The Future at QB is still Cloudy
Then again, maybe Pryor will stay all 4 years.While I try not to think ahead to the time when TP will no longer be under center, Nick Montana’s spurning of the Bucks for 0-12 Washington is a bit concerning.
I thought it was a long shot he would end up in Cbus, but remember Tressel promised not to go after another QB in the 2010 class when he first offered Montana, so it put the Buckeyes behind in the race for the nation’s elite.
According to Scout’s rankings, 15 of the top 20 QB prospects have already given verbal commitments and Ohio State doesn’t appear on the radar until Barry Brunetti’s list at #24. At 28, is Andrew Hendrix, the 6′3″ 220 lbs. prospect out of Cincinnati Moeller, who received his scholarship offer from Ohio State a couple of weeks ago and was visiting the campus yesterday. It looks like it will come down to Ohio State and Notre Dame.
If OSU doesn’t land Hendrix, they may be forced to take another flyer to develop and then bank on Braxton Miller of Huber Heights making his commitment to the Bucks for 2011, giving the Brew Crew a freshman signal caller in their senior season.
Who knows which one of these guys will become the better player, but as Ken Gordon pointed out yesterday, if Hendrix chooses the Irish, the Buckeyes have struggled in their attempt to snatch a top tier QB since LiC came to town.
If he spurns OSU, the Buckeyes are basically starting from scratch, and would be 0-for-4 in the past two recruiting years in landing quarterbacks they really wanted.
You want to blame this on the presence of TP, because kids want to go some where and play right away. However, The Vest keeps a tight reign on his quarterbacks and Tresselball isn’t the most exciting offense to run, so one has to wonder how much this comes into play in a recruit’s mind. It is highly unlikely TP stays all four years, so there is an opportunity for immediate playing time in 2011.
My guess is one of these Ohio kids will sign with the Bucks. The chance to play right away, close to home, along with the facilities and amenities is too tough to pass up. It may be a while before we know anything, but the dreams of what LiC is going to do this year should keep our minds at ease and we can let this situation play out.
What do you think? Is the future QB situation starting to make you nervous? Or are you confident one of these two in-state guys will sign? Do you think Tressel’s predictability on offense hinders Ohio State’s chance at the elite passing QB’s or are kids scared off by LiC’s presence?
JT’s offense doesn’t really need the big time recruit at QB to win games, in fact his 2 best so far, (Craig Krenzel, Troy Smith) were not highly ranked at all. Because the offensive focus is on the teams abilities, not just the QB’s, all that is really needed is a guy who plays smart and doesn’t turn the ball over. As much as I would like a big time QB recruit in Cbus, I won’t be worried if we don’t land one.
Already nervous. After seeing Bauserman in the spring game, I’m worried about Pryor going down.
wow, I thought Joe B looked good.
My thoughts are similar to chuckr’s. I think with JT’s concept of team play, I’d be more focused on signing a QB who is somewhat athletic and a really good game manager. If we can get someone with “star power”, great, if not, I’m not going to worry too much. I think TP has us spoiled in terms of sheer abilities.
Can we focus on signing a monster RB, a couple stud D-Tackles and a Polamalu/Reed/Sanders-type safety instead of a QB?
No, we can focus on all of ‘em.
We went to the NC game with Todd Boeckman. I’m not really concerned who we put under center.
yea and he basically is why we lost
Ummm… but isn’t the O-line the reason why Boeckman was the reason why we lost? It wouldn’t have mattered who was back there with that little time. Was Troy Smith the reason OSU lost the year before?
Exactly. We’re trying to get to another level. Tressel ball works most of the time, but against elite teams, it’s fair to say it may have some limitations.
Not sure TP is gone after his 3rd year. He has a LOOOOOOOOOOONG way to go to be an NFL passer.
Troy Smith was actually a fairly well-regarded prospect. Scout had him as the 15th best QB prospect in the country, and Rivals as the 12th best “dual-threat” QB. Both had him rated 4-stars. Additionally, he competed in the Elite 11 camp his senior year of HS.
It would be nice to get an Elite QB …… but it is not totally necessary. OSU will get a few good QB’s.. and the team will be fine. I totally hated that we put all the eggs in the Montana basket……. not sure why Tress did that. OSU would have been a long way from home for the Montana clan and Washington will be a good fit for him after the change of management. Hopefully Hendrix commits to OSU, I think Tress and the boyz can convince him that Cheeseburger Charlie won’t be in South Bend after this season.
All the talk I heard about Montanna, I though he was going to be a top 5, 5 star recruit. Then I get on Rivals and can’t find him on their list. He’s not rated that much higher than the kid from Moeller. I don’t think it’s a big loss missing on him at all. I mean I understand where he comes from, but there’s no guarrenttee he’s going to be awesome in college. I’m just not that worried about it.
What about the Cleveland connections with GinnSr.? I wonder who is QB is and how good?
Glenville’s QB is a great athlete, but thats about it. Don’t see him garnering an offer from OSU.
I’m not going to sweat it. Like someone earlier posted, Tresselball is a team concept with a focus on defense and field position. A smart qb is the only necessity I think. Krenzel wasn’t the most athletic QB in the country on ‘02 and look what he did. Of course it helped that he was Einstein smart. The Bucks will get one or two capable guys and more than likely they’ll mature and we’ll be fine.
Plus, I live less than 5 miles from Moeller High and have seen Hendrix play. He’s got some very good qualities and I think he’ll end up in Columbus.
That’s what I was thinking, it’s not Like Montanna was the number one player in a America and Hendrix is a nobody. I mean they really aren’t rated that far apart. It’s not like missing on Pryor and having to turn to a D2 QB or something like that.
You hit the nail on the head. How much higher is Montana rated because of the name? Give me the kid staying closer to home anyway, easier adjustment. Not to mention, Hendrix looks like a B10 QB, Montana needs some time in the weight room.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4250596
ha ha ha ha ha ha
That’s crap, they shouldn’t be losing wins over a few textbooks, that should be covered under any proper scholarship anyways. I can see maybe losing a few scholarships, but losing 21 wins is just crazy. I guess if there’s been a long history of ‘bama ignoring NCAA rules (which there might have been, i dont know) then it’s okay, but this punishment does not fit the crime imo.
Nik,
Losing the wins means absolutely jacksh** to Alabama, even a few scholly’s lost wont hurt, Bama is like OSU in that the majority of the good players in state are going there anyway guaranteed.
The punishment does fit the crime, a slap on the wrist would be MORE severe.
I hate Saban for what he did to my Dolphins….. screw him!
I think the Crist kid behind Clausen at ND is actually better than Clausen so I dont think Hendrix will want to compete for that job.
Forgot to add, Braxton Miller is a stud and it would be a tragedy to lose him. You want “IT” factor? He’s got it.
How many buckeye victories will be vacated for leading the conference in recruiting violations for 2007-2008?
Submitted for your approval, future OSU Heisman trophy winner, Braxton Miller
http://scoutingoh.com/index.php/view-profile.html?task=userProfile&user=1526&name=Braxton.Miller
He looks like he could be a good one. We still need someone in the 2010 class though.
The key with QB’s that Tress likes is INT’s. All of his starters have been very stingy with the ball. He’s had a couple of better arms, Krenzel starting over McMullen comes to mind, that have not played in favor of the guy who didn’t turn the ball over. That ’s why LiC’s JT’s guy, he doesn’t throw picks, and the few that he did throw were mostly on hail marys. Like the way this kid looks. He has a swivel to his hips, defenders never get a clean shot at guys like this. Hope he decides to become a Buckeye.
I would hate to see Pryor go in 3 years rather than 4 but in the long run I think he would be making a very big mistake if he did.
Here is why.
When you play for 4 years of college ball, you grow and mature at the same time. During those 4 years you always improve and I think if Pryor stays he will develop even more because the more things a QB can do, the better. One thing I noticed about TS in his senior year is he was virtually an elite passer compared to his junior year. LiC is a hot shot kid who wants to win and I am sure he wants the Heisman but that’s the kinda kid you are for being so young and a freshman. I think Pryor will see that Tim Tebow will go to the draft and and wherever he gets drafted great but QB’s who are runners aren’t going to do well in the NFL unless they are tremendous passers.
TP will be here for 4 years. How many QBs have been successful when leaving early? I cant think of one and TP needs a lot more developing than Mark Sanchez who appears to be ready for the NFL. What about the kid out of Princeton Cincinnait? I know hes listed as an athelete but so was Troy Smith and Troy was no where near as highly regarded as that kid during high school.
I hope he stays 4, but how can anyone make a judgement on his development at this point in time? We know he’s improved from last year, but the spring game isn’t a measuring stick for how much he’s improved at all. There’s a lot of work to be done before the season even starts, not to mention the progression from there during the season. I don’t know how anyone on here can predict how far away from NFL ready he’ll be by the end of his junior year, when he hasn’t even started his Sophomore season yet. I don’t think that every QB benefits from a 4th year in college either. Peyton Manning came back for a championship and Heisman, won neither, and had a terrible rookie year. He would’ve had the same kind of start had he left after his junior year and obviously he had enough of a head on his shoulders to take his lumps, learn, and become the great QB he is today.
How can anyone make a decision on how developed Pryor will be after his junior year is over? He has only played in a spring game for his sophomore season and there is no way to judge how well he has progressed from last year based on a spring practice game. I want the guy to stay all 4 years, but I think to say yes or no at this point is absurd. There is no way to judge how awesome he will be this year or next.
In addition to that, I don’t always think a 4th year makes a QB better. Peyton Manning came back for a 4th year and I really don’t feel it made him any better at all. He came back for a championship and Heisman and won neither. He was a top pick and would’ve been a top 5 pick if he left a year earlier. He had an awful rookie year, and would’ve also had the same kind of year if he left a year earlier. The guy was mature and grew, one more year at Tennessee didn’t change a thing for him.
Prospects get excited when they see someone at their position at a school blow up. They want to be the “next” such and such.
Pryor was good last year for a freshman, but not great, and in his highest profile start, laid a turd in the passing game. Not much there to get a high school junior worked up.
Hendrix isn’t going to be the next anything. He’s a solid prospect, but if it potentially affects Miller’s decision next year, then I don’t want him.
Miller is an elite prospect, and he’ll have had two years of watching LiC do his thing, and be primed to carry that torch.
Not many programs have the luxury of having quality depth behind a guy like Pryor early in his career – just a fact of life. They’ll continue to develop Bauserman and Guiton as backups and we’ll be just fine barring major injury to TP (makes me sick thinking about it).
And whoever said Montana was overrated is right on – dude wouldn’t be generating any kind of headlines based strictly on his talent if not for the last name.
Braxton Miller = the guy we want.
Problem is you need a guy to take Joe B’s role when he goes.
For some reason Hendrix reminds me a lot of Robbie Shoenhoft…if he does become a Buckeye let’s hope he doesn’t turn out the same way.
Don’t worry about it, Buckeye fans. We’re not going to undo 100 years of being a RB school. Landing top QB talent is not OSU’s forte, never has been. Stick with the running game – that’s what wins football games anyway.
Great qb’s can carry their teams all the way. But as long as you have the better athletes and just smart qb play, that can go just as far.
Defense Wins Championships.
I’m nervous about 9/12/09. OSU needs to beat USC!!! They’ll get a QB in due time.
I could be crazy, but the USC game isn’t as scarry to me this year as it was last year. I think OSU acutally has a faster more athletic, yet unproven team. I know USC gets back their whole offense, but I believe the defense they see in this game will be the best Defense they’ll see all year. Not to mention the offense will be tough this year. I really think OSU has a much better shot at beating the Trojans than they did last year.
You’re not crazy. Our offense is full of weapons, the most important of which is our flippin’ unbelievable talent at QB, and their offense has to replace a QB in a system where there’s 6 years of film. Our defensive line is back, and really, show me the last time the Ohio State defensive turnover ever lost a step. The LBs will be awesome, as will the secondary.
We can beat USC…it’s a matter of gall, balls, and shear will to smash them in the face with some creativity at the RIGHT TIMES.
Taylor Graham has climbed the rankings at Rivals since committing to Ohio State. He’s a four star now right behind Hendrix and ahead of Montana in the national ranking.
I like what I am hearing out of fall camp about Guiton at QB.