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Apparently kids want to play football for this guy. ( John T. Greilick/The Detroit News)
Sometimes you have to give credit where credit is due- Brady Hoke and his Michigan program did very well on the recruiting trail this past weekend.
The weekend was so good, in fact, that the rest of the Big Ten- and especially those of us in Buckeye Nation, need to sit up and take notice.
Not only did Michigan land eight verbal commitments in a matter of 48 hours, some of those commitments came from players on Ohio State’s radar- and a few even had offers from the Buckeyes! *gasp*
On top of the numbers is the quality- every last one of the eight verbals was a four-star prospect according to Rivals.
This type of success, particularly head-to-head with the Buckeyes, is a far cry from what we had all come to expect and enjoy during the Rodriguez era.
Is it time for the Big Ten to panic?
With Meyer’s close to the 2012 class and this opening for Hoke’s 2013 class- probably.
Is it time for Buckeye Nation to panic?
The answer to that is a resounding no, but this weekend sent a clear message.
Here’s your mid-week morning menudo of links and love
@BuckeyeEmpire Takes Over The Four Letter Network
Buckeye 411
In their past six games, they are nearly 10 percent off that while not relying that much more on the three over the two. No coincidence, probably, that in five of those games, they faced teams that rank among the top five in the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense: Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. In the other game, they shot 52 percent and scored 87 points against Purdue, which ranks dead last in the conference in field goal percentage defense.
Jim Davidson – Jim is a professional photographer who is credentialed for the O-Zone, an internet-based fan site. We became aware of Jim selling photos of current athletes in 2009, and met with both him and the O-Zone editor, John Porentus to explain our policies and gain their cooperation. Jim also sold photos to football parents, and we had a follow-up meeting with John about this issue in 2010 when we heard he had continued to sell to parents after our mandate to stop.
A quick glance back around the BBN as you prepare your venom for today’s game against the skunkweasels.
You know that friend of yours that’s got a ton of crazy ideas, and often goes off half cocked when he gets excited? Well, The Buckeye Blog has a friend like that, and he had access to a typewriter this week;
I’ll tell you, PacMan, now known as Adam Jones (formerly from West Virginia Mountaineers, Tennessee Titans, others, and Cincinnati Bengal felon, roommate of Cedric Besnon) after 17 infractions with the law, in one year decided to fly to Reno, buy a gun and shoot up a strip club. Pure genius. For anyone with “Maff Skillz,” that’s more than once a month that this player awakens to his alarm clock, puts on his pants and shoes, then proceeds to go “F something up!” It’s Groundhog Day for serial mental case, Puxutuwany PacMan. I’d hate to be Cedric and PacMan’s manservant. Worse, if one of their wives burnt the toast. Good heavens.
The Price was right for Sylvester Yon-Rambo, who celebrated the first of two 2013 verbals that Ohio State received this past week;
After losing out on a top rated WR recruit on Friday Night Ohio States Coach Meyer and his staff went into complete hibernation and depressed mode….. NOT. They had a huge weekend lined up with Sunday being a one of many Junior Days that will occur this year. Some of those in attendance had already been offered and some walked away with fresh offers. One though came away very impressed and chose to end his recruitment early and committed to Ohio State.
Eli Woodard has been a fan of the Buckeyes for quite some time. (photo: 11W)
New Jersey cornerback Eli Woodard has officially announced (via twitter) that he will be a Buckeye, becoming the 4th commitment in Ohio State’s 2013 recruiting class.
This comes as little surprise to fans who have followed Woodard’s recruitment. He has been a huge Buckeye lean for at least the past year, and probably a lot longer (see picture to the right).
At 6’1″ 185 (ignore picture to the right), Woodard possesses ideal size for a corner, and the way he hits is extremely reminiscent of a certain other New Jersey recruit that fans may be familiar with.
That player was Malcolm Jenkins, and you have to imagine watching Jenkins play in the Horseshoe had an influence on Woodard as he was coming up through the ranks.
The comparisons are inevitable given the common stature, home state and playing style.
With what Woodard has already shown on the field in high school (see highlights below), hopefully the comparison with Jenkins will prove to be spot on in the coming years in Columbus.
Rivals and Scout both rate him as a four star player, with Rivals ranking him as the 28th best overall player in the country. Read More
In case you’d forgotten, today is the birthday of Wayne Woodrow Hayes. He would have been 99 years old.
Leader. Legend.
Born in Clifton Ohio, Woody followed a stint in the US Navy by coaching at Denison (his alma mater) and Miami University before transforming Ohio State football as we currently know it.
Woody led the Buckeyes to 5 national titles and 13 Big Ten titles; his teams’ matchups against former assistant Bo Schembechler’s Wolverines during the Ten Year War also defined The Game for generations of midwestern sports fans. In fact, Woody’s decision to go for two because three was out of the question may have even been the impetus for current UM coach Brady Hoke’s inability to remember the full name of his school’s rival. Read More
Mitch Trubisky has an inside track to join the 2013 class with an early offer.
Urban Meyer hasn’t wasted any time targeting some of the best high school players from across the country in the 2013 class. The quarterbacks are no exception.
The Buckeyes have numerous offers out to 2013 QBs already, and it looks like at least two will eventually join the class.
The foundation of the class, as always, will be built around Ohio players, and there are some good ones to choose from.
Mentor’s Mitch Trubisky was offered this weekend, joining Malik Zaire out of Alter as Ohio quarterbacks with early offers.
Although he currently lacks an offer, Tra’Von Chapman is another in-state player out of Kent Roosevelt that is heavily in the mix.
Along with the group of local players, the staff has also targeted and offered some of the top QBs from across the nation just to keep things interesting. Read More
Mr. Price
Austintown defensive lineman Billy Price has reportedly ($) announced he will be a Buckeye, becoming the 3rd commitment in Ohio State’s 2013 recruiting class.
Price is a high motor force along the defensive line in the mold of John Simon.
He was an early target of the previous coaching staff and Urban Meyer, as we have all come to expect, continued the recruitment with a vengeance.
Price was in Columbus over the weekend, and that visit was the final straw that led to his commitment.
Rated a four star prospect by both Scout and Rivals, Price is an excellent start to the defensive line class.
As mentioned, he is a high motor guy that plays with plenty of power, which is obviously a nice combination to have in a linemen.
It should be fun watching his progression in Columbus, and if his career path is anything like that of John Simon, it will be a lot of fun watching him wreak havoc in the trenches for years to come.
Highlights below. Read More
It’s always great to get perspectives from around Buckeye Nation, and we’re thankful that RB07OSU has been good enough to give us a high level summary of the 2013 recruiting efforts (yes, Coach Dantonio, OSU has already started). RB07OSU is one of the great contributors over at Buckeye Planet, and we are happy that he decided to share his work with us.
Just after Urban “Legend” Meyer signed and sealed a consensus national top five class, the rock star recruiter already has the best juniors in country flocking to Columbus to check out the Buckeyes.
Mr. Isaac
The visit list is star studded enough to bring tears to the eyes of Brett Bielema at a peripheral glance alone. Headlining the list is explosive running back Ty Isaac, who hails from Joliet, Ill (highlights, a highly recommended click).
Isaac is a top 50 player nationally by all major publications and one of the most highly sought after prospects in the Midwest. Notre Dame and Michigan appear to be the main contenders for Isaac and though he has already visited Columbus numerous times, some one-on-one time with Coach Meyer could go a long way in getting his signature.
Likely towering over most in attendance this weekend is 6’6 300 lb. Colorado offensive tackle Chris Fox, who just recently received his offer from Ohio State. Fox checks in as the number 46 prospect overall according to Rivals.com, and should get full court press from Urban. Read More
