Drew Thurman (9:40 pm) Signing Day has been a relatively boring affair over the last decade for Buckeye fans. Outside of perusing a few pictures of Buckeye commitments signing their NLOI, guys that had already been committed for months, it typically has been pretty anti-climatic. Well, Buckeye fans were treated to quite a break from the norm as the Buckeyes were in the center of a lot of drama today. Let's take a look at the storylines from an eventful day... Storyline #1 - Marcus and Dodson Choose OSU |
Despite finding out WR Joel Caleb and S Bam Bradley had picked other schools early in the morning, Buckeye fans had no time to be disappointed as LB Jamal Marcus selected the Buckeyes around 10:30 a.m. Marcus was down to East Carolina and Ohio State, and most believed he would stay close to home and pick ECU to please his mom. Instead, Buckeye Nation got a surprise from one of the most underrated prospects in the country.
Marcus is in fact rated as a three star prospect my multiple recruiting services, though his offer list suggests a much better player than that rating. At 6-2 230 pounds he already his great size and runs a 4.6 forty, and his film shows that speed in a very impressive fashion. Speaking of that film, Meyer referenced it multiple times today in his press conference, calling it "ridiculous." He mentioned Marcus in the same breath as the top tier talent in this class, and encouraged everyone to go YouTube his highlights. Considering Meyer is one of the best evaluators of talent in the country, his hyperbole should be taken seriously. He will definitely help fill a position of big need at outside linebacker, and joins Josh Perry, Luke Roberts, David Perkins and Camren Williams at linebacker in this class.
Marcus is in fact rated as a three star prospect my multiple recruiting services, though his offer list suggests a much better player than that rating. At 6-2 230 pounds he already his great size and runs a 4.6 forty, and his film shows that speed in a very impressive fashion. Speaking of that film, Meyer referenced it multiple times today in his press conference, calling it "ridiculous." He mentioned Marcus in the same breath as the top tier talent in this class, and encouraged everyone to go YouTube his highlights. Considering Meyer is one of the best evaluators of talent in the country, his hyperbole should be taken seriously. He will definitely help fill a position of big need at outside linebacker, and joins Josh Perry, Luke Roberts, David Perkins and Camren Williams at linebacker in this class.
Then early in the afternoon Kyle Dodson selected the Buckeyes in one of the longest recruiting ceremonies ever, with what seemed like ever other student at Cleveland Heights announcing their choices before Dodson. It was well worth the wait though. Dodson decided to come to the front of the stage and called his teammates up to help announce his decision. They surrounded him as Dodson pumped them up much like a pregame huddle screaming out Ohio State at the end. It was easily the coolest announcement I have ever seen.
His decision is critical for the Buckeyes as things wind down with this class. In fact, Meyer said he would have almost traded him for every other player OSU signed. The 6-6 315 pound offensive tackle his all the tangibles you look for in a big time offensive lineman, and fills a position of great need. Not only were the Buckeyes in need of depth on the line, but were desperate for help at tackle. Dodson along with Taylor Decker slow the bleeding, and the staff should be able to get out ahead of the offensive line situation in the 2013 class. Thanks Bollman!
His decision is critical for the Buckeyes as things wind down with this class. In fact, Meyer said he would have almost traded him for every other player OSU signed. The 6-6 315 pound offensive tackle his all the tangibles you look for in a big time offensive lineman, and fills a position of great need. Not only were the Buckeyes in need of depth on the line, but were desperate for help at tackle. Dodson along with Taylor Decker slow the bleeding, and the staff should be able to get out ahead of the offensive line situation in the 2013 class. Thanks Bollman!
The 2012 Class. (Via Rivals.com)
Storyline #2 - 19 Guys Faxed In NLOI
Including Marcus and Dodson, the Buckeyes had 19 young men sign on the dotted line. You can read about each young men here. With six players in this class already enrolling early (Jacoby Boren, Bri'onte Dunn, Cardale Jones, Josh Perry, Tyvis Powell and Michael Thomas) the Buckeyes have 25 guys in the 2012 class.
Obviously, the focus of this class is on guys like Noah Spence, Adolphus Washington, Se'von Pittman, Taylor Decker, and Tommy Schutt. While it's hard not get caught up in their hype and national ranking, Buckeye fans shouldn't forget about the original eleven guys (not counting Dunn) who never waivered and stuck with Ohio State throughout all the mess. There are a couple of very solid guys in that group too. Josh Perry got praise today for his work ethic and growth already in the month of January. Warren Ball is quietly one of the better backs in the country, though all Buckeye Nation ever talks about is Dunn. Blake Thomas is a high quality pass catching tight end. And guys like Najee Murray and Tyvis Powell both have futures in the secondary.
All together, the original commitments and Urban's new star power, the Buckeyes are high on the national recruiting rankings for a second straight year. Meyer has a great foundation to work with, especially on the defensive side of the ball. After a season where the Silver Bullets were hardly recognizable, the staff has stocked the front seven to be elite again.
Including Marcus and Dodson, the Buckeyes had 19 young men sign on the dotted line. You can read about each young men here. With six players in this class already enrolling early (Jacoby Boren, Bri'onte Dunn, Cardale Jones, Josh Perry, Tyvis Powell and Michael Thomas) the Buckeyes have 25 guys in the 2012 class.
Obviously, the focus of this class is on guys like Noah Spence, Adolphus Washington, Se'von Pittman, Taylor Decker, and Tommy Schutt. While it's hard not get caught up in their hype and national ranking, Buckeye fans shouldn't forget about the original eleven guys (not counting Dunn) who never waivered and stuck with Ohio State throughout all the mess. There are a couple of very solid guys in that group too. Josh Perry got praise today for his work ethic and growth already in the month of January. Warren Ball is quietly one of the better backs in the country, though all Buckeye Nation ever talks about is Dunn. Blake Thomas is a high quality pass catching tight end. And guys like Najee Murray and Tyvis Powell both have futures in the secondary.
All together, the original commitments and Urban's new star power, the Buckeyes are high on the national recruiting rankings for a second straight year. Meyer has a great foundation to work with, especially on the defensive side of the ball. After a season where the Silver Bullets were hardly recognizable, the staff has stocked the front seven to be elite again.
Storyline #3 - Urban Gives an Update
We also got to hear from Urban Meyer and several of the coaches today about this class and their recruiting methods. In his opening statement he had this to say...
Let me say this about recruiting for Ohio State. Recruiting is work ethic, it's uncovering who the champions are for each young man that you're recruiting, but most of all it's a belief in the place you're at and knowledge of the place you're at. To be able to do that in such a quick time period, a lot of credit goes to our coaching staff.
On dealing with the bowl ban...
The bowl ban was a shot. I don't know the exact date and timing. I should be better versed in that. We're hired, we go out, recruit as hard as we can. I mean, as hard as we can. I had a belief we would not get a bowl ban. When that hits, it was damage control for two, three weeks. The way we did it, the way we instructed our staff, hit that as hard as you possibly can on the front end. Don't wait for them to attack you with it. Your competitors are all over that. We went and were extremely proactive as far as the bowl ban. That was a little bit of a sucker punch for a little bit. Obviously, the month of January, I haven't heard about it even in the last two weeks.
On the scholarship count...
I think we're at 81 right now. I think we have room for one more.
On what needs didn't get met...
Yeah. Speed at the skill. I would say some of the things we like to do offensively, you're going to hear us talk -- we want the defense to defend the width and length of the field. There's only one way to defend the width, that's flat speed. We've tried it. There's no other way that you can make a defense defend the entire width of the field.
The way to make them defend is vertical. I ideally like speed there, too. In our offense, we're still lacking that game-changer that you can hand the ball to speed-wise. I think we got some bigger guys, but we're still looking for a difference maker in one of those 10.4 100 meter guys that can change the game.
On the importance of competitiveness...
I'm glad you brought that up. I have a note here to bring that up. I've grown as a coach. You grow, change, always adapting, thinking how to get better. That year off helped me to kick back, relax - well, not relax - kickback and evaluate what programs are doing a really good job. The one common denominator wasn't black, white, yellow, jump, I formation, West Coast, pro style, spread; it was the competitive nature of the program, the competitive nature of the athletes on the team.
The great ones that I see going on to the National Football League, doing the same thing they did in college, it's amazing, they did the same thing in high school. They're competitors.
There's a couple ways we evaluate it. How do they compete in a big game. Bri'onte Dunn had 300-yard back-to-back games. That's real. What sold me on him, other than the fact he comes from a great family, great-looking guy, he didn't tap out in the big games. How do they perform in a rivalry or state championship, state playoff game. That's usually an indicator of a high-end competitor.
Basketball is a great evaluator. Adolpus Washington, had a chance to watch him play basketball. Very impressive. I don't know how he shoots, I don't really care. I just watched the way he plays, bangs, moves guys around. I like to see a guy's face. He's very upset when it doesn't go his way.Without question that's the number one thing we look for, that I look for. If he's a track guy, is he a guy that's always competing, if he runs a 10.5, try to run a 10.4.
The best evaluation is cornering that coach. You get about six inches from that coach's face and say, Tell me about this guy. There's no other nonsense in the room.
I notice a lot of pro scouts, pro head coaches, pro assistant coaches, the really good ones, that's all they want to know. At the end of the day, will that kid compete at the highest level, do what it takes to win a game.
On going after committed guys...
That's up to each individual school. We went after a young guy in Cleveland, Ohio. I asked him if he was interested in Ohio State. He said no. I wished him the best of luck, do well in school, move on. Especially from your home state, you ask a man, Are you interested in Ohio State? Yes, coach, I've always wanted to be a Buckeye. That's really the only way we've recruited.
Like I said, Taylor Decker recruited us. He called me and said, I want to be a Buckeye. Whoa, what are you talking about? Some guys, What do you think about this? Then his high school coach called us said, He wants to come to Ohio State. If the kid is not interested, we're done, we move on.
We also got to hear from Urban Meyer and several of the coaches today about this class and their recruiting methods. In his opening statement he had this to say...
Let me say this about recruiting for Ohio State. Recruiting is work ethic, it's uncovering who the champions are for each young man that you're recruiting, but most of all it's a belief in the place you're at and knowledge of the place you're at. To be able to do that in such a quick time period, a lot of credit goes to our coaching staff.
On dealing with the bowl ban...
The bowl ban was a shot. I don't know the exact date and timing. I should be better versed in that. We're hired, we go out, recruit as hard as we can. I mean, as hard as we can. I had a belief we would not get a bowl ban. When that hits, it was damage control for two, three weeks. The way we did it, the way we instructed our staff, hit that as hard as you possibly can on the front end. Don't wait for them to attack you with it. Your competitors are all over that. We went and were extremely proactive as far as the bowl ban. That was a little bit of a sucker punch for a little bit. Obviously, the month of January, I haven't heard about it even in the last two weeks.
On the scholarship count...
I think we're at 81 right now. I think we have room for one more.
On what needs didn't get met...
Yeah. Speed at the skill. I would say some of the things we like to do offensively, you're going to hear us talk -- we want the defense to defend the width and length of the field. There's only one way to defend the width, that's flat speed. We've tried it. There's no other way that you can make a defense defend the entire width of the field.
The way to make them defend is vertical. I ideally like speed there, too. In our offense, we're still lacking that game-changer that you can hand the ball to speed-wise. I think we got some bigger guys, but we're still looking for a difference maker in one of those 10.4 100 meter guys that can change the game.
On the importance of competitiveness...
I'm glad you brought that up. I have a note here to bring that up. I've grown as a coach. You grow, change, always adapting, thinking how to get better. That year off helped me to kick back, relax - well, not relax - kickback and evaluate what programs are doing a really good job. The one common denominator wasn't black, white, yellow, jump, I formation, West Coast, pro style, spread; it was the competitive nature of the program, the competitive nature of the athletes on the team.
The great ones that I see going on to the National Football League, doing the same thing they did in college, it's amazing, they did the same thing in high school. They're competitors.
There's a couple ways we evaluate it. How do they compete in a big game. Bri'onte Dunn had 300-yard back-to-back games. That's real. What sold me on him, other than the fact he comes from a great family, great-looking guy, he didn't tap out in the big games. How do they perform in a rivalry or state championship, state playoff game. That's usually an indicator of a high-end competitor.
Basketball is a great evaluator. Adolpus Washington, had a chance to watch him play basketball. Very impressive. I don't know how he shoots, I don't really care. I just watched the way he plays, bangs, moves guys around. I like to see a guy's face. He's very upset when it doesn't go his way.Without question that's the number one thing we look for, that I look for. If he's a track guy, is he a guy that's always competing, if he runs a 10.5, try to run a 10.4.
The best evaluation is cornering that coach. You get about six inches from that coach's face and say, Tell me about this guy. There's no other nonsense in the room.
I notice a lot of pro scouts, pro head coaches, pro assistant coaches, the really good ones, that's all they want to know. At the end of the day, will that kid compete at the highest level, do what it takes to win a game.
On going after committed guys...
That's up to each individual school. We went after a young guy in Cleveland, Ohio. I asked him if he was interested in Ohio State. He said no. I wished him the best of luck, do well in school, move on. Especially from your home state, you ask a man, Are you interested in Ohio State? Yes, coach, I've always wanted to be a Buckeye. That's really the only way we've recruited.
Like I said, Taylor Decker recruited us. He called me and said, I want to be a Buckeye. Whoa, what are you talking about? Some guys, What do you think about this? Then his high school coach called us said, He wants to come to Ohio State. If the kid is not interested, we're done, we move on.
Storyline #4 - Filling the Final Spot
Meyer stated that the Buckeyes have one final spot open. Obviously, he and the staff know of further attrition that we do not at this point to make that possible. As he also stated, the biggest need is an offensive playmaker, most likely Davonte Neal or Stefon Diggs. Both young men have been on campus in recent weeks, though it has been hard to gauge their interest in recent days. This morning there was some buzz that Neal was leaning towards OSU, though that is merely speculation.
Then tonight, Mike Farrell dropped a Twitter bomb that OSU would not be taking Neal. Then later tweeted that Neal tried to commit and couldn't. Though Neal's father later seemed to not back up such claims, it was hard to tell what was true. If Farrell's sources are right, and that's still a big "if" at this point, do the Buckeyes stand in a good place with Diggs? We will wait and see.
Meyer stated that the Buckeyes have one final spot open. Obviously, he and the staff know of further attrition that we do not at this point to make that possible. As he also stated, the biggest need is an offensive playmaker, most likely Davonte Neal or Stefon Diggs. Both young men have been on campus in recent weeks, though it has been hard to gauge their interest in recent days. This morning there was some buzz that Neal was leaning towards OSU, though that is merely speculation.
Then tonight, Mike Farrell dropped a Twitter bomb that OSU would not be taking Neal. Then later tweeted that Neal tried to commit and couldn't. Though Neal's father later seemed to not back up such claims, it was hard to tell what was true. If Farrell's sources are right, and that's still a big "if" at this point, do the Buckeyes stand in a good place with Diggs? We will wait and see.
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