Laurinaitis is Staying.

ballparent · Post by **ballparent** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:59 pm

Ohio State Press Release
Laurinaitis Staying At Ohio State
Linebacker will return for senior season

COLUMBUS, Ohio â€“ All-America linebacker James Laurinaitis has decided to stay at Ohio State for his senior year, he announced today.

A statement from Laurinaitis:

"After a long thought process and strategic evaluation of the pros and cons of this decision with my close family and friends, Iâ€™ve decided to stay at Ohio State for my senior season to complete my schoolwork and football career.

"I know I can still improve as a player, and I know there is still much more to me and for the Buckeyes to accomplish. My love for this university, my love for the people of the state of Ohio, and my love for teammates and friends is so great that I want stay a Buckeye for another season. You only get to do this once, so I want to take full advantage.

"There are a lot of things that money canâ€™t buy, and some of those things are the experiences of a senior season. Going through those things with my teammates next year is what I look forward to the most.

"I received a lot of great advice from those close to me: my parents, close friends, former players and through prayer.

"I knew the right decision for me was to follow my heart and figure out whatâ€™s important to me right now. Thatâ€™s the decision to remain at Ohio State, have a great senior season, and graduate with my degree in communications next year. I am very satisfied with that decision."

Laurinaitis, a two-year consensus All-American, won the 2007 Butkus Award as the nationâ€™s top linebacker and the 2006 Nagurski Award as the top defensive player in college football. A finalist for the Lombardi, Lott, Nagurski and Bednarik awards this season, the 2007 Big Ten defensive player of the year set a BCS championship game record with 18 tackles vs. LSU. The junior captain from Hamel, Minn., led the Buckeyes with 121 tackles for the season.

fightingtigers45 · Post by **fightingtigers45** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:09 pm

I would hope he stays...I mean, he cant cover at all...He may be able to stop the run, but he is putrid when it comes to covering a TE, RB, slot...

tomcat fan · Post by **tomcat fan** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:37 pm

this is good news, it looks like gholston is the only one leaving then

Orestes · Post by **Orestes** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:47 pm

fightingtigers45 wrote:I would hope he stays...I mean, he cant cover at all...He may be able to stop the run, but he is putrid when it comes to covering a TE, RB, slot...

Hmm..well his NFL report came back during the break and it said top 10 pick.

I agree he could improve, but I think people search for faults in him because of the insane amount of hype he receives. I agree that he is overhyped, but I think all ridiculous amounts of hype are disgusting.

buckeye21 · Post by **buckeye21** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:11 pm

fightingtigers45 wrote:I would hope he stays...I mean, he cant cover at all...He may be able to stop the run, but he is putrid when it comes to covering a TE, RB, slot...

Actually I read a scouts take on him and he said the opposite. He said that Laurinaitis is very good in coverage and that he needs to get stronger to shed blockers to stop the run more effectively.

LICKING COUNTY FAN · Post by **LICKING COUNTY FAN** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:40 pm

I said only one would leave and that is just what occured.

fightingtigers45 · Post by **fightingtigers45** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:49 pm

He may be good in coverage, like a zone...Zones arent hard...Im talking about covering an actual man...

buckeye21 · Post by **buckeye21** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:54 pm

fightingtigers45 wrote:He may be good in coverage, like a zone...Zones arent hard...Im talking about covering an actual man...

If you put JL man to man on a TE then I'd bet he would do well. Now if you put him on a WR man to man then it would be a different story but how many LB's can cover a reciever?

USAF_Defender23 · Post by **USAF_Defender23** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:24 am

That's awesome news for all Buckeye fans. Hopefully they can make another run at the title in 08!

alabama mike · Post by **alabama mike** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:34 pm

Glad to hear that, he is a very good player.

fightingtigers45 · Post by **fightingtigers45** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:48 pm

Little Animal is a beast...No doubt...

As I said earlier tho, he has trouble in man to man coverage on TEs...(Atleast he did in the games I watched)

BigMcCauley55 · Post by **BigMcCauley55** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 3:05 pm

well he would be a good fit in say Denver or even Miami who has an old defense

Remember_The_Name · Post by **Remember_The_Name** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:35 am

Thank you football gods. lol

oak hill71 · Post by **oak hill71** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:26 pm

Does anyone know if Freeman is leaving or staying, I haven't heard anything about it.

RiverRatRay · Post by **RiverRatRay** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:43 pm

Freeman is staying. Gholston is the only underclassman leaving.

oak hill71 · Post by **oak hill71** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:51 pm

RiverRatRay wrote:Freeman is staying. Gholston is the only underclassman leaving.

Ok.

Thank you.

My satellite as been off so it has been kinda hard for me to keep track.

X8XOHIOLEGENDX7X · Post by **X8XOHIOLEGENDX7X** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:27 pm

Now with almost everybody staying on offence and defence this could be 1 of the best teams we've seen at osu..

Brutus8907 · Post by **Brutus8907** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:54 pm

BigMcCauley55 wrote:well he would be a good fit in say Denver or even Miami who has an old defense

Or Tampa Bay :-D

BigMcCauley55 · Post by **BigMcCauley55** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 1:05 pm

i like the *s thats good

bevo12 · Post by **bevo12** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 7:16 pm

i could have told you that before the championship game in NO. His dad (the animal) said he was coming back to complete his education.