Ohio State 2009: Deliverance Begins 9-5-09

Kitchel22130 posted the third and final trailer for 2009 Ohio State football tonight—Enjoy!

UpliftingAthletes: OSU Football Charity Video Game Challenge

Members of the Ohio State football team are planning the second annual OSU Uplifting Athletes Charity Video Game Challenge.

Sixteen current Buckeyes will face off against each other in a fun-to-watch college football video game to crown a team champion.

A number of other current players will be on hand to interact with fans, sign autographs and raise awareness for the fight against rare diseases.

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students; special VIP passes are available for $50.

Important info:

Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Time: 3:00pm - 6:00pm

Location: Damon's Grille

Street: 3025 Olentangy River Road (just North of campus)

City: Columbus, OH

Email: info@upliftingathletes.org

UPDATE:

A few pics from tonight's event!







Boom Herron


Terrelle Pryor


Most, if not all the players who attended







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A Look at the Buckeyes Receiving Corp for the 2009 Season

by Jeremy Jeffries
BlockONation Contributor



You are not going to hear names like Brian Robiskie, Brian Hartline, Teddy Ginn or Anthony Gonzalez.

For the first time in quite a few years the Ohio State Buckeyes will be starting the season without a proven star at wide receiver.

The Buckeyes have always had great receivers names like Carter, Glenn, Galloway, Boston, Jenkins, Germany, Gamble, Holmes, and the before mentioned Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez.

The 2009 Ohio State Buckeye receivers have not yet made a name for themselves. But, you can bet that at least one of them will be added to that list of great Buckeye receivers. Let's focus on the four players I think will see the most action.

The group will be led by senior Ray Small. Ray really hasn't had a chance to show what he is made of yet, He played behind a talented group of players in his first three seasons.

Ray caught 8 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown his freshman season. He did slightly better in his sophomore season catching 20 passes for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the midst of controversy regarding Small and coach Tressell in 2008, he was suspended and had a horrible season. He finished the year with only 18 receptions for 149 yards.

Sophomore DeVier Posey will battle Small for the number one receiver honors. Posey is a big, fast receiver from Cincinnati, Ohio. Posey caught 82 passes for 1,518 yards and 16 touchdowns for LaSalle High School in Cincinnati.

With the Buckeyes in 2008, Posey caught 11 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. He and quarterback Terrelle Pryor showed great chemistry at times.

Dane Sanzenbacher was ranked as the 13th best prospect overall in the state of Ohio coming out of high school. Dane was an outstanding high school football player. He caught 65 passes and 16 touchdowns as a junior and was named first team all-state and as a senior, Dane had 61 receptions for 1,079 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Dane was the ultimate big game player in high school. In seven career playoff games, he had 40 receptions for 842 yards and nine touchdowns. He also collected 40 solo tackles and eight interceptions. he helped Toledo Central Catholic win the 2005 State Championship with two touchdown receptions.

In his freshman season with the Buckeyes, Dane had 12 receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown. Dane's TD came on his very first reception as a Buckeye. In his sophomore season, he caught 21 passes for 272 yards and one touchdown.

Junior Taurian Washington from St. Mary's High School in Orchard Lake, Michigan. This 6-2, 179 pound receiver was the No. 8 overall recruit in Michigan and the 23rd best receiver nationally.

Taurian caught 40 passes for 893 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior at St. Mary's High School. In his injury shortened senior season, he caught 30 passes for 500 yards and eight touchdowns.

As a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes, Taurian saw some action in 2007 catching 3 passes for 46 yards and one touchdown. In 2008, Washington seemed to disappear, catching not a single pass.

Taurian couldn't have started his junior season off with the Buckeyes any better.

In the Buckeyes spring game in front of a record crowd of 95,000+ this season, he showed why he was the eighth ranked player in the state of Michigan coming out of high school.

His routes were crisp and he displayed above average speed en route to four catches for 92 yards, one for a touchdown, in just a matter of five minutes.

Whether it is one of the four talented receiver's mentioned in this article or one of the other receivers on the Buckeye roster, perhaps: James Jackson, Jake Stoneburner, Lamaar Thomas or Duron Carte—One (or more) of these guy's will indeed be the next great receiver(s) in a long line of great receivers to hone their craft at "The" Ohio State University.

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Photo Copyright of Jim Davidson—TheOzone.net

Cup Runneth Over: Ohio State Players to Watch in 2009

by HD Handshoe
Founder
BlockONation.com



The "09" Ohio State Buckeyes will have a very different look compared to the 2008 team.

Gone are running back Chris 'Beanie' Wells, safety Malcolm Jenkins, linebackers James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman, and wide receivers Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline.

So 2009 will SURELY be a rebuilding year in Columbus....

In the famous words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast my friend!"

With back to back top three recruiting classes, the Buckeyes have loads of talented players ready to 'RELOAD' into their starting lineup!


Quarterback:

In case you were living under a rock last year, Terrelle Pryor, the No. 1 H.S. recruit in the nation, committed to Ohio State. After Ohio State lost decisively in Week three to USC, Pryor was named the starter (replacing Senior captain Todd Boeckman) for the rest of the year. The 6'6 speedy QB led the Buckeyes to an (8-2) record in his ten games and most importantly, gained priceless experience that will most certainly pay off in 2009.


Running Back:

While the loss of Wells can't be ignored, there's plenty in the cupboards to help ease the pain. Daniel 'Boom' Herron filled in admirably last season when Wells missed time due to injury. Even after Wells came back, Herron had impressed the coaches enough to earn more playing time and will most likely be the starter to open the 2009 season.

Freshmen recruits Jamaal Berry and Carlos Hyde will also look to push for immediate backfield playing time should Herron falter. The 5-11, 190 pound Berry is a 5-star speed back and game-breaking threat any time he touches the ball.

Hyde (6-1, 225) is fast for his size, but is more of a power back possessing a stiff-arm comparable to the one Wells made famous in Columbus!

Even if Herron plays great, expect Berry and Hyde to both get their fair share of looks in relief.


Wide Receiver:

In recent years, WR "U", as Ohio State has been called in the past, has still had a talented receiver or two in any given season, but not a whole lot of depth.

That WILL NOT be the case in 2009! So much so that at this point, even attempting to project the starters would be a complete crap shoot.

Ray Small, Dane Sanzenbacher, Taurian Washington, DeVier Posey and Lamaar Thomas headline the list of returning veteran receivers. It has also been rumored that Brandon Saine may be moving to wideout.

WR/TE Jake Stoneburner will join the team in 2009 after red-shirting his freshman year, along with new recruits Duron Carter, James Jackson, Chris Fields, and dual-threat Corey Brown. Brown was a two-way star in H.S. who may potentially play both WR and CB for the Buckeyes.


Offensive Line:

The much-hyped O-line hasn't been as horrible as some pessimists will tell you, but it has been disappointing nonetheless.

That should be a thing of the past going forward for the next several seasons.

Michael Brewster leads the way after taking over as starting center last year as a freshman.

Sophomores J.B Shugarts and Mike Adams, along with freshmen Marcus Hall, Jack Mewhort, Sam Longo and Corey Linsley are practically a "Who's who" of four and five star linemen that will each look to earn their place in the starting lineup alongside veterans Bryant Browning and Jim Cordle.


Defense:

Rather than list position by position, I'll instead offer an overview of the defense as a whole.

As I already mentioned, there are big shoes to fill at safety and linebacker. As I also already mentioned, the cupboard is not bare!

Etienne Sabino played mainly on special teams in 2008 but with the departure of Laurinaitis and Freeman, expect to see him step into that role of stud LB at tOSU!

Other possible candidates for that title include Andrew Sweat, Austin Spitler, Dorian Bell and Storm Klein.

Kurt Coleman, Chimdi Chekwa, Anderson Russell and Jermale Hines are a solid four-some for the Bucks at the safety/cornerback positions. Former WR turned DB Devon Torrence, along with Zach Domicone and the aforementioned Corey Brown should also see the field in 2009.

Along the defensive front, the Buckeyes are loaded as well. I can't attempt to predict all the starters but a few key guys and probable starters include Cameron Heyward, Thaddeus Gibson and Lawrence Wilson.


Others worth mentioning:

Garrett Goebel, Willie Mobley, Dexter Larimore, Keith Wells, Solomon Thomas, Rob Rose and Nathan Williams. (We should know more about who will be the twenty-two starters after the Spring game on April 25th.)

Ohio State will undoubtedly be locked and reloaded in 2009 and we won't have to wait long to see just how big their bullets are, as they play host to the USC Trojans in Week 2.

If the talent on paper translates to the field, Ohio State could make their fourth trip to the BCS title game in eight seasons under Tressel and their eighth BCS bowl appearance in the eleven years since the inception of the BCS.

Either way, this season will be exciting to witness and if the Buckeyes can get past USC, don't be surprised if I'm right about them running the table and playing for the BCS title!

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