The Ohio State Buckeyes have some solid hitters in safeties Jermale Hines, Tyler Moeller, C.J. Barnett and Orhian Johnson, writes Columbus Dispatch reporter Ken Gordon. Those same safeties have also have something to prove. Can Hines prove to be a full-time starter? Has Moeller recovered from a serious head injury? Can Barnett and Johnson become starters? But from watching them play in...
Sidelined a year ago as he recovered from being attacked in a Florida bar, OSU safety Tyler Moeller is glad to be back on the field.The Ohio State Buckeyes have some solid hitters in safeties Jermale Hines, Tyler Moeller, C.J. Barnett and Orhian Johnson, writes Columbus Dispatch reporter Ken Gordon.
Those same safeties have also have something to prove. Can Hines prove to be a full-time starter? Has Moeller recovered from a serious head injury? Can Barnett and Johnson become starters?
But from watching them play in the past, writes Gordon, and from their teammates' testimonials, there's little doubt that all of them enjoy delivering blows.
"(Jermale) as well as Orhian have got to be the two most physical safeties I've ever seen," linebacker Brian Rolle said. "(They are) two guys who can spread the field and play sideline-to-sideline as well as come down in the box and play some linebacker."
He left Moeller and Barnett out, but Hines filled in one of those blanks.
"I knew Tyler would be Tyler," Hines said of Moeller, who was held out of contact in spring practice. "As soon as he got cleared, I knew he was going to come out here, work hard every day, compete and knock the mess out of people."
Marshall player excited
Marshall defensive end Vinny Curry is excited about the season opener at Ohio State next Thursday. Some of his excitement is because he played for two former Buckeyes at a prep school in Cincinnati.
There, he played for former Ohio State products Carlos Snow and Vinnie Clark.
Now as Marshall coach Doc Holliday prepares Curry and the Thundering Herd for battle at The Horseshoe, the Herd's starting defensive end can't help but think of his former coaches at Harmony.
"I was actually going to call them this week and talk a little trash," Curry said. "All he (Carlos) does is talk about Ohio State. I played there in ' 06,and that was the year that they went to the national championship and lost to Florida. All he did was talk trash through the whole thing."
Curry will not talk trash when it comes to next Thursday's game, but Curry isn't intimidated either.
"They put their pads on just like we put our pads on," Curry said. "Huntington might be smaller than Columbus, but we have tradition just like they do. We were the winningest program in the 90s, hands down. People forget about that and try to overlook it, but it's a fact. We want back to that. The blueprint is set for us. We are going to go out there, execute and have some fun. I'm very excited. It's going to be crazy up there."
New order
Reporter Mike Lucas of Madison.com has a plan for Big Ten realignment. He breaks it down to a North and South Division.
Lucas gives several reasons behind his realignment version:
1) Michigan and Ohio State are in separate divisions. The Wolverines and Buckeyes sustain their rivalry in a crossover game. The only perceived drawback is that it won't be staged in November.
2) Other natural rivalries are preserved within divisional play. Such as Michigan-Michigan State and Wisconsin-Minnesota in the North. Such as Indiana-Purdue in the South.
More means more dollars
An Associated Press story on CantonRep.com says Ohio State will have more parking available for football fans this season, but it will cost more, too.
The university on Thursday announced some changes for this year’s home games, starting with next week’s Thursday night opener against Marshall.
Game day parking will cost $15, up from $10 and the first increase since 2001. Ohio State Director of Transportation Sarah Blouch says the higher price will help offset rising costs related to football parking and traffic control.
The school will have an 1,400 parking spaces for football fans, thanks to a garage expansion.