A Look Into “Plan C”
Taylor Graham: Like father, like son?Just as Corey ran down the Buckeyes recruiting situation post Montana to Washington, the Ohio State coaching staff is now protecting themselves if Andrew Hendrix picks Notre Dame over OSU with “Plan C” of the recruitment at the quarterback position.
While their are some that think Hendrix will choose to remain in-state to play for the Bucks and re-start the Cincinnati pipeline to Columbus, I personally think he will choose the Irish, just as many of the other players in his area (see: Rudolph, Welch, etc) have done the last few years. If Hendrix and Montana are both off the board in the next month, The Vest has not left himself without options and there will not be another Kenny Guiton situation for the class of 2010.
After the OSU Senior Advanced Camp that took place this weekend the Buckeyes now have a list of about 4-5 players they are looking at as “plan C” if Hendrix does indeed choose to head to South Bend. Leading the list is Wheaton (IL) North QB Taylor Graham. Graham attended the Buckeyes’ camp in Columbus this past weekend and impressed many. He is the son of former OSU QB Kent Graham and threw for 950 yards and 6 touchdowns in an injury-shortened season last year. A rising prospect, Graham does not yet have an offer from the Buckeyes, but expect OSU to offer sooner rather than later.
The next few players on the list, all but one from Ohio, are a step below Graham and could be options to supply depth to the position and add a quarterback to the class. Tyler Brause (Bucyrus) has been compared to Tim Tebow in terms of body and make-up and currently holds offers from Maryland, Stanford, Syracuse, Kent State, and Western Michigan. He would be my personal choice if Graham or Hendrix do not end up in Columbus, but it doesn’t seem like the staff is too hot on his trail.
Verlon Reed (Columbus Marion Franklin) is a player the staff has looked at as an athlete for a while and the dual-threat QB could be an option behind center for his hometown school. Reed’s only offer is from Bowling Green at this point, but expect BCS conference schools to start getting in the mix after they review his film further and see him in action at camps this summer. Reed is certainly not on the top of the recruiting board at this time, but could develop into an option as the process goes on.
Robert Bolden of Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s has been offered by Michigan State and many assume he will commit to Mark Dantonio soon. Bolden has expressed interest in OSU in the past, but may not be patient enough to see if he lands an offer once Hendrix makes a decision. At 6-3, 195, Bolden has a good frame to build upon and will be a solid player at the college level.
Finally, lower-rated Ohioans Willie Ballard (Trotwood Madison), Mitchell Faine (Ada), and Mark Myers (St. Ignatius) would round out the list of viable options on the recruiting board. All three players are upper MAC to lower Big Ten type talents, but like the other players listed, could vault their status up a notch with solid camps this summer. The Buckeyes are not likely to end up with one of these players, but they are certainly desperation options if needed.
Which player would you like to see the Buckeyes get if Hendrix decides to go to Notre Dame? Who is most likely to receive the next offer? Are the Buckeyes in trouble if they don’t land a quality QB this season or is the possibility of Braxton Miller in 2011 enough to keep you from worrying?
Qb isn’t a big need this year is it? Ohio State will have Pryor for the next two seasons if not three. If Braxton Miller commits for 2011 they should be fine. No one they are targeting will be a starter at Ohio State.
I haven’t understood freaking out about QB either. I mean yeah if he goes down you’d like a capable back up, but how many teams really have a guy who can step in and take over and star? Not to mention, you never know how good one of these guys will be when their number is called in an unusual situation.
I guess maybe there’s nothing else to blog about so we have to freak out about QBs.
Agreed, we get Miller next year and this conversation becomes irrelevant.
I would rather Tressel and company be putting all of their eggs in the offensive line basket. If you give guys time to throw, anyone will be good.
+1
Amen!
Offensive Line? What’s that?
If Miller is essentially a lock, then the issue here is providing quality depth at the position. Can these MAC-level quarterbacks, outside of Andy Hendrix, do it?
How many teams have that kind of depth outside of USC who seems to land every great QB out of California. I mean really how many people say oh if our QB goes down we have a guy who can step in and we won’t miss a beat.
Nobody, but that’s not the point. We don’t need an heir apparent just yet, we just need depth. Look at the depth charts of Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma – all of them have one entrenched starter followed by two or more capable back-ups. Ohio State’s got one starter, one capable back-up, walk-ons, and an afterthought whose other best offer was Kansas.
Rankings mean little or nothing. Any guy on that list could turn out to be the next Krenzel and win us a title. Nothing wrong with taking a flyer, there’s no “Sure” thing.
That’s what I think too. If the line does it’s job and the Running Game is good, the QB will be ok.
How many MAC level QBs are in the NFL compared to Ohio State QBs?
Not sure what exactly that has to do with it, but we’ve got… Troy Smith. Only MAC quarterback I can think of off the top of my head is Roethlisberger.
Well you called them MAC level QBs…pointing out that there have been a lot of good MAC QBs that OSU didn’t offer.
Leftwich and Pennington off the top of my head. Oh, and even though he’s not a QB in the pros, Josh Cribbs.
Gradkowski is still on a roster as well
I would take a MAC level QB like Big Ben, Leftwich, Pennington, etc. The MAC has more starters in the NFL than OSU does. Just being realistic.
All I know is that we went from talking about getting Montana’s son to Ken Graham’s son in a matter of two weeks.
I’m old enough to have seen Graham play when he was here and unless his son is an order of magnitude better than he was, do not want.
Don’t you think if Joe Montanna’s son was even close to being a great recruit he would be one of the top 10 recruits overall in America. I mean knowing how much everyone talks about the great Joe Montanna, if his kid was more than just a good QB, hype alone would have him top 10 easy.
Clearly, we can’t judge all prospects based on who their dad was. Maybe Graham won’t be a bad back up. Did Troy Smith’s Father win a Heisman. Was Tim Tebow’s dad supposed to be the greatest player ever until his son came along?
I dont understand why JT was so enamored by Montana, there are probably 10 qbs in the tri-state area every bit as good and we basically wasted all our time on a name. Of course, I am not a football coach either.
Now, right now we have LIC, Joe B. Justin “Case” Siems, and Kenny Guiton.
Is Joe B. gone after this year, if not, then why do we need a qb so bad?
BTW, Willie Ballard didn’t even play qb last year at Trotwood Madison. He has moved to safety and was replaced by Marcus Graham.
Watching the spring game…Justin Siems has a freakin’ cannon.
I really want Hendrix! I really thought he was the better of the two (Montana), but if we can’t get Hendrix, then I’d rather “Plan C” be Derek Roback. I don’t know if the kid is good enough to be an elite D1 QB, but he is SUPER athletic and NEVER gives up on a play.
You people who think we can do without a QB this class… Can you read a depth chart? Obviously the coaches think we need one.
I want Tyler Brause, the knock on him has been the level of competition he has played against…….but similar statements were made about Pryor……and I’ve seen a little bit of this kids film and he has the tools to be a big time college player.