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Sunday, February 26, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Late Thoughts On The 2012 Recruiting Class
My apologies on a delayed response. Considering Ohio State was waiting on WR Stefon Diggs, who eventually signed with Maryland late last week, led me to wait on posting any commentary on Coach Urban Meyer's first Ohio State recruiting class.
Generally, how can anyone complain about a recruiting class of this nature when Coach Meyer came in so late in the process? All of the turmoil of last season, plus the uncertainty of Luke Fickell's future, had Ohio State's recruiting class doing fairly well within the state of Ohio, but struggling with national name recruits. At the end of November, Ohio State had fourteen verbal commitments. Coach Meyer was able to add eleven additional players, while also reaffirming the previous commitments.
I have stated this before, and will reiterate this point - I truly do not care about recruiting rankings. Where rivals.com, scout.com, 247sports.com, ESPN, etc, have this class ranked in comparison to others is a purely subjective exercise. The only true measure of a recruiting class can be made when the class has completed its collective eligibility. Talk to me in 2016, or 2017, and we can then look back to see how well this class did.
Overall, I am pleased Coach Meyer was able to secure several players along both the offensive and defensive lines. A criticism I have made for years about Coach Tressel's recruting approach was not emphasizing offensive line depth. Look for both OT Taylor Decker and OT Kyle Dodson to earn appreciable playing time this coming season, as depth along the offensive tackle positions is woefully thin.
If I had to project an impact freshman from this group, I will go with RB Bri'onte Dunn. Dunn is an early enrollee at Ohio State, participating in winter conditioning and spring football. Considering Coach Meyer will be going to a spread formation offensively, and how Dunn is a bigger back, it would not surprise me if Dunn gets an early opportunity to play as a true freshman next fall.
Generally, how can anyone complain about a recruiting class of this nature when Coach Meyer came in so late in the process? All of the turmoil of last season, plus the uncertainty of Luke Fickell's future, had Ohio State's recruiting class doing fairly well within the state of Ohio, but struggling with national name recruits. At the end of November, Ohio State had fourteen verbal commitments. Coach Meyer was able to add eleven additional players, while also reaffirming the previous commitments.
I have stated this before, and will reiterate this point - I truly do not care about recruiting rankings. Where rivals.com, scout.com, 247sports.com, ESPN, etc, have this class ranked in comparison to others is a purely subjective exercise. The only true measure of a recruiting class can be made when the class has completed its collective eligibility. Talk to me in 2016, or 2017, and we can then look back to see how well this class did.
Overall, I am pleased Coach Meyer was able to secure several players along both the offensive and defensive lines. A criticism I have made for years about Coach Tressel's recruting approach was not emphasizing offensive line depth. Look for both OT Taylor Decker and OT Kyle Dodson to earn appreciable playing time this coming season, as depth along the offensive tackle positions is woefully thin.
If I had to project an impact freshman from this group, I will go with RB Bri'onte Dunn. Dunn is an early enrollee at Ohio State, participating in winter conditioning and spring football. Considering Coach Meyer will be going to a spread formation offensively, and how Dunn is a bigger back, it would not surprise me if Dunn gets an early opportunity to play as a true freshman next fall.
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