New Year, Different Team, Same Goals For Ohio State

Everyone seems to think Florida will repeat as national champions this season and I can certainly see why. The Gators return a veteran team, including quarterback Tim Tebow and all 22 members of the defensive depth chart for last year’s title game.

The question is how badly the Gators want another title. There is a reason why no team has ever won back-to-back BCS championships: it’s damned hard. If wanting the title and fielding a veteran team was all there was to the equation, Ohio State would be defending the championship.

I went back to read what I wrote about the Buckeyes heading into last season and a lot of it is downright painful. Under the headline “Time For Ohio State To Prove It’s The Best,” I wrote an open letter to the 2008 team, a squad filled with veterans who had watched other teams before them squander national championship possibilities.

“No team in college football in 2008 has more talent than you,” I wrote. “No team has more experience than you. No team has more returning starters than you. No team has more candidates for postseason awards than you. And no team has the chance to make more history than you.

“I know that you have already made the sacrifices necessary to go for a national championship. I know about the countless hours in the weight room since late January, the gallons of sweat you’ve spent on the practice field during 7-on-7 drills this summer, the hours upon hours of film study.

“But listen up, guys. Every young man who plays major college football makes those sacrifices. Those things alone don’t make national champions. You have to want it. You can’t just talk about wanting it. You have to want it – you have to want it so deep within your bone marrow that you’d walk through hell in a gasoline suit to get it.

“If you don’t want it that badly, you can resign yourself to personal glory and soothe yourself with a nice, fat NFL contract next year. After all, only one of Ohio State’s six Heisman Trophy winners ever won a national championship ring. Most of them came close, of course, but no one gets a trophy for getting close.

“If you want it – truly want it – go out and get it. No team on your schedule – not even supposedly mighty USC – is as good as you are.

“On paper, you are the best team in college football. All you have to do is go out and prove it.”

Hindsight being 20/20, we know that the 2008 Buckeyes did not “go out and get it.” On paper, they may have stacked up well against any other team in America, but where it mattered – on the playing field – there were three losses. Last time I checked, you don’t win a national championship with three losses.

Now, in less than 24 hours, the 2009 title chase begins. The championship talk centers around Florida, and if by some off-chance the Gators stumble, most of the so-called experts look for No. 2 Texas or third-ranked Oklahoma to make a title run. (Can’t be both, of course. They play one another Oct. 17.)

The rest of the top 10 is a flawed bunch, which includes No. 6 Ohio State and its relatively inexperienced lineup.

On the surface, the preseason No. 6 ranking would seem a little high. Where are the points going to come from? No proven tailback, no proven receiver and a young, still-improving quarterback working behind a revamped offensive line. Even the defense, which should be considered the strength of the team, must shake off the losses of All-America linebacker James Laurinaitis and Thorpe Award-winning cornerback Malcolm Jenkins.

Of course, trying to figure out which teams will peak in which years is kind of like trying to time the stock market. Every member of the Buckeye Nation knows the team was primed for a national championship run in 2003, yet won it all a year before. On the surface, OSU would appear to be a stronger candidate for BCS honors in 2010 that it does this season.

And yet there are possibilities.

The schedule is certainly friendly enough. With the exception of the Nov. 7 visit to Penn State, the games against the perceived toughest opponents – USC, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa – will all be in Ohio Stadium.

Additionally, with all of the inexperience comes a boatload of talent. According to Scout.com, over the past three recruiting seasons, the Buckeyes have signed 41 players with four- or five-star ratings. Over the same span, Big Ten rival Penn State has signed 29. Meanwhile, Texas has signed 45 players with four or five stars, Florida has signed 44, USC has signed 41 and Oklahoma has signed 33.

I know that recruiting is an inexact science, but you, me and Aunt Martha can pretty much separate the four- and five-star performers from the rest of the pack. And you’re telling me Ohio State shouldn’t be able to compete for the national championship against those other media darlings?

Why not this year? Terrelle Pryor is a superstar in the making. Neither Dan Herron nor Brandon Saine are the bruiser Beanie Wells was, but they have a lot of talent and both seem eager as hell. For all of the hand-wringing we’ve done since spring about the offensive line, do you honestly think guys like Justin Boren and Jim Cordle are going to let that unit underachieve?

Likewise on defense. Who wants to be the guy who misses an assignment and has to go back into the huddle to face down Doug Worthington or Thad Gibson or Kurt Coleman?

I don’t want to want to climb out on any limbs and predict a national championship run for the 2009 Buckeyes. There are just too many variables, too many things that have to fall into place, too many bounces that have to bounce the right way. Besides, take another look at what I wrote about last year’s team and tell me how adept I am at telling the future.

Somehow, though, I just have this nagging feeling that this could be a season where the Buckeyes confound their critics. I guess we’ll begin to find out starting tomorrow.

PLAYING SERVICE ACADEMIES

Throughout the first part of its existence, and especially during World Wars I and II, Ohio State squared off against many teams made up of military personnel. However, when the Buckeyes host the Midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy on Saturday, it will mark only the second time a service academy team has played at Ohio Stadium and only the fifth time ever Ohio State has played an academy team.

OSU and Navy have met three times previously in football matchups with the Buckeyes holding victories in all three games.

The teams first met in 1930 when the Buckeyes took a 27-0 win over the Midshipmen. The game, played at the old Municipal Stadium in Baltimore, snapped a three-game non-winning streak for Ohio State. After beginning the 1930 season with home shutouts over Mount Union and Indiana, the Buckeyes lost a 19-2 decision at Northwestern and a 13-0 verdict at home to Michigan before playing Wisconsin to a 0-0 tie.

Against the Middies (who know prefer to be known simply as the Mids), Ohio State rediscovered its offense and scored four touchdowns. One of those was a scoring pass from three-time All-American Wes Fesler to receiver Dick Larkins, who would later serve 23 years as OSU athletic director.

The following season in 1931, Navy came to Columbus and was victimized by another well-known Ohio State All-American. Sid Gillman gathered in a tipped pass for a 35-yard touchdown reception as the Buckeyes rolled to a 20-0 homecoming victory in Ohio Stadium.

OSU and Navy would not meet again for 50 years until the Liberty Bowl matched the two schools following the 1981 season. The underdog Midshipmen erased an early 10-0 deficit and stormed to a 20-17 lead midway through the third quarter.

But the Buckeyes came back with a 2-yard touchdown run by Jimmy Gayle to regain the lead with two minutes left in the third period, and then Art Schlichter threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Anderson early in the fourth quarter. It was Schlichter’s 50th career TD pass, a school record that would stand until Bobby Hoying broke it in 1995.

Navy made things interesting with a touchdown and two-point conversion with eight seconds left to make it 31-287, but OSU recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock. The win snapped a string of four consecutive bowl losses for the Buckeyes and began a postseason stretch that saw Ohio State win five of six bowl games.

OSU’s other contest against service academy competition would just as soon be forgotten by most Buckeye fans. That one occurred after the 1990 season and resulted in a 23-11 Liberty Bowl loss to Air Force.

The Buckeyes had missed out on a chance to go to the Rose Bowl that season following a 31-3 loss to Michigan, and the team was bitterly disappointed at being relegated to the Liberty Bowl. That disappointment showed in their performance although OSU actually enjoyed an early 5-0 lead in the game. They got a safety in the opening minutes and a 28-yard field goal from Tim Williams later in the opening period, but the Falcons scored touchdowns in the second and third quarters to build a 13-5 lead.

OSU cut the margin to 13-11 early in the fourth quarter on tailback Robert Smith’s 29-yard run, but the Buckeyes would get no closer. Air Force sealed the win in the final three minutes with a 47-yard field goal and a 40-yard TD on an interception return.

The Buckeyes totaled only 214 yards of offense in the game, including 80 on the ground. Meanwhile, the Falcons’ wishbone attack was worth 254 rushing yards.

The outcome had far-reaching repercussions for head coach John Cooper’s program at Ohio State. The Buckeyes suffered through one of their worst recruiting seasons in recent memory – many experts rated their efforts as only sixth-best in the Big Ten.

OSU-NAVY TIDBITS

** Ohio State kicks off its 120th season of intercollegiate football against Navy on Saturday. The Buckeyes have won 30 consecutive home openers, not tasting defeat since a 19-0 loss to Penn State in the 1978 season opener. OSU is also 2-0 all-time on Sept. 5 – a 20-19 win over Louisville in the 1992 home opener and a 34-17 victory at West Virginia in 1998.

** OSU head coach Jim Tressel is 17-5-1 in season openers, including a perfect 8-0 at OSU. The last time he walked off the field with a loss in an opener was 1995 when Kent State handed Youngstown State a 17-14 defeat.

** The Midshipmen are led by second-year coach Ken Niumatalolo who is 8-6 overall at Navy. Niumatalolo is the first coach to lead Navy to a bowl game in his inaugural season as head coach.

** Navy has won three straight season openers and is 6-1 in the triple option era. The only loss during that span was a 23-20 defeat to Maryland in 2005. This, however, is the first time since 1999 the Mids have opened the season against a ranked opponent. That season, Navy dropped a 49-14 decision to No. 10 Georgia Tech.

** While the Buckeyes are 3-1 all-time against service academies, the Midshipmen are 26-40-3 all-time against teams from the Big Ten. Navy last played a Big Ten opponent in 2002 when it lost a 49-40 shootout against Northwestern in Annapolis. The Mids haven’t enjoyed a victory over a Big Ten team since 1979 when they took a 13-12 win at Illinois.

** Navy last defeated a top-10 team on Nov. 17, 1984, when the Mids upset No. 2 South Carolina, 38-21, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.

** Ohio State is 385-106-20 in Ohio Stadium since the facility opened in 1922. That is a .773 winning percentage. All-time in Columbus, the team is 528-153-35, good for a winning percentage of .762.

** Over the past six seasons, the Buckeyes have enjoyed a 38-4 record at home, good for a .905 winning percentage. Since 2003, that is the fourth best home mark in the Football Bowl Subdivision (better known as Division I-A). Only Boise State (38-1, .975), Oklahoma (37-1, .974) and USC (35-1, .972) have done better over that same timeframe.

** No one gives Navy much of a chance to topple the Buckeyes, but everyone who takes the Midshipmen lightly does so at their own risk. Not only has the Naval Academy led all Division I-A teams in rushing in each of the past four seasons, it is also working on a streak of six consecutive years with eight or more victories.

** Navy is trying to win a record fifth straight NCAA rushing title this year. Before the Midshipmen’s current streak, no team had ever won the rushing title more than twice in a row.

** The Mids own 13 victories over BCS-conference opponents since 2003. That number is tied with Utah for the most by a non-BCS team over the last six seasons.

** Congratulations to Ohio State’s newly minted captains – defensive lineman Doug Worthington, linebacker Austin Spitler and safety Kurt Coleman. The last time the Buckeyes had an all-defensive lineup at captain was in 2002 when Donnie Nickey and Mike Doss helped lead the team to the national championship.

** ESPN will have the telecast of the Ohio State-Navy game. The announce team will feature Dave Pasch with the play-by-play and a pair of former Big Ten All-Americans – OSU’s own Chris Spielman and Bob Griese of Purdue – providing the color commentary. Kickoff is set for 12 noon Eastern.

** In addition to his ESPN duties, Spielman will be honored at the Navy game for his election to the College Football Hall of Fame. On hand to help honor Spielman will be National Football Foundation board member and Hall of Fame running back Archie Griffin.

** Saturday’s pregame will also feature a flyover conducted by The Fighting Bengals of VMFA(AW)-224 stationed at MCAS Beaufort in Beaufort, S.C. The Fighting Bengals just returned from a deployment to Iwakuni, Japan. One of the pilots will be former Navy offensive lineman Grant Moody, who lettered for the Midshipmen in 2003.

** Next week, Ohio State stays home to host Southern California in one of the most eagerly anticipated matchups of the young season. That game will also be televised by ESPN with a kickoff scheduled shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern.

THIS WEEK IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

** Twenty-five years ago today, Miami (Fla.) notched its second straight victory over a No. 1-ranked team. Eight months after knocking off top-ranked Nebraska in the Orange Bowl and winning their first-ever national championship, the Hurricanes dealt preseason No. 1 Auburn a 20-18 loss in the 1984 Kickoff Classic, held at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands. A late fumble by Auburn running back Bo Jackson led to the go-ahead field goal by Miami freshman kicker Greg Cox.

** Also occurring during this week in college football: On Sept. 2, 1989, Southern Mississippi quarterback Brett Favre threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns, including a 2-yard score with 23 seconds remaining, to lead the Golden Eagles to a 30-26 win over No. 6 Florida State; on Sept. 4, 1993, Penn State scored its first Big Ten victory with a 38-20 win over Minnesota; and on Sept. 5, 1981, Lamar (Texas) University engineered one of the biggest upsets in college football history, beating defending SWC champion Baylor, 18-17, in Waco. Lamar kicker Mike Marlow booted a 42-yard field goal with three seconds left to account for the winning points. It was the first time in history that a Division I-AA school had beaten a I-A school. Lamar, which ended its football program in 1989, is scheduled to resume intercollegiate play in 2010.

AROUND THE COUNTRY

** You may want to keep tabs on Lane Kiffin’s first season as head coach at Tennessee. The Volunteers currently hold the distinction of being the major college program with the longest streak since back-to-back losing seasons. Tennessee, which went 5-7 last year to get Phil Fulmer fired, hasn’t had back-to-back losing seasons since 1910 and ’11. Which team currently has the second-longest streak? That would be Ohio State, which hasn’t posted back-to-back losing campaigns since 1923 and ’24.

** College teams playing in NFL stadiums is becoming popular. Colorado and Colorado State recently agreed to play the next 10 games in their series at Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos. A little closer to home, Indiana and Penn State will play in 2010 at FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins. That is technically a home game for the Hoosiers even though FedEx Field is some 700 miles from Bloomington.

** Fact: NCAA rules stipulate no football player can spend more than 20 hours per week, and no more than four hours per day, during the season on “controlled activities.” Fact: The 20-hour rule is one of those “don’t ask, don’t tell” rules that every program bends. Fact: The excuse that “everyone else does it” is no excuse at all. Fact: Michigan should have gone ahead, bit the bullet and hired Les Miles. Fact: Rich Rodriguez should have remained at West Virginia.

** Welcome to five institutions who field intercollegiate football programs for the first time in 2009. The newbies are Old Dominion in Division I-AA, the University of New Haven (West Haven, Conn.) and the University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, Texas) in Division II, and Anna Maria College (Paxton, Mass.) and Castleton (Vt.) State College in Division III. Anna Maria and Castleton kick off their inaugural seasons playing one another Saturday in Castleton.

** In case you haven’t heard, I have a book coming out. It is called “The Die-Hard Fan’s Guide to Buckeye Football,” and is scheduled for release Sept. 8. You can purchase it now (at a discount) at such online booksellers as Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Ranking OSU’s Best Tailbacks Redux

In the nearly 14 months since I listed my top 10 Ohio State tailbacks of all-time, I have received a steady stream of e-mails critical of the list. Most of what I have heard has to do with the omission of Chris “Beanie” Wells although most of my electronic pen pals don’t seem to realize I formulated my list before the 2008 season – which would be Wells’ final one as a Buckeye.

It seems like as good a time as any to go back and take a second look at my list with the first question being: Does Wells belong on it?

Of course he does. Wells finished his career with the fourth highest rushing total in Ohio State history. But I have to be honest. I can’t remember a player in recent history whose career in which I have been more disappointed.

You may think it sound ridiculous to criticize Wells, especially when you look at the raw numbers. Only Archie Griffin, Eddie George and Tim Spencer ever rushed for more yards in scarlet and gray. Wells put together back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, only the sixth OSU running back ever to accomplish that feat. His 222-yard effort at Michigan in 2007 is the most yards ever gained by an Ohio State runner in the long history of that series.

And still there is this nagging feeling in my mind that there could have been even more. In my mind, Wells could have gone down in history as one of the all-time greatest running backs in college football. He had the talent, the size, the speed. Somewhere along the line, it just didn’t happen.

First of all, there were the nagging injuries. Even so, you are never going to hear me say Wells was soft. Sometimes, injuries cling to a player like white on a baseball. Wells was one of those players. In only three seasons with the Buckeyes, he had hand, leg and wrist problems not to mention the toe injury he suffered in last season’s opener that cost him three games and parts of two others. Wells played with most of those injuries when lesser players would have not.

Still, the 6-1, 237-pounder was sort of a walking contradiction. He had some of the longest touchdown runs in recent memory, yet seemed strangely unable to pick up needed yardage on third-and-short. He had some three inches and nearly 40 pounds on teammate Maurice Wells, yet it was the latter that was often called upon in obvious passing situations because he provided the better pass protection.

Maybe Beanie is another one of the cautionary tales of recruiting. He was ranked second nationally by Scout.com in 2006 (behind only current USC quarterback Mitch Mustain) but ahead of such players as quarterback Matthew Stafford of Georgia, receiver Percy Harvin of Florida and quarterback Tim Tebow of Florida.

There is no doubt Wells had an excellent career at Ohio State. I guess maybe I was just expecting a little more.

With that, I have taken another look at my all-time top 10 Ohio State running backs and jumbled the list somewhat. See how it stacks up to yours.

1. Eddie George (1992-95) – I moved Eddie to the top of the list because he was a workhorse and always answered the bell. I wrote this the last time and it bears repeating: Watching George break through the line was like watching Secretariat break from the gate. The fact that he went on to such a productive NFL career was no surprise. His senior season in 1995, when he rushed for 1,927 yards and won the Heisman, is the gold standard for all Buckeyes who follow. Perhaps the most astounding thing about that season – every opposing defensive coordinator knew George was coming and was powerless to stop him. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry and 25.2 carries per game.

2. Archie Griffin (1972-75) – How do you measure heart? Archie was never going to be the biggest or the fastest running back on the roster, but you knew when you gave him the football that he was going to figure out a way to pick up the yards he needed. He maximized his talents through hard work and determination, and it didn’t hurt that he played behind a massive offensive line and one of the best blocking fullbacks (Pete Johnson) in college football history. Griffin’s career mark of 5,589 rushing yards still stands nearly 35 years after he played his last game at OSU – and no one has come within 1,800 yards of that record. Oh, yeah. He’s still the only guy ever with two Heismans.

3. Keith Byars (1982-85) – Byars was the top guy on last year’s list, but I took a second look and decided that he didn’t quite measure up to George or Griffin. IMHO, the senior season lost because of a foot injury costs him in the all-time rankings. Still, his 1984 season should never be diminished. He rushed for 1,764 yards and scored 22 touchdowns on 336 carries, a single-season workload that has never been equaled. Byars was also a dangerous weapon in the passing game, and he went on to catch 610 passes during a 14-year NFL career.

4. Howard “Hopalong” Cassady (1952-55) – Cassady has become a larger-than-life figure over the past 50 years, but many of today’s fans don’t know that he was a little guy by today’s standards. The freckle-faced, redheaded kid from Columbus Central High School was only 5-10 and about 170 pounds, but he could fly. He scored three touchdowns in his first college game and went on to become one of the greats in college football history. In 1955, he won one of the most lopsided Heisman votes in history, polling 2,219 points, nearly three times the total of the second-place finisher. Cassady was also the consummate teammate, leading Woody Hayes to say, “Hop is the most inspirational player I have ever seen.” Good enough for me.

5. Vic Janowicz (1949-51) – On sheer athletic ability alone, Janowicz had few equals. He could run, throw and kick a football with the best of them and had enough talent to become one of the few players to enjoy professional careers in both the NFL and Major League Baseball. The coaching change from Wes Fesler to Hayes in 1951 – and the philosophy change that went with it – robbed Janowicz of possibly becoming the first two-time Heisman winner. But those who remember his 1950 season remember a blur who ran past opponents and scored touchdowns in bunches. Oldtimers still talk in hushed tones about his performance in an 81-23 win over Iowa – he scored three touchdowns – two rushing and a 61-yard punt return – threw for four scores, recovered two fumbles on defense and kicked 10 extra points. Not a bad day’s work.

6. Tim Spencer (1979-82) – Spencer would likely have been higher on this list had he not served as a fullback for his first two seasons. And he was an excellent fullback, too, blocking for Calvin Murray and also carrying the ball with authority (back when OSU allowed the fullback to carry in tandem with the tailback.) Once Spence got the tailback spot to himself, though, he blossomed with a combination of speed and upper-body strength that blew through would-be tacklers. He totaled 1,217 yards in his first year as a starter and then upped that total to 1,538 in his senior year of 1982. That figure is still the fifth-best single-season total in school history.

7. Antonio Pittman (2004-06) – Largely the forgotten man in an offense that featured Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr., Pittman’s workmanlike approach to the tailback position allowed the Buckeyes to become a more multifaceted offense in 2005 and ’06. He was remarkably consistent during his two seasons as the starter – 1,331 yards as a sophomore and 1,233 as a junior – and turned himself into a pretty good receiver as well. Pittman would likely be higher on this list had he returned in 2007 for his senior season.

8. Chris “Beanie” Wells (2006-08) – And Wells would likely be higher, too, had he returned in 2009 for his senior season. Unfortunately, we never got to see him play an entire season injury-free. What we did get to see, however, was a guy who finished among the top five in nearly every career rushing category on the Ohio State record books.

9. Chic Harley (1916-17, 1919) – Simply put, Harley was the catalyst for what eventually became Ohio State football as we know it today. I could list his statistics, some of which would pale in comparison to the numbers average players put up these days. Rather, I’ll list just a handful for Harley’s accomplishments – Ohio State’s first three-time All-American, the first man ever to lead the Buckeyes to a victory over Michigan, the first to lead them to an undefeated season and the first to lead the Scarlet and Gray to a conference championship.

10. Robert Smith (1990, 1992) – Smith is another guy whose star would have burned much brighter if not for missed opportunities. He was an extremely gifted running back whose seemingly effortless strides allowed him to set the OSU freshman record in 1990 with 1,126 yards. Unfortunately, his college career got off-track for a variety of reasons – some of Smith’s own creation – and he never fully realized his great potential. Nevertheless, the all-too-brief flashes he showed in scarlet and gray make him deserving to be in my top 10.

One final note: There are those who are going to make the argument that players such as Cassady, Janowicz and Harley have no place on a list like this because of the advances football has made since they played the game. That is utter nonsense. Star power is star power, and those guys had it. Anyone who thinks they aren’t among the top 10 running backs in Ohio State football history simply doesn’t know much about Ohio State football history.

If you would like to take a look at my top 10 players at other positions, here are the links:

OSU’s Top 10 Quarterbacks

OSU’s Top 10 Fullbacks

OSU’s Top 10 Wide Receivers

OSU’s Top 10 Tight Ends

OSU’s Top 10 Offensive Guards

OSU’s Top 10 Offensive Tackles

HAPPY! HAPPY!

Among those celebrating birthdays this 6th day of August: Seventies TV actor Peter Bonerz (wisecracking dentist Dr. Jerry Robinson on “The Bob Newhart Show”) is 71; professional poker player Lyle Berman is 68; former MLB pitcher Andy Messersmith is 64; former MLB slugger Bob Horner is 52; former NBA star Dale Ellis is 49; actress Michelle Yeoh (Yu Shu-lien in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) is 47; Basketball Hall of Fame center David Robinson is 44; ESPN Radio personality Mike Greenberg is 42; film director M. Night Shyamalan is 39; ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is 37; HBO boxing analyst Max Kellerman is 36; Eighties TV actress Soleil Moon Frye (“Punky Brewster”) is 33; and Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover girl Marisa Miller is 31.

AND FINALLY …

** You are no doubt aware that former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett has withdrawn his petition for early release from prison so that he could resurrect his NFL career. Clarett sent a letter Monday to the Ohio Parole Board explaining his decision, and while letters of those nature are not made public, speculation is that prosecutors in the case opposed the move, there was no chance Clarett was going to receive clemency at this time. The ex-Buckeye began in September 2006 serving a 7½-year sentence for a holdup outside a Columbus bar and a separate highway chase that ended with police finding loaded guns in his SUV. As part of a sentence agreement, he must serve at least 3½ years, which would keep him incarcerated until at least March 2010. “I’m a man and I struggle,” Clarett wrote Monday on his blog. “I’m not speaking of anything specific. I’m just talking in general. Depression comes and depression goes. … I personally believe that I’ve been aiming too low. A body and mind full of endless possibilities that I cannot and will not waste it back here.”

** The Big Ten has only two teams in the Sporting News’ preseason top 25 but five more in SN’s rankings of 26-50. Ohio State is the top conference team in the rankings, coming in at No. 9, while Penn State sits at No. 12. Then it’s a long way down to Iowa at No. 26 and Michigan State at No. 31. The head-scratcher is Michigan at No. 38 (because I don’t think the Wolverines will have a winning record in 2009). Wisconsin is at No. 47 and Minnesota is No. 50.

** When contacted about his team’s ranking, Minnesota defensive lineman Garrett Brown was more than a little miffed. “Everyone knows the Gophers should be ranked in the top 25,” he said. “Don’t make the Gophers angry. You all know the gopher as a happy, smiling little critter. But wait until that critter turns on his critics. He won’t be so happy then.” Sorry, Garrett, but I don’t think your team is going to finish above .500.

** College football kicks off its 2009 season later this month, and that means college basketball is also just around the corner. ESPN analyst Dick Vitale has released his preseason top 40 with Kansas leading the parade. Three Big Ten schools – Michigan State, Purdue and Illinois – are in the top 10 and Ohio State makes an appearance at No. 24. Vitale writes, “If B.J. Mullens had returned, the Buckeyes would have probably been in the top 15. They do have Evan Turner, though, who is one of the best players in the Big Ten.”

** ESPN analyst Andy Katz has also released his preseason top 25 and Katz thinks a little more of the Buckeyes than Vitale, ranking them at No. 16.

** As a Cincinnati Bengals fan, it is with a great deal of trepidation that I await the Aug. 12 premiere of HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals.” I figure the series will be somewhere between a Jerry Springer episode and those other insipid reality shows that currently litter the airwaves. Let the train wreck begin.

Do You Know Who Harry Strobel Was?

Do you know how Harry Strobel was? You should – at least you should if you consider yourself an Ohio State football fan – since Strobel very nearly became head coach of the Buckeyes in the early 1950s.

Strobel was a native of Massillon, Ohio, and earned six varsity letters – three in football, two in baseball and one in basketball – at Miami University before his graduation in 1932.

He first made a name for himself in high school coaching, leading Bellevue to the Class AA state basketball championship in 1945, and then two years later piloting Barberton to the 1947 state football title. One of Strobel’s star players on that Barberton team was a lineman named Glenn Schembechler.

In 1949, Strobel moved to the college ranks and joined Wes Fesler’s staff at Ohio State as freshman coach. At the same time, Strobel also served as an assistant for basketball coach Floyd Stahl.

Following the 1950 season, and after a third consecutive loss to Michigan, Fesler resigned amid mounting pressure from local businessmen, donors and alumni. Several prominent candidates were mentioned for the opening, most notably longtime Missouri head man Don Faurot. He accepted the job in Columbus on a Friday and went home to clean out his office. Less than 48 hours later, however, Faurot changed his mind and remained at Missouri.

With spring football only a few weeks away, Ohio State officials quickly reorganized and settled on a field of seven candidates – one professional coach, four coaches from the college ranks and two Ohio high school coaches.

The pro coach was Paul Brown, who had previously coached the Buckeyes from 1941-43 and produced the school’s first national championship in 1942. Brown had already flirted with returning to Ohio State following World War II but instead took a job as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. The coach had led the Browns to championships in each of his first five seasons in Cleveland – four in the All-America Football Conference and the 1950 crown in the NFL.

Brown was the hands-down favorite of Ohio State fans and students to replace Fesler. Approximately 1,500 fans cheered his arrival in Columbus for a meeting with the search committee in late January, a meeting during which Brown reportedly told OSU athletic director Richard Larkins that he was “anxious to leave professional football.”

Larkins was not swayed, however. The AD later revealed that a number of influential Columbus businessmen did not want Brown to return. They felt he had reneged on a deal to return to Ohio State after the war, and that he signed with Cleveland without notifying the university.

Nevertheless, newspaper reports continued to trumpet Brown as the front-runner for the vacancy. Also receiving formal interviews were Cincinnati head coach Sid Gillman, Warren Gaer of Drake, Woody Hayes of Miami and Strobel as well as high school coaches Chuck Mather of Massillon and Jim McDonald of Springfield.

In early February, the field had reportedly been pared to three: Brown, Mather and Hayes with Strobel remaining as a possible dark horse candidate. Brown was the choice of the fans and Mather was backed by the Ohio High School Coaches Association. Meanwhile, Strobel was the original choice of the athletic department, but Hayes had supplanted him after a stellar interview.

An announcement was to be made around Feb. 14 – Hayes’ 38th birthday – but all seven members of the Ohio State Board of Trustees had to agree on the new coach and the university couldn’t seem to get the entire panel together at the same time. In the mean time, the six-man search committee and 12-member athletic board had settled on Hayes.

The official decision was postponed for another week as speculation ran rampant. What if Hayes was rejected by the trustees? Would the athletic board then throw its support behind Strobel, or would some back-room maneuvering pave the way for Brown to return to Columbus after all?

The OSU Board of Trustees finally got together to end the speculation on Sunday, Feb. 18. Thanks to an impassioned speech from Sen. John W. Bricker, the board formally hired Hayes as the university’s 19th head football coach. Hayes received a one-year, $12,500 contract in accordance with university policy, but received a five-year “gentleman’s agreement” from university president Howard L. Bevis.

Before its Sunday meeting, the board reportedly remained split between Hayes and Brown. That was until Bricker made a 10-minute speech to his fellow trustees opposing Brown and boosting Hayes.

Despite the days and weeks of wrangling before being offered the job, Hayes didn’t seem the least bit dismayed by the decision.

“I have wanted this job very much,” he told reporters. “It’s the greatest coaching opportunity in the country.”

When Hayes moved to Columbus and formed his new staff, he promoted Strobel from freshman coach to a varsity position overseeing interior offensive linemen.

Other members of Hayes’ first OSU staff reads like a who’s who of coaching. The new coach retained former Buckeye fullback Gene Fekete and longtime kicking coach Ernie Godfrey as well as Strobel and former Ohio State All-America lineman Esco Sarkkinen from Fesler’s staff, and hired Upper Arlington High School coach Doyt Perry while bringing offensive line coach Bill Arnsparger with him from Miami. Perry, of course, went on to a College Football Hall of Fame career as head coach at Bowling Green while Arnsparger enjoyed a long career as a college and NFL assistant, most notably as Don Shula’s defensive coordinator in Miami.

Strobel remained in charge of guards and centers for Hayes until poor health caused by diabetes forced his retirement following the 1967 season. His 17 years with Hayes ranked him second only to Sarkkinen for longest tenure with the legendary head coach. Sarkkinen, who began his Ohio State coaching career in 1946 under Paul Bixler, served Hayes for 27 seasons from 1951-77.

During his time with the Buckeyes, Strobel coached such All-Americans as Mike Takacs, Jim Reichenbach, Aurealius Thomas, Doug Van Horn and Ray Pryor. He was also in charge of the development of Jim Parker, who was Ohio State’s first Outland Trophy winner, taking home the trophy in 1956.

After his retirement, Strobel became assistant director of intramurals at Ohio State. He remained in that position until his death of a heart attack on Nov. 28, 1971. He was 63.

In his book “You Win With People!” published two years after Strobel’s death, Hayes praised his longtime assistant, characterizing him as a much-needed calming influence whenever things got tense.

“Harry has been considered seriously for the head coaching position in 1951, and it was a rather awkward situation for both of us,” Hayes wrote. “(But) Harry became an extremely efficient guard and center coach. Most important, he understood me better than any coach on our staff. When I’d be uptight about something, he’d come up and put his hand on my arm and say, ‘C’mon, Coach, now it really isn’t that important, is it?’ and we’d go on from there. He could quiet me down and understand my moods and tensions better than anyone else.

“When he passed away in 1971, his widow, Marge, honored me by inviting me to give the eulogy to my friend. Bo Schembechler, who had played for Harry at Barberton High School, and Jim Parker were among many from Ohio State who came to pay their respects.”

Two years later, when Parker was to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame following an illustrious career with the Baltimore Colts, he asked Hayes to formally introduce him during induction ceremonies in Canton.

Hayes accepted, but told Parker, “Jim, I know I’m second choice. If Coach Harry were alive, I know you’d want him to do the honors.”

Parker laughed for a few seconds before nodding his head. “You’re right, Coach,” the former Buckeye said. “If it wasn’t for Harry Strobel, nobody would have ever heard of Jim Parker.”

BIG TEN EXPANSION?

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany addressed a number of topics during his annual “State of the Conference” talk with media members at the Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. One topic leftover from last year (and the year before, and the year before that) was expansion of the conference to 12 teams.

Whenever the subject has been broached in the past, conference coaches have given it lukewarm attention. That is, until this year when Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster told reporters, “I look forward to the day when we add a team, split the divisions and play for a championship on national TV on a Saturday night in December.”

It is unclear whether Brewster voiced a consensus among most Big Ten coaches since many of them, including OSU head coach Jim Tressel, seem to remain skeptical of just how expansion would benefit the conference.

“I’m certainly not opposed to it,” Tressel said, “but it would have to add value to the conference. When I coached at Ohio State in the mid-1980s, we had 10 teams and when I returned in 2001, the number was 11. The conference had added Penn State and that added value to the conference and I think it also added value to Penn State. If we can find a way to do that again, I would certainly be in favor of it.”

Delany said that he has heard the coaches discuss the idea of expansion but doesn’t see it on his immediate horizon.

“A positive would have to be associated with expansion if you felt expansion on its own merits was the right thing to do,” the commissioner said. “But I wouldn’t think you would expand unless you had a whole other series of reasons to do so. I understand we’re out of the mainstream (after the end of the regular season) for a week to 10 days, and I don’t think that’s good. But I don’t think it by itself is the reason why you would go forward (with expansion.)”

Delany also discussed the subject of an expanded conference schedule. Each team currently plays an eight-game conference season, annually missing two league rivals. This season, for example, Northwestern plays neither Ohio State nor Michigan. Some coaches have floated the possibility of a ninth conference game, but the commissioner warned them of being careful of what they wished for.

“The issue that it revolves around is the five-four mix – the five home games, four away,” Delany said. “For some institutions like Iowa with Iowa State and then Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue with Notre Dame and a couple of other cases where you have a long-standing home and away rivalry, those would have to be sequenced.

“In football, because of scheduling and the impact of a home gate, and some of the home gates in our conference are worth $3 million or $4 million, it has a dramatic effect. By losing a home gate and going from eight to nine (conference) games, you actually lose four home games in an eight-year period. That’s $12 million in revenue if you’re averaging $3 million a game. If you’re averaging $5 million, that’s $20 million of revenue.

“It has a profound effect on budgeting, and you’re going to have to figure out exactly how you’re going to manage that.”

HAPPY! HAPPY!

Among those celebrating birthdays this 4th day of August are several world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, who is 48. Others blowing out candles today: longtime White House reporter Helen Thomas is 89; Iraqi religious leader Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani is 79; Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is 68; former New York Mets outfielder Cleon Jones is 67; actor/comedian Richard Belzer (Det. John Munch on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”) is 65; Pro Football Hall of Fame running back John Riggins is 60; former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is 54; actor/musician Billy Bob Thornton is 54; distance runner Mary Decker Slaney is 51; actress Kym Karath (little Gretl Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music”) is 51; Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is 49; seven-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Roger Clemens is 47; Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt is 44; four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon is 38; and 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kurt Busch is 31.

AND FINALLY …

Here are some leftover quotes from last week’s Big Ten Media Days:

** Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald on expanding the conference schedule to nine or 10 games: “I’m a traditionalist. I like where things are. The Big Ten is already hard enough as it is.”

** Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany on teams with .500 seasons earning bowl bids: “I’m starting to think in my own mind – and I haven’t concluded one way or another – that while a 6-6 record and going to a bowl game is a good thing for some programs at some times, it’s really not a welcome development at all because they went in a year when they didn’t have a winning season. For every good news story for somebody that hasn’t been to a bowl in a while, there are also 6-6 bowl teams which I think maybe aren’t good for that school and good for the system. It’s something that we’re going to continue to discuss.”

** Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez on the pressure to improve upon last year’s 3-9 record: “There’s no more pressure now than there was a year ago. There’s pressure all the time. But that’s OK. When the pressure to perform well ends, it’ll be time for me to start looking for something else to do.”

** Rodriguez on his first taste of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry: “It was fun. It’ll be a lot more fun when we’re playing better.”

** New Purdue head coach Danny Hope when asked his favorite joke about the Purdue-Indiana rivalry: “I’m not foolish enough to say that today.”

** Fitzgerald when asked if quarterback Mike Kafka will have a chance this season to break his quarterback rushing record of 217 yards: “Well, we have 12 games and hopefully a 13th, so those are his odds.”

** Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel on having his team selected as a preseason favorite to win another Big Ten championship: “Being the favorite is an honor, of course, but it’s also a pretty good reminder of what’s expected.”

** Indiana head coach Bill Lynch, talking about a campus outreach program that had him speaking at several IU fraternities and sororities: “The sororities were a lot better than the fraternities. At the sororities, they paid attention and listened. The fraternity guys wouldn’t even look up from eating.”

** OSU tight end Jake Ballard when asked about quarterback Terrelle Pryor’s offseason improvement: “He’s improving by leaps and bounds. He’s getting better all the time.”

** Big Ten Network president Mark Silverman on conference teams playing weeknight contests: “We like having a Thursday night game to open the season. I think it gives the Big Ten an interesting position to kick off uniquely from others, and we can really get behind that kind of a launch. We’re really not looking forward to airing Thursday night games on a regular basis. Kicking off the football season, though, on a Thursday is something that I think has some merit going forward.”

Will Pryor Be Pryor? Doesn’t Sound Like It

I was going to write a column for next month’s football preview issue of Buckeye Sports Bulletin with a request for Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel.

The plea? Let Terrelle Pryor be Terrelle Pryor.

Apparently there is no reason for that column to be written. During Big Ten Media Days in Chicago earlier this week, Tressel intimated that he prefers his mobile quarterback remain a little more stationary. According to the head coach, the reason is simple – survival.

“I’m not looking for my quarterback to act like a fullback,” Tressel said. “I’m not looking for my quarterback to get hit 20 times a game. I guess I’m talking about the old saying about discretion being the better part of valor. There’s a reason why the career of an NFL running back doesn’t last very long. The guy with the ball gets hit the hardest. I’m not looking for my quarterback to be the guy on our team that gets hit hardest the most times in a game.”

There is no doubt the coach has a salient point. After all, he doesn’t have 218 career victories and make upwards of $3.5 million because he doesn’t know the finer points of the game.

Still, Pryor seems like he could be one of those once-in-a-lifetime type quarterbacks. He threw for more than 4,300 yards in high school but he also ran for 4,200. He’s 6-6 and 235 pounds, and recently turned in a 40-yard dash time of 4.33 seconds – the fastest on the team. It seems only natural that you would want to allow a player of that caliber to unleash all of his God-given talents on the opposition.

Big, strong-armed quarterbacks with fast wheels also seem to fit the blueprint for national championships. Just think Vince Young (6-5, 233) or Tim Tebow (6-3, 235).

Young wasn’t a run-first quarterback when he led Texas to the title in 2005 and neither was Tebow when he guided Florida to last year’s title. Young threw for 3,036 yards and 26 TDs in ’05 while Tebow piled up 2,746 yards and 30 TDs last season. You have to be able to stand in the pocket for the majority of your plays to compile those kinds of numbers.

Still, the running game was a big gun in both quarterbacks’ arsenals. Young carried 155 times for 1,050 yards and 12 TDs during his team’s title run and Tebow added 673 yards and 12 TDs on 176 carries for the Gators last year.

Moreover, it wasn’t just the yardage. It was the fact that opposing defenses were forced to respect the possibility that Young or Tebow could take off at any time, making their passing attack that much more potent. Anyone knows the threat of a mobile quarterback can freeze linebackers and safeties, giving potential receivers that split-second they need to get open.

Looking at Pryor and expecting him to be another Young or Tebow, however, is the old apples-to-oranges comparison, according to Tressel.

“First of all, Terrelle is a lot different from Tebow,” the OSU coach said. “Terrelle is not a power runner. Secondly, you have to take what the defense gives you. You can’t design your offense around your quarterback running the ball all the time. You can sit there and say, ‘Well, Terrelle is that good and that fast, so he ought to always be able to get the yards we need.’ There’s a little more it than that. You have to have some balance. Hey, we all like ice cream cones but you can’t eat 15 of them. You have to have some balance.”

So what exactly how will Pryor’s role be defined?

“Our goal has always been to throw for 250 yards and run for 200 in every game, and that hasn’t changed,” Tressel said. “Our philosophy is that our receivers have the most touches in a game, then the running backs and then the quarterback. You attack with your receivers, then your running backs and the quarterbacks are the final part of that equation.”

Sound thinking, of course – in a perfect world. For Ohio State to achieve the goal of throwing for 250 yards and rushing for 200 in every game would make it imperative that the offensive line fired on all cylinders. We know that hasn’t been the case for at least the last couple of years, and that was largely with a veteran cast of characters. With new starters slotted at four positions – not to mention a left tackle spot still very much up for grabs – it seems somewhat of a gamble to rely so heavily on that unit.

Guess what else a running quarterback can do? Ease the pressure on an evolving offensive line.

Of course, we have seen this before and the results were pretty darned good – up to a point. Troy Smith had a run-first mentality for much of his career before turning into a pocket passer in 2006. That year, he broke several school records on his way to the Heisman Trophy.

Unfortunately, by the time the national championship game rolled around, Smith had apparently forgotten how to run the football. Had Smith tried to run straight at rather than away from the Florida defense, the complexion of that BCS title game might have been much different. Would the Buckeyes have won that night? That’s difficult to say but I think the game could have been and would have been much more competitive.

If Tressel insists upon Pryor staying in the pocket against USC, he will holster one of his main weapons in what many believe is a must-win game for his program. My only question: Why would he do that?

HAPPY! HAPPY!

Today’s Buckeye birthday belongs to former Ohio State safety Sonny Gordon, who turns 44.

Denman Preston Gordon was born July 30, 1965, in Lynn, Mass., but grew up in Middletown, Ohio, where he was a high school football star for the Middies. He was a starter at the rover position from 1984-86 and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior in ’86. That season, he set career-highs with 94 tackles, seven interceptions and four fumble recoveries. Gordon was Cincinnati’s sixth-round selection in the 1987 NFL draft but never played with the Bengals. He signed with Tampa Bay and played seven games with the Buccaneers in ’87, his only season in the NFL. Following his playing career, Gordon entered private business and has been a longtime sales rep and territory manager for Columbus-based Worthington Industries.

Among the others celebrating birthdays this 30th day of July: H&R Block co-rounder Henry Bloch is 87; children’s television producer Sid Krofft is 80; Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is 75; blues guitarist/singer Buddy Guy is 73; firm director Peter Bogdanovich is 70; former U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-Colo.) is 69; singer/composer Paul Anka is 68; jazz saxophonist David Sanborn is 64; California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is 62; law professor and ex-Clarence Thomas colleague Anita Hill is 53; former Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle is 52; former NBA center and current Phoenix Suns assistant coach Bill Cartwright is 52; singer/songwriter Kate Bush is 51; country singer Neal McCoy is 51; two-time Olympic decathlon gold medalist Daley Thompson is 51; actor Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus in the “Matrix” trilogy and Dr. Raymond Langston in “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”) is 48; actress Lisa Kudrow is 46; actor Simon Baker (Patrick Jane in “The Mentalist”) is 40; two-time Academy Award winning actress Hilary Swank is 35; actress Jaime Pressly (Joy Farrah Darville/Hickey/Turner in “My Name Is Earl) is 32; and British golfer Justin Rose is 29.

Also on this day in history: the city of Baghdad was founded in 762 while Baltimore, Md., followed in 1729; English novelist Emily Brontë is born in 1818; President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid, in 1965; Apollo 15 landed on the moon with the first Lunar Rover in 1971; Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa disappeared from a Bloomfield Hills, Mich., restaurant parking lot in 1975; the final old-style Volkswagen Beetle rolled off a Mexico assembly line in 2003; and Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh died in 2007.

AND FINALLY …

** It seems the U.S. Military Academy and the New York Yankees have forged a partnership. Army will play four games in the new facility over the next several years, including 2010 when the Black Knights host Notre Dame. Army will also take on Rutgers (2011), Air Force (2012) and Boston College (2014) in Yankee Stadium.

** Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald told reporters at Big Ten Media Day that the Wildcats continue to explore possibilities of playing one of their home games at Wrigley Field. Fitzgerald said, however, that his team would like to make a trip to Wrigley only a once-in-a-great-long-while thing.

** Congratulations to MLB umpire Joe West. When he works the Washington-Milwaukee game tonight, it will mark his 4,000th major league game. Only 14 other umpires have ever reached that milestone.

** I rarely agree with ESPN the Magazine columnist Rick Reilly, but he’s dead on with his assessment of Tiger Woods’ churlish behavior on the golf course. The world’s best golfer can be extremely engaging away from the course and very accessible when things go right. But the pursuit of 100-percent perfection in a game that almost never allows that sort of thing turns Woods into a profane, boorish lout. As I wrote some time ago, I have no doubt that Woods will ultimately break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships. But if he continues to act the way he does in defeat, Woods will never surpass Nicklaus in terms of class. In fact, he’ll never ever come close.

** It’s difficult to criticize a guy on his birthday, but here goes anyway. Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig must rule on the Pete Rose situation and he must do it now. Either he is in favor of reinstating Rose or he isn’t. He can no longer have it both ways. Either he’s going to listen to Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Joe Morgan and Mike Schmidt who are in favor of reinstating Rose, or he’s going to listen to Bob Feller, Stan Musial, Duke Snider and Bobby Doerr and keep Rose on the sidelines. Some criticize Selig for being unable to make the tough decisions. My criticism is that he doesn’t make any decision. His legacy is going to be boring interleague play, the ridiculous notion that the winner of the All-Star Game should dictate home-field advantage in the World Series and presiding over his sport’s biggest scandal in nearly a century. I only hope that when it comes time for Selig to be considered for the Hall of Fame, he joins Rose on the outside looking in.

** I’ve said it before, I said it again at Big Ten Media Days and I may as well say it here. If I had the choice (and I clearly do not), I’d take Charissa Thompson over Erin Andrews. Every day of the week.

Schlichter Belongs In OSU Hall Of Fame

With all due respect to Andy Katzenmoyer, Pandel Savic and the rest of the most recent class of inductees into the Ohio State Athletic Hall of Fame, it has always seemed a bit strange that the school’s all-time leading passer remains on the outside looking in.

Your powers of deduction don’t have to be much to figure how why Art Schlichter remains a hall of fame outsider. Nothing besmirches a reputation quite like a decade-long stretch in prison for a much-publicized gambling addiction.

In 1977, the athletic department, in cooperation with the Varsity “O” Alumni Association, established the hall of fame. According to the Varsity “O” constitution and bylaws, the hall was established “to pay tribute and extend the recognition to those individuals who through the years have contributed to the honor and fame of The Ohio State University in the field of Athletics, and who have continued to demonstrate, in their daily lives, the values learned in Intercollegiate Athletics.”

There are several specific qualifications for nomination to the hall and Schlichter meets nearly every one of them. It has been five years or more since the graduation of his class, he earned the minimum of one varsity letter, and his records are so outstanding that there is no question as to the qualifications necessary for induction.

Schlichter continues to be Ohio State’s career leader in passing yardage despite the fact he played his final game in scarlet and gray more than a quarter-century ago and passing attacks have evolved greatly since his career ended. By way of comparison, Schlichter’s career total of 7,547 yards is more than Rex Kern, Kirk Herbstreit and Cornelius Greene – combined.

Additionally, he remains the only quarterback in school history ever to have a 400-yard passing day, shares the single-game mark for completions at 31 and is just one off the all-time career record with 497 completions.

Perhaps he falls short in the interpretation of Chapter VIII, Section 3, Paragraph F of the hall of fame qualifications, which reads, “Consideration shall be given for personal conduct in life and personal contributions to the high ideals of Intercollegiate Athletics.”

Then again, the final sentence of the preceding Paragraph E reads, “The selections shall be on merit only and never of a political nature.”

If it’s contrition the Varsity “O” hall of fame board wants, Schlichter has issued a number of apologies over the years. Surrendering his freedom for so many years, not to mention the toll his gambling addiction inflicted upon his family, was also an expensive price to pay.

No one knows if Schlichter can continue to handle his addiction and lead a productive life. From all indications, he is making a supreme effort. He gives regular talks on the evils of gambling, provides counseling for others who are haunted by the same demons, and has co-authored a new book on his life titled, “Busted: The Rise and Fall of Art Schlichter.”

Public perception on how Schlichter’s problems may have somehow sullied the university’s reputation really isn’t the point. When you’re part of a family, you’re supposed to forgive. It seems to me it’s time to welcome Schlichter back into the fold and find room in the OSU Athletic Hall of Fame for the greatest quarterback in school history. 

HAPPY! HAPPY!

Today’s Buckeye birthday belongs to former basketball co-captain Je’Kel Foster, who turns 26.

Born July 22, 1983, in Natchez, Miss., Foster was star for his hometown high school team before playing one year at Howard Junior College in Big Spring, Texas, and one year at Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Fla. At Chipola in 2004, Foster was the Florida JUCO player of the year after averaging 17 points, 5.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds. He played for the Buckeyes in 2005 and ’06, serving as team co-captain for the 2006 squad that won the school’s first outright Big Ten championship in 14 years. Foster finished his two-year career as a Buckeye with averages of 10.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Foster is currently in his fourth season playing pro basketball in Europe and beginning his second year with a team in Oldenburg, Germany. Last season, he averaged 12.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in the German league and sank the game-winning free throw to lift Oldenburg to its first championship ever.

Foster is joined by a host of celebrities celebrating birthdays this 22nd day of July: former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole is 86; film and TV actor Orson Bean is 81; fashion designer Oscar De la Renta is 77; Oscar-winning actress Louise Fletcher (Nurse Ratched in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”) is 75; novelist Tom Robbins (“Even Cowgirls Get The Blues”) is 73; Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek is 69; funkmaster George Clinton is 68; Triple Crown winning jockey Ron Turcotte is 68; U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) is 66; Sixties teen heartthrob Bobby Sherman is 66; Supertramp co-founder and keyboardist Rick Davies is 65; former MLB reliever Albert “Sparky” Lyle is 65; actor/activist Danny Glover is 63; screenwriter Paul Schrader (“Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull” and “Auto Focus”) is 63; Palau President Johnson Toribiong is 63; comic actor Albert Brooks is 62; Eagles co-founder Don Henley is 62; Oscar and Tony winning composer Alan Menken is 60; four-time Olympic gold medal distance runner Lasse Virén is 60; film and stage actor Willem Dafoe is 54; seven-time MLB All-Star MLB pitcher Dave Stieb is 52; Indigo Girls singer/musician Emily Saliers is 46; film and stage actor John Leguizamo is 45; comic actor and Saturday Night Live alum David Spade is 45; pro wrestler Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom is 44; 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown is 43; former NFL receiver Keyshawn Johnson is 37; singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright is 36; 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon is 29; and St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson is 26.

YOUR REPUTATION PRECEDES YOU

An online sports betting service, BetUS.com Sportsbook, posted odds recently on the colleges most likely to commit the next major violation. Winning the dubious honor was USC with odds of 8-to-1. It was unclear if the website actually meant the program “most likely to commit the next NCAA violation” or “the next program most likely to be found guilty of major violations.” In that case, USC is a no-brainer with the Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo cases pending.

Next on the list with 9-to-1 odds? Ohio State.

The Buckeyes were followed by Florida, Memphis and Ole Miss at 10-to-1, with North Carolina, Connecticut, Michigan State and Florida State each at 12-to-1.

BetUS.com Sportsbook claimed it included football and basketball programs in determining its odds.

AND FINALLY …

** Based upon what I know right this second, it’s going to be awfully difficult for me to cast my Heisman vote for anyone else but Tim Tebow. His Florida team – at least on paper – looks very much capable of marching to another national championship. If that happens, I don’t know how you keep the trophy out of Tebow’s hands.

** If the Gators do win the title this year, they would become only the third team to win three championships in four years since the wire services became the authority on such matters in 1936. The others are Notre Dame (1946-47, ’49) and Nebraska (1994-95, ’97).

** Head-scratcher of the week? Iowa extending head coach Kirk Ferentz’s contract through the 2015 season at more than $3 million per year. Ferentz is a solid coach and a solid guy, but what exactly makes him worth three mil? In his 10 seasons, the Hawkeyes have no outright Big Ten championships (they have shared the title twice) and averaged only seven wins per year. Easy math tells you that if your team is averaging only seven victories, it’s also averaging five losses. Three million bucks for an average record of 7-5 every year seems a bit steep.

** Speaking of coaching contracts, Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops – the guy working on a five-game losing streak in BCS contests – is also getting a new deal. Stoops’ new contract calls for the university to pay him (bonuses included) more than $30 million through the end of 2015. That computes to an annual average of about $5 million.

** Stoops’ compensation begs this question: If he’s worth $5 million, how much is Florida going to have to pony up if Urban Meyer wins another national championship this year? In case you wondered, Meyer’s current contract pays him $3.25 million per year. That’s pretty good but only third highest in his own league. Nick Saban of Alabama ($3.9 million) and Les Miles of LSU ($3.75 million) make more.

** As if you didn’t already know, college football is right around the corner. Watch lists for 10 of the major awards are scheduled to be announced on ESPN’s College Football Live show beginning Aug. 3. The watch lists for the awards will be announced one per day at 3:30 p.m. Eastern for two weeks.

** To say the College Football Hall of Fame likes to stretch its induction ceremonies would be a bit of an understatement. Last Sunday, more than a year after it was first announced, the 2009 class of inductees was finally and formally enshrined into the hall during ceremonies in South Bend, Ind. It was nice to see Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George in attendance to help celebrate the induction of former Ohio State head coach John Cooper.

** Army and Notre Dame have announced they will play one another in the new Yankee Stadium on Nov. 20, 2010. It is the first college football game scheduled for the new facility, located right across from the original.

** Did you know that Walter Cronkite got his start by covering high school and college football games for his hometown newspaper? He did so while growing up in the Houston area and continued after he attended the University of Texas. In 1937, he got his start in radio by broadcasting Oklahoma football games.

Title Aspirations Start With Ohio State Offensive Line

I don’t think it’s stretching it to say that the offensive line has been the Achilles heel for the Ohio State football team these past few years.

Since 2005, the Buckeyes have enjoyed almost unprecedented success with four consecutive seasons of 10 victories or more, tying a school record. During those past four seasons, the team has 43 victories in 51 games, a winning percentage of .843.

What most critics choose to focus upon, however – whether they’re right or whether they’re wrong – are the eight losses. Seven of them have come against ranked teams. (Only the home loss to Illinois at the tail end of the ’07 season came against unranked competition.) And six of the seven losses to ranked teams have come against opponents ranked among the nation’s top three.

More often than not, Ohio State has also been highly ranked in those games and one of the major tipping points in those contests has been the play of the Buckeyes along the offensive line. It couldn’t protect Todd Boeckman last year against USC and it couldn’t protect Boeckman in the 2008 national championship game against LSU. Likewise with Troy Smith in the title game against Florida. You could even argue that the offensive line was the major culprit in the losses to Penn State and eventual national champion Texas in 2005. Hurried quarterbacks at critical junctures led to game-changing turnovers in both of those games.

So, what have we learned? If Ohio State is to make a run at a national championship in 2009 – and I mean a serious run – the Buckeyes will need their offensive line to rise to the occasion. It also means that the team is going to have to solidify its starting tackle positions early in fall camp. Will it be Mike Adams, J.B. Shugarts or Andy Miller on the left side? Will it be Jimmy Cordle on the right side? It should be an interesting battle, but the battle had better be decided quickly.

That said, here is my all-time top 10 Ohio State offensive tackles. All of the aforementioned players should aspire to get their names on this list – and if they do, this coming season could turn out to be very, very entertaining.

1. Orlando Pace – No less an authority than 1995 Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George sums it up nicely. “If it wasn’t for Orlando Pace,” George once said, “you’d have never heard of me.” Pace was the most decorated offensive lineman ever to play at Ohio State and he was a star from the first time he set foot on campus during his freshman season of 1994. Had he not left early for the NFL and returned for his senior year in 1997, he could have been the first lineman ever to win the Heisman Trophy. Simply put, he was just that good. As it was, Pace filled his trophy case with two All-America honors, back-to-back Lombardi Awards and the Outland Trophy. He was also named the 1995 Big Ten player of the year making him the only offensive lineman in the last 45 years to have been named conference MVP.

2. John Hicks – Hicks was 6-3 and 258 pounds, but had the mobility of a much smaller player. He was a rare blend of size, strength, speed, attitude and coachability that comes along only once every so often. In fact, Woody Hayes made a highlight reel of Hicks’ blocking technique and used it as a teaching tool for the remainder of his coaching career. Hicks topped off his college career in 1973 with a second All-America honor as well as the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award. He was finished runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting to Penn State running back John Cappelletti, the highest finish ever for a lineman in the Heisman voting,

3. Chris Ward – Ward began a three-year run as the starting left tackle for the Buckeyes in 1975 and paved the way for Archie Griffin to win his second Heisman Trophy before blocking for the likes of Jeff Logan in ’76 and Ron Springs in ’77, both of whom became 1,000-yard rushers. Ward was a two-time All-American who started 36 consecutive games and was part of an offense that piled up 1,469 points over four seasons – an average of 30.6 per game. He was also part of a team that won or shared the Big Ten championship every year he was a Buckeye.

4. Korey Stringer – Overshadowed somewhat by fellow offensive tackle Orlando Pace, Stringer was one of the reasons why Ohio State fielded such offensive powerhouses in the mid-1990s. The big, burly Warren, Ohio, native cleared opposing tacklers like a hot knife through butter and finished second in 1994 in both the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award voting. Nevertheless, Stringer was a consensus first-team All-American that season, and then was selected in the first round of the 1995 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Before his tragic death in 2001, Stringer played six seasons in Minnesota, during which the Vikings made the playoffs five times including the NFC championship game twice.

5. Chuck Csuri – An All-American at tackle, Csuri was voted the team MVP during the 1942 national championship season. That year, he led a rushing attack that averaged 5.2 yards per carry and 281.2 yards per game in addition to 33.7 points per contest. Csuri left OSU after that season to join the military, but he returned to finish his collegiate career in 1946 and earned his third varsity letter. After graduation, he became a national leader in the field of computer graphics.

6. Dave Foley – Foley started at right tackle in 1966 and ’67 before moving to the left side in 1968. The move coincided with the Buckeyes rolling to the national championship and Foley was in the middle of the proceedings. He was one of the team captains that season and helped pave the way for fullback Jim Otis to rush for a then school-record 985 yards. Foley earned consensus All-America honors in ’68 and the third of his three Academic All-American honors. Following his college career, Foley was a first-round selection (26th overall) by the New York Jets in the 1969 NFL draft, and he played nine seasons with the Jets and Buffalo.

7. Bob Vogel – Vogel held down the left tackle spot for the Buckeyes from 1960-62, and was one of the guys who blew open holes regularly for All-America fullback Bob Ferguson. After finishing his college career, Vogel had a 10-year pro career with the Baltimore Colts blocking for the likes of Johnny Unitas and Tom Matte, and he made the Pro Bowl five times. Vogel played in two Super Bowls, including Super Bowl V when the Colts defeated Dallas, 16-13, on a last-second field goal by Cincinnati Aiken High School product Jim O’Brien.

8. Dick Schafrath – A two-sport star as a schoolboy in Wooster, Ohio, Schafrath turned down a baseball contract from the Cincinnati Reds to play college football at Ohio State. He played offense and defense for the Buckeyes, and teamed with future pro football hall of famer Jim Marshall to give OSU one of the top tackle tandems in the country. The duo anchored the line that helped the Buckeyes win the 1957 national championship. Schafrath was a team co-captain in 1958, and then became a second-round selection by Cleveland in the 1959 NFL draft. He was a fixture at left tackle for the Browns throughout his 13-year career, not only protecting the blind side of quarterbacks but opening holes for such Hall of Fame running backs as Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell and Leroy Kelly. Schafrath was a seven-time Pro Bowler and was voted the Browns’ most valuable player in 1963.

9. Robert Karch – Karch was a tackle for the Buckeyes who helped blow open holes for Chic Harley during the 1916 and ’17 seasons, allowing Ohio State to claim their first-ever Western Conference championships. During his senior season in 1917, Karch was named to the All-America team.

10. Jim Tyrer – Tyrer was extremely versatile for Woody Hayes, starting at left tackle as a sophomore in 1958 and then switching to the right side in ’59 and ’60. Tyrer, a native of Newark, Ohio, blocked for fullbacks Bob White and Bob Ferguson during his college career, and he earned first-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior. Tyrer went on to enjoy an excellent professional career, mostly with the Kansas City Chiefs. He won three AFL championship rings with the Chiefs as well as Super Bowl IV following the 1969 season. Tyrer was named the AFL’s offensive lineman of the year in ’69. Unfortunately, Tyrer did not meet with the same success in his life after football. Following a series of business misfortunes and heavily in debt, Tyrer shot his wife and then turned the gun on himself on Sept. 15, 1980. He was only 41.

If you would like to take a look at my top 10 players at other positions, here are the links:

OSU’s Top 10 Quarterbacks

OSU’s Top 10 Tailbacks

OSU’s Top 10 Fullbacks

OSU’s Top 10 Wide Receivers

OSU’s Top 10 Tight Ends

OSU’s Top 10 Offensive Guards

BIG TEN BEEFS UP ’09 SLATE

A quick check of the 2009 nonconference schedules for Big Ten shows a little more bite than in recent years. Just two years ago, only one league team featured a nonleague schedule against teams that had combined for a winning record the season before. This fall, that number rises to seven.

Michigan State is picked by many as a dark horse candidate for the conference championship and the Spartans are going to battle-test themselves with a nonleague slate that features teams that posted a combined 31-20 record in 2008 – Western Michigan (9-4), Central Michigan (8-5), Notre Dame (7-6) and I-AA Montana State (7-5).

Close behind Sparty is Illinois with nonconference opponents that recorded a combined 31-21 mark a season ago. Taking on the Illini this year will be Cincinnati and Missouri, teams that combined to go 21-7 last year. Also on the docket: always-tough Fresno State (7-6) and I-AA Illinois State (3-8).

Illinois head coach Ron Zook is also preparing for the schedule expansion past Thanksgiving which goes into effect in 2010. Zook has switched around his team’s ’09 schedule to include a pair of open dates, including the week before taking on Ohio State in late September. The Illini will also wind up Big Ten play on Nov. 14 – a week before everyone else – and then finish their regular-season schedule at UC on Nov. 27 (the day after Thanksgiving) and in Champaign against Fresno State on Dec. 5.

As they have for the past couple of years, Penn State and Northwestern have fattened their nonconference diet with cupcakes. Neither team plays an opponent who finished over .500 last season while none of the Wildcats’ four nonleague opponents notched more than three victories.

The Nittany Lions play a trio of teams that finished 5-7 in 2008 – Akron, Temple and i-AA Eastern Illinois – as well as Syracuse, which posted a 3-9 record. Northwestern also has Syracuse on its schedule along with Eastern Michigan and I-AA Towson, each of which also finished 3-9. The Wildcats also play Miami (Ohio), which was 2-10 last season.

Nine of the 11 conference schools have Division I-AA opponents on their schedules for 2009, and some of those smaller schools are aiming to be this year’s version of Appalachian State. Wisconsin hosts Wofford, who finished 9-3 last season, while Iowa takes on instate rival Northern Iowa. The Panthers were 12-3 last year and made it to the I-AA semifinals before bowing 21-20 to eventual national champion Richmond.

Here is the full slate of nonconference games for Big Ten teams. Division I-AA teams are in italics.

Illinois: Missouri (10-4) @ St. Louis, Illinois State (3-8), @ Cincinnati (11-3), Fresno State (7-6)

Indiana: Eastern Kentucky (8-4), Western Michigan (9-4), @ Akron (5-7), @ Virginia (5-7)

Iowa: Northern Iowa (12-3), @ Iowa State 2-10, Arizona (8-5), Arkansas State (6-6)

Michigan: Western Michigan (9-4), Notre Dame (7-6), Eastern Michigan (3-9), Delaware State (5-6)

Michigan State: Montana State (7-5), Central Michigan (8-5), @ Notre Dame (7-6), Western Michigan (9-4)

Minnesota: @ Syracuse (3-9), Air Force (8-5), California (9-4), San Diego State (2-10)

Northwestern: Towson (3-9), Eastern Michigan (3-9), @ Syracuse (3-9), Miami-Ohio (2-10)

Ohio State: Navy (8-5), USC (12-1), Toledo (3-9) @ Cleveland, New Mexico State (3-9)

Penn State: Akron (5-7), Syracuse (3-9), Temple (5-7), Eastern Illinois (5-7)

Purdue: Toledo (3-9), @ Oregon (10-3), Northern Illinois (6-7), Notre Dame (7-6)

Wisconsin: Northern Illinois (6-7), Wofford (9-3), Fresno State (7-6), @ Hawaii (7-7)

HAPPY! HAPPY!

Today’s Buckeye birthday belongs to former running back Jonathan Wells who turns 30 today.

Wells was born July 21, 1979, in River Ridge, La., and became a star at John Curtis High School in his hometown. He rushed for more than 4,600 yards during his prep career and led his high school team to consecutive state championships as a junior and senior. J-Dub signed with Ohio State in 1998 and was a four-year letterman but didn’t break out until his senior season in 2001 when he rushed for 1,294 yards and 16 TDs. That included 129 yards and three touchdowns against Michigan as the Buckeyes pulled off a 26-20 upset of the 11th-ranked Wolverines. Wells was a fourth-round selection by Houston in the 2002 NFL draft and played four pro seasons, all with the Texans. His best year was as a rookie in 2002 when he led the team with 529 yards and three touchdowns. His career numbers included 1,167 yards and 10 TDs on 374 carries, and 44 receptions for 323 yards and two scores.

Among the other luminaries celebrating birthdays throughout the world this 21st day of July: Fifties singer Kay Starr (“Wheel of Fortune”) is 87; film and TV actor Paul Burke is 83; film director Norman Jewison (“The Cincinnati Kid,” “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Moonstruck”) is 83; former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno is 71; actor Edward Herrmann is 66; film director Tony Scott (“Top Gun,” “Days of Thunder” and “Crimson Tide”) is 65; former Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr is 63; singer songwriter Yusuf Islam (born Steven Georgiou and better known as Cat Stevens) is 61; Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau is 61; former MLB reliever Al “The Mad Hungarian” Hrabosky is 60; comedian and Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams is 58; comic actor Jon Lovitz is 52; Olympic gold medalist soccer player Brandi Chastain is 41; model/actress Ali Landry is 36; British pro golfer Paul Casey is 32; actor Josh Hartnett is 31; New York Yankees lefthander CC Sabathia is 29; and Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Kellen Winslow II is 26.

AND FINALLY …

** In case you missed it, former Ohio State assistant coach Dennis Fryzel died July 6 at his home in Duluth, Ga., after a battle with renal cancer. He was 67. Fryzel was a Cleveland native who was a star receiver at Garfield Heights High School and Denison University. He was an assistant on several college staffs including Columbia, Williams College, Air Force, Syracuse, Tampa and Ohio State, where he served from 1979-81 as Earle Bruce’s defensive coordinator. Fryzel, along with defensive line coach Steve Szabo and defensive backs coach Nick Saban, were fired by Bruce following the Buckeyes’ narrow victory over Navy in the 1981 Liberty Bowl. Fryzel left coaching after that and entered into successful business ventures in both commercial construction sales and telecommunications.

** Former Michigan State football coach and athletic director George Perles plans to enter next year’s Michigan governor’s race. He will place his name into the candidate pool for the Democratic primary. Perles coached the Spartans from 1983-94 and posted a 68-67-4 record. That included the Big Ten championship in 1987 and a Rose Bowl victory over USC.

** SMU is renovating its football offices, and the project includes the new Jerry LeVias Reception Area to honor the College Football Hall of Famer and SMU alum. LeVias was also the first African-American scholarship athlete and second African-American football player in the old Southwest Conference. Longtime Ohio State fans may remember LeVias from the 1968 season opener when he caught 15 passes for 160 yards in the Mustangs’ 35-14 loss to the Buckeyes in Columbus. SMU attempted 76 passes in that game, still a record for an Ohio State opponent.

** It seems like Oregon unveils new uniforms every year. Guess that’s what happens when you are the guinea pig for hometown Nike. Anyway, this year’s Ducks will have the option of 80 different jersey combinations. Not sure why a team that plays a maximum of 13 games needs more than six times that many jersey combinations, but there it is.

** When Nebraska hosts Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 26, it will mark the 300th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium. The streak began in 1962 when the Cornhuskers hosted Missouri in front of a then-capacity crowd of 36,701. Memorial Stadium’s current capacity is 81,067.

** As it often does, ESPN recently made a mountain out of a molehill when Florida head coach Urban Meyer told the Gainesville Sun, “I’m not going to Notre Dame. Ever. I’m going to be the coach at Florida for a long time – as long as they want me.” The hubbub started last December when Meyer mentioned coaching the Fighting Irish would be his “dream job.” Of course, I would put Meyer’s comments about never going to Notre Dame in the same category as Gary Williams’ claim that he would not leave Ohio State for Maryland or Brett Favre’s annual retirement announcement(s).

Ranking Ohio State’s All-Time Best Offensive Guards

For roughly the past century or so, the Ohio State football program has built its championship-laden tradition on running the football. The names of star halfbacks, tailbacks and fullbacks roll off the tongue of Buckeye fans as easily as the words to “Carmen Ohio” or “Hang On Sloopy.”

Of course, as good as they were, guys like Hopalong Cassady and Archie Griffin couldn’t have won the Heisman Trophy all by themselves. There had to be offensive linemen in front of them to lead the way, and that led to my latest position ranking of all-time Buckeyes.

I started out trying to lump all of the linemen into one category, but there have been so many outstanding players who have excelled in the trenches at Ohio State that it was impossible to narrow them down to a list of 10. For example, how do you choose who’s better between Orlando Pace and Jim Parker? Pace is the best college lineman I have ever seen in person, but I have watched tape of Parker and he was an absolute beast – and he played both ways.

Therefore, I decided to split the categories into the way they’re split on the field. I’ve already got a working list of my top 10 tackles (guess who’s No. 1?) and centers but I’ll leave those for another day. Today, we’ll take a look at my Ohio State top 10 all-time guards. See how this list stacks up to yours.

1. Jim Parker – Ohio State has churned out a variety of outstanding linemen over the years but the prototype was Parker. Playing at a listed 6-2 and 248 pounds during an era when most linemen were in the 5-11, 185-pound range, Parker was a tremendous athlete, one of the first interior players who combined power and quickness. He excelled as an offensive lineman, especially at the guard position, and he was one of the best pulling and run blocking offensive linemen the Buckeyes have ever produced. Parker was a two-time All-American at OSU and went on to become an eight-time All-Pro with the Baltimore Colts. He is a member of both the College and Pro Football halls of fame.

2. Warren Amling – A two-time All-America lineman who finished seventh in the 1944 Heisman Trophy balloting, Amling was inducted into the OSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984. He also played basketball for the Buckeyes and is the only member of the College Football Hall of Fame to start in a Final Four contest.

3. Iolas Huffman – One of the program’s first players to win four varsity letters, Huffman was also versatile. He earned All-America honors as a guard in 1920 and as a tackle in 1921. Huffman was the captain of the undefeated OSU team that made the school’s first Rose Bowl appearance, and in his senior year, he won the Big Ten Medal of Honor as Ohio State’s top scholar-athlete.

4. Lindell Houston – Houston played only two years at Ohio State in a career cut short by World War II, but he packed a lot of excellence into that short time. He was an All-America guard in 1942, the same year the Buckeyes won their first-ever national championship. In Houston’s two seasons, OSU posted a record of 15-2-1. After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II, Houston played pro football for the Cleveland Browns from 1946-53 and won five world championships. He is the older brother of former OSU tight end Jim Houston.

5. Edwin Hess – One of the Buckeyes’ early stars, Hess earned All-Western Conference and All-America honors at guard during his junior and senior years in 1925 and ’26. A standout both offensively and defensively, he won the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy in 1925, then the nation’s top individual award. Hess was inducted into the Ohio State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1985.

6. Jim Lachey – Most Buckeye fans believe Lachey was a dominant offensive lineman during his OSU career. The truth is that he was a starter for only one season – but that season was tremendous. He anchored the line in 1984, paving the way for Keith Byars to rush for 1,764 yards and 22 TDs. Lachey earned All-America honors that year and went on to an all-pro career in the NFL.

7. William Hackett – As a starting guard in 1943 and ’44, Hackett gained the reputation as a superior blocker and strong defender. In 1944, he earned All-America honors while helping lead the undefeated Buckeyes to a Big Ten championship. He later helped Paul Brown organize the Cincinnati Bengals and became a board member for the team. Hackett was inducted into the OSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986.

8. Aurealius Thomas – Thomas was better known as a defensive player but he was also a devastating blocker who blew open holes for such star halfbacks as Don Clark and Dick LeBeau. Thomas played an amazing 463 minutes at guard during the Buckeyes’ national championship season of 1957, averaging 52 minutes per game. He earned All-America honors that season as OSU won nine straight games to capture the title. Thomas was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.

9. William Bell – Bell was the Jackie Robinson of Ohio State football. When he joined the Buckeyes in 1929, he became the first African-American to play football for the team. Bell was a three-time letterman and earned honorable mention All-America honors while playing guard and usually opening holes for Fesler. Bell went on to serve as a professor and had a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force, retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel.

10. Gust Zarnas – A three-sport star at Ohio State, Zarnas earned All-America honors as a guard in 1937 and was voted to play in the 1938 East-West All-Star Game. He also lettered two years in baseball for the Buckeyes and one year in track. Zarnas was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975.

If you would to see my all-time top 10 Buckeyes at other positions, here are the links:

Top 10 OSU Quarterbacks

Top 10 OSU Running Backs

Top 10 OSU Fullbacks

Top 10 OSU Wide Receivers

Top 10 OSU Tight Ends

HAPPY! HAPPY!

Among those celebrating birthdays today include U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel (D, N.Y.) is 79; actor Gene Wilder is 76; Seventies TV actor Chad Everett (Dr. Joe Gannon in “Medical Center”) is 73; three-time Formula One champion Sir Jackie Stewart is 70; Seventies TV actress Adrienne Barbeau (Carol Trainer on “Maude”) is 64; politician and former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros is 62; King Crimson lyricist and Supertramp founding member Richard Palmer-James is 62; former MLB infielder Dave Cash is 61; ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard is 60; 38 Special lead singer Donnie Van Zant is 57; soap actor Peter Bergman (Jack Abbott on “The Young and the Restless”) is 56; Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana is 53; actor Hugh Laurie (Dr. Gregory House on “House”) is 50; 2006 U.S. Open champion golfer Geoff Ogilvy is 32; former Connecticut and current WNBA star Diana Taurasi is 27; New York Mets shortstop José Reyes is 26; and movie heartthrob Shia LeBeouf is 23.

Several well-known people also share this date as the day they passed into history. Among those who died on the 11th of June: conqueror Alexander the Great; Boy Scouts of America founder Daniel Carter Beard; movie icon John Wayne; actor DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the original “Star Trek”); Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh; and legendary TV newsman David Brinkley.

AND FINALLY

** In case you missed it, Phil Steele released his preseason All-Big Ten team last week and named four Ohio State players to the first team – safety Kurt Coleman, cornerback Chimdi Chekwa, offensive lineman Justin Boren and return specialist Ray Small. Steele also named quarterback Terrelle Pryor, safety Anderson Russell, linebacker Ross Homan and defensive end Thaddeus Gibson to his second team while kicker Aaron Pettrey, running back Brandon Saine, center Michael Brewster and receiver DeVier Posey earned third-team selections. Kick returner Lamaar “Flash” Thomas was on the fourth team.

** Last week, the NCAA announced it would suspend membership dues for the next school year, a move the body figures will save a collective $1.3 million. Before you get too excited, however, the plan will save individual schools only between $900 and $1,800. That’s how much annual dues are depending upon which of the NCAA’s three divisions the school participates.

** If you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind Father’s Day gift for that Notre Dame dad on your list, I may have something for you. The Fighting Irish are going to upgrade their stadium scoreboards this season and will be auctioning off one of their old scoreboards with Steiner Sports Memorabilia. The scoreboard is 40 feet long and 16¼ feet high, and was installed at Notre Dame Stadium in 1997. So far, the only bid of $1,988 had not met the reserve. In case you’re interested, click here.

** A couple of weeks ago, I jokingly suggested to Cleveland Indians management that it might want to inquire about the services of Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller. Some joke. The 90-year-old will be the starting pitcher for the Baseball Hall of Fame Classic, set for Father’s Day in Cooperstown, N.Y. Feller, who went 266-162 with a lifetime 3.25 ERA, said, “I’ll be throwing just as hard as ever, but the ball probably won’t be going quite as fast.”

** Tiger Woods seems serious about defending his U.S. Open championship this week at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y. On his way home to Florida after winning the Memorial Tournament last weekend, Woods took a side trip to Long Island on Monday morning and played 18 holes on the Black Course with swing coach Hank Haney. After that round, Woods hopped into his private jet and played 18 more holes Monday afternoon on his home course.

** Congratulations to former Ohio State golfer Vaughn Snyder, who advanced to the U.S. Open championship after firing rounds of 67-69 on the South Course at NCR Country Club in Dayton in sectional qualifying Monday. The Massillon, Ohio, native is among the final field of 156 for the Open, which begins June 18.

** For those of you lamenting Nick Montana’s choice to attend Washington instead of Ohio State, remember that the chip off the old block is rarely as good as the original. There are exceptions, of course – Ken Griffey Jr. and Hank Williams Jr. readily come to mind – but there are many more who couldn’t live up to the family name. Let’s just wish Montana well in the Pacific Northwest and move on.

Counting Down OSU’s Toughest ’09 Opponents

Exactly 13 weeks from tomorrow – 91 days to be even more exact – Ohio State will kick off the 2009 football season with a couple of goals in mind.

The Buckeyes will be shooting for their fifth consecutive Big Ten championship, only one off the conference record of six in a row set by OSU between 1972 and ’77. The team will also be shooting for an unprecedented sixth straight victory over archrival Michigan while attempting to extend their string of Bowl Championship Series berths to five in a row.

Those goals are certainly within the Buckeyes’ grasp. So, too, could be other loftier goals such as Terrelle Pryor becoming the third sophomore quarterback in a row to win the Heisman Trophy. There is also the ultimate goal of every team – earning a trip to the BCS National Championship Game. If Ohio State accomplishes that one, it becomes only the second team in BCS history to play in four title games. (Oklahoma is the other one.)

Before any of the aforementioned can occur, however, the Buckeyes have to navigate their way through a 2009 season that features a handful of tough games and more than a couple of gimmes. Here is a breakdown of that schedule in reverse order of difficulty.

12. NEW MEXICO STATE – OCT. 31

The Aggies will be breaking in a new offensive system as well as a new head coach this season. Gone is pass-happy Hal Mumme (Tim Couch’s mentor in the late 1990s at Kentucky) and his successor, DeWayne Walker, has decided to install a run-oriented offense.

That’s not exactly music to the ears of fans because New Mexico State finished 10th in Division I-A last year in passing yards. Even so, the Aggies won only three games last season and were 3-9 overall because of an abysmal running attack that averaged a measly 54.2 yards per game. The defense wasn’t much better – NMSU surrendered an average of 34.1 points per game and that ranked 105th out of 119 I-A schools.

Walker, who was a two-year letterman at Minnesota in 1981-82, will likely begin to get things turned around in Las Cruces but not quickly enough to pull an upset over Ohio State. It is likely to be a scary Halloween night in the Horseshoe for the Aggies.

11. AT INDIANA – OCT. 3

Terry Hoeppner’s death two years ago derailed the Indiana program which seemed to be enjoying a renaissance. Now the Hoosiers appear ready to extend a streak that has produced losing records in 12 of the past 13 seasons.

Head coach Bill Lynch enters the 2009 season with a depleted roster after kicking quarterback Kellen Lewis off the team for multiple team infractions. Lewis was easily the Hoosiers’ best player, but even with him the team was likely to struggle. The schedule-makers didn’t do IU any favors either with road games at Virginia, Iowa and Penn State.

One of the Hoosiers’ marquee games will be a prime-time contest when the Buckeyes travel to Bloomington for the first time since 2005. However, Ohio State is working on a 15-game winning streak in the series, including 6-0 under Jim Tressel. The average score in just those six games is 37-10.

10. NAVY – SEPT. 5

There could be more here than meets the eye, especially since Navy has had the No. 1 rushing offense in the country for two years running. It’s difficult for most teams to defend the triple option since they don’t see it much anymore and certainly don’t practice against it very often.

That will be a little different for the Buckeyes, who have all summer to gear up to stop such an attack. When the Midshipmen cannot run the ball, they simply do not win. In their eight victories last season, they averaged 331.9 yards rushing. In their five defeats, that average dropped to 229.2.

Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock has more than his share of critics, and many of them point to last year’s ranking of 18th in the nation against the run. That was the Buckeyes’ worst showing in run defense since ranking 35th in 2004. Still, one would think OSU will be ready to go. After all, the team hasn’t lost a season opener at home since 1978, outscoring the opposition by about three touchdowns over that 26-game span.

9. TOLEDO AT CLEVELAND – SEPT. 19

Don’t be fooled by the fact the Rockets were 3-9 last year and finished tied for last place in the MAC West. Toledo has a returning starter at nearly every position, including quarterback Aaron Opelt and exciting tailback Morgan Williams. Opelt has thrown for 4,807 yards and 30 TDs during his career while Williams burst on the scene last year to rush for 1,010 yards while averaging 6.0 yards per carry.

Former OSU cornerbacks coach Tim Beckman takes over the head coaching position in Toledo this season, his first shot at running a program after serving as an assistant since 1988. If history proves anything, he’s not going to have an easy time of it in this contest. Former Tressel assistants such as Mark Snyder and Mark Dantonio are winless against their old boss since he got to Ohio State.

In addition to Beckman, there are a couple of other intriguing storylines that go along with this game. The Rockets, of course, beat Michigan in Ann Arbor last season, leading the players to believe they can pull a similar upset this year. And the game will be played in Cleveland Browns Stadium, and Toledo needs only to look back to 2002 when Cincinnati nearly upset the Buckeyes in Paul Brown Stadium. Will all of that be enough to become the first Ohio team to beat Ohio State since 1921? Probably not.

8. AT PURDUE (OCT. 17)

Purdue could be the poster child for why it is a bad idea to name a coach-in-waiting. During Joe Tiller’s final season in West Lafayette, the Boilermakers threw up all over themselves (polite way of saying they quit on ol’ Uncle Joe) and finished 4-8 overall. That was only the second losing season for Tiller in a dozen years at Purdue.

Now that bunch of underachievers is new head coach Danny Hope’s problem and he has to find a way to jump-start an offense that tanked in 2008. The bad news is that he has to begin by finding eight new starters on offense. The good news? The guys he had to replace were seemingly going through the motions at times last year, so a fresh start may be good for everyone.

Lost amid Purdue’s season of a year ago was the fact it played Ohio State about as tough as it played anyone in a 16-3 loss in Columbus. But the Boilermakers never seem to have the same fire at home – they have lost seven of their last nine to the Buckeyes in West Lafayette.

7. WISCONSIN – OCT. 10

The Badgers have taken a mighty tumble since Bret Bielema took over as head coach. After Bielema went 12-1 in 2006 as Barry Alvarez’s hand-picked successor, the Badgers slipped to 9-4 in ’07 and just 7-6 last season. That drop-off, along with a rumored penchant for the nightlife in Madison, may make the coach’s seat extremely hot this season if he doesn’t get the ship headed back in the right direction.

Unfortunately for Bielema, the Badgers are not much more than a question mark as they embark on the 2009 season. Job one will be to figure out who the starting quarterback is going to be – fifth-year senior Dustin Scherer or redshirt freshman Curt Phillips. Next, Bielema has to find replacements for five members of the defensive front seven.

Ohio State and Wisconsin have had a spirited rivalry for past decade or so with the teams splitting eight games since 1999. During that span, the Badgers have won three of four in Ohio Stadium, including two of three against Tressel.

6. AT MICHIGAN – NOV. 21

I flip-flopped back and forth with the rankings of the Michigan and Wisconsin games. While how good the Badgers are going to be remains anyone’s guess, it doesn’t seem likely the Wolverines will be much better in Rich Rodriguez’s second year than they were in his first.

There is, however, that little thing about a rivalry that goes back to 1897 – a series during which the perceived weaker team has won more than its fair share of games. Therefore, on sheer sentimentality alone, I put this game at No. 6 although even ranking it that low is testament to how much the Wolverines are expected to struggle again.

By the time the traditional season finale rolls around, the Buckeyes could have an awful lot to play for while their rivals may face the same problems they did last year – keeping enough healthy bodies in the lineup to put up a representative fight.

No one expects Ohio State’s winning streak against Michigan to last forever. There is a reason why the Buckeyes have never before won six straight in the series. That’s because it isn’t easy. Likewise, there is a reason why the Wolverines have a 30-19-4 record in Ann Arbor against OSU. An upset isn’t out of the question, of course. It just isn’t very likely.

5. MINNESOTA – OCT. 24

Call me crazy but I think Minnesota is one of the dark horse teams in the Big Ten this season. Many believe last year’s six-game improvement from 1-11 to 7-5 in the regular season was a fluke. But head coach Tim Brewster has his team believing in his rah-rah style, and the Gophers are about as talented as they have been in quite some time.

For starters, nearly everyone is back for Brewster, including quarterback Adam Weber, wide receiver Eric Decker and eight others on offense. The Gophers are so loaded that talented youngster MarQueis Gray may steal some snaps from Weber. The only problem is finding any kind of consistent running attack, and Brewster said he addressed that with the hiring of new offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch. Not sure how Fisch helps the running game, though. He has spent most of his 11-year career as a receivers coach, including last year with the NFL’s Denver Broncos.

If Fisch can get any kind of running game started to take the heat off Weber and/or Gray, that will leave the defense as the only thing standing between the Gophers and championship contention. For all of its improvement in 2008, Minnesota still ranked only 10th in the conference in total defense. That must improve if the Gophers are to successfully navigate the two-week stretch that takes them to Happy Valley the Saturday before they come to Columbus for the Buckeyes’ homecoming.

4. ILLINOIS – SEPT. 26

The Illini are about as close to Jekyll and Hyde as you’re going to get in the Big Ten. Are they the team that shocked everyone and went to the Rose Bowl in 2007? Or are they the team that stumbled its way to a losing season last year?

Critics are going to say the latter, of course, and use as ammunition the fact that Illinois has posted losing records in six of the last seven seasons. Still, head coach Ron Zook has amassed a lot of talent in Champaign and his team has as many good players at key positions as any other in the conference. That is especially true on offense where Juice Williams returns at quarterback and receiver Rejus Benn is one of the top young playmakers in college football. Williams has to cut down on his mistakes, though. During his career, he has thrown 44 TDs but pitched 37 interceptions.

Defensively, the Illini are a bit of a mystery. With studs like Martez Wilson, who moves to middle linebacker in 2009, the team ought to be one of the Big Ten’s best. Yet last year, it ranked only in the middle of the pack.

There is no doubt Zook – an Ohio native who spent three seasons on John Cooper’s OSU staff from 1988-90 – wants this game desperately. But although his team knocked off the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes in Columbus two years ago, history is not on his side. Tressel is 4-2 against the Illini, and the Buckeyes have won nine of the last 12 in the series. This game is the Big Ten opener for both teams, and Illinois will be coming off an open week.

3. IOWA – NOV. 14

In my humble opinion, the Hawkeyes are going to have a boatload of trouble finding a suitable replacement for tailback Shonn Greene. Not only that, the offensive line that blew open so many holes for Greene last season loses both guard Seth Olsen and center Rob Bruggeman.

Secondly, when was the last time a Kirk Ferentz team threw an actual scare into the Buckeyes? Since 2003, the Hawkeyes have been ranked three times entering their game against Ohio State and lost all three times. Not only that, the games were never really close, including 2006 when No. 13 Iowa was gunning for an upset in Iowa City and took a 38-17 trip to the woodshed.

Since sharing the 2004 Big Ten championship with Michigan, the Hawkeyes have perhaps been as disappointing as any other team in the conference. The past four seasons have produced a middling 28-22 record along with a litany of off-the-field problems for Ferentz and his program.

Having noted all of that, the Hawkeyes couldn’t be in a better spot schedule-wise despite not having tasted victory at Ohio Stadium since 1991. They come to Columbus after a two-week home stand with Indiana and Northwestern while the Buckeyes will be coming off a trip to Penn State.

2. AT PENN STATE – NOV. 7

In each of the past two years, Ohio State has lost a Big Ten home game it should have won. Two years ago, Williams led Illinois to a 28-21 victory. Last year, it was Darryl Clark, who came through for Penn State while leading his team to a 13-6 win. Williams couldn’t capture lightning in a bottle two years in a row, and now Clark gets to try. It won’t be easy since the Nittany Lions lost several offensive linemen and receivers to graduation and the NFL.

But the old master still has a thing or two up his sleeve. Joe Paterno would rather play defense anyway, and with a linebacking crew that features Josh Hull, Navarro Bowman and Sean Lee, the Lions should be nasty on D. Also, Clark has enough holdovers from last year – including 1,000-yard rusher Evan Royster and steady backup Stephfon Green – that Penn State should score enough.

A trip to Happy Valley is never a picnic although Tressel’s record is 2-2 there. A couple of other factors may tilt in Ohio State’s favor. First, the game will not be a nighttime affair, making the Beaver Stadium crazies just a little less so. Secondly, if Terrelle Pryor has any game circled on his calendar, it’s this one. His late fumble did the Buckeyes in last year and he knows it. I would guess the OSU quarterback has a little payback in mind.

1. USC – SEPT. 12

No surprise here. The Traveling Trojan Show starring Pistol Pete Carroll rolls into town in week two for another prime-time game that nearly no one gives Ohio State a chance to win. That stands to reason since every remaining member of the Buckeyes still has 35-3 tread marks on their backsides.

This will be a different USC team, of course. Gone are quarterback Mark Sanchez as well as linebacker Rey Maualuga and seven other defensive starters. But if the old saying “We’re don’t rebuild; we reload” is true of any college team, it is true of the Trojans. Carroll signs more five-star prospects than almost anyone and has plenty of them left over for 2009.

For the Buckeyes to entertain any thought of winning this game, they will have to figure out a way to move the ball consistently against USC. Last year, in case you have forgotten, Ohio State totaled 207 yards of offense against the Trojans – 69 of it on a 17-play drive early in the first quarter. In the second half, the Buckeyes were absolutely pathetic – 21 plays from scrimmage, 25 total yards.

Pryor could make the difference, of course. He played in last year’s game, rushing for 40 yards and throwing for 52 on 7-for-9 passing. But he can’t be the only Buckeye who’s on his game Sept. 12. It doesn’t matter who USC has on defense – if the offensive line can’t at least neutralize the line of scrimmage, Ohio State will be in for another long night.

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know that NCAA Bylaw 13.10.5 prevents universities from “publicizing an athlete’s visit or allowing the visitor to “participate in team activities that would make the public or media aware of the prospective student-athlete’s visit to the institution (e.g., running out of the tunnel with team, celebratory walks to or around the stadium/arena, on-field pregame celebrations).”

Did you know that Auburn had its “Big Cat Weekend” last week during which the Tigers hosted a bunch of blue-chip prospects on unofficial visits, and that the event was advertised on all three major websites that cover Auburn with push-pinned message board posts urging fans to attend? (The posts did not attribute the information to coaches or other Auburn staff members, but many fans showed up for what was clearly a planned event with Auburn police providing crowd and traffic control and school mascot Aubie helping lead cheers.

And did you know that when ESPN college football writer Bruce Feldman contacted a college administrator about the incident, he got a strange reaction?

“That is one of the biggest problems I have with the NCAA,” the administrator told Feldman. “All of the prospects enjoyed it, and they leave the campus having a great time. Auburn will report a secondary violation, which is nothing. In the end they will probably get some of those players.”

And then he added, “(The NCAA) should put in a rule that if you have multiple reported violations with a prospect you are not allowed to recruit him.”

The NCAA rule book is 412 pages thick and that’s not in there?

HAPPY! HAPPY!

On that happy note, we mark today’s Buckeye birthday which belongs to former OSU defensive end Vernon Gholston. He turns 23 today.

Gholston was born June 5, 1986, in Detroit, and was recruited as a linebacker out of Cass Technical. It didn’t take long for Ohio State to move the chiseled 6-4, 260-pounder to a defensive end spot and Gholston flourished there, setting a single-season school record with 14 sacks and earning Big Ten defensive lineman of the year honors. He opted to skip his final year of college eligibility and the New York Jets took him with the sixth overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft. Gholston experienced a tough rookie season with the Jets, playing mostly on special teams and registering only nine tackles in 15 games (eight of them assists). Gholston is expecting bigger and better things in 2009 under the schemes of new head coach Rex Ryan and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. Also, Gholston has been working during the offseason with Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor. Evidently, so far so good.

Other luminaries celebrating birthdays this 5th day of June: Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle Art Donovan is 84; journalist Bill Moyers is 75; Sixties television actress Connie Hines (Wilbur Post’s wife, Carol, on “Mister Ed”) is 73; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is 68; novelist Ken Follett is 60; financial advisor Suze Orman is 58; Grammy winning musician Kenneth Gorelick (better known as Kenny G) is 53; singer/songwriter Brian McKnight is 40; actor/singer Mark Wahlberg is 38; Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Torry Holt is 33; Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz is 30; Ottawa Senators center Mike Fisher is 29; Cincinnati Reds lefthander Bill Bray is 26; and New Orleans Saints receiver Marques Colston is 26.

Also sharing birthdays today are Olympic gold medal sprinter Tommie Smith, who is 65, and bronze medalist John Carlos, who is 64. Smith and Carlos created a stir during the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City after placing first and third in the 200-meter finals. On the medal stand, Smith and Carlos bowed their heads and raised black-gloved fists during the playing of the national anthem. The “Power to the People” salute created a great deal of controversy in 1968 and led to the sprinters being suspended by the International Olympic Committee and ostracized for several years by the U.S. sports establishment.

The runners landed on their feet, however. Smith played three years in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals and later became track coach at Oberlin. More recently, he has been a faculty member at Santa Monica College, a two-year community college in Santa Monica, Calif. Carlos also played pro football – one year in the NFL and two in the Canadian league – and is currently a high school track coach in Palm Springs, Calif. Ironically, Carlos worked for a time for the U.S. Olympic Committee and was a member of the organizing committee for the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

AND FINALLY

** Here’s an interesting little nugget that could conspire to keep Ohio State and any other deserving Big Ten school out of the Rose Bowl for the foreseeable future. There is reportedly a clause in the new BCS contract with ESPN – which will begin after the 2010 regular season – that says if the Rose Bowl loses one of its champions to the BCS National Championship Game that opening will be automatically filled by a “coalition” (non-BCS conference) team if one has qualified. For example, let’s say some year that an 11-1 Ohio State team ties for the Big Ten championship but doesn’t get the conference’s automatic berth in the Rose Bowl. Let’s say that same year that a team like Boise State or Hawaii goes undefeated. If that team doesn’t get into the national title game (and what are the chances of that?) it would automatically go to the Rose. The new clause is the Bowl Championship Series’ sneaky little way of increasing access of the five coalition conferences to its games. That way, should the BCS get sued and hauled back before Congress, it is another way it can counter the claim that the coalition schools don’t have enough access.

** Minnesota plans to dedicate its new TCF Stadium in style by honoring some of its greats from the past during the Sept. 12 opener against Air Force. The Gophers will honor former head coach Murray Warmath as well as former players Bobby Bell, Billy Bye, Bob McNamara, Sandy Stephens and Bud Grant (yes, that Bud Grant). Warmath, who is 96 and directed the school’s national championship team in 1960, will be the honorary coach for the game. The five ex-players have been named honorary captains.

** It seems that everyone’s favorite sideline reporter, sugary-sweet Erin Andrews, has a burning desire to compete on “Dancing With The Stars.” That revelation came during a recent Q&A with Washington Post writer Dan Steinberg.

** One of the other nuggets in the story reveals that Andrews’ stylists is Paige Geran, who has also dressed Britney Spears, Wayne Brady, the Spice Girls and American Idols on-tour among many others. Andrews said her work clothes arrive at the hotels where she’s staying and that she trusts they’ll be appropriate to the sporting event she’s covering. She’s wrong. They’re not. A short skirt during a windy Home Run Derby? Skin-tight pants and knee-high boots at the Big Ten basketball tournament? I like a pretty girl as much as the next red-blooded American guy, and there is no questioning Andrews’ attractiveness. But I’ve seen her at some venues where she looks like she’s dressed to go clubbing. That may be easy on the eyes of the spectators and players, but trust me when I tell you it is not appropriate work attire. Erin is fairly good at what she does, but she’s never going to be taken seriously if she continues to show up for work looking like she’s on her way to a night on the town.

** The Washington Nationals on Tuesday fired pitching coach Randy St. Claire. Not that St. Claire was the sole problem, but he was a convenient scapegoat. At the time of his firing, the Natties had an MLB-worst 13-36 record with a bloated 5.69 team ERA. They had also allowed the most runs (308) and recorded the fewest saves (eight) of any team in baseball. Washington’s 12 blown saves were also a league high.

** Also, Nationals outfielder Adam Dunn had 16 home runs through Wednesday while the Nationals had only 14 victories. In case you’re wondering, no player has ever finished the season with more home runs than his team had victories.

Ohio State Post-Spring Analysis: Defense

Yesterday we took a position-by-position look at the Ohio State offense after spring practice. Today, we’ll do the same to the defensive unit, which lost stars such as cornerback Malcolm Jenkins and linebacker James Laurinaitis to NFL.

We’ll also take a look at the OSU special teams in light of the graduation losses of kicker Ryan Pretorius and punter A.J. Trapasso.

Defensive End – To say the Buckeyes have an embarrassment of riches at this position would be an understatement. While most defensive line coaches would kill for one good defensive end, Jim Heacock could have as many as a half-dozen.

Start with Thaddeus Gibson, who looks to be poised for a breakout season in 2009. The 6-2, 240-pounder is a throwback to the snarling, glowering defensive end of yesterday that lived to make the opposing quarterback’s life miserable. It may have been an indictment of Ohio State’s reworked offensive line, but Gibson typically had his way most of the time this spring with a variety of bull rushes, swim moves, head slaps and inside weaves.

Behind Gibson at the rush end spot is sophomore Nathan Williams, who showed his talents this spring like he did last fall – in quick bursts. The 6-3, 245-pounder fought through a hamstring injury during the middle part of camp, but he is the type of player who has a real feel for the game and loves to explode through the ball-carrier with his tightly wound frame.

And if Gibson and Williams aren’t enough, the Buckeyes found another rush end this spring in sophomore Solomon Thomas. You know the old saying about the light coming on? The light came on for Thomas and he exploded during the April 18 jersey scrimmage with an amazing seven sacks. Then, just to prove that wasn’t a fluke, the 6-5, 240-pounder got another one in the spring game, throwing quarterback Joe Bauserman for a 17-yard loss.

On the other side, Cameron Heyward seemed a lot more comfortable this spring. After an excellent freshman campaign in 2007, Heyward leveled off a little last year. Now, he looks to be poised for a breakout season of his own. The 6-6, 287-pounder also exhibited a little bit of swagger, squaring off against sophomore offensive tackle Mike Adams during one particular spring afternoon and repeatedly getting under Adams’ skin. The constant needling resulted in a pair of dust-ups between the two, but there was no doubt Heyward was getting the better of his offensive teammate. If he can be as disruptive to the opposition this fall, the Buckeyes will be in very good shape.

Behind Heyward is a trio of players long on potential. Unfortunately, the jury is out on Rob Rose, Lawrence Wilson and Keith Wells.

Rose is a senior and was ready to contend with Heyward for the starting position before a knee injury early in camp slowed him. He returned to contact drills later in the spring but was clearly slowed by the injury. Rose is no stranger to injuries, but he has to come back in the fall ready to play for the Buckeyes to take full advantage of their depth at the defensive end position.

Likewise, Wilson remains a question mark. When he is healthy, the 6-4, 275-pounder has shown flashes of greatness. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been healthy for the past two years. Wilson broke his leg in the opening game of the 2007 season, and then blew out a knee against Purdue last year and missed the final six games. Wilson has the ability and the mentality to be one of Ohio State’s defensive leaders this season, but two major rehabs in as many seasons? It’s asking a lot for him to return and be anything near 100 percent.

Should neither Rose nor Wilson be full-go, the spotlight could fall to Wells. But the 6-5, 210-pound sophomore is no stranger to injury, either. He appeared in only three games during an injury-marred freshman season, and then missed all of spring camp with a shoulder problem.

Defensive Tackle – For the past couple of seasons, interior defensive line players seemed content to simply plug holes and let their teammates pad their tackle stats. That mentality may be over. There were few more vocal players this spring than Doug Worthington, who in his fifth year in the program may be finally assuming a leadership role.

The 6-6, 276-pounder has always been a bit of a tweener – not really athletic enough to play defensive end and not fully given to playing inside. No more. Worthington looks like he has finally embraced the fact that he is a defensive tackle and that bodes well for the Buckeyes. He has always cut an imposing figure and now seems to have the mentality for the position.

The other tackle spot will feature a battle between Dexter Larimore and Todd Denlinger. I like what each player brings to the table but I’ll admit to some disappointment that neither has reached his potential.

Larimore is a thick, 300-pound former wrestling champion, and wrestlers usually make excellent linemen because they understand how to gain advantages with leverage. Yet Larimore had only 15 tackles last season after getting 16 the year before. The good news is that he has 9.0 tackles for loss, including four sacks, among his 31 career stops. I just think he should have more than 31 tackles at this point in his career.

Denlinger has been held back because of a number of injuries. He has averaged 11 games per season during his three-year career, but the kinds of injuries he has sustained have sapped his natural ability and he has only 24 career tackles. I would have expected three times that many by now. Again some good news: Denlinger appeared 100 percent this spring, so much so that the coaching staff used him some as a blocking tight end. You wouldn’t think they would risk a fifth-year senior doing that if they weren’t convinced he was healthy.

The Buckeyes like to rotate their tackles and that means redshirt freshmen like Garrett Goebel and Willie Mobley may get the opportunity for playing time this fall. Goebel came into the spring with the promise of challenging for a starting job, but Mobley turned several heads with spirited play that included a four-tackle, one-sack performance in the spring game.

Linebacker – Losing players the caliber of Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman is a daunting task, but the Buckeyes have recruited so well the past couple of years, the transition may be more seamless than you think.

First of all, while Heacock continues to refer to the 4-3 alignment as his base defense, the argument could be made the Buckeyes feature many more looks more often than the 4-3. For that reason, it’s an exercise in futility to try and guess the linebacker rotation that will be utilized in the fall. Nevertheless, when the 4-3 is the featured package, the starters – based on what transpired during the spring – will likely be Austin Spitler in the middle flanked by Ross Homan and Brian Rolle.

Spitler has been groomed as Laurinaitis’ replacement in the middle for the past several seasons, and while he isn’t the flashiest player on the field, the 6-3, 234-pound senior has excellent instincts and a lunch-bucket mentality that serves him well. You don’t notice Spitler much when he’s on the field, but he does everything well and has full confidence of the coaching staff to make the defensive calls. Probably his only drawback is trying to be too technical rather than letting the game flow to him.

Homan is as steady as they come on the weak side although you would like to see what he could do without some sort of nagging injury. Like Spitler, Homan is not flashy. He simply gets the job done, especially against the run. If it’s flash you want, Rolle would be more to your liking. He made his first impact as a bone-jarring tackler on special teams, and if he can transfer that mentality to the defense, the Buckeyes will have themselves as excellent replacement for Freeman. What I like best about Rolle is that he is always in attack mode. If there was a knock on Freeman, he was more a read-and-react type player and sometimes had to make the tackle from behind. Rolle seems better at sticking his nose into the pile and keeping the ball-carrier in front of him.

You sometimes needed a scorecard to keep track of the linebackers this spring, and for that reason pinning down a specific rotation remains difficult. Etienne Sabino started out playing in the middle and outside, but near the end of spring camp, the coaching staff tried to simplify things for the 6-3, 232-pound sophomore and he was used exclusively in the middle. It would seem to be Spitler, Sabino and highly regarded freshman Storm Klein at the Mike position.

Homan will be on the weak side and Rolle on the strong side when OSU features a straight-up alignment, but Rolle can also play the weak side. Sophomore Andrew Sweat also got significant reps this spring. True freshman Zach Boren was injured all spring, so it’s impossible to tell where he fits into the mix.

Of course, there will be times when the Buckeyes feature alignments with only two linebackers, sets with the so-called Leo linebacker when Gibson, Williams or Thomas drop back off the line of scrimmage or a crowded look that features the so-called star position featuring either Tyler Moeller (considered a linebacker) or Jermale Hines (known primarily as a safety). All of the different looks are designed for two reasons: to keep the opposition off-balance and maximize Ohio State’s talent by getting the best players on the field at the same time.

For all of the flak Heacock gets, he must be doing something right. Since he took over as defensive coordinator before the 2005 season, OSU has finished no lower than sixth nationally in scoring defense.

Star – Plenty of players had breakout springs, but none played better and more consistently than Moeller. Ever since he was named the state’s defensive player of the year at Cincinnati Colerain in 2005, I’ve been trying to figure out how a guy who is listed (and generously so) at 6-0 and 216 pounds can be a bona fide force at Ohio State. I still haven’t figured it out. He just is.

Moeller is one of those guys who just have a knack for knowing where the football is going to be. He seems extremely instinctive for being in the right place at the right time, and that ability showed up time and time again during spring practice. A week before the spring game, Moeller had 11 tackles in the jersey scrimmage. Then he had a Scarlet team-leading eight tackles that included two for loss and one sack in the spring game.

Moeller’s excellent performances were tempered somewhat by the fact that Hines did not have the same kind of spring. In Hines’ defense, he was nicked up a little bit and the OSU coaching staff still believes the 6-2, 210-pound junior is a defensive star-in-waiting. He can no longer rest on his athletic potential, however, if he wants to continue to get reps at the star position. Moeller has seen to that.

Free Safety – Normally when you have returning starters, fans tend to look upon that as a good thing. Some in the Buckeye Nation, however, have turned ugly on Anderson Russell especially after his ill-advised try for an interception at the end of the Fiesta Bowl resulted in the winning touchdown for Texas.

Despite that fact, Russell remains the starting free safety and it appears doubtful anyone will take that position from him in the fall. Personally, I don’t think Russell is the same player he was before a major knee injury in 2006. Still, he doesn’t get the credit he is due for being a pretty decent free safety. All he did last year was register 67 tackles (tied for fourth on the team) and snag a pair of interceptions (tied for third on the team).

I still like Russell in run support but am like almost everyone else in believing he is average at best in pass coverage. Nothing I saw this spring changed my mind on those two areas. Opposing teams are going to throw at Russell – a lot – this fall and the one area where he could really help himself is catching the ball. He has dropped at least a half-dozen potential interceptions over the past couple of seasons.

As much as the coaching staff likes Russell, it was eager to see if Aaron Gant could put any heat on the incumbent starter this spring. Unfortunately, the impact Gant had hoped to make as he prepares to enter his senior season never happened. He suffered an injury and was overshadowed by redshirt freshman Orhian Johnson, who appeared to have a breakout spring. Johnson made several outstanding plays while toiling on the second-team defense, and he made them despite missing some action with a sometimes-balky hamstring.

Sharing time with Johnson at the free safety spot was sophomore Rocco Pentello, who also had a steady spring. Pentello will likely see most of his action on special teams, though, and his big moment came when he returned a botched field goal snap for a touchdown during the next-to-last week of spring ball.

True freshman Jamie Wood’s first spring as a Buckeye was interrupted by an injury sustained early in camp. Wood returned for the final week of practice, and even chipped in with a solo tackle for the victorious Gray team in the spring game. He will get more of a chance to show what he can do this fall.

Strong Safety – Kurt Coleman will continue to patrol the strong safety position, and he is one of the leading candidates for defensive captain. Perhaps the best thing about Coleman is his work ethic. Each year he has been in the program, he has gotten a little bit better. That is because he does the work he needs to do in the weight room and the film room. There is no coincidence that he has set career-best marks each season he has been a Buckeye, topped off by last year’s 78 tackles (third on the team behind Laurinaitis and Freeman) and a team-leading four interceptions.

If I have one overall knock on Russell (6-0, 205) and Coleman (5-11, 188) it would be their relative lack of size. The Buckeyes need to be especially wary of teams with agile tight ends and big, fast slot receivers.

Should Ohio State want to show a bigger look, it has to look no further than Hines, who spent some time at the strong safety position when Coleman was nursing a minor injury. There had been some pre-spring talk of Coleman possibly moving to a cornerback spot, which would open the strong safety position but that never materialized.

Aaron Gant had hoped to make an impact this spring as he prepares to enter his senior season. But he suffered an injury (reportedly a knee that will have to be scoped) and was overshadowed by redshirt freshman Orhian Johnson, who appeared to have a breakout spring. Johnson made several outstanding plays while toiling on the second-team defense, and he made them despite missing some action with a sometimes-balky hamstring.

Also in the mix at strong safety is Zach Domicone, another redshirt freshman. The 6-3, 215-pound Domicone has the distinction of being the Buckeyes’ biggest defensive back, and he surprised some people this spring by getting some first-team reps. Meanwhile, sophomore Nate Oliver got shuffled back, missing most of the spring with an arm/shoulder injury.

Cornerback – Going to sleep on Taurian Washington’s long touchdown reception notwithstanding, Chimdi Chekwa has the makings of a really, really good cornerback. It’s kind of funny that we don’t think of Chekwa as a returning starter, but he started in place of Donald Washington at the beginning of last season and never relinquished the spot.

As a result, Chekwa gave Jenkins a run for the unofficial title of team’s best cover man. The coaching staff has never been reluctant to put Chekwa on an island in man coverage, and he has 15 pass deflections over the past two years while 50 of his 55 career tackles have been solos.

The staff wants Chekwa to be more aware of run support and improvement in that area was one of his spring goals. He will have to continue to work on balancing run support and pass coverage – sucked in by play action was why he was beaten so badly by Washington in the spring game. Still, Chekwa was steady all spring as well and I have no doubt he will continue to draw the opposition’s top receiver in the fall.

On the other side, with the unenviable task of trying to replace Jenkins, will be either Andre Amos or Devon Torrence. Amos may have nosed ahead by the slightest of edges after an excellent spring, and there is no doubt he has an advantage because he is a senior. But the coaching staff cannot afford the luxury of counting on Amos in the fall. The 6-1, 183-pounder has not been able to stay on the field, and brittle knees have limited him to only eight games over the past two seasons.

Make no mistake: Amos has the tools and physical gifts to play corner and play it well. But with his history of injuries, the coaching staff simply must hedge its bet and keep the position battle open with Torrence, who proved again this spring that he can cover just about any receiver step for step.

If Amos remains healthy and secures the starting nod, look for Torrence to be the No. 1 backup at both corner positions as well as play a prominent role in the Buckeyes’ nickel and dime packages.

The Amos-Torrence battle also involved redshirt freshman Travis Howard at the beginning of the spring, but Howard was shuffled back. That is no knock against his ability – simply that Amos and Torrence have seniority. Howard is expected to begin making a contribution to the Buckeyes this fall on special teams.

One of the most pleasant surprises this spring was the play of sophomore Donnie Evege, who has been plagued by injury for most of the two years he has been a Buckeye. He has a lot of catching up to do depth chart-wise, but Evege had a handful of standout moments this spring.

The Buckeyes also appear to have a good, young prospect in freshman C.J. Barnett. The 6-0, 185-pounder needs to pack a few pounds onto his frame, and there were times when he was out of position. But for the most part, Barnett held up well and made his share of plays during the spring.

One of the deficiencies at corner is the same one that plagues the safeties – relative lack of size. Of the players expected to start, Amos is the tallest at 6-1 while Russell in the only one who tips the scales at more than 200 pounds. That could mean some position jockeying to ensure the 6-2, 210-pound Hines gets into the lineup as much as possible.

Special Teams – I call it the “Nooge Factor,” but I was never quite comfortable with Pretorius as the Buckeyes’ placekicker. I had nothing whatsoever against Ryan, who was always more than accommodating to the media and generally pleasant to be around. It’s just that when you are asked to follow Mike Nugent, the most prolific kicker in program history – well, let’s just say Nooge was a tough act to follow.

Pretorius did well enough, leading OSU in scoring in both 2007 and 2008, and he converted 34 of 44 field goals and 88 of 90 PATs during his career. His lifetime field-goal percentage of 77.3 ranks second only to Nugent (72 of 88, 81.8) and his PAT percentage of 97.9 is tied with Nugent for fourth all-time. Tim Williams (1990-93) holds that record (143 of 145, 98.6).

Now, the duties fall to senior Aaron Pettrey, who has been handling kickoffs the past couple of seasons. Pettrey has a huge leg – perhaps stronger than Nugent – but he suffers fits of inconsistency. He will boot a kickoff well out of the back of the end zone, and then follow that with a knuckleball that doesn’t even get to the goal line. He had only 13 touchbacks among 74 kickoffs last season, and that just doesn’t seem nearly enough for a guy whose leg is as strong as Pettrey’s.

Field goals were another matter. Pettrey was 7 for 8 on three-pointers last fall, including a perfect 4 for 4 from 40 to 49 yards and 2 for 3 from 50 yards and out. Did you know Pettrey has four career three-pointers from 50 or more, and that is tied for second in Ohio State history? (Nugent is the all-time leader with eight.)

The only problem I see with such a strong-legged kicker is that Tressel may choose to get conservative when his team gets into scoring position. Knowing you have a kicker who is consistent from 50 yards is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is a tremendous weapon for sputtering offenses. On the other, it may sometimes prevent a coach from going for six points when he feels he already has three in the bank.

In the punting department, the Buckeyes will miss the services of Trapasso. He was never flashy but remarkably consistent, a facet that bears out in his yearly averages over the course of a four-year career – 40.4 yards per punt in 2005, 40.6 in 2006, 41.5 in ’07 and 41.2 last year.

This spring was supposed to produce a position battle between fifth-year senior Jon Thoma and redshirt freshman Ben Buchanan, but it appeared the job was Thoma’s to lose as spring ball began. The good news is that the former walk-on did everything asked of him to hold onto the job. Thoma averaged 41.7 yards on seven kicks in the April 18 jersey scrimmage and came back a week later to average 40.7 yards on three attempts in the spring game.

One other thing about Thoma: Like Nugent, he is an excellent all-around athlete. He played four years of soccer and baseball in high school, and was also a member of the swimming and track teams. One afternoon during spring practice, Thoma was fooling around with the other specialists and showcased a strong throwing arm – 40 yards on the dead run. If Tressel ever wants to gamble with a fake punt, Thoma would seem to be ready, willing and able to pull off any variety of trick plays.

In addition to his punting duties, Thoma will also serve as Pettrey’s holder on field goals and PATs. Jake McQuaide is the long snapper, giving the Buckeyes three former walk-ons as their principal specialists in the kicking game. (You may insert here whatever recruiting criticism you deem necessary for that anomaly.)

Kickoff returns will be the primary purvey of Lamaar Thomas, who quietly led the Buckeyes in that department last season. Unfortunately for Thomas, he never got to showcase the reason why teammates called him “Flash” because OSU seldom gets much out of their kickoff return game. Thomas averaged a paltry 21.6 yards on 16 returns while the Buckeyes averaged 19.2 yards as a team. That was next-to-last in the Big Ten, 108th nationally out of 119 Division I-A schools, and borderline criminal for a team that has so many speedsters like Thomas, Torrence and freshman James Jackson. I’m just not so sure it’s going to get any better in 2009. Between the Scarlet and Gray squads in the spring game, the average of 17.4 yards on five kickoff returns.

Punt returns will likely be a different story. Ray Small led the Big Ten last season in punt return average, and that included a 69-yard return for a touchdown against Ohio and an 80-yard return against Michigan. How good was Small last season returning punts? Throw out those two big returns and his average was still 9.8 yards per return, good enough to have ranked fourth in the Big Ten.

Best of all, the Buckeyes may revisit the strategy of dropping two return men on punts the way they did in 2006 when Anthony Gonzalez provided protection against kicking away from Ted Ginn Jr. Sophomore receiver DeVier Posey fielded plenty of punts during spring practice drills and could team with Small to present a formidable one-two return punch this fall.

HAPPY! HAPPY!

Today’s Buckeye birthday belongs to former Ohio State receiver and track athlete Chris Sanders, who turns 36 today.

Christopher Dwayne Sanders was born May 8, 1972, in Denver, and he excelled in a number of sports at Montebello High School in his hometown. He was a two-sport star at Ohio State, excelling in football and track. Sanders, nicknamed “Tippy Toes” because of the way he ran, was a three-year starter at flanker for the football Buckeyes, and finished his career with 71 receptions for 1,120 yards. In track, he was a member of the 4×100 championship relay team and also set an indoor school record of 26-9¾ in the long jump. That mark, set in February 1992, still stands. Sanders, who was named Ohio State’s athlete of the year in 1994, was selected by the Houston Oilers in the third round of the 1995 NFL draft and played two seasons with the Oilers and five more when the team moved to Tennessee. He appeared in 97 games during his career, making 54 starts, and finished with 177 receptions for 3,285 yards (18.6 yards per catch) and 17 touchdowns. After his NFL career ended, Sanders settled in the Nashville area and became a high school coach. He is currently the receivers coach and head swimming coach at Montgomery Bell Academy, an all-male private school in Nashville.

Other luminaries observing birthdays this 8th day of May: comedian Don Rickles is 83; JFK adviser, counsel and speechwriter Ted Sorensen is 81; novelist and short story writer Thomas Pynchon is 72; former MLB pitcher Mike Cuellar is also 72; Seventies pop singer Toni Tennille (one half of Captain & Tennille) is 69; pop singer Gary Glitter (born Paul Francis Gadd and best known for the stadium anthem “Rock and Roll, Part 2”) is 65; jazz icon Keith Jarrett is 64; Earth, Wind & Fire vocalist Philip Bailey, New York Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni and Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz are all 58; Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen is 56; former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher is 52; Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith is 51; NFL Hall of Fame defensive back Ronnie Lott is 50; actress Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls on “Little House on the Prairie”) is 45; NASCAR driver Bobby Labonte is 45; pop singer Enrique Iglesias is 34; New York Mets pitcher John Maine is 28; San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is 27; and Dallas Cowboys running back Felix Jones is 22.

Today also would have been Ohio State offensive lineman Korey Stringer’s 35th birthday.

AND FINALLY

** California’s Memorial Stadium in Berkeley is undergoing some temporary seismic improvements to guard against potential major earthquake damage. That’s comforting news especially for Ohio State football fans. The Buckeyes are scheduled to visit Cal in 2013.

** Forgive a little Ohio State bias here, but why did it take 22 years for Chris Spielman to make it to the College Football Hall of Fame and only 17 for Gino Torretta? Doesn’t everyone know that Spielman is one of the most underrated linebackers ever to play the game while Torretta is quite possibly the weakest Heisman Trophy winner ever?

** Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio is taking a page from mentor Jim Tressel’s book by scheduling some marquee names for upcoming series. The Spartans will take on West Virginia in a home-and-home series beginning in 2014, and have penciled in Alabama for a home-and-home in 2016 and ’17.

** Our old buddy Trev Alberts has a new job. The former Nebraska All-American and ex-ESPN analyst was been named athletic director at Nebraska-Omaha.

** The University of Washington recently announced it was cutting its men’s and women’s swimming programs, a cost-cutting move that will save the school an estimated $1.2 million per year. U-Dub still has to cut $1.6 million more from its athletic budget, according to university officials. This from the same school that just ate $1 million to buy out fired head coach Tyrone Willingham’s contract before giving new coach Steve Sarkisian a five-year deal worth $10 million plus incentives.

** There is no doubting Tiger Woods as the No. 1 drawing card in professional golf. But someone at ESPN is going to have to temper the network’s constant drum-beating of Woods every time he tees it up. Yesterday during the first round of The Players Championship, a headline at ESPN.com read, “Tigers Lurks At Players.” A quick check of the leader board at that time found Woods finished with his round and in a tie for 29th place at 1-under par, five shots behind the co-leaders. He finished six shots behind first-round leader Ben Curtis. I don’t believe that qualified as “lurking.” Woods is unquestionably the best golfer in the world right now, and whenever he beats Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships, he will have earned the right to be called the greatest of all time. If Tiger is in contention, that’s great. I know that’s good for the game. But when he’s not in contention, he should be treated as such. I’m tired of watching 18-hole coverage of an also-ran at the expense of guys who actually have a chance to win the tournament.

** According to Playboy magazine, there are five schools in the Big Ten on its list of the Top Party Schools for 2009. Ohio State isn’t one of them. Wisconsin is No. 6 followed by Iowa at No. 9, Penn State at No. 13, Michigan State at No. 19 and Indiana at No. 24. Even Ohio University made the list at No. 18, most notably for its annual Halloween blowout. The top party school on the list? Miami (Fla.) because of its proximity to South Beach and “hard-bodied coeds laying out on the campus lake between classes.” Here is the entire top 25.

Ohio State Football Post-Spring Analysis: Offense

Ohio State spring football practice is less than two weeks in the rearview mirror but the analysis continues regarding the 15 days of drills through which Jim Tressel put his Buckeyes. Thanks to Tressel’s decision to open the doors to practice, it was much, much easier to formulate opinions on position battles and exactly which players were doing well and which ones weren’t.

Let’s concentrate first on the offense.

Quarterback – The obvious questions were about Terrelle Pryor and whether he had improved upon his throwing mechanics. The simple answer is yes.

Evidently true were the reports we heard about all of the time Pryor spent over the winter in the film room, studying his mechanics and then working to correct any flaws. He has developed a rapport with assistant quarterbacks coach Nick Siciliano – and vice versa – and the results were all full display for most of the spring.

Pryor still needs some work keeping his weight on his back foot when he throws, but he did a much better job of that in the spring game. Additionally, he has learned to hold the ball higher, making his release that much quicker. His release point is also a little higher to take more advantage of his 6-6 frame.

Arm strength is not and never has been a problem. Anyone who says anything to the contrary simply doesn’t what he’s talking about. Still, the kid – and we sometimes forget that’s what he is – has heard the criticisms and tried his best to dispel them this spring. Pryor made every throw in the book in a variety of conditions – indoors, outdoors, with the wind, against the wind, in the pocket, on the run, moving to his left and moving to his right. He has thrown so much over the past couple of months that he experienced a brief bout of tendonitis midway through spring camp but bounced back quickly.

As far as the spring game was concerned, it’s difficult to believe how Pryor could have been much better. The timing was a hair off on his high-arcing touchdown throw to Taurian Washington, but Washington made such a good move to free himself in the end zone that all that mattered was that Pryor was on target with the football.

There is no dispute that the touchdown pass to Ray Small late in the second quarter was a thing of beauty on both ends. Pryor stepped into a frozen rope into a gusting wind that traveled 25 yards and split the receiver between the 8 and the 2 on his jersey. Small did the rest.

Pryor has dedicated himself to improvement in his throwing, and if he makes as much progress between now and fall camp as he did between the end of the Fiesta Bowl and spring ball, there should be absolutely no complaints. Couple his improved throwing with his unquestionable running skills and Pryor has the makings of a truly remarkable player.

Joe Bauserman had a productive spring as well, solidifying his status as Pryor’s backup. Bauserman has a strong, accurate arm, and thanks to all those years as a minor league pitcher, probably has the quickest release on the team.

He struggled a bit during the spring game, completing only 10 of 21 passes for 119 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. That paled in comparison to last year’s spring contest when some fans got overly excited about Bauserman’s line of 7 for 14 for 125 yards and a touchdown.

Bauserman is a good, solid backup but let’s face facts: Tressel is going to build his entire offensive attack around Pryor and if something happens to him, it would be back to square one for the Buckeyes. Bauserman is capable but he’s not Pryor.

The third-team quarterback this spring was walk-on Justin Siems, who hails from Providence High School in Charlotte, N.C. He displayed a strong arm and a willingness to learn, while weaknesses appeared to be some happy feet in the pocket and a long windup before letting the ball go. Siems played in a pro-style offense in high school, and then after getting only lukewarm interest from colleges, enrolled at N.C. Tech Preparatory Christian Academy. Last season, he led Tech to a 14-2 record while completing 83 of 130 attempts (63.8 percent) for 1,604 yards and 14 TDs against only two interceptions.

Siems seems much more comfortable in the pocket than he does on the run, but he has a nice arm and seems to have a good deal of upside. This fall, he’ll be in competition with incoming freshman Kenny Guiton to run the scout team.

Running Back – I will admit that I had my doubts about Boom Herron becoming an every-down tailback in the Big Ten. He is only 5-10 and 193 pounds – almost exactly the same size as Maurice Wells, who struggled throughout his entire OSU career when asked to run between the tackles. Guys that size can have success in the Big Ten (think Mike Hart of Michigan, who played at 5-9 and 202 pounds), but they tend to wear down and become injury-prone.

But Herron proved something (at least to me) during the spring. He ran between the tackles with authority and consistently showed the ability to make reads and cuts on the fly. Herron also has breakaway speed but isn’t afraid to throttle back to allow his protection to catch up. I have seen far too many recent Ohio State backs run up into the backs of their blockers, so it was nice to see somehow exhibit a little patience. That sometimes turns a 2- or 3-yard gain into something much more.

While Herron was doing everything that was asked of him, this spring served as a resurrection of sorts for Brandon Saine. Some fans have given up on the 6-1, 217-pound junior, who was the 2006 high school player of the year in Ohio not to mention the state 100-meter champion the year before he joined the Buckeyes. Saine has enjoyed some success during his OSU career but he’s never been healthy enough long enough to sustain that success. This spring, he stayed on the field and turned in a very creditable performance, especially during the final week of spring camp.

If Herron and Saine can remain injury-free, the Buckeyes could have a formidable one-two punch at tailback already in place with hotly-anticipated freshman help on the way.

It might also be nice to see what veteran walk-on Marcus Williams could do if given a chance. I know he is a walk-on and his chances of seeing playing time ahead of the scholarship players is about as good as mine. But the 5-10, 202-pound product of Ironton, Ohio, has some skills. They were on full display during his 75-yard run to daylight in the spring game. I wonder what Williams could accomplish with a couple of meaningful carries behind the first-team line.

Fullback – I question why this position is not phased out on a team that has so much speed and so many other weapons it can use. That said, it is obvious Tressel wants the option to play smash-mouth football when the situation arises. Therefore, the fullback position remains part of the Buckeyes’ offensive attack.

It could be even more so if Tressel would allow the fullback to run the ball occasionally, giving the Buckeyes another threat in play-action. But I digress. Fullback is nothing more than a glorified blocking position, and the players who line up there know that. They do get involved in the passing game at times – fullbacks caught two passes in the spring game for a total of 6 yards – but it is only a safety valve when nothing else develops and the pocket is collapsing around the quarterback.

True freshman Adam Homan seemed to get most of the first-team reps during the bulk of spring but the team ran so many different formations at different times during drills that it was hard to tell. Walk-on James Georgiades appeared to have some good practices early before he got hurt and leveled off. Redshirt freshman Jermil Martin experiences some good days and some not-so-good days, and even senior defensive tackle Todd Denlinger got into the act at fullback – strictly as a blocker.

If I had to guess, and that’s strictly what it is, I would say Homan and Martin will share the position this fall.

Receiver – If you want to excited about what the Buckeyes can throw at the opposition this fall, look no further than the receiving corps. Lament the loss of Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline to the NFL if you want, but in their places may emerge new, hungry players eager to develop a rapport with Pryor.

Saying DeVier Posey is the next great OSU star receiver would be stating the obvious. Posey still needs some work on the technical part of playing his position, including his downfield blocking. But there is no questioning the 6-3, 205-pounder’s athletic talents. He proved throughout much of the spring that he can catch the ball pretty much wherever it’s thrown and then knows what to do with it after the catch.

The Buckeyes have the luxury of throwing several more receivers into the mix, each of whom brings a little something different to the table.

Perhaps the light has finally come on for Small as he begins to emerge from last year’s self-induced funk. Remember this is the guy Ted Ginn Sr. once characterized as the best receiver he has ever coached. (That, of course, includes Ginn’s son, Ted Jr.) Small has field-stretching speed, more moves than Ex-Lax and provides Ohio State with one of college football’s top punt return threats. All he needs to do is keep his head in the game.

Small isn’t the only speed-burner on the team. Lamaar Thomas isn’t called “Flash” for nothing and freshman James Jackson thrust himself into the mix with a fearless spring that included three catches for 51 yards in the spring game.

And then there is Washington, the 6-2, 179-pound junior that most people had forgotten until he hooked up with Pryor four times in the spring game for 92 yards and a touchdown. Of course, we’ve seen that before. In the 2008 spring game, T-Dub had four receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. Then, when the season began, he was nowhere to be found. He has three career catches for 46 yards and one TD – all of which came in 2007. Washington needs to take the next step and make himself as indispensable in the fall as he has been the past two springs.

Lost in the shadows this spring was Dane Sanzenbacher, who missed a good chunk of the last part of practice with an ankle sprain. A lot of people scoff at Sanzenbacher, who isn’t the fastest or biggest receiver on the team. Those who scoff do so at their own peril, however, because Sanzenbacher finds ways to get results. He is as steady as they come, presents an excellent target and could have the softest hands on the team.

Another possibility as a possession-type receiver is junior Grant Schwartz, who caught three balls in the spring game.

Tight End – Let’s hope that Ohio State is serious about utilizing the tight end in the passing game because the Buckeyes have legitimate pass-catching weapons at the position.

You need only go back to the 2002 national championship season to witness what kind of diversity you can enjoy if you make your tight end a viable part of the passing attack. Ben Hartsock was the third-leading receiver on that team, and he caught more balls than Chris Vance, Drew Carter or Bam Childress.

In recent years, however, the Buckeyes have been reluctant to make the tight end a primary receiver. That has been due partly to a lack of confidence in the offensive line protection, of course, and a line that continues to be a work in progress could hamstring any efforts to get more throws to the tight ends.

Still, I would like to see Tressel allow Jake Ballard, Jake Stoneburner and Nic DiLillo at least a few moments of practice time with receivers coach Darrell Hazell.

Stoneburner is the wild card. He is a rare player at the position who could stretch the field if he’s allowed to do so. This is quite a burden to place on the young man, but I think Stoneburner could be every bit the pass-catching threat that John Frank was. Every time I saw him this spring, the 6-5, 230-pounder was making a reception. He caught the ball in heavy traffic, he showed leaping ability and he showed enough athleticism to spear a ball out of the air and then make a quick adjustment to get yardage after the catch.

It may be too late to think of Ballard as anything more than an occasional receiver. (After all, he has only 19 catches to show for the previous three seasons.) IMHO, if he is used correctly, Stoneburner ought to have at least that many receptions every year.

Offensive Line – The open offensive line spots were probably the most talked-about position battles of the spring, and the discussion is likely to last well into fall camp.

Michael Brewster seems to have found a home at the center position although I think he would probably rather play guard. Maybe someone will emerge this fall (Jack Mewhort, perhaps?) that will allow Brewster to move out of the center spot. Barring something unforeseen, though, he will be and should be in the middle this year.

Brewster was thrown into a tough situation last season when he was asked to be the starter in week four, but he consistently improved and wound up starting 10 games for the Buckeyes at center. After watching him this spring, there is no reason to believe Brewster won’t continue to improve and become one of the Big Ten’s best. He’s well on his way already.

Likewise, there is no reason to believe anyone other than Justin Boren will occupy the left guard position. The 6-3, 315-pound Boren was an absolute beast this spring, schooling nearly every defensive linemen that got in his way. He plays low, taking full advantage of his strength and leverage, and his footwork is excellent. Best of all, Boren has a little mean streak to him. I don’t mean he’s a dirty player because he’s not. He just brings that kind of me-against-you-and-I’m-going-to-knock-the-snot-out-of-you mentality to an offensive line that has severely lacked that attitude the last couple of years.

On the right side of the line, Bryant Browning and Jimmy Cordle will go into the fall as the starters.

Browning had an excellent spring as he moved from tackle to guard, a position much better suited to his skill set. The 6-4, 312-pounder appears to excel in engaging the opponent and neutralizing him. That is something you really can’t do as a tackle since there are more responsibilities on the edge. Also, Browning seems adept at navigating his way through traffic as a pulling guard. I would be surprised if the junior from Cleveland Glenville hasn’t found a permanent home at right guard.

Cordle remains sort of a wild card. After starting last year at center and then moving to left guard, the senior is being asked to man a third position in less than a year. I’m not totally sold on Cordle at right tackle although I think he can handle the position. I’m just not sure he’s best suited at that particular position.

I will say this: Cordle will play somewhere. He will be one of the leading candidates to be elected captain this fall and very seldom does a team captain go into his senior season without a starting position. With Boren, Brewster and Browning across the front, though, it seems right tackle is the only spot for Cordle.

That is, of course, predicated on how the left tackle position shakes itself out. Before spring drills began, it would have been ludicrous to believe Andrew Miller had a shot at much playing time let alone the starting spot. But after a superlative spring, Miller has indeed pushed his way up the depth chart and into the discussion at left tackle.

Will Miller be the starter against Navy come Sept. 5? It’s possible although I doubt it. Neither Mike Adams nor J.B. Shugarts were recruited to be a backup, and I fully expect the starting position to be decided among those two in the fall.

Adams had some well-chronicled struggles during the early portion of spring camp as the OSU coaching staff threw a little bit of everything at him. He seemed to settle down more down the stretch although he still has to guard against playing too high (a problem for any 6-8 lineman) and he still needs work on his feet.

Shugarts, meanwhile, begged the coaching staff to let him participate in heavy contact drills after rehabbing a surgically repaired shoulder. And while the 6-8, 298-pounder saw some limited action, the staff erred on the side of caution and kept him out of most contact. Shugarts will get his chance to contend for the LT spot in fall camp but he has to guard against trying to make up for lost time and do too much too soon.

And what happens if both players distinguish themselves this fall? Do you shuffle things again and perhaps put one of them at right tackle? And if you do that, what happens to Cordle? And what do you do with Miller if he builds on the spring he just had with a breakout fall camp? All food for thought.

While players continue to jockey for starting positions, it helps that there are a number of viable options as the OSU offensive line builds some depth for the first time in recently memory. Evan Blankenship spent most of spring as the second-team right guard behind Browning while Connor Smith was the No. 2 left guard behind Boren. Andrew Moses was second on the depth chart at center and Josh Kerr played mostly with the second-team line at right tackle. Mewhort also got his feet wet at a couple of positions, but the best bet for the 6-7, 290-pound freshman may be a redshirt season if the Buckeyes think they can get along without him. I’d hate to see Mewhort be forced to waste an entire year of eligibility on just token playing time.

Tomorrow, we’ll discuss what we saw this spring on the defensive side of the ball.

HAPPY! HAPPY!

Today’s Buckeye birthday belongs to former Ohio State basketball star Tony Campbell.

Anthony Campbell was born May 7, 1962, in Teaneck, N.J., and became a high school basketball star in his hometown. He signed with Ohio State in 1980 and was a three-year starter for the Buckeyes from 1982-84. The 6-7, 212-pounder earned first-team All-Big Ten honors at forward as a junior and senior, and was a two-year co-captain. Campbell averaged 19.0 points per game in ’83 and 18.6 points in ’84 and finished his OSU career with 1,529 points, good for 14th on the school’s all-time list. He was drafted by Detroit in the first round of the 1984 NBA draft with the 20th overall pick and played 11 professional seasons. Campbell’s best season came in 1989-90 when he averaged 23.2 points and 5.5 rebounds (both career highs) for the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves. He played for the Pistons, Lakers, Timberwolves, Knicks and Mavericks before finishing his career in 1994-95 in Cleveland. Campbell played his 690 NBA games and carried lifetime averages of 11.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. After his playing career ended, Campbell went into coaching at the high school level. He currently serves as head coach and athletic director at Bay Ridge Prep in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Other luminaries observing birthdays this 7th day of May: Fifties pop singer Jim Lowe (“The Green Door”) is 82; former NFL quarterback Babe Parilli is 80; Baseball Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams is also 80; U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) is 77; Sixties pop singer Johnny Maestro (lead singer of The Brooklyn Bridge) is 70; soap actress Robin Strasser (Dr. Dorian Lord on “One Life to Live”) is 64; pop and disco singer Thelma Houston (“Don’t Leave Me This Way”) is 66; Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann is 63; boxer-turned-actor Randall “Tex” Cobb is 59; actor Robert Hegyes (Juan Epstein in the Seventies TV show “Welcome Back, Kotter”) is 58; former Cincinnati Bengals receiver and punter Pat McInally is 56; film director Amy Heckerling (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Clueless”) is 55; soap actor Peter Reckell (Bo Brady on “Days of our Lives”) is 54; Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende is 53; soap actor Michael E. Knight (Tad Martin on “All My Children”) is 50; Motörhead lead guitarist Phil Campbell is 48; actress Traci Lords is 41; rock/pop musician Eagle Eye Cherry is 38; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman James Loney is 25; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith is also 25; and Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders is 23.

Those celebrities who have passed into history who shared May 7 birthdays: English poet Robert Browning; German composer Johannes Brahms; Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; two-time Academy Award-winning actor Gary Cooper; Argentine first lady Eva “Evita” Perón; Academy Award-winning actress Anne Baxter; NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas; “Meet The Press” moderator Tim Russert; and actor Darren McGavin. You may not be familiar with McGavin’s name but you certainly know his work. He had a long career in television and movies, portraying a variety of characters including shady, glass-eyed gambler Gus Sands in “The Natural”, vampire chaser/newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak in “The Night Stalker” television series; and Adam Sandler’s hotel magnate father in “Billy Madison.” But McGavin will likely be best remembered as Old Man Parker, the flustered father who gets son Ralphie a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas in the holiday classic “A Christmas Story.”

AND FINALLY

** Ohio State set a new NCAA record April 25 with a spring-game crowd of 95,722. Alabama, which held the old mark at 92,138 set in 2007, finished second this year with 84,000 in attendance at its spring game. Nebraska was third at 77,670. On the other end of the spectrum was North Carolina, which drew only 2,000 to its spring game. In the Tar Heels’ defense, the game was played March 28 – in the midst of the basketball team’s run to the NCAA Tournament championship.

** To put Ohio State’s record spring crowd into perspective, the average crowd for all of the spring football games at all of the Division I-A schools was just a little more than 13,000.

** A poll on CBSSportsline.com asked which team would win the 2009 Big Ten championship. Ohio State was the runaway winner with 46 percent of the 3,296 votes cast. Penn State was second with 28 percent. Michigan State finished a distant third with 6 percent.

** Indiana head coach Bill Lynch kicked mercurial quarterback-turned-receiver Kellen Lewis off the team for the second time April 27, and this time the move is permanent. Lewis was suspended for four months last year before being allowed to return to the Hoosiers. This time, Lynch has said there will be no reprieve for Lewis, whom many consider IU’s best player. Athletic director Fred Glass supported Lynch’s move, saying the move “underscores that no individual student-athlete, regardless of talent or popularity, is above the expectations of Indiana University.”

** If ESPN.com college basketball writer Doug Gottlieb is right, the Big Ten will be loaded next year. Gottlieb has three conference schools among his early top 10 – Purdue at No. 4, Michigan State at No. 6 and Ohio State at No. 10. About the Buckeyes, Gottlieb writes, “Don’t worry about the loss of B.J. Mullens. The Buckeyes return a great talent in Evan Turner, who returns for his junior season, joining Jon Diebler & Co. to help OSU turn the corner next season.” Gottlieb’s top three: Kansas, Texas and Villanova.

** Gottlieb’s ESPN.com colleague, senior writer Andy Katz, also has three Big Ten teams in his early top 10: Michigan State at No. 2, Purdue at No. 5 and Michigan at No. 9. Other conference teams in Katz’s top 25: Minnesota 16th, Ohio State 18th and Illinois 19th.

** The financially crippled Arena Football League is already on hiatus for a year and teams are beginning to close up shop for good. When/if the AFL returns in 2010, it will be without the L.A. Avengers, a team that has played arena league ball for nine seasons. With the Avengers going out of business, it leaves Los Angeles without a professional football team – unless, of course, you count USC.

** Which brings us to this nugget: You probably know that both former USC basketball star O.J. Mayo and former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush have gotten their school in NCAA hot water for allegedly taking improper benefits. What you may not know is that the NCAA recently decided to combine the cases to streamline the investigation process. That decision makes it much more likely that one or both of the programs could be forced to forfeit games and championships. In the case of USC football, that could include a pair of Pac-10 titles in 2004 and 2005. Don’t think it means the Trojans would have to give up their 2004 national championship, though. Because the NCAA doesn’t stage a championship in Division I-A football, leaving that to the Bowl Championship Series, forfeits would only affect NCAA record books, conference championships and Pete Carroll’s victory total. It would be up to the commissioners of the BCS to take away the national title and no one believes that will happen. Which brings up a salient point raised by Dennis Dodd of CBSSportsline.com: Because a BCS title is essentially immune from NCAA sanctions, does that ratchet up the incentive to cheat to get one?