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Ken Kohl (12:41pm)

[Ed. Note] We are in the process of adding several writers here at The Silver Bullet, and growing beyond just being a father-son operation. This means more content for you. So we would like to introduce Ken Kohl. Ken's been around the blog for awhile now, and we got smart and finally asked him to write. You can read all about him here.

I’ve wanted to do this for some time, probably going back 6-8 years, but it was brought to a head for me this year. In the last decade or so, I’ve been uncomfortable with Ohio State’s offensive line play.  I just haven’t bought into linemen sporting the "belly-over-belt" look that we’ve seen under Bollman. For background, I’m a Baby Boomer, and my earliest recollections of Ohio State football are Bob Ferguson and Tom Matte. In terms of offensive linemen, the pinnacle was Dave Foley and Rufus Mayes.  So aside from the play calling this year, I was curious about Bollman’s  performance in his stated responsibility: offense line. Unlike Marc Antony, I come not to bury Bollman, nor to praise him.

This must have crossed a few folks minds, because their have recently been two excellent posts related to this as Ramzy at 11W and Scott Dame at The O-Zone have recently written excellent articles related to this.

This post takes a look at Ohio State linemen that have been drafted into the NFL. This is based on the assumption that NFL GM’s have some idea of talent, and regardless of college performance these players were thought highly enough of for a GM to spend a draft pick to acquire. To do this comparison, I looked at some “horizontal” and “longitudinal” numbers to see how Bollman compared against his contemporaries and his predecessors as an offensive line coach. I had two “measures of success”: number of linemen drafted and number of linemen drafted in the 1st round. This may quantify and qualify the end results. Regardless of how “good” a recruit was going into the system, did he emerge “good enough” that an NFL GM would draft him? I want to stress that this is a comparison, not an analysis.
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Rivals has OSU at #7 and they will likely move up
Michael Chung (7:32 am)

[Ed. Note] We are in the process of adding several writers here at The Silver Bullet, and growing beyond just being a father-son operation. This means more content for you. So we would like to introduce Michael Chung. He's an OSU alum that we are excited to add to the team. You can read all about him here.

Wednesday February 1, 2012 is around the corner. National signing day offers fans of college football a glimpse into the fate of their teams’ future. Current AP and BCS national champion Alabama had the #1 recruiting class in 2008 according to Rivals.com, which translated into a championship four years later. Recruiting is destiny. 

Ohio State started out the 2012 recruiting season strong but with the forced retirement of Jim Tressel and tattoo-gate, recruiting took a nosedive. Top ranked offensive lineman Kyle Kalis de-committed from Ohio State and then pledged to Michigan. Top recruits Se’von Pittman, Kyle Dodson, Taylor Decker, and Greg McMullen, all considered OSU locks, decided to go elsewhere.  Ohio State was not even in the top 30 at one point of the recruiting rankings with few premiere recruits and little to no interest from recruits outside of Ohio. Even 10 days before the hiring of Urban Meyer, recruiting guru Bill Kurelic would not have put Ohio State’s class in the top 20.

But things changed. Adolphus Washington, Ohio’s top player, pledged to Ohio State on Nov. 21, 2011 and then one week later, Urban Meyer was officially named head coach of Ohio State. Since then, Meyer has taken a once less than stellar recruiting class by Ohio State standards to a top ten recruiting class in the opinion of most recruiting services.  

Currently, Rivals.com lists Ohio State as having the # 7 class, Scout.com lists OSU at #8, as does 247Sports.com, while ESPN has Ohio State at #10. These rankings will likely change in the near future as Ohio State is in on a lot of top prospects.
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Urban Meyer knows how to close.
Drew Thurman (2:12 pm)

Gray skies and gusty winds haven't been the only thing to make January an abysmal month in Columbus. For over a decade now, the first month of the year has been the source of some major recruiting woes. In fact, it was something that marked the Tressel era. Big Ten titles, BCS bowls and poor finishes on the recruiting front became an annual tradition for Buckeye Nation.

Some of you may remember the 2007 recruiting class. Looking back it was a vastly underrated class with guys like Cam Heyward, Brian Rolle, Dane Sanzenbacher, and Boom Herron in it. Still, the close to that class in January was a heartbreaking one for Buckeye fans. That year, there were three big names in OT Anthony Davis, OL/DL Joseph Barksdale and DE Ben Martin that the Buckeyes were fighting for as signing day approached. Many insiders were pointing to all three being Buckeye leans at one point as well. When the dust settled though, Davis chose Rutgers, Barksdale went to LSU, and Ben Martin headed to Tennessee. Davis and Barksdale went onto become big time offensive lineman, which really hurts when you realize that Evan Blankenship was the only offensive line commit in that class.

A similar storyline happened in 2010, a class that upon looking back has been full of disappointed for Ohio State. Don't believe me, go back and look. Anyway, that year the Buckeyes lost out on a handful of prospects that they were battling for late in the process. Sharriff Floyd picked Florida, Seantreal Henderson chose Miami, Jordan Hicks went to Texas, Matt James headed to Notre Dame, and Chaz Green also picked Florida. Three of those guys were offensive lineman, and just like in 2007, missing them caused Tressel and company to only sign one offensive lineman in Andrew Norwell.

It's also interesting, that it was Urban Meyer that plucked Floyd and Green away from the Buckeyes, something that along with the national championship beat down made him a hated man before coming to Columbus. In fact, many Buckeye fans will never forget the "God told me in a dream" story.
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_Family Feud is a feature where Dave and Drew throw their opinions in on various Buckeye football subjects, which like most father and sons, are quite opposite. This edition takes a detour as they look at the B1G as a whole and the upcoming bowl schedule.  

Buckeye Nation isn't exactly as wired for the bowl season as in past years. The matchup of two 6-6 teams in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl hardly compares to the BCS battles that Ohio State has been through over the last decade. While some have tried to use the Urban Meyer angle to gain interest in this game, it hardly does enough to make things meaningful. Meyer isn't coaching in the game, and instead fans get one last chance to see Bollman's play calling.

So while the major drama may be missing for the Buckeyes, there is plenty to keep you interested in the bowl season thanks to the Big Ten. The conference has a record 10 teams playing in bowls, including some pretty compelling matchups.
Conference bragging rights will also be at stake again this year, as the Big Ten tries to rebound from 3-5 record from a season ago. Let's take a close look at these games and give some predictions.

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl - Purdue (6-6) vs. Western Michigan (7-5)
TV Details: Today, Dec 27; 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Game Outlook: The Boilermakers find themselves in their first bowl game in four years after winning two of their final three games. They make the trip to Ford Field without their top tackler on defense, Dwayne Beckford (suspended), as well as OJ Ross (suspended) and Ralph Bolden (injured).

On the other side, Western Michigan is trying to win the first bowl game in school history. They rank 22nd in total yards in the country and 18th in points scored on offense mostly thanks to quarterback Alex Carder (3434 yards, 28 touchdowns). In their first two meetings against Big Ten schools this year they fell short, Michigan (34-10) and Illinois (23-20).

Prediction: Dave - Purdue 24, Western Michigan 20; Drew - Purdue 35, Western Michigan 31
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Drew Thurman (11:21 am)

Since being announced as the Ohio State head coach on November 28th, Urban Meyer has made the Buckeyes the hottest commodity in the recruiting world. If his hiring wasn't already big enough to swing some recruits towards Columbus, he's been relentlessly contacting top tier talent from around the country. Those calls have made a big difference too, as the Buckeyes are set to host a handful of four and five star recruits the next couple of weekends.

His work over the last week and a half also shows that fans should prepare for a brand new era in recruiting. Tressel had his very own distinct style of recruiting, and Urban is quickly making a statement of what his will be during his time in Columbus. In fact, there's two big differences already to note.

First, Urban is showing he is going to pursue a lot more players and extend more offers than Tressel ever did. While Tressel was definitely a heavy hitter in the recruiting world, one of the criticisms of his style was that he got burnt at times because of not extending enough offers. The offensive line is a perfect example. The staff year in and year out singled a select few guys to pursue and on multiple occasions only brought in one lineman when things didn't go their way. More offers would have meant more yeses, even if the percentage was the same.

With Urban, fans won't be complaining about that at all. In fact, I've seen some fans questioning why Urban is pursuing so many prospects in 2012 with only possibly 6 more scholarships available in this class. Some of us are still used to the way Tressel conducted his business. This also helps keep things in perspective right now in the midst of all the craziness. Every hour or so it seems like a new recruit is jumping on the Urban bandwagon and is talking about a visit to Ohio State. Just prepare yourself that many of these players are Top 150 type guys that have other big time offers and will end up other places. I'm by no means doubting Urban Meyer or his woo, it's just a reality. That's why he's going after so many players right now. It is insurance. It's a great strategy and one that will yield a few big time players by signing day. 
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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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Dave Thurman (8:05 am)

Mulling over the disappointing and bizarre 2011 season, I took a look at the Ohio State stat sheet.  It isn't pretty, as one might expect.  But I must confess that I was not prepared for a few of the most shocking numbers.  I know that you can make statistics say almost anything you want.  Still I believe looking over them will allow us to get a feel for why 2011 wound up being a season to forget.  Lock up the women and children, though, because these numbers are not for the faint of heart.  Here are the stats that caught my attention and punched me in the gut:

1) 48.2%.  That's right - OSU completed less than 50% of their passes in 2011.  Unless you are Army or Navy that is unthinkable.  And by the way, Navy actually completed a higher percentage than the Bucks!

2) 14 catches.  The single most shocking statistic in my mind is this one: the leading receiver for Ohio State caught all of 14 passes (a tie between Philly Brown and Jake Stoneburner).  Come On Man! Even high school running teams usually have a guy with 20 receptions!  (By the way, the leading receiver in terms of yardage was freshman Devin Smith with 247.)

3) 328.6 to 319.8.  Would you believe that this talented squad could actually be outgained by opponents?  Look it up for yourself.  I realize that the Buckeyes still outscored the opposition by 4 points per game, thanks greatly to hidden yardage (kick, punt and interception returns) where they were almost plus 30 yards per contest.  But still - outgained in yards from scrimmage.  Are you kidding me?

4) 596 yards.  The top Buckeye running back had under 600 yards on the year!  Yes, I know that number was put on the board by Boom Herron in just 6 games, but how often has the top Ohio State tailback had such a paltry total?  Braxton Miller, despite losing 200 yards due to sacks, actually led the team with 695 yards rushing.

5) 20.8 points and 3.9 yards per carry.  Both of these defensive numbers stunned me.  In the Jim Heacock era the Silver Bullets have pretty much not allowed teams to score over 15 points per game. Of course when you can run the ball against a team, it makes it a lot easier to score on them.  Simply put, the '11 squad failed to make opposing teams one dimensional. 

6) 40-23.  Opponents sacked Buckeye quarterbacks 40 times (you read that right), which is 17 more than the Scarlet and Gray were able to register!

7) 69 tackles.  The leading Buckeye tackler totaled only 69, and it wasn't a linebacker, but rather safety C.J. Barnett. This is another asterisk statistic, since Andrew Sweat would have probably had around 90 tackles if he hadn't been injured early in the Purdue game and lost for the season.
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Drew Thurman (7:55 am)

You may recognize the name Jack Lengyel. He was the head coach at Marshall from 1971-74. Most of you know of Lengyel, not because of his coaching prowess, but from the movie We Are Marshall.

The story that movie tells is arguably the greatest sports tragedy in history. On November 14, 1970, a plane carrying 37 members of the Marshall football team, as well as eight coaches, 21 booster members and multiple other athletic department staffers crashed. All in all, 75 people on board that plane were killed.

That disaster didn't just impact the football program or the university, it impacted the entire town of Huntington, West Virginia. Many were ready to cut the football program in the wake of the crash, but some key people and students fought to see it carry on and Lengyel would eventually be hired. The movie depicts this journey of healing for both Marshall and the town of Huntington. It's a story about carrying on and moving forward when quitting seemed like the more sensible option. As history shows, their resilience wasn't for nothing as Marshall would be the winningest Division 1-A program in the country during the '90's.  

As moving as that story line is, every time I watch the movie or read the story I'm more blown away with Lengyel than anything. He was a man who took over a program in it's darkest hour when no one else seemed to want to, a move that was both unselfish and heartfelt. In fact, he would go on to have a 9-33 record at Marshall, yet he's still a hero. While his efforts in today's sports climate would seem like an epic failure, they were essential in moving the program on for greater success.

Flash forward to 2011 and Luke Fickell.
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Drew Thurman (10:27 pm)

It's been 2,926 days since Buckeye Nation has felt this feeling. While we all knew the streak would come to the end, possibly even this year, it still is awful to watch it come to fruition. 

In many ways this game embodied what we have seen this team be all season. A mix of poor coaching moments and failed execution in critical situations plagued the Buckeyes yet again, who have not really been able to put a complete game together this season. In fact, that was the reason many saw the Buckeyes falling short going into Saturday.

The 40-34 loss isn't how most people saw this one playing out though. This game saw 816 total yards of offense and 74 points in an effort that looked like something you would see in the Pac-12 or Big 12, not in this heralded rivalry. In fact, it was the Buckeye defense that was the biggest storyline in the game. They struggled all afternoon to stop Denard Robinson, who amassed 167 yards on 14/17 passing and three touchdowns to go with 170 yards on the ground with 2 touchdowns. Some of the issues can be chalked up to the mounting injuries on that side of the ball, more even happening during the game, but at the end of the day this defense is just plain bad. Not since the Tim Biakabutuka debacle have the Buckeyes looked so sorry on defense in this game.

Honestly, if I were to assess the whole season I would have to start with the defense. While Bollman's play calling has been like that of high school coach in 1934, the Buckeyes have been a contender for a decade now with questionable offenses. The big difference this season has been the defense, or lack thereof. They looked bad in Miami, they let Nebraska come back, the tried to let Wisconsin come back, and they made Michigan look like a top five team. They say defense wins championships, and the 6-6 record this year backs up that statement.

So let's take a deeper look into some of what I saw in this game. It's with the defense I want to start.
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Drew Thurman (7:55 am)

Twitter blew up yesterday thanks to Bill Greene tweeting that Urban Meyer and Ohio State had reached an agreement. Eleven Warriors got this ball rolling, and now with Greene's latest details and others jumping on board, it's pretty clear this is more than just smoke. Obviously, things could still fall apart, but it appears an announcement could be made next week.

News this big will create a few vastly different responses. For most Buckeye fans this news will be met with excitement and complete idealism. With how things have gone over the last year and the fact that Urban has two national championships under his belt, that reaction seems perfectly understandable. There will be a small sect of fans who are still completely loyal to Tressel, hate Meyer after the '06 beat down, and will take much longer to accept him. Finally, there will be rival fans who will point to things like Urban's player arrest record or how he left things at Florida, and will provide plenty of negativity and hatred towards the whole thing.

So setting aside the bias that each of those perspectives offer, how should we really feel about Urban? Maybe even more importantly, what should expect from him? Let's take a look. 
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