Silver Bullet Points

Freeman stays on board


Marcus Freeman, the team's second leading tackler, will return for his senior season with the Bucks.

Any talk of "jumping off a sinking ship" can end here.

"The big thing is, you can regret leaving early, but you can't regret coming back," he said. "It was a tough decision. I went back and forth. One minute, I was thinking it was time to move on. When I was sitting on the bench after the game, I was saying, 'This is my last one.'

"But you can't beat the atmosphere here. ... I just wasn't ready to move on and start another chapter in my life."

When compared to the big names like Laurinaitis and Gholston, Freeman was just as, if not more, integral to the defense's success.

The waiting game continues in regards to Laurinaitis and Alex Boone, who have until Tuesday to announce their decision.

• Tressel & Co. add 17th commit to class of '08. Jermil Martin of Glenville will be partly responsible for filling the gaping whole left in the fullback position with the departure of Dionte Johnson, Trevor Robinson an Tank Whaley.
  

• From the rumor mill: After a comparatively small and lackluster haul in '07, we knew this class would be twice as big and twice as talented to make up for it. However, with 17 tickets divvied out before closing in on the prize (Pryor) and the bonus (5-star OL Josh Jenkins), one wonders if there might be a few scholarships up Tressel's sleeve that will allow him to pick up this pair of aces at the 11th hour. Simply speaking, if a currently committed recruit suddenly looks academically or otherwise unappealing (as is the case with Devoe Torrence) OSU can still revoke its offer, hence freeing that scholarship up. ANOTHER way for a scholly to open up is for a current scholarship player to transfer, as many think Robbie Schoenhoft and WR Albert Dukes (right) are planning to do.