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2012 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Big Ten Leaders Division Champions
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionLeaders Division
Ranking
APNo. 3
2012 record12–0 (8–0 Big Ten)
Head coachUrban Meyer (1st season)
Offensive coordinatorTom Herman (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinatorEd Warriner (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Co-defensive coordinatorLuke Fickell (7th season)
Co-defensive coordinatorEverett Withers (1st season)
Base defense4-3
Captain
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
(c. 102,329, Field Turf)
Seasons
← 2011
2013 →
2012 Big Ten football standings
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Legends
#25 Nebraska xy   7 1         10 4  
#24 Michigan   6 2         8 5  
#17 Northwestern   5 3         10 3  
Michigan State   3 5         7 6  
Minnesota   2 6         6 7  
Iowa   2 6         4 8  
Leaders
#3 Ohio State* x   8 0         12 0  
Penn State*   6 2         8 4  
Wisconsin y   4 4         8 6  
Purdue   3 5         6 7  
Indiana   2 6         4 8  
Illinois   0 8         2 10  
Championship: Wisconsin 70, Nebraska 31
† – BCS representative as champion
x – Division champion/co-champions
y – Championship game participant
  • Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for conference championship game and post-season bowl games due to NCAA sanctions
    As of January 8, 2013 • Rankings from AP Poll

The 2012 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented The Ohio State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Buckeye's 123rd season overall, the 100th as a member of the Big Ten Conference and the second as a members of the Big Ten Leaders Division. The team was led by head coach Urban Meyer in his first debut returning to coaching since retiring from Florida in 2010 due to health concerns.[1] The Buckeyes played their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes finished the season undefeated with 12 wins (12–0 overall, 8–0 in the Big Ten), Big Ten Leaders Division champions and ranked third in the AP Poll. Due to findings of an investigation conducted by the NCAA during the previous season, Ohio State was ineligible for both the Big Ten championship game and an appearance in a bowl game for the 2012 season.[2]

Following their first losing season since 1988, the Buckeyes hired Urban Meyer, who won two national championships with the Florida Gators, as the head coach in November 2011. Meyer and his staff brought in a top five recruiting class while returning 20 starts and starting quarterback Braxton Miller for Spring and Fall camp. Ohio State entered the season ranked in the middle of the Big Ten, with many expecting a transition season for Meyer and the players.[3] The Buckeyes opened the season with blowout victories against Miami (Ohio) and UCF. Ohio State would defeat Michigan State 17–16 and Nebraska 63–38, games they lost in 2011, to move to 6–0 on the season. The Buckeyes would hold in overtime games against Purdue and Wisconsin later in the season, winning eleven straight. The Buckeyes capped off their undefeated season with a 26–21 victory over arch rival Michigan.

At the end of the season, several players were recognized with postseason awards for individual accomplishments. Braxton Miller was named the Big Ten offensive player of the year, while John Simon was named the Big Ten defensive player of the year.[4] Also, three players were named to the AP All-American Team, including Johnathan Hankins, Bradley Roby and John Simon.[5]

Before the season[]

Previous season[]

Following the revelation of NCAA infractions in late 2010, Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel resigned as head coach of the Buckeyes on May 31, 2011 after ten seasons in Columbus.[6] Ohio State starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor left the program as well before the 2011 season to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft, where he was selected by the Oakland Raiders.[7] Other players involved in the infractions that were suspended included DeVier Posey, Mike Adams, Dan Herron and Solomon Thomas, who were all originally suspended for the first five games of the season. Ohio State appointed Luke Fickell, a longtime position coach at the university, to serve at the interim head coach on March 30, 2011 who originally would replace Tressel who was suspended as well for five games, but was eventually given the title for the entire season due to Tressel's resignation.[8]

Ohio State opened the season on September 3, 2011 with a 42–0 victory over the Akron Zips. Ohio State lost their first game against the Miami Hurricanes and entered conference play with a 3–1 record. Ohio State lost their first two conference games against the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Michigan State Spartans. Ohio State won their homecoming matchup against the Wisconsin Badgers and eventually achieved a 3–2 conference record. The Buckeyes, however, would end up losing their last three conference games, including one against the Michigan Wolverines, who they had not lost to since the 2003 season. Ohio State ended the season with a 6–6 record and a 3–5 record with the Big Ten conference. The Buckeyes did not win at least a share of the conference title for the first time since 2004 and did not reach a Bowl Championship Series bowl for the first time since 2004 as well. Ohio State went on to play against the Florida Gators in the Gator Bowl, which they would lose 24–17 and resulted in the Buckeyes first losing season since 1988. Urban Meyer was hired as the head coach of the university on November 28, 2011.[9]

Spring Practice[]

Spring Game
by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total
Gray 0 7 7 0 14
Scarlet 7 6 0 7 20

Ohio State opened their spring practice on March 29 for the first time under the direction of Urban Meyer. At the opening of practice John Simon, Johnathan Hankins, Garrett Goebel and Adam Bellamy started on the defensive line with Travis Howard and Bradley Roby starting at cornerback.[11] Christian Bryant and C.J. Barnett were the starting safeties on opening day.[11] The running back position rotated between Jordan Hall, Carlos Hyde, Rod Smith and Bri'onte Dunn with Braxton Miller starting at quarterback.[11]

The annual spring game for the Ohio State Buckeyes was held on April 21 at Ohio Stadium on a rainy afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. Urban Meyer began the afternoon with a 1-on-1 circle drill held at midfield before the start of the game.[12] At the conclusion of drill the Buckeyes took the field and split into two teams, a Scarlet and Gray team. Starting quarterback Braxton Miller started for the Scarlet team with backup Kenny Guiton starting for the Gray team.[13] The first touchdown came from the Scarlet team in the first quarter with a run yard touchdown run from Carlos Hyde.[10] Starting kicker Drew Basil kicked a 41 yard field goal at the beginning of the second quarter to extend the Scarlet lead to 10–0. The Gray team got on the board with a 28 yard touchdown pass from Guiton, but a second field goal from Basil would allow the Scarlet to enter the locker room at halftime with a 13–7 lead over the Gray. During the third quarter the Gray team would take a 14–13 lead over the Scarlet team on a four yard touchdown run from Guiton. However, under Miller, the Scarlet team would drive down and score a touchdown on a Rod Smith run, giving them a 20–13 lead and eventually the victory.[10]

During the game, quarterback Braxton Miller completed 24 of 31 passes for 258 yards with wide receiver Michael Thomas catching 12 passes for a total of 131 yards during the game.[12] The game gave fans a glimpse of Meyer's new spread offense that the Buckeyes will adopt during the season. Linebacker Ryan Shazier led the team with eight tackles.[12] Running back Jordan Hall did not play during the game due to health and precautionary reasons and starting lineman John Simon did not play for a long period during the game.[12]

Fall Camp[]

Nine separate Ohio State players were on the preseason award watch list in twelve different award categories. These included Johnathan Hankins and John Simon for the Bednarik Award; Corey Brown for the Biletnikoff Award; Etienne Sabino for the Butkus Award; Drew Basil for the Lou Groza Award; Jake Stoneburner for the Rotary Lombardi Award; and Braxton Miller for the Maxwell Award.[14] Prior to fall camp, both Stoneburner and Jack Mewhort were suspended from the team indefinitely following their arrests,[15] while senior linebacker Storm Klein was dismissed from the team for his arrest.[16] Klein was later reinstated by head coach Urban Meyer, while still serving a two game suspension.[17] Ohio State opened their fall camp on August 3 with all players reporting.[18]

Personnel[]

Coaching Staff[]

Urban Meyer accepted the head coaching job at Ohio State in November 2011 after coaching at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida, where he won two national championships.[19] Meyer retained only three coaches from the previous years staff, including former interim head coach Luke Fickell and defensive line coach Mike Vrabel. Meyer brought in Tom Herman and Ed Warinner to replace Jim Bollman as offensive coordinator, while Everett Withers and Fickell replaced Jim Heacock as defensive coordinator.[20] Meyer also brought over strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti from his staff at Florida.[21]

File:Urban Meyer at the White House 4-23-09 1.JPG

Urban Meyer was in his first year as Ohio State's head coach during the 2012 season.

Name Position Seasons at
Ohio State
Alma mater
Urban Meyer Head coach 1st Cincinnati (1986)
Tom Herman Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks 1st California Lutheran (1997)
Ed Warinner Co-Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Line 1st Mount Union (1984)
Luke Fickell Co-Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers 10th Ohio State (1997)
Everett Withers Assistant Head Coach, Co-Defensive Coordinator, Safeties 1st Appalachian State (1985)
Stan Drayton Running Backs 2nd Allegheny College (1993)
Zach Smith Wide Receivers 1st Florida (2007)
Mike Vrabel Defensive Line 2nd Ohio State (1996)
Tim Hinton Tight Ends, Fullbacks 1st Wilmington (1982)
Kerry Coombs Cornerbacks 1st Dayton (1983)
Mickey Marotti Assistant Athletic Director for Football Sports Performance 1st West Liberty (1987)

Departing players[]

Following the 2011 season, four Ohio State players were selected in the 2012 NFL Draft. Mike Adams was selected in the second round, DeVier Posey in the third, with Daniel Herron and Nate Ebner selected in the sixth. Other key players to depart due to graduation included Joe Bauserman, Michael Brewster and J.B. Shugarts on offense and Dionte Allen, Tyler Moeller, Andrew Sweat, and Solomon Thomas on defense. Transfers out before the 2012 season included Jamaal Berry who transferred to Murray State,[22] Jeremy Cash who transferred to Duke,[23] Jordan Whiting who transferred to Louisville[24] and Kenny Hayes who transferred to Michigan State.[25] DerJuan Gambrell and Dominic Clarke were both released from the scholarships in January following a violation of team rules.[26]

Returning starters[]

Ohio State has 20 returning starts from the 2011 season, including nine on offense and defense, as well as two on special teams. Quarterback Braxton Miller started in eight games during the 2011 season and will return to lead the Buckeyes in 2012.

Offense[]

Player Class Position
Braxton Miller Sophomore Quarterback
Zach Boren Senior Fullback
Jordan Hall Senior Running Back
Chris Fields Junior Wide Receiver
Corey Brown Junior Wide Receiver
Jake Stoneburner Senior Wide Receiver
Andrew Norwell Junior Tackle
Marcus Hall Junior Guard
Jack Mewhort Junior Guard

Defense[]

Player Class Position
John Simon Senior Lineman
Johnathan Hankins Junior Tackle
Garrett Goebel Senior Tackle
Adam Bellamy Junior Defensive End
Etienne Sabino Senior Linebacker
Travis Howard Senior Cornerback
Bradley Roby Sophomore Cornerback
C.J. Barnett Junior Safety
Christian Bryant Junior Safety

Special teams[]

Player Class Position
Drew Basil Junior Kicker
Ben Buchanan Senior Punter

Roster[]

2012 Ohio State Buckeyes roster

Quarterbacks

  • 5 Braxton MillerSophomore
  • 12 Cardale Jones – Freshman
  • 13 Kenny Guiton – Junior
  • 17 Justin Siems – Senior
  • 19 Levi Ratliff – Freshman

Running Backs

  • 2 Rod Smith – Sophomore
  • 7 Jordan Hall – Senior
  • 25 Bri'onte Dunn – Freshman
  • 28 Warren Ball – Freshman
  • 32 Darryl Wood – Sophomore
  • 34 Carlos Hyde – Junior
  • 49 Adam Homan – Senior

Wide Receivers

  • 8 Ricguan Southward – Freshman
  • 9 Verlon Reed – Sophomore
  • 10 Corey Brown – Junior
  • 15 Devin Smith – Sophomore
  • 16 Evan Spencer – Sophomore
  • 18 Tyrone Williams – Sophomore
  • 29 Taylor Rice – Senior
  • 33 Frank Epitropoulos – Freshman
  • 80 Chris Fields – Junior
  • 83 Michael Thomas – Freshman
  • 85 Frank Kangah – Freshman
  • 87 Peter Gwilym – Freshman
  • 88 Stacey Blount – Sophomore

Tight Ends

  • 11 Jake Stoneburner – Senior
  • 81 Nick Vannett – Freshman
  • 82 Ryan Carter – Freshman
  • 86 Jeff Heuerman – Sophomore
  • 89 Blake Thomas – Freshman
 

Offensive Line

  • 50 Jacoby Boren – Freshman
  • 55 Tommy Brown – Freshman
  • 57 Chase Farris – Freshman
  • 60 Joey O'Connor – Freshman
  • 62 Logan Beougher – Freshman
  • 64 Ivon Blackman – Junior
  • 65 Pat Elflein – Freshman
  • 66 Kyle Dodson – Freshman
  • 67 Ben St. John – Sophomore
  • 68 Taylor Decker – Freshman
  • 69 Eric Kramer – Sophomore
  • 70 Tim Trummer – Freshman
  • 71 Corey LinsleyJunior
  • 73 Antonio Underwood – Sophomore
  • 74 Jack Mewhort – Junior
  • 76 Darryl Baldwin – Sophomore
  • 77 Reid Fragel – Senior
  • 78 Andrew Norwell – Junior
  • 79 Marcus Hall – Junior

Defensive Line

  • 8 Noah Spence – Freshman
  • 43 Nathan Williams – Senior
  • 50 J.T. Moore – Sophomore
  • 52 Johnathan HankinsJunior
  • 53 Garrett Goebel – Senior
  • 54 John Simon – Senior
  • 56 Dalton Britt – Senior
  • 63 Michael Bennett – Sophomore
  • 72 Chris Carter – Freshman
  • 88 Steve Miller – Sophomore
  • 90 Tommy Schutt – Freshman
  • 91 William McCary – Senior
  • 92 Adolphus Washington – Freshman
  • 94 Rashad Frazier – Sophomore
  • 95 Se'von Pittman – Freshman
  • 96 Kharim Stephens – Senior
  • 97 John Holman – Sophomore
  • 97 Cladius Mbemba – Freshman
 

Linebackers

  • 5 Camren Williams – Freshman
  • 6 Etienne SabinoSenior
  • 10 Ryan Shazier – Sophomore
  • 14 Curtis GrantSophomore
  • 15 Joshua Perry – Freshman
  • 20 Ross Oltorik – Senior
  • 25 David Perkins – Freshman
  • 32 Storm Klein – Senior
  • 34 Jamal Marcus – Freshman
  • 36 Connor Corwell – Freshman
  • 38 Craig Fada – Freshman
  • 42 Luke Roberts – Freshman
  • 43 Nathan Williams - Senior
  • 48 Joe Burger – Freshman
  • 59 Stewart Smith – Senior

Defensive Backs

  • 1 Bradley RobySophomore
  • 2 Christian Bryant – Junior
  • 3 Corey Brown – Junior
  • 4 C.J. Barnett – Junior
  • 7 Travis Howard - Senior
  • 12 Doran Grant - Sophomore
  • 16 Zach Domicone – Senior
  • 18 Najee Murray – Freshman
  • 19 Orhian Johnson – Senior
  • 21 Jamie Wood – Junior
  • 23 Tyvis Powell – Freshman
  • 28 Ron Tanner – Freshman
  • 30 Devan Bogard – Freshman
  • 33 Nik Sarac – Freshman
  • 35 Vincent Patrella – Senior
 

Punters

  • 17 Ben Buchanan – Senior

Kickers

  • 20 Russell Doup – Sophomore
  • 24 Drew Basil – Junior
  • 26 Kevin Niehoff – Freshman
  • 39 Kyle Clinton – Sophomore

Long Snappers

  • 41 Bryce Haynes – Freshman
  • 56 George Makridis – Junior

Sources: 2012 Ohio State Buckeyes football roster

Depth chart[]

Starters and backups.[27]


Defensive Starters


FS
Christian Bryant
Orhian Johnson


WLB MLB SLB
Joshua Perry Ryan Shazier Storm Klein
David Perkins Conner Crowell Zach Boren
Camren Williams Curtis Grant
SS
C.J. Barnett
Corey Brown
CB
Travis Howard
Adam Griffin


DE DT DT DE
Nathan Williams John Simon Johnathan Hankins Garrett Goebel
J.T. Moore Steve Miller Adolphus Washington Joel Hale
Michael Bennett Noah Spence Tommy Schutt
CB
Bradley Roby
Doran Grant
Offensive Starters
WR
Devin Smith
Michael Thomas
WR
Jake Stoneburner
Chris Fields
LT LG C RG RT
Jack Mewhort Andrew Norwell Corey Linsley Marcus Hall Reid Fragel
Darryl Baldwin Antonio Underwood Jacoby Boren Chase Farris Taylor Decker
TE
Nick Vannett
Jeff Heuerman
WR
Corey Brown
Evan Spencer
QB
Braxton Miller
Kenny Guiton
RB
Carlos Hyde
Rod Smith
Jordan Hall (injury)
Special Teams
PK Drew Basil
PK Kyle Clinton
P Ben Buchanan
P Drew Basil
KR Devin Smith
Bri'onte Dunn
PR Corey Brown
Devin Smith
LS Bryce Haynes
George Makridis
H Kenny Guiton
Ben Buchanan


Recruiting class[]

Ohio State's 2012 recruiting class was ranked third by Scout,[28] fourth by Rivals[29] and sixth by ESPN.[30] Prior to Urban Meyer being named the head coach of the team 13 player were committed to the Buckeyes, with an additional 12 signing after Meyer's hiring. On National Signing Day, 25 players total were signed to the class. The Ohio State class included five players from the ESPN 150: defensive ends Noah Spence, Adolphus Washington and Se'Von Pittman, offensive guard Joey O'Connor and defensive tackle Tommy Schutt.[31]


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