Recruiting Small Board: Remaining Possibilities
January 28 2008 08:46 PM -- Filed in: Football
| Recruiting
Ohio State football has 18 commitments on the year.
The class ranks 6th by Rivals and 12th by Scout. As we
discussed last year, don't read too much into
these rankings because they are skewed by class
size, not ranked strictly by class talent or
value. Nevertheless, Ohio State haul is looking
good no matter the criteria and national signing
day is drawing year.
There's still room for others, including some of the most sought after players in the country. I decided to list the remaining few players on Ohio State's list in order of importance. I also included basic information, computer probability modeling created by a few mathematic types from Mercer College and then my own guesstimation. Here we go:
Who: Terrelle Pryor -
Computer Probability:
36.6% - My
Guess: 90%
Ever heard of him? Compares admirably to the great Vince Young in a number of ways. They're almost exactly the same size, both gifted runners and both mediocre passers. Pryor has only taken two official visits: Ohio State and Michigan. Michigan has entered the picture late only because of RichRod's hightail out of Morgantown. The general consensus among recruiting experts (if there is such a thing) is Ohio State leads and has led for some time. Whether than translates to a letter of intent remains to been seen on February 6th, ESPN live...or maybe even later than that.
Who: Keith Wells -
Computer Probability: N/A -
My Guess: 50%
Ohio State has had some good luck with Georgia of late: Anderson Russell immedately comes to mind. Keith Wells is the prototypical defensive end of the future: tall, long and rangy. He's only 225-235 lbs but will bloom into a 255 truck without too much effort. In a recent BuckNuts.com article, he said he's up to 6'6", 235lbs. And, if you haven't noticed, we are desperately thin at defensive end. Vernon Gholston is off to the NFL and Alex Barrow has given up football. For this reason, I list Wells as our second most important priority. Although he's most likely going to visit Notre Dame, just about everyone feels this is a battle between Ohio State and Tennessee. UT Coach Phil Fulmer has the last in-home visit.
Who: Josh Jenkins -
Computer Probability: 31.9% - My
Guess: 75%
One has to feel somewhat bad for Josh Jenkins. The Parkersburg, WV native was set to go to West Virginia before RichRod's move. Since then, the offensive lineman has narrowed his choices to mainly Florida State and Ohio State. I personally think he favors Ohio State based on his closeness with already committed players like JB Shugarts, Micheal Brewster and Mike Adams. Jenkins is not only highly rated but he's a low center of gravity guy, perfect for the interior of the offensive line (guard, center). He'll likely wait until signing date before announcing.
Who: Brandon Harris -
Computer Probability: 20.0% - My
Guess: 10%
With an excellent update, the Miami Herald reported today Harris has narrowed his final list to Ohio State and Miami(FL). Landing Harris would mean Ohio State pulling in two of the more gifted corners in the country. The Buckeyes already landed Travis Howard from Miami Krop HS in late October. Howard was begged by Miami (FL) but the Buckeyes won out. But, the Hurricanes are likely to exact a bit of revenge by signing Harris who is the higher rated of the two prospects. He'll announce on signing day.
Who: Dawawn Whitner -
Computer Probability: N/A -
My Guess: 99%*
First, yes, he's the brother of Donte. And, the asterisk next to my guesstimate is crucial. Dawawn doesn't have an offer from Ohio State at this time. If and when one is floated his way, he'll almost assuredly accept. There's really no other reason he's waited this long to commit elsewhere - he's waiting for the Buckeyes. He'll likely get one if two or more of the above decide against Ohio State. Just from measurables alone, I like what Whitner brings to the table. He's a short, heavy defensive tackle. I tend to like defensive tackles a bit shorter because it aids in the leverage war where the lower man almost always wins. Make no mistake, this really wouldn't be a reach offer. He's a Glenville product who has waiting schollies from Illinois, Michigan State, Louisville, West Virginia and others.
Those are the main five still on the small board. Others omitted included DT Corey Liuget, LB Steve Gardiner and Cordale Scott. Liuget and Gardiner are still possibilities technically but the likelihood seems very remote. More remote than even Brandon Harris. Scott I think could be swayed but JT probably hasn't had the time to double-back and take another crack at changing his mind.
Should the staff receive commitments / letters of intent from Pryor and one other, the class ranking will jump into the top 5(if that means much to you). More importantly, it'll mean we've addressed needs with players of exceptional caliber. One negative trend that's consequential here is Tressel's track record of finishing recruiting classes on a weak note. Trends are meant to be bucked.
There's still room for others, including some of the most sought after players in the country. I decided to list the remaining few players on Ohio State's list in order of importance. I also included basic information, computer probability modeling created by a few mathematic types from Mercer College and then my own guesstimation. Here we go:
Ever heard of him? Compares admirably to the great Vince Young in a number of ways. They're almost exactly the same size, both gifted runners and both mediocre passers. Pryor has only taken two official visits: Ohio State and Michigan. Michigan has entered the picture late only because of RichRod's hightail out of Morgantown. The general consensus among recruiting experts (if there is such a thing) is Ohio State leads and has led for some time. Whether than translates to a letter of intent remains to been seen on February 6th, ESPN live...or maybe even later than that.
Ohio State has had some good luck with Georgia of late: Anderson Russell immedately comes to mind. Keith Wells is the prototypical defensive end of the future: tall, long and rangy. He's only 225-235 lbs but will bloom into a 255 truck without too much effort. In a recent BuckNuts.com article, he said he's up to 6'6", 235lbs. And, if you haven't noticed, we are desperately thin at defensive end. Vernon Gholston is off to the NFL and Alex Barrow has given up football. For this reason, I list Wells as our second most important priority. Although he's most likely going to visit Notre Dame, just about everyone feels this is a battle between Ohio State and Tennessee. UT Coach Phil Fulmer has the last in-home visit.
One has to feel somewhat bad for Josh Jenkins. The Parkersburg, WV native was set to go to West Virginia before RichRod's move. Since then, the offensive lineman has narrowed his choices to mainly Florida State and Ohio State. I personally think he favors Ohio State based on his closeness with already committed players like JB Shugarts, Micheal Brewster and Mike Adams. Jenkins is not only highly rated but he's a low center of gravity guy, perfect for the interior of the offensive line (guard, center). He'll likely wait until signing date before announcing.
With an excellent update, the Miami Herald reported today Harris has narrowed his final list to Ohio State and Miami(FL). Landing Harris would mean Ohio State pulling in two of the more gifted corners in the country. The Buckeyes already landed Travis Howard from Miami Krop HS in late October. Howard was begged by Miami (FL) but the Buckeyes won out. But, the Hurricanes are likely to exact a bit of revenge by signing Harris who is the higher rated of the two prospects. He'll announce on signing day.
First, yes, he's the brother of Donte. And, the asterisk next to my guesstimate is crucial. Dawawn doesn't have an offer from Ohio State at this time. If and when one is floated his way, he'll almost assuredly accept. There's really no other reason he's waited this long to commit elsewhere - he's waiting for the Buckeyes. He'll likely get one if two or more of the above decide against Ohio State. Just from measurables alone, I like what Whitner brings to the table. He's a short, heavy defensive tackle. I tend to like defensive tackles a bit shorter because it aids in the leverage war where the lower man almost always wins. Make no mistake, this really wouldn't be a reach offer. He's a Glenville product who has waiting schollies from Illinois, Michigan State, Louisville, West Virginia and others.
Those are the main five still on the small board. Others omitted included DT Corey Liuget, LB Steve Gardiner and Cordale Scott. Liuget and Gardiner are still possibilities technically but the likelihood seems very remote. More remote than even Brandon Harris. Scott I think could be swayed but JT probably hasn't had the time to double-back and take another crack at changing his mind.
Should the staff receive commitments / letters of intent from Pryor and one other, the class ranking will jump into the top 5(if that means much to you). More importantly, it'll mean we've addressed needs with players of exceptional caliber. One negative trend that's consequential here is Tressel's track record of finishing recruiting classes on a weak note. Trends are meant to be bucked.
