Ohio State Football: Recruiting Problems Are Only Temporary

With the decommitment of Kyle Kalis yesterday, Ohio State has now fallen to eight commitments for the 2012 class. While there is still plenty of time for Coach Fickell to gain the ear of top recruits, many have started to believe that the 2012 class will not be a top-25 class, where Ohio State normally finds itself on national signing day.

Even with the decommitment of Kalis, Buckeye fans should not be worried about the 2012 class lacking talent.

First, the 2012 class so far already has plenty of talent in its eight current commits. Although top running back recruit Brionte Dunn has said he will visit other schools and keep his options open, he has declared that he is still committed to Ohio State. Dunn could be on the same level as Rod Smith and contribute immediately upon enrolling at Ohio State.

At the same position, Warren Ball is a forgotten running back with all the hype surrounding Dunn. Should Dunn leave Ohio State and move on, Ball is plenty capable of being the leading back for the Buckeyes. With plenty of depth at running back right now, Ball will be able to enter Ohio State, possibly redshirt and gain experience before he has to step into the starting role.

Next in line, the Buckeyes were lucky to grab OG Jacoby Boren, who is the third and final chapter in the Boren brother trilogy. As many will remember, OG Justin Boren transferred from Michigan to play at Ohio State and fullback Zach Boren is entering his third year as the starting fullback for the Buckeyes. Jacoby has all the talents to be as good as Justin and will fit in nicely to the Buckeyes roster, as the depth at guard will allow him to gain experience at the position before he needs to become a starter.

Wide receiver Frank Epitropolous may be one of the most underrated receivers in the 2012 class. His speed and quickness have some Buckeye fans thinking he could be the next Dane Sanzenbacher.

On the defensive side of the ball the Buckeyes were very fortunate to grab defensive backs in Tyvis Powell and Najee Murray. Both of these backs show great promise and given time, they will be shutdown corners for the Buckeyes like Malcom Jenkins and Devon Torrence.

Landing Joshua Perry was a dream for the Buckeyes. Perry is a top linebacker recruit whose size alone should scare you, but his speed to the ball is also very impressive. Expect him to be teamed up with Curtis Grant and Ryan Shazier in a few years as the top linebacking corps in the nation.

Second, the 2011 class was so full of talent. If Ohio State has to suffer a lower class because of all that has happened during this offseason, the 2011 class will make up for it. Especially on defense, where the Buckeyes were able to grab high-caliber players like Steve Miller, Curtis Grant, Doran Grant and Ryan Shazier.

On the offensive side of the ball, they landed highly touted quarterback Braxton Miller, who has shown that he is capable of leading the Buckeyes in the fall as a true freshman (let’s just hope he doesn’t end his career like the last highly touted quarterback to show up in Columbus).

And lastly, the NCAA sanctions don’t look like they will be as bad as first thought. You can imagine how hard it is for the Ohio State coaching staff to recruit right now, as every coach in the country is using the offseason issues as ways to promote their school. The only way a recruit hasn’t heard about the mess in Columbus is if he’s not getting out of bed each day.

Every media outlet in the nation is preaching that Ohio State will have bowl bans and scholarship losses that could be equal to or greater than those placed on USC. What recruit that hasn’t been sold on Ohio State since they were seven is going to commit right now?

What Ohio State needs is to go before the NCAA infractions committee, receive their punishment and move on. The one thing that is killing Ohio State recruiting is the lurking uncertainty within the program, but if my prediction of five scholarships lost a year with no postseason ban is correct, more players will start committing to the Buckeyes.

Even players like Se’von Pittman, a heralded defensive lineman who committed to Michigan State last week, may start to rethink their commitments and rethink Ohio State.

It is very common to see commitments change, especially among higher-ranked players as time passes and feelings change. Remember, we are dealing with 17 and 18-year-old kids, most of whom can’t fully commit to what they want at McDonald's. Decisions will change between now and February.

All in all, Ohio State will still field a top-25 class for 2012 once the uncertainty is gone from Columbus. For now though, it is just a waiting game for the Ohio State coaching staff.