How are you feelin' Buckeye fans?Chances are, by the time you read this, the first letter of intent will have screeched its way onto Woody Hayes Drive. Whether it's from Jamel Turner, the first commit of the class, or one of the 17 other young men that have agreed to spend the next handful of years in Columbus is unknown, but as Dominic Clarke's early morning submission from a year ago proves, some kids just can't wait to become Buckeyes.
There are certainly two and possibly as many as four slots still open in the class and all that's really left is to see who fills them. Two big fish will make their decisions today and if all goes well, they will push the class to 20. St. X's Matt James will pick between Ohio State and Notre Dame when he announces at 11:45. Later, we'll find out whether everybody's number one, Seantrel Henderson, will be attending Ohio State, USC or perhaps another school when he makes his decision live on Tom Lemming's Generation NEXT on CBS Sports at 5pm.
I can find an "expert" or "insider" that has each of these guys going to every single school on their final list, but I personally think Tressel gets James while Henderson breaks for the Trojans. I'd love to be wrong about Henderson, but indicators are starting to point west for the mammoth tackle.
And then there's receiver James Louis of Delray Beach (FL). He's been a Buckeye verbal since late July but found time to get in an under-the-radar visit to Gainesville in recent weeks and is probably enjoying the serious mindfuck he's presently playing with Buckeye football fans. I have a hard time thinking he's going to Minnesota, but it's recruiting and things change oh so fast.
If Louis bolts or the staff loses out on James and/or Henderson, it might open up room for Glenville's Latwan Anderson, who committed to West Virginia in the Army All-American Bowl, but is rumored to want to be part of this class. Just to make things even more confusing, Morgan Moses is out there in when-will-he-sign, is-he-eligible and is-there-room land.
Finally, you have to wonder if there are going to be any late, completely off the radar surprises, a la Kenny Guiton, or if the staff banks the scholarships for what's sure to be a better Ohio crop in 2011.
We've got your signing day covered and will make frequent updates as the day progresses. Alex will be at Tressel's presser later in the day to capture those sweet, sweet first words about his new toys.
So stay tuned, take deep breaths and realize that no matter what, we're bringing Carlos Hyde and Rod Smith into the same class.
Comments
"I can't say enough how pleased we are to welcome these fine young men into the Buckeye Family. The reason that they are here is that they have always shown the dedication to work hard, get better everyday and help their teams win. So with that, we welcome them to Ohio State where they will continue to work hard everyday both on the field and in the classroom and so forth."-
Preview of JT Speech Today
looks like Norwells was the first one in.
Are you the man who writes his speeches?...
sounds about right and so forth.
Norwell bacame the first new member of the Buckeyes on NLOI day by getting up before sunrise to fax in his letter and eat a dozen raw eggs. His interests include such manly pursuits as boar hunting and bronco bustin'. He enjoys a well turned ankle and abhors a cankle. His goals are world peace, total domination, and so forth.
lol, i think ive said it before, but I know his family fairly well. bunch of crazies, in a good way!!
I know this is not an "official source" but James Louis' Facebook says Ohio State class of 2014 and his status says:
"Its offical I done signed dem papers ohio state let's go!!!"
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=james+louis&init=quick#!/profile.php?v=wall&ref=search&id=100000130688523
It really creeps me out the extent to which people will stalk these kids. Let them sign their letters and be done with it, methinks.
James Louis joined the Buckeyes today when he sent in his LOI. He how plans official visits to Texas, Hawaii and USC the next few weekends just to mess with everybody. He also plans to make confusing facebook posts, a high tea with the neighborhood ladies, and so forth.
What a gentleman. High tea it is.
Via Bucknuts (as of 8:30am)
Darryl Baldwin, DE - Signed w/ OSU at 7:44 a.m.
Drew Basil, K - Signed w/ OSU at 8:00 a.m.
Scott McVey, LB - Signed w/ OSU at 8:06 a.m.
J.T. Moore, DE - Signed w/ OSU at 7:20 a.m.
Andrew Norwell, OL - Signed with OSU, 7:23 a.m.
Jamel Turner, LB - Signed with OSU at 8:06 a.m.
anyone know what HS wears the same jersey as us?? theres a picture on the front page of espn.com that has an identical jersey to ours. i think the letters are PV or something like that though. just wondering if anyone else caught that
Rod Smith, Carlos Hyde, and Jamal Berry running behind Seantrel Henderson would make Woody change his underwear.
Via other sources:
Hankins, DT - signed.
Louis, WR - signed.
Reed, QB/S - signed.
Bryant, CB - signed.
That's Ronald Powell, DE, (Florida commit) from Rancho Verde High School (CA).
Per Bucknuts he's in.
@TheOhioState21
I saw that on the cover of espn today. Wondered the same thing.
Louis finally committing is a huge get for us. If we can wrap up James and/or Henderson Tress and the crew can start pinning their ears back for Braxton Miller in 2011.
JoPa has a graduate assistant for that assignment.
Matt James to Notre Dame
per Mike Dyer of the Cincy Enquirer
...as expected...
James has a presser at noon at St X to announce and sign (per Ken Gordon)
Roby's in.
I thought he wasn't announcing til later on.
could all be speculation.. no proof this guy knows anything..
I just got an email from bucknuts... james to ND
sometimes i feel like Tressel is jack lemmon in glengarry glen ross, not because he can't close but because he's surrounded by slimeball assholes like lane kiffin and RR
Seems like a little of both. I know we had a small class this year but damn this has been a frustrating year on the trail. Seems like every blue chipper out of SW Ohio (except Norwell) decided to go elsewhere.
personally i think the "cant close" thing is BS (what the hell does that even mean in recruiting), but whatever. literally two years ago we had one of the best recruiting classes in the nation, so it's not like Tressel and co forgot how to recruit all of a sudden. here's the truth of the matter: kids are all about the PT, and with a billion underclassmen on roster already it isnt a huge shock to see kids not be all about OSU this year
very true... which is why he needs to close on Henderson... OT is really the only position without a surefire backup to fill in next year. Henderson could start as a freshman. He just needs to sign first.
What is the status on Moses?
@ Jason - what are the indications that Henderson is heading to SC?
I love how Louis screwed with florida late... like they screwed with him early!
Did Latawn Anderson sign with West Va?
people are now saying Moses is going to sign with UVA....
Last year and the year before were loaded classes. I can remember last year on signing day people saying next year's class is going to be down. Guess what? This year's class is down a bit. I think it's pretty incredible that even in a year where there was so much really young talent, and that there were fewer spots available that so many top 5 star guys had Ohio State on the list till the end. I don't remember a year where they were one of the final 2 on so many huge recruits. I know they didn't get them, but to me next year will be the year they do land those guys.
Also, losing Henderson won't be that bad, if they land Moses. Anderson is back in the picture and would be a great addition too. This class may not be top 5 but it is solid, and there are some really good players coming in.
matt james to ND....I think this means good things for Latwan Anderson and Morgan Moses who will most likely wait until after today to sign....awaiting Seantrel and Chad Hagan's fax, as well as Rod Smith's fax
This is a bogus argument because USC is completely loaded every year with underclassmen and they still get whoever they want on the recruiting trail
So all of USC's Veteran line is coming back from last year?
THere he is going to contend for a starting spot early on. Here there are young lineman who are starting in those spots, who were just as heralded coming out of high school. Not to mention USC has one thing OSU doesn't on the recruiting trai. A PAY ROLL
USC is the exception to the rule, teams very very rarely pull in top 5 recruiting classes year in and year out. and let's be honest, you don't think LA is a somewhat easier sell than C-Bus?
Per Bucknuts, it appears that Hagan & Smith have signed.
Also, it sounds like Moses is indeed headed to UVA.
also i want to point out that the last time we had a recruiting class ranked in the teens we got:
-heyward
-herron
-hines
-rolle
-sanzo
-saine
i think things worked out okay with those guys
Not before he lets it marinade a while in his "Oops I crapped my pants" adult diapers
another thing i think needs to be said is that Tressel has never consistently has top ten recruiting classes, and it'd be hard to argue that we haven't done very well because of it.
No, but the live impersonation is pretty solid too.
How does that happen? The guy is thought to be borderline eligible and he signs with the best public university (sorry Wolverines) in the country?
I guess he really wants to play on a last place team in the ACC
Well, and let's be honest even though they do bring in guys from other places, it seems like it's a pretty easy sell to get kids to stay at home. There are a ton of 5 star kids coming out of Southern California.
South LA is butt ugly though. USC's campus is the most ghetto campus on earth.
I'm not arguing how nice LA is, I personally didn't like the city at all, but I'm arguing that when a huge chunk of their 5 star guys live with in 2 hours of the campus it's easier to land them then it is for Ohio State to go get one of those gusy. Again, I understand taht Henderson is from Minnesota, and they land guys from other places, but the bulk of great players come from Cali.
I'm glad everyone drank the koolaid! Im very dissapointed with this recruiting class. Its no fun watching every blue chipper going to Texas, Florida & USC! I bleed buckeye scarlet & gray, and Big 10 championships are great, but I want OSU to be the best, I hate Florida & USC, and I want to crush them...who among you didnt cry when florida beat us up for the championship???
I don't have any cooks to shop for, so everybody's getting USB drives and coffee-shop gift cards. But when it comes to coffee, I think I've had it in all permutations of gadgets, grinds, etc., and the best I've ever had is cold-steeped. You just put the grounds in a large pitcher, fill it with water and put it in the fridge overnight. One of our local chefs recommended this in the newspaper last summer and boy, was he right!