Justin hOrtOn

DoUG Me ACHAM: Justin is a really big, powerful guy. He’s really super fast. He actually ran a 10.75 hundred meters in high school So, he’s a guy when we get into his kind of formations who can actually stretch the coverage and maybe run by some people because he’s so fast.

That’s impressive at 6’ 3,” 250-ish pounds. I bet he surprises a lot of people with his speed.

DM: His uncle played in the NFL for a long time. His name was Dudley I think (Editor’s note: Ricky Dudley played for the Raiders from 1996-2000, a year with the Browns and three years with the Buccaneers.) That’s his last name. Played for Raiders. He played like 10 years in the NFL. So he’s got some good bloodlines.

Oh, you mean Ricky Dudley. I remember him. He was a really good tight end.

DM: Justin started out as a tight end, and then we moved him to inside receiver. He’s back in the 260s now, so we’ve moved him back to tight end. He’ll block a little. But he’s a guy that can take off up a seam and get mismatched maybe with a linebacker – that kind of guy. If we’re in a throwing mode, he’ll be a definite target. A guy like that can take off and hit the end zone.

I imagine he presents a lot of match up problems for a defense. Most linebackers and safeties are too slow to keep up with him. And he’s too big for a corner or nickelback to cover.

DM: When he’s in the game, the defense probably won’t nickel out. They’ll have their bigger guys in when he’s in. He’ll most likely have a linebacker covering him.

I think he’ll win that battle most of the time.

DM : Yeah.

JereMy seatOn

DM: He was a high school quarterback and linebacker from Cashion. He’s one of those cats who brings his lunch pail and gets after it. He’s a real tough, physical, ultra-smart guy. You’ve got to have guys like him that make it all work.

He can be in the backfield and in our three-backs formation. He can also be a tight end. He can be in a lot of special teams stuff. He’s a real physical kid. And he’s pretty athletic because, like I said, he played QB in high school.

He’s a good guy to have because he lets you tweak a thing or two. He’s a versatile guy. During a short yardage situation, you can sneak him out in to the flat, or you can put him out wide. You can put him on the line and motion him into the backfield. You can move him around a lot because of all the things he can do.

david gLidden

DM: He had a great spring. He’s a guy who’s always in the right spots.

He’s a little gym rat. He makes a lot of plays. He’s not going to wow you in pregame warm-up because of his size, but he does everything right and he’s reliable.

He’s real smart. He’s instinctive – those kinds of things. He’s a good player. He’s been nicked up just a little bit. He’ll be OK, though. He’ll be ready.

He sounds like another OSU ball catcher with uncommon knowledge for a freshman.

DM: He just gets it. You’ve got instinctive players and guys that are non-instinctive players. You’ve got guys who require a lot of reps, and you’ve got guys that just know.

I would classify him as an instinctive player, which is good, because, like I said, he’s not the fastest or the biggest, but he’s always in the right spots. He’s reliable. He always catches the ball.

He does a lot of things you want guys to do, but sometimes it takes them a little longer to figure it out. It doesn’t take him very long.

DM: I think he caught 18 balls and had two touchdowns last year. As a true freshman, he plays our “H,” which is the inside receiver to the left in our base formation.

He has tremendous body quickness. We call it “twitch.” He has really above-average ball skills. He’s really good at catching the ball with his hands. He attacks the ball well. And he’s a really tough kid. For a little guy, he’s really tough.