The draft is a much more complicated animal then most people think. There are so many variables in the selection of players and most everyone forgets thee hidden gems at smaller schools across the country that get thrown into the mix. Before we talk about the Buckeyes chosen, obviously the bigger surprise was Brady Quinn falling to the 22 pick. But the good thing is he ended up where he was hoping and the Cleveland fans should be happy.

I know the front office is thrilled.

The Buckeyes fell out just as we expected with maybe a little variance either way. Ted Ginn’s stock went up the last couple of weeks although from the Dolphins standpoint, it was a big price to pay for a return guy who won’t be a standout receiver for a couple of years.

Thrilled for Gonzo! He is going to make an impact with the Colts early on. A solid possession receiver with good size, speed and the mental capacity to digest Peyton’s terminology.

Quinn Pitcock came out of nowhere, but another good choice for the Colts. He can play multiple positions on the D-line but can probably control the nose and put pressure up the middle.

While we’re with the Colts, I think a flyer on Roy Hall in the 5th wasn’t a bad choice although his lack of experience may hurt him in their system.

Also a good free agent signing of Antonio Smith could give them depth and a serious special teamer.

Who would have thought that Jay Richardson would go before Troy. Well at 6’5” 275 lbs, Jay is a very good athlete with speed and a motor that doesn’t quit.

Troy may have had to wait but I think he landed in the right place. Wasn’t really concerned about where he got draft as much as what system he would fit in with and he got a serious mentor with McNair.

With Pittman going in the 4th proves he left too early. Whoever was telling him he was a first round pick really wasn’t doing him any favors and he landed in New Orleans behind Bush and a couple other vets. He may struggle to make the team unless they are planning a couple of moves. Now that he is gone, we’re all behind him to make it.

Datish should stick in Atlanta. He is versatile especially with his experience at center.

The draft is never cut and dry and the reality is that the number you are picked at only determines your pay status and doesn’t guarantee you will make the team. Finding the right team, making an impact early and staying healthy are far more important.

Good luck Bucks! Make us proud!

Popularity: 28% [?]

A dream come true for Ted Ginn Jr. He should make an immediate impact as a returner and grow into an outstanding wide receiver.

Anthony Gonzales couldn’t have landed in a better situation. He is with the NFL’s premier quarterback. A great opportunity to have success early.

Troy Smith landed in a good situation even though he was drafted late. McNair only has a few years left, if Troy does a good job he could be the heir apparent.

Roy Hall has the size and speed to be a solid NFL wideout. He impressed the scouts on timing day and if he stays healthy, he could last for quite a few years in the pros.

Quinn Pitcock and Jay Richardson both landed in ideal situations. If they report to camp in great shape, they should both make their respective teams.

Disappointing that Doug Datish went late and T.J. Downing didn’t get drafted. Both will have up hill battles to make the final roster.

Good team for Antonio Pittman and if they keep three tailbacks, he should be a solid backup in New Orleans.

Popularity: 31% [?]

During his 17 years as an assistant football coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Bill Conley coached tight ends, linebackers, defensive ends and special teams for head coaches Earle Bruce, John Cooper and Jim Tressel. All-American and/or eventual NFL players he coached include Cris Carter, Thomas “Pepper” Johnson, Chris Spielman, Mike Vrabel, Andy Groom, B.J. Sander, Ben Hartsock, Darnell Sanders and Mike Nugent.

Conley coached teams that included the 2002 national champions, and others earning berths in numerous bowl games, including the Rose, Fiesta, Outback, Sugar, Citrus, Holiday, Hall of Fame and Cotton Bowls.

As the Buckeyes’ recruiting coordinator in 1991 and 1992, and then from 1994 to 2004, Conley distinguished himself and gained national acclaim. Recognized by ESPN as the No. 1 college football recruiter in the country, Conley consistently brought high-impact or “franchise” players to Ohio State. A few of those players include Eddie George, Orlando Pace, Terry Glenn, Greg Bellisari, Andy Katzenmoyer, Chris Gamble, Nate Salley and Mike Nugent.

Conley is a graduate of The Ohio State University, where he was a member of three Big Ten championship teams, including the 1968 national championship team, under legendary head coach Woody Hayes. Conley earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Ohio State, and a master’s degree in administration from Wright State University.

In the spring of 2004, Conley retired from Ohio State and was named vice president at MAX Sports Center, a sports medicine and athletic performance institute in Columbus, Ohio. Today, he works to improve the skills of the nation’s top athletes, while keeping his ears to the ground for coaches looking for that next franchise player. Along with being one of the nation’s top motivational speakers, Conley is also a radio sports analyst for 610 WTVN in Columbus, Ohio.

Popularity: 17% [?]

This week’s poll question is sponsored by: ClearSaleing

Popularity: 21% [?]

The marathon 2007 NFL Draft had a few surprises, particularly on the first day with Brady Quinn sliding to 22 and Ted Ginn Jr. rising to 9. Ohio State fans saw another great draft for the program. The Columbus Dispatch reports that Ohio State passed USC for the lead in all time first rounders.

Here’s a quick recap of the notables:

Ted Ginn Jr.
Despite an adverse reaction by Dolphins fans and harsh criticism by Keyshawn Johnson (the most overrated receiver in NFL history), Ted Ginn Jr. will have an immediate and significant impact in South Florida. For those of us who’ve watched him over the last 3 years, we know Ginn is a difference maker. Every time this kid touched the ball, the whole stadium held its collective breath. He’ll get better with the subtleties of playing receiver and getting off the ball. My guess is that there’ll be a bunch of NFL defensive backs who won’t sleep very well next season.

Anthony Gonzalez
For anyone who thought Anthony Gonzalez should’ve stayed at OSU for one more year, are there any other questions? He’ll play the slot for the Colts and become a Manning favorite. I can’t think of a better fit for Gonzalez’ style – the smartest quarterback in the league now has the smartest receiver. Watch for him to shake things up in the middle and put pressure on nickel guys right away. No one outside of Columbus really appreciates how fast he is and how well he runs after the catch. Don’t be surprised if he has a 14-year career and ends up in Canton. Yes, I said Canton. He’s that good.

Troy Smith
Despite the millions of dollars teams spend on player evaluations, they still make mistakes. Ok, so Troy Smith is an inch or two short by NFL standards. So what? He doesn’t play short. And, oh yea, all he does is make big plays and win big games (the only stats that matter). Apparently, there were 8 better quarterbacks in the draft this year. Huh? Did anyone see him play over the last 2 seasons? If you want to put things in perspective, Drew Stanton went in Round 2. Forget the numbers and combine nonsense, just watch a little film. Was there any doubt about the superior player? No matter, Smith’ll fight his way to the top in the NFL just like he did at the college level. Now he has a little extra motivation. Anyone ever hear of 6th round pick Tom Brady?

Brady Quinn
I know. He isn’t a Buckeye. But he’s a Columbus kid and now he’s a Cleveland Brown, so I’m compelled to comment. Forget the sappy melodrama of draft day. If he wants to prove that he was really worth a top 5 pick, he’ll have to show up in big games. And he’ll have to do it sooner rather than later. He could be just what the Browns need for the next 10 years. I just hope he can deal with the inevitable pressure that comes with a success-deprived city. But isn’t dealing with pressure what ND quarterbacks are supposed to do?

Popularity: 29% [?]

The Spring Game is not always the best environment to evaluate new quarterbacks because there are a lot more variables in the equation. The offensive line is not in synch because they haven’t worked together as a unit, the backs and receivers are different and there are a lot of guys participating who really don’t know exactly what they are doing. But I think we learned a few things about the three signal callers that I can identify today.

Todd Boeckman
Todd is probably still the leader although his numbers in the Spring game were not that impressive. He was getting a lot of heat from the defensive line even though he had the starters at right guard and tackle. He needs to pick up his receivers quicker and find his check down if no one is open early. Once he committed he did get the ball up early and did have the big play down the sidelines. I like his size and mobility but he doesn’t run as well as the other two. Got robbed on the waived off TD pass to Robiskie . Grade B-

Rob Schoenhoft
Ran pretty well but only because he was either pressured quickly or could find his receivers downfield. Seemed a little confused when he came back to the sidelines, but he didn’t get much help either. Tress’s passing offense relies on reading coverages at the line of scrimmage and some of the young receivers may have made some mistakes leaving Rob to run. He also needs to find his check offs and get the ball out of his hands. Nice TD pass but also a great catch by Brendan Smith. Grade C+

Antonio Henton
Henton has some serious upside potential because he reminds me a lot of Troy early on. He is faster, a little bigger and has a stronger arm but has a ways top go as far as getting the ball out, accuracy and seeing the field. That will come but I really liked the way he got out and made things happen with his legs. Needs to learn to stop spinning, he will get planted one of these days and never do it again. Even though he didn’t have the numbers and made a few mistakes, the upside looks promising. Grade C+

Overall, the QB question is not answered but I think we have three pretty good athletes who, with a solid supporting cast, can lead the offense. I would like to see all of them be a little more vocal in a leadership roll and they can develop that a lot in the off season. It’s going to be interesting to see how Tress plays it and we may see all three early in the season in thee cupcake games. Stay tuned!

Popularity: 31% [?]

This week’s poll question is sponsored by: ClearSaleing

Popularity: 21% [?]

Anybody who is a true Buckeye Fan will tailgate before OSU sporting events. Tailgating does not just apply to the “football season,” but to all major sporting events with the word “buckeye” in the title. So where are you tailgating on Saturday for the OSU Spring Game? We’ve got one for you!

BuckeyeLegends.com will have a tailgate tent set up on the south side of St John Arena just west of The Blackwell. The tent will be ready for action at 11:00 am and will run until game time (which is at 1:00 pm).

We would love to have all of you come by and chit chat with our Legends as well as get some autographs to share with you friends. BuckeyeLegends.com has Rob Harley, James Cotton, and John Kacherski confirmed to sign autographs, and others will be available throughout the duration of the day.

The inside of our tent will play host to our important VIPS, Sponsors and invited guests, and for this game… our contest winner Michael Heffelfinger. Michael will be transported to the tailgate in the BuckeyeLegends.com Hummer, hang out with us and eat and drink with us in the tent and then have a VIP Sideline experience with Jim Karsatos.

If you want to spend future BuckeyeLegends.com tailgates inside the tent with us and be treated like a VIP, then talk to us about sponsorship opportunities. Visit the Contact us section of www.BuckeyeLegends.com for all of our contact information.

Come support your alumni Buckeye Legends, as well as your current team by coming down to campus for the 2007 Spring Game.

Go Bucks!

Popularity: 28% [?]

This week’s poll question is sponsored by: ClearSaleing

Popularity: 21% [?]

With all of the new NCAA rules about practice time and eligibility standards the OSU Spring Game is barely a football game anymore. You can’t blame the coaches because they have to maneuver within the rules yet make sure they get the most out of the time to evaluate players and prepare for the fall. This year Tress has 15 practices to get a look at filling holes vacated by 18 seniors and 3 juniors with only 8 of those practices in full pads. You can bet that he and the coaches will scours those tapes to get every bit of data they can.

Although I know these rules where put in place to protect the scholar athlete’s academic pursuits, I think the rules hurt way more than they help. My first concern is that not having enough time on the field, especially in full contact, the chance of injury is increased. I also think that the players suffer because their opportunity to get time on the field is so limited that if they don’t make an impression with the coaches in the spring they will fall down the depth chart which, in my experience, creates a bunch of stress that affects their academic performance.

In my day, we used to go full pads every day for I don’t remember how many weeks and then we would play three spring games; the big one in Ohio Stadium and the other two we would travel around Ohio (Dayton, Cleveland, Akron and Cincy) so that more fans would get a chance to see us scrimmage. The scoring system was normal and we would have plenty of players to field two teams because we carried 50 walk-ons in the spring. Even after all of that, I don’t remember my grades being affected by the work load and, in fact, spring practice probably kept me out of some trouble.

Now look at the game we have today. Because of time, limited scholarships, walk-on limits and injuries, the game is now little more than a scrimmage with a twist. Tress devised a scoring system where, although there are two teams, the system pits the offense against the defense where the D can score points too. They have to run players from sideline to sideline due to depth shortages at certain positions. Then they also try to lay off the quarterbacks to avoid injury to your play caller. The players have fun with the drafting of the teams and the media makes a big deal out of it, but in reality it’s not really a football game, just a glorified scrimmage that draws 60,000 fans.

The one thing I will say is that I’m glad Tress kept the Steak and beans competition and added the battle for jersey color rights for the rest of the year. That keeps it fun for the players and that’s always good.

Popularity: 27% [?]