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The Buckeyes have finally added someone to the 2012 class, and boy is he a good one to add to the talent pool next year. If your a fan of European play, then you will be excited about the addition of Amedeo Della Valle. The 6’6″ Italian combo guard out of Nevada chose Ohio State today over Texas A&M and Arizona.
At one point, it looked like Michigan was going to be the favorite when rumors swirled that Trey Burke was headed to the NBA. After Burke decided to come back for another season and the commitment of fellow point guard Spike Albrecht, Della Valle made his interest known in Ohio State.
After a visit this Tuesday, it became clear that the Ohio State Buckeyes were the favorite. Arizona has a slew of guards within the 2012 class. Texas A&M is an upstart that could of used his services.
Like we mentioned on Friday’s recruiting update, what is so special about Della Valle is his ability already to play defense. Sure, he is no Aaron Craft, but he adds great depth at the guard position. He also adds range and a good ability to drive to the hoop.
This now means that the Buckeyes have three open scholarships remaining heading into the season.
We’ll keep you updated on the latest.
Here is a scouting video of Della Valle to enjoy.
If you’re like me, you can’t wait for Saturday’s Spring Game.
And, that also makes you like Texas QB J.T. Barrett, who wasted no time in becoming the tenth member of the Ohio State 2013 Recruiting Class. Who needs a Recruiting Weekend to make it official, right?
Lone Star Buckeye
The 6’2″, 205 pound QB from Rider HS in Wichata Falls TX has an impressive offer sheet, including Mississippi State, Nebraska, Baylor and LSU. I guess that’s to be expected when you’re the type of athlete who gets awarded “Best Arm” at December’s Under Armour Junior Combine. According to some, he outperformed Shane Morris at the Elite 11 Camp
Oh, and did I mention his 3.75 GPA? Yeah, there’s that too. He visited Columbus in late March with his father, and was impressed by Coach Hermann and Coach Meyer’s vision for the program.
As always, highlights after the jump- Read More
| It’s no secret that we here at tBBC owe a lot to Buckeye Planet- several of our team learned our craft there, and the connections we have with insiders from BP help guide and direct our coverage. It’s a great community of fans, and I encourage every Buckeye to get involved there if they have the time and energy.
So, when I read this article by user Lord Jeff Buck, I knew it’d be something that I wanted to share with the rest of Buckeye Nation. LJB has “guest posted” here before, and his work is always amazing- I’m glad that he’s given us permission to post his work here again. As a note- this is just the introduction to a much MUCH larger piece. I’ve included the links to the review of each individual class, as well as a summary of “Bests” and “Busts”. Enjoy!! |
Looking Back
In this article, I review every player who signed a Letter of Intent (or equivalent) to play football at Ohio State during the Jim Tressel era, which covers the recruiting classes of 2001 to 2011. I also review a few walk-ons and transfers who made some impact during their Buckeye careers.
Overall, Jim Tressel signed 222 recruits in his eleven years at the helm (an average of just over 20 per class), and the average “star” rating for his recruits was 3.61* according to Rivals, and 3.67* according to Scout. Overall, according Rivals, Tressel signed 15 five-star prospects, 118 four-star prospects, 71 three-star prospects, 15 two star prospects, and 3 unrated prospects; and according to Scout, he signed 26 five-star prospects, 94 four-star prospects, 67 three-star prospects, 12 two-star prospects, and 23 unrated prospects.
I have re-ranked each signee based on how well he performed (or is performing) at Ohio State. In my ranking system, a five-star player is one of the all-time Buckeye greats, and a four-and-a-half star player is not too far behind. A four-star performer is usually an All American, or some other player who has distinguished himself in a special way. A three-and-a-half star performer is a borderline great player, while a three-star performer is an above average player (usually a multi-year starter). Two-and-a-half star performers are spot starters, key reserves, role players, and special team standouts, while two-star performers are career back-ups who rarely saw the field. The one-star ranking is reserved for those players who suffered career-ending injuries, or who transferred out of Ohio State after four years in the program.
Zero star performers are outright busts, players who accomplished very little while at Ohio State and then left the program early due to transfers, academics, ineligibility, or criminal activity. A very few early departees received higher ratings because they made significant contributions to the program before they left (Terrelle Pryor, Maurice Clarett, and E.J. Underwood).
After I determine an initial rating for a player, I sometimes adjust that rating up or down based on intangibles or character issues. For example, Terrelle Pryor was a five-star performer during his three years at Ohio State, but I docked him one full star due to his involvement in TatGate and his other off-the-field transgressions, all of which caused him to be kicked off of the team, and which were factors in Ohio State’s being put on probation, in Coach Tressel’s being fired, in the program’s being dragged through the mud by the media, etc.
On the other hand, defensive tackle Joel Penton was a 2.5 star role player who saw limited action, but I increased his rating by half-a-star because he won the Wuerffel Trophy, one of college football’s “good guy” awards.
To date, I have given final grades to each of the 165 Tressel signees who have left the program, either through using up his eligibility, or transfer, or injury, or dismissal; the remaining 57 signees have been given partial or incomplete grades. Of the players with final grades, 6 received five stars, 6 received 4.5 stars, 12 received 4 stars, 20 received 3.5 stars, 28 received 3 stars, 17 received 2.5 stars, 15 received 2 stars, 12 received 1 star, and 49 received 0 stars; thus, the current average star rating for the Tressel signees is 2.08 stars. Read More
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.
WR/DB Stefon Diggs (Photo by Tin Nguyen/The Gazette)
Just yesterday the official Ohio State Athletics website posted an updated depth chart for the Buckeyes. There were some big changes, though many were fully expected. Of particular note were the losses of Jamaal Berry (cut for off-field issues) and David Durham (transfer to Pittsburgh).
But the question that still lingers is the one of Oversigning. Ohio State fans and media have been justifiably wringing their hands since the moment that Urban Meyer started recruiting like crazy. It’s not unusual around this time for Buckeye fans to worry about oversigning, particularly considering how badly they view the practice. To see the Buckeyes commit such an act would be incredibly shameful for nearly everyone.
Accounting for scholarships, though, is a tricky business. Whether a player has maintained their scholarship over the course of time, particularly if they’ve remained a walk-on, is hard to figure out. It’s also difficult to keep track of which walk-ons have managed to pick up scholarships during the course of time. Plus, the constant addition and subtraction of players through transfer and recruiting just adds another level of complication.
With the Buckeyes still hunting after one additional recruit, we have been told by Urban Meyer that there are currently 81 scholarship players on the team. Those numbers would leave one available scholarship in the 2012 recruiting class if his accounting is correct. Of course, there’s still a player out there that Meyer thinks could fill that spot.
Stefon Diggs, a Wide Receiver/Defensive Back recruit out of Maryland, is scheduled to announce his college destination this evening. Where he is going, currently a battle between Maryland, Ohio State, and Florida, has been a hotly contested topic of conversation on Twitter and college football recruiting boards across the country. Diggs would be a huge addition to any recruiting class, and would be the kind of significant playmaker that could see the field quickly in a big way.
Weekly updates and miscellany from around the world of college sports…
Urban Meyer's Secret Identity?
Buckeye 411
“To be able to lead, you have to serve first,” Posey said. “I feel like being on scout team, helping the younger guys and being in the meeting room and telling them the little tips that I have allowed me to understand the game more and it humbled me as well. That’s what I needed going into this process and going to the next level. Through this process, everything you hear is what you can’t do and everyone’s tearing you down. Going through the draft, you’re going to hear a lot of negative things and then, when you get into camp as well, you have to be humble as well. You have to serve the team and show them you can play. I felt like I learned all those lessons this past year.”
“Every day at practice was a challenge, so I definitely think that will pay dividends,” Brewster said of Ohio State. “It really comes in the preparation the last couple weeks and really, four years of college. Now, it’s just show time and it’s time to go out there and do it. Anytime you get a chance to go against the best, you want to measure yourself.”
Down the homestretch.
With Urban Meyer at the helm, recruiting optimism and momentum have reached unprecedented levels across Buckeye Nation.
PA DE Noah Spence is the latest in a series of recruiting victories that have skyrocketed the 2012 class into one of the top groups in the country.
While the defensive line haul has reached historically awesome heights over the past week or so, there are still some pressing needs moving forward.
Most notably, the 2012 class is still missing the premiere offensive tackles that are so clearly needed in the coming seasons.
In addition to offensive tackles, Urban Meyer will work to add depth at linebacker and to find some difference makers on offense over the final weeks before signing day.
Here is the latest news on the remaining targets in the 2012 class.
It has been an amazing few days for Ohio State recruiting- possibly even the best few days in at least the past decade if not longer.
To recap, after a dynamite recruiting weekend, Urban Meyer has locked up three elite nationally ranked prospects.
Meyer successfully flipped Tommy Schutt from Penn State, Se’Von Pittman from Michigan State, and secured Brionte Dunn from the clutches of that school up north.
Not too shabby.
The best news of all, however, is that Meyer is not done yet.
Not even close.
Here is a look at the top ten remaining targets on Ohio State’s recruiting board.
