Teams win with recruiting. Ask any college football coach, and he will tell you that he is nothing without his players. Games are won in the recruiting battle that takes shape every winter.
This February 6th, one big trend was reinforced. Football players are continuing to sign with warm weather teams, and only a couple of colder climate programs have consistently defied that result. Ohio State is among only three northern schools to finish in the top 16 in recruiting. Michigan and Notre Dame join them.
The hubbub on signing day in Columbus, Ohio was centered around Terrelle Pryor, who remains undecided about his choice of school. Buckeye fans may still be waiting to hear his choice for several weeks yet, as Michigan, Oregon, and Penn State are purportedly all still in the picture.
Lost in the Terrelle Pryor sweepstakes is the fact that Ohio State has signed a tremendous class of players in their own right. Of the 19 players who have officially agreed to play for the Buckeyes, Rivals.com rates three of them as five-star recruits. Nine of the athletes were ranked with four stars, and seven of them with three stars, placing the class ninth in the country.
The highlight of the 2008 class comes on the offensive line. The Buckeyes have enjoyed success in the past with great size up front, and they should continue to see that over the next several years. Ohio State welcomes five-star offensive linemen Mike Adams from Dublin, Ohio, and Michael Brewster of Orlando, Florida. Joining them will be J.B. Shugarts from Klein, Texas, a four-star recruit.
Adams, Brewster, and Shugarts all tip the scales around 300 pounds, and measure 6'7", 6'6", and 6'7" respectively. Expect them to contribute right away, helping pave the way for early Heisman candidate, junior running back Chris "Beanie" Wells.
Helping to bolster the defensive line for the scarlet and gray—a position notable for the absence of Vernon Gholston, who is leaving for the NFL after his junior season—will be a strong group of signees. Willie Mobley, Keith Wells, and Nathan Williams will look to fill the defensive end spot, while Shawntel Rowell and Garrett Goebel will fortify the middle of the line.
The Buckeyes have had a great deal of success recruiting from within the state of Ohio. This has been more evident in past years than the current class—only nine of the 19 recruits are "home grown." They were rather successful in reaching recruits across the nation this year.
The Buckeyes went out of state to look for the next James Laurinaitis, the team's returning Butkus award winner at linebacker. Etienne Sabino of Miami, Florida and Andrew Sweat of Washington, Pennsylvania are both great athletes with size and speed.
The top skill position threat, DeVier Posey, a five-star wide receiver from Cincinnati, Ohio, joins the team with a little controversy of late. Buckeye head coach Jim Tressell agreed to take part in an event at Posey's high school—a major fundraiser for the school—but would only agree to do it after Posey officially signed, indicating he would back out if the recruit changed his mind.
In truth, this is fairly insignificant story, as many coaches have a similar practice. Tressell spoke at current quarterback Antonio Henton's school after he signed as a recruit.
Tressell commented on the 2008 recruiting class, drawing attention to their achievements in the classroom as well as on the field: "We've got a heck of a class with a lot of upside, a lot of character, excellent students. We're really, really pleased."
Notable exceptions from the list of signees at Ohio State are at quarterback (no commitments) and running back (only fullback Jamil Martin). The Buckeyes do have depth at those positions already, so the team is not concerned. They also hope their list is not yet complete.
Expectations will be high in Columbus once again (when are they not?), and anything short of a national championship will be a disappointment for most fans. This is understandable, given the 18 starters back from a team that appeared in the national championship last year, as well as a top recruiting year once again. A lot is riding on their early season matchup with Southern Cal.
Much of the recruiting damage came early for the Buckeyes; they had several of their top prospects commit early in the process. Thus, there was not too much excitement on signing day.
The Buckeye faithful hope to have one late splash, though. What do you think, Terrelle?
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7 months ago
Terrelle will come, mark my words.
7 months ago
Terrelle knows where his "boyz" are...THE Ohio State Buckeyes. We got yo back, TP.
7 months ago
Tressels recruiting class is awesome. With the addition of Terrelle OSU would be favorites to go to the National Championship the next couple of years. Terrelle would love this offensive line. If he is as good as I've seen on You Tube he would have all day to pass or run. I hope he signs with Ohio State University it would be sure fun to watch. Believe it or not I'm from Michigan.
from 7 months ago
ha but are you a michigan fan?
7 months ago
"Buckeye head coach Jim Tressell agreed to take part in an event at Posey's high school—a major fundraiser for the school—but would only agree to do it after Posey officially signed, indicating he would back out if the recruit changed his mind."
And where exactly did you get this brilliant report from? You couldn't possibly be insinuating this is fact because Greg Doyle of CBS wrote this "may" have happened, could you? You ignorant excuses for journalists need a clue. LaSalle is a very talent-rich school in the GCL, the best league in Ohio.
Do you honestly believe Tressel would pull out of this opportunity to make some more inroads at this school if Posey pulled out?
Let's also not leave out the fact that Posey was one of OSU's earlier verbal commitments and has been recruiting other guys for OSU the entire time he's been committed. There was no chance he was going to back out of his verbal.
I love the fact that with the internet, you 'children' can post articles and act like you're professional journalists.
from 7 months ago
I'm not sure exactly what or whom you are attacking. This story was available in a multitude of news outlets, and I saw it as important enough to include in my write-up.
from 7 months ago
I agree, everyone knows the bleacher report is an open forum for amatuer and professional writers alike.
7 months ago
I'll tell you what, It has been over 1,500 days since Michigan has beat OSU. When Pryor signs with the Buckeyes, we will have four more years of OSU over U of M. Pretty bad way to start your job with the Wolverines being 0-4 in the biggest rivalary in college football. Sorry Rodriguez. Odds are he won't make it past the first three years. Go Bucks OH- IO
7 months ago
Great article. Pryor may say he's still visiting Penn State and Oregon, but I think everyone, even Michigan fans, know he's going to sign with Ohio State.
7 months ago
What is clearly important is that recruiting is done not just to get the best players, but rather to get the best players in the holes you are trying to fill.
The recuriting services who claim to determine who got the best recruiting class do not take this factor into consideration. They look strickly at the players and their abilities (important) rather than how these players will help the schools with whom they have signed.
It appears to me in this regard that USC has done the best job of recruiting with Ohio State a close second. But then we will all be a lot smarter about 10 months from now!
7 months ago
I'm worried about Pryor now. I read a Rivals.com article saying he was on the verge of signing with Ohio State but needed more time to mull things over. This is never a good sign. While I don't believe he would go to Michigan over OSU, I feel like Penn State and Oregon are major wildcards. Oregon may seem like an obscure school to go to, but their facilities are world class (because of Phil Knight and Nike) and Oregon would be an ideal place to establish his legacy at a school. Let me explain.
If Pryor led OSU to a national championship, it would be expected. He would be praised, but he wouldn't be anything more significant than OSU greats of the past. If Pryor did the same thing at Oregon, he would be a legend, enshrined in the annals of Oregon history forever. This does mean a lot to some recruits. Oregon maybe be second fiddle to OSU in many regards, but there are still reasons why top-notch players go there. One prime example is pro prospect Jonathan Stewart, one of the top-ranked running backs a few years ago.
This is not to say that I think he's going there. But I'm thinking out loud the reasons for why he should go to each school. OSU might be best for him in terms of surrounding talent and potential for winning championships, but Oregon might give him better upside in the long-run.
I just hope he picks the Buckeyes...
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