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3 ?'s away from another NC

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gsnuts

Freshman
After reading numerous reports out of spring I think we have three areas of concern for another NC- Will someone w/ more knowledge than I provide some opinions & feedback re:

WE MUST find a DE who can get to the QB. IMHO we desperately need a playmaking DE opposite Kudla to win another NC. Can we find one out of Richardson, Barrow & Gohlston? I have heard each has flashed. I believe Richardson has had the opportunities so I question if he can really elevate his game to be a consistant playmalking DE. Vernon has all the tools but is raw. Barrow is light but can make plays. Thoughts on each & can we find 1 to make big plays consistently?

Boundary corner. This is less of a concern if we can get a positive answer from the DE spot. Whoever is @ the boundary will be a good tackler. To beat Sc we need them to become a good cover corner.

Punter. Will we have a upper tier big ten punter?

Would like thought's opinions & input to the above.

Thanks.
 
KevinBuck said:
Answer #1: Will Smith!
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I think the Bucks tried to draft Will Smith last year, but the NFL wouldn't let them. They said (and I'm paraphrasing): "First, Will Smith (the defensive end) has already been drafted. You can't draft someone who has already been drafted. Second, Will Smith (the actor) is no good at football. You don't want him. Third, you are not in the NFL. You may not participate in the NFL draft, unless you are in the NFL."

Ok.. that didn't really happen. But wasn't the question about who will be the other DE? Your answer is odd.
 
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Oops, I'm getting the future mixed up with the past. :! I meant, of course, the recruit that excites me most for the upcoming year:

DOUG WORTHINGTON! (I've been confusing him with the Fresh Prince since I first saw his measurables)

Is that still odd?
 
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The questions regarding the defense are valid, but I'm actually more concerned with the successive coaching losses of guys like Dantonio, Snyder, and Tucker, than I am with the losses of Fox or Fraser. Regardless, I think the defense will be superb.

My 'three questions' are entirely regarding the offense and special teams.

1) Kicker ... who can replace Nuge? I don't expect anyone to come in and drill 55 yard game winners, but we've all been spoiled for three years thanks to Nugent. Remember how terrifying the 2001 season was? Every PAT was an adventure. Look at Oregon State's Serna's performance against LSU ... I think it's a practical impossibility for us to have a better kicker than Nugent. How much worse it gets can never be determined until someone has to trot onto the field and drill a 40+ yarder to seal a win.

2) Running Back ... we can all speculate on Pittman, Haw, Wells, and whoever else, but the sad fact was that even with the offensive explosion at the end of last season, the team ranked 97th in total offense and the best designed running play we had was the WR sweep and reverse (Ginn right, Ginn left). Our embarassment of riches at the WR position means nothing if teams can drop 8 in coverage because our leading RB has more fumbles than TDs and is held below 400 yards on the season.

3) Quarterback ... will the real Troy Smith or Justin Zwick please stand up? Is the real Justin Zwick the one that played against Marshall and Oklahoma State, or the one that overthrew everyone and Manute Bol against NC State and Iowa? How about Troy? There is a reason we all revere Troy Smith's once-in-a-lifetime performance against Michigan ... it's that 'once-in-a-lifetime' part. Is the real Troy Smith the one who played against Michigan and Michigan State, or the one that led the team to three stalled drives around Purdue's 10-yard line in the span of about 10 minutes with a boatload of turnovers? Let me turn the TS/Michigan performance thing around. Does Vince Young's performance in the Rose Bowl diminish what Troy did? Was Troy really that good, or was Michigan's D really that bad?

3a) The schedule ... will we continue to play down to Penn State's level in Happy Valley? Will we see a letdown in the 'trap games' (Miami OH and SDSU) that precede the biggest contests of the year (Texas and Iowa)? Is this team mentally prepared to take a 10-0 record into the Big House and play against a UM team that will want revenge?

The Buckeye homer in me says we get to the Rose Bowl this year. The pessimist in me says this team is building for 2006. I don't care if we have five Alex Boones, I won't believe this team can run the ball until we actually run the ball. Last I checked, Mike Leach hadn't taken our OC position.
 
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Dryden said:
The Buckeye homer in me says we get to the Rose Bowl this year. The pessimist in me says this team is building for 2006.
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Awesome post. I have one thing to say: I believe in the old saying that defense wins championships. If the bucks don't win one this year, I don't see it happening in 2006, no matter how much better the offense is. Losing 4 tremendous linebackers is going to hurt that defense, no matter how good the next generation will be. I find it very hard to believe that the next group is as good as Hawk, Carpenter, and D'Andrea/Schlegal. (Prove me wrong, guys!)

Aside from the linebackers, other key defensive players will be gone. Other people know better than I who's a senior and stuff, but I'm pretty sure that Kudla is a senior and Nate Salley is, too. Probably other guys, as well. Can you lose those solid guys and remain the same dominating team? Maybe, but I don't think so.

We may be salivating over the offense in 2006, but I think it has to be 2005.
 
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will we continue to play down to Penn State's level in Happy Valley? Will we see a letdown in the 'trap games' (Miami OH and SDSU) that precede the biggest contests of the year (Texas and Iowa)? Is this team mentally prepared to take a 10-0 record into the Big House and play against a UM team that will want revenge?
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These types of things are the real questions... intangibles.

I wouldn't worry about, positions/talent too much... As long as there aren't key injuries... we have the talent and experience... now we need the attitude, toughness and preparation.
 
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To me, the biggest question will be "will the OL continue to improve"? The OL by far is our biggest overall factor in how well we'll do this year. They got much better over the last few games of last year, and reports out of spring camp have been glowing. If our OL becomes a solid unit--not necessarily all-world, but solid--then our offense has the potential to be devastating. If Zwick and Smith continue to improve as QBs, and the OL gives them time to find our pro-level WR corps, then the offense can literally be unstoppable. Throw in three very fast RBs with good moves (and one with genuine power) to keep the defense honest, then we could light up the scoreboard. This in turn will allow us to "Let slip the dogs of war" on defense.

While the single positions of DE and CB on defense will be factors, overall our defense will still be stellar. The key to the entire season will be the effectiveness on the OL. As they succeed, so shall we.
 
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MililaniBuckeye said:
To me, the biggest question will be "will the OL continue to improve"? The OL by far is our biggest overall factor in how well we'll do this year. They got much better over the last few games of last year, and reports out of spring camp have been glowing. If our OL becomes a solid unit--not necessarily all-world, but solid--then our offense has the potential to be devastating.
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We will have the answer to that one early in the season. Texas has a big, strong, fast, and experienced D-Line. If our O-Line handles them, mark it down, National Champions!!
:osu:
 
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MililaniBuckeye said:
To me, the biggest question will be "will the OL continue to improve"? The OL by far is our biggest overall factor in how well we'll do this year. They got much better over the last few games of last year, and reports out of spring camp have been glowing. If our OL becomes a solid unit--not necessarily all-world, but solid--then our offense has the potential to be devastating. If Zwick and Smith continue to improve as QBs, and the OL gives them time to find our pro-level WR corps, then the offense can literally be unstoppable. Throw in three very fast RBs with good moves (and one with genuine power) to keep the defense honest, then we could light up the scoreboard. This in turn will allow us to "Let slip the dogs of war" on defense.

While the single positions of DE and CB on defense will be factors, overall our defense will still be stellar. The key to the entire season will be the effectiveness on the OL. As they succeed, so shall we.
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couldn't agree more with this and the coaching conscern. no matter how good the coach stepping up is, there are always growing pains.

anyone else get chills when they read "This in turn will allow us to "Let slip the dogs of war" on defense."? good god i can't wait for this season to start.
 
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Count me among those that aren't particularly concerned about special teams. Huston has been solid at PK in Spring Practice thus far, and if Pretorius can beat him out, then things are just that much better. Trapasso was a great prospect at punter, and I'm fairly optimistic about Jonathon Thoma (who I think will actually win the spot if Turano doesn't get a 6th year). JT has put a lot of stress on special teams and it seems to pay off each year. The last 3 years we have had better than stellar special teams, and I don't expect that to change this year.

DE isn't as much of a concern to me. Kudla was really turning it on when he finally got healthy last year, and I think he's going to have a great senior year. As for the other DE, we have a lot of talent lined up, and someone is going to step up and take the spot. I actually like Alex Barrow the best of our DEs, but Jay Richardson could be a very good one as well.

CB is a slight concern, but we have a lot of guys to choose from, and Welch apparently has done ok so far. Also Everett is a playmaker, so putting him at CB would really solidify the defense. We probably won't have anyone quite as good as Fox to plug in right now, but they'll be at least adequate.

I have to agree that the OL should be the biggest concern. We'll see if they can actually make holes in the big games: Texas, Iowa, and Michigan. The Miami(OH) game really won't tell us much. Also, don't forget that Hall and Ross were excellent pass blockers, let's see how well Pittman and Haw do this year. I have to wonder if that may have limited Pittman's PT last year.
 
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