Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. In case anyone missed it last year, or even if you didn't, today you might want to read or re-read this piece from Ramzy.
Another Tuesday is here, which means that the team will enjoy an ensanguined practice1 and the weekly Big Ten coaches' teleconference will be held a little later today. I'm looking forward to seeing how many different ways the media can ask them2, "why do you guys suck so much?"
Yesterday brought us the depth chart for Saturday's game against Cal. Although we don't know yet if Jordan Hall will return this week, Carlos Hyde is out, so freshman Bri'onte Dunn is listed as the #1 running back. Urban Meyer isn't fully committed to the idea of him starting, however.
On the defensive side, JT Moore remains ahead of both Nathan Williams, whose status will basically be up in the air every week this season, and Michael Bennett, who is once again "questionable" due to a nagging groin injury.
THAT'S OFFENSIVE. In case anyone had forgotten, Urban reminded everyone, repeatedly, that Braxton Miller is a "helluva football player."
BTN's Brent Yarina would also endorse that statement, moving the QB up to the top spot in his B1G offensive player rankings. Despite his impressive start to the season, Braxton has yet to earn conference player of the week honors. For the eighth time in his career, Denard Robinson was named the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Week after Michigan escaped Air Force this past Saturday. Denard abracadabraed his way to 426 yards, which was actually four more than Michigan's total yards on offense.
And you thought Ohio State was relying on Braxton too much.
It may seem sacrilegious to you and me, but Adam Jacobi has noticed similarities between the two QBs. They both have the ability to rip off a huge run at any point in the game, and the value each one brings to his team makes him pretty irreplaceable.
Comparing Braxton to Denard's sophomore season in 2010, Jacobi pointed out that if the Buckeye signal caller keeps the same pace all season (he won't), his numbers would be on par with Robinson's two seasons ago, albeit with fewer interceptions. Braxton's accuracy needs to improve, but it's not Denard-level.
HANKERING FOR MORE. You know who is absent from Yarina's player rankings and Big Ten weekly award winners this season? Everyone on the Ohio State defense.
After the UCF win, some fans were wondering, "where's Johnathan Hankins been?" That confused me for two reasons: a guy nicknamed "Big Hank" can't exactly hide in plain sight, and I saw him involved in quite a few plays on Saturday. Urban unwittingly backed me up by naming Hankins as the defensive player of the game.
Even if he hasn't really made a "wow" play yet this season, his NFL draft stock continues to rise. Over at CBS Sports, Rob Rang projects that Hankins will be selected by the Colts as the third pick in the draft. Granted, a lot can change between now and April, and it's not guaranteed that Big Hank will even forgo his senior season.
Still, let's hope that Hankins and the rest of the DL take Urban's advice and start getting after opposing QBs.
PHILLY STYLE. As the team's offensive player of the game on Saturday, Corey "Philly" Brown has at least helped make sure that Braxton isn't the only playmaker on the team. I expected him to emerge as an offensive threat last year, but well, 2011 was just an all-around stinker. So far this season, I've been thrilled with his contributions.
This, however, saddens me to no end:
Wearing his name (via @KyleRowland)"Corey Brown" sounds like a former nerd who went to Arizona State, joined a frat, and turned into a total bro. "Philly Brown" not only rolls off the tongue, but that cat's a bad mother—(shut your mouth).
Considering Kyle snapped a picture of him wearing a "Philly" shirt, I'm just going to assume he's embraced the nickname3. PHILLY BROWN FOREVER.
MURRAY? PRESENT. BuckeyeNation's Brad Bournival caught up with freshman DB Najee Murray, who recorded two tackles against Miami (OH) in his first collegiate game.
Although most of his answers would be Tressel-approved—It's an honor to be a Buckeye! You have to stay humble and stay focused!—Murray was more than candid when asked what he thinks the future holds for himself and the team:
"Najee Murray in four years, God willing, is in the NFL. Ohio State in four years has three national championships. If not three, I know we'll have one in our class. We're going to try to be the best class ever to play at Ohio State."
Well, that's ambitious. And awesome.
INJURY REPORT. Last night, Indiana coach Kevin Wilson confirmed that QB Tre Roberson broke his leg and will miss the rest of the season. Although he plans to redshirt and will be able to play for three more seasons, whatever slim chance the Hoosiers had of making the B1G Championship game—and even in this Leaders Division black hole of a year, it was still a slim chance—is, for all intents and purposes, gone.
Elsewhere in the state, the monster in West Lafayette who feeds on the ACLs of Boilermakers seems to have targeted Robert Marve once again. The QB has already dealt with two ACL tears and now, according to Danny Hope, he's sustained damage to that same knee. How much damage, and how it will affect his football career, hasn't been determined yet.
Devon Walker, the Tulane player who fractured his spine in a game against Tulsa, is in stable condition after undergoing surgery yesterday. While that's encouraging, his prognosis is still uncertain. Tulane has set up a page that updates fans on Walker and allows them to pass along their support. His parents also issued a statement on the site, thanking all the well-wishers.
ANOTHER CLICK IN THE WALL. Tom Fornelli thinks Ohio State will cover vs. Cal... No more Wynn for Utah... Copping a feel over the ULM win... Photos of Week 2... NFL fans might want to bookmark this page... The writing process... All the deaths Walter White is responsible for... Removies.
