OL Kirk Barton (San Francisco 49ers)

[Holy Buckeye!]

That story gave me Goose Bumps, Kirk Barton is a budding star.

Thanks for sharing that article Grad, one of the best reads I've seen in a long time.

[Buckin' A]

wow.

[kippy1040]

Reading this article makes me very sad, yet his Father would be so happy to see his sons life unfold in the manner that he would have wanted it to. I am an older guy but all you young fathers and dads should learn from this and take it to heart so you can all be the best role models for your sons and daughters. Great article-thanks Grad21.

[buckiprof]

A great article and a great father to have the wisdom to not push his son into the sport that he had success in. The story, which I did not know about, was one that is truly inspirational, while at the same time caused my boys to get an extra hug from me.

[WoodyWorshiper]

I saw that article in the PD today, but I'm too computer stupid to be able to post a link to it so thanks to 'Grad" for sharing it for others to enjoy.

[BB73]

From an Ozone article on Spring practices.

theozone./Springball


Ah, Football!: Plenty of Buckeye fans have had football withdrawal since the end of last season. That goes for most the members of the team as well.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=100 align=right><CAPTION align=bottom>Kirk Barton </CAPTION><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

"It was great to be back to be honest with you," said offensive lineman Kirk Barton.

"You have winter conditioning and 6:00 AMs, you're running around and running through cones, doing stuff like that, but it's not really football. You get in the field and it's like you finally get to play football, and that's what I really enjoy. The drills are great for mental toughness and getting your wind up, but it's not football. This is like the gift at the end of the tunnel," said Barton.

Barton doesn't just like football, he is developing into a person who plays football extremely well.
"The games I started (last season) I had a winning percentage in every game," said Barton.
"The last four games I played I was over 90 per cent, so that's where I kind of where I want to keep going this season. Against Northwestern I was 96 per cent. That's no MAs (missed assignments) and maybe a couple of poor techniques and I got my man on every play. That's what you want to shoot for for every single game."

[HineyBuck]

Another thread asks, "Who's going to step up into leadership?" Well, this guy is one of them.

[LoudBuckeyeGirl]

cropped myself out...

[kanton]

From Todd Porter in Friday's Canton Repository:


Quarterback Troy Smith and wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. are being touted as preseason All-American candidates. Smith is coming off his best season, and a quiet offseason. He’s kept his nose clean and in the film room.
“We expect him to have a big spring,” Tressel said. “He needs to keep progressing and that starts in spring ball.”
Tressel said he was looking for signs of maturity from Smith in the offseason and saw it in February when he asked offensive coordinator and line coach Jim Bollman to teach him the center position. The Buckeyes lose four-year starter Nick Mangold (another first-day NFL Draft player). But Smith does have T.J. Downing, Kirk Barton (another All-American candidate the school is promoting) and Doug Datish.

When healthy I thought Kirk was OSU's second best OL last year (next to Mangold.) I fully expect him to take a strong leadership position this year. If he stays healthy and continues to improve I see some post-season accolades coming his way. Judging from how he's graded out and the above statement I'm guessing the staff feels the same way.

[BuckNutty]

Barton High on Offensive Line Potential
By John Porentas

Yesterday offensive lineman Jim Cordle told us he is using summer conditioning to make up for some the ground he lost while rehabbing an injury last year. Veteran offensive lineman Kirk Barton also missed some practice time recently when his spring practice reps were limited due to minor surgery, but according to Barton, having a bit more experience than Cordle has minimized the effect of missing some reps in spring camp.

"I had a foot problem. It was nothing major, but they fixed it and its fine now," said Barton.

"It (sitting out some of spring ball) was a precaution. I wanted my injury from during the season to heal and I wanted the foot to heal," said Barton explaining why he opted to limit his participation in spring drills.

"I knew my spot was pretty secure. If I would have been in competition (for a starting spot) I definitely would have gone but after the season and the surgery and playing through the injury, it kind of took a toll, so I made a decision with the coaches that maybe I should sit out and be ready for the season. That's the most important thing."

Barton explained that job security was not the only issue involved in the decision to sit out last spring. Simply put, he, along with the OSU coaching staff, felt that with his level of experience there was more to be gained by sitting out than by participating, though that might not have been true for him earlier in his career.

"My redshirt freshman year I missed spring and I thought that set me back," said Barton.

"This past spring the only thing I didn't do is scrimmage. I still did a lot of live contact. We did our inside run drill which is our most physical drill, and I did that every day and I did well, so I don't feel like I lost anything. If anything I'll feel a little bit fresher for the season."

Barton was a force at right tackle last season, but missed a couple of game due to an injury, most notably the Penn State, an OSU loss. Barton said that having to be on the sidelines during the loss to Penn State was one of the low lights of the season for him, along with the OSU's loss to Texas.

"The national title game had a lot of hype, but the Texas game has like three years worth of hype," said Barton.

"The national title game was only a couple of months, though it was a lot of hype for those two months, but I heard about Texas from the time I got here.

"Losing that sucked because it meant we lost the driver's seat for the (national) title.

"The other one (low light) was watching the guys against Penn State because when guys haven't played different positions it's really hard to do it in a game. Especially against a team like Penn State. I know if I had to move to left guard, because Robby (Sims) moved to right tackle, I wouldn't have had a clue what was going on. Robby did as well as he could but it's hard when you don't rep at a spot to go out and play against a great player like their all-American end."

Barton had no trouble at all in identifying his highlight games from the previous campaign.

"You never stop thinking about beating Michigan, but putting 617 (yards) on Notre Dame was fun. They've been playing for 120 years and we had the all-time record against them. That was nice for our offense," he said.

Barton is now focused on preparing for next season, but the off-season has brought a rash of illnesses to the OSU offensive coaching staff. Quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels and offensive line coach Jim Bollman both spent time in the hospital this summer, and while those events aren't slowing OSU preparation for next fall, Barton is mindful of the seriousness of those situations.

"We just hope that our guys and our fans get together and pray for these guys because Coach Bollman, Coach Daniels and Coach Rudolph are all fighting through some tough times right now and our fans need to pray for them.

"All these guys have had their scrutiny since they've been here and by the end of last year we were probably the best offense in the nation. They do a great job and our fans need to appreciate that and keep praying for them."

Barton has obvious respect for his position coach, Bollman.

"Obviously he's got to be one of the top offensive line coaches in the country," Barton said.

"If you just base it off production of NFL talent, he produced Shane (Olivea) who has started for the Chargers for three years, he Alex (Stepanovich) who has started for three years, Adrien (Clark) who might start this year, Nick (Mangold) was a first-round pick, LeCharles (Bentley) was a first-round pick, Flozell Adams was a first-round pick.

"With that kind of resume and talent, anything he says you have to listen to it and do it, and that's what I've really bought into. By learning his techniques and doing what he tells me to do it honest-to-God has made me about five times better than I ever thought I'd be."

Like all the other Buckeyes, Barton is hard at work this summer under the tutelage of new strength and conditioning coach Eric Lichter.

"I definitely think he's a great coach," said Barton.

"Our old (strength) coaching staff was a great staff as well, but Coach Lichter brings something different to the table. It's more explosion, more balance. He's trained some top-flight guys and I anything he tells me to do, I do, because when it comes to combine training, he's at the top of the heap in terms of diet, lifting techniques, running form, explosion, he's improving our entire team."

Barton thinks this could be a banner year for the OSU offensive line.

"We sure hope it is," he said.

"We've got three guys who have played a lot (returning starters T. J. Downing, Doug Datish and Barton) and Alex (Boone) has played some and Steve (Rehring) has played some.

"Jon Skinner is probably the most improved guy over the past year. He really works hard and is in great shape.

"Kyle Mitchum and Ben Person are both getting in shape and getting ready to play. We just can't rest on our laurels, can't rest on last year. We have to improve from last year even though we lost two great players in Nick (Mangold) and Rob (Sims). We really feel like the sky could be the limit for us."

Barton's height and weight have been listed differently in various places. Barton himself gave us the definitive word.

"I'm about 6-6 and 310 weight-wise," he said.

"I've lost about 15 pounds just because during the summer you just sweat it all off working out hard. I'll play at between 315 and 320 this year. It (the extra weight) helps if you're going up a guy who is 330. Texas has some big tackles so it helps if you're at-least as big as they are if you're going to move them."

http://www.theozone.net/football/200...ing/barton.htm

[osugrad21]

Canton Rep

SPORTS SPOTLIGHT: Barton uses difficult loss as his motivation
Wednesday, September 6, 2006 SPORTS SPOTLIGHT TODD PORTER

COLUMBUS All hands had been slapped. The last Vince Young highlight had just played out in front of Ohio State right tackle Kirk Barton. He wanted to vomit.
On that September night at Ohio Stadium, Barton swears he stayed in his uniform in the locker room for 15 minutes afterward. He just sat there, oblivious to the smell and sweat that soaked his uniform, but not the heartbreak the Texas Longhorns had caused.
“There was dead silence,” Barton said Tuesday before preparations begin in earnest for Saturday night’s rematch between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Texas in Austin. “It was like, all this work, all this effort went for nothing. And toward the end of the game with three, four minutes left, it felt like we were going to do it. Then all of a sudden that pass is completed and we don’t have it. ... It was a tough feeling.”
Young completed a perfectly thrown touchdown pass to Limas Sweed. Texas led, 25-22. Ohio State’s national championship dream fizzled.
“You slip your jersey over your head, and you hope you wake up tomorrow,” Barton said.
“You hope the game will start again, like you fell asleep in the locker room, and this was just a bad dream.”
Second chances don’t happen often. Especially when college football’s elite programs duck one another, trying to run a 12-game season until the end and sneak into a BCS game.
Ohio State and Texas aren’t like that. A national title is on the line Saturday night.
Barton knows it. His teammates know it. Buckeye Head Coach Jim Tressel knows it.
That is why Barton has tortured himself the past year. He estimates he has watched the Texas replay more than 50 times.
Each time Sweed barely gets one foot down in the end zone. Each time Texas wins.
Each time, Barton feels sick to his stomach. It is a feeling the 6-foot-6, 310-pounder from Perry High School wants to carry with him into Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
“When you have a lazy summer afternoon in Massillon, Ohio, and there’s nothing to do, I pop that in,” Barton said. “I’ve watched that one and the Iowa game from two years ago more than any game. You want to remember that feeling. That feeling motivates you. ... it’s like you got hit by a car.”
Life is sucked away. The wind knocked from the sails.
“Last year we really had high expectations, and in Week 2, they’re dashed,” Barton said. “We finished well, but it wasn’t what we wanted.”
Barton always watches the Sweed catch carefully.
“It was an unbelievable catch,” Barton said. “It’s like ... was his foot really down? Can I stop this, go back in history and erase it? It’s not a good feeling.”
It’s torture. And it’s what the Lombardi Award candidate uses for motivation this week.
“Torture? Sometimes you have to reinforce it,” he said. “It’s got to be in the front of your mind.”
Barton played his best game as a Buckeye last week. He dominated Northern Illinois’ defensive front. He graded out at 93 percent. Tressel doesn’t hand out many 90 percent grades on the line.
Last week’s game might not have been against just Northern Illinois. It might have been against himself, his fears.
One loss Saturday night, and the same feeling with hover around OSU’s locker room.
“I remember looking at the scoreboard in disbelief,” he said. “This isn’t so much about revenge as it a reminder we didn’t do so well (the last time). ... This game means everything to our season.”
And their psyches.
Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: todd.porter@cantonrep.com

[lvbuckeye]

wow... that article REALLY makes me want to tackle somebody...

[craigblitz]

If that doesn't get you amped... you ain't got a pulse.....

Damn!!!

[Buckskin86]

Injury report

Starting right tackle Kirk Barton (Perry) left on the second play of the game, forcing senior Tim Schafer into the lineup. But Tressel downplayed the injury.

``I think Kirk will be fine,'' Tressel said. ``He had a little bit of a foot procedure this week and didn't get as much practice as he would have liked. We were only going to play him two or three series, anyway.''

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/15706166.htm

on a side note: Kirk was on my flight from Charlotte to C-bus on Thursday....I thought that odd considering he should have been in class/practice...maybe that trip had something to do with the foot procedure mentioned above?

[osugrad21]

CPD

Two-question interview: Kirk Barton, OSU right tackle



Monday, October 16, 2006

The junior made it through Saturday night's win healthier than he's been all season, with the problems with his left foot solved. He's ranked as the No. 5 junior tackle in the country by EPSN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. Like ev eryone on the offense, he had a good time scoring 38 points as part of free-wheel ing attack against Michigan State.
Q: Is the offensive line better than last year?
A: I don't know if we're there yet, but we're taking steps, small steps. I think we've got to keep handling the adver sity. We had some miscues that we've got to clean up. We have a lot of potential on the offensive line, we've just got to keep going on the up swing. You can't take a day off.
Q: Were you surprised when back-to-back reverses were called?
A: We never did that in prac tice or walk-through or any thing, and after you run a re verse it's probably the last thing they expect on the next call. It worked. It's our coaches giving opposing coaches something to look at on film, whether it's two re verses in a row or a reverse pass. It gives other coaches a little more of a headache at night.
-- Doug Lesmerises