We could be re-hashing the era of “Big 2, Little 8” in the Big Ten right now. Except this time, it’s a different school from the state of Great Lakes Splendor that is on par with Ohio State football. Michigan State has done much more than just arrived; it’s elite. The Buckeyes are still the class of the league, but the Spartans are the clear cut number two.
So I guess you could call it “Big 2, Little 12.”
Ohio State is so much more than the class of the Big Ten though; the defending national champions are the class of college football. They return just about everybody who’s relevant to a team that won it all.
It’s very easy to be high on the Buckeyes.
Ohio State football players attending Big Ten Media Day:
Taylor Decker, Sr., OT
Joshua Perry, Sr., LB
Adolphus Washington, Sr., DT
As good as these players are, and they are excellent, it’s inexplicable why Urban Meyer isn’t bringing the guys that the average fan has heard of. Anybody who’s into college football can six or seven guys right off the top of their head who are way more famous than these guys.
Of course, this isn’t new at Ohio State. Jim Tressel pulled the same exact silliness all the time too. Terrelle Pryor was the league’s preseason player of the year twice, and he was left at home every year. The Sweater Vest would sometimes bring his 14th and 23rd best players too.
So why we don’t understand Urban’s “logic” at work here, it’s not unique.
Offense:
QB: Well, this situation has been covered to death by the media already, so maybe Meyer might be correct in his decision not to bring one of his three star signal callers to media day. Otherwise, nothing new to report here.
RB: Ezekiell Elliot is the top ranked NFL running back prospect in the class of 2017. He didn’t do too much early on in 2014, but once he took control of the position in mid-season…WOW! He was the team’s MVP down the stretch.
WR: This is definitely the “re-loading, not rebuilding position group on this year’s Ohio State football team. The loss of Devin Smith will certainly hurt, but Michael Thomas is the nephew of Keyshawn Johnson. He’s got NFL draft written all over him.
OL: Decker could be one of the top three OTs in next year’s draft. They return three more starters too; meaning they only have to break in a new starter at one of the five offensive line spots this year.
Defense:
DL: Joey Bosa might battle Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg to be the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. He was fourth nationally in sacks last season. Washington will look to replace the departed Michael Bennett. The world has definitely over-filled it’s quota of football players named Michael Bennett.
Linebackers: Perry was the Buckeyes leading tackler last season; he could be first team all-conference, along with Raekwon McMillan (who sounds the name of a super-villain assassin in a martial arts movie) and Darron Lee.
Secondary: Safety Vonn Bell might be the top defensive back NFL prospect in the Big Ten, and…yes, this is getting repetitive; and tiring. Let’s just cut to the chase in the Ohio State football season preview already.
Bottom Line:
If conventional wisdom is true, then Ohio State football won their national title a season early. That’s a scary thought for everybody else this season. Urban Meyer is 24-0 in Big Ten regular season play. No reason to see him begin losing here now.
Never Too Early Season Preview Series:
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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