman that many believed he would be, but for some reason I can't help but pull for big No. 75. The young man has gifts that few guys are blessed with at his size, but his time is quickly flying by at tOSU. I would love to see him redeem what has been a tough first two years, and close out his career in an impressive way.

So, I was excited this morning when I read the spring practice report on Adams from TheOzone.net. Apparently, he has come into spring practice in the best condition of his life, which is a good sign that he has started to get very serious about tapping into his potential and becoming a great player. Bollman had to say this on Adams (TheOzone.net):

“He's really worked at getting strong which will be a direct correlation for him as to how much he improves. You can see that he has.” 
 
 
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Drew Thurman (10:58 am)

Yesterday, I talked about how the focus this spring needs to be on the position battles on the defensive side of the ball, not the offensive. The offense returns nine starters from a year ago, and is stacked at positions like running back and wide receiver. With that said, the offense will be under the microscope this spring in a different way. After taking a huge leap forward in the Rose Bowl, everyone will be watching to see if they can maintain that level of consistency all spring and all season. Jim Bollman know this will be no easy task though:

"You're not going to walk on the field [Thursday] and all of a sudden, be at that point," Bollman said. "How hard we all have to work, how focused we have to be to get back to that point, that's what's in front of us. That's the challenge, that's how you try to improve.

"You're not working toward an unseen performance level. We've been to that point. But everybody's got to understand what it takes."

In a way, the Buckeyes are having to rebuild to the level they were playing at in December, especially with Pryor coming off of surgery. The nice thing is that, as Bollman alludes to, the team knows what it takes and has seen the level of performance they must be at to be a championship contender. This afternoon starts the process all over again, as the Buckeyes take the field for spring practice.   

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/
id/11247/osu-needs-group-effort-to-boost-pass-attack
 
 
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Marcus Freeman will be stepping out of professional football after finding out he has an enlarged heart. Doctors informed him that he had a heart problem in February after taking a physical.

“It was hard to hear that football was being taken away, but life is much bigger than that for me,” Freeman said earlier this week. “Sooner or later you’re going to be done. Even though I can’t play anymore I still have a love and a passion for it. I’ll just turn the page to the next chapter in my life.”

Any good news to this? Well, he will be rejoining the Buckeyes staff this fall as a graduate assistant. Future defensive coach anyone?

“Coach (Jim) Tressel gave me the opportunity to be on the staff,” he said. “It’s a lot different than playing, but it’s exciting because it gives me the chance to stay close to football.”

Source: http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/
ohio-state-buckeyes/enlarged-heart-sidelines-former-
wayne-osu-star-freeman-620938.html
 
 
Yesterday, the results of a recent survey given to all FBS college football head coaches in January was released. Here is what it had to say on the BCS system (Let's hope they have been watching CBS the last few weeks!):

• Ninety-three percent of the coaches prefer the traditional bowl system over a playoff.

• Eighty-five percent are in favor of the current BCS team selection process.

• Thirty percent of the coaches favor some modifications to the BCS system. Of that group, 50 percent prefer the “plus one” model that would result in the addition of a fifth BCS bowl game.

• Ninety-five percent of the coaches are in favor of the AFCA Coaches’ Trophy continuing to serve as the BCS National Championship Trophy.

Source: http://blog.dispatch.com/buckeyesblog/
2010/03/survey_coaches_love_current_bc.shtml
 
 
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Drew Thurman (7:20 pm)

Ohio State's Pro Day has taken a backseat to Turner's heroics, but today was a solid day for many of the Buckeye players. Coleman, Rose and Gibson have all received some accolades for how they looked, especially Gibson. Here is what Tony Pauline of SI.com had to say of Gibson...

"Linebacker Thaddeus Gibson was the man of the hour at this morning's Ohio State pro day. Very much looking the part, Gibson shaved one-tenth of a second off his combine 40 time, stopping watches in the low 4.6-second area. Gibson has secured a spot in the third round and could be taken as early as the late part of round two."

And...

"Getting back to the Ohio State workout from earlier today. The accolades continue to pile up for Thaddeus Gibson. After his fine 40, Gibson, who lined up at defensive end for the Buckeyes, impressed scouts with another outstanding performance at linebacker."

Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/
nfl/03/11/pro.days.draft.news.tracker/