By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- Walking through the local mall here in the Columbus suburbs today and I saw the new Ohio State jerseys for the first time. Each year, there are five or six numbers put out before the season, representing the best guess at the Buckeyes the fans are most interested in. Last year, it was Beanie Wells (28), James Laurinaitis (33), Malcolm Jenkins (2), Brian Robiskie (80), Todd Boeckman (17) and Marcus Freeman (1). As the year went ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- Safety Kurt Coleman, defensive tackle Doug Worthington and tight end Jake Ballard, all seniors, were announced today as the representatives for the Buckeyes at the Big Ten media days on July 27 and 28 in Chicago. And I'm guessing those will be three of your four captains for Ohio State in the fall. The guys who are trusted by Jim Tressel to sit in suits at round tables and field several hours of questions from reporters typically fare ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- Brian Rolle was a star of the spring. For two years, the linebacker from Immokalee, Fla., stayed in the background at Ohio State, popping up with some big plays on special teams, but otherwise biding his time with veterans like James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman in front of him. A little undersized at 5-11, but with big-hit ability, it was hard to get a read on him as a person and a player. Here's a read. This ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- Brian Rolle was a star of the spring for the Buckeyes. For two years, the linebacker from Immokalee, Fla., stayed in the background at Ohio State, popping up with some big plays on special teams, but otherwise biding his time with veterans like James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman in front of him. A little undersized at 5-foot-11, but with big-hit ability, it was hard to get a read on him as a person ... Read More

By: Adam Rittenberg (ESPN.com) -- If dues-paying was an official NCAA statistic, Austin Spitler would be among the national leaders. Few players have remained on the runway as long as Spitler, waiting for their careers to truly take flight. He redshirted at Ohio State in 2005 and watched as James Laurinaitis stepped into a featured role following two key injuries at linebacker. For the next three years, Spitler backed up Laurinaitis, who became arguably the most decorated linebacker in Ohio State history. Laurinaitis ... Read More

By: Tim Bielik (BleacherReport.com) -- With the great senior class departing to the NFL, one might be quick to say that the Buckeyes don't have enough to replace their holes. Another look plus considering past history shows that they will be just fine in 2009. Gone are the Brians: Robiskie and Hartline, along with James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman among other talented players. Conventional wisdom tells us that Ohio State will reload as they always have in the Tressel era. Buckeye fans might not also be used ... Read More

By: Matt Hinton (Yahoo.com) -- One of the themes of the last couple weeks is contenders, and what makes (or breaks) a team's shot at No. 1, and as I indicated in premature assessment of Ohio State, OSU -- a ubiquitous contender the last four years -- looks like a definite "break." This has much less to do with the Buckeyes' recent failures in their biggest games (though they've become too obvious for even an OSU defender to overlook) than with the much ... Read More

By: Jeremy Jeffries (BleacherReport.com) -- When I think about Ohio State Football I think of tradition, winning, discipline, and linebackers. The Ohio State Buckeyes have had some of the best linebackers in the history Generic Cialis of college football, names like: Spielman, Hawk, Gradishar, Cousineau, Tovar, Katzenmoyer and Pepper Johnson. These Linebackers set the bar very high at their position and Jim Tressel, Jim Heacock, and Luke Fickell expect nothing less at linebacker again in 2009. When talented players like James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman move on, it is very hard ... Read More

By: MATT MARKEY (ToledoBlade.com) -- COLUMBUS - If you play tight end or safety at Ohio State there are certain performance expectations, but not everyone always remembers your name. Play linebacker for the Buckeyes and the expectations increase tenfold, and there's no anonymity to be found. Chris Spielman, A.J. Hawk, Randy Gradishar, Tom Cousineau, Steve Tovar, Pepper Johnson and Andy Katzenmoyer have all worn the armor and patrolled the heart of the field for Ohio State. Those legendary Buckeyes still cast long shadows around ... Read More

By: DANA CALDWELL (NaplesNews.com) -- BONITA SPRINGS — For several years, Naples High football coach Bill Kramer recruited Ohio State's Jim Tressel, a close friend, to speak to the Southwest Florida chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Two years ago, Kramer booked him, and on Monday night at the Hyatt Regency at Coconut Point, Tressel, who has been involved with FCA for 40 years, spoke during the "Play to Win" fund-raising campaign. Tressel recently got something from Kramer, too -- 6-foot-1, 230 pound ... Read More