LB James Laurinaitis (St. Louis Rams)

[SanClementeBuck]

JL plays with speed.

[Buckinghorse]

Originally Posted by MililaniBuckeye

No disrespect at all to Bobby Carpenter, but was there any noticable dropoff when Launrinaitis was in? No. That's more of a compliment to James. I'm more confident in our LB situation next year than I was before The Game, and even then I wasn't all that worried.

I think the only drop off was pressure on the QB.
I too am more confident on the LB situation next year.
He didn't make any glaring errors and that says alot.

[LightningRod]

Originally Posted by MililaniBuckeye

No disrespect at all to Bobby Carpenter, but was there any noticable dropoff when Launrinaitis was in? No. That's more of a compliment to James. I'm more confident in our LB situation next year than I was before The Game, and even then I wasn't all that worried.

Little Animal is a chip off of the Carpenter mean streak block. Carp is no doubt proud of his performance. JT asked Little Animal to give him Carp's heart, and he delivered the whole enchilada. Remember, Little Animal was also an all-star hockey defenseman as well as defensive player of the year in Minnesota last season. Let's put them together for Rico McCoy for making such a wonderful choice of schools and exposing yet another Tessel 3 star gem.

[NFBuck]

Originally Posted by LightningRod

Let's put them together for Rico McCoy for making such a wonderful choice of schools and exposing yet another Tessel 3 star gem.

Who?

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

bn$

11/28/05

Great article on Laurinaitis and his performance in the Michigan game by Steve Helwagen.

[jimotis4heisman]

http://dispatch.com/football/footbal...213-E1-04.html

OSU freshman LB won’t take anything for granted
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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James Laurinaitis had just plopped into his seat on the Ohio State team bus for the trip back from the win at Michigan when his cell phone buzzed with a call from his mother.
The freshman linebacker from Hamel, Minn., had just excelled on a national stage while seeing his most extensive playing time as a collegian. But he and his mother both knew why he’d gotten such an opportunity. Senior starter Bobby Carpenter had suffered a broken bone in his lower right leg on the first play.
"The first thing my mom says to me isn’t ‘Good job’ or anything; she said ‘What’s Bob’s number?’ " Laurinaitis said. "She wanted to call him. She felt so bad for him, the same way I feel."
That’s why Laurinaitis has mixed feelings. He’s penciled in to make his first collegiate start in the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame on Jan. 2.
"You obviously have to prepare like you’re going to be playing the whole game," Laurinaitis said. "But obviously you wish the best of luck for Bobby to come back.
"I want Bobby to come back and finish out his senior season on the right note."
If Carpenter can’t — he likely won’t know if he can until a day or two before the game — then Laurinaitis will have the chance to finish his freshman season as a starter.
"That’s pretty amazing," he said. "You think about it, coming from Minnesota out to Ohio with all these guys, and the first game I got in meaningful (time) was Michigan.
"You don’t really realize what that means until you walk down the street and people are like, ‘Great job against Michigan.’ One game, that’s all it took. And it’s The Game. Then if I get the chance to start against Notre Dame, it’s going to be amazing."
There is a lot of practice time between now and then, including the rest of this week.
"He’s getting all the Sam (strong-side) linebacker work with our defense," OSU coach Jim Tressel said of Laurinaitis.
And what did he think of the freshman’s effort against Michigan?
"He played 31 snaps," Tressel said. "I think he was solid."
Maybe it wasn’t Carpenterlike, but Laurinaitis is working toward that. Because no matter what, the Fiesta Bowl will be the last game for the Buckeyes’ heralded trio of starting linebackers, including Lombardi Award winner A.J. Hawk and Anthony Schlegel. It’s one reason that pre-bowl practices have been so spirited, Laurinaitis said.
"Coach told all of us young linebackers, ‘This is like spring practice for you guys,’ because the (older players) start leaving practice early, and the young guys get to go out there and live it up a little bit," he said. "So this is our chance to kind of move into those spots."
Laurinaitis gained a jump start on the competition, but it should be more intense in the spring. He moved to No. 2 on the depth chart because of an injury to another promising player, Marcus Freeman.
An infection that developed in Freeman’s knee after arthroscopic surgery the week after the season opener forced him to make this a redshirt season. Even though Freeman is back practicing full speed, he won’t play against Notre Dame unless it’s an emergency.
So Laurinaitis has been penciled in. But he said one of the main lessons he has learned in his brief association with the outgoing OSU linebacker trio is never take anything for granted.
"These guys, you would never guess they have the success that they do because they are in that weight room more than anybody, even the guys who aren’t starting," Laurinaitis said. "That’s why they’re that great.
"Learning from those guys, you can never be satisfied. You can never feel that you’ve made it, that you’re good enough yet."
tmay@dispatch.com

whatever the outcome, and we all hope bobby plays this will be huge in james' development. basically two months as the starter.

[scooter1369]

What a great kid. He's gonna be a goodn'

[Taosman]

The Bowl work will be huge in his development.
The LB outlook for next year is getting brighter.

[ScarletBlood31]

Its gonna be exciting to see this kid playing full time in the scarlet and gray...

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scout.com$

12/18/05

Good read on Laurinaitis preparing to start in the Fiesta Bowl.......by Steve Helwagen.

[akronbuck]

he'll play on sundays like the starters will

I laughed alot about some of the buckeye fans who thought we need some top lb's,

danimal hoobler freeman kerr homan moeller and him maybe, gibson

with Tressel he's already loading for next year and if he's able to get 2 more great one's next year ,,,,,,,,, just more continuation of great lb'ers


the new talk will be which one is the best out of all of them

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

rivals.com$

12/20/05

Another article on Laurinaitis preparing for a Fiesta Bowl start.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

link

12/21/05

Laurinaitis gets chance to grow up

LB ready for Fiesta start if called upon

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 Doug Lesmerises

Plain Dealer Reporter

Columbus

-- Joe Laurinaitis never had a favorite college football team. Traveling the nation as a profes sional wrestler known as "The Animal," part of the WWE championship tag team called the "Road War riors" or the "Legion of Doom," Laurinaitis appreciated toughness in any form.

So it came to be that a young boy in Minnesota started wearing an Ohio State 45 jersey with "Katzenmoyer" stitched on the back. An admirer of the style of Buckeyes' Butkus Award winner Andy Katzenmoyer, "The Animal" put the jersey on his son.

The boy, James Laurinaitis, long outgrew that 45. He's moved on to No. 33, with his own name on the back.

Laurinaitis, a freshman, played the Michigan game after Bobby Carpenter went out on the first play with a broken ankle.

Laurinaitis has been taking all the practice snaps at first-team strongside linebacker. The respect for OSU linebackers passed to him by his father grows each day, Laurinaitis no longer watching with the second-teamers but practicing alongside Anthony Schlegel and A.J. Hawk.

"If you're a tough-nosed guy, like Katzenmoyer or [Chris] Spielman, my dad's going to love you," Laurinaitis said earlier this year. "And that's how he raised me to be."

Carpenter is now a mentor, though he still hopes to start - with virtually no practice time - in the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame. Watching Laurinaitis, Carpenter is reminded of another Ohio State standout.

"He reminds me of myself when I was younger," Carpenter said. "He's a smart kid and that's one of the things I prided myself on. He studies the game and he's a pretty good athlete. He's going to put on some size and strength and by the time his senior year rolls around, I think he'll be one of the better linebackers in Ohio State history."

He's not there yet. Laurinaitis' one-tackle performance against the Wolverines was given an assessment of "solid" by Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.

That was nine practices ago, the Buckeyes working together for the last time Monday before they fly to Arizona the day after Christmas. Laurinaitis can already see the difference, having left those recent practices with confidence.

"When you're working with the ones, you have to pick up your game," Laurinaitis said. "Sometimes coaches talk about a lack of urgency among the younger players, but when you're working with the ones, you're next to A.J. and Anthony, so you don't want to screw anything up for those guys."

Joe Laurinaitis has already gotten acquainted with this latest group of hard-hitting Buckeye backers. James Laurinaitis described a scene at The Blackwell, the campus hotel where the team spends the night before home games.

"The first time my dad met Bob, he and Anthony were running down the halls chasing after each other and they kind of stopped and said, 'Hey, Mr. Laurinaitis.' My dad is still a kid."

At least Dad has a favorite football team now, gathering another round of Buckeye memorabilia with every visit.
"They spend hundreds when they come down here," Laurinaitis said of his parents. "I'm like, 'Don't you have that sweatshirt?' And he's like, 'Maybe it's a different shade of red.' They are totally committed."

Whether he starts in the Fiesta Bowl, or whether this bowl practice just gives him a jump on spring practice, when all three starting linebacker jobs will be up for grabs, Laurinaitis is committed to his role in Ohio State's linebacker history.

"People say that Penn State is Linebacker U., but if you look at it, what college really breeds pro linebackers and All-American linebackers?" he asked. "Obviously Ohio State pops to mind. It was the first school that popped into my mind. And that's why I came here."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

dlesmerises@plaind.com, 216-999-4748

[Buckin' A]

Thank you Animal...for buying him that #45 jersey.

[aglickman]

I AM REALLY STARTING TO LIKE THIS KID - HE GETS WHAT IT IS TO BE A LINEBACKER AT THIS SCHOOL