DT Todd Denlinger (official thread)

[buckhunter]

Let's keep the Tressel Train rolling! Great News...it will be great to get the Troy Fans to fall in love with the Bucks again.

[osugrad21]

Very nice...welcome aboard.

[Tresselbeliever]

Congrats to Todd and his family!

[Oh8ch]

This class is really starting out strong.

That's 3 for sure Top 100 guys with Cordle and Ryan Williams projected to make a run at some top 100 lists.

It is unfortunate that early commitments typically hurt kids rankings. Folks are more interested in following uncommitted players and this seems to be reflected in who makes those lists.

One thing for certain - there are no 'reaches' in these first five.

[stxbuck]

If these kids have their OSU schollies wrapped up, I doubt they give a rat's behind how they are ranked. A lot of these guys commit early so they can be focused on their HS season-team 1st. It annoys me how some of these kids-usually from the South- are already saying that they will not decide/announce until signing day-egomaniacs. Take your visits-fine, have some fun. But to drag the process out just for your own self aggrandizement is a sign of immaturity,IMO.

[Buckskin86]

DDN article on Denlinger commitment

Troy's Denlinger verbally commits to Ohio State

By Doug Harris

Dayton Daily News

Most major football powers were prepared to fawn over coveted recruit Todd Denlinger, but the Troy High School senior-to-be advised them to save their breath.

Denlinger, who is considered one of the top five prospects in Ohio, orally committed to Ohio State on Wednesday. The 6-foot-4, 282-pound defensive lineman turned down offers from Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Stanford and Tennessee.

"It's a great relief to get that off my shoulders," said Denlinger, who admitted to being a rabid OSU fan. "They've been my team for as long as I can recall. Always on Saturdays, I watch the Buckeyes. Why go against them?"

Much fuss would have been made over Denlinger if he had waited until signing day in February to make his decision. But he told his many suitors to put him on their do-not-call list.

"I heard it gets ridiculous in August and September," he said. "You'll get phone calls every hour of the night from recruiters trying to get you to go to their school. I don't see the need for that.

"I want to focus on my high school team and get that show on the road."

Denlinger, who made second-team All-Greater Western Ohio Conference in 2003 as a linebacker, said he could bulk up to 300 pounds if needed, and he has been clocked in the 40-yard dash at a fleet 4.71 seconds.

In a one-season stint at middle linebacker in 2003, he led the Trojans with 125 tackles.

"He's got all the physical skills," Troy coach Steve Nolan said. "He's a big kid that can run very well. He gets to the football."

Denlinger also reportedly has a 3.85 grade-point average.

"He's a great all-around kid that's real coachable," Nolan said.

Denlinger is the fifth player in the 2005 class to commit to OSU, joining Ohioans Jamario O'Neal, Alex Boone and Jimmy Cordle and California's Ryan Williams.

The Buckeyes have been stockpiling defensive linemen — another Miami Countian, Quinn Pitcock of Piqua, was a catch in 2002 — but Denlinger won't cower from the competition.

He expects to get a shot right away in OSU's liberal substitution scheme. "I know they have great players," he said. "But the way they rotate at that position will benefit me. I'll be able to see plenty of early playing time.

"It just gives me something to strive for — to beat somebody out and try to take their job

Tim May- free Dispatch article

Tackle from Troy gives in to urge, settles on OSU
Thursday, June 03, 2004
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Todd Denlinger was trying to keep his options open in the college football recruiting lottery, but he said he had to give in to the irresistible force.

"It’s always been my dream to play at Ohio State," said Denlinger, a 6-foot-3, 282-pound defensive tackle from Troy. "I’ve committed to the Buckeyes."

Evidently, it has been at least a short-term desire of the OSU coaches to have Denlinger join them, too. He is rated the top defensive line prospect in the state by the Ohio Football Recruiting News.

Denlinger said defensive coordinator Mark Snyder, assistant head coach/defensive line coach Jim Heacock and linebackers coach Luke Fickell took turns wooing him.

"I think the coaches are great there, and the campus is a great place," Denlinger said. "And the football program obviously is great.

"Coach Heacock is one of the best defensive line coaches in the country, as you can tell" by the recent selections of defensive linemen Will Smith, Tim Anderson and Darrion Scott in the NFL draft.

Denlinger still could have written his ticket to a lot of places. Despite his size, he ran a 4.71-second 40-yard dash at OSU’s summer camp last year. He played linebacker at Troy last season, collecting 125 tackles (17 for loss). Those stats, coupled with his 3.85 grade-point index, made him a hot commodity this spring.

"He’s one of the top defensive line prospects in the country," OFRN publisher Bill Kurelic said of OSU’s fifth commitment to the 2005 recruiting class.

Denlinger said he had 20 scholarship offers, including Wisconsin, Penn State, Oklahoma, Stanford, Duke, Tennessee, Cincinnati and South Carolina. He said OSU’s coaches did not apply pressure for him to make up his mind early.

"They put it in my own hands," Denlinger said. "It has been my goal to get it over with quickly.

"May was kind of the active time for recruiting. I wanted to finish the month and see what would happen. Nothing changed. Ohio State is where I’ve always wanted to go."


tmay@dispatch.com

[Buckskin86]

Hometown Paper article

The other offers sounded so enticing; Todd Denlinger admits his head strayed every once in awhile.

In the end, however, his heart always led him back to Columbus.

Denlinger's boyhood dream became a reality Wednesday afternoon when he met with Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel and defensive assistants Jim Heacock, Mark Snyder and Luke Fickell in Columbus and told them he wanted to be a Buckeye.

"This has always been a dream for me," said Denlinger, a junior at Troy High School. "It's a great place with great coaches. Whenever I went there, I always felt like I was already a part of their family. They treated me with the utmost respect. The great coaches there really helped me decide.

"Location was also a big factor for me. This way, my family can be close to me and my grandparents can go to all the games. They've never missed a football game in my entire life."

While Denlinger won't officially become a Buckeye until he signs a national letter of intent in February, the verbal commitment should bring the Denlinger Sweepstakes to an end. Nearly every Division I program in the nation had offered a scholarship to Troy's 6-foot-3, 283-pound defensive tackle.

Some of the offers were difficult for Denlinger to turn down.

"It's tough when you have offers from Tennessee and Oklahoma and great football programs like that. Then you get offers from places with great academic reputations like Stanford, Duke and Vanderbilt," Denlinger said. "You've got some pretty big questions you've got to ask yourself."

Whenever Denlinger found he was asking himself those difficult questions, however, the answer always came up the same — Ohio State. Although he didn't commit to OSU until Wednesday, in his heart, Denlinger's recruiting process probably ended when Ohio State made him a scholarship offer last month.

"I pretty much knew then," he said. "But I wanted to wait and see what else panned out."

By making an early commitment, Denlinger is hoping he can focus solely on his senior season at Troy.

"My main goal is getting on with it and putting Troy Trojans football back where it belongs," he said.

Denlinger becomes a part of what is shaping up to be a blockbuster 2005 recruiting class for Ohio State. Most recruiting gurus have him pegged as the third-best prospect in the state of Ohio. The top two — Cleveland Glenville's Jamario O'Neal and Lakewood St. Edward's Aaron Boone — have already given verbal commitments to Ohio State.

The Buckeyes already have tremendous veteran depth along the defensive line and it may be difficult for Denlinger to crack the two-deep rotation right away. He would have almost been assured immediate playing time at a number of other schools, but Denlinger said he looks forward to the challenge of earning playing time in Columbus.

"They do rotate a lot of guys in," Denlinger said. "And there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to come in and compete. I like to challenge myself."

It's just that attitude — coupled with his obvious physical attributes — that has made Denlinger one of the most highly-recruited players in Troy history. Denlinger earned a starting varsity spot his freshman year — almost unheard of at Troy. It was right around that time he started believing he might be able to play college football.

"I met with Coach (Steve) Nolan my eighth grade year and he told me then they were probably going to move me up to varsity as a freshman," Denlinger said. "Since then, I've had pretty high standards for myself, whether it be in the weightroom, on the field or even in the classroom."

The numbers Denlinger has put up in all three of those areas certainly back up his statement. In the weightroom, he benches 350 pounds, squats 475 pounds and has popped a 4.71-second 40-yard dash. On the field, he played middle linebacker last year and finished with 125 tackles, 17 tackles-for-loss, four sacks and an interception. In the classroom, he has a 3.8 grade point average, including a 4.0 for his junior year.

With those kinds of numbers, it didn't take long for all the football powerhouses — Ohio State included — to find Denlinger.

"I went to Ohio State's camp my freshman year and that's when I first started getting noticed," he said. "I talked to them a little bit then and then came over again my sophomore year. They've been in contact with me ever since then."

And although Ohio State has a fairly limited number of scholarships to offer in 2005, Denlinger always felt confident he was a big priority for the Buckeyes.

"I was never worried they weren't going to come through, even if certain members of my family may have been," Denlinger said.

Because the Buckeyes were so committed to him, Denlinger has every intention of staying just as committed to them. While many high school players who make verbal commitments still make official visits to other schools, Denlinger said his recruiting process is over — he's a Buckeye.

"My commitment is solid," he said. "I'm done. I'm not going to take any visits or go to anymore camps. I know other people may do that — I'm not. I told the coaches today I might go to Ohio State's one-day camp, but that would be it. For me, it's over. I'm going to Ohio State."

Just where his heart had been leading him every step of the way.