Ohio State Signing Day

Contributed by Josh Rogen

Overall, this recruiting season for the Buckeyes was a little disappointing. Coming off of a National Championship appearance, Ohio State should have had sufficient momentum to land top prospects in and out of state. The results were mixed as Ohio State landed some speed, but not a lot size. Ben Martin, a high school All-American out of Cincinnati De La Salle, and the unanimous top senior defensive lineman in the state shockingly committed to Tennessee. Joseph Barksdale, a defensive tackle out of Michigan committed to “The University of LSU” and Anthony Davis, a top offensive tackle prospect committed to Rutgers, a school whose most attended in-season game will not outdraw Ohio State’s spring game. Tressel and co. desperately sought after these prized recruits and came out empty-handed. However, the news was not all bad.

Evan Blankenship, an offensive tackle out of Pennsylvania committed to Ohio State early in the process after he earned a vaunted “camp offer,” which is only given only to those personally evaluated by Jim Tressel himself, who considers them more than worthy for an early offer. Look for Blankenship to be the cornerstone of future Buckeye lines. Cameron Heyward, a stud defensive tackle out of Georgia committed to Ohio State days before National Letter of Intent Day, which in effect offset the loss of Barksdale. Heyward will probably see some playing time next season and given the Buckeyes’ current situation, he may be the biggest out-of-state recruit that Tressel has ever landed. However, that was it for size in this class. Solomon Thomas, a defensive end-outside linebacker hybrid could be brought into the equation but he will be most likely be used at the “viper” position (a la Bobby Carpenter) at Ohio State. Thomas provides the speed and strength to rush the passer as well as Carpenter did. He was an important recruit, but it is pushing it to refer to him as a “size” commit.

While it may seem strange for Ohio State to not land the premier offensive lineman that the team clearly lacked in the National Championship, don't fret Buckeye fans. Ohio State has perhaps the best offensive line class in the history of college football lined up for the 2008 recruiting class. Mike Adams, Mike Brewster, Kyle Long, Josh Jenkins, and JB Shugarts all have Ohio State at or near the top of their lists and at least three of them are expected to commit next year. This class has the potential to be so good that Ohio State hasn’t even offered a scholarship to in-state recruit Zebrie Sanders, who has offers from Michigan, Georgia, and Miami (Fl).

The speed recruits Ohio State landed this year are as talented as any set of recruits in the country. Eugene Clifford is probably the best of the bunch. He is a defensive back out of Cincinnati Colerain HS and he is a superstar. Clifford flat-out dominated the Army All-American Game and is going play significant minutes next year at Ohio State. It is possible that he will start as a true freshman, and as he progresses, he certainly has the potential to become a future top 10 NFL Pick. He is that good. Brandon Saine, a running back/wide receiver in the mold of Reggie Bush is one of the fastest players in the country. In fact, his speed has been compared to that of Teddy Ginn. Saine was this year’s Mr. Football in Ohio. He also has the state record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.38 seconds and he is powerful when he runs. If he gets in to the open field, watch out. Expect him to return kicks at the very least next season. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him play the slot and run some reverses. He is going to be very, very good at Ohio State.

James Scott, a defensive back out of Florida, originally committed to play for the Florida Gators but then reneged on his commitment and chose Ohio State. He flies around in the backfield and hits like Antoine Winfield. He is an absolute stud. Both Scott and Clifford are physical defensive backs, and if receivers happen to catch the ball around them, both will surely make their presence known. On the offensive side, Ohio State landed Dane Sanzebacher and Taurian Washington at wide receiver – two extremely athletic and dangerous prospects. Sanzebacher has more moves while Washington has more pure speed. OSU also landed linebackers Brian Rolle and Jermale Hines, two extremely athletic players.

I could go on all day talking about this class but I better stop myself now. This is what is referred to as a filler class. Tressel went for quality rather than quantity. All of the players in this class are just that: quality football players. With this year’s speed and next year’s size, I anticipate great things from these future Buckeyes. At the very least, this class will be more able to stop spread offenses and hit running backs in the mouth when they come up the middle. While it may not contain the size necessary for a class to be considered great, my message to Buckeye fans is: just wait. Plan A might not have worked but Plan B is coming and it just might be better. Go Buckeyes and Muck Fichigan!