Dodson finally "comes home" to Ohio StateKyle Dodson grew up always wanting to become a an Ohio State Buckeye. That dream appeared to fade fast though, as Jim Tressel and Jim Bollman slow played the Cleveland Heights star, forcing his hand a bit early which lead to the 6-6/300 offensive tackle making a verbal pledge to Bret Bielema and the Wisconsin Badgers.
Ever since I spoke to Dodson the night he committed to Wisconsin, I always felt there was a possibility Ohio State could get back in the hunt. While he continued to say throughout the summer and during his football season that he was solid to the Badgers, many began to speculate that might not really be the case, and I thought that once the dust settled with the OSU coaching situation that Dodson would easily be a Buckeye. What I didn't realize was it wasn't going to be as easy as I thought.
Dodson began to take visits, including trips to Auburn, USC, and Michigan State, in addition to those to Wisconsin and Ohio State. While it looked good for the Bucks in December, talk of the USC visit being a home run started to circulate and as recently as last night, chatter was flying high that Dodson was going to be a Trojan.
Those reports started to subdue as Dodson's 12:15 PM EST announcement drew near, but viewed of the Cleveland Heights press conference were delayed again, as the infamous Meg made her decision to attend Stanford over OSU for lacrosse and some of Dodson's teammates made speeches and their commitments before Cleveland Heights head coach Jeff Rotsky introduced his prize lineman, who eventually announced for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes, in what may have been one of the coolest ways of all time to announce such a decision.
We caught up with Dodson a little while ago to get his feelings now that things are official, see how close he was to committing to USC, talk about Sunday's trip to campus, and more. Join us after the jump to catch up with the newest Buckeye, Kyle Dodson.
Kyle, you are officially a Buckeye. How does it feel?
Oh man, it feels great. It's a great relief and it just feels great to have made my decision.
You were committed to Wisconsin for so long. Why did you decide to change to Ohio State today?
At the end of the day it just came down to wanting to stay home and be somewhere I was comfortable. My family can watch me play here all the time and Ohio State is just home to me, as I have grown up as a Buckeye.
When did you tell Urban Meyer and the coaching staff you were going to be a Buckeye? How did they react?
I called Coach Meyer about five minutes before the ceremony at my high school began. I told him I had some bad news for him, then I paused, and said I was going to be a Buckeye. It was funny getting him a little scared but once I said I was going to be a Buckeye he went crazy and told me he was really excited.
It was rumored that USC was a very serious competitor for your services. How serious were they in this race?
I gave USC some serious consideration. I liked my visit out there a lot and there were definitely times where I thought about going there.
You took a trip to Ohio State last Sunday. What was the purpose of that trip?
I went to Ohio State to get one last look at the school and get one more chance to sit down with the coaches before I made my decision. I went in liking the school, but after I sat down with Coach Meyer and we just talked about my life and nothing about football, I got a really good vibe and liked the school even better.
You tore your labrum and just had surgery. How are you feeling and when will you be able to train again? Do you think you'll have to redshirt.
My shoulder is feeling alright as of now. My timetable to return is 4-5 months and then I will start rehab and training to get to Ohio State. I am not sure if I'll have to redshirt yet, but I'm hoping I can be ready to go by fall camp.
Finally, what do you want to say to Buckeye Nation now that you are a member?
I'm just really excited to be a Buckeye and want to thank them for their support. I'm coming home baby, I'm coming home!
DODSON COMMITS TO OHIO STATE:
Comments
Awesome. I'm glad I got to watch that live. A great day for the Buckeyes all around.
saw it live this morning after Meg's announcement to Stanford and the ODU/Marion or w.e kids.
Go Bucks! Roll-Tide!
gives me chills everytime i watch it, great day to be a Buckeye
You have called this one for months Alex. You da man.
vacuuming sucks
Loved how he involved his teammates in that annoucement. He's been through a lot in his life. Excited for this kid to blow up. Can easily see Decker anchoring the left and Dodson anchoring the right side of the line together for a few years.
great kid. great player. hopefully great buckeye.
Great job today, Alex. Thanks for all of your hard work (and the rest of the 11W gang as well). This has been my fav Buckeye news for years now. I tell everyone I can about this site.
Thanks, appreciate it
I love the Meg shoutout.
-Go Bucks!
New t-shirt -
"Urban Meyer's 2012 Recruiting Whiff: Meg."
A friend's suggestion:
"Meg shot first."
Alex is the Miss Cleo of football recruiting!!! And to the whole 11W staff, great job on the ticker today. I checked several different pages and nobody even came close to what you guys pulled off. I don't think I have ever laughed so much while reading about college football (or Stanford Lacrosse for that matter).
Dodson is just beaming! I hope he has a great career with us.
Awesome. That is all.
finally that athletic left tackle we've been waiting for! Welcome Kyle
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Dodson was very important. Glad he made the "right" decision.
Dodson IS very important as are all of the recruits.
The fact that Coach Fickell and staff were able to keep a Top 20 class together through all of the adversity that the program faced is outstanding.
The fact that Coach Meyer hit the ground running in December and in 6 short weeks took a Top 20 class and made it a Top 5 class, on par with the recruiting classes before the scandal broke amazing.
Heck, we signed the #7 class last year with all of the mess going on. These last two classes have been a true testament to what it means to play at THE Ohio State University, the allure, the draw.
I don't know how the rest of the Urban Meyer Era will unfold and I'm not going to speculate.
BUT
6 short weeks ago; (count me as one of them) A lot of fans expectations for Coach Meyer were flat out unattainable, to keep the (pre-tatgate) Tress levels up.
Well, Coach Meyer didn't just meet them, he blew it away
Please don't ever put "Jim Bollman" and "slow play" in the same sentence again.
kthxbai
@bucksfan: I LOVE your t-shirt ideas. I'm still crushed that Meg chose Stanford.
I don't know if I buy the 6'6. Otherwise, great signing.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
watched t three tmes, 4 ncludng this mornng, got chlls each tme. I really lke ths kd man. am hopng the best for hm.
i do not know why my 'i' key was not working on my last post, I am not drunk, I promise
Didn't know he was injured/rehabbing 4-5 months.
So is Diggs a done deal? Word is we turned down Neal?
I heard the same thing. What's up with that?
Is this going to be cleared up at 9:00 AM tomorrow?
Per Bucks on another post:
Not true ... multiple ppl reporting including Doug Lesmires, Neal's father, etc.
In fact, the dad was quoted as saying Urban said he was going to give them their space for the week & would have a spot for him.
It's remarkable how bad Tressel and Bollman were at evaluating and developing offensive lineman. I'm very excited for the new regime, and look forward to stellar line play on both sides of the ball.
All the Brett B stuff is fine with me. This way Urban doesnt have to feel bad when OSU puts 50+ on his depleted team next year. Keep poppin off, clown...
Can't wait to see the energy from his announcement bottled up in six second bursts of RELENTLESS FOOTBALL.
Class of 2008
Here is a link to him speaking at the podium first and then another, closer angle for his decision. This has better audio. One of the most unique announcements yet. Welcome to the family Kyle! We are happy to have you as a member of Buckeye Nation.
http://ohiostate.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1326546
youtube is blocked at my work so thanks for sharing
Alex, is there still a big surprise tomorrow morning like you had talked about yesterday?
fantastic article, as always. that announcement gave me goosebumps. ill admit i thought it was going to be tacky when i saw him bringing all his teammates down, but that was AWESOME. cant even imagine what hell be like as a senior, firing everyone up before The Game.
i sense a feature coming up about meg...is that the surprise youve got coming for us in the morning?
Is there video anywhere of war room reactions to the Dodson signing or any of the others?
"Did you push yourself to be great today? If you didn't do it you lost a day. We ain't got many days to lose. We're going to push your a$$ like its never been pushed because what you've got in you were going to find out" UFM
Hope he heals fast. We need him!