By: Dane Noble (WindyCityGridiron.com) -- In the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected Ohio State outside linebacker Marcus Freeman.  Freeman was thought to be a very talented outside LB, and his size and speed were things that caught Lovie Smith's eye.  Unfortunately, Freeman was among a very deep group of linebackers in Chicago, and was released just after preseason. Fast forward almost a year, Freeman is retiring from the game, for the same ... Read More

By: Diamond Leung (ESPN.com) -- AZUSA, Calif. -- Lenzelle Smith, Jr., a guard set to start his freshman season at Ohio State, said he's heard it more times than he can count that he's the next Evan Turner. "Every time I hear it, it's great," Smith said after practice for Saturday's High School Academic All-American Classic. "Those are big shoes to fill. "I don't think it's totally far-fetched." Replacing a national player of the year won't be easy, of course, ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State coach Thad Matta has acquired unwanted expertise on one-and-done college basketball players, becoming a go-to quote on freshmen leaving college after one season since five Ohio State freshmen departed Columbus in a three-year span. With Evan Turner now preparing for the June 24 NBA Draft as a probable top-three choice after being college's basketball's player of the year as a junior, Matta won't be shy about ... Read More

By: Chuck Carroll (Football News Now.com) -- Baltimore Ravens quarterback Troy Smith signed his RFA tender recently. The new one-year contract will earn him $1.101 million next season. The Heisman Trophy winner, who recently changed agents, has been desperate to get out of Baltimore and was hoping to land a spot with the Cleveland Browns, which didn’t happen. However, by signing his tender he could become a commodity for the Ravens to trade during the draft. Smith appeared in ... Read More

By: Tim Furious (BetUs.com) -- Well it seems the expected tag team of Brandon Marshall and Ted Ginn Jr. is a pairing that will only live on paper. The former Ohio State Buckeyes standout has been traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a fifth round pick. For the record, that was about the value that the Pittsburgh Steelers got in exchange for Santonio Holmes. Both guys have first option talent, and for Ted Ginn Jr. ... Read More

From: Cleveland Plain Dealer -- COLUMBUS -- A judge Wednesday cleared the way for ex-Ohio State football star Maurice Clarett to move to a smaller detention facility in Columbus, which could lead to his release within a few months. Asked by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David Fais if he had anything to say, Clarett cleared his throat and said, "I'd like to say I'm humbled." Clarett, who led the Buckeyes to the 2002 national championship in his only college season, served 3 1/2 years ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- Ohio State star Evan Turner officially announced this afternoon that he is leaving Ohio State with one year of eligibility remaining and will enter the NBA Draft. The news was not a surprise for the college basketball's national player of the year, who is expected to be a top three pick in the NBA Draft. "It was honestly just a personal choice," Turner said at a news conference in Columbus. "It was a win-win situation regardless. I ... Read More

By: Eamonn Brennan (ESPN.com) -- In recent years, the Final Four has served as a nice little showcase for the NBA's incoming stars. Carmelo Anthony and Syracuse. Greg Oden, Mike Conley, and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Derrick Rose and the Memphis Tigers. In recent years, even as so many NBA fans angrily turned away from the NCAA tournament (some NBA folks like to act as if college hoops is so inferior as to be beneath their finely-tuned basketball-watching sensibilities), they still had ... Read More

By: Carlos Holmes (DaytonDailyNews.com) -- Huber Heights native and former Ohio State linebacker Marcus Freeman had a lifelong dream of playing in the NFL. The dream became somewhat of a reality when he was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2009 draft. Freeman saw action in all four preseason games with the Bears, but was waived before the start of the regular season. He was later ... Read More

By: Brian Biggane (PalmBeachPost.com) -- Those who feel the Dolphins should get rid of wide receiver/kick returner Ted Ginn Jr. won’t find an ally in Belle Glade native Santonio Holmes. Holmes, the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver who was MVP of Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, was a year ahead of Ginn at Ohio State and feels like Ginn still needs time to come into his own. “The Dolphins aren’t gonna let him go,” Holmes said at an appearance earlier this week at ESPN’s Wide World ... Read More

By: John Walters (FanHouse.com) -- MILWAUKEE -- Moments before the tip-off of the 2007 national championship game between Florida and Ohio State, Mark Titus approached Buckeye head coach Thad Matta. "I got five fouls to give," said Titus, who then pointed to the end of the bench where he would be sitting. "I'll be right down here if you need me." Mind you, at the time Titus was a freshman on the Ohio State basketball team ... a freshman who had begun the year ... Read More

By: Tony Grossi (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- CLEVELAND -- After fairly glowing reviews from his pro day workout last week, the Browns need some catchup work on Ohio State linebacker Thaddeus Gibson. They reportedly have scheduled a visit with Gibson on April 1. The Browns had two scouts at Gibson's scintillating workout at Ohio State on March 12. That was the day the Browns were preoccupied with the signing of quarterback Jake Delhomme and the future trades of Brady Quinn and Kamerion Wimbley. At his workouts, ... Read More

From: CincyJungle.com -- On March 12, the Ohio State Buckeyes held their Pro Day putting stocked (not all of whom are first rounders) defensive talent on display. Most notable is that some of the players that stood out are at positions that the Bengals could elect to address during next month's NFL Draft. Like defensive linemen Doug Worthington, Robert Rose, Lawrence Wilson, Thaddeus Gibson or safety Kurt Coleman. Mocking the Draft ranks Worthington as the 18th best defensive tackle and Coleman as the ... Read More