OSU fan here. I'll just say the last time we got a lowly rated corner from St. Thomas Aquinas, he developed into the #18 pick last night. That's a hell of a program. I don't ever bet against STA kids.
OSU fan here. I'll just say the last time we got a lowly rated corner from St. Thomas Aquinas, he developed into the #18 pick last night. That's a hell of a program. I don't ever bet against STA kids.
Can we be real for a second? This by no means a knock on this kid, who by all accounts seems to have an A+ personality and genuinely wants to emphasize academics as part of his college experience, but do you really think he's looking at US News college rankings going
"Well Michigan is #11, but OSU is only #15. Oh, but where is Notre Dame ranked?"
"Hmmmm now let's compare the pros and cons of each schools accounting programs and compare how many graduates each program sends to Big Four firms!"
You hear about academics coming into play all the time with recruits. You all saw it with Da'Shawn Hand, if I'm recalling his recruitment correctly. It's not that academic don't matter to these players, but for them, the difference in where a school ranks in some publication is negligible.
Yes, Schiano has a huge influence on the kid, but as an advisor, not necessarily a coach. From what I know, NPF knows that:
1.) Whether he leaves in a day or after next season, Schiano won't be at OSU for his career
2.) Schiano isn't his position coach, let alone, on the same side of the ball
3.) This is about Schiano's counsel. If he goes to OSU thanks to Schiano, it's because he trusts Schiano's advice. Even if he did leave today, all indications are that it wouldn't change much.
Yeah, he needs to bulk up. He is a lot like Curtis was as a freshman both in usage and build. I remember when Samuel first played in 2014 he was a lighting quick jitterbug type, but he was not built like he is today.
Watch out for Bin Victor. He emerged late last season as a strong receiver option and he seems to be the trendy pick for a breakout candidate.
1. Not really sure yet. I'd be surprised if Dobbins play next year. The void left by Samuel will likely be filled by Demario McCall who is going to be VERY good.
2. I expect at least one of them to come in and contribute right away. Both would be ambitous, though not out of the question.
3. My guess is Tate redshirts next year. Burrows is not so much an odd fit, but could be a casualty of having too many QBs. Some say he might transfer, especially if Dwayne Haskins passes him on the depth chart.
4. KJ showed a lot of promise last year. Honestly, nobody has any idea how the offense will be with a new regime coming in. I, for one, am very bullish about it, but losing Curtis definitely stings.
Honestly, I'm not sure what the hold up is with him.
Out of anyone on our team, he needs to leave early. The guy has had chronic hamstring issues throughout his career here. There is zero reason to come back.
Every early declaration we've had thus has been no big deal. This is the only one that is going to be extremely difficult to replace. Don't get me wrong, we have offensive weapons ready to come in and contribute, but it will still be hard to make up for his production.
From what I've been told, up until Saturday he was leaning towards coming back. He had discussed with his family, was sold on the Kevin Wilson hire, and he even bought a flight back to Columbus for Sunday. Ultimately, he had a change of heart, which is probably what is best for him.
But I often like to get away from them every once in awhile. Sometimes they just become a giant echo chamber of the same shit. I comment on OSU related topics here because frankly, I'm probably a better source of information for OSU related things. I'm not sure why anyone would be upset that someone is commenting on topic that they have likely more knowledge on than most on this board.
But mainly because I want us to finish with the best class in recruiting history (Per 247). Him not committing could put a dent in that.
That said, if he doesn't committ, we very well could be swapping him out for Kendall Sheffield, who is a former 5-star recruit for Alabama and is the top Juco player in the country.
If I could only choose one, I would probably want Sheffield since he would likely be able to start from day one.
After the Clemson game, I was leaning towards wanting to move on from the JT Barrett era. I know that sounds kind of selfish seeing as he's the record holder for just about every passing record at OSU and was a key player in our NC run, but it felt like he plateaud this year.
Ever since we made the new offensive coaching hires, my attitude has changed and I'm excited to see what he can do under a new regime. Make no mistake, when he's been successful, it was not a mirage. If you watch film from the 2014 Michigan State game, it was one of the most accurate and crisp games I had seen from an OSU QB since Troy Smith. Yes, he had NFL talent around him, but the throws he made were still wildly impressive. He has regressed since Tom Herman left, there is no doubt about that and this regression has also run parallel with the mass exodus of offensive talent to the NFL.
I'm still not sure what he is at this point. I think at a minimum, he is a fantastic leader who can get it done when he has the necessary talent. I don't quite think he's someone who is necessarily going to make those around him better, but I could be wrong. Our offensive scheme as a whole was terrible this season, so as I said, I think a new slate will do him well and hopefully get him on the right track.
Raekwon McMillan's committment was easily the biggest of Urban's tenure at the time. Sort of like you all with Jabrill Peppers and Harbaugh's tenure.
He had a fantastic Buckeye career both in accolades and leadership. I'm going to miss the hell out of him. While our front seven should still remain incredibly strong next year, the one hole we will have is that MIKE position that he patrolled the past couple years.
We're expecting, by all accounts, to lose three of our four starting DBs (Conley, Hooker, Lattimore), which is exactly what happened after last season.
This is why Urban so strongly emphasizes the need to recruit guys who can play from day one. He understands the turn around is going to be quick, and if you aren't recruiting kids ready to play as freshman, the chances of them being ready as sophomores shrinks. Just as we're going to need to replace three guys in our defensive backfield next year, we had to do the same this year.
In regards to our defensive backs, we're basically getting one year out of two of them. Hooker and Lattimore were buried behind two high draft picks, they never really saw the field, and when they left, they stepped right in at a high level. Unfortunately, that's likely all we will get out of them with their OSU careers. They started for one year, put up first round performances, and like that, they're gone. Honestly, it's not an ideal situation, but as long as Urban can continue to make it work, I won't complain.
But seriously, I only come here on rare occasions and its mainly to get away from the typical OSU echochamber of the sites and boards I usually read. I have always thought Ace was one of the best voices for the sport of college football. I admire his work, as well as other content produced by MGoBlog quite a bit.
It's good to get an outside perspective, especially from your greatest rival. As far as posting on the boards here (which I've done very little of lately), it's simply to chime in and add some color about an OSU related topic that comes from an informed voice who generally knows what he is talking about.
I certainly never come here to troll or kick the hornets nest. If I ever start doing that, please find out my actual name/address and shoot me.
I will make a cash bet with you right now that Grimes and Lindsey will sign on NSD. I would be more than willing to message you my Venmo name. I am completely confident.
The odds of him coming to OSU is very small. Not that we don't want him, of course Urban would love to have DPJ, but the urgency just isn't that high anymore. We already have two of the top five WRs locked in (Tyjon Lindsey and Trevon Grimes) and we also have Jaylen Harris in our back pocket if we choose to want him in our class.
Urban will take his best shot, and it's Urban so you can never say it's a non-zero chance, but I would be as stunned as I've ever been if he ends up at OSU.
Most OSU fans, even the ones who ultimately thought he should decommit, we feel for the kid. He had been committed since he was a freshman and loves OSU as much as I do. I'm sure the coaches are feeling it too. Yes, they are the ones that probably gave Danny the nudge, but that doesn't mean they don't feel bad about it. He's a hell of a kid, but as the years went by, he was a puzzle piece that simply did not fit into the grand scheme of things.
It's shitty, it happens, but nobody has any ill will towards the kid. He's handled it all with class.
On paper, it's easily the best move for all sides, but that doesn't make it any less shitty.
I have some ties to people "in the know" who all tell me that the staff absolutely loves Simmons. One of my best sources told me that they feel he's the steal of the class. I would be VERY surprised if Simmons isn't in this class, and if he's not, it's more likely because you guys came in with a great late push, not him being pushed out.
I don't know, I think you're using a sample size of one year to make that assumption.
Here's a very logical reasoning behind last years mass exodus that seems to have a lot of smoke behind it from what I've read. That group won a national championship which is the pinnacle, but its also physically and mentally draining. They played 15 games, almost an NFL schedule. Then they comeback the following year with rocket high expectations. They're scrutinized every game and its clear the constant spotlight was taking a toll on them. Hell, when we lost to Michigan State it was almost like a weight was lifted. The reality is this, and this applies to any big time program, but it multiplies by 1000 when you're a perennial title contender -- those players will likely never have a bigger spotlight on them then the one they had last season. They could go on to win Super Bowls and MVPs, but the pressure cooker that comes with being a star football player at the blue blood school trying to win a national championship seems insane. Oh, and on top of that you have to worry about the whole stupid "student" portion of "student athlete." You need to deal with classes, being noticed everywhere on campus, preserving your health so you can actually go on to make money, agents, etc...
To put it in a nutshell, I firmly believe that last years class was totally burnt out. They were done with it and did not want to be college athletes anymore. If we keep ourselves at this status, it could keep happening, but we'll have to find out.
To assume that Michigan would simply be impervious to such a thing, especially once you guys reach the contending status that I'm worried you all are close to achieving, is kind of naive.
We have seven graduating seniors. On top of that, I expect us to wrap up spring practice with at least two kids getting medical hardships (the two that come to mind are actually legitimate possibilities. They're being given one more chance to prove that their injuries are beyond them, but most people are pessimistic that it will happen). So that should put us at nine. We have two locks to leave early, but its also safe to tack on another 2-3 kids who will have big years and leave early, so that puts us at 14, if we're not being conservative.
But yes, we absolutely have a handful of second and third year players who are in the "shit or get off the pot" phase of their careers. If they don't step up as contributors this year, they might get the honest talk about how they might want to look elsewhere. After that you can always account for unforseen events to happen over the course of the next 11 months. Someone suffers a career ending injury (which you obviously hope does not happen but definitely could), kids getting kicked off the team, others who genuinely transfer because they want a better situation, etc...
I think we end up with 18ish recruits. We're at 11 right now (our kicker will likely be a PWO for his first year). While I do think there will be a few kids who get "processed". I don't expect it to be more than three.
Our staff must be way higher on him than his rankings indicate. To take him this early in the recruiting cycle for a class that is suppose to be tight in numbers, definitely speaks volumes to our evaluation on him. From everything I've read on him and from the people I've talked to, most people seem to think he definitely won't be a 3-star by NSD 2017.
That there really aren't many OSU/Michigan battles this year. I guess it was also the same last year. I'm so used to seeing constant recruiting battles.
Really the only big two I can think of are DPJ and Fred Hansard.
First of all, I have no problems with this. Its a known fact that McShay also loves OSU. He has tons of respect for Urban and essentially does the sideline reporting for every ESPN broadcasted OSU game.
He's also a very pro Penn State guy. I just think he's unofficially part of ESPNs B1G team when not working towards draft stuff.
Thanks. It's definitely has the potential to be a great class, but getting to 20 will be a challenge. We only have seven scholarship kids graduating this year, so there will have to some attrittion with kids declaring for the draft, transferring, medical hardships, etc... We also have some kids that are pretty much locks: Trevon Grims (top receiver in the country), Lamont Wade, and Jaylen Harris, to name a few.
Also, Shaun Wade, the #12 player in the country, is by no means locked down. Its going to be an absolute dogfight to keep him and the odds might be against us.
Yes, Danny Clark has been committed to us since 2013 after his freshman year of high school. He was widely regarded as the best QB of that class when he committed. That said, he took a stepback his sophomore year, and while he made nice strides as a junior, he's certainly not as ballyhoed as he initially was when he committed.
There is definitely going to be some good OSU/Michigan battles this year with guys like Fred Hansard, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Jaylen Kelly-Powell. Should be fun.
Hope you all don't mind me chiming from enemy territory.
Relatively speaking, 2017 is probably a bit below average to its usual standards. For example, there is only two players from Ohio currently in the 247 Composite top 100. That's low. Generally we have around four to six. Hell, only three guys in the top 150.
There's very good depth in the class, which there usually always is. That depth has been key to Dantonio's success and was instrumental to the Tressel years, but as I mentioned, that top quartile of talent is a little weak this year. At least so far. Things can certainly change.
It actually ends up not being the worst thing in the world for us. We're likely going to have a pretty small class this year and our early focus is very national, but from your end, it might explain why there's not much action in Ohio for 2017.
Yep. Houston isn't going to the Big 12. When/If they do expand, its going to be Cincinnati and Memphis. I have a very good source who says thats pretty much a done deal (again, if they end up having to expand).
My friend (this source) put it pretty succintly: The UT System has no interest in elevating another Texas school that's not within their system. Obviously, the UT System is incredibly powerful in the B12 political landscape, and they already have to elevate a non-UT school in Baylor (which they relucantly agreed to back in 1996). Its not just elevating Houston from a football and athletics standpoint, putting them in the Big 12 also gets them at the doorstep of serious research dollars that the UT System doesn't want to see going to a Texas school not under their governance.
It's shitty, but yeah, unfortunately, UH is the casualty of good ole Texas politics.
From what I understand, he informed OSU this morning that he is in. I was told that earlier today by a pretty reliable source, and now the OSU recruiting zeitgeist is starting to confirm it.
I wouldn't read too much into the Fuller situation with us offering Wallace. That exists completely seperate, to my understanding.\
Right now, the priority with closing our class is getting two of three out of Jordan Fuller, Damar Hamlin, and Carlos Becker. Even if we just get Fuller (which we're expecting), we may not even use that fallback option of Wallace. The consensus seems to be that our coaching staff might simply bank that scholarship towards an extremely talented 2017 class, which is expected to already be smaller than usual.
The other variable is that there are rumors that one of our committed DBs - not a super highly rated guy, but someone our coaching staff clearly likes - might be dealing with some murky academic issues. If that falls through, having Wallace in our backpocket might be helpful.
But beyond that, I wouldn't ascribe any conclusion on the Wallace offer having a connection to where we stand on Fuller.
Jeremiah Sharpe is bullshit and I have no idea how he even got a legit crystal ball. He has no inside intel. He's probably just doing this so if Evans does somehow end up flipping, he can get crazy points for it and move up in the standings.
Now, if people like Alex Gleitman, Bill Kurelic, and Jeremy Birmingham start switching, that would legitimize it.
I think too a degree, yes, it probably comes with the territory. Personally, I don't know if OSU is more of a pressure cooker than other major programs. I just know what it was this year, and I felt for these kids.
But I do think this year was unique. Not only were we the returning national champions, but the talent we were returning was insane. I don't think many defending national champions in recent history have returned the level of talent we did this year. It shows, just look at any draft board. We could very well break the first round record.
So yeah, probably a bit of mix between the natural high expectations of an elite program mixed with individual circumstance.
QB: This is obvious. JT Barrett is returning and is by all indications, the best QB in the B1G next year
RB: I think Curtis Samuel has a breakout year now that he's the man. Also, all reports indicate Mike Weber was going to see serious playing time this year before an injury redshirted him in the fall
OLine: We have Pat Elfein returning who is a likely first team all-american and we also have Billy Price coming back as a third year starter. Those are strong anchors to a line that saw some nice progress with our younger guys
Defensive Ends: Tyquan Lewis, Sam Hubbard, and Jalyn Holmes showed a massive amount of potential this year, especially when we had to slide Bosa inside. Those guys will all be very good
Linebackers: Raekwon McMillan is back, which is creates an amazing anchor to our D. He could easily be an All-American next year. On the outside, we have tons of young talent that came in highly recruited: Jerome Baker, Justin Hillard, Dante Booker, Chris Worley. Some of them did really well in their playing time this year
Corners: Gareon Conley returns after a great a season and Damon Webb, who showed a ton this year, will likely start opposite of him
Special Teams: They'll be fine. Cam Johnston is a senior and he's an awesome punter. Our kicking game is meh, but we don't kick a lot of FGs to begin with
Areas I don't quite feel as good about...
WR: Losing Jalin Marshall hurt, because he really could have used another year. We get Noah Brown back from injury who is poised to have a breakout year. Beyond that, we have a ton of unknowns. Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, and Johnnie Dixon have all shown some flashes, but nothing substantial. The biggest X-Factor is Torrence Gibson, who has the potential to be special.
TE: Marcus Baugh returns after seeing a lot of playing time last season, but he is still raw. After that, our depth is very thin. We have a lot of freshman coming in who could steal playing time early
Interior DLine: We lose Adolphus Washington and some older depth. While younger guys got time this year, nobody quite defined themselves as a clear cut starter for next year. Some guys were solid, but nobody really stood out
Safeties: Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell are gone and we're left with a lot of younger, unproven guys. If I had to pick an area I'm most worried about, its this
In terms of freshman I can genuinely see contributing next year: Austin Mack (WR), Nick Bosa (DE), Jonathan Cooper (DE/LB), Jake Haussman (TE), and Demario McCallk (All Purpose)
OSU fan here, who like my username says, comes in peace.
I can try and add some color to this mass exodus. It's certainly nothing to do with Urban or not liking the program, all these kids love OSU and love Urban.
What I believe it comes down to is this. Last year, they won a national championship, which is obviously the ultimate goal, but also takes a lot out of you, both physically and emotionally. The following year, they comeback with insanely high expectations where nothing is ever good enough. Even when undefeated, they still received a mountain of criticism with every game. I can imagine it was very taxing to them at multiple levels.
To put it simply: I just think they are burnt out. There is no way they could do another year of being apart of the blinding spotlight of where this program is at right now. The pressure, the standards, criticism, schoolwork, etc... Even if these guys become stars in the NFL, you can argue that they might not ever be under a greater microscope than they were this season. Unfortunately, I also don't think this year was fun for them, which is sucks, but was a byproduct of all the hype.
So yeah, they just have nothing left give as a product of natural attrition. Frankly, I'm more than okay with it. This group of players have left such an amazing legacy to the program.
Bogard has had three serious knee injuries. Reeves was significant contributor this year who has had six concussions in his career. In fact, while he was out this year, Meyer stated at a press conference how much his injury was causing problems at the Nickel. That's not roster trimming, it's kids careers unfortunately ending.
Oh yeah, Kiel definitey is up there, especially because he had such a wild finish, but from a wire-to-wire standpoint, I've never seen anything quite like Jefferson's.
OSU fan here (and as my handle says, I come in peace).
Seeing as there was once a time we were heavily favored to get Van, I've followed his recruitment super closely. Not saying you guys don't want him, because he's very talented, but more just stating this as a general ancedote.
I've followed recruiting for a long time, and I've seen a lot of "circus recruitments," or whatever you want to call them, but I don't think I've seen a bigger circus of a recruitment than Van Jefferson's. Just an absolute whirlwind.
OSU fan here (and as my handle says, I come in peace).
Seeing as there was once a time we were heavily favored to get Van, I've followed his recruitment super closely. Not saying you guys don't want him, because he's very talented, but more just stating this as a general ancedote.
I've followed recruiting for a long time, and I've seen a lot of "circus recruitments," or whatever you want to call them, but I don't think I've seen a bigger circus of a recruitment than Van Jefferson's. Just an absolute whirlwind.
Recent Comments
OSU fan here. I'll just say the last time we got a lowly rated corner from St. Thomas Aquinas, he developed into the #18 pick last night. That's a hell of a program. I don't ever bet against STA kids.
OSU fan here. I'll just say the last time we got a lowly rated corner from St. Thomas Aquinas, he developed into the #18 pick last night. That's a hell of a program. I don't ever bet against STA kids.
Can we be real for a second? This by no means a knock on this kid, who by all accounts seems to have an A+ personality and genuinely wants to emphasize academics as part of his college experience, but do you really think he's looking at US News college rankings going
"Well Michigan is #11, but OSU is only #15. Oh, but where is Notre Dame ranked?"
"Hmmmm now let's compare the pros and cons of each schools accounting programs and compare how many graduates each program sends to Big Four firms!"
You hear about academics coming into play all the time with recruits. You all saw it with Da'Shawn Hand, if I'm recalling his recruitment correctly. It's not that academic don't matter to these players, but for them, the difference in where a school ranks in some publication is negligible.
In the end, it's relationships that win out.
I mean, it isn't that cut and dry.
Yes, Schiano has a huge influence on the kid, but as an advisor, not necessarily a coach. From what I know, NPF knows that:
1.) Whether he leaves in a day or after next season, Schiano won't be at OSU for his career
2.) Schiano isn't his position coach, let alone, on the same side of the ball
3.) This is about Schiano's counsel. If he goes to OSU thanks to Schiano, it's because he trusts Schiano's advice. Even if he did leave today, all indications are that it wouldn't change much.
That's what my sources are telling me. Arkansas and Texas A&M are still in play, but OSU seems to be the front runner.
247s methodology with JuCo ranking are extremely weird.
Yeah, he needs to bulk up. He is a lot like Curtis was as a freshman both in usage and build. I remember when Samuel first played in 2014 he was a lighting quick jitterbug type, but he was not built like he is today.
Watch out for Bin Victor. He emerged late last season as a strong receiver option and he seems to be the trendy pick for a breakout candidate.
1. Not really sure yet. I'd be surprised if Dobbins play next year. The void left by Samuel will likely be filled by Demario McCall who is going to be VERY good.
2. I expect at least one of them to come in and contribute right away. Both would be ambitous, though not out of the question.
3. My guess is Tate redshirts next year. Burrows is not so much an odd fit, but could be a casualty of having too many QBs. Some say he might transfer, especially if Dwayne Haskins passes him on the depth chart.
4. KJ showed a lot of promise last year. Honestly, nobody has any idea how the offense will be with a new regime coming in. I, for one, am very bullish about it, but losing Curtis definitely stings.
Honestly, I'm not sure what the hold up is with him.
Out of anyone on our team, he needs to leave early. The guy has had chronic hamstring issues throughout his career here. There is zero reason to come back.
.
Every early declaration we've had thus has been no big deal. This is the only one that is going to be extremely difficult to replace. Don't get me wrong, we have offensive weapons ready to come in and contribute, but it will still be hard to make up for his production.
From what I've been told, up until Saturday he was leaning towards coming back. He had discussed with his family, was sold on the Kevin Wilson hire, and he even bought a flight back to Columbus for Sunday. Ultimately, he had a change of heart, which is probably what is best for him.
But I often like to get away from them every once in awhile. Sometimes they just become a giant echo chamber of the same shit. I comment on OSU related topics here because frankly, I'm probably a better source of information for OSU related things. I'm not sure why anyone would be upset that someone is commenting on topic that they have likely more knowledge on than most on this board.
He is a 110% OSU lock. He was a silent commit to OSU months ago and is actively recruiting for us at the all-star game.
But mainly because I want us to finish with the best class in recruiting history (Per 247). Him not committing could put a dent in that.
That said, if he doesn't committ, we very well could be swapping him out for Kendall Sheffield, who is a former 5-star recruit for Alabama and is the top Juco player in the country.
If I could only choose one, I would probably want Sheffield since he would likely be able to start from day one.
After the Clemson game, I was leaning towards wanting to move on from the JT Barrett era. I know that sounds kind of selfish seeing as he's the record holder for just about every passing record at OSU and was a key player in our NC run, but it felt like he plateaud this year.
Ever since we made the new offensive coaching hires, my attitude has changed and I'm excited to see what he can do under a new regime. Make no mistake, when he's been successful, it was not a mirage. If you watch film from the 2014 Michigan State game, it was one of the most accurate and crisp games I had seen from an OSU QB since Troy Smith. Yes, he had NFL talent around him, but the throws he made were still wildly impressive. He has regressed since Tom Herman left, there is no doubt about that and this regression has also run parallel with the mass exodus of offensive talent to the NFL.
I'm still not sure what he is at this point. I think at a minimum, he is a fantastic leader who can get it done when he has the necessary talent. I don't quite think he's someone who is necessarily going to make those around him better, but I could be wrong. Our offensive scheme as a whole was terrible this season, so as I said, I think a new slate will do him well and hopefully get him on the right track.
Raekwon McMillan's committment was easily the biggest of Urban's tenure at the time. Sort of like you all with Jabrill Peppers and Harbaugh's tenure.
He had a fantastic Buckeye career both in accolades and leadership. I'm going to miss the hell out of him. While our front seven should still remain incredibly strong next year, the one hole we will have is that MIKE position that he patrolled the past couple years.
We're expecting, by all accounts, to lose three of our four starting DBs (Conley, Hooker, Lattimore), which is exactly what happened after last season.
This is why Urban so strongly emphasizes the need to recruit guys who can play from day one. He understands the turn around is going to be quick, and if you aren't recruiting kids ready to play as freshman, the chances of them being ready as sophomores shrinks. Just as we're going to need to replace three guys in our defensive backfield next year, we had to do the same this year.
In regards to our defensive backs, we're basically getting one year out of two of them. Hooker and Lattimore were buried behind two high draft picks, they never really saw the field, and when they left, they stepped right in at a high level. Unfortunately, that's likely all we will get out of them with their OSU careers. They started for one year, put up first round performances, and like that, they're gone. Honestly, it's not an ideal situation, but as long as Urban can continue to make it work, I won't complain.
But seriously, I only come here on rare occasions and its mainly to get away from the typical OSU echochamber of the sites and boards I usually read. I have always thought Ace was one of the best voices for the sport of college football. I admire his work, as well as other content produced by MGoBlog quite a bit.
It's good to get an outside perspective, especially from your greatest rival. As far as posting on the boards here (which I've done very little of lately), it's simply to chime in and add some color about an OSU related topic that comes from an informed voice who generally knows what he is talking about.
I certainly never come here to troll or kick the hornets nest. If I ever start doing that, please find out my actual name/address and shoot me.
I will make a cash bet with you right now that Grimes and Lindsey will sign on NSD. I would be more than willing to message you my Venmo name. I am completely confident.
The odds of him coming to OSU is very small. Not that we don't want him, of course Urban would love to have DPJ, but the urgency just isn't that high anymore. We already have two of the top five WRs locked in (Tyjon Lindsey and Trevon Grimes) and we also have Jaylen Harris in our back pocket if we choose to want him in our class.
Urban will take his best shot, and it's Urban so you can never say it's a non-zero chance, but I would be as stunned as I've ever been if he ends up at OSU.
Most OSU fans, even the ones who ultimately thought he should decommit, we feel for the kid. He had been committed since he was a freshman and loves OSU as much as I do. I'm sure the coaches are feeling it too. Yes, they are the ones that probably gave Danny the nudge, but that doesn't mean they don't feel bad about it. He's a hell of a kid, but as the years went by, he was a puzzle piece that simply did not fit into the grand scheme of things.
It's shitty, it happens, but nobody has any ill will towards the kid. He's handled it all with class.
On paper, it's easily the best move for all sides, but that doesn't make it any less shitty.
I have some ties to people "in the know" who all tell me that the staff absolutely loves Simmons. One of my best sources told me that they feel he's the steal of the class. I would be VERY surprised if Simmons isn't in this class, and if he's not, it's more likely because you guys came in with a great late push, not him being pushed out.
I don't know, I think you're using a sample size of one year to make that assumption.
Here's a very logical reasoning behind last years mass exodus that seems to have a lot of smoke behind it from what I've read. That group won a national championship which is the pinnacle, but its also physically and mentally draining. They played 15 games, almost an NFL schedule. Then they comeback the following year with rocket high expectations. They're scrutinized every game and its clear the constant spotlight was taking a toll on them. Hell, when we lost to Michigan State it was almost like a weight was lifted. The reality is this, and this applies to any big time program, but it multiplies by 1000 when you're a perennial title contender -- those players will likely never have a bigger spotlight on them then the one they had last season. They could go on to win Super Bowls and MVPs, but the pressure cooker that comes with being a star football player at the blue blood school trying to win a national championship seems insane. Oh, and on top of that you have to worry about the whole stupid "student" portion of "student athlete." You need to deal with classes, being noticed everywhere on campus, preserving your health so you can actually go on to make money, agents, etc...
To put it in a nutshell, I firmly believe that last years class was totally burnt out. They were done with it and did not want to be college athletes anymore. If we keep ourselves at this status, it could keep happening, but we'll have to find out.
To assume that Michigan would simply be impervious to such a thing, especially once you guys reach the contending status that I'm worried you all are close to achieving, is kind of naive.
We have seven graduating seniors. On top of that, I expect us to wrap up spring practice with at least two kids getting medical hardships (the two that come to mind are actually legitimate possibilities. They're being given one more chance to prove that their injuries are beyond them, but most people are pessimistic that it will happen). So that should put us at nine. We have two locks to leave early, but its also safe to tack on another 2-3 kids who will have big years and leave early, so that puts us at 14, if we're not being conservative.
But yes, we absolutely have a handful of second and third year players who are in the "shit or get off the pot" phase of their careers. If they don't step up as contributors this year, they might get the honest talk about how they might want to look elsewhere. After that you can always account for unforseen events to happen over the course of the next 11 months. Someone suffers a career ending injury (which you obviously hope does not happen but definitely could), kids getting kicked off the team, others who genuinely transfer because they want a better situation, etc...
I think we end up with 18ish recruits. We're at 11 right now (our kicker will likely be a PWO for his first year). While I do think there will be a few kids who get "processed". I don't expect it to be more than three.
Our staff must be way higher on him than his rankings indicate. To take him this early in the recruiting cycle for a class that is suppose to be tight in numbers, definitely speaks volumes to our evaluation on him. From everything I've read on him and from the people I've talked to, most people seem to think he definitely won't be a 3-star by NSD 2017.
That said, this certainly came out of left field.
That there really aren't many OSU/Michigan battles this year. I guess it was also the same last year. I'm so used to seeing constant recruiting battles.
Really the only big two I can think of are DPJ and Fred Hansard.
But the top percentile of this class is pretty weak by Ohio standards. We only have three players in the 247 Top 150.
As usual, solid depth, just a down year for its cream of the crop.
First of all, I have no problems with this. Its a known fact that McShay also loves OSU. He has tons of respect for Urban and essentially does the sideline reporting for every ESPN broadcasted OSU game.
He's also a very pro Penn State guy. I just think he's unofficially part of ESPNs B1G team when not working towards draft stuff.
I've watched him play a couple times this year against some excellent competition. Dude is good. He's got a smooth game.
He squares off against Nick Ward (MSU commit and top player in Ohio) this Friday. I might go.
Thanks. It's definitely has the potential to be a great class, but getting to 20 will be a challenge. We only have seven scholarship kids graduating this year, so there will have to some attrittion with kids declaring for the draft, transferring, medical hardships, etc... We also have some kids that are pretty much locks: Trevon Grims (top receiver in the country), Lamont Wade, and Jaylen Harris, to name a few.
Also, Shaun Wade, the #12 player in the country, is by no means locked down. Its going to be an absolute dogfight to keep him and the odds might be against us.
Yes, Danny Clark has been committed to us since 2013 after his freshman year of high school. He was widely regarded as the best QB of that class when he committed. That said, he took a stepback his sophomore year, and while he made nice strides as a junior, he's certainly not as ballyhoed as he initially was when he committed.
There is definitely going to be some good OSU/Michigan battles this year with guys like Fred Hansard, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Jaylen Kelly-Powell. Should be fun.
Hope you all don't mind me chiming from enemy territory.
Relatively speaking, 2017 is probably a bit below average to its usual standards. For example, there is only two players from Ohio currently in the 247 Composite top 100. That's low. Generally we have around four to six. Hell, only three guys in the top 150.
There's very good depth in the class, which there usually always is. That depth has been key to Dantonio's success and was instrumental to the Tressel years, but as I mentioned, that top quartile of talent is a little weak this year. At least so far. Things can certainly change.
It actually ends up not being the worst thing in the world for us. We're likely going to have a pretty small class this year and our early focus is very national, but from your end, it might explain why there's not much action in Ohio for 2017.
Yep. Houston isn't going to the Big 12. When/If they do expand, its going to be Cincinnati and Memphis. I have a very good source who says thats pretty much a done deal (again, if they end up having to expand).
My friend (this source) put it pretty succintly: The UT System has no interest in elevating another Texas school that's not within their system. Obviously, the UT System is incredibly powerful in the B12 political landscape, and they already have to elevate a non-UT school in Baylor (which they relucantly agreed to back in 1996). Its not just elevating Houston from a football and athletics standpoint, putting them in the Big 12 also gets them at the doorstep of serious research dollars that the UT System doesn't want to see going to a Texas school not under their governance.
It's shitty, but yeah, unfortunately, UH is the casualty of good ole Texas politics.
From what I understand, he informed OSU this morning that he is in. I was told that earlier today by a pretty reliable source, and now the OSU recruiting zeitgeist is starting to confirm it.
I'm so conflicted about this.
As it always does this time of year.
We seem to think we can get Damar Hamlin, which I just don't see happening.
But just reporting what I know. My buddy is pretty tied in and the OSU staff is very confident with Fuller.
Right, because only OSU has ever had a kid who's failed to qualify.
I wouldn't read too much into the Fuller situation with us offering Wallace. That exists completely seperate, to my understanding.\
Right now, the priority with closing our class is getting two of three out of Jordan Fuller, Damar Hamlin, and Carlos Becker. Even if we just get Fuller (which we're expecting), we may not even use that fallback option of Wallace. The consensus seems to be that our coaching staff might simply bank that scholarship towards an extremely talented 2017 class, which is expected to already be smaller than usual.
The other variable is that there are rumors that one of our committed DBs - not a super highly rated guy, but someone our coaching staff clearly likes - might be dealing with some murky academic issues. If that falls through, having Wallace in our backpocket might be helpful.
But beyond that, I wouldn't ascribe any conclusion on the Wallace offer having a connection to where we stand on Fuller.
If you look at his Twitter he has a tweet about how Urban just started following Evans today. My guess is that is what he is basing this off of.
Jeremiah Sharpe is bullshit and I have no idea how he even got a legit crystal ball. He has no inside intel. He's probably just doing this so if Evans does somehow end up flipping, he can get crazy points for it and move up in the standings.
Now, if people like Alex Gleitman, Bill Kurelic, and Jeremy Birmingham start switching, that would legitimize it.
I think too a degree, yes, it probably comes with the territory. Personally, I don't know if OSU is more of a pressure cooker than other major programs. I just know what it was this year, and I felt for these kids.
But I do think this year was unique. Not only were we the returning national champions, but the talent we were returning was insane. I don't think many defending national champions in recent history have returned the level of talent we did this year. It shows, just look at any draft board. We could very well break the first round record.
So yeah, probably a bit of mix between the natural high expectations of an elite program mixed with individual circumstance.
For 2016, I feel good about...
Areas I don't quite feel as good about...
In terms of freshman I can genuinely see contributing next year: Austin Mack (WR), Nick Bosa (DE), Jonathan Cooper (DE/LB), Jake Haussman (TE), and Demario McCallk (All Purpose)
OSU fan here, who like my username says, comes in peace.
I can try and add some color to this mass exodus. It's certainly nothing to do with Urban or not liking the program, all these kids love OSU and love Urban.
What I believe it comes down to is this. Last year, they won a national championship, which is obviously the ultimate goal, but also takes a lot out of you, both physically and emotionally. The following year, they comeback with insanely high expectations where nothing is ever good enough. Even when undefeated, they still received a mountain of criticism with every game. I can imagine it was very taxing to them at multiple levels.
To put it simply: I just think they are burnt out. There is no way they could do another year of being apart of the blinding spotlight of where this program is at right now. The pressure, the standards, criticism, schoolwork, etc... Even if these guys become stars in the NFL, you can argue that they might not ever be under a greater microscope than they were this season. Unfortunately, I also don't think this year was fun for them, which is sucks, but was a byproduct of all the hype.
So yeah, they just have nothing left give as a product of natural attrition. Frankly, I'm more than okay with it. This group of players have left such an amazing legacy to the program.
TL;DR: Man, these kids are tired.
Bogard has had three serious knee injuries. Reeves was significant contributor this year who has had six concussions in his career. In fact, while he was out this year, Meyer stated at a press conference how much his injury was causing problems at the Nickel. That's not roster trimming, it's kids careers unfortunately ending.
If you've followed Jefferson's recruitment from start to finish, it makes Clark's recruitment seem like a breeze.
Oh yeah, Kiel definitey is up there, especially because he had such a wild finish, but from a wire-to-wire standpoint, I've never seen anything quite like Jefferson's.
OSU fan here (and as my handle says, I come in peace).
Seeing as there was once a time we were heavily favored to get Van, I've followed his recruitment super closely. Not saying you guys don't want him, because he's very talented, but more just stating this as a general ancedote.
I've followed recruiting for a long time, and I've seen a lot of "circus recruitments," or whatever you want to call them, but I don't think I've seen a bigger circus of a recruitment than Van Jefferson's. Just an absolute whirlwind.
OSU fan here (and as my handle says, I come in peace).
Seeing as there was once a time we were heavily favored to get Van, I've followed his recruitment super closely. Not saying you guys don't want him, because he's very talented, but more just stating this as a general ancedote.
I've followed recruiting for a long time, and I've seen a lot of "circus recruitments," or whatever you want to call them, but I don't think I've seen a bigger circus of a recruitment than Van Jefferson's. Just an absolute whirlwind.