St. Thomas Aquinas took Columbus by stormWhile 95,000+ fans watched the Gray squad dominate the Scarlet squad in the annual OSU Spring Game, there was a group of star studded prospects in attendance Saturday. With less scholarships available than usual to give out for the class of 2010, there wasn't nearly the group of commitments that is seen each spring after the classic in Columbus, but that doesn't mean the Spring Game was not a success in the world of recruiting. Here are some recruiting notes from Saturday's Spring Game:
- The Buckeyes landed verbal commitment #5 on Saturday for the class of 2010, when St. Ignatius LB Scott McVey told the staff he was a Buckeye prior to kick off. McVey stands at 6-1, 220 and looks every bit the part of a traditional OSU linebacker. He was timed at 4.55 seconds in the 40 at a Scout.com combine, so the athleticism is there to go with the size. We are very happy Scott chose to don the Scarlet and Gray and we welcome him to the Buckeye family!
- Fort Wayne (IN) RB Roderick Smith was in attendance and almost pulled the trigger for the Buckeyes but wants to visit Iowa, Georgia, and Michigan State before finalizing his decision. Smith is built out of the Beanie Wells mold and stands at 6-3, 215 with great speed and field vision. Smith is a fast rising prospect in the nation and it is good the Bucks got on him early.
- My man-crush, Lamarcus "Mr. Frankenstein" Joyner, was in attendance Saturday and reportedly "loved" Ohio State. Many feel Joyner is leaning towards committing to OSU, but he has said all along he will not announce until signing day. While an earlier commitment is not out of the question, it seems LJ will at least wait until the fall. He will be back in Columbus when St. Thomas Aquinas plays against Upper Arlington in Ohio Stadium and he will also make an official visit during the weekend of a game (reports are the USC game). "6-star", as he is also called, is a must-get for JT and the staff, especially if the secondary plays like it did on Saturday
- Joyner's new teammates at St. Thomas Aquinas, DB Cody Riggs and OL Brandon Linder, are also on OSU's recruiting radar. There have been reports both confirming and refuting an offer for Linder, and either way it is important that the Bucks stay on the trail for the 6-6 interior lineman. Riggs has not received his written offer yet and currently favors Notre Dame, but the visit supposedly opened his eyes up to OSU and the Bucks will be one of his top choices once an offer comes his way.
- Duron Carter, Dorian Bell, Corey Brown, Carlos Hyde, Jordan Whiting, Marcus Hall, Jonathan Newsome, Jaamal Berry, and John Simon were among the 2009 prospects in attendance to watch their future teammates go to work in The Shoe. David Durham and Andrew Norwell were in attendance representing the 2010 commitments.
Overall the Spring Game was a big success for the OSU recruiting effort. While only one player committed, many players in the class of 2010 and 2011 got to see 95,000+ fans pack the stadium for a scrimmage and see first hand why Ohio State is such a great place to play football. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the 2010 class plays out, but this weekend certainly couldn'y hurt in the staff's pursuit of many of the nation's top players.
Comments
Dear Coach Tressel,
I share in Alex's man-crush. Please communicate to Lamarcus “Mr. Frankenstein”, "6-Star", Joyner that not only can he HAVE one of the starting CB positions, but can have whatever number he wants, even if a senior is wearing it.
Arguably, he's as important a recruit/get as Pryor was in 2008.
Thank you.
e-roc
Was the secondary really that terrible or was Pryor just throwing frozen ropes? Question to ponder.
But yes, Ray Small did embarrass some fools. Bad, bad tackling by Domicone and crew.
I disagree on Joyner's importance.
Absolutely, he would be a nice get for this class, but we have a lot of young corners - Torrence (Jr.), Howard (So.), Barnett (Fr.), Brown (Fr.), Jackson (Fr.), Clarke (Fr.) - Yes, James Jackson is playing offense right now and Corey Brown could go both ways, but even without those 2, we have 4 highly rated and talented corners that are not even starters and all underclassmen.
Personally, I think a more important position is Safety.
We lose Russell, Coleman and Gant next year. Left on the roster in 2010:
SS: Jermale Hines, Nate Oliver, Rocco Pentello
FS: Ohrian Johnson, Jamie Wood, Zach Domicone
Lots of unproven stuff there. Besides Hines, we've got nothing proven. Assuming OJ pans out, we still have nothing but youth and unproven talent behind them. It's getting to the point where we might think of Oliver as a bust and Pentello was arguably a major reach.
Just my two cents.
While I wouldn't say he is a must-get, nabbing a player that the Florida schools, USC and the rest of the SEC are going absolutely bonkers over would be a good sign for the program's overall health.
Beating one of those schools in a game would be an even better sign.
We're in agreement there. Would also help reel in more prospects like Lamarcus.
Inside word is that Joyner is going to be a buckeye
Alex...
Going right to left...It appears the photo has Riggs, Carter, Joyner.... but whos the kid to the far left?
Joyner is the must get in this class. Not only do you get his freakish talent who could come in and play, day 1, but the kid opens the doors to so many other prospects. As Alex said, it opens the door (or widens the opening) for Linder and Riggs. It also gives us a better shot at Dunkley.... This recruiting class could really center around Joyner, and we may need that going down the stretch if we miss on a few other key guys in this small recruiting class...
I'm going to have to say that QB is a spot in which is a MUST GET.....we have to keep our eyes focused that Pryor will not be here forever. Now if we can get a top notch recruit to come in next year and redshirt, he will be a redshirt frosh when Pryor which gives him time to learn the system and come in and start the year Pryor leaves* as a Redshirt Soph, giving us 2-3 years of continued positive QB play.
*I'm guesstimating that Pryor stays 4 years considering dual threat QB's are not highly regarded in the NFL.
when Pryor IS A SENIOR,
sorry, left that out....should make more sense now
You want to be the best, you recruit the best, and Joyner IS the best. Absolutely a must get, no question. We need southern athletes as well as west coast athletes to succeed at OSU, not only for success right now, but in the future.
Enough of this "not a must get" talk.
I agree Pryor will most likely be here 4 years. He is a long way from being an NFL qb. Braxton Miller, Braxton Miller, Braxton Miller, enough said. So QB is important, but dont expect a big recruit to sign this year.
WOW, thats a pretty good list of Safeties to call leftovers. You say Joyner is not a must get, but then call guys like O.Johnson, Nate Oliver and Jermale Hines "whats left".
To my recollection Russel hasnt exactly wowed at his time at OSU, so what makes you say those are big shoes to fill???
lets not forget the vince young aspect. terrelle has a good junior year and the right people fall in love with him and think they can fix his delivery, BOOM - he's a top 5 pick.
Uh... Russel was a beast last year. He lit it up in the bowl game until you-know-what happened.
Considering how Vince Young has worked out in the NFL, I'm not so sure uber-conservative NFL GMs will be taking a chance on a rough-around-the-edges Pryor. If he gets the throwing motion fixed completely - so that it doesn't even show up in his junior year tape - they'll chomping at the bit. For now, I think he stays 4 years, since it will the difference between a top-10 selection as a quarterback to a late first round, early second-round selection as some team's Antwaan Randle El.
Did you even watch the progress on his mechanics during the spring game? His footwork and elbow position is about 10 times better..
Pryor WILL be a passing machine by the end of the year.. count on that.. The legs and speed are just a bonus
Er. Yes. But he does not have the motion of a pro passer. He was still lobbing ugly ones - see the Andre Amos pass defense on the first offense possession. I think the pass was intended for Washington, but it floated for eons.
Truth....he is in on alot of tackles near the line of scrimmage whether we load the box or not
First gray offensive possession, that is. The lob is in between the swing to Martin and the dump-off to Saine.
TP's motion is coming along tho. Can't deny he still shotputs the ball sometimes, but I will take what he brings to the field day in and day out.
i'm gonna meet Tressel tonight, what should i ask him, o denizens of 11W
Does he plan to keep the first day of fall practices open to the media each week (until they put the gameplan in for the next opponent)?
Does he plan to bury Washington on the bench again?
What exactly is the team doing to improve red zone efficiency?
Have fun!
LJ coming here is going to happen.
Not to mention it is a must!
Carter, and the staff at St. Thomas will help that decision. He is also coming to Ohio to play again in the shoe, so critics will see him first hand. Also, I lived in Florida for the past two years now in (INDY), the view of Ohio State is still high. Players like Joyner, Carter, Riggs, Linder. Will open up the door for those Amazing Athletes for South Florida. We need to tap into the West Coast, someone needs to get a Pipeline there. Missing out on Scottsdale lineman, because we have not point of contact there. Tennessee has done a great job of grabbing California kids we need to as well.
hahah i'll try. for some reason i feel weird asking Tressel a football question, i was thinking maybe something a little more abstract. like, for instance, i've got a masters in education and so does he, so maybe something related to that.
http://www.pigskinroundball.or...
that's the event, my dad is doing the AV stuff
If Small's not tackle-able in the open-field, I'm fine with it. There aren't too many players out there in the country who can juke 3-4 guys like that...certainly guys on USC's roster, but they don't have Terrelle Pryor freezing CBs.
I don't like Spring Games for the very reason you say, it's really hard to gauge anything when a divided team is playing itself. However, one thing is for certain, we haven't seen so much raw talent catching passes after breaking into the open field with speed probably since the late 1990s. Posey is elite. We've known Small to have the talent for the last year or two. Sanzenbacher is fearless. And those guys make it possible for under-used guys like T-Wash to tear it open. Pryor loves throwing to these guys, he LOVES it. Long, sustained drives on offense can be our friend next season with a rebuilt secondary. Good WRs are very important for that. Keeping the defense fresh throughout games will be key.
Wow......Buckeye homerism is out in it's finest!......Don't forget, after the Vince Young debacle, no one other than Lou Holtz had Tebow any higher than late 1st round afterthis year. I love Pryor, but 1) We are getting ahead of our selves and 2) Running QB's need A LOT of experience to become highly regarded draft picks. Point 1 out to me who has succeded recently. (So help me God I better not hear a Ron Mexico mentioned. He was highly over-rated even before he became a felon. He would NEVER have taken the Falcons to the Super Bowl)
Glad you brought up Tebow.
Pryor will be carefully watching what tebow does this year. If his draft stock goes up considerably with the 4th year, Pryor might stay.
Personally, I expect him to be polished enough he goes, and goes high.
Never said he wasnt any good, but a beast? I dont just throw that term out to everyone.
The amazing transformation could happen, but from where TP is now compared to where he needs to go, there is no way he's NFL ready after next year.
Steve Young.
What about at WR? Matt Jones but w/o the blow.
Hey bup - remember how I said the Bengals seem to draft and sign exclusively players that have terrorized the Buckeyes in the past? Chris Perry, Kijana Carter, Rey Maualuga et al? They signed Quan Cosby too.
Im convinced he could go at WR after 3, not in the first 3 rounds though. WR's have alot to learn. What about DE??
Isn't his name Roderick Smith and not Roderick Brown
Sports Illustrated has us in at #9 in the country after spring ball. Ole Miss is higher. Anyone feeling nauseous?
You're right. Fixed now and thanks for the heads-up.
So what is the deal with Hicks? Was not at the sping game and have not heard much about him. He looking past OSU?
He didn't make the spring game, but was at practice last week.
http://www.buckeyeplanet.com/f...
yeah but they also drafted morgan trent which i think balances the karmic equation somewhat
Hicks is a reach for this class as much as I hate to say it. In fact, we could lose out on 3 kids from Ohio that are lights out in my opinion in Hicks, Anderson and Bryant.
I heard Bryant did make it to the Spring Game...but haven't heard anything about how it went. I've heard that the coaching staff didn't really show much love to anyone that made the trip not named Joyner. It's great the staff is putting the full press on Joyner, but I would hate for us to lose the connection to kids like Riggs and or Bryant before they even start due to the lack of love early in the recruiting process.
Guess this isn't Tress and Co. first rodeo though either.
Dear Coach Tressel,
It appears that the fans/readers of 11W are arguably more omniscient and knowledgeable than your recruiting staff and we should all immediately be hired as replacements.
Please reply with a mailing address so that we may all send in our applications & resumes' expeditiously.
e-roc
p.s. Personally I think that a 5-star monster at DT is an absolute must-get, but what do I know?
Steve young retired a decade ago......I hardly consider that recently.