ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
RECRUITING REWIND: HOW CLOSELY DO URBAN MEYER'S FIRST FIVE YEARS MIRROR JIM TRESSEL'S ON THE RECRUITING TRAIL?
When former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel took the helm in Columbus, it had been 33 years–since 1968–since a Buckeye head coach hoisted a national championship trophy.
Tressel, with a talented roster full of college football hall of fame coach John Cooper's players–and a necessary influx of his own–shocked the sports world less than two years after being hired when he led Ohio State to a championship, knocking off a Miami Hurricane team that some consider the greatest collection of college talent ever.
Ten years and ten months after Tressel was named Ohio State's head coach, Urban Meyer, after a year-long coaching hiatus, commandeered the Good Ship Fickell and helped right a floundering vessel that had been rocked by scandal and a 2011 football season that will likely go down as the worst you'll ever see by an Ohio State football team…in your life.
That's how good the life of a Buckeye fan has been in the last 100 years, and it's not an accident. It stems from tradition, a commitment to winning and, in today's college football landscape, a relentless pursuit of the best players in the country on the recruiting trail.
Tressel took over a football program that was full of talent, but was lacking leadership and culture. Meyer took over a program that many said would "never recover" from a (temporarily) NCAA-mandated demise that needed a coach with a chip on his shoulder and an ability to convince the holdovers from 2010 that 2012 and beyond it would be business as usual for the Scarlet and Gray. Both coaches were successful. Each of them won titles quickly, despite doing it in different ways on the field and in decidedly different eras of college football. Each of them proved that Ohio State's brand was strong and, though recruiting with different priorities, landed big-time talent from all over the country. Tressel's first five years on the recruiting trail led to one of the most successful decades in the history of Buckeye football and Meyer's first five have started in record fashion.
Let's examine the first five years of Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer, to see how one of the country's premier college football programs has been built and maintained.
All statistical recruiting information comes from Rivals.com for the purpose of this story.
2002 (TRESSEL) VS 2012 (MEYER)
YEAR.SIGNEES.NATIONAL RANK.STAR AVG...% FROM OHIO. FIVE-STARS. 4-YR WIN TOTAL
2002.......25..............5................... 3.65...............72%...................3.....................43
2012.......25..............4....................3.72...............64%...................2.....................50
In their first full recruiting class, both Tressel and Meyer racked up top five classes and signed a full allotment of 25, focusing on their talent-rich home state.
Tressel's first full class was highlighted by five-star tailback Maurice Clarett, who committed to the Buckeyes sight unseen when the Youngstown hero took the job in Columbus, and Avon Lake linebacker Mike D'Andrea. The group had a number of players go on to NFL careers including four first-round picks.
For Urban Meyer, 2012 was a whirlwind that began even before he was officially announced as the head coach in Columbus. His pending hire was cited by Adolphus Washington as a primary reason the Cincinnati star picked the Buckeyes in late November and it was Washington, along with fellow five-star defensive lineman Noah Spence, that really highlighted his first effort. 50 wins and a national championship later, Meyer's first class at Ohio State will leave a lasting legacy.
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Entire article: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...e-years-mirror-jim-tressels-on-the-recruiting
When former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel took the helm in Columbus, it had been 33 years–since 1968–since a Buckeye head coach hoisted a national championship trophy.
Tressel, with a talented roster full of college football hall of fame coach John Cooper's players–and a necessary influx of his own–shocked the sports world less than two years after being hired when he led Ohio State to a championship, knocking off a Miami Hurricane team that some consider the greatest collection of college talent ever.
Ten years and ten months after Tressel was named Ohio State's head coach, Urban Meyer, after a year-long coaching hiatus, commandeered the Good Ship Fickell and helped right a floundering vessel that had been rocked by scandal and a 2011 football season that will likely go down as the worst you'll ever see by an Ohio State football team…in your life.
That's how good the life of a Buckeye fan has been in the last 100 years, and it's not an accident. It stems from tradition, a commitment to winning and, in today's college football landscape, a relentless pursuit of the best players in the country on the recruiting trail.
Tressel took over a football program that was full of talent, but was lacking leadership and culture. Meyer took over a program that many said would "never recover" from a (temporarily) NCAA-mandated demise that needed a coach with a chip on his shoulder and an ability to convince the holdovers from 2010 that 2012 and beyond it would be business as usual for the Scarlet and Gray. Both coaches were successful. Each of them won titles quickly, despite doing it in different ways on the field and in decidedly different eras of college football. Each of them proved that Ohio State's brand was strong and, though recruiting with different priorities, landed big-time talent from all over the country. Tressel's first five years on the recruiting trail led to one of the most successful decades in the history of Buckeye football and Meyer's first five have started in record fashion.
Let's examine the first five years of Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer, to see how one of the country's premier college football programs has been built and maintained.
All statistical recruiting information comes from Rivals.com for the purpose of this story.
2002 (TRESSEL) VS 2012 (MEYER)
YEAR.SIGNEES.NATIONAL RANK.STAR AVG...% FROM OHIO. FIVE-STARS. 4-YR WIN TOTAL
2002.......25..............5................... 3.65...............72%...................3.....................43
2012.......25..............4....................3.72...............64%...................2.....................50
In their first full recruiting class, both Tressel and Meyer racked up top five classes and signed a full allotment of 25, focusing on their talent-rich home state.
Tressel's first full class was highlighted by five-star tailback Maurice Clarett, who committed to the Buckeyes sight unseen when the Youngstown hero took the job in Columbus, and Avon Lake linebacker Mike D'Andrea. The group had a number of players go on to NFL careers including four first-round picks.
For Urban Meyer, 2012 was a whirlwind that began even before he was officially announced as the head coach in Columbus. His pending hire was cited by Adolphus Washington as a primary reason the Cincinnati star picked the Buckeyes in late November and it was Washington, along with fellow five-star defensive lineman Noah Spence, that really highlighted his first effort. 50 wins and a national championship later, Meyer's first class at Ohio State will leave a lasting legacy.
.
.
.
continued
Entire article: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...e-years-mirror-jim-tressels-on-the-recruiting