Buckeye Blogger Network
Spiral bound and everything!
Another Wednesday, another mainstream media member making less than accurately informed statements about issues they think they understand…
Buckeye 411
Much More Successful Than This
As we get closer to Kickoff Week, here’s some quick notes from Ohio State and beyond. Don’t forget to sign up for this year’s “Pick-em” contest!
Buckeye 411
 Big man on campus. Ho hum, another day in Buckeye land with another commitment. The latest comes from Cleveland Heights offensive tackle Kyle Dodson (6’6″ 310 lbs). Dodson is the finishing touch on what has turned into a solid group of 2012 offensive linemen for the Buckeyes. He joins Taylor Decker, Joey O’Connor, Patrick Elflein, and Jacoby Boren in the class. At one point not that long ago, this group looked like it could be in serious trouble. Filling the depth at tackle was particularly concerning for the future. Thankfully, Meyer turned that around in a big way- securing commitments from Dodson and Decker at tackle and throwing in O’Connor for good measure. Despite the strong finish from Meyer, Dodson’s decision to be a Buckeye was far from a sure thing throughout his recruitment. After saying that Ohio State was his dream school early on in the process, Kyle committed to Wisconsin over the summer after Coach Tressel left Ohio State. Read More |
OH OL Kyle Dodson will be choosing between Ohio State, Southern Cal, Michigan State and Wisconsin shortly after noon.
Stay right here with The Buckeye Battle Cry for a live chat with Bill Greene at 1 p.m.
Usually, we reserve “Shots” for game experience recaps. However, given Meyer Mayhem, here’s some whispers and stuff that Joe’s been hearing:
After three straight days of being at the Schott I overheard and saw quite a few things.
Football
Use The Bench, Thad!
Basketball
It wasn't a big secret why 2003 was by far Jim Tressel's worst recruiting class. Fingers crossed that the 2012 class is a different story.
In the aftermath of Jim Tressel’s resignation, there are many important things to think about as Ohio State moves forward: was Tressel treated fairly? what will his legacy be? did he really lose control of the program? will any new violations be uncovered? who will be the next long-term coach? and so on.
On top of everything else, another thing to think about is the impact that Tressel’s resignation will have on the 2012 recruiting class. If you have been following along at all this year, you know that the 2012 class is the most talented group of high school seniors in Ohio since at least 2002. In that sense, Tressel’s resignation could not have come at a worse time.
Opposing schools have already been cashing in on Ohio State’s inability to offer all of the talented in-state players, and now they will be looking to really open the floodgates by sniping the players Ohio State has offered in the midst of the turmoil (Tom Strobel became the first casualty on that front last week).
Fortunately, the new man in charge, Luke Fickell, provides some continuity and happens to be the most dynamic and effective recruiter on the staff. He has successfully locked down all 8 of Ohio State’s previous commitments (it wasn’t a sure thing the entire time either), and he will obviously be putting a lot of effort into finishing the job with many other targeted players in the class.
One thing that I think benefits Ohio State greatly here was Tressel’s recruiting style. He sold kids on falling in love with being a Buckeye, and being a Buckeye transcends whoever happens to be the current head coach. That style and emphasis was a point that Fickell hammered home at his press conference yesterday.
Still, it would be naive to think that Tressel’s resignation will have no negative impact on recruiting. Read More
Ohio State is still waiting on ACT results for Kyle Dodson
This post might be more accurately titled “Ohio’s Top Prospects Waiting on an Ohio State Offer”.
Either way, it is well documented how stacked the Buckeye state is with talent in the 2012 class, and unfortunately that creates a situation were some very talented players aren’t being considered by the home team… yet.
With summer camps currently in progress, many players will be looking to earn an offer not yet received. And some players not even on Ohio State’s early radar will likely emerge, meaning that the big board will likely need some heavy renovations over the next several weeks (which I, of course, will be more than happy to do).
Truth time, I started this list several weeks ago and I have literally had to cut it in half due to numerous players originally on the list verbally committing to other schools.
Those other schools (namely, Michigan and Michigan State) have really benefited from the talent in Ohio combined with the limited number of scholarships available to Ohio State.
While that was inevitable with this class, here’s hoping that patience pays off with some of the remaining players. Read More
The 2011 class was well represented (L to R: Nick Vannett, Tony Underwood, Doran Grant, Kenny Hayes, Curtis Grant, Evan Spencer, Conner Crowell, Michael Bennett) at the spring game, but the 2012 class appears to be on hold. Here's hoping for some positive action during camps this summer.
With Ohio State’s NCAA hearing scheduled for August 12th, Buckeye fans are in for a long and uncertain summer. Barring any impact the negative press may have on recruiting, fans can at least hope for good news for the 2012 class in the coming weeks and months (Frank Epitropoulos’ commitment yesterday was a nice starter).
The news won’t really start picking up until camps this summer, but there have been several new offers since our last big board update.
In what is becoming a clear trend, the Buckeyes recently offered several additional prospects at receiver, and it is clear that the staff is planning on taking at least two players there this year.
For the latest updates on all of Ohio State’s targets and verbal offers in the 2012 class, remember to check out the links on our 2012 big board.
For the newest offers and players that have been dropped from the board, as well as some general recruiting buzz Read More
