OSU Buckeyes

Welcome to Across The Field, a regular feature on BuckeyeNation where we point you to noteworthy Buckeyes coverage here and elsewhere. Think something should be included? Send it to espnkendrick@gmail.com. First, as always, our week in review:

• The Buckeyes are No. 18 in the AP poll, continuing a preseason streak that began in 1989.
• If you haven't caught the All-Access series yet, there's one more chance today to watch the full package on ESPNU at 2 p.m. Sunday, right after college fishing concludes. (No, I'm not kidding. College fishing.) And if you don't get ESPNU, tune in to ESPN for an hour-long special this Wednesday (Aug. 22) at 7 p.m. Will it give recruiting a jolt? The high school players Brad Bournival talked to love it.
• Ohio State's defensive backs are punishing themselves in camp if they don't turn deflections into interceptions, writes Austin Ward.
• By design, Braxton Miller and Kenny Guiton are "caged tigers" in camp.
• Fifth-year senior Nathan Williams feels like he's ready to test his knee against live competition.
• Our Time & Change series caught up with David Patterson, who is finding a new audience on TV.
• Bournival caught up with two freshman linebackers who have a good chance at earning playing time this fall: Jamal Marcus and Joshua Perry.
• Bri'onte' Dunn was cleared of his disorderly conduct charge.
• Freshman receiver Michael Thomas is building on his great spring practice and spring game.
• Carlos Hyde, Jeff Heuerman and Tyrone Williams earned some praise from assistant coaches.
• Our schedule series continued with a look ahead at Illinois.
• Defensive tackle Adam Bellamy is not with the team, but would be welcomed back after his family issues are resolved.
• Our Depth Charges series finishes with a look at the secondary.
• The Buckeyes' offensive linemen responded to blunt criticism.
• Jake Stoneburner is a wide receiver again. And we had a lot more coverage from media day here and here.
• As part of an interesting RecruitingNation package on the increasing importance of unofficial visits, Meyer doesn't like what it does for familes that can't afford to travel.
• Doing well in camps has really given OSU pledge and five-star CB Eli Woodard confidence.
• Among 2013 targets, LB Tyquan Lewis says he's close to an announcement.
• On the 2014 pursuit, Cleveland St. Ignatius standouts Jimmy Byrne and Dameon Willis have similar lists at this point, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary receiver Dante Booker wants to concentrate on his game at this point and a receiver named "Speedy" would like to visit.
• Here's how ESPN recruiting expert Craig Haubert views Ohio State's class.
• The Buckeyes will host Tulsa in 2016.
• And there's no reason to be scared off by the symbol, because we're offering a free trial right now. It's a good deal, and it gives you an incredible range of writing from the best sports writers around.

Football

• Traditional offenses are becoming a minority in the B1G, writes Adam Rittenberg, and the spread keeps spreading, writes Jared Shanker. (ESPN)
• An ESPN The Magazine writer believes Ohio State is a prime candidate to break the SEC's stranglehold on the crystal trophy (but not this year, of course).
• Meyer will have to fight some history to return to the top, writes Ivan Maisel. (ESPN)
• Meyer has quite a coaching tree growing, and it's No. 1 among active coaches, writes Brad Edwards. (ESPN)
• Ohio State is already a title favorite for 2013, writes Travis Haney. (ESPN)
• Freshman Devan Bogard lost his 22-year-old brother earlier this summer, and it gave him focus, writes Bob Hunter. (Dispatch)
• OSU President E. Gordon Gee says Urban Meyer won't have Bible study or chapel services. (Dispatch)
• Meyer is getting a lot of love right now, but not from Bill Livingston in this piece. (Plain Dealer)
• Mike Vrabel wants to see "violent hands" as the new DL coach. (Plain Dealer)
• Royalties are down for Ohio State merchandise, which was expected. (Dispatch)
• Kenny Guiton might be on the field with Braxton Miller, writes Tim May. (Dispatch)
• Former LB Storm Klein will go to court in his domestic violence case. (Dispatch)
• WR Michael Thomas is among Andy Staples' Freshman 15. (SI.com)
• Reid Fragel isn't the first member of his family to switch positions. (Toledo Blade)
• Chris Carter is finding a home on defense, writes Brandon Castel. (TheOzone.net)
• Former Buckeyes center Mike Brewster is trying to make it as a Jacksonville Jaguar, writes Vito Stellino. (Florida Times-Union)
• More times to set on the DVR: The Big Ten Network's bus tour stops at Ohio State at 10 p.m. tonight. (BTN)
• Having sons on the Buckeyes -- who were randomly placed together as senior-freshman buddies -- has reuinted a couple of high school teammates, writes Tom Archdeacon. (Dayton Daily News)
• A look at three intriguing matchups in the OSU-Team Up North game. (Eleven Warriors)
• Maybe the All-Access series has a good byproduct:.The consipiracy theories about ESPN and Ohio State can subside. (Buckeye Empire)

Basketball

• Nigel Hayes of Toledo has Ohio State on his official visit list.
• The 2012-13 schedule is close to release, writes Bob Baptist. (Dispatch)
• There isn't much interest in Greg Oden. (Fox Sports)

The Gang's All Here

• Ohio State athletes and former athletes didn't medal at the Olympics. (Lantern)

A glance at last year's record didn't keep the voters away.

Ohio State is back in The Associated Press college football poll, and it's the only team coming off a losing season to earn a spot in the preseason top 25.

The Buckeyes checked in at No. 18 in the rankings released on Saturday morning, and while four other Big Ten teams were voted ahead of them, the ballots still appear to reflect faith in new coach Urban Meyer's ability to turn things around after a distraction-filled 6-7 campaign a year ago.

Ohio State has appeared in the AP preseason poll for 24 consecutive seasons, the longest streak in the country. Oklahoma is second, with 13 straight appearances.

Ohio State should have an opportunity to climb up the chart in September with a manageable nonconference slate with all four games at home, and it will follow that up with a big test on the road at No. 13 Michigan State. That opener in the league and another top-25 matchup the following week with Nebraska could provide a glimpse at how high the Buckeyes might be able to go in the only meaningful poll they're eligible for this season.

Southern Cal is the preseason No. 1, with Alabama second and LSU third.

A quick glance at the Buckeyes' other marquee games, according to the AP rankings:

Michigan

• Preseason rank: No. 8 (one first-place vote)
• Date: Nov. 24
• Where: Ohio Stadium

Wisconsin

• Preseason rank: No. 12
• Date: Nov. 17
• Where: Camp Randall Stadium

Michigan State

• Preseason rank: No. 13
• Date: Sept. 29
• Where: Spartan Stadium

Nebraska

• Preseason rank: No. 17
• Date: Oct. 6
• Where: Ohio Stadium

Central Florida

• Preseason rank: Received four voting points
• Date: Sept. 8
• Where: Ohio Stadium

Say the words “unofficial visit” to Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and you might be in for a long conversation on what is wrong with the recruiting process.

Meyer isn’t against them per se, as he’s picked up his fair share of commitments from unofficial visits. He just doesn’t like the dent they put in the wallets of families with prospective athletes.

Athletes have to pay for unofficial visits themselves as the NCAA allows only five official visits -- paid for by the institution -- during the athlete’s senior year.

“It is one of the problems I have now with collegiate athletics,” Meyer told WolverineNation’s Michael Rothstein when he was at The Sound Mind Sound Body Academy camp in Detroit in June. “It’s almost anti-student-athlete where they have to come to us for camp. How many kids can afford to fly or drive that far? This is so unusual. I can’t believe we’re allowed to do this [the camp].”

Don’t get Meyer wrong: He uses unofficial visits as a recruiting tool as much as any college coach does. In June, Ohio State held a handful of football camps to athletes of various ages to bring students onto campus. Because NCAA regulations minimize contact in the summer months to visiting with the coach on college campuses, the camps are a big hit.

In June and July, Meyer and the Buckeyes received five commitments and were in the ears of many more when they held their first Friday Night Lights camp July 27.

At Friday Night Lights, Meyer brought in several of the program's NFL alumni such as Michael Doss, LeCharles Bentley, Orlando Pace and Joey Galloway as coaches helping out at the camp, working with position groups and talking about their experiences to the group.

It’s not a matter of if the Buckeyes can get an athlete to make an unofficial visit, with the various camps as a carrot to dangle in front of the prospective players -- not to mention Meyer’s national star power -- it’s a matter of when as each camp brings more and more athletes.

But the bottom line for Meyer is the cost.

“There has to be easier ways for a student-athlete to do it the right way and go visit a campus,” Meyer said. “I’m sure right now they are doing the best they can to evaluate that.

“Because if the bottom line is thinking about the student-athlete first as opposed to anything else, you’ll see things like this and camps open up for coaches to work with them.”

Ohio State freshman Bri'onte Dunn was found not guilty of the disorderly conduct charge filed against him after getting pulled over last month in Alliance, Ohio.

The running back still wound up with a couple minor traffic violations, but a case that originally appeared to be a violation of one coach Urban Meyer's core values due to the presence of marijuana in his car instead ended on Friday with nothing more serious than fines for not wearing his seat belt and improper illumination of a license plate.

Dunn was stopped by police on July 28 just before training camp was set to open for the Buckeyes, and a small amount of marijuana was found in his vehicle along with a pipe. He was initially cited for possession of both marijuana and paraphernalia, but those charges weren't supported by additional examination of the evidence -- including testimony from his mother, Donna Hatcher, who indicated those things were in the car before she loaned it to Dunn.

Dunn has faced no public discipline from Meyer relating to the incident, and he's drawn early praise for his work on offense this month as he competes for the No. 2 job in the Ohio State backfield.

"Bri’onte Dunn has really had a good, physical camp," Buckeyes assistant Stan Drayton said Friday. "With the ball in his hands, he’s really good."

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Movers and shakers as identified by the offensive members of the Ohio State coaching staff that met with the media after practice on Friday morning.

RUNNING BACKS

Stan Drayton won't have his projected starter heading into the season opener in just more than two weeks, but the next guy on the list for the running backs coach has embraced the opportunity and established himself as a viable option in place of Jordan Hall.

That's a far cry from how Drayton viewed Carlos Hyde previously, and a positive development for the Buckeyes in the backfield.

• "Night and day. I didn’t coach Carlos last year, I coached those wide receivers, and with kind of side vision, I thought he was a little lazy as a football player, quite honestly. The one thing that he’s improved on is his approach to the game and his passion, energy level is through the roof right now. He has really escalated his value to this football team."Carlos Hyde is the one who has really stepped his game up. I mean, he really has. He’s answered the ball, he’s trying to become a leader of that group with Jordan out, and he’s really brought a physical component to his game right now that we all enjoy. He’s really set the bar for these younger backs." -- Drayton

TIGHT ENDS

Getting productive blocking from the tight ends in the running game wasn't much of a concern coming into training camp.

Position coach Tim Hinton expected to get that from sophomore Jeff Heuerman, who certainly has the size necessary to open some holes at 6-foot-6, 247 pounds.

But that big frame can also come in handy as a target in the passing game, and that's perhaps been the most notable development in Heuerman's repertoire so far in August.

• "One thing with Jeff is he’s a very good point-of-attack blocker. He’s really, really good at point-of-attack blocking, but what he’s doing a lot better now is in the pass game. He understands the concepts better, he knows how to work off man routes, he knows how to work off zone routes better and he really is doing a much, much better job of understanding the pass game. His point-of-attack blocking he brings to the table very, very well, and we still have to do a better job in the perimeter of blocking in a little bit, but boy, he’s gotten better." -- Hinton

WIDE RECEIVERS

The physical tools are rare.

New Ohio State assistant Zach Smith noticed that right away in Tyrone Williams.

But they weren't translating on the field to anything more than average play at wide receiver, a position where the Buckeyes could certainly use the talent and athleticism Williams could potentially provide.

The sophomore isn't a finished product yet, and if Smith had been willing to name his likely starters for the opener on Sept. 1, Williams almost certainly wouldn't have been included.

But just within the last week, he's apparently started making a push to be included in the rotation in some capacity.

• "I will tell you this much, Tyrone Williams this spring was about as average a player as you could have. Not because of talent level, but just because of how he practiced. He was a guy that really was raw, very raw, but I was talking to our strength coach, coach Mick, and the last five practices that kid is a completely different player than I’ve seen. He has really, really impressed everyone. The head coach, me, the staff -- now he’s still got a way to go, but he’s a kid that’s kind of drinking the Kool-Aid right now. He’s bought in and he is doing things he did not do the first six months we were here, and it’s very encouraging.
• "He’s not there yet, but he’s coming. There’s not many physically gifted receivers that I’ve ever seen at any program or level that is as gifted as that kid, now. I mean, talk about a guy that has ability, he has it." -- Smith

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Quick hitters from the last two-a-day session for Ohio State during its training camp.

Adam Bellamy gone: Once a projected starter, Adam Bellamy now isn't even with the team.

The defensive lineman has been absent from workouts dating back more than a week, and position coach Mike Vrabel confirmed on Friday that the junior had left the program for personal reasons.

Vrabel didn't provide any additional details on the issue, but he did suggest a return was possible for a player who was listed as a bracketed starter at defensive end on the pre-camp Ohio State depth chart.

"Adam is working through some personal family matters right now," Vrabel said after practice. "When he gets that taken care of, we will welcome him back with open arms.

"We miss him in our room, and when Adam gets those things taken care of, he's going to be able to come back."

No timetable for a return was addressed, but Bellamy's presence would certainly add to the depth and experience of a unit that's expected to be among the best in the country this fall.

A 10-game starter in his career, he contributed 25 tackles with a sack for the Buckeyes up front a season ago.

Camp grind: Walking off the practice field on Friday morning, the Buckeyes still had one more workout to go to cap off the last two-a-day session of training camp.

Before the week started, the coaching staff had identified this week as the most pivotal and difficult the team would face. If it was a make-or-break moment for Ohio State, it appears to still be in one piece.

"I think the kids are surviving, and I think that’s an awesome thing," cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs said. "I’ve coached for a long time, and I’ve never seen a training camp that is this tough, this hard, this physical, this demanding. It’s very exciting to watch how our kids respond. We have great kids.

"I don’t think you can break them, so I would hope that would mean that we’ve been made. I don’t think we’re done yet, we’re by no means a finished product, but our kids are working really hard."

Catching eyes: Zach Smith isn't ready to lock in his rotation yet.

The wide receivers coach wouldn't even commit to how many guys would be included in it when the season opens.

But based on his assessment of the personnel on Friday, there are at least two guys Smith will clearly be counting on as the Buckeyes work to improve a passing game that was anemic last season.

"Right now the guys that have had really solid fall camps are [Corey] 'Philly' Brown, he's done an unbelievable job, different player than he was in the spring," Smith said. " ... And then Devin Smith is a guy that's really come along.

"Really the group as a whole has taken the right steps. Are they there yet? No. But Practice 15, 16, they're about where they should be. We've got to get them right in the next week for the first game, but they're coming. I feel good about the guys we have and where we're going to be."

Bumps and bruises: There were already concerns about Joey O'Connor's knee heading into the training camp.

Surgery on it earlier this week has officially ended his season before it started.

The Buckeyes confirmed after practice that true freshman lineman had a knee operation on Monday that will keep him on the sideline all year and force him to redshirt.