From: LancasterEagleGazette.com -- LEXINGTON -- It didn't take long for Marcus Freeman to fall into character as a football coach. He got down at eye level with his players, counting off the pushups as they hit the ground at the end of each drill. "If I tell you to pick your nose, pick your nose," barked the former Ohio State linebacker as his troops -- a bunch of grade-schoolers -- hung on his every word. "OK, everybody clap!" This group wasn't going to win any ... Read More

By: RON CLEMENTS (TheTelegraph.com) -- ST. LOUIS — For years, Penn State University has had the reputation of being “Linebacker U.” Just don’t tell that to the St. Louis Rams. In what may be a first in NFL history, the Rams boast four linebackers all from the same university — and it isn’t Penn State. Bobby Carpenter, Na’il Diggs, Larry Grant and James Laurinaitis all hail from Ohio State University. “We realize it’s pretty cool,” Laurinaitis said. “It’s gives us a lot ... Read More

From: StyleBlips.com -- Ohio State defensive end Lawrence Wilson (6-4, 272) made a visit to Halas Hall this week, according to a source. Wilson is projected as a late-round pick or could sign as an undrafted free agent. keep an eye on Lawrence Wilson - Once considered a ferocious defensive end prospect, Wilson's career has been derailed by season-ending injuries each of the last two years. A broken leg that required a steel rod and a torn ACL ... Read More

From: AP via DaytonDailyNews.com -- COLUMBUS, Ohio — When it comes to its linebacking corps, Ohio State is hitting .667 in spring ball. With two of the three starters returning, it isn't nearly as important for the Buckeyes to find a replacement for the graduated Austin Spitler as it is to find the right fit. "Really, there's going to be pretty good competition at the linebacker group," defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said at the start of spring workouts. "You've got the two naturals, you've ... Read More

By JOHN KAMPF (MorningJournal.com) --COLUMBUS — Patience is supposedly a virtue. Good luck telling that to a freshman football player who is used to being “The Man” on the football field. Brian Rolle and Ross Homan know all about it. The pair of returning starting linebackers for Ohio State remember coming to Columbus and being told by the likes of James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman to be patient, listen and learn. It wasn’t easy for them. And now that they are veterans and saying the ... Read More

By: Doug Harris (Journal-News.com) -- I just saw a story in these pages where Ohio State’s recruiting in football has taken an uncharacteristic dip. Accustomed to locking up top-10 classes almost every year, the Buckeyes’ current group is rated only 22nd nationally by Rivals.com, behind Big Ten arch-nemeses Michigan (19th) and Penn State (9th) and other programs with much lower profiles such as Stanford (18th), Missouri (14th) and Texas A&M (10th). That won’t matter next season — OSU is expected to go into ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In the last three years, a Heisman Trophy winner, seven first-team All-Americans, 15 first-team All-Big Ten players and 18 NFL draft picks have all ended their Ohio State careers the same way. From Troy Smith to Vernon Gholston to James Laurinaitis, Buckeyes who spent their entire careers winning departed school with a bowl loss as the last thing on their minds. "I've been around a great bunch of seniors, from Troy to James, and ... Read More

By: Doug Dilillo (TheLantern.com) -- When the Ohio State Buckeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions meet on Saturday in Beaver Stadium, there will be more on the line then just Big Ten title implications. In a matchup that has recently become fierce, the winner will stay alive in the Big Ten race while the loser is left in the dust. The Big Ten title is ultimately what’s most important, but this game between rivals has story lines that go deeper then trophies and championship rings. Pryor ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- Columbus -- When 13 years later you remember and regret the shutouts that should have been as much as the ones that happened, you were part of a great defense. Though Ohio State's 1996 defense did shut out three opponents in 12 games, former linebacker Greg Bellisari recalls the one that got away, a 38-7 win over Penn State when the Nittany Lions were dominated before scoring on Ohio State's second team in the fourth quarter. "A ... Read More

By: MATT MARKEY (ToledoBlade.com) -- COLUMBUS - Ohio State had a mini galaxy of stars on its defense last year, but when five starters departed from that group and landed in NFL training camps, it appeared that a somewhat major rebuild might be in order. But four games into the 2009 season, the Buckeyes don't look much like a reconstructed unit. Ohio State's defense has hung a couple of goose eggs on the scoreboard with recent shutout wins over Illinois and Toledo ... Read More

By: Bill Blanton (BuckeyeCountry.net) -- At the start of the 2009 season, all eyes were on Terrelle Pryor and how his freakish, athletic talent would be the gun Ohio State coach Jim Tressel would use to fire the bullets in a dynamic OSU offense. So far this season, the only thing that has been firing bullets is the Ohio State defense, and they’re shooting “Silver Bullets” everywhere. This “no name” group that is lacking the front line starter that we have seen in seasons past ... Read More

By: RUSTY MILLER (AP via DaytonDailyNews.com) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jim Tressel has always wanted to see an Army-Navy game. "That's on my sports 'bucket list' to someday see that game," he said. "I've never been to it, but I've heard it's breathtaking." Seeing the Midshipmen shift gears on that lethal running attack against Army in a stadium full of dress uniforms is one thing. Tressel has no desire to see Navy put on a show on Saturday when they take on his sixth-ranked ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For three years, Ohio State's Austin Spitler rode the bench behind one of his best friends on the team, James Laurinaitis, who just happened to be a three-time All-American. Now, when his chance came, he was switched from the middle linebacker spot he'd been waiting to fill to strongside linebacker, then felt a pop in his leg during the preseason. "It all started with my knee, and then it moved to the ... Read More