This year,
OSU coaches have brought back the mentality of "The Silver Bullets." Last season, the emphasis was on ball hawking, and our turnover margin ultimately bore that out, at the expense of seeing those Jack Tatum highlight hits we have enjoyed going back years and years. This season, the emphasis is on hitting the opponent so hard that they quit playing. Whether it's a WR blasting a LB to spring a run, a DB blowing up a screen, or a special teams gunner ear-hole'ing the first up-man he sees in the wedge, the idea is to strike fear into the opponent in every phase of the game.
Add to this, the Buckeyes can "manufacture" some extra motivation by drawing from last season, where the Jack Tatum hit of the Year was arguably the shot that Ray Small
took that ended his season.
Small and the Buckeyes will have revenge on their mind, and I think the special teams hits are going to be
nasty this Saturday night -- maybe even personal foul inducing nasty. This team is a family, and they're going to be looking at taking care of their own. Every single player on the roster will see the hit Small took last year. They're likely going to be reminded of it every day this week.
Small will also be the biggest beneficiary of the fast track on the astroturf of the HHH Baggy Dome. Last time we were there, Ginn returned a kick off for a TD and Pittman broke off the long runs we hadn't seen before in his career.
I think #4 enjoys a HUGE day in the return game.