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crazybuckfan40
Head Coach
InBloom;679908; said:
Too bad he is no longer there to coach them...No one has said there was anything wrong with his recruiting...
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Talent was never the problem at Florida, as evidenced by the record before and after zook's streak of 5-loss seasons.InBloom;679908; said:
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OSUBuckeye4Life
"THE" Ohio State Buckeyes
InBloom;679908; said:
Take it as no surprise that it was going to take someone different at the coaching position to get those kids there.
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Gamble sets his sights on Illinois
By CHRIS EASTERLING
[email protected]
Advertisement
In the end, it was a familiar face which was the deciding factor in Brian Gamble?s college decision.
The Massillon Tiger senior elected on Tuesday to commit to the University of Illinois to play football. A big reason behind the decision was former Tiger Antonio James, who just completed his freshman season with the Illini.
?It?s real good to have somebody there that is taking care of you,? Gamble said. ?That helps a lot.?
Gamble paid the Champaign campus a visit last weekend, where he was reunited with James. That comfort level helped in separating Illinois from fellow Big Ten member Minnesota, which was the other primary suitor for the two-time All-Ohioan?s services.
?It was just the people there,? Gamble said. ?I just felt the most comfortable with the coaches at Illinois. It was really just what I felt. Antonio was telling me all the good things about the school.?
Still, it was Gamble?s decision at the end of the day.
?It wasn?t really any one thing that was said,? Gamble said. ?It was just everything together. Really, there was nothing but good things about it. I just feel it?s the best place for me.?
The decision brought an end to the recruiting process for Gamble, who wasn?t the least bit disappointed about that.
?It?s nice just to have all these coaches stop calling,? Gamble said.
The one thing which is still lingering for Gamble is the academic question. The Tiger senior admits he has not yet qualified academically, something which could hamper him in his quest to play immediately at the school.
?I?m on the path to qualifying,? Gamble said. ?I?m confident I can get it done. The coaches have talked to me about it. We have a plan worked out.?
The Illini coaches also have a plan for Gamble once he does set foot on the field.
?I?m going to play safety,? Gamble said.
Safety is what Gamble has said from the start that he wanted to do in college, primarily because, as he said before the season, ?I like to hit.? It is also where he twice earned first team All-Ohio honors, and was chosen as Northeast Inland District Defensive Player of the Year this season.
In his senior season, Gamble recorded 46 solo and 24 assisted tackles from his strong safety position, despite missing a game-and-a-half of action due to an ankle injury. He also had a team-high three interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown.
As a tailback on offense this past season, Gamble rushed for 975 yards and nine touchdowns. He added another 315 yards and four scores on 22 catches.
In his junior season, he rushed for 1,512 yards and 17 scores, while adding another 631 yards receiving and four scores. It was his key third-and-30 reception against St. Edward in the state semifinals which eventually helped carry Massillon to the come-from-behind win and a spot in the state title game.
Gamble is just the latest Stark County product to cast his lot with the Illini and head coach Ron Zook, himself a Loudonville native. Besides James, two other Stark graduates are currently on the Illinois roster in McKinley?s Joe Morgan and GlenOak?s Ryan Palmer.
The Illini was 2-10 this past season.
This past season was Zook?s second season at the helm of the Illini, after spending the previous three seasons as the embattled head coach at the University of Florida. It was Zook who recruited a large majority of the Gator players who will be on the field when No. 2 Florida takes on Ohio State for the national championship on Jan. 8.
?He?s just a high-energy guy,? Gamble said of Zook. ?He speaks what?s on his mind. He?s not going to lie to you.?
Gamble sets his sights on Illinois
By CHRIS EASTERLING
[email protected]
Advertisement
In the end, it was a familiar face which was the deciding factor in Brian Gamble?s college decision.
The Massillon Tiger senior elected on Tuesday to commit to the University of Illinois to play football. A big reason behind the decision was former Tiger Antonio James, who just completed his freshman season with the Illini.
?It?s real good to have somebody there that is taking care of you,? Gamble said. ?That helps a lot.?
Gamble paid the Champaign campus a visit last weekend, where he was reunited with James. That comfort level helped in separating Illinois from fellow Big Ten member Minnesota, which was the other primary suitor for the two-time All-Ohioan?s services.
?It was just the people there,? Gamble said. ?I just felt the most comfortable with the coaches at Illinois. It was really just what I felt. Antonio was telling me all the good things about the school.?
Still, it was Gamble?s decision at the end of the day.
?It wasn?t really any one thing that was said,? Gamble said. ?It was just everything together. Really, there was nothing but good things about it. I just feel it?s the best place for me.?
The decision brought an end to the recruiting process for Gamble, who wasn?t the least bit disappointed about that.
?It?s nice just to have all these coaches stop calling,? Gamble said.
The one thing which is still lingering for Gamble is the academic question. The Tiger senior admits he has not yet qualified academically, something which could hamper him in his quest to play immediately at the school.
?I?m on the path to qualifying,? Gamble said. ?I?m confident I can get it done. The coaches have talked to me about it. We have a plan worked out.?
The Illini coaches also have a plan for Gamble once he does set foot on the field.
?I?m going to play safety,? Gamble said.
Safety is what Gamble has said from the start that he wanted to do in college, primarily because, as he said before the season, ?I like to hit.? It is also where he twice earned first team All-Ohio honors, and was chosen as Northeast Inland District Defensive Player of the Year this season.
In his senior season, Gamble recorded 46 solo and 24 assisted tackles from his strong safety position, despite missing a game-and-a-half of action due to an ankle injury. He also had a team-high three interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown.
As a tailback on offense this past season, Gamble rushed for 975 yards and nine touchdowns. He added another 315 yards and four scores on 22 catches.
In his junior season, he rushed for 1,512 yards and 17 scores, while adding another 631 yards receiving and four scores. It was his key third-and-30 reception against St. Edward in the state semifinals which eventually helped carry Massillon to the come-from-behind win and a spot in the state title game.
Gamble is just the latest Stark County product to cast his lot with the Illini and head coach Ron Zook, himself a Loudonville native. Besides James, two other Stark graduates are currently on the Illinois roster in McKinley?s Joe Morgan and GlenOak?s Ryan Palmer.
The Illini was 2-10 this past season.
This past season was Zook?s second season at the helm of the Illini, after spending the previous three seasons as the embattled head coach at the University of Florida. It was Zook who recruited a large majority of the Gator players who will be on the field when No. 2 Florida takes on Ohio State for the national championship on Jan. 8.
?He?s just a high-energy guy,? Gamble said of Zook. ?He speaks what?s on his mind. He?s not going to lie to you.?
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ol104;680187; said:
I think he is a heck of a talent but was borderline grades wise...there are some years where, if he had the grades, I could see guys like Brian Gamble and Morgan Williams being offered...they certainly have the talent. But you look at things this year and see guys like Andrew Dailey, Carlton Peake, Jordan Mabin, David Arnold, Kyle Jefferson, Mark Wetterer, Frankie Edmonds, Jeff Lucas, Kyle Hubbard, Nick Schepis, Chris Givens, Sidney Glover, Vince Browne and Charlie Hatcher being passed over. All of those kids could probably come to OSU and eventually contribue...but the staff has the luxury now of taking only the kids that meet their exact criteria (character, grades, size, speed, can play different positions, football IQ, etc.).
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crazybuckfan40
Head Coach
wadc45;680199; said:
Can you imagine if one school could grab all these players. Just make a living off picking up the guys that were borderline tOSU.
I mean you have a good defensive backfield there with Gamble, Mabin, Arnold, Glover. Nice set of lbs in Peak, Dailey, and Lucas. Nice DE in Browne and DT in Hatcher.
Wetterer, Schepsis, O'Hara can man half of your Oline , Morgan is an all big ten caliber rb and Edmonds could be a nice back as well, put Jefferson and Chris Rucker at your wideouts. You almost have a whole team and a really good recruiting class.
If they could bring in a solid Qb and snag some big uglies from somewhere, keep in mind that olineman are the hardest to project, so there are sleepers all over the place. I can't even imagine the types of teams they would have. Then build relationships with the coaches in the state and eventually they might land a super or two...
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You got Hubbard as your TE...throw in one of Skylar Jones, Clay Belton, Chazz Anderson, Zak Kristan or Perci Garner to chuck the ball around and you got yourself an offense. You could even throw in someone like J'Keem Waters as your FB.
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crazybuckfan40
Head Coach
wadc45;680223; said:
Yeah I know that sounds like a pretty impressive team that could compete with the upper tier big ten teams if they get a couple of them kids to turn out to be studs...
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bigtenuofIfb
Freshman
Guy is going to be a good player in the Big Ten....Props to Zooker for his class thus far.....doesn't seem to be over with yet either....It would take the class of the century to even think about knocking tOSU off the top though.....You guys have a great coach and just keep loading up year after year with the best players.......
Its not fare!!!!
lol
Its not fare!!!!
lol
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the guy seems pretty set on his info...check the front page of his site now. He is ready to go toe to toe with nevada...
This could be fun...
My take is that the meeting may have taken place but I suspect JT was there to see some kids in the '08 class more than he was to see Brian. Just my guess because I really don't know anything more about this story.
This could be fun...
My take is that the meeting may have taken place but I suspect JT was there to see some kids in the '08 class more than he was to see Brian. Just my guess because I really don't know anything more about this story.
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