Ruckert doesn't care about academics... OSU is a good institution-lots of people have gone there and had very successful careers.
Its not Michigan, but does Ruckert honestly care that much? Unlikely...
if the kid wasn't convinced by Urban or Wilson's TE Lite offensive scheme, i doubt that Michigan's academic standings matter a heck of a lot...
I think that he's making a mistake, but just like OJ howard, if you have the measurables, the NFL will find you even if you are criminally underutilized in your college career.
I've always said getting one of the big three targets (Ruckert, Ford and Muhammed) + a guy like a Pitts would be a solid TE class, so the staff just needs to bear down on Ford and Muhammed and sign at least one of those two and we'll be fine
not high.
We have Muhammed unless he's changed his mind since the visit.
Player A:
102 receptions, 1,231 yards, 10 TDs
Player B:
97 receptions, 1,200 yards, 7 TDs
Player A was used more by his team, clearly.
If you we're curious, Player A is Aaron Hernandez's two years as a starter under Meyer, and Player B is Butt's last two years under Harbaugh.
If OSU is telling Ruckert they're going to feature him, history says Meyer will feature his TE when he's an elite talent.
Wasn't Hernandez's last year with Meyer 2009? Pretty telling that you have to go back eight years to find someone who could match Butt. Either Meyer has deemphasized the tight end or he's just terrible at recruiting and developing tight ends with elite talent.
but yes - go back a decade to find TE usage and only for AH's last season - Buckeye fans always tell us to not live in the past but they go there when convenient
Yea, but that's the timeline we're working with. Hernandez was there 2007, 2008 and 2009. 2010 was Meyer's last year at Florida, not sure who their TE was. Meyer took 2011 off, and then two Tressel recruits started for Meyer at OSU from 2012-2015.
I think it's hyperbole to say Meyer is "terrible" at recruting and developing TEs. He developed two Tressel recruits into NFL draft picks, even if they didn't get the ball as much as Hernandez did. At the very least, both of them become NFL caliber blockers.
Really, last year was the first year a TE Meyer recruited got to start at OSU.
I'm not saying OSU had anyone better than Butt the last few years, I'm saying when Meyer has a TE with a talent level comparable to Butt, he uses him. The idea he doesn't is wrong. It takes years to find TEs as talented as Hernandez or Butt, and it's not like Harbaugh recruited or developed freshman and sophomore Butt anyway. Michigan fans already knew Butt was good before Harbaugh showed up.
Yeah, but Harbaugh has a history of developing and utilizing tight ends at every stop he's been at, and already has a few guys in the pipeline that are at the level Butt was before Harbaugh took over. Being able to point out one guy eight years ago isn't quite the same.
I'm not saying Jim Harbaugh doesn't use his TEs more. I'm saying when Urban Meyer has a good TE, he uses him. Huerman and Vanett were nice players and great blockers, but they weren't Aaron Hernandez or Jake Butt or Zac Ertz with the ball in their hands.
I'm saying that if Urban uses his TEs when he has good TEs, why hasn't he had a good TE since Hernandez?
I mean, I explained that. He had Jordan Reed ready to replace Hernandez, but left Florida before Reed blossomed.
He got to OSU and had two incumbent TEs on the roster, both guys, despite neither being a Meyer recruit, played every down from 2012-2015 and left to the NFL as 3rd round picks. They weren't players you'd feature in the offense over more talented players, but they also were too good to need to replace. Scholarships are finite, if you have proven starters at a position, you can recruit other positions. Meyer didn't need a hotshot TE, the guys he had from 2012-2015 were good enough.
Besides, Meyer landed Baugh (4*) at OSU in 2014, and Baugh's first season as a starter was last year. Was Baugh a world beater? No. Do players generally improve and get featured more as they age through the system? Yes. Would I be shocked to see Baugh have 400 yards and 5 TDs this season? Nope.
Let's see: Coby Fleener, Zach Ertz, Ryan Hewitt, and Levine Toilolo vs Aaron Hernandez?
It's ok that he won't likely be featured or used that much. It's unlikely that some college coach will build their offense around a TE and while he may be drawn to OSU for certain reasons, it is hard to see how TE development and scheme would be among those.
Again, that's fine. It's just true that the top receiving TEs in the NFL played in pro-style systems and the track record is there for Harbaugh.
Your last paragraph is not true at all. Looking at the top 7 NFL TE's in 2016 yards per game, No. 1 Travis Kelce played in a spread style offense at UC with QBs who combined for 600 rushing yards his senior year. No. 2 Rob Gronkowski's OC at Arizona was Sonny Dykes, of the Mike Leach coaching tree. Nos. 3 and 4 Greg Olsen and Zac Ertz were pro-style college TEs. No. 5 Jimmy Graham played basketball. No. 6 Jordan Reed was recruited to Florida by Urban Meyer. And No. 7 Eric Ebron played in a spread at North Carolina.
It's true that when Meyer had TEs that were just guys at OSU, he didn't throw them the ball. He also didn't have to because he had Mike Thomas and Braxton Miller and Zeke Elliott and Carlos Hyde and Jalin Marshall and Curtis Samuel and Devin Smith to give the ball to. When Meyer had a TE that was a gamebreaking playmaker--Aaron Hernandez--he gave him the ball a lot. If Ruckert is as good as Hernandez, he'll get the ball. Being in a spread won't matter.
What's your point?
He's running circles around Player B with all of the murder, prison and suicide stats that you forgot to throw in there.
That's a good point.
For Ohio State! Whee!!
Always hope, but this one looks like it's going to the bad guys.
Let's get Muhammed and one other one on board and all will be well and hell, given the last recruiting cycle, it's likely the TE's they pull in will be guys we've never heard of.
here is the fucking deal about the academics. The people who called OSU's academics "average" are wrong, as are the people who called OSU's academics "elite". Jesus fucking christ, people you dont always have to be right.
Based on lists from a variety or sources, virtually every corner of OSU academics is closer to 'average' than 'elite.'
I would like to see those sources, as well as what you consider "average" because "average" is quite vague. From what I have seen, OSU is a very good academic institution, both for undergraduate and graduate school.
Crud. Ohio State us putting together another crazy class, they have 3 consensus 5 stars and 12 consensus top 100 players and there are still 6 months until signing day. We still have to get better to compete with them on the recruiting trail.
Don't worry, the sunshine pumpers here have assured us we will beat osu this year and in subsequent years. Nothing to fear.
I don't care how great of a coach Harbaugh is, this is going to be tough sledding for the next 4-5 years unless we can keep pace with their recruiting.