Last Updated: December 24. 2009
Sam Webb: Recruiting
Michigan tries to pry Ron Tanner out of Ohio State's backyard
Safety Ron Tanner of Columbus, Ohio, is one of the top football prospects in the Buckeye State's talented class of 2011. A starter since his freshman season, the Eastmoor High standout first garnered major attention from college coaches during a sophomore campaign in which he helped lead his team to the state title game.
"I played free safety throughout the whole year," Tanner recalled. "I ended up recording 102 tackles. It was real good. I was kind of the vocal leader on defense and did the audibles according to the offensive formation. Then we went to the state championship and that was a good experience -- just the atmosphere and playing in front of all the fans. "
As a junior Tanner was even more of a focal point for Eastmoor. Playing both quarterback and free safety, he led the Warriors to an 8-3 record and another playoff berth. His 80 tackles and seven interceptions, despite being game-planned for, was proof positive that he is every bit the playmaker that college coaches and scouts evaluated him to be.
"On defense you'll see I'm a hard hitter, and going both ways you'll see that I'm the leader of my team -- vocally and through my play," said Tanner (6-1, 190 pounds), who has been timed at 4.5 in the 40.
"I started working out the week after our season ended," he later told Scout.com. "I work out four times a week with a personal trainer, trying to get bigger and faster. My trainer is Reggie Germany, who played wide receiver for Ohio State. I'm also working on my footwork for next year because that's an area I want to improve on."
Should he show that desired improvement, an offer from Germany's alma mater could be right around the corner. That said, a number of the Buckeyes' contemporaries have already seen enough of Tanner to deem him worthy of a scholarship. Michigan was among the first to do so, and as result they've made up considerable ground in his recruitment.
"Growing up I was a big-time fan of the Bucks, but after experiencing the (Michigan-Western Michigan) game, I really like Michigan," Tanner said during the fall. "I like how you can see everything when you're on the field. At the Horseshoe, the fans are sitting up real high. In the Big House it was like the fans may be a little closer. It doesn't seem like people all the way up into the sky."
