Meadowdale H.S. graduation 2012
Middletown H.S. graduation 2012
Dunbar H.S. graduation 2012
Home > Blogs > Buckeyes Beat > Archives > 2009 > October
October 2009
Tressel on Saine: ‘He said hi to me once’
Jim Tressel just made a near-perfect description of running back Brandon Saine.
On his weekly radio show, Tressel was asked by a caller about leadership in the offensive huddle. After talking about a few players, Tressel brought up Saine, the Piqua High School product.
“He’s a leader in the way he plays, but he’s not really an outgoing guy,” Tressel said. “He said hi to be once in his first three years here. I’m not sure if he said much more than that.”
That’s a good characterization of Saine’s personality. Even through high school as the best player on his team, Saine was never a rah-rah player. He provided his motivation with his speedy and powerful legs.
He has done the same this season for the Buckeyes. He is second on the team in total yards with 426 yards rushing on 81 carries.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment |
OSU-Penn State kickoff announced
This just in from OSU media relations:
Ohio State-Penn State at 3:30 Will be televised by ABC
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State-Penn State football game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, Nov. 7, the Big Ten Conference announced today. The contest will be played at Beaver Stadium in State College and will be televised by ABC on a regional basis. Mirror coverage will be available in other areas on ESPN2.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment |
Maybe it really is the sweater vest
Bill Stewart, the West Virginia football coach, has started wearing a blue sweater vest on the sidelines, and the Mountaineers are 2-0 in those games.
He says he didn’t make the change to mimic Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who is famous for his sweater vest. Instead, Stewart said, he just needed something to wear over a gold T-shirt:
“I didn’t want us all to look like mustard seeds on the sideline,” he said. “I thought if I had (just) the shirt on (people would say) ‘What’s he wearing, an oxford?’ So I had the Nike sweater vest and I thought I would try it.”
Then Stewart playfully withdrew when asked specifically about the comparison to Tressel:
“Whoa, whoa, Jim Tressel is a good-looking young man,” Stewart said. “He’s aged better than me.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Coleman honored by OSU
This just in from OSU:
Ohio State Football Award Winners Outstanding play against Wisconsin recognized
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State football coaching staff has selected its weekly award winners for outstanding play in Saturday’s 31-13 Big Ten win over Wisconsin.
Safety Kurt Coleman was the Buckeyes’ defensive player of the week, with an 89-yard interception return for a touchdown (the fifth longest such play in Ohio State history) and a career-best 14 tackles. Ray Small, who returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, was the player of the week on the special units.
The “Attack Force” award went to linebacker Ross Homan, who had 15 tackles and a pair of sacks. An offensive player of the week, the Jim Parker lineman of the week and the Jack Tatum Big Hit of the week were not awarded.
Scout team champions were: Offense: Spencer Smith; Defense: Taylor Rice; Special Units: Ricky Crawford.
No. 7 Ohio State (5-1/3-0) continues Big Ten play Saturday at Purdue (1-5/0-2) in a noon game that will be televised by the Big Ten Network.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Sanzenbacher a key get for OSU
Ran across an interesting story on Dane Sanzenbacher this morning, and it describes how the Ohio State junior receiver got to Columbus.
Sanzenbacher, from Toledo Central Catholic, got a scholarship offer from Toledo after he had an impressive junior season: 65 catches for 16 touchdowns on offense and 11 interceptions on defense.
Then, Cleveland Glenville coach Ted Ginn Sr. organized a bus trip of standout incoming seniors, which led to offers from Ohio State and Iowa.
Sanzenbacher has proven to be the Buckeyes’ key down field threat this season. He is averaging 21.6 yards per catch on his 14 receptions, and he leads OSU with four touchdowns.
This from coach Jim Tressel, from The (Toledo) Blade story on Sanzenbacher:
“Dane was obviously a very fast football player, and a guy who knew what was going on out there,” Tressel said. “We were impressed with his competitive nature and his football smarts, and we were convinced he was a quality young man who would be an asset to our program. We’re thrilled to have him.”
He might not be the flashiest guy, and he gets his fair share of grief about the length and pronunciation of his name, but Sanzenbacher has been a key player for Ohio State. And, will continue to be throughout the season.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |
Good news on Buckeyes’ focus
Many football coaches will tell you that one of the best ways to judge a coaching staff’s effectiveness and a team’s focus is to look at penalties.
In both cases, Ohio State is shining.
The Buckeyes rank seventh-best in the NCAA in penalty yards per game, with 35.2, and they’re tied for 13th-best in penalties per game, at 4.6.
Penalties, admittedly, are not very sexy stats, but they’re an effective measure of a disciplined team. That’s what we have in these Buckeyes, even if they haven’t been overly spectacular in overall offense.
Keeping penalties low aids shutouts by not continuing opponents’ drives unnecessarily and helps offensive drives by not stalling them with mistakes.
That’s good news looking forward for the Buckeyes fans.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Big Ten Network could be taking hold
Just got a note from the Big Ten Network saying the channel broke its local viewing record with the Ohio State-Indiana game last Saturday night.
The game, the network said, was also the highest-rated program of the day across any channel in the Dayton market.
The network received plenty of ire when it first launched two years ago, but maybe fans are starting to like what they see. Or, maybe they just want to watch Ohio State, no where the Buckeyes are on.
I was at a favorite spot on Saturday for the game, Geez Grill and Pub in Centerville, and it was packed. I’m not sure whether they didn’t know that the BTN is on most major providers now or whether they preferred to watch the game with friends.
There were few screw-ups in the broadcast, few awkward cuts away from important shots and seemingly smooth actions all around.
Maybe fans are truly starting to like the Big Ten Network.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment |
Alter’s Borland: ‘I kind of grew up disliking Ohio State’
There was a Chris Borland lovefest printed Tuesday, Oct. 6, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Borland, a Wisconsin freshman linebacker from Alter High School, is expected to be a factor on Saturday when the Badgers travel to Ohio Stadium.
He has, after all, been a factor in almost each of Wisconsin’s games this season, which has caused the big-time praise he received in Tuesday’s story. Borland said he grew up with Wisconsin as his dream school and that “I kind of grew up disliking Ohio State.”
Wisconsin has benefited. Borland has tallied 11 tackles (7 on special teams), 1.5 sacks and an impressive blocked punt against Wofford, among other things.
A sampling of the praise for Borland:
“He is an athletic freak,” UW defensive end J.J. Watt said. “I mean, he is one of those guys who is always going to be in on plays.”
“How about that kid?” senior free safety Chris Maragos said. “I love that kid. He plays great and that’s the guy who has impressed me the most. Even before he got here, I was talking to the coaches about him.”
(From Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema): “He is special. He is very, very special … That is the kind of kid you can build something around.”
Those are some major comments for a player who is five games into his college career.
Fortunately for Borland, he has landed in a situation he wanted (he earned his scholarship, in part, for his performance at a Wisconsin summer camp before Ohio State even contacted him). He seems comfortable, is playing well and is loved by teammates and coaches.
Keep an eye out for him against Ohio State.
Permalink | Comments (68) | Post your comment |
Saine honored for 100-yard game
Ohio State Football Award Winners Outstanding play against Indiana recognized
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State football coaching staff has selected its weekly award winners for outstanding play in Saturday’s 33-14 Big Ten road win at Indiana.
Safety Anderson Russell was the Buckeyes’ defensive player of the week, with six tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. Punter Jon Thoma, who downed three punts inside the 20, was the player of the week on the special units. Tailback Brandon Saine was the offensive players of the week, rushing for 113 yards.
The “Attack Force” award went to linebacker Austin Spitler. Bryant Browning was the Jim Parker lineman of the week. The Jack Tatum Big Hit of the week has not been decided.
Scout team champions were: Offense: James Georgiades; Defense: Jamie Wood; Special Units:Ryan Schuck.
Ohio State (4-1/2-0) continues Big Ten play Saturday hosting Wisconsin (5-0/2-0) in a 3:30 p.m. game at Ohio Stadium that will be televised by ABC with mirror coverage on the ESPN networks.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment |
Piqua’s Saine expected to start for OSU
Doug Lesmerises of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported today that running back Brandon Saine, a junior from Piqua High School, is expected to start on Saturday, Oct. 3, against Indiana.
Saine has shared time at running back this season with Dan Herron. Herron, though, is recovering from an ankle injury he suffered scoring his second touchdown against Illinois last Saturday.
From Lesmerises:
Sidelined for most of the second half after his injury, Herron finished with 14 carries for 75 yards against Illinois, while Saine carried 13 times for 81 yards.
On the season, Herron has 64 carries for 233 yards, a 3.6 yard average, and five touchdowns. Saine has 32 carries for 181 yards, a 5.7 yard average, and no touchdowns.
“With Brandon, it was six of one and a half dozen of the other whether it was he or [Herron],” Tressel said. “They’re both good. There’s not one thing that one does that the other can’t do.”
Saine has yet to have that breakout game to showcase his significant speed at Ohio State. He has been hampered at times by injury, but perhaps his entrance into the starting lineup will give him an extra boost for that long touchdown that was a staple at Piqua but hasn’t made the highlight reel at Ohio State.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment |
OSU key: No red zone
Two straight shutouts have helped Ohio State in the national defensive rankings, but there’s one area in which the Buckeyes have struggled: Red zone defense.
The Buckeyes are one of 10 teams that have allowed scores on each of their opponents’ red zone possessions.
For Ohio State, that only includes five red zone possessions, although those drives that ended in four touchdowns and a field goal.
It could be worse, of course. Louisiana-Monroe has allowed scores on each of its opponents’ 16 red zone possessions. And the Buckeyes have clearly kept opponents from many strong drives if there have only been five in the red zone.
When the red zone comes, though, Ohio State needs to be stingier to stay impressive defensively.
