Noah Spence still practicing with osu
Speculate what you will, but Noah Spence is still practicing with the team. Seems like good ol’ Urbz is doing his thing again, leaving the door open. From the article: "Yeah, he actually practiced today," Meyer said. "He's doing things to get healthy, but he's also -- you know, we're supporting him."
Until official word comes down regarding his status, they’re allowing him to take part in the team’s activities.
September 18th, 2014 at 9:04 AM ^
Signed,
Urban Meyer
September 18th, 2014 at 9:05 AM ^
September 18th, 2014 at 9:06 AM ^
At initial glance, I don't have any problems either. BUT knowing his history and all the other stuff he's pulled, I'm forced to reconsider this story as a smoke screen.
September 18th, 2014 at 9:54 AM ^
It seems to me that they're looking for a way to keep him on the team. It's been how long now, and they still haven't announced that he's done for the year? Mitch McGary says fuck OSU.
September 18th, 2014 at 10:59 AM ^
September 18th, 2014 at 3:50 PM ^
Molly is also inside the circle of trust.
September 18th, 2014 at 9:09 AM ^
School + rehab + practice is a lot on one man's plate.
September 18th, 2014 at 9:17 AM ^
Good thing he goes to OSU then so the first item on your list of daily activites won't take much time or effort to complete.
September 18th, 2014 at 10:03 AM ^
The second one does not seem too involved either.
September 18th, 2014 at 9:17 AM ^
Rhymes with pool
September 18th, 2014 at 10:18 AM ^
September 18th, 2014 at 10:22 AM ^
Damn it, you beat me to it. That was a slow-pitch right over the plate that was just sitting there.
September 18th, 2014 at 9:11 AM ^
September 18th, 2014 at 9:35 AM ^
But are we sure that the most recent test was a B1G test and not an OSU one?
First positive test doesn't result in any missed games for OSU tests.
Second positive test results in two-week suspension from all competition at the earliest time (which isn't happening here, but alright).
Third positive test will be a two-week suspension from all in-season competition. For illicit drugs (obviously, we know the first one was, not sure on second failed test) is a year-suspension.
September 18th, 2014 at 9:48 AM ^
Honestly not sure, but I read the above referenced article yesterday and it said that Spence is facing permenant ineligibility due to the second positive test for a banned substance according to the B1G handbook. Also said that a 'source' said it's a long shot that Spence is reinstated. Basically kind of made it sound like it may not be totally in Meyer's hands.
September 18th, 2014 at 9:57 AM ^
Keep going.....
Fourth failed test results in having to sit on the "time out" step at Urban's house for two hours and write "I will not do bad drugs anymore" 100 times on his basement blackboard.
Fifth failed test results in three week suspension from all off-season competition. All of it. No matter how important the activity might be - he can do NONE of the competition for three solid weeks (in the off-season)
Sixth failed test results in HELLO Josh Gordon!
September 18th, 2014 at 11:43 AM ^
He only has 10 fingers and it is OSU.
September 18th, 2014 at 9:19 AM ^
Helps the kid by keeping him involed with something that has structure,but he isn't going to play there again. Why give him false hope?
September 18th, 2014 at 9:21 AM ^
September 18th, 2014 at 9:57 AM ^
He's still an NFL prospect, so the reps should be good for him.
I have a hard time getting too riled up about drug crimes, so I'm fine with what OSU is doing here. It's probably good for Spence both professionally and personally, and his wrongdoings so far don't seem of the "lost his privilege to be part of the program" variety.
September 18th, 2014 at 9:23 AM ^
The Ohio State Difference!!
September 18th, 2014 at 9:45 AM ^
As Saint Dantonio might say, "What's the problem? The kid's a playmaker!"
September 18th, 2014 at 10:06 AM ^
Be a terrible football player and get the boot from Urbs. Be a star player and hit your girlfriend or have an addiction to ecstasy and "you deserve another chance and support from the program."
September 18th, 2014 at 10:07 AM ^
agrees.
September 18th, 2014 at 11:06 AM ^
Carlos Hyde definitely agrees.
September 18th, 2014 at 10:42 AM ^
Guaranteed that he will be play against Michigan.
September 18th, 2014 at 10:53 AM ^
Can someone be addicted to X? I didn't think that was possible.
Is the "A" in MDMA the problem or did he get popped for unprescribed adderall?
September 18th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^
is that he's ecstatic to be out there.
September 18th, 2014 at 3:46 PM ^
Urb is trying to MOLLYfy the fan base.
September 18th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^
I know the big thing on here is "Urban is a douchebag who lets his players get away with everything!", but I don't see how his stance on discipline has been less than anything Hoke has done. Spence sat his three games and then it came out that he failed another test. OSU/the Big Ten haven't announced anything yet on next steps, so Urban is in wait-and-see mode. How is this different than what Hoke did with Toussaint? He let him practice with the team before suspending him from the Alabama game:
http://www.pressandguide.com/articles/2012/08/13/sports/doc5028f0b10769…
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8322048/michigan-wolveri…
September 18th, 2014 at 11:45 AM ^
His response to discipline since coming to Columbus has been a lot better than when he was at Florida. Who knows, maybe its because his "challenges" to discipline at Florida were bigger, no idea for sure. However, and I say this as someone who hated him even before he became the osu coach...he's someone with questionable practices that demonstrate he's more interested in winning at any cost instead of developing men of character. Its my opinion that his true colors will come through over time and the deal with the devil that osu has made will bite them in the ass at some point. Knowing what he's done in the past seems to be the best predictor of future behavior, and its possible that this is all a self-fullfilling prophesy we have going on.
September 18th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
I agree that while at Florida he had a lot of off the field issues and wasn't as rigid on discipline as he should have been, but now going on 3 seasons at OSU, it hasn't been an issue. In fact, I think some OSU fans would say he's been too heavy-handed with most situations in an effort to stem any trends. The Mewhort and Stoneburner suspension surprised a lot of people for how hard he came down for peeing outside.
I don't see the "deal with the devil" as Meyer has not had a history with major NCAA issues and has obviously handled discipline well for 3 years. I was a little worried when he was first hired, but I don't think Meyer will suddenly change his stance on it either just to "win at all costs". For example, he could have cleared the Hyde suspension after no charges came down, but he didn't, and it may have cost Hyde the Heisman.
September 18th, 2014 at 12:10 PM ^
dig a little more into his history at Florida. Maybe he didn't have any major NCAA issues at Florida because he swept them under the rug. Drug tests, etc...and a big time polarization in their locker room. The circumstances he left Florida under weren't just surrounding his "health" issues.
September 18th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ^
September 18th, 2014 at 1:39 PM ^
http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2012-04-09/urban-meyer-florida-ohio-state-ncaa-violation-recruiting-drugs-program-will-musc EDIT: I'm not downvoting you anywhere in here...we're just talkin' like regular human beings.
September 18th, 2014 at 1:59 PM ^
No worries, it's to be expected. I enjoy the conversation.
I have to say it, though - MGoBlog is better than Matt Hayes links.
But the article doesn't really confirm much for me other than what I already said. Meyer has improved his discipline and handle of the team at Ohio State. I haven't found an article yet that talks about him sweeping major NCAA violations under the rug with any kind of evidence. The Hayes article has a lot of he said/he said and states known facts like Florida's arrest record to try to make it seem more concrete, but very little meat. There are a lot of quotes labeled as being from "former players" or "sources".
Florida under Urban was obviously a problem. Too many arrests, too many problems handled "in-house". Ohio State under Urban has been quite different. Until he proves otherwise, I'm not going to call the man a "deal with the devil".
September 18th, 2014 at 2:09 PM ^
I wouldn't expect you would...not yet anyway. For some reason, ever since he took the job, I've been waiting for that other shoe to drop. And although he hasn't gone full "devil" mode yet, there's been little things along the way that seem to indicate its lurking just below the surface. Hey, I get it...he's your coach...you're going to defend him. I would too if roles were reversed. But yeah, a lot of he said/she said stuff, but you have to admit there's a lot of smoke here...and based on other things we've seen (e.g. Hernandez), it isn't hard to believe any of it.
September 18th, 2014 at 2:40 PM ^
You're right, he's our coach and every fanbase is blindly supportive to a point.
Honestly, I know the man isn't a saint. He is as ruthless as they get when it comes to winning, which winning big in college requires. But I know that if we start getting the arrest record that Florida had, me and most of the fans I know will demand answers.
September 18th, 2014 at 2:44 PM ^
after the Spence story broke recently, and I read more folks than I expected saying they wanted JT back. I was really surprised.
September 18th, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^
Personally, Tress was much worse on discipline. He gave guys ridiulous amounts of chances.
Ramzy wrote a great piece on it:
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2014/05/36054/a-man-e…
September 18th, 2014 at 12:35 PM ^
September 18th, 2014 at 12:59 PM ^
I would classify keeping your starting LT and TE away from the team until the season started as putting the team in danger of losing games. Especially since they had not played a single game in Urban's system yet.
As for your second paragraph, that's strictly opinion and since I don't personally know the man I can't counter it. And even if I could, I doubt it would change your mind.
September 18th, 2014 at 1:10 PM ^
September 18th, 2014 at 1:36 PM ^
He was suspended for 3 games (Clemson and VT would've been 2 of the biggest games of his career and we lost both) for his first failure and his suspension is still up in the air for his second... how is that bare minimum?
September 18th, 2014 at 2:17 PM ^
Urban didn't suspend him the 3 games, the big ten did., so he gets zero credit for that. And OSU helped him appeal his original suspension which should've been for a year.
September 18th, 2014 at 2:32 PM ^
So when Urban suspends a player when the Big Ten wouldn't he's a liar and a douchebag and when the Big Ten suspends a player who fails their test, Urban is somehow a liar and a douchebag? And I don't blame OSU and the Spence family for challenging it, their kid said he was slipped something. Any parent/coach would stick up for the kid, especially when he's had no past issues.
It's no different than any other school who says they will handle punishment when all the facts are processed. The Big Ten and OSU will make a decision on Spence probably within the next few days, most likely ending his college career. Most Buckeye fans I know don't expect him to play another game at OSU.
September 18th, 2014 at 2:50 PM ^
It's situational and for some yea he's the head coach of OSU and douche by default but, under the circumstances when the players where supended for peeing outside it was during the height of the "Urban was too soft on star players at Florida" flack the Hernandez murder arrest and the Diggs family calling him out. Highly doubtful it was by chance that was the most harsh suspension OSU has handed out since Urban was hired.
You'll notice a big difference when you look at Michigan fans when a player messes up, search for the Frank Clark suspension thread and the Touisant threads and you'll see most folks on this board would have liked harsher punishments. It worked out well for Clark who hasn't had any other incidents since, so it's safe to say we where wrong there.
Spence is gone if he practices or not, the right thing to do would be barring him from team activities. They are just waiting for the appeal but, he is using up practice snaps that could be used by someone else more deserving of the time.
September 18th, 2014 at 2:58 PM ^
I struggle saying if barring him from the team is the right thing to do or not. I don't really buy the "he's got a medical issue/addiction", but I do know that the way Urban handled it with Spence's family makes it seem like there's more going on. I also don't think Spence is out there repping with the first team. "Practicing" can mean a lot of different things and Urban certainly isn't going to waste reps on someone who most likely won't play this year. If I have to guess, Spence is scout teaming it or doing drill work.
I would honestly say the Hyde suspensions were harsher than the Mewhort/Stoneburner punishments. Hyde really lost out on some opportunities because of it and had to beat out multiple players to start again. He was never actually charged with anything, but Urban made him sit anyway.
September 18th, 2014 at 3:10 PM ^
First off playing college sports is a priviledge not a right. Spence failed 2 drug tests, he claimed the first someone spiked his drink and that failed, so I doubt using the same defence twice will work lol. Any practice time he is taking up is taking away time from someone else who didn't fail two conference tests.
The Hyde Thing could have been worse, imagine if it happend this year after the Ray Rice. It was not as bad as the Ray Rice thing but folks would be all over OSU and the campus police if that had happend now