Good morning Buckeye faithful and welcome to your Tuesday Skull Session.
Well how about Kent State? The baseball team earned its first trip to the College World Series in the history of the program, defeating Oregon 3-2. Kent State became the first Mid American Conference team to advance past the NCAA super regional since 1976.
I love it when smaller schools prevail over the big names and especially when they are from Ohio. Kent State has always had a pretty talented baseball team that has produced major league talent, so it is nice to see them pull off something special this season.
Good luck to the Golden Flashes as they take on Arkansas.
BENJAMIN IS BACK. Redshirt senior punter Ben Buchanan graduated last Sunday at Ohio State's spring commencement. Buchanan earned his degree in strategic communications.
But as Brandon Castel of theozone.net writes, Buchanan has other goals in mind now that he has put school behind him. Buchanan will be back next season as OSU's punter, as he tries to earn a shot at the NFL.
Buchanan has been the Buckeyes' punter for the past two seasons so it is great to see some continuity with the team. However, what will be great is if Urban Meyer's offense prevents Buchanan from even seeing the field next season.
It is still not clear yet how serious Buchanan's goal of playing in the NFL is, but the Westerville Central product definitely has other options if professional football doesn't work out, as Castel points out. Buchanan is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten conference honoree who says he has thoughts of being a sports journalist or an athletic director.
Also, congratulations to the 123 student athletes who graduated from OSU last week.
RANKING B1G SECONDARIES. Tom Dienhart of the Big Ten Network ranked all the Big Ten's secondaries and Urban Frank Meyer should be smiling a little bit.
The Buckeyes were ranked #1 on Dienhart's list. Dienhart continues his praise for Ohio State's secondary unit by calling it "one of the best secondaries in the nation."
The unit returns all four starters from last season. Bradley Roby, who has done nothing but impress since stepping into the starting role last season, will become one of the better corners in the nation if he can pick up where he left off last season.
Joining Roby are Travis Howard, who will complement Roby well at the other corner position, Christian Bryant, and C.J. Barnett. This group can hit with force and should make opposing wide outs and quarterbacks think twice about throwing deep, or throwing at all for that matter.
Following OSU to round out the top five were #2 Michigan State, #3 Nebraska, #4 Michigan, and #5 Illinois.
Looks 6-9 to me. LOOKING BACK ON THE B1G. Adam Jacobi of the Bleacher Report created a slide show which chronicled some of the more shocking events of the past eight Big Ten seasons. Jacobi selected five moments which prove how unpredictable college football can be.
Two moments on this list were Buckeye related. The scandals of Jim Tressel and Joe Paterno was of course one of the main memories brought up. Seeing two elite coaches from the same conference ousted in a six-month span is rare to say the least. As Jacobi mentions, their outings came from two completely unique situations but are still affecting both programs today.
The other OSU moment to make the slide show was Ted Ginn's injury after his 92-yard touchdown return against Florida in the 2007 National Championship. Ginn's injury left a major hole in Ohio State's offense. Heisman winner Troy Smith looked like a deer caught in headlights the whole game and OSU failed to gain any offensive momentum. Jacobi asks the question, "how different would that game have been if Roy Hall hadn't celebrated by taking Ginn down..."
Jacobi also discusses Ron Zook's random Rose Bowl appearance in 2007, Purdue's 5-0 start in 2004, and of course when Appalachian State upset Michigan in 2007. 2007, what a year.
SULLY SLEEPIN'? With the NBA Draft growing nearer, Jared Sullinger is making his pitch to NBA teams. According to the Chicago Tribune, Sullinger says he could be a sleeper pick in this year's draft.
"I could be," Sullinger said, per the Chicago Tribune. "A lot of people have been sleeping on me, and it's kind of fun. All my life I've kind of been known as the underdog."
Sullinger measured well at the draft combine at 6-9, which makes a huge difference for his stock, as some feared he might be slightly shorter than his listed playing height. Sullinger has reportedly met with representatives from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, and Oklahoma City Thunder.
These teams all range from the beginning of the draft and towards the end in terms of picks. Jared Sullinger was never going to go #1 overall, even last year, but his stock has fallen a little bit due to his extra year of school. I could see him going anywhere from 8-15. It all comes down to a team finding the right fit with the talented former Buckeye.
Stay hungry, Sully, teams will notice.
LOS LINKS. Arrests made in connection with the Auburn shootings... Testimony from the Sandusky trial... Lawyer who tipped Tressel likely facing six-month suspension... High school linemen aim to impress Meyer... Geno Auriemma and NBA sued.
