'08 OH OL Elliot Mealer (Michigan Signee)

[Tresselbeliever]

Originally Posted by wadc45

False...what you are insinuating from what JT said is just not accurate...I know for a fact the staff is not and never was very interested in Mealer. If they had been they would have asked him to hold off on a decision to see where some other chips fell. The staff made no such effort and were content to let him accept the offer UM made without pushing. If they missed on every OL target on their board Mealer would still not get an offer because he was never on the staff's board.

And I still disagree.

What you are saying basically amounts to saying that in the summer of '02 Kirk Barton was not in OSU's plans.

This is what osugrad posted on Aprill 22nd:

Elliot did not receive an offer, but JT told him the Buckeyes want him in Columbus.

And this is what you posted on April 23rd:

Tough spot for the kid...wants an OSU offer and Michigan knows OSU is slow-playing him while they wait on others.

Anyway, this is a moot point. As long as we agree to disagree.

[jwinslow]

And I still disagree.

Mealer was told he was not getting an offer this year in April. That's awfully early to say farewell to a prospect if he was a main fallback option.

[lord vegas]

Originally Posted by jwinslow

Mealer was told he was not getting an offer this year in April. That's awfully early to say farewell to a prospect if he was a main fallback option.

Exactly, if Mealer was on the fence they would of told him to wait and come down to camp. They basically told him he wasn't getting an offer which leads me to believe he wasn't high on tOSU list at all.

[Napoleonbuck]

We weren't really asking him to wait, we were asking if he would consider grayshirting. You don't ask a kid you might offer if he wants to grayshirt in April.

[wadc45]

TB, you can disagree all you want...the fact of the matter is that after he decided to verbal to UM we got the full story from those that know. My comments you quoted were based off the udpates that had been done by the likes of Kurelic at the time, but once we got the full story we learned that Mealer was told early that he was not an option (in April, as jwins stated). You can't be a fall back option when you are not on the board to begin with.

Barton's situation was completely different...he was down to Northwestern, Pitt and Purdue as late as December of his senior year and OSU didn't enter the picture until late November. He was thought to be a Pitt lean for a long time because his teammate, Zach Slates, has verbaled to Pitt as well...but he was also looking hard at Northwestern because he is a big Blackhawks fan and liked Chicago. To the contrary, Mealer was told prior to the Summer before his Senior season that he was not going to be offered. Mealer decided to end the process early (pressure from UM to commit early) whereas Barton was content to take some visits and bid his time until he got the offer he wanted.

Like NB said...you don't grayshirt somewhere when you have offers from other Big 10 schools. I've heard people asking if Beachum would consider grayshirting and it is never going to happen. The kid would have to be a fool to turn down offers from Oklahoma, LSU, etc. to pay his own way at OSU for a year with the hopes of eventually getting an offer.

[Tresselbeliever]

wadc, I wonder what it was that led to the coaches telling him no so early. Could it be that the staff was content with either Long/Jenkins or none? Was the staff a little over-optimistic with Long/Jenkins? Or was it that the staff simply didn't think Mealer was OSU caliber? The last one is a little puzzling, because one, he had an offer from Michigan, which doesn't always recruit can't miss bluechippers but never goes after chopliver either, and two, the kid looks pretty darn good on film, and looked more athletic playing TE in high school than say even Shurgart.

Don't confuse my questions with , but I do find it a little puzzling since we will be a little thin at OT in 2008.

[jwinslow]

TB, it's not like we called up all of our OL recruits and wished them farewell when things looked good for Jenkins & Long. JT was upfront with Mealer about their intentions, and Mealer accepted a great offer from UM.

Or was it that the staff simply didn't think Mealer was OSU caliber?

Wade addressed this directly:

You can't be a fall back option when you are not on the board to begin with.

-----------

The last one is a little puzzling, because one, he had an offer from Michigan, which doesn't always recruit can't miss bluechippers but never goes after chopliver either, and two, the kid looks pretty darn good on film, and looked more athletic playing TE in high school than say even Shurgart.

OSU not offering Mealer doesn't mean he can't play. It means he did not fit their requirements to round out a stellar OL class.

Don't confuse my questions with , but I do find it a little puzzling since we will be a little thin at OT in 2008.

I'm not sure I follow. We have 3 blue-chip tackle prospects committed (Brewster is Rivals' #1 OT).

[ant80]

Originally Posted by jwinslow

I'm not sure I follow. We have 3 blue-chip tackle prospects committed (Brewster is Rivals' #1 OT).

We will be in terrible shape at OT next year. If Boone decides to leave early, we will be left with Kerr (r-so) and skinner (sr) at OT, with three true freshmen as backups. In spite of the fact that all three mention they will enroll early, I don't think that's an ideal position to be in against Southern California the second game of the year.

[MililaniBuckeye]

Originally Posted by Tresslebeliever

...but I do find it a little puzzling since we will be a little thin at OT in 2008.

I think what the staff is doing shouldn't be very puzzling when you look at what they've done so far (see below)...

Originally Posted by jwinslow

...We have 3 blue-chip tackle prospects committed (Brewster is Rivals' #1 OT).

And all three are 5-stars on either Rivals or Scout...

[jwinslow]

We will be in terrible shape at OT next year. If Boone decides to leave early, we will be left with Kerr (r-so) and skinner (sr) at OT, with three true freshmen as backups. In spite of the fact that all three mention they will enroll early, I don't think that's an ideal position to be in against Southern California the second game of the year.

I've been concerned about that for awhile. I don't see how bringing in mealer changes that weakness.

[MililaniBuckeye]

Originally Posted by jwinslow

I've been concerned about that for awhile. I don't see how bringing in mealer changes that weakness.

Bingo. If bringing in Adams, Brewster, and Shugarts (and possibly Jenkins) doesn't address it, nothing will...

[wadc45]

Originally Posted by Tresselbeliever

wadc, I wonder what it was that led to the coaches telling him no so early. Could it be that the staff was content with either Long/Jenkins or none? Was the staff a little over-optimistic with Long/Jenkins? Or was it that the staff simply didn't think Mealer was OSU caliber? The last one is a little puzzling, because one, he had an offer from Michigan, which doesn't always recruit can't miss bluechippers but never goes after chopliver either, and two, the kid looks pretty darn good on film, and looked more athletic playing TE in high school than say even Shurgart.

Don't confuse my questions with , but I do find it a little puzzling since we will be a little thin at OT in 2008.

Certainly asking the right questions there..I've had several people PM me the last 24 hours asking me what it was that made the staff pass so early on Elliot. Obviously Bollman has something he is looking for and Elliot does not fit that description...which is not to say Mealer can't play (the kid will certainly have the opportunity to compete for serious PT inside of the first couple of years he is at UM). What it is that Bollman is looking for or decided that Mealer didn't have is the great unknown. But what is obvious is that the staff is prepared to wait on Jenkins for the time being. I agree with ant80's concerns, but nothing they do with an offer this year is going to fix that now. They are likely one away from their target number of OL in this class and the fact that they have not offered anyone other than Jenkins speaks volumes to how they feel...either about his talent and/or their chances of landing him. If/when they offer another OL, it will be because they do not feel good about their chances with Jenkins and they have found someone they like just as much to complete this OL haul.

[BuckeyeLiger87]

Any truth in the rumor that the staff offered him as a greyshirt? I heard right around the time Michigan was pushing for his commit the staff offered him the option but he declined.

[wadc45]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeLiger87

Any truth in the rumor that the staff offered him as a greyshirt? I heard right around the time Michigan was pushing for his commit the staff offered him the option but he declined.

The staff did discuss that with Elliot...but you can't blame a kid for taking a full ride to UM over paying his own way at OSU for a year with the hopes of going on scholarship next year.

[CleveBucks]

Originally Posted by ant80

We will be in terrible shape at OT next year. If Boone decides to leave early, we will be left with Kerr (r-so) and skinner (sr) at OT, with three true freshmen as backups. In spite of the fact that all three mention they will enroll early, I don't think that's an ideal position to be in against Southern California the second game of the year.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Rehring slide back to OT next year, whether Boone leaves or not.