OSU’s Denlinger honored for work in classroom

By Brian Kollars | Thursday, November 5, 2009, 01:25 PM

Four Named Academic All-District Ohio State football players recognized

COLUMBUS - Four members of the Ohio State football squad have been selected to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA academic all-district team for District 4.

Named to the all-district academic second team were offensive guard Bryant Browning, defensive tackle Todd Denlinger, offensive guard Andrew Moses and running back Marcus Williams.

Browning, a junior from Cleveland, Ohio, is a 3.33 marketing student; Moses, from Dublin, Ohio, graduated with a 3.86 gpa in political science. Denlinger, a senior from Troy, Ohio, holds a 3.33 average in construction systems management. Williams, from Ironton, Ohio, has a 3.64 gpa in the physical therapy graduate program.

District 4 includes all colleges in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. The Academic All-America teams will be announced later in November.

No. 12 Ohio State (7-2) visits No. 10 Penn State (8-1) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern for a Big Ten contest that will be televised by ABC.

Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment

OSU-Iowa kickoff set for 3:30 p.m.

By Kyle Nagel | Sunday, November 1, 2009, 05:26 PM

This just in from the wire …

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Iowa at Ohio State football game on Nov. 14 will kick off at 3:30 p.m., the Big Ten Conference announced on Sunday.

The time was set by ABC, which will be carrying the game on a regional basis.

The eighth-ranked Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten) are alone in first place in the conference heading into Saturday’s home game with Northwestern. The 15th-ranked Buckeyes (7-2, 4-1) play at No. 11 Penn State on Saturday.

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment

Tressel on Saine: ‘He said hi to me once’

By Kyle Nagel | Thursday, October 29, 2009, 12:49 PM

Jim Tressel just made a near-perfect description of running back Brandon Saine.

On his weekly radio show, Tressel was asked by a caller about leadership in the offensive huddle. After talking about a few players, Tressel brought up Saine, the Piqua High School product.

“He’s a leader in the way he plays, but he’s not really an outgoing guy,” Tressel said. “He said hi to be once in his first three years here. I’m not sure if he said much more than that.”

That’s a good characterization of Saine’s personality. Even through high school as the best player on his team, Saine was never a rah-rah player. He provided his motivation with his speedy and powerful legs.

He has done the same this season for the Buckeyes. He is second on the team in total yards with 426 yards rushing on 81 carries.

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment

OSU-Penn State kickoff announced

By Brian Kollars | Monday, October 26, 2009, 11:36 AM

This just in from OSU media relations:

Ohio State-Penn State at 3:30 Will be televised by ABC

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State-Penn State football game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, Nov. 7, the Big Ten Conference announced today. The contest will be played at Beaver Stadium in State College and will be televised by ABC on a regional basis. Mirror coverage will be available in other areas on ESPN2.

Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment

Maybe it really is the sweater vest

By Kyle Nagel | Wednesday, October 14, 2009, 08:00 AM

Bill Stewart, the West Virginia football coach, has started wearing a blue sweater vest on the sidelines, and the Mountaineers are 2-0 in those games.

He says he didn’t make the change to mimic Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who is famous for his sweater vest. Instead, Stewart said, he just needed something to wear over a gold T-shirt:

“I didn’t want us all to look like mustard seeds on the sideline,” he said. “I thought if I had (just) the shirt on (people would say) ‘What’s he wearing, an oxford?’ So I had the Nike sweater vest and I thought I would try it.”

Then Stewart playfully withdrew when asked specifically about the comparison to Tressel:

“Whoa, whoa, Jim Tressel is a good-looking young man,” Stewart said. “He’s aged better than me.”

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment

Coleman honored by OSU

By Brian Kollars | Monday, October 12, 2009, 01:26 PM

This just in from OSU:

Ohio State Football Award Winners Outstanding play against Wisconsin recognized

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State football coaching staff has selected its weekly award winners for outstanding play in Saturday’s 31-13 Big Ten win over Wisconsin.

Safety Kurt Coleman was the Buckeyes’ defensive player of the week, with an 89-yard interception return for a touchdown (the fifth longest such play in Ohio State history) and a career-best 14 tackles. Ray Small, who returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, was the player of the week on the special units.

The “Attack Force” award went to linebacker Ross Homan, who had 15 tackles and a pair of sacks. An offensive player of the week, the Jim Parker lineman of the week and the Jack Tatum Big Hit of the week were not awarded.

Scout team champions were: Offense: Spencer Smith; Defense: Taylor Rice; Special Units: Ricky Crawford.

No. 7 Ohio State (5-1/3-0) continues Big Ten play Saturday at Purdue (1-5/0-2) in a noon game that will be televised by the Big Ten Network.

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment

Sanzenbacher a key get for OSU

By Kyle Nagel | Thursday, October 8, 2009, 10:00 AM

Ran across an interesting story on Dane Sanzenbacher this morning, and it describes how the Ohio State junior receiver got to Columbus.

Sanzenbacher, from Toledo Central Catholic, got a scholarship offer from Toledo after he had an impressive junior season: 65 catches for 16 touchdowns on offense and 11 interceptions on defense.

Dane Sanzenbacher

Then, Cleveland Glenville coach Ted Ginn Sr. organized a bus trip of standout incoming seniors, which led to offers from Ohio State and Iowa.

Sanzenbacher has proven to be the Buckeyes’ key down field threat this season. He is averaging 21.6 yards per catch on his 14 receptions, and he leads OSU with four touchdowns.

This from coach Jim Tressel, from The (Toledo) Blade story on Sanzenbacher:

“Dane was obviously a very fast football player, and a guy who knew what was going on out there,” Tressel said. “We were impressed with his competitive nature and his football smarts, and we were convinced he was a quality young man who would be an asset to our program. We’re thrilled to have him.”

He might not be the flashiest guy, and he gets his fair share of grief about the length and pronunciation of his name, but Sanzenbacher has been a key player for Ohio State. And, will continue to be throughout the season.

Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment