Once again, the Spring Game was a successful recruiting tool for The Ohio State University. Over two dozen top local and national recruits joined more than 75,000 fans in watching the annual contest, which marked the unofficial commencement of the 2008 campaign. While the Spring Game certainly provides the coaching staff with an opportunity to evaluate young players and emerging veterans, it has also gradually evolved into the keynote event of biggest recruiting weekend of the year.
Leading up to game day, no one really expected the Buckeye staff to have more recruiting success than they did last year, when they secured commitments from five-star offensive line prospects Michael Brewster and J.B. Shugarts and versatile defensive lineman Nathan Williams. However, Tressel and Company may in fact have exceeded their previous effort. As we stated in our article above, we felt that linebacker Dorian Bell (Pittsburgh Gateway) would be the player most likely to commit after the game, and he did just that, issuing his verbal commitment Monday afternoon. Bell is one of the top linebacker prospects in the entire country, and his commitment now gives Ohio State three blue chippers at that position for the class of 2009 (the other two being Storm Klein (Licking Valley) and Jordan Whiting (Louisville Trinity)).
Another player whom we thought would commit over the weekend was running back Jordan Hall (Jeannette, Pennsylvania), who came to the Spring Game with his friend and high school teammate Terrelle Pryor. In 2007, Pryor and Hall led Jeannette to a state championship; in 2009, they will be re-united in Columbus, as Jordan also issued his pledge to play for Ohio State. In Hall, the Buckeyes now have a versatile "scat" back who has shown the ability to excel in both the running game (891 yards) and the passing game (704 yards).
If Bell and Hall were at the top of our most likely to commit list, then Maryland cornerback Darrell Givens (Indian Head Lackey) was certainly near the bottom. Givens is a top-ten prospect at his position, he hails from an area where Ohio State has had scant success in recent years (despite the signing of Lamaar Thomas in 2008), and he gave no indication that he was ready to end the recruiting process early. But before the game even started, Darrell had already verballed to the Buckeyes, becoming the first of the weekend's trio of commitments. With Givens and C.J. Barnett now in the fold, the Buckeyes have locked up two of the top cornerback prospects in the entire nation.
Five players from the state of Florida made the trip north to take in the Spring Game. Defensive back Vladimir Emilien (Lauderhill Plantation) was the first to arrive on Thursday evening; by the time his friends arrived the next day, Vlad had already fallen in love with Ohio State and he was "selling" the Buckeyes to the rest of the Sunshine State contingent. But to be fair, wide receiver Duron Carter (Ft. Lauderdale Aquinas) didn't need much selling, as his father Cris is a Buckeye legend. Entering the weekend, the younger Carter claimed an affinity for the University of Michigan, but he left Columbus favoring his father's alma mater. Defensive back Brandon McGee (Lauderhill Plantation) is a high school teammate of Vlad Emilien, and both will likely continue to be teammates at Ohio State. Another Florida star who came close to committing over the weekend is running back Jaamal Berry (Miami Palmetto); Ohio State is his clear leader, but we are still a bit concerned about his academic status (a reported 2.3 GPA). The final member of the Florida Five is "athlete" prospect Victor Marc (Hallandale), a high school quarterback who is willing to switch to running back, wide receiver, or defensive back at Ohio State; the only thing holding up Marc's commitment is a Buckeye offer.
Closer to home, Michigan wide receiver James Jackson (Grand Ledge) attended the Spring Game with his parents; all three were very impressed with Ohio State. After returning home, James declared the Buckeyes to be his leader, confirming what we told you in our article. With Chris Fields already on board, Jackson appears to be the Buckeyes' top target at wide out, although yet another Floridian, James Green (Tallahassee Leon), has been generating some interest with the staff; Green was not able to attend the Spring Game, but he has some serious interest in Ohio State.
All in all, the 2008 Spring Game was a great one for the Buckeyes, regardless of what happened on the field - the staff secured three commitments from top out-of-state prospects, and came very close to netting another half dozen.
Since Jim Tressel arrived on campus in 2001, we have seen Ohio State become the dominant football power in the Big Ten region, and one of the top programs in the country. Seven years ago, the kids who comprise the recruiting class of 2009 were just beginning to become football fans, and they have grown up experiencing the greatness that is Buckeye football; this is especially true for the local kids, who get to see Ohio State on display every Saturday during the season, and who interact with Buckeye fans on a daily basis. Given the success of the program during the Tressel era, it is not surprising that almost every in-state recruit follows the Buckeyes and has Ohio State as his number one school.
However, what is somewhat of a surprise has been Tressel and Company's ability to recruit out of the state, and even out of the region. Last year, Ohio State picked up Top 100 prospects from Pennsylvania (Terrelle Pryor, Andrew Sweat), Florida (Michael Brewster, Etienne Sabino), Texas (J.B. Shugarts), Illinois (Garrett Goebel), and Maryland (Lamaar Thomas); and this year, the staff is experiencing similar success, with early commitments from blue chippers Jordan Whiting (Kentucky), Dorian Bell (Pennsylvania), Jordan Hall (Pennsylvania), and Darrell Givens (Maryland), and with several top Floridians being very close to pledging. While it sometimes seems that Ohio State is the whipping boy of the national media, the Buckeyes have certainly established a lot of "street cred" with the national recruits, who are flocking to Columbus in record numbers, and who sometimes seem to be bigger fans of the program than the local kids.
The class of 2008 was epic, but the class of 2009 is close behind and gaining ground. And here's the best part - all of these talented youngsters will be joining a premier program that is already one of the deepest in college football. We have truly entered the new "Golden Age" of Buckeye football .... enjoy the ride!
