• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

tOSU Recruiting Discussion

I'll take a stab at how I see things shaping up...

I think the biggest thing to note at this point is when the recruit's official visit is set for. Now that is not true of every recruit...but I think it is telling in some cases. For example:

December = Plan A (Dawson, Mitchell)
January = Plan B (Timmons, Smith, Moore, Hearns)

Does that apply to every recruit left on the board? Of course not...for example Vonn Bell might not visit until January because of his schedule but he is obviously a Plan A guy. Here is how I see things shaping up:

QB: Barrett
RB: Elliott
RB/WR: Marshall
WR: Jacbos, Gibson, Quick (if Strong bolts...if not I think he stays home)
TE: Baugh
OL: Lisle, Gardner, one of Dawson or Munger or there still might be a name here not on our radar
DL: Hill, Sprinkle, Bosa, Lewis, Price (still think Price might end up on offense)
LB: Lee, Worley, Mitchell, Johnson
CB: Woodard, Conley
S: Burrows, Thompson
P: Townsend

So I think OSU ends with three more LBs (Worley, Mitchell and Johnson are Plan A...Hearns and Moore are Plan B...McMillian stays with UF), two more WRs (Gibson and Quick are Plan A guys...Stevens, Timmons and Smith are Plan B), one more OL (hopefully Dawson...the official will be VERY important), and one more DB (I think OSU is now in the driver's seat for Conley).

What I like about this class is how diverse it can be. Could Price end up at OG with Dawson? Could Lewis end up at LB and someone like Lee at WR? Does Burrows get his first shot at corner freeing up another safety spot for Bell? Is Conley better suited at WR? And so on and so forth.

The big wildcard for me is Bell and/or the second OL spot. Bell's love of Tennessee has always been about the school itself...it was never about Dooley. If they hit a home run with the hire, I think he ends up there. The staff obviously thought they had Dorian Johnson. Someone in Johnson's court obviously wanted him at home...and when they got a second chance, Pitt locked him down. That makes the official visit for Dawson HUGE. If they don't get him, do they push for Munger and either he or Price ends up on the other side of the ball? Or are they out there talking to guys like yle Meadows are even some kids that might be committed to other schools? Lots of great questions still to be answered...
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Go Bucks!!!;2267572; said:
Thanks for the insights on the potential of this class. Did you miss Tim Gardner or was that intentional?

Completely missed him which is a shame because I think he is very underrated...my bad and good catch. Also, Quick already took his official visit this past weekend so I changed that.
 
Upvote 0
I'm right there with you and I think this is a beautiful class.


Landing everyone on your list, where do you think that puts us for a ranking, 3 or so? Doesnt really matter just awesome if the talking heads puts us above michigan again so I can revel in their misery.
 
Upvote 0
ShowMeBuck;2267639; said:
I counted 7 new names but you mention the possibility of Bell making it 8. Can we take that many? Also, Mitchell and Johnson.....incredible.

I've got them at 24 with my list, provided they land another BIG. Bell would make 25. Is it possible? Yes. Last I remember seeing there are 14 outgoing seniors on a roster of 76 (somebody can probably correct me on that if I'm wrong). That gives them 20 spots to start with, before any outgoing third years or guys who just don't return to the program for whatever reason.

As for final class rankings (something I hate), I think a composite top 5 finish is likely. I think passing Georgia is likely and I think they can eclipse Michigan in a couple of the rankings. Alabama and Florida primed for strong finishes and what USC's class lacks in quantity it surpasses most others in terms of quality. If I had to guess right now I would say their final composite rankings will be around #4.
 
Upvote 0
Yes, thanks for the insights, Wade. Logical list that should make all us very happy if it happens. Wholeheartedly agree on the class' diversity.

As you alluded to, OL seems to be the biggest remaining concern in light of the recent developments in LB recruiting. I still maintain (hope) that more blue-chip OL targets pop up before it's all said and done, especially if the Dawson visit isn't enough to pull him away from MSU and his buddy Finley.
 
Upvote 0
Krenzelicious;2267673; said:
Yes, thanks for the insights, Wade. Logical list that should make all us very happy if it happens. Wholeheartedly agree on the class' diversity.

As you alluded to, OL seems to be the biggest remaining concern in light of the recent developments in LB recruiting. I still maintain (hope) that more blue-chip OL targets pop up before it's all said and done, especially if the Dawson visit isn't enough to pull him away from MSU and his buddy Finley.

That would be huge for us. As you said, OL is the only real problematic area of this class. Lisle is a huge talent imo and I am not so high on Gardner, but there are things to like about him. I am moreso concerned that we missed on every single tackle prospect except Lisle (Pocic, D. Johnson, Finley, Fox, Kugler, Gray, etc.). Dawson would be a HUGE get, but is an interior prospect to be sure. Without any tackles outside of Lisle in this class, it leaves us leaning heavily on Decker and Dodson both staying healthy and performing next year. Plus Mewhort is a senior. What I am guessing we might see is guards being forced to play tackle (much like in the JT/Bollman era) until if/when we get some '14 tackle prospects.

With all that being said, I don't think this can be attributed to a lack of effort or focus on the position, as has been the case in the past. The prospects we pursued all seemed like they basically had their minds made up, outside of maybe Pocic. Really all we need is 1 tackle to add to this class, so hopefully the staff still has something up their sleeve. Aside from that, this class is shaping up to be perfect.
 
Upvote 0
Krenzelicious;2267681; said:
Not that we should mimic their approach, but TSUN is still going after linemen. They just offered Cameron Hunt, who is committed to Cal.

Was going to post something about Auburn, Tennessee, Cal... but looked at their OL commits and there is not much to choose from... Tenny has 2 committed 3-star tackles and a 2-star (understanding stars can be misleading... )
 
Upvote 0
RB07OSU;2267831; said:
That would be huge for us. As you said, OL is the only real problematic area of this class. Lisle is a huge talent imo and I am not so high on Gardner, but there are things to like about him. I am moreso concerned that we missed on every single tackle prospect except Lisle (Pocic, D. Johnson, Finley, Fox, Kugler, Gray, etc.). Dawson would be a HUGE get, but is an interior prospect to be sure. Without any tackles outside of Lisle in this class, it leaves us leaning heavily on Decker and Dodson both staying healthy and performing next year. Plus Mewhort is a senior. What I am guessing we might see is guards being forced to play tackle (much like in the JT/Bollman era) until if/when we get some '14 tackle prospects.

With all that being said, I don't think this can be attributed to a lack of effort or focus on the position, as has been the case in the past. The prospects we pursued all seemed like they basically had their minds made up, outside of maybe Pocic. Really all we need is 1 tackle to add to this class, so hopefully the staff still has something up their sleeve. Aside from that, this class is shaping up to be perfect.

Speaking of tackle depth and thinking outside the box a little....I remember hearing UFM praise Chase Farris multiple times towards the end of the season. He seemed pretty athletic in his h/s tape and being listed as 6'6, he would seem to have the height and length to play tackle.

Can anyone who has seen his OLine film from h/s, or who has heard about him from practice, weigh in on the possibility of him playing tackle next year? Also, he's only a Redshirt Freshman I believe, so the staff has plenty of time to work with him. Just a thought.
 
Upvote 0
RB07OSU;2267831; said:
With all that being said, I don't think this can be attributed to a lack of effort or focus on the position, as has been the case in the past. The prospects we pursued all seemed like they basically had their minds made up, outside of maybe Pocic. Really all we need is 1 tackle to add to this class, so hopefully the staff still has something up their sleeve. Aside from that, this class is shaping up to be perfect.

1. If anyone could pull a rabbit out of the hat, it would be Urb.

2. I think the root of the issue is so many years of O-line problems at tOSU. Kids in their formative years get opinions on teams and then that is it. It might take another year of Warriner reality to set in. (But then we would be looking for an Orlando Pace to start as a true Freshman.)

3. If anyone could pull a rabbit out of the hat, it would be Urb.
 
Upvote 0
I think it would be really exciting if there were a 4-star offensive tackle, say top 17, that is interested in not missing out on any opportunities, wanting to see them all.

Somebody like, say for example, Kenny Lacy


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ommits-from-michigan-other-recruiting-updates

Michigan is hoping to fill the spot Dawson left behind with 4-star offensive lineman Kenny Lacy (Phoenix, Az.), who is looking at other schools despite being committed to the UCLA Bruins.Lacy received a scholarship offer from the Wolverines on Tuesday afternoon, and he intends to make an official visit to Ann Arbor on December 14th.
"I didn't know that they would, but [today] (Coach Darrell Funk) just said to make sure that I knew I had a scholarship offer to Michigan," Lacy told Tim Sullivan of TheWolverine.com. "He wasn't sure if I knew. He was talking about the tradition they have of great linemen and the schooling part of it?the academics?all stuff like that."
The nation's No. 175 overall prospect and No. 17 ranked offensive tackle has already taken official trips to see what the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Arkansas Razorbacks and UCLA Bruins have to offer. Lacy is also scheduled to visit the Kansas State Wildcats this weekend.
"I'm just trying to make sure I'm not missing out on anything," Lacy said. "I want to see all of the opportunities I have."
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top