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LB Curtis Grant (National Champion)

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With the LB play last year, very little depth and experience heading into this season, etc. I for one will take any contribution he can bring and only hope that he gains confidence and the game becomes natural again for him.
 
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southcampus;2327843; said:
Really pulling for Curtis. I think he's handled this situation, which surely has been one of the tougher challenges in his life, with the utmost amount of class. He's got the physical attributes, he's just got to put it all together and be a player. Would love to see him earn that starting job and flourish.
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I agree, he's had a tough situation and has handled it with class. He definitely has "paid his dues". Hopefully this year and next he will be making a "significant impact" for the defense.
 
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ILB Curtis Grant (6-2, 241, 4.59)*
While Shazier receives most of the credit (and deservedly so), Grant is poised for a breakout season in 2013 and could emerge as one of the top linebackers in the Big Ten. A former five star high school recruit, his production hasn't matched the hype yet, but the coaches have been pleased with his progress and he should start next to Shazier as the Buckeyes starting middle linebacker in the fall.
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http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/blog/rob-rang/23082920/nfl-draft-ohio-state-preview
 
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UpNorth_Buckeye;2362030; said:
Also this which was posted yesterday by Ari but I didn't see it here:
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Which is exactly why you don't "stick forks" in players after reports from one day of practice.......

Get well soon Curtis!!
 
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Ohio State football: Five-star recruit Curtis Grant, now a junior, looks to make impact
By Bill Rabinowitz
The Columbus Dispatch? Thursday August 15, 2013

osufb-8-15-art-gsfo75oa-1osu12cal-mm-online-47-jpg.jpg

Linebacker Curtis Grant started the first three games last season before being benched after this game against California.

The lessons keep coming for Curtis Grant. Even when you do things correctly, there are no guarantees.

After two disappointing seasons, the former five-star recruit from Richmond, Va., is determined to live up to his vast potential. So this year, the middle linebacker has been determined to do everything the right way. Then on Aug. 7, in the first day of full-pad drills, Grant blitzed and made contact the way it is now emphatically taught ? by not lowering his head.

?It was a good hit,? Grant said on Sunday at Ohio State?s media day. ?I had my head up for the first time in (my) football history.?

But that didn?t stop Grant from suffering a concussion.

?I was doing it the right way, and I ended up getting hurt,? he said.

Grant has not returned to practice.

?Hopefully, I?ll be back this week,? he said. ?I had a few days of practice, so I?m happy about that. Everything happens for a reason. It?s in God?s hands. All I do is pray about it every night to just get better.?

The Buckeyes need a healthy and productive Grant. Ohio State has no senior linebackers. Other than junior Ryan Shazier, Grant is the most experienced Buckeyes linebacker, with only three starts.

Those came at the beginning of last season, and they were not up to anyone?s standards ? not Grant?s or his coaches?. Grant was benched, and the Buckeyes struggled until Zach Boren switched from fullback to middle linebacker to solidify the position and the defense.

But Grant rededicated himself in the offseason, and the coaches have been pleased with his progress.

?We?re expecting a lot out of Curtis Grant,? defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Luke Fickell said. ?Curtis has done an incredible job in the last year, growing and getting over a lot of things. We expect really, really big things from him.?

So does Grant.

?It?s more than determination,? he said. ?A lot of things have changed in my life that has made me a lot hungrier about the game and things I needed to do. I tell my mom every day, ?We?re going to make it.? That?s my promise to her, and I?m determined to make it for her.?

cont...
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http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2013/08/15/time-ticking-away.html
 
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Muck;2362952; said:
How is it possible that kids make it to their Junior year of college without ever being taught to keep their head up with they tackle?!
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It depends. It isn't always smart to keep your head up on a tackle. Think about a 240 lb running back running straight at you...you aren't going form tackle. You're going to go low and lead with with helmet or shoulder at the legs. And while it may not sound smart to lead with your head on a low tackle, it can be the most effective and protects from getting absolutely trucked.

Exhibit A on not getting low:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v2n3jOEYBY"]Trent Richardson smashes Kurt Coleman - YouTube[/ame]

It's also why this new rule about running backs being banned from lowering their heads is asinine. When a 250 lb LB is diving at my knees, I'm protecting my body by getting low. I can't get low and protect my body without lowering my shoulders and head.

The game is just being ruined rule by rule....
 
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billmac91;2362971; said:
It depends. It isn't always smart to keep your head up on a tackle. Think about a 240 lb running back running straight at you...you aren't going form tackle. You're going to go low and lead with with helmet or shoulder at the legs. And while it may not sound smart to lead with your head on a low tackle, it can be the most effective and protects from getting absolutely trucked.
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Rubbish. Put your head down and your body follows. Lead with the head and you lose the ability to explode with your legs. The reason none of these kids can tackle worth a spit these days is because they're being fed this garbage.

How in the world did this nonsense become inculcated as truth?

Exhibit A on not getting low:
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So you believe a form tackle is standing up straight and letting someone run into your chest?
 
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Muck;2362977; said:
Rubbish. Put your head down and your body follows. Lead with the head and you lose the ability to explode with your legs. The reason none of these kids can tackle worth a spit these days is because they're being fed this garbage.

How in the world did this nonsense become inculcated as truth?!
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One of the best tacklers in OSU history is Antoine Winfield. I'm not sure I've ever seen Antoine tackle with his head up. Guy was the king of leading with his head/shoulders. Which is what you have to do at 5'8" and 185 lbs. Watch the first clip of his professional highlight vid:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHTF6mtRmZ0"]Antoine Winfield Big hits and Big Plays - YouTube[/ame]



Again, head up is great when you can be the aggressor (think closing in on a QB or someone running down a sideline). When someone is barreling down on you, leaving your head up is a recipe to get blown up and concussed.
 
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billmac91;2362978; said:
One of the best tacklers in OSU history is Antoine Winfield. I'm not sure I've ever seen Antoine tackle with his head up. Guy was the king of leading with his head/shoulders. Which is what you have to do at 5'8" and 185 lbs. Watch the first clip of his professional highlight vid:

When someone is barreling down on you, leaving your head up is a recipe to get blown up and concussed.
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That's twice that you've conflated leading with the shoulders & with the head. Just what exactly do you think form tackling is? From your comments it doesn't sound like you were ever taught.
 
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Muck;2362980; said:
That's twice that you've conflated leading with the shoulders & with the head. Just what exactly do you think form tackling is? From your comments it doesn't sound like you were ever taught.
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If Curtis is used to leading with his helmet/shoulder on specific tackles and he's now trying to keep his head up on tackles to avoid helmet to helmet, I can easily see why he was concussed and frustrated.

Imagine Antoine keeping his head up on the first clip of that video. It'd probably end up with him taking the worst of the hit. I did learn form tackling and I also learned sticking your helmet between the opposing players #'s and exploding through him.

The bigger issue is when a defender comes in with his helmet leading at all and the offensive player lowers as well. It can create helmet to helmet contact. That is football. Unfortunately officials will have to determine who the penalty is on this year and going forward. And by nature even if you lead with a shoulder, you're sticking your neck out there. Depending on how the offensive players maneuvers himself, it could still create helmet to helmet even if unintentional. Again, it's football.

This year the Trent Richardson trucking over Coleman would be a penalty on Trent which is insane. The ACC said the Clowney hit on Michigan last year would be ruled a penalty in 2013. Laughable. Clowney's hit is what makes football great. That is rubbish.
 
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