Showing posts with label Jack Mewhort. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack Mewhort. Show all posts

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Leadership From Players Main Key To Success For Ohio State in 2012

By Nick WeaverBlockONation.com Featured Contributor

Nobody wants to see mugshots of any Buckeye football player, Unfortunately, this article contains a couple, so if you're squeamish, you better look away.

Once again, offseason scandal has plagued the Buckeyes this summer — thankfully on a much smaller scale this time around compared to the Tatgate scandal that led to Jim Tressel's dismissal, a horrifically disappointing 2011 season, and the eventual one-year postseason and bowl ban given to the program by the NCAA.

Only three players thus far have decided to break the law “allegedly”. The latest was senior linebacker Storm Klein, who was potentially in the mix for a starting position this upcoming season, before being charged with domestic violence and assault.

Preceding Klein on the Buckeye blotter were TE, Jake Stoneburner and OL, Jack Mewhort. While Klein decided to rough up his child's mother, Stoneburner and Mewhort publicly urinated during memorial weekend, and then ran from the police.

Klein was dismissed from the team by Meyer on July 8th. Stoneburner and Mewhort lost their scholarships for the summer, and despite the charges being dismissed against them, at last check, they remain suspended indefinitely — for the time being anyway.

I mentioned these incidents to lay a foundation so I could pose a question that has been bothering me since last season when we fell apart late in games.

Where is the player leadership on this team, especially from the upperclassmen?

I know they vote on captains each year, but I didn't see the captains gain control of the team late in games last year, or during this offseason either.

Sure, it's only three players with relatively minor charges compared to last year, and extremely minuscule compared to what happened at Penn State, but exercise your brain and think.

Who was the leader last year on the field? Miller goes down vs. Nebraska and the team completely fell apart.

Was it Fickel? He gets the blame because he was the head coach, but there has to be upperclassmen leadership on the field and in the locker room. Anyone that has played sports knows exactly what I am talking about.

I give props to John Simon because he is a beast and led the defense on the field making a lot of heroic plays, however, I can’t name anyone from the offensive side of the ball that I can say was a clear leader.

Boom Herron gets partial credit for the last two games of the year, but it just wasn’t near enough in my eyes.

The 2012 season will be upon us in no time, and who is going to lead the team this year on (and off) the field and in the locker room?

Urban Meyer will have them ready to play each game — that's a given — but so did Fickell for the most part last year.

Then again, in many games, we looked like we never arrived at the stadium until late in the game.

The Silver Bullets need a leader to emerge with only 48 days until the season kicks off and “Urban Warfare” begins!

Even though I question who will lead come September 1st, I will have my jersey and Buckeye beads on, ready to ride or die, and cheer our Buckeyes to victory!




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@Nick_Weav




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Saturday, June 9, 2012

Ranking The Top 5 Buckeyes That Must Step Up For Ohio State In 2012

By Tim BielikBlockONation.com Featured Contributor

With the 2012 season just a few months away, Ohio State has a roster full of plenty of talent, though most of it is unproven at this point.

They do seem to have new life under Urban Meyer and a chance to be a really good football team with a modernized offense.

The question for this team is whether or not their young players are ready to step into the spotlight and make the types of plays that they need to win at this level.

Here are the five Buckeyes who need to step up the most this season.

5. Corey "Philly" Brown, WR

For Ohio State's new offense to work this season, they are going to need some help from the wide receiver position.

The passing game was absolutely unwatchable for most of last season, as there was poor blocking from the offensive line as well as the receivers not being able to get open.

Junior Corey Brown needs to be a guy who steps up and makes the big plays this season.

He came in as a freshman in 2010 and hasn't quite lived up to the lofty praise gifted to him after high school.

Now he looks like he is in an offense that is more suited to his skills. Because of that, this is without a doubt his make-or-break season.

4. Jack Mewhort, LT

New offensive line coach Ed Warriner led a massive reshuffling of the Ohio State front line by moving junior Jack Mewhort over from guard to left tackle after the spring.

Mewhort has the size and athleticism to make the transition over to left tackle pretty well.

He will have a huge job ahead of him to help keep Braxton Miller upright.

His status for the early part of the season is somewhat in doubt after he was suspended because of his arrest on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing official business.

He should be good to go the rest of the season, but Mewhort has a huge job ahead of him when he comes back.

3. Curtis Grant, LB

At the beginning of spring football, Urban Meyer singled out former blue-chip linebacker Curtis Grant as not only the starting MLB on the defense, but gave him the keys to the defense without ever starting a game.

Grant's performance, in Meyer's words, will either make or break the Ohio State defense.

He has the potential to do that and more because of the size and instincts he came into college with.

Grant has a great front four in front of him led by John Simon and Johnathan Hankins, along with a stud OLB in Ryan Shazier to make life easier for him.

But Grant will need to be strong right from the start.

2. Jake Stoneburner, TE

Jake Stoneburner for the longest time has been a tremendous mismatch that Jim Tressel and his former offensive coaching staff failed to utilize properly.

That won't be the case under Meyer and offensive coordinator Tom Herman, who have a history of getting big seasons out of their tight ends.

Stoneburner poses an amazing mismatch from the TE position and Meyer will find a way to get him the ball as much as possible.

The question is if Stoneburner is finally ready to accept the challenge and be the big playmaker this offense needs in order to succeed.

1. Braxton Miller, QB

The player who has the most expectations upon him this season is an extremely obvious one.

Braxton Miller needs to grow quite a bit this season after showing plenty of flashes last year since most of the offense's successes are dependent on his dual-threat ability.

He will have to prove he can make the big throws while at the same time continue to run as well as he did last season.

He looked much better throwing the football in the spring game back in April, completing 24-of-31 passes for 258 yards.

If he can build off of that and become a much better passer, Ohio State's offense will make a dramatic leap in 2012.




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@Bielik_Tim




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Sunday, June 3, 2012

Around The Block: BlockONation's Buckeye Bits, Volume 3 — June 3, 2012



Hello once again Buckeye football fans. I have a plethora of bits to share with you today — unfortunately, not all of them good — but nevertheless, the bits are the bits — and away we go.

— The biggest bit of news today involves the arrest of Ohio State senior TE, Jake Stoneburner, for obstructing official business, whatever the heck that means exactly. Details are still sketchy, but it appears Stoneburner may have been intoxicated and was arrested after briefly fleeing from police. It was later revealed that junior O-lineman Jack Mewhort and a third man were also arrested with Stoneburner. Most likely, Stoneburner and Mewhort, both of whom are facing misdemeanor charges, will each probably get slaps on the wrist barring any further-damning revelations, but surely this will not sit well with head coach Urban Meyer.

— Ohio State had hoped to land 5-star LB recruit Jaylon Smith, brother of Ohio State RB Roderick Smith, but earlier today, Smith somewhat surprisingly opted against joining his brother in Columbus, and instead gave his verbal commitment to Notre Dame. While Smith would have made a nice addition to the 2013 class, Ohio State, as always, has plenty of talent and depth at linebacker, and that may have been a factor in Smith's decision.

— Ohio State recently nixed a proposed 2020-2021 home-and-home series with the Georgia Bulldogs, purportedly because of future scheduling conflicts regarding their Pac-12/B1G scheduling deal that is in the works. Also, it can't be ignored that schools in the-now 12-team B1G may soon be playing nine conference games instead of just eight.

— ESPN B1G blogger Adam Rittenberg discussed some keys to the Buckeyes' 2012 season and what to expect from Ohio State this fall.

— 2013 Buckeye verbal and dual-sport star, Jalin Marshall became the 2012 DI Ohio high school state champion in the long jump Saturday. Marshall plays QB for Middletown HS, but early speculation points to him playing WR when he arrives in Columbus next year. With his speed and jumping ability, it certainly would make sense.

As Lee Hudnell of The Buckeye Times recently reported, Athlon Sports has released its' 2012 preseason rankings, and they have Ohio State ranked at No. 6, while college football guru Phil Steele has Ohio State ranked at No. 11. Obviously, the combination of Ohio State's talent and Urban Meyer's coaching prowess has led to some lofty expectations. For what it's worth, I think both are right — kind of. Phil Steele has the preseason ranking dead-on, and Athlon's ranking is closer to where the Buckeyes could find themselves in the final rankings at seasons end.

— And finally, if you're into recruiting and interested in keeping tabs on who the Buckeyes are targeting in 2013, look no further. And since you asked (or not, but just go with it), you can also glimpse even further into the future and track the recruits Ohio State is targeting for 2014 as well, thanks to the great work by our good friends over at ScarletBuckeye.

See you next time, around the Block — HD



@BlockONation



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Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Need for Speed: Buckeyes 2009 Recruits Have Plenty of It

by Tim Bielik
BlockONation Analyst



The Vest has been in charge of the Buckeyes for just under a decade, but what he has done the last two years on the recruiting front may have been some of his best work in his tenure.

After having a blockbuster '08 class featuring Terrelle Pryor and Michael Brewster, '09 made sure not to disappoint.

This new group of Buckeyes features an abundance of DBs and lots of linemen on both sides of the ball. Plus having one of the top RBs and OLBs in the country doesn't hurt either.

One common trend with this recruiting class: speed. In this era of college football, speed kills. And there's simply no way around it.

So by loading up on guys that can run and run fast, Tressel has brought in tremendous talents giving the Buckeyes a top five recruiting class, behind LSU, USC, and Texas on most lists.

Scout.inc has this class ranked No. 1. However, these rankings aren't an exact science by any means, but the type of players recruited are fast and furious.

RB Jamaal Berry from South Florida may be the face of this class offensively. Ranked in the top five of RBs in most rankings, Berry is a burner with 4.35 speed and not afraid to run between the tackles.

LB Dorian Bell, the defensive gem of this class, is also considered a speedster with a nasty attitude and a guy you don't want to get hit by. Pennsylvania's top player for the last two years has become part of Buckeye Nation. Without a doubt, the Vest has shoved a pipeline into western Pennsylvania and southern Florida.

And based on the recent correlation of great recruiting leading to national championships (that is a little obvious), Ohio State has stepped up their efforts drastically.

However, some complain that Tressel cannot land the big players when it comes to signing day, as was evident with the Marlon Brown commitment to Georgia. But sometimes, the recruit just doesn't go your way no matter how hard you work.

The results cannot be argued so far: back-to-back elite classes spearheaded by improved talent in the trenches. Losses to the SEC and USC have revealed that the Bucks needed new talent up front.

Ask and you shall receive.

Now with the departure of the slower linemen, in comes the newer, faster boys up front, led by Brewster and Michigan transfer Justin Boren.

No doubt this 2008 class has a lot to live up to, but there is also no doubt the potential is palpable.

If Pryor's freshman season was any indication and the contributions of numerous freshmen including Brewster and DE Nathan Williams among others, 2009 should be a coming out party for this amazing '08 class.

As for 2009, it's unclear how much playing time these players will get. Although Berry and Bell may be among the first to jump right in to the action, no doubt the Vest will look to the other players to contribute.

The real impact of this group may not be felt until 2010, when the '08s are juniors and those '09s are sophs.

Just a fair warning to the rest of the nation: Tressel has turned two-star recruits into All-Americans. Just imagine what he can do with all these four- and five-star players.

Scary, although one has to take these rankings with a grain of salt.

Expect this team to become faster over the next few years. Much faster.

This new infusion of speedy and athletic players can only mean that a great Buckeyes team will turn into an elite team faster than Pryor can score a 60-yard touchdown run.

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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Buckeyes Set National Attendance Record For a Spring Footbal Game



It was windy and hot and my arms are burnt to a crisp, but it was pretty much a perfect day for the Buckeyes Scarlet and Gray Spring Football game yesterday!

I am proud to say I was part of the RECORD BREAKING 95,722 in attendance. No other school has ever had as many fans in attendance for a Spring game than Ohio State did for this one.


Game highlights (courtesy of the Big Ten Network)




Here are the pics I took. The first set are from my phone and the better closeup shots were with a digital camera—Enjoy!

View from outside the stadium of the South stands


The Block O that was the inspiration for the name of this blog


Just before the LAX game started


The stadium was nearly at capacity about 30 minutes before kickoff


More views of the record breaking crowd






#2 Terrelle Pryor warming up with a few of his O-linemen








The pics below here are the digital camera pics. You can click on any image to enlarge it!
































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6/05/2009

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