Cupboard Overload: Video Spotlight on Ohio State's Returning and Incoming Future Stars

With the 2010 season in the books and as National Signing Day 2011 approaches, it seems fitting to shift the focus onto several key returning and incoming prospects on the offensive side of the ball.

Given the pending suspensions for the tat-5 (assuming they keep their word and return in 2011) and the fact that a couple of them might have the opportunity to make an instant impact because of that whole unfortunate situation.

Quarterback is obviously the most important position on the field and with Terrelle Pryor out for up to five games, let's hope that doesn't mean the beginning of the Joe Bauserman era, but rather perhaps the beginning of the Braxton Miller era instead.



If Ohio State sticks to their original plan however, which by all indications is to redshirt Miller in 2011, redshirt sophomore Kenny Guiton would be a good choice to replace Pryor until his return.



Another option at QB is redshirt freshman Taylor Graham, son of former OSU quarterback Kent Graham. Unlike Pryor, Miller, and Guiton, Graham is more of a prototypical pocket passer.



At running back, there are several young and talented guys ready to step-up in place of suspended starter Dan Herron. Jordan Hall, Jaamal Berry, and Carlos Hyde all have game experience, while 2010 late-enrollee Rod Smith dazzled his teammates and coaches during the teams' Suagr Bowl preparations. Here's a look at each of them.

Hall


Berry


Hyde


Smith


Last but not least is the wide receiver position. Dane Sanzenbacher is graduating and DeVier Posey is among those suspended, leaving the Buckeyes with a plethora of youthful inexperience. Corey Brown, Chris Fields, James Jackson, James Louis, T.Y. Williams, Devin Smith, and Evan Spencer are all candidates for significant playing time early in 2011. Here is a look at each of them.

Brown


Fields


Jackson


Louis


Williams


Smith


Spencer


Despite losing DE Cam Heyward, LBs Brian Rolle and Ross Homan, and DBs Chimdi Chekwa and Devon Torrence, Ohio State's defense will still be one of the best in the nation.

As always, there are plenty of 4-star and 5-star young guys ready for their turn.

There are not videos of all of them, but several names to know of recent OSU recruits who could end up replacing the departing starters at each of those positions include D-Linemen Melvin Fellows, Adam Bellamy, JT Moore, David Durham, Chase Ferris, Michael Bennett, & Steve Miller, LBs Etienne Sabino, Keith Sweat, Storm Klein, Scott McVey, Jordan Whiting, Jonathan Newsome, Dorian Bell, Ryan Shazier, Connor Crowell, and lastly DBs Christian Bryant, Jamie Wood, Chad Hagan, Bradley Roby, Donnie Evege, Dominic Clarke, CJ Barnett, Doran Grant, Ron Tanner, Jeremy Cash, and the other Corey (DB) Brown.

It is safe to say that the cupboard is overflowing with talent in Columbus and that the Buckeyes will continue to be one of the best teams in the nation year-in and year-out for several years to come.

As an example of the bright future for OSU beyond 2011, here are two bonus videos of Warren Ball and Brionte Dunn. These guys are two of the top running backs in the nation and both have already verbally committed to Ohio State's 2012 class.

Ball


Dunn



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Southern Exposure: How the Buckeyes Will Reap Recruiting Rewards

by Tim Bielik
BlockONation Analyst



Two weeks into fall camps, the impact of some of the Buckeyes' latest recruits is very palpable.

Multiple freshmen, including Duron Carter, Storm Klein, and Dorian Bell, have worked their way already into the second-team units.

Freshman running back Jaamal Berry has drawn a lot of praise from Jim Tressel for his athletic ability early on in camp.

More so now than in recent years do the Buckeyes have tremendous athletic potential at a lot of positions, some at positions they aren't used to being strong at.

Ohio State appears to be solid with three-deep at running back. They also have a very deep, albeit inexperienced, wide receiver corps bursting with ability.

In addition, the Buckeyes appear to have one of their deepest linebacker corps in recent memory, with almost anyone in their two-deep rotation capable of starting.

The biggest reason for such depth has been dramatically improved recruiting methods.

In the last few years, the Buckeyes have been better at recruiting in the Southern states and landing some elite talent from states like Georgia and Florida.

As of right now, three of their main defensive contributors—defensive end Cameron Heyward, linebacker Brian Rolle, and cornerback Chimdi Chekwa—hail from both of those states.

Starting center Mike Brewster also hails from Florida as one of the major prospects from the South in the past two years.

Sophomore linebacker Etienne Sabino and redshirt freshman defensive back Travis Howard are both expected to fill major roles on the Buckeye defense.

In addition, Berry and Carter both hail from Florida and both have made early impressions on the Buckeye coaching staff.

But Florida is not the only major outside source for Buckeye talent in the past two recruiting classes. Jim Tressel has left a mark on the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, as he has taken the top player in the state to Columbus twice now.

Last year it was current starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor along with linebacker Andrew Sweat.

This year, stud linebacker Dorian Bell and defensive back/wide receiver Corey Brown came from the Keystone State to Columbus.

No one who follows recruiting can deny how much talent the Buckeyes have landed in their last two previous classes. Those classes ranked among the top five, rivaling recruiting titans USC and Florida.

As with any recruiting class, teams start reaping the benefits after the kids have a year under their belt, or even sooner.

If the 2009 season is the rule and not the exception, Ohio State fans are in for some exciting football.

No one outside of the program knows the current position rankings and depth charts of the roster until just before the first game. So it's unclear at this time what type of impact the freshmen and second-year players will have.

No doubt this is one of Tressel's youngest teams. So odds are high that these young guys will be thrust into action.

But if the youngsters hold true to their recruiting hype, Ohio State's new Buckeyes could have several teams that would be among the best in a storied history.


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Around The "Block" With Buckeye WR James Jackson (2009 Recruit)

I had the pleasure of recently interviewing 2009 Ohio State recruit WR James Jackson. I love the answers he gave in his interview and his attitude and I'm totally excited to share it with every Buckeye fan across BlockONation!

BlockO:
Why did you choose Ohio State over other schools recruiting you and who was most involved in recruiting you from the coaching staff?

JJ:
I chose Ohio State because I believed in coach Tressel and what he has established at Ohio State so far. Coach Hazzel was my recruiter.

BlockO:
What are your personal and team goals for the 2009 season?

JJ:
My personal goals for this season are as follows: To start at receiver, punt return and kick return; To become an All-American at WR; To get 13 touchdowns and 1000 yards receiving; To get at least 7 catches a game; And to become the top receiver in the nation. The goals I have for the team is be ranked #1, win all of our games, blowout USC and Michigan, and to win the National Championship game.

BlockO:
Do you know yet what # you'll be wearing and how much do you think you will be on the field in 2009 or have you been told anything about possibly being red-shirted?

JJ:
I don't know what number I will get and I do not plan on red-shirting because I believe I am one of the best receivers that will be on the team.

BlockO:
How pumped are you for the Week 2 USC prime-time game in the Horseshoe?

JJ:
I'm ready for that USC game—I want to dominate that game and destroy USC.

BlockO:
Do you have a favorite Buckeye player of all-time and NFL favorite player of all-time?

JJ:
My favorite Buckeye is Ted Ginn and my favorite football players of all-time are Micheal Vick and Deion Sanders.

BlockO:
What's your favorite music and who's your favorite artist/band?

JJ:
Rap and R&B are my favorite types of music and my favorite artists of all-time are Notorious BIG, Easy E and Lil' Wayne.

BlockO:
Do you ever visit any of the online Buckeye message boards or Blogs and if so, have you ever posted comments?

JJ:
Yeah, I do because I like to see the negative posts that are about me and feed off of that so I'm always motivated to prove my haters wrong!

BlockO:
Are you in any YouTube videos that you know of?

JJ:
Yeah, my highlight video is on YouTube.

BlockO:
Since you're from Michigan, you must have family and/or friends who are Michigan fans. How did they react to you choosing OSU?

JJ:
Yeah, I have both family and friends that are Michigan fans but they didn't care that I chose OSU. They just want what's best for me. Some are now even switching over to being Buckeye fans.

BlockO:
How fast have you been timed running the 40 yard dash?

JJ:
I ran 4.31 during my Sophomore year but I'm way faster now!

As previously stated above, I love his confident attitude. That's something that's been missing in Columbus for quite some time now.

Hopefully his passion, desire, killer instinct and the fire that seems to obviously burn inside of him, driving him to want to succeed and to be the best, is contagious!

Check out his YouTube highlight video that he mentioned!

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Thanks for reading and be sure to comment!

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