Good morning Buckeye faithful and welcome to your Tuesday Skull Session.
Ohio State football got its report card yesterday and the athletic department might want to hang this one on the refrigerator. 44 Ohio State football players received a 3.0 GPA or above, including all six freshman who have enrolled.
Seeing freshmen get off to the right start is something incredibly important to helping them develop good habits. Too often do college athletes forget about the importance of education. It's not always their fault, though. Coaches and outside influences can direct players in the wrong direction.
It's nice to see that Urban Meyer has always done well in terms of keeping academic success as a priority with his teams. After all, the majority of these players aren't going to play in the NFL or even professionally.
It's the chance to play on the big stage that attracts college recruits to schools, but the education itself should be the reason they want to stay.
Keep it up, Buckeyes.
THE REMATCH. As announced yesterday, Ohio State will have a rematch with Duke this season down in Durham, North Carolina. However, this matchup is only one of several great matchups occurring in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo ranked the top matchups to watch next season between these two power conferences. The best rated matchup on the list is obviously Indiana versus North Carolina, as both should be considered title contenders.
Next, Eisenberg lists Michigan and North Carolina State as the second most anticipated game. Michigan, in particular, will be returning with Trey Burke who tore apart the Big Ten as a freshman and has some promising recruits for next year.
At #3, Eisenberg has the Buckeyes against Duke. Last year this would've easily been #1, but without former star players Jared Sullinger, William Buford, and Austin Rivers participating in the game this definitely takes a back seat to the first two. Nonetheless, this game should be easy to watch and features some great talent.
Other notable games include Michigan State against Miami and Virginia against Wisconsin.
BUCKEYES ON THE BALLOT. Today, the College Football Hall of Fame will announce its next class joining its 829 other members. 20 of the 79 players nominated are from the Big Ten and three of those nominees played their college football in scarlet and grey.
David Foley (1966-1968), Jim Otis (1967-1969), and Orlando Pace (1994-1996) are all on the ballot for today. Pace is an obvious candidate that most would remember. He was arguably the most dominant tackle in OSU's history and continued to massacre defensive lines in the NFL.
David Foley is another great tackle from Ohio State. He was named an All-American and also helped the Buckeyes go undefeated in 1968 when they won it all.
Jim Otis was teammates with Foley and to this day is the second leading rusher behind Archie Griffin.
Best of luck to these Buckeye legends in the voting today.
Orlando Lamar Pace TATE FORCE-EE-EH? It doesn't seem that long ago that Tate Forcier was receiving tons of praise up north for winning some games as a true freshman quarterback. But then Denard Robinson's anti-shoe tying abilities forced Forcier out of Ann Arbor.
Well, Forcier has finally found a home even farther north now. Forcier just signed a deal with the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Forcier will serve as a back up to Hamilton's starting quarterback Henry Burriss.
It's been a bumpy ride for Forcier after leaving Michigan. The 21-year old originally left Michigan with academic issues and then announced his intentions to enroll at Miami University. However, Forcier never attended a class at Miami and announced that he wouldn't attend the school later on. He then said he would attend San Jose State but left the school for what appeared to be academic reasons.
Forcier had reportedly been working with Jeff Garcia in hopes of landing a spot in the CFL. Signing a professional contract means Forcier will no longer be able to enroll as a student athlete in the NCAA.
THE DE FOLLOWED BY THE FENSE. Heisman Pundit ranked the ten most likely defensive players in college football to garner some votes for Heisman Trophy next season. As the article points out, pure defensive players will never win the Heisman, but they still have a chance to influence the results of who does win the award.
At #1 is Jarvis Jones who is coming off a monster season at Georgia. His season was so good that he may even have trouble putting up the same numbers as last season. #2 on the list is Manti Te'o of Notre Dame who is returning for his senior year. #3 is an obvious choice because The Honey Badger was nominated for the Heisman last season. Tyrann Mathieu should still be one of the premier names to watch on defense next year.
The only Big Ten player to make the list is Michigan State's William Gholston, who is looking even better than his cousin Vernon Gholston when he was at Ohio State.
LOS LINKS. San Diego State and Boise State help each other out... Tina Stewart's roommate convicted of second-degree murder... Legacy of Coach K... Breaking down the Buckeyes' 2012 schedule... B1G's most deserving of the CFB hall of fame.
