Seven Ohio State Buckeyes Drafted into the NFL

Seven Ohio State Buckeyes Drafted into the NFL

While Ohio State was completing their spring with the annual Scarlet vs. Gray game in the Horseshow, a class full of graduated seniors were awaiting their next career step, the NFL. The NFL draft proceeded the Spring game with four Buckeyes selected on the first day and three more selected in the second day of later round selections.

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Coach Jim Tressel Reloading the Buckeyes Football Team

Coach Jim Tressel Reloading the Buckeyes Football Team

There’s no shooting blanks for the Ohio State Football team as Jim Tressel and his staff get ready to make another run for a Big Ten title with a cast of new players. Gone are Chris Wells, Brian Robiskie, Alex Boone, Malcolm Jenkins, and James Laurinaitis. In steps two of the best recruiting classes in Coach Tressel’s history in Columbus.

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2009 Ohio State Pro Day Results Better Than NFL Combine

2009 Ohio State Pro Day Results Better Than NFL Combine

With 60 scouts from 29 NFL teams watching, Chris Beanie Wells and Malcolm Jenkins ran better times at the Woody Hayes Facility than at the NFL Combine weeks earlier with Marcus Freeman putting in another stellar performance. Their improved times may reassure teams that the two are worth the high draft rankings they have received in the past.

Film: Ohio State’s James Laurinaitis Prepares for 2009 Pro Day on Campus

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Ohio State Spring Football: Breakdown of Quarterbacks

The 2009 version of the Ohio State Buckeyes will have to replace much of the star power which produced one of the most successful four-year runs in the program’s illustrious history. 
Led by All-American-caliber players such as James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman, and Malcolm Jenkins on defense, and Chris Wells, Brian Robiskie, Alex Boone, and Todd Boeckman on offense, the culminating…
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NFL Scout Puts Wells at the Front of the Herd

AN NFL SCOUT BREAKS DOWN 2009 DRAFT CLASS

Tom Dienhart
Rivals.com College Football Senior Writer

Rivals.com talked to a director of college scouting for an NFL team. Here are his early position breakdowns on the NFL draft heading into the NFL Scouting Combine, which begins in earnest today in Indianapolis.

Ohio State’s Chris Wells is part of a big group of quality running backs.

INTRO: I try to put most of my weight on what guys do in the fall. The tape doesn’t lie. You have the Mike Mamulas and Vernon Gholstons, guys with big biceps who run great, then can’t play. The one thing workouts like the combine are good for is you get a view of how athletic they are and how fast they are on a clock. And, hopefully, it matches what you see on tape. If it doesn’t, then it causes you to go back and look at tape again.

RUNNING BACKS: I think the juniors really boosted the running backs class. Teams should be able to get a good back through the first three rounds. … Look at the underclassmen: [Ohio State's] Beanie Wells, [Pittsburgh's] LeSean McCoy, [Connecticut's] Donald Brown, [Georgia's] Knowshon Moreno, [Wisconsin's] P.J. Hill, [Iowa's] Shonn Greene. That’s a pretty strong group. I think there is real value there, and I think you’ll be able to get them a little later with a chance to hit on one. … I think Wells is the guy who has pushed out in front of everybody. He is the bell cow right now of this group.

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Story By Buckeye Legends

Big Ten players at the NFL combine

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

The official list of players invited to the 2009 NFL scouting combine later in Indianapolis has been finalized. The Big Ten will be sending 46 players to Indianapolis from Feb. 18-24.

Not surprisingly, Penn State and Ohio State led the way with eight participants each, followed by Wisconsin (7), Illinois (5) and Iowa (5). Minnesota is the lone Big Ten team not sending a player to Indy.

Here's the team-by-team rundown.

ILLINOIS (5)

• Cornerback Vontae Davis^
• Defensive end Will Davis
• Tackle Xavier Fulton
• Defensive end Derek Walker

INDIANA (1)

• Wide receiver Andrew Means^

IOWA (5)

• Center Rob Bruggeman
• Cornerback Bradley Fletcher
• Running back Shonn Greene^
• Defensive tackle Mitch King
• Guard Seth Olsen

MICHIGAN (4)

• Long snapper Sean Griffin
• Defensive end Tim Jamison
• Defensive tackle Terrance Taylor
• Cornerback Morgan Trent

MICHIGAN STATE (3)

• Quarterback Brian Hoyer
• Running back Javon Ringer
• Safety Otis Wiley

NORTHWESTERN (1)

• Running back Tyrell Sutton

OHIO STATE (8)

• Tackle Alex Boone
• Linebacker Marcus Freeman
• Wide receiver Brian Hartline^
• Cornerback Malcolm Jenkins
• Linebacker James Laurinaitis
• Wide receiver Brian Robiskie
• Cornerback Donald Washington
• Running back Chris Wells^

PENN STATE (8)

• Wide receiver Deon Butler
• Tackle Gerald Cadogan
• Defensive end Maurice Evans^
• Defensive end Aaron Maybin^
• Wide receiver Jordan Norwood
• Cornerback Lydell Sargeant
• Center A.Q. Shipley
• Wide receiver Derrick Williams

PURDUE (4)

• Defensive end Alex Magee
• Wide receiver Greg Orton
• Quarterback Curtis Painter
• Running back Kory Sheets

WISCONSIN (7)

• Tight end Travis Beckum
• Linebacker Jonathan Casillas
• Running back P.J. Hill^
• Guard Andy Kemp
• Linebacker DeAndre Levy
• Defensive end Matt Shaughnessy
• Guard Kraig Urbik

^–Underclassman

Who got snubbed from the combine? Here are a few names surprisingly left off the list: Illinois center Ryan McDonald, Iowa defensive tackle Matt Kroul, Minnesota punter Justin Kucek, Northwestern defensive tackle John Gill, Penn State guard Rich Ohrnberger, Purdue linebacker Anthony Heygood and Wisconsin cornerback Allen Langford.

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Running back spot to get makeover in Big Ten

	US Presswire
	Javon Ringer and Chris Wells will be working on Sundays in 2009.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

The Big Ten's best position on the field this season will have a very different look in 2009.

After boasting three of the nation's top six rushers and six players ranked in the top 40, the Big Ten has seen major turnover at the running back position. In addition to graduating seniors, the league will lose three underclassmen — Iowa's Shonn Greene, Ohio State's Chris "Beanie" Wells and Wisconsin's P.J. Hill — to the NFL draft.

Seven of the 11 conference members have lost their leading rusher from this season. And of the remaining four teams — Penn State, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota — only Penn State finished in the Top 25 nationally in rushing offense (205.9 yards per game) this fall.

Though the league figures to make much-needed upgrades at quarterbacks, there will be a void in several backfields.

Here's a look at what the Big Ten lost at running back:

• Iowa's Shonn Greene won the Doak Walker Award as nation's top back, ranked second nationally in rushing average (142.3 ypg) and set a single-season school record with 1,850 rushing yards.
• Michigan State's Javon Ringer ranked fourth nationally in rushing average (125.9 ypg) and led the nation in scoring (10.2 points per game) with 22 rushing touchdowns. Few non-quarterbacks accounted for more of their team's offensive production than Ringer.
• Ohio State's Beanie Wells finished sixth nationally in rushing and racked up 1,197 rushing yards despite missing three games with a foot/toe injury. Wells finished his career ranked fourth on Ohio State's career rushing list.
• Purdue's Kory Sheets ranked 31st nationally in rushing and tied for 19th in scoring this season. Sheets also caught 37 passes out of the backfield and ranked sixth in the league in all-purpose yards.
• Wisconsin's P.J. Hill became just the second player in team history to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in his first three season as a Badger. Despite splitting carries with John Clay, Hill racked up 1,161 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
• Northwestern's Tyrell Sutton led the team in rushing (890) and ranked fourth in receptions (35) despite missing the final four regular-season contests with a wrist injury. Sutton was a four-year starter and the team's most consistent offensive player.
• Indiana's Marcus Thigpen ranked fourth in the league in all-purpose yards (143.2 ypg), tied for eighth in scoring and ninth in kickoff return average. Thigpen quietly averaged 6.7 yards per carry for an Indiana team that didn't have many reliable options on offense.
• Michigan's Sam McGuffie transferred to Rice after a season in which he finished second on the team in rushing yards (486) and third in receptions (19).

Several of these teams developed backups for 2009. Iowa's Jewel Hampton, Wisconsin's Clay and Ohio State's Dan Herron look capable of stepping into featured roles. Purdue's Jaycen Taylor returns from injury and likely will be the starter.

Other squads relied heavily on players who won't be back in 2009.

But outside of State College and maybe Ann Arbor, the running back competitions will be one of the offseason's top story lines as we inch closer toward Sept. 5.

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Final: Texas 24, Ohio State 21

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Texas needed one final push against a staunch Ohio State defense that had kept Longhorns receivers in front of it all game.

The Longhorns got it from wideout Quan Cosby, who wriggled free of Ohio State safety Anderson Russell and sprinted to the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left. Quarterback Colt McCoy led a masterful drive, as Texas marched 78 yards in 11 plays without using a timeout. Cosby had a huge performance in his final game in a Longhorns uniform.

Though Texas failed to make the statement it needed for split national title, the favored Longhorns survived to notch their fifth straight bowl victory and third in a BCS game.

Ohio State mounted an impressive fourth quarter comeback behind quarterbacks Todd Boeckman and Terrelle Pryor, who hooked up for a touchdown with 7:26 left. The Buckeyes’ ground attack secured the lead despite a hamstring injury to Chris Wells, but a defense that has stepped up all game couldn’t get the final stop.

The Buckeyes weren’t embarrassed like the last two seasons and had control for most of the game, but they ended up dropping their third consecutive postseason contest. The Big Ten did absolutely nothing to improve its national reputation after a 1-6 bowl record, arguably the worst postseason performance in league history. The league has lost six consecutive BCS bowls.

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Is Beanie Coming Back?

While it has been a foregone conclusion that Chris Wells will leave OSU to go to the NFL, after the Bucks’ bowl game on Monday, reports on ESPN.com suggest Wells has not made a decision yet, and could return to school next year.
While Beanie does have to say the right things and keep the…
Story By Dotting The "I"

Unfinished business could keep Wells at OSU

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ohio State running back Chris “Beanie” Wells is the healthiest he’s been all season heading into the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

	Matthew Emmons/US Presswire
	Chris Wells said he felt like he hadn’t “done enough at Ohio State.”

“I’m actually able to wear regular shoes now,” said Wells, referring to the right big toe injury he suffered in the season opener against Youngstown State. “It feels amazing running around in a lot lighter shoe.”

By all accounts, Wells could spend next season endorsing his own shoe as an NFL running back. The 6-foot-1, 237-pound junior is a surefire first-round draft pick, possibly the first running back selected, should he choose to forgo his senior season at Ohio State.

According to Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel, Wells doesn’t have much of a decision to make. Tressel said Wells likely would be a top-5 pick.

“If it were me [deciding], it wouldn’t be tough,” Tressel said last month.

Despite the overwhelming evidence suggesting Wells will turn pro, the back didn’t sound convinced Thursday morning. In fact, he seemed to leave the door quite open for a return to Columbus.

“I personally feel like I haven’t done enough at Ohio State,” Wells said, “the things that I wanted to accomplish here to move on to the next level. … I told [running backs coach Dick] Tressel when I first got here I wanted to be the best to ever come through Ohio State. I’ve said that in the past in the media before.

“I definitely feel I haven’t accomplished that yet.”

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