From The Ohio State University Athletics Communications Department

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Post-Spring Two-Deep Chart Released

It’s the first two-deep chart for Coach Urban Meyer’s Ohio State Buckeyes

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The first official two-deep chart of the Urban Meyer coaching era at Ohio State was revealed today as Meyer presented it to a room of more than 40 reporters covering the news at the Woody Hayes Athletics Center.

With 18 starters returning from last season including both kickers, there are plenty of familiar names on the two-deep chart, including fourth-year starting fullback Zach Boren and three-year starters Jake Stoneburner (tight end), John Simon (defensive line) and C.J. Barnett (safety).

Some two-deep notes:

• The offensive two-deep lists 12 positions to take into consideration the myriad of options Ohio State’s spread offense will present with a running back, fullback, tight end and three receivers.
• Counting the 11-man defensive look, those 23 positions feature eight seniors, nine juniors and five sophomores.
• Defensive end Nathan Williams, receiver Verlon Reed and center Jacoby Boren all appear on the two-deep despite missing all or part of spring drills. Coaches are hopeful all will be ready to help the team this fall.
• Only two starters return on the offensive line – Jack Mewhort and Andrew Norwell – with Norwell  the only returnee at his 2011 position (left guard). The projected starters do have a combined 32 starts, though, with 13 apiece from Mewhort and Norwell, six from right guard Marcus Hall and nine tight end starts for the converted-to-right-tackle senior Reid Fragel.
• Every skill position player on offense is an underclassmen except for Boren and Stoneburner.
• The defensive line leads all position groups with 78 combined starts (including 62 among the starters) with John Simon’s 26 tops. Williams, Johnathan Hankins and Garrett Goebel have 13 starts apiece and Adam Bellamy has 10.
• Among the specialists, the only change from last year is at holder where Ben Buchanan takes over for the now graduated Derek Erwin. Otherwise, Buchanan returns as punter, Drew Basil will handle kickoffs and placements and George Makridis returns as the long snapper, although Bryce Haynes is listed along with him as the starter there.

And some two-deep quotes from Coach Meyer:

• “Corey Linsley was a surprise on offense, but not really a surprise. I just hadn’t seen him play. But he is a journeyman-to starter player. He has the potential to be a very good player. He is a very committed player.”
• “Michael Bennett was a surprise on defense. He’s listed as a backup to Johnathan Hankins but that may not necessarily be the case in the fall. It’s hard for me to say that he isn’t one of the four best.”
• Regarding the receivers: “I think we have enough talent there to be functional in the fall.”
• “Talent will get you seven or eight wins. Discipline gets you to around nine.Leadership is when the magic starts happening.”
• “I am very much satisfied with our quarterback depth. I like Kenny Guiton. I’m proud to say he is great to be around. He’s serious about school and himself. I’m very pleased with his progress and with Braxton Miller’s progress.”
• “Much rides on the leadership of Braxton and Kenny this summer for our passing game to be functional this fall.”
• “Zach Boren is someone who can wiggle in space. He is much better than I thought. He can catch and carry the football.”
• Regarding a college football playoff: “I think the ideal setup is what we’ve had the last decade of football.”

Link to two-deep The OSU depth chart:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1185905-ohio-state-football-breaking-news-buckeyes-post-spring-depth-chart-released

www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com

THE PEOPLE. THE TRADITION. THE EXCELLENCE.

From The Ohio State University Athletics Communications Department

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Grade A! Coach Urban Meyer’s programs achieve academically

He has fine graduation success rates and Academic Progress Rate scores

COLUMBUS, Ohio – It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that 44 Ohio State football players had a grade point average over 3.00 for the winter quarter, head coach Urban Meyer’s first at Ohio State, and a total that is second-most by the football team in the last five academic quarters.

It is not surprising because Ohio State traditionally boasts outstanding accomplishments from its student-athletes. Consider:

• A school-record 548 student-athletes will be named OSU Scholar-Athletes this year;
• Ohio State typically leads the Big Ten in annual Distinguished Scholars – those with a 3.70 or above grade point average for the year – and in Academic All-Big Ten Conference honorees; and
• The football program has had the No. 1 Academic Progress Rate score among the Top 15 teams in the nation twice in the last three years, and its impressive 985 APR among all bowl teams in 2011-12 ranked fourth.

It also isn’t surprising because Meyer’s student-athletes and his programs, historically, achieve academically.

Meyer’s eight teams that have been rated with an Academic Progress Rate score – two at Utah and six at Florida – have a fine, single year average APR score of 966. This figure is not only considerably higher than the average Division I football score of 936 between 2003 and 2010, but it also places Meyer second among all coaches who have led a team to a BCS championship game.

While the single-year score is based on the number of student-athletes on that team, the multi-year APR provides the most accurate average APR for coaches who have been at an institution four consecutive years. And even using the multi-year average, Meyer’s last four Florida teams have the second-highest APR among championship game coaches with a 975 score.

Furthermore, for six consecutive years Meyer’s Florida teams were in the Top 3 in the Southeastern Conference in both Academic Progress Rate scores and graduation success rates.

“We can and should expect our football student-athletes to continue to achieve success in the classroom,” said Professor John P. Bruno, the University’s Faculty Athletics Representative. “Coach Meyer brings high academic standards and values to Ohio State. By any metric used for monitoring the academic progress of student athletes (i.e. GPA, APR score, or Graduation Success Rate), it is clear that Coach Meyer’s teams, at each of his institutions, have been among the most successful in the country.”

Meyer’s student-athletes are academic achievers.

• While 37 football players will be honored as an OSU Scholar-Athlete this year, an impressive note is all six freshmen who enrolled in January – Jacoby Boren, Bri’onte Dunn, Cardale Jones, Joshua Perry, Tyvis Powell and Michael Thomas – all topped the 3.0 cumulative grade point average threshold.
• One-hundred-fifty (150) of his Florida football players were named to the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll, including an SEC record-tying 37 in 2008.
• Meyer-coached student-athletes at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida were named to the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference or Southeastern Conference “all-academic” teams 187 times.
• By April 2011, 104 of Meyer’s Florida Gator players had received his degree, or an average of over 17 players graduating per year.
• During the 2011-12 bowl season, using APR rankings data for the four years ending in the 2009-10 school year, Florida ranked 10th among the 70 schools that played in a bowl game with an APR of 976. Ohio State, Boise State and Stanford were among the schools with better APRs than Florida, coached by Meyer during the ranking periods. This according to research by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida.
• According to the Central Florida study, Florida also had a Top 10 score among 2011-12 bowl teams in African-American football student-athlete graduation success rates (75 pct.) and an 88 percent figure for white student-athletes.
• Meyer has coached six Academic All-Americans: Utah’s Morgan Scalley (in 2003 and 2004) and Alex Smith (2004), and Florida’s Tim Tebow (in 2006, 2007 and 2008).
• Meyer-coached players have been named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year (Tim Tebow in 2008 and 2009; and Alex Smith in 2004), National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete (Chris Leak in 2006 and Tim Tebow in 2008), and a William V. Campbell Trophy winner (Tim Tebow in 2009), semifinalist or finalist (Florida’s Mike Degory in 2005, Chris Leak in 2006 and James Smith in 2008).

Here is a closer look at the APR scores (from NCAA.org) at the University of Florida between 2004-2010 – Meyer arrived in Jan. 2005 – and a few notes:

• 2004-05 – 966 APR score was second in the SEC, in the 83rd percentile nationally and third-best among the Top 25 teams in the nation.
• 2005-06 – 961 APR score was third in the SEC, in the 82nd percentile nationally and eighth-best among the Top 25 teams in the nation.
• 2006-07 – 962 APR score was second in the SEC, in the 83rd percentile nationally and fourth-best among the Top 25 teams in the nation.
• 2007-08 – 963 APR score was third in the SEC, in the 80th percentile nationally and sixth-best among the Top 25 teams in the nation.
• 2008-09 – 971 APR score was third in the SEC, in the 83rd percentile nationally and fifth-best among the Top 25 teams in the nation.
• 2009-10 – 976 APR score was tied for second in the SEC, in the 86th percentile nationally and, although Florida was not ranked among the Top 25 teams in the nation, the score is fifth-best among those Top 25 teams.

It’s crystal clear by the numbers: Coach Urban Meyer is serious about the academic achievements of his student-athletes.

www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com

THE PEOPLE. THE TRADITION. THE EXCELLENCE.

From the Cincinnati Bengals Public Relations Department

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CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals today signed two draft choices, DT Devon Still of Penn State and WR Marvin Jones of California.

Still (6-5, 305) was a second-round choice, 53^rd overall. He was a first-team Associated Press All-American last season and also was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year while serving as a Nittany Lions co-captain. Over his final two Penn State seasons, he had 8.5 sacks and 27.0 tackles-for-loss.

Jones (6-2, 200) was the second of three Bengals selections in the fifth round, 166^th overall.  Jones finished his four-year Cal career with 156 catches for 2,270 yards and 13 touchdowns, and he burnished his draft stock with strong performances at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine.

The Bengals now have signed four of the club’s 10 draft choices. Previously signed were the team’s other two fifth-rounders, CB Shaun Prater of Iowa and S George Iloka of Boise State.

From the Cincinnati Bengals Public Relations Department

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CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals today signed CB Shaun Prater and S George Iloka, who both were fifth-round choices by Cincinnati in last month’s 2012 NFL Draft.

Prater (5-10, 190; Iowa) was the 156th overall selection. He played in 48 games with 35 starts over four seasons at Iowa, posting 171 tackles, seven INTs and 19 additional passes defensed. He had a 24.7-yard avg. on INT returns, two of which he carried for TDs.

Iloka (6-4, 225; Boise State) was the 167th pick in the draft. He played 53 games with 45 starts over four seasons for Boise State, with 232 tackles, seven INTs and 17 additional passes defensed.

By Max Brantley

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The Arkansas Times

www.arktimes.com

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A Twitter from Mallory Hardin at Channel 4 in Little Rock, Ark., says, and I’ve confirmed, that this wrecked Harley now up for auction in Northwest Arkansas is the cycle former Razorbacks Coach Bobby Petrino was riding when, well, you know the rest.

Current bidding is at $2,550 for the 2007 model with “Hawg Wild” emblazoned on the side and more than a few scratches and dents. The bidding will continue until noon May 30, when it will go “live” for up to two more hours of bidding.

READ REST OF THE STORY HERE:

http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2012/05/09/ride-like-petrino

From The Pittsburgh Steelers Media Relations Department

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PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed their second-round draft pick from the 2012 NFL Draft, OT Mike Adams. Financial terms of the four-year deal were not disclosed.

Adams (6-7, 323), who was the 56^th overall pick, played collegiately at The Ohio State University. Adams started 25 of 30 games he played in during his four-year career. The Farrell, Pa. native, registered 167 knockdowns and 33 touchdown-resulting blocks in his final two seasons. In 2011, Adams earned second-team All Big Ten Conference honors. As a junior he was named to the All Big Ten Conference first-team as well as The NFL Draft Report’s All-American third-team.

Adams is the Steelers’ fourth draft pick of the 2012 NFL Draft to sign, joining fourth-round selection Alameda Ta’amu, fifth-round pick Chris Rainey and seventh-round pick Toney Clemons.

From The Ohio State University Sports Information Department

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John Simon Named to Lott IMPACT Award watch list

Talented defensive lineman is one of seven from last year to be on the list again

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State senior DL John Simon has been named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list for the second consecutive year. Simon, an exercise science major from Youngstown, Ohio (Cardinal Mooney), was a semifinalist last year for the award that equally recognizes athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.

“Each year we are proud to present a list of college football players who exemplify the things we believe in,” said Ronnie Lott. “This group is no exception. These young men are terrific players and great role models, both on and off the field.”

Simon, one of seven off the 2011 Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list to be named to the 2012 list, was a third-team Associated Press All-American last year and he was named first-team All-Big Ten Conference by the league’s coaches after a 53-tackle season that included 16 tackles-for-loss (for minus-59 yards) and seven quarterback sacks. He was named Ohio State’s Bill Willis Award winner as the team’s outstanding defensive player.

Already set to be a team captain for a second consecutive year in 2012, Simon enters the 2012 campaign with 28 career TFLs, 11.5 quarterback sacks and six passes defended.

The watch list includes 2011 finalist Manti Te’o of Notre Dame. One other semifinalist from 2011 besides Simon – Brodrick Brown of Oklahoma State – is on the 2012 watch list as are quarterfinalists T.J. McDonald of USC, John Boyett of Oregon and Jordan Kovacs of Michigan. Brandon Jenkins of Florida State rounds out the returning nominees.

www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com

THE PEOPLE. THE TRADITION. THE EXCELLENCE.

From the Cincinnati Bengal Public Relations Department

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CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals have announced the signing of 14 college free agents.

The list includes three players with local/regional connections. LB Grant Hunter (Butler) is from Greater Cincinnati and played at Lakota West High School. DE Julian Miller (West Virginia) is from Columbus, Ohio and played at Beechcroft High School. HB Rodney Stewart (Colorado) is from Westerville, Ohio and played at Brookhaven High School.

Today’s full listing of CFAs signed:

NAME, POSITION, HEIGHT, WEIGHT, COLLEGE; HOMETOWN

–Ben Bojicic, C, 6-4, 300; Bowling Green; Farmington Hills, Mich.

–Derrius Brooks, CB, 5-10, 192; Western Kentucky; Fortson, Ga.

–Vontaze Burfict, LB, 6-1, 248; Arizona State; Corona, Calif.

–Bryce Davis, LS, 6-3, 250; Central Oklahoma; Duncan, Okla.

–Tyler Hansen, QB; 6-1, 218; Colorado; Murrieta, Calif.

–Justin Hilton, WR, 6-2, 190; Indiana State; Kissimmee, Fla.

–Grant Hunter, LB, 6-2, 245; Butler; Liberty Township, Ohio

–Brandon Joiner, LB, 6-3, 225; Arkansas State; Killeen, Texas

–Julian Miller, DE, 6-3, 255; West Virginia; Columbus, Ohio

–Kashif Moore, WR, 5-8, 180; Connecticut; Burlington, N.J.

–Taveon Rogers, WR, 5-11, 188; New Mexico State, Lancaster, Calif.

–Mike Ryan, G/OT, 6-6, 325; Connecticut; Tamaqua, Pa.

–Rodney Stewart, HB, 5-7, 180; Colorado; Westerville, Ohio

–Landon Walker, OT, 6-6, 305; Clemson; North Wilkesboro, N.C.

The CFA signees will have their first work with the team during the May 11-13 minicamp for rookies and eligible first-year players at Paul Brown Stadium.

TRYOUT PLAYERS FOR MINICAMP INCLUDE FOUR WITH TIES TO AREA

The Bengals have arranged for a number of unsigned players to work with the team during the May 11-13 minicamp on a tryout basis.

Four of the tryout players currently set for the camp have local/regional connections:

–TE Josh Chichester played in college at Louisville and is from West Chester, Ohio (Lakota West HS).

–CB Reuben Haley played at the University of Cincinnati and is from Mount Healthy, Ohio (Mount Healthy HS)

–S Patrick McClellan played at Eastern Kentucky and is from Maineville, Ohio (Moeller HS).

–QB Tony Pike played at the University of Cincinnati and is from Reading, Ohio (Reading HS).

By Jeff Zrebiec

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The Baltimore Sun

www.baltimoresun.com

BALTIMORE, Md. – Baltimore Ravens OLB Terrell Suggs sustained a torn Achilles while working out Saturday and he’s expected to miss part of – if not the entire – 2012 season.

Suggs, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, will see noted foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson Tuesday in North Carolina to determine the extent of the injury. If it is a partial tear, Suggs, 29, would likely miss at least the first couple of months of the season. If it’s a full tear, he’d likely be out for the entire 2012 campaign.

READ REST OF THE STORY HERE:

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2011/12/spotlight_on_terrell_suggs_bal.html

By Kristina Davis