Breaking my Hartline and other Buckeyes Bites

Two Buckeyes made decisions on their futures today with Junior WR Brian Hartline declaring for the NFL Draft and Junior S Kurt Coleman declaring that he would return for his Senior season in the Scarlet and Grey.

Here is the statement which Hartline released to the media:

"I am thrilled to declare my eligibility for the National Football League draft.

"Everyone involved within The Ohio State University football program has done a tremendous job for me. I want to thank all of them, particularly Coach Tressel, for helping me to succeed as both a student and an athlete during my time here.

"I would especially like to thank the media and the fans of Ohio for being great to me and to my family throughout my career.

"I have had an outstanding experience at OSU and am thankful for the support I continue to receive. I now look forward to testing myself against the top competitors in the National Football League."

While it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Hartline was going to leave, and valid justifications exist for his decision, as a Buckeye fan it's easy to be selfish and wish that he would have returned for his remaining year. However, considering all the factors, leaving is probably the best option for Hartline at this point.

Make no bones about it, I don't think Hartline gets drafted on the first day. I'm sure a number of Buckeyes' fans out there are making arguments about how Hartline could come back, put up impressive numbers and move into day one of the draft. But honestly, I just don't see that happening. Look at Hartline's statistics over the past two seasons:

• 2007: 52 Receptions, 694 Yards, 13.3 YPC, 6 TDs
  
  
• 2008: 21 Receptions, 479 Yards, 21.8, 4 TDs

With Terrelle Pryor taking over the QB position from Todd Boeckman this year, Hartline's numbers dropped noticeably. Hartline had obvious chemistry with Boeckman that he lacked with Pyror, probably due to Pyror's inability to throw the football with any sense of consistency. In fact, Hartline didn't catch more than 3 balls in any game this season and didn't even go over the 100 yard receiving mark once. With Pyror and Brandon Saine in the backfield next year, I see the Buckeyes moving to more of a spread offense, meaning that Hartline isn't going to suddenly come back next year with a 1000 yard season. And with Ray Small (hopefully), DeVier Posey, Dane "Concussion"Sanzenbacher, Taurian Washington, and Lamaar Thomas all coming back next year, Hartline's contributions on the field, while missed, won't be noticeably missed. I'm pretty sure the pedestrian numbers which he put up can be replaced or improved upon by any of the above.

Hartline is getting married this spring. He's close with a number of the graduating Seniors on the team. He hasn't really exhibited any of the leadership qualities that makes me think that we're losing a valuable captain off next year's team. He will be remembered as a solid, but rather average OSU receiver. As a Buckeye fan, we need to wish him the best as he moves towards the draft and hope that he has another career to fall back upon we he gets cut in training camp.


On the other hand, Coleman's decision to return is a reassuring one for the Buckeyes and their fans. Here is the statement which he released today :

"After a lot of thought and study, I have decided to remain at Ohio State for the 2009 season to complete my degree and my college football career.

"I am extremely blessed to be in the position where these opportunities are possible, and I'm very grateful for the support of my family, my teammates and the Ohio State community.

"My decision to come back is a lot about helping this team. I feel we can do anything next year. We have a lot of great leaders coming back and an excellent group of underclass talent. For me personally, my family and I felt this was the best decision for me, to make my career at Ohio State even better than it has already been.

"I have a lot to prove to myself and a lot of things I want to accomplish. With one more year here, I can attain all those goals."

Unlike Hartline, Coleman has the potential to increase his draft stock in the coming season. According to Plain Dealer Buckeye expert Doug Lesmerises, Coleman has a chance to improve his play into a first round pick next year. And while the Buckeyes have young depth at the wide receiver position, they lack such depth in their secondary. With the departure of both James Laurinaitis and Malcolm Jenkins, the Buckeyes are going to need a vocal leader on the defensive side of the ball. Coleman not only seems capable of filling that role, he seems to embrace it. And as a third-year starter, he can set the tone for the younger players. Coleman had 4 Ints this season, and I would look for more big plays to come next year.

On a final note, yesterday 5-Star DE Corey Adams chose ASU over OSU for his college career. I can't fault Corey's decision as he decided to stay close to home and attend college with his high school teammates and girlfriend. I'm sure the weather came into play as well. His decision just goes to show how impressive Tressel is as a recruiter when he can talk players into playing at OSU. Unless born a Buckeye's fan or from the area (Beanie or Teddy Ginn and all the Glenville kids for example) - a school like Florida or USC has to be much more desirable to a stud high school kid (in terms of weather and "scenery"). Kudos to Tressel for continuing to bring in the talent.(Images from Buckeye Banter
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TP's late TD beats Badgers

Terrelle Pryor is fun. Even when he is taking 15 yard sacks, he is fun to watch. Aside from Vince Young, his body control is far superior to any quarterback his size in recent memory. It is not just his size, strength, and speed. Athleticism in sports has as more to do with body control than it does physical ability.

A prime example of this can be found if you watch HBO's Hard Knocks onDemand. One of the "stars" of the Cowboys training camp was Todd Lowber. I had the pleasure of attending Ramapo College (or Rama-whaat in the words of Patrick Crayton) when Lowber was making highlight reel dunks off every opening tip of Roadrunner basketball games. He dunked on my head numerous times in pickup games. I have seen his 6'4'', 225lb frame up close and personal. He won the NCAA high jump contest after not having participated in track and field since high school. He ran a documented sub 4.3 forty at NFL workouts. He possibly was the most "athletic" player in NFL training camp this summer. He got cut. He may show up again because of his freak of nature type traits, but he got cut nonetheless. He was not able to control his body enough coming into his routes.

The thing that is so impressive about Pryor's ability is being able to control such a big body moving so fast. He is able to change direction in an instant, while brushing off a wouldbe tackler. Another impressive feature is that, at quarterback, he is in every play. He routinely is battling against 2, 3, or 4 tacklers, fighting for every yard. When Beanie does this, the next play can be a pass, or Herron can spell him. Pryor has to line right back up, and get it going again. This is often taken for granted, but it is very important to recognize.

There has been some doubt over his throwing motion, and the Buckeyes have even tinkered with his arm slot on his delivery. Either the cut on his hand last night forced him to make some adjustments, or he went back to his old style of throwing. Whatever the case may be, it was effective. He is tall enough to throw 3/4 motion over the line, therefore I do not have much problem with it.

He is going to have to continue to impress because...

The defensive line is a joke. This point has been beaten deader than dead, but the interior line is awful. They make Laurinaitis look like a bum. A lot has been made over him not being in on as many plays as in the past, but when you see running backs busting through for a 5 10 or 15 yard games the offensive linemen don't stop running. They come off their blocks and headhunt for number 33. It would be nice to find some guys who can occupy offensive linemen, let alone demand a double team.

The playcalling on both sides of the ball has been pretty putrid. In the second half of the game last night they let Pryor open it up a bit, and on the game winning drive, he made huge strides for Tressel having confidence in him to let him throw down field. Defensively, either the personnel is bad, or the scheme is bad, or both. The soft coverage is frustrating, and the lack of being able to stop anyone running the ball is infuriating. The fact that the opposing quarterback has all day to throw is annoying to say the least. This all goes back to having four competent and capable downlinemen.

Someone needs to show up with a pair of hands to catch Pryor's "frozen ropes." It looked like Hartline until he almost fumbled away the game. Some speed on the outside would help, keeping the DBs back a bit so Wells and TP can get a few extra yards.

All of this being said, The Buckeyes held the Badgers to 17 points. You can look up Wisconsin's home winning streak, record in night games, recent success over the Buckeyes, etc., but the fact of the matter is OSU won the game. Nobody bit on a double move by a guy with a new knee like Gamble, no one tried to choke the opposing quarterback like Reynolds, and the Buckeyes did not fade in a primetime national game(USC, LSU, Texas, Penn St.).

After the game at USC, every fan was left wondering... "what the hell is going to happen in next season's rematch? The starters will pretty much be gone, so the players that couldn't play over them this year are going to play. Pryor will still be green because of Tressel's loyalty to Boeckman. This is going to be a disaster." This game should be the start of hopefully putting some minds at ease.

For now OSU has to look forward to the Boilermakers at home, and a tough game against a former Tresselite in Dantonio, and OSU-shunned Ringer, before the game that will hopefully decide the Big 10 Champion against Penn State. It will be fun watching the maturation of not only Pryor, but his good buddy who may have been the deciding factor in bringing TP to Columbus, new starting center Mike Brewster. Their relationship on and off the field will hopefully catapult OSU over the proverbial hump.

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