11W Ohio Recruting Take-Tom VH Comments

Submitted by HAIL 2 VICTORS on

Tom-11W concedes that Dunn and Kalis are in play which you have noted however some of 11W’s other recruiting takes deserve a proper TomVH FISKING!  Please take a moment and offer your thoughts to these comments from 11W.

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2011/06/11w-recruiting-notebook-home-state-concerns#more

Adolphus Washington: “I still think the Buckeyes get their man in the end, but Alabama is pushing REALLY hard.”

Se’Von Pittman: “Michigan is the biggest player for the Canton McKinley star, but as long as things don’t get worse, I still see Steve Miller’s good friend becoming his teammate once again in Columbus.”

Ifeadi Odenigbo: “he will follow the Centerville path to Columbus and be an excellent Viper (LB-DE hybrid) at OSU”

Dwayne Stanford: “Stanford and Adolphus Washington are about playing together and while this isn’t a package deal, it’s the closest thing to it. I’m 50/50 right now on whether Stanford ends up in Scarlet and Gray, but if I’m saying they’re going to the same place, I guess I have to go with Stanford ending up in Columbus.”

OT Kyle Dodson: “Dodson may be even better than Kalis. There’s clearly a reason Dodson is waiting on OSU and I think if he qualifies for an offer he will take it.”

Finally Tom your thoughts please in regards to this comment:

Overall, while I think the current issues Ohio State is facing certainly is playing a part in recruiting, things could be a lot worse. This class is likely not going to be what it could have been had Tatgate never happened, but I think regardless of who the coach is that this will be a solid group that the Bucks bring in. After all, it’s still Ohio State and regardless of national perception, it will always be looked at as a school amongst the best in college football.

FreddieMercuryHayes

June 13th, 2011 at 6:00 PM ^

OSU people think they get the best players in Ohio? Shocked!!

But seriously, OSU has a good a shot as anybody for those people (except for Dodson which I believe he is announcing his decision very soon on the heels of his OSU offer. So they already have him). But the coaches must really be confident in their chances with Washington to slow down with Pittman. Would hate to miss on them both.

Mr Mackey

June 13th, 2011 at 5:59 PM ^

I saw the title of the thread and it started with "TomVH -" and I got really excited, thinking it was a TomVH update.

Needless to say, my heart was broken

neoavatara

June 13th, 2011 at 6:00 PM ^

...have an objective view at this point.

Tom likely will give much more, but to me the post is delusional.  We know for a virtual FACT that Washington and Pittman don't want to play together, yet he has them both in the OSU class.  Absurd.  Second, Stanford doesn't have a committable offer, and likely won't until late in the process.  If they wait that long, many other guys like Pittman will decide to go elsewhere, even if it isn't the good guys in Blue. 

Dodson and Ogenibo are like going to TSIO, in any case. 

Any person who thinks the sanctions won't cost them a couple recruits, big names especially, are nuts.  They don't have a permament coach, sanctions are uncertain, and there are numerous teams on the upswing recruiting Ohio.  

wlvrine

June 14th, 2011 at 9:08 AM ^

No WAY!

Bleacher Report is the bomb when it comes to careful analysis, thoughtful insight, and meticulously researched opinion and commentary.  They have all the breaking news that can be perceived and believed.  I will admit they don't quite reach the standard of Mlive fan forums, but they are a close second.

TomVH

June 13th, 2011 at 6:01 PM ^

Ohio State has an advantage with Ohio kids and the amount of prospects they can reel in from their home state. The comment about the class being the same as it would have if this never happened seems bold, but outside of some national kids I don't necessarily disagree.

I say it's bold because there's nothing for the recruits to see with their own eyes as far as what's going to happen with Ohio State and the sanctions. It's easy to say they're still committed or still considering Ohio State because they don't know the sanctions. If Ohio State gets hammered with a multi year bowl ban, scholarship loss, etc. it could start to get messy. 

The kids in Ohio won't go very public with how they're really feeling until the right time comes for them to say it. If an Ohio State commit, like Kyle Kalis, says he's interested in Michigan and loves the Michigan coaches while he's committed to Ohio State he'll get chastised like crazy. (Case in point awhile back I had reported that Kalis was fond of the Michigan coaches and would potentially visit with his teammates. Bucknuts got a hold of that, got him on their radio show and he denied the whole thing.)

With what they said about Dodson, the rumor is that he will be committing to Ohio State soon. That sounds about right, although I know the Michigan coaches are very interested in him. It's interesting that OSU offered because he just retook his ACT and that was the reason they hadn't offered in the first place.

With regards to Washington and Stanford, time is on Ohio State's side. Had this mess not happened I'm willing to bet that Stanford would have told the coaches he would commit if they offered him, or something to that nature. His family are all Buckeyes. I think Michigan has a good shot at them, but they aren't going to announce until after their season. Ohio State could have a new coach lined up by then, and could be in a whole different scenario than now. Unless they decide soon I don't think anyone knows where they'll end up. There's reason for you to be excited with these two because they're showing genuine interest and it seems as though the coaches are pursuing hard, but they do really like Ohio State. Also, if they offered Dodson to get him to commit I don't see why they wouldn't try to do the same with Stanford.

Odenigbo, I never thought he'd end up at Michigan. Stanford, Notre Dame, or Ohio State. Of course a visit could always change that, but for now I'd be really surprised.

I mentioned Pittman in the weekly update. It's an interesting scenario, and I know for fact the coaches thought they were close with him but they slowed things down.

So all in all I don't think it's that off base. I don't necessarily agree that their class would have been the same had this not happened, because Tom Strobel would have been a part of it. Kyle Kalis may not be a part of it depending on the sanctions, and Bri'onte Dunn is in the same boat. Those are some big time players.

Erik_in_Dayton

June 13th, 2011 at 6:19 PM ^

To add to what Tom said about Kalis, Sam Webb reported not too long ago that Dunn told him that one of the OSU recruiting site reporters seemed mad at him when he said that he was going to visit Michigan.  

markusr2007

June 13th, 2011 at 6:28 PM ^

I think he's got a point.  Ohio is still Ohio.  A great number of talented players in that state really want to play for the Buckeyes and it appears to be still the case regardless of the circumstances.

I look at USC, which just got "almost-SMU-ed".  Interestingly, the bowl ban and PAC-12 title game banishment  already ends after this year (2011).

The Reggie Bush benefits allegations surfaced around April 2006.  Did USC's recruiting ever suffer as a result?

The answer is no. 

USC recruiting rankings since the allegations, hearings and findings:

2007: 2nd Scout, 2nd Rivals

2008: 9th Scout, 8th Rivals

2009: 9th Scout, 4th Rivals

2010: 5th Scout, 1st Rivals

2011: 5th Scout, 4th Rivals

UCLA has not made a dent in So Cal recruiting. Nor has ASU, Oregon, Sarkisian's Huskies or any of the others.

FWIW the Trojans for 2012 have 9 recruits and 7 are four star or better (Rivals).

I'm sure Ohio State football is going to face the music eventually, but looking at the facts on the ground, it's hard to envision  the premium Ohio State football brand emaciated for lack of talent.  Michigan is getting some nice recruits from the state, but they always do. IMO there's way too many football players in Ohio who dream about playing for the Scarlet and Gray since they were little tots - and even if that means no participation in Big Ten Championship games or bowl games during 2 to 3 years of their career. 

We'll see what happens on signing day, but right now I'm in the "there is no justice crowd".  I'm not convinced OSU is going to see a huge dropoff in recruiting in the foreseeable future.

 

FreddieMercuryHayes

June 13th, 2011 at 6:34 PM ^

The pain for USC is still coming since the sanctions are actually kicking in this year in terms of schollys. One big difference though is that USC doesn't have another traditional power who has great recruiters in its area like OSU has with us. But your main is valid. OSU will always be in the convo for elite OH prospects.

Elmer

June 13th, 2011 at 10:38 PM ^

The whole Pac-10 recruits southern California hard. 

The difference is because USC's recruiting took a big leap forward when Carroll came on board.  He made it an elite destination again.  From 1982 to 2001, almost half of their seasons ended with 6 or fewer wins. 

Rabbit21

June 14th, 2011 at 9:06 AM ^

UCLA simply gave up on players USC wanted when Dorrell coached there. And now Neuheisel tends to slowplay local kids while chasing national recruits(sound familiar?). USC benefits greatly from Bruin stupidity, even so I'm interested to see what happens when the scholarship limitations kick in.

BlueHills

June 13th, 2011 at 7:19 PM ^

OSU certainly has a national reputation that has been tarnished in the short run, but it can always depend on a wealth of kids coming as a result of its dominant position in Ohio recruiting.

I don't see that falling off too badly unless NCAA penalties are worse than have been forecasted.

vegasjeff

June 13th, 2011 at 7:20 PM ^

We take it for granted that the best players in Michigan should want to play for Michigan but refuse to accept that the best players in Ohio want to play for OSU. Normally we should be able to steal a few from Ohio but this year -- with looming sanctions, a giant haul of top notch Ohio seniors and Ohio unable to take a big class -- Michigan will do much better than normal.

In the long run, things will return to normal, with Michigan picking off a couple of top kids from Ohio in most years.

animals77

June 13th, 2011 at 7:31 PM ^

Hey,

 

New to posting on Mgoblog, but have been reading posts for a while now.  I wanted to take part in this story.  If the Ohio State problems never occured I would still have a hard time believing that Strobel, Washington, Odenigbo, Pittman and McMullen would all commit considering they are all DE (with a lesser degree with Odenigbo who could be a OLB).  From what I have been reading on multiple Michigan sites is that Pittman, Washington, McMullen and Strobel were heavy leans on Ohio State at one time, and if Odenigbo commits to OSU even with the possiblility of heavy sanctions, then he would have definitely commited if the sanctions were not upon the program, so he is as close to a sure deal to commiting there.  It seemed like Strobel and McMullen were also near sure deals for OSU if these problems were not there, so that would make 3 DEs commiting there, or possibly 2 if Odenigbo is a OLB.  That would leave Pittman and Washington still in play, and with the way the new U-M coaches are recruiting, I would have been very confident that one of them would be a strong candidate of commiting to Michigan.  I left out Wormley because it seemed like he would have committed to Michigan with or without the problems.  And, I did not even include LaTroy Lewis having a strong interest in playing for OSU which would have made it more crowded at the DE position.

Captain

June 13th, 2011 at 8:36 PM ^

Since you're new I thought I'd welcome you to the board and offer a couple of pointers:

(1) Generally there is no need to begin a comment with a salutation;

(2) Judicious use of paragraphs will help you quite a bit; and

(3) Your subject line suggests you have a question, but I was unable to locate it.  I really have no idea what you're saying/asking.  Maybe my fault...then again, see (2).

neoavatara

June 13th, 2011 at 7:44 PM ^

...will admit this.

Strobel was a virtualy lock for them.  Many of the others too (McMullen was wavering even before however, and there have persistent rumors that Washington and Pittman do not want to play together, FWIW).  

Those logical fans admit they are going to take some losses...but they won't lose everyone.  Life long fans of a school are hard to pull away for a reason.  They will get a bulk of those recruits.  But winning any of those battles is a huge plus for us.  Strobel was just the first of many.

animals77

June 13th, 2011 at 9:42 PM ^

Captain: Thanks for the welcome, but it seemed more so of a criticism then a welcome.  I believe a greeting (salutation) is a proper introduction for someone posting for the first time.  I would call it manners.  The subject line did say "Question", but was a mistake on my part and should have said "Comment".  My main point to summarize the post was that I did not believe all of these players would have ended up at OSU with or without the problems they are having. 

AA2Denver

June 14th, 2011 at 10:52 AM ^

Dodson and Strobel both considered tsio locks go elsewhere, Kalis and Dunn looking around, its safe to say this is just the beginning and they will be hit hard. I don't think telling the truth (osu is screwed) to kids is negative recruiting - so everyone is in play, nothing should be assumed in terms of tsio locks.  

Many people in Ohio still blame Pryor solely, that is how the university and fanbase want to play it. When the sanctions come down, it won't matter, what will matter to recruits is lack of exposure, bowl bans and a disapointing college experience that would not meet their expectations.