OL Alex Boone (official thread) - Page 10

Buckskin86 · #**136** (**permalink**) 12-17-2004, 07:47 AM

http://www.dispatch.com/football/foo...00.html&chck=t

Quote:

Touted recruit won’t get a head start
High school insists offensive tackle go the full four years
Friday, December 17, 2004
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Ohio State has waited 16 months for Alex Boone, and now they’ll have to wait another eight.

Boone, an offensive tackle from Lakewood St. Edward, is perhaps the most anticipated player in the Buckeyes’ 2005 recruiting class. He committed in August 2003, and at 6 feet 8, 300 pounds with rare athleticism, he could make an immediate impact in college.

"Probably the fact OSU offered him as a 10 th-grader tells you they saw something," St. Edward coach John Gibbons said. "The way he bends his knees, his quickness and ability to go get linebackers, the way he creates movement at the line of scrimmage . . . he’s the whole package."

Boone was hopeful of enrolling in March and

participating in spring practices to get a jump-start on his college career.

But St. Edward principal Gene Boyer yesterday said that won’t happen. Boone could cobble together enough credits to be finished early, but Boyer said there are larger issues.

"Our decision is this is a fouryear institution and at private schools you should not graduate early," Boyer said. "I think private schools are very different from the public sector, where once you satisfy the requirements, you’re free to graduate. Our philosophy is more all-encompassing.

"As a Catholic school, we take a much more holistic approach to education. It’s not just simply delivering a curriculum. We take a developmental approach with values appropriate all through freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years."

So that’s that, although Boone still was hopeful of pushing the issue.

"Inside, it’s tough to take, but on the outside, I can’t let anyone know I’m frustrated," Boone said. "I just thought if I came down early I’d know all the plays and get a feel for it."

The Buckeyes would love that, in part because playing Boone right away might help shore up what has been a mostly disappointing unit the past two seasons.

Hopes were high coming into 2004 that the Buckeyes’ lighter, faster linemen would portend improvement. Toward the end of the season, there were some positive signs, but it’s safe to say very few spots are settled for 2005.

"I think we’ve come along," coach Jim Tressel said. "We’re not sitting here at all saying we’re where we need to be. I think we’re progressing."

Boone said no Buckeyes coach has ever mentioned the word redshirt, so he’s expecting to get early playing time.

Potentially, he could create a logjam at left tackle, where junior Rob Sims is a two-year starter and true freshman Steve Rehring saw time this season, as well.

One possibility is moving Sims to guard, where he’s more natural anyway.

"Guard is something that I thought I was going to come in playing, and I kind of got pushed into tackle," Sims said. "If I get to play guard, I’ll be real happy."

Two other linemen have committed to Ohio State, Jim Cordle of Lancaster and Kevin Bemoll of Mission Viejo, Calif. But it’s safe to say Boone is by far the most anticipated arrival.

"Hopefully, there are big expectations" for him in 2005, Boone said. "Obviously, my goal is to start as a true freshman, but that’s going to be a tough one. There are a lot guys right now (at OSU) that could blow me away. We’ll have to see when I get there."

The only hitch is he’ll have to wait until August to get there.

"In conversations I’ve had with coach Tressel, he has not pushed the issue," Boyer said. "His bottom line is, ‘We would like Alex at Ohio State, period, whether it’s early or as normal.’ "