Dave Thurman (9:03 am)

Many Buckeye fans are searching for answers as to why the ’08 team has struggled at times and not been nearly as successful as anticipated. After all there was a boatload of returning starters including lots of seniors from a team that was in the National Championship Game two seasons in a row.

Obviously this is a complex issue, but if you want a simple answer I’ve got one for you.  Take a look at some recent near misses in recruiting, particularly from the class of ’07. If you remember (and I wish I could forget) the early days of January, 2007, proved to be a black period that followed a whole lot of sunshine. The ’06 season featured a wire to wire #1 ranking, a Heisman trophy for Troy Smith, and the front cover of every sports journal and magazine published. Then came January, featuring an embarrassing loss to Florida on the national stage, followed by a couple of weeks when all the recruiting news was bad. Looking back on those near misses it appears that if OSU signed the players they thought were in the bag, then the weaknesses on this year’s team might be erased.

Let me show you what I mean.

Defensive Line:  Without doubt this has been the area in which the Buckeyes have fielded the least talent this year. But look at the prospects from the ’07 class:

-  Joseph Barksdale (pictured above) – Supposedly a silent verbal out of Detroit, he was coveted as a defensive tackle, but pulled a stunner on the Bucks by choosing LSU. He has since been converted to the offensive line and starts for the Tigers, but I have no doubt he would be plugging the middle for the Bucks. A five star recruit according to Scout he goes 6’5” 315, and would look great in Scarlet and Gray.

- Josh Brent – Ranked just slightly below Barksdale, OSU thought they had a decent shot at this big guy who signed with Illinois. Brent now starts at defensive tackle for the Illini, and has done a pretty good job of stopping the run and getting into the backfield.

- Antonio Jeremiah – A big and highly rated d-lineman from Columbus (now at 318 lbs.), he signed with the Spartans of Michigan State due to qualifying issues, and is playing some but not starting.

-  Devon Still – An end coming out of high school, he has since bulked up to 300 lbs. and moved inside, but is not getting any game action at Penn State. 

- Ben Martin – Considered a sure thing to don the Scarlet and Gray this five star end from Cincinnati shocked the recruiting world by signing with Tennessee. Currently he is listed as second team and though he logs a lot of minutes, Martin is yet to have the impact most predicted.

Note: The Bucks did sign Cameron Heyward who has been a fine player, as well as undersized Solomon Thomas who is trying to bulk up in order to play.  Overall, though, OSU has suffered from a lack of “big-uglies” in the middle.  Check out those excellent SEC teams and you’ll see huge, powerful tackles stuffing the run and freeing up the linebackers to make plays. I wish the Bucks had a few guys with nicknames like Hoss, Bubba, and Butterbean!

Offensive Line: Talent may not be the problem here but consistency and production has been. So who did OSU miss out on?

- Anthony Davis – This five star stud was another dreaded “silent verbal,” but at the last minute decided on staying close to home and signing with Rutgers. He has been a starter pretty much from day one, and was a Freshman All-American last year.

- Kristopher O’Dowd and Nick Claytor – I throw these two together because I don’t how much chance the Bucks had but they did recruit both heavily.  O’Dowd signed with USC and starts at center for the powerful Trojan line, while Claytor opted for Georgia Tech, and now starts at tackle.

Note: The one lineman OSU did sign in this class was Evan Blankenship who may never see any game action!

Receiver: One more position at which the Buckeyes have underachieved this year. So who did they miss out on?

- Deonte Thompson – From the same school that produced Santonio Holmes and Albert Dukes, OSU had high hopes of grabbing this 5-star recruit. So far he has been okay, but not exactly lit up the scoreboard for the home state Gators with whom he signed.

- Ronald Johnson – This stud out of Michigan chose USC and is a big time player for the Trojans with 6 touchdowns thus far in ’08.

- J.R. Hemingway – A big, physical receiver, he opted for Michigan, where he is seeing limited playing time.

-  Leonard Hankerson – Another talented receiver from Florida he stayed in state at Miami, and is having marginal success thus far.

- Kyle Jefferson – Considered a little too thin, this Glenville grad has started for Wisconsin from the get-go but put up better numbers as a true freshman than he has this year as a sophomore.

Note: The Bucks signed Dane Sanzenbacher who has been a solid possession receiver and Taurian Washington, a spring hero, who has yet to catch a pass in a game this year. Also, worth noting, is the fact that OSU was in on a great pass-catching tight-end from Pennsylvania by the name of Rob Gronkowski, who chose Arizona at the last minute, where he has been a stud (13 TD’s in less than two years). Of course, he probably wouldn’t have had 13 catches at OSU since we rarely throw to the tight end.

I could go on and mention defensive backs like Eric Berry (Tennessee), Dionte Allen (FSU) and Major Wright (Florida), but OSU got good players at corner and safety, although Eugene Clifford and James Scott have since been kicked off the team.

The Bottom Line:  Obviously there were lots of near misses in the class of ’07 and Ohio State had to settle too often for second tier replacements, which has hurt the quality and depth of this year’s team. But when you boil it all down there were three players that the coaching staff felt sure were in the bag, and I ask you to imagine this year’s team with (drum roll please): Anthony Davis at right tackle instead of Bryant Browning; Joseph Barksdale plugging up the middle of the d-line; and, Ben Martin helping Thad Gibson put pressure on the quarterback.  Indeed, a few key misses have had an incredibly negative effect.

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