Recruiting Class of 2002--Rating

[LordJeffBuck]

Well, I'm certainly glad to see that my article isn't very controversial, and that you all agree with me....

First a few general comments: The three-star rating is for the class as it stands today. If several players emerge either this year or next, then the rating could very well improve. I think that many of you are still factoring potential into the equation when evaluating this class. It concerns me that, after three years in the system, so many of the former recruits are still being viewed as "potential stars" - highly-rated players like Hall, Datish, Zwick, White, etc. should really be beyond the "potential" stage of their careers.

I also think that some of you are overrating the performances of players like Sims, Mangold, and Salley, who have been generally solid but rarely excellent over their first three seasons. I am hoping that at least one of those three makes major strides this season and has an All-American type year.

Remember that four- and five-star players are supposed to be the best in the country. Are there more than a handful of players from the class of 2002 who are now amongst the best college football players in the nation? Hawk, Carpenter, and Holmes, for sure, but I don't see any others right now.

A few comments on individual players:

1. The highest rated players in the class of were Clarett, Morris, and D'Andrea; the first two are long gone, and D'Andrea has not lived up to expectations. When your super blue chip prospects don't pan out, then the overall class will suffer.

2. Two of the lowest-rated players - Hawk and Holmes, both only three-star recruits - have had the most impact so far. The point of the article was not only to show how the class of 2002 has not lived up to its lofty expectations, but also to demonstrate that recruiting rankings often do not accurately predict success at the college level.

3. Clarett had a five-star freshman year, then left the team and put the OSU football program into a state of turmoil from which it is still trying to recover. Even disregarding his off-the-field antics, I don't really think that he deserves more than 2-1/2 stars for his overall contribution to the program. Averaged over three years, Clarett has 400+ yards and 6 TD's per year.

4. It is very disappointing that neither of the Elite 11 QB's has taken charge of this team. I have doubts whether the QB situation will be resolved this season; if neither QB emerges as a true team leader, then one of the apparent strengths of the class of 2002 will have become a glaring weakness instead.

top to bottom 2002, IMHO, was the best OSU class of my lifetime..and I'm 42..

It might be - some day. Right now, I'd have to say that the classes of '96 (Andy Katzenmoyer, Gary Berry, Na'il Diggs, Michael Wiley, David Boston); '99 (Michael Doss, Tim Anderson, Matt Wilhelm, Craig Krenzel, Ben Hartsock, B.J. Sander); and '00 (Alex Stepanovich, Will Smith, Darrion Scott, Shane Olivea, Michael Jenkins, Will Allen) are all better. Going back a few years, the class of '84 had three all-time Buckeye greats - Chris Spielman, Cris Carter, Jeff Uhlenhake - and plenty of other solid players. Of course, there were many great classes in the late '60's and early '70's. I also like the potential of the '04 and '05 classes.

2. Two of the very best, including arguably the best, LBs in the country (Hawk and Carpenter) are from this class. Hawk is a sure-fire repeat first-team AA, and Carpenter has a very good chance of being first-team all-conference. Hawk is also two-time all-conference selectee.

3. Holmes was 2nd-team all-conference last year and is almost guaranteed to be first-team this season seeing as both first-teamers graduated, and has a good shot at AA.

4. Salley was second-team all-conference last year, and should be first-team this year since both first-team safeties graduated. He will also be on many AA lists.

Those four players were prominemntly mentioned as being the cream of the crop of 2002; Hawk (5*); Carpenter (4-1/2*), and Holmes (4*) received the three highest ratings, and Salley (3-1/2*) was said to be a leader of the defense and in position to have a breakout season in 2005. However, the Bucks signed 25 players in 2002, and approximately half of those signees have to date had limited (or no) success on the college level.

while the above is pretty accurate, then why do this article now and not at the end of next season?

I think that three years is enough time for a preliminary assessment; I will update my blog a year from now and revise my ratings accordingly. I certainly hope that most of the scores will move up a star or two.

EDIT: By the way, the article was not meant to be a panicked "sky is falling" rant; I tried to provide an objective evaluation of the 2002 class. And, yes, I do think that the Bucks have a legit shot at a title in 2005.

[NevadaBuck]

when 16 of the players in a particular class START games BEFORE their senior season that is something quite remarkable--and unprecedented in OSU history.


Say what you want but Clarett, Troy Smith(coming off the heels of the greatest single game performance in UM-OSU history), Holmes, Hawk, Carpenter, Pitcock, and Salley are all bona-fide college stars. Zwick, Sims, Mangold, Downing, Datish, Kudla, D'Andrea, Everett and Mitchell have all been multi-year starters(BEFORE THEIR SENIOR SEASON)---

their is NO comparison--to compare a class with three, four or five greats is laughable.

[LordJeffBuck]

Say what you want but Clarett, Troy Smith(coming off the heels of the greatest single game performance in UM-OSU history), Holmes, Hawk, Carpenter, Pitcock, and Salley are all bona-fide college stars. Zwick, Sims, Mangold, Downing, Datish, Kudla, D'Andrea, Everett and Mitchell have all been multi-year starters(BEFORE THEIR SENIOR SEASON)---

1. Clarett was a college star.

2. Smith has had one excellent game, and is currently under suspension; his future is unclear.

3. Pitcock has potential to be a star (as I mentioned in the article), but he ain't there yet; let's hope that he breaks out in 2005.

4. Obviously, I agree with your assessments of Holmes, Hawk, Carpenter, and (to some extent) Salley.

5. Your statement about Zwick, et al. is completely misleading. To date, Sims and Mangold are the only legit starters in the group; the others have been spot starters, and it appears that Datish, D'Andrea, and Mitchell (and possibly Everett and Downing) will end their careers as back-ups; Zwick could go either way, but I doubt that he is the answer at QB.

[tsteele316]

like i said on the first page, and as the discussion here on page 2 illustrates, this article needed to be done at the end of the upcoming season.

lordjeff you make as many predictions and forecasts about the 2002 recruits as nevada does in making your assessment, which is why i have said that it is mistimed to say the least.

[MililaniBuckeye]

Originally Posted by LordJeffBuck

1. Clarett was a college star.

...

3. Pitcock has potential to be a star (as I mentioned in the article), but he ain't there yet; let's hope that he breaks out in 2005.

...

5. ... the others have been spot starters, and it appears that Datish, D'Andrea, and Mitchell (and possibly Everett and Downing) will end their careers as back-ups...

1. Doesn't matter that Clarett bailed...he was in a class all by himself. His performance in his only year at Ohio State makes the 2002 class that much better.

3. He's as close to being a star as you can be. He was superb in both The Game and the Alamo Bowl. You don't have to "hope" he breaks out in 2005.

5. D'Andrea's not being a starter isn't a result of a lack of talent, but rather injuries. He was starting over Schlegel and was really starting to blossum until he got hurt. As for Everett, who is going to start at safety over him?

In my mind, you judge a class on how well they've turned out compared to their pre-NLOID expectations. Not everyone in a recruiting class can be expected to become a starter, let alone all-conference or even All American. If the 2002 class has 25 players, that alone means that at least 3 can't be starters. To me, a good recruiting class should have about half of them starting as seniors. In the case of the class of 2002, if they have 11 or more of them starting on opening day, then their class is successful. We expected Clarett to become a great RB, which he did, and then bailed. We expected to have an All American LB in that class, and we got one...it just wasn't the guy we expected it to be. We've also had a pleasant surprise in Holmes. The only real "disappointment" so far in my mind is Zwick, and he still has a chance to have a great year or two.

[LordJeffBuck]

As for Everett, who is going to start at safety over him?

Donte Whitner.

With respect to Clarett, I guess that we have to disagree over whether one outstanding year and nothing more equals a great career; I can see your point, and thinks that it has some merit, but ultimately I don't agree with it.

Besides Zwick, I'd say that Morris, Clarett, D'Andrea, Hall, and Datish have all been major disappointments. On Signing Day of 2002, I would have predicited that at least four (if not all six) of those players would be All-American caliber players in the 2005 season; as it stands, none will be.