OSU Oversigning - the roster trimming begins
On the heals of a 27 man recruiting class, it is no secret that Ohio State has signed a SEC-esque volume pf players during his short tenure (last 4 years were 27+23+24+25 = 99, with several 5th year seniors from the 2011 class still on the roster as well). During his signing day press conference, Urban Meyer named three players who would leaving the team due to career ending injuries, Armani Reeves, Devin Bogard, and Ron Tanner. Bogard suffered 3 ACL injuries between high school and college, most recently this past fall vs Rutgers, so one could understand why he why he would hang it up. Reeves saw the field at nickleback, and was said to have suffered from concussions, most recently in the Big Ten Championship game vs Wisconsin. Ron Tanner's career was pretty much relegated to special teams, but he was said to have had a "foot injury" that kept him out of a couple of games.
What is curious about the medical disqualifications of Reeves and Tanner, however, is that both were seemingly healthy enough to participate in the CFP National Championship game against Oregon last month. Player participation link. So if they were healthy enough to safely see the field in January, and were not seen leaving the field injured, under what circumstances could their medical conditions now preclude them from being able to play football again?
February 5th, 2015 at 4:07 PM ^
My take - I believe most big time programs have dirt if you dig enough. Saw some comments on this thread about Reeves concussion and putting him at risk. Google Michigan football scandals and you can see where michigan pubicly apologized for playing a concusted player this past season (Morris) - and many other things - You can likewise look up OSU football scandals and find many articles regarding similiar incidents. Bottom line every program does things to get a competitive advantage - Yes even OSU As far as oversigning - Its wrong if done and kids are forced out but no one will ever know the conversation that goes on behind closed doors. We all assume they are forced out. My daughter was a Freshman this year at a D-1 school for Soccer. She didnt get a lot of PT and decided on her own to transfer because 6 hours a day 6 days a week wasnt worth it. Two of her team mates flunked out and another just quit (starter and all conference player) because it was too much work and had lost her passion. If someone looks at roster they could easily say coached forced some of those players out to make toom for the new recruits. I know everyone will still have their opinions but its my 2 cents
February 5th, 2015 at 4:30 PM ^
JJ came out against Urbz. His story is that he was the starting corner on the 2008 NC team and then blew out his knee. He was cleared by the Docs and Urbaz told him he couldn't keep up and pulled his schollie because of his arrest record. He went to Norther Bama and then was a first round pick by the Rams. Last I knew he was the starting corner.
He does have a few kids by multiple women, but who are we to judge!
February 5th, 2015 at 4:52 PM ^
Urban lets him stay = Lolz Urbz is running a criminal program
Urban boots him = Lolz Urbz just trying to oversign
I mean, what is it? Can't be both.
February 5th, 2015 at 5:40 PM ^
I never said he was running a criminal program. You, or another buckeye on the site, asked if someone had called out Urbz. Well there you go.
Besides, if you take Jenkins for his word, then I don't think what Urbz did was right. Do you? Obviously he was able to play at a very high level moving forward.
February 5th, 2015 at 7:21 PM ^
JJ was booted for drug possession, not because of injury. Which, yes, I support. If you wanted to takedown Meyer, you could have drawn comparasions between JJ and Noah Spence, one kicked off for drugs, the other not. That's fair criticism. That's a double standard. But not this oversigning mess.
February 5th, 2015 at 4:42 PM ^
February 5th, 2015 at 11:48 PM ^
I'd agree that Ron Tanner's situation is a little murky, but Reeves is pretty legit. Armani started the season as the starting CB, and missed significant time due to concussions. Reeves has played sparingly since because of lingering effects.
Similar to Jahvid Best, who despite multiple concussions fought tooth and nail to stay on the field until his doctors advised him to hang up the cleats for good.
February 6th, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
Bogard, Reeves, Tanner, Johnson, and Dodson are all ending their careers in one off-season because of "injuries." Five players.