daddyphatsacs
Let the cards fall...
Well folks as we all sit here at the beginning of yet another Ohio State preseason there are still many questions that have yet to be answered. Here is my biggest question for OSU this season.
Can Mark Snyder fill the massive shoes of Dantonio?
The answer to the above question will be the most critical if OSU is going to make a third straight BCS appearance. Dantonio was a phenominal coach, especially when it came to game plans. The scheme that he put together before the Miami national championship game still resides in my head as one of the most brilliant coaching performances put on by a defensive coordinator. He always found a way to come up with the answers to the potent aspects of every offense, and keep the sluggish offense in every game. Although he sometimes frustrated me with his lack of blitzing, he made up for it with his knack to sense when to bring the house. He will be greatly missed this season, but I believe that Snyder is a budding star.
At the age of 40, this is Snyder's time to shine. Snyder first hooked up with Jim Tressel at Youngstown St. After six very successful years at Youngstown State, in which the Penguins racked up 3 national titles, Snyder moved on to Minnesota to coach the defensive ends.
While at Minnesota the defense twice set school records for sacks in a season under the assistance of Snyder. He also was a part of developing top knotch talent in the defensive trenches including 2000 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the year Karon Riley.
Snyder is left with cupboards that are absolutely loaded, starting out along the defensive line. Although this is the area hit the hardest by graduation, look for potential All-American Simon Fraser and budding stars Mike Kudla and Quinn Pitcock alongside Marcus Green to step in and make some great things happen in the trenches.
His linebacking crew is the best in the big ten, and arguably the strongest in the country. This supporting cast will feature the always spectacular AJ Hawk, Air Force transfer Anthony Schlegel, and my 2004 breakout out pick Bobby Carpenter. Mark my words, Bobby Carpenter will become a household name by mid season. Mix this assortment of superstars together and you form a brick wall on the second level of the Buckeye defense.
As far as the secondary is looking Snyder has some decent shoes to fill in Chris Gamble, but look for EJ Underwood to prove adequate. If he doesn't hold up, you have the ultra talented, yet very raw cast of Ashton Youboty and Ted Ginn waiting for their chance. The other side will be sealed up by Dustin Fox, my "2004 Carlos Snow award" pick. (On a quick side note, the Carlos Snow award goes to the player who seems to never graduate. Among the past winners are OSU assistant Luke Fickell
) The safeties will be spear-headed by the hard hitting tandem of Donte Whitner and Nate Salley.
All in all Snyder is waltzing into a very good thing here at OSU. Realistically, he only needs to find a way to utilize the wide variety of talent that he has waiting to be exploited. If he can plug and play with some very talented rookies, the 2004 defense has a chance to make all of us Buckeye fans forget Dantonio very quickly.
Can Mark Snyder fill the massive shoes of Dantonio?
The answer to the above question will be the most critical if OSU is going to make a third straight BCS appearance. Dantonio was a phenominal coach, especially when it came to game plans. The scheme that he put together before the Miami national championship game still resides in my head as one of the most brilliant coaching performances put on by a defensive coordinator. He always found a way to come up with the answers to the potent aspects of every offense, and keep the sluggish offense in every game. Although he sometimes frustrated me with his lack of blitzing, he made up for it with his knack to sense when to bring the house. He will be greatly missed this season, but I believe that Snyder is a budding star.
At the age of 40, this is Snyder's time to shine. Snyder first hooked up with Jim Tressel at Youngstown St. After six very successful years at Youngstown State, in which the Penguins racked up 3 national titles, Snyder moved on to Minnesota to coach the defensive ends.
While at Minnesota the defense twice set school records for sacks in a season under the assistance of Snyder. He also was a part of developing top knotch talent in the defensive trenches including 2000 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the year Karon Riley.
Snyder is left with cupboards that are absolutely loaded, starting out along the defensive line. Although this is the area hit the hardest by graduation, look for potential All-American Simon Fraser and budding stars Mike Kudla and Quinn Pitcock alongside Marcus Green to step in and make some great things happen in the trenches.
His linebacking crew is the best in the big ten, and arguably the strongest in the country. This supporting cast will feature the always spectacular AJ Hawk, Air Force transfer Anthony Schlegel, and my 2004 breakout out pick Bobby Carpenter. Mark my words, Bobby Carpenter will become a household name by mid season. Mix this assortment of superstars together and you form a brick wall on the second level of the Buckeye defense.
As far as the secondary is looking Snyder has some decent shoes to fill in Chris Gamble, but look for EJ Underwood to prove adequate. If he doesn't hold up, you have the ultra talented, yet very raw cast of Ashton Youboty and Ted Ginn waiting for their chance. The other side will be sealed up by Dustin Fox, my "2004 Carlos Snow award" pick. (On a quick side note, the Carlos Snow award goes to the player who seems to never graduate. Among the past winners are OSU assistant Luke Fickell
) The safeties will be spear-headed by the hard hitting tandem of Donte Whitner and Nate Salley. All in all Snyder is waltzing into a very good thing here at OSU. Realistically, he only needs to find a way to utilize the wide variety of talent that he has waiting to be exploited. If he can plug and play with some very talented rookies, the 2004 defense has a chance to make all of us Buckeye fans forget Dantonio very quickly.
