Not sure if this has been posted but the word is Durell Wood will need surgery and is done for the season. OL and TE is hit really hard and will be playing some of the younger guys. Only one legit TE at this point due to injuries.. Some good news my source mentioned that  Freshman Joe Lowery potentially could be one of the best if not best OL Ohio has ever had... mentioned Eric Fisher like skills. The RB position is set for the next 5 years with 5 guys that could all turn into legit starters. Papi White possibly the fastest player in the conference ran a 4.31 laser will contribute right away on special teams and moved around on offense. Dorian Brown could be listed as a #2 but should be the leading RB when its all said and done. Coaches are going crazy with the talent they have at the position and really feel like they have 6 really good backs and 4 dynamic game breakers in Papi,Dorian,Daz and Irons. Great comments about AJ says he's a more fluid version of Beau and will be a player. Qb is set with Vick no issues there and Sprague could see some time similar to how they brought Vick along. Windham is improving and Duckworth will redshirt. 
We also spoke about the defense and interestingly enough my source says don't be surprised if Basham and Sayles come off the bench....apparently there could be a rotation of 4 DE...and he mentioned that Trent Smart is a man among boys at that position and they all are young. LB that is flashing star power is Blair Brown.
Very high hopes in the program for this year but he specifically said NEXT YEAR is when you will really see a Top 25 caliber team at Ohio.


FYI Before someone starts groveling note that I said this is cooler talk other than the injury everything else is someone's opinion thanks! Go Bobcats!

According to Arkley,  "with nagging injuries to Durrell Wood, Nick Gibbons and now Troy Watson, the starting right-side of that unit is currently first-year players Jake Pruehs (guard) and Jared McCray (tackle)". The offense will surely be exciting with all the young talent. I agree that in a year or two we should be something special.

I like linebackers with star power.

Like Mario Dovell, he was a dual-threat QB in high school that Ohio recruited as an Athlete/Wide Receiver.  Also like Dovell, he was injured and sat out his Freshman year. There are a so many  young WR in the program now with talent, it was hard to guess who might break out of the group.

I just find it odd that all of a sudden this guy is a starter. There has been no mention of him in any scrimmage write-ups. No tweets from Arkley about how he is impressing coaches. He was not a highly recruited player (we were his only offer). And then all of a sudden he's beaten out Smith and others for a starting job?

I don't trust our coaches to play our best players...I've said this for years. We choose starters based on some criteria I haven't yet figured out.

I've never let lack of evidence dissuade me from making wild accusations. But yes, for a long time I've felt that way. The most obvious example is TT, who was clearly toxic and yet continued to start as though nothing was wrong.

Yes, I agree on Wilson. Is he with the team? Is he hurt? What's the problem?

I don't disagree that blocking is important LC, but blocking is about strength and technique...something that can be taught. All the coaching in the world is not going to turn Landon Smith into Lavon Brazill.

Also, I wonder how this strategy effects our recruiting. If you were a well regarded WR, would you want to come to Ohio? I wouldn't. I'd be afraid of getting passed over by someone less talented because they say the right things in meetings or have the right "attitude."

Yes, certainly I would. Ohio is starting to regularly place wide receivers into the NFL (Price, Brazill, Bates, Foster), and I see that as a trend that will continue. I think we'll see some of this current batch in the NFL as well, and I also think that sooner or later we will see one playing regularly on Sundays.

If there is a position coach who will/should have final say on who plays it would be coach Dixon. No doubt there will be non-football issues that will require players to miss time. Usually these non-football issues are none of my business and I will have to be content not knowing everything.

look we have been what 10-9 the last couple of years and we are in year 9 of this staff and looking for a bunch of young guys to carry us.  i really do not like where we are and where we appear to be headed. i can only hop iam wrong.

spot on. since when did we start playing guys that weren't heavily recruited by other schools? and how do you beat out Smith, a guy who has racked up over 300 receiving yards in just 3 short seasons? The guys is a BEAST, obvi. Since when has a player ever done something impressive and Arkley not tweeted about it? I've been saying this for years too- maybe we'd avg more than just 9 wins a year if our best players weren't sitting on the bench. its insane!

you can't see me, but right now I'm standing and slow clapping you for speaking truth to power. so glad somebody had the balls to say it. finally.

[/SARCASM]

seriously dude, that's some whacky, tin foil hat talk going on. I don't get it at all.

PG, without going into any details, I can confirm that Ryan Boykin had "non-football" issues that limited his playing time. These were not academic issues or anything that would have landed him in jail.  But issues affecting team morale.

I would add that this is the way it should be, and also the way it is in other aspects of life.  Any organization needs a certain amount of  "skill" from it's members, but teamwork, and community are at least as important in building success.

As an interesting companion to this discussion, consider another current thread, "A cautionary tale from Jim Grobe".