DE Lawrence Wilson (official thread)

[Moose]

Its really good to see Wilson get some PT. I am eager to see him turned loose. He will create havoc on the ND backfield. Bye, bye Quinn, say hello to Mr. Wilson!
Moose

[korchiki]

I thought he showed a lot of potential in the game...he didn't make any game changing performances but overall i was impressed with his play

[crazybuckfan40]

Great to see him in there getting some very meaningful pt.

With him and Gholston coming back from injury next year we should be looking pretty good at DE.

[bucknut11]

OZone

If the cobbler can make a pair of shoes where the hunger to prove a point trumps a lack of experience, the Buckeye defense could be good next fall. If that's not enough for you, however, there is another reason to think that might be true. Say what you want, but the game off football has always been won and lost at the line of scrimmage, and next year's defensive line should be good. Defensive end Lawrence Wilson is definitely buying into that premise.

"The defensive line is going to control the game," said Wilson. "We have the starters back and they're doing a great job leading us. The d-line has to step up for this defense to be good."


Quinn Pitcock will be back next fall for his senior season, and David Patterson will move inside to what most feel is his natural position.That duo does in fact have the potential to be a dominating front on the interior. Joel Penton and Nadar Abdallah will provide depth, and freshman Todd Denlinger shows great promise on the inside. Penton impresses us as the kind of player who will indeed have his career-best season as a senior, much like David Thompson did in 2002. Abdallah has been waiting in the wings for a chance, and at 310 pounds is the biggest of OSU's interior defensive linemen.


At the ends, Wilson has drawn raves, and is now a bigger, faster athlete then when he arrived last fall, though reports of a sudden increase in his size proved to less-than accurate. He is bigger, but he wasn't exactly small last year in his first season as a Buckeye. He was listed at 235 by OSU, but Wilson said that was inaccurate.

"That was my senior year in high school. I played at 265 to 270 last year. From last season I gained about five pounds, but I got a lot stronger. I weigh about 275 now," said Wilson.


"I've gained speed as well. When I came in I ran a 4.65, and recently I ran a 4.57, so working with Butch Reynolds and the strength and conditioning staff definitely made me better," Wilson said


Wilson said that he is physically better, but that his biggest improvement came in other areas.


"I think I've gotten more mature. Last year when I was playing I was thinking too much. The coaches told me 'Don't think. Just go, go play,' and that's what I tried to do all spring. I think I definitely did a better job," he said.


Wilson will be joined at the defensive end spot by Alex Barrow, Jay Richardson and Gholstin. Like the linebacker position, the competition for starting positions should make them all better, and the Buckeyes should have depth that will allow them to rotate players.

I guess that report that he'd gained 45 pounds in the offseason was somewhat inaccurate...

[808 Buck]

4.57 at 275 pounds, I like that. Looking forward to continued improvement from Mr. Wilson. Sounds like the hiring of Butch Reynolds might be paying some dividends already.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Wilson was very impressive during the Spring game, talk about fast!

Here is a great pic of Wilson mauling the quarterback.....

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=100 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=byline align=right>Jason J. Molyet/News Journal</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Lawrence Wilson hammers Rob Schoenhoft as he releases the ball during the 2006 Scarlet & Gray game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday afternoon.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Buckskin86]

Posted on Sun, Aug. 13, 2006

Sophomore shaping up as starter for OSU
Former St. V-M standout Lawrence Wilson improves running style with help of former world record holder
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter

COLUMBUS - Since he made his first start in the Fiesta Bowl in January, Ohio State's Lawrence Wilson has analyzed films of last year's defense. He's studied his Buckeyes idols, Mike Kudla and Will Smith. He's lost seven pounds of what he calls ``baby fat'' and fine-tuned his 6-foot-6, 270-pound frame.

But the true sophomore from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School might have made the most strides in his work with fellow Akron native Butch Reynolds.

Reynolds, the former world-record holder in the 400 meters who serves as OSU's speed coordinator, took one look at Wilson's running style and decided he needed a makeover.

``He had speed, but it was all over the place,'' Reynolds said.

Ranked the top defensive end in Ohio coming out of high school and also a basketball standout, Wilson struggled to describe his old form without making himself sound like a klutz.

``He said I ran, I wouldn't call it uncoordinated, kind of crazy,'' Wilson said of Reynolds. ``He said I'm so explosive, but I can't really control it right now. He said if I compacted all my energy and explosiveness into a smooth running form I would be a lot faster.''

Reynolds' results won't be known until Ohio State takes the field Sept. 2 for the season opener against Northern Illinois. But as preseason practice opened last week, Wilson was listed as a starter at defensive end, a spot the coaches don't expect him to relinquish.

``He's got a lot of potential. He's really talented. He's special,'' OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said Thursday at the team's picture day.

``He's got the weight, he's got the strength, he's got the explosion. He's got the whole package. Good kid, studies hard, learns the game. Off the field good young man, great family. Now you've just got to go out and make plays. That's the next step.''

Wilson's teammates don't seem to have any doubt what that next step will be.

In the draft for April's spring game, the seniors made Wilson the first position player taken. The Scarlet team later tried to trade for him. Even though he missed some time with a hamstring injury suffered in winter conditioning, the buzz surrounding Wilson was undeniable.

Heacock said one of Wilson's first plays at OSU, when he went over the top of an opponent trying to get to the quarterback, was typical of his style.

Asked if that was youthful exuberance or idiocy, Heacock said: ``Stupidity. That's the way he plays, though. He plays all out. He's fanatical. He's very intense. We'll take that. I'd like to have about 10 more.''

None of these compliments seem to have gone to Wilson's head. He said he doesn't even consider himself a starter yet.

``A lot of people are talking about it. But I'm trying to stay humble and help our defense be the No. 1 defense in the country,'' he said of the unit that lost nine starters. ``I felt good coming out of the spring. I felt I learned the defense. I thought I executed pretty well. This summer I've got a lot to learn. I'm still young and I've still got a lot to accomplish.

``I'm playing a lot faster because I don't have to think as much. If I get to the point where I don't have to think at all and it comes natural, I think I'll be pretty good.''

Wilson admitted that seeing 17 minutes of action in the Fiesta Bowl inspired him, even though he recorded no tackles.

``I'm a lot more hungry now,'' he said. ``Once you get a little taste, I want to play a lot more and contribute and help us win a national championship.''

Heacock doesn't sound worried that he's putting a lot on a sophomore.

``He's ready. He was ready last year,'' Heacock said. ``It takes a special kid to be able to play as a freshman with everything that's going on, the autographs, the academics, pressure. If they can handle it as a freshman, that's pretty unique. He was able to handle it, and really you would never know he was a freshman.''

Even with only a few glimpses of Wilson's ability on the field, some are already comparing him with Smith, the former OSU All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2003. Smith recorded 8 ½ sacks in his second season last year with the New Orleans Saints.

``I love Will's explosiveness off the line,'' Wilson said. ``I'd love to be half the player Will Smith was.''

But Heacock isn't the one making that comparison. While Smith weighed about 235 pounds and was leaner than Wilson when he arrived in Columbus, he said their skills are different.

``Will was a little bit more of an edge guy, a speed guy,'' Heacock said. ``Lawrence is more of a physical guy, has a little bit more explosion, a little more physical on blockers. I don't think they're similar-type players. But in capabilities they're probably similar.''


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Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/sports/...y/15264687.htm