Gardner Makes Sixteen
Friday Night Lights is already paying off.
Today, Ohio State accepted a commitment from Timothy Gardner, a 6-5, 320-pound guard from Lawrence Central in Indianapolis.
You may remember Gardner as the recruit that committed to Ohio State via Twitter in late June causing recruitniks to scramble before Gardner eventually deleted the tweet after it was determined that he really didn't have an offer on the table.
It's believed the staff wanted to see Gardner work to lose a little weight and he did just that, slimming down from 340 to a 320-pound appearance at FNL last night in the Shoe. While there, he worked with Orlando Pace and LeCharles Bentley, among other Buckeye greats, and performed well enough to secure a spot in the 2013 class.
Gardner joins Centerville's Evan Lisle as the second, and possibly final, offensive lineman to commit to Ohio State as a part of this class.
He held offers from Toledo, Indiana, Purdue and Notre Dame.
Highlights:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7851185
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/129943/highlights/9589372
Comments
Congrats to Gardner. Good to hear he really is the real deal now.
Watched his highlight tape. Massive and strong with a mean streak but he's gotta work on speed/agility and reaction time.
"Attack the Strong, Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead!"
-Former OSU S&C Coach Lichter
Great to see him work hard and do what it takes. That is a good start!
Beware the sound of one hand clapping.....
Welcome to the Family!
"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
Common' Get Happy. If Pace and Bentley gave the nod to this kid, he's got the potential. Obvious post is obvious.
"You have to slay the selfish beast inside of you and be your brother's keeper" - Chris Spielman, on being a great teammate
Good for him...he earned it. Now he's a Buckeye like he tweeted a long time ago;-)
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
So does this end the Finley recruitiment? Gotta think if Dorian Johnson decommits over the next few months he would be accepted. So now 4 spots left. Any combination Mitchell, Lewis, Gibson, Foster, Quick, Bell would great and put a bow on this class.
I'm actually very pleased with this recruit... Good for Tim to work for what he wanted and get it... You can't coach size, and at 6'5" he can easily become an imposing OT or OG for us. Give him to Coach Mick for a summer and look out!
foster and quick are probably no's... i think itll be Mitchell, Lewis, Gibson, and Bell (50/50)
Congrats Tim and welcome!
Wasnt munger being recruited on the o-line? Would this mean we arent getting him or would we still be recruiting him on the d-line?
Sarah Wick just needs to make sure big Timmy stays away from that dorm room food...you know...ramen noodles, pizza, chips and pop. If the kid was at 340lbs(Holy Cow!) as a junior in high school, he could gain it back.
Anyway, good to see we got another "big ugly linemen", to quote Keith Jackson.
"Here officer, hold my beer while I find my license."
He played RT for a lefty QB in high school so it's hard to project where he may end up. Could see him at guard or tackle
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
I think we'll end up with 21 in this class. Mitchell, Lewis, Munger, Gibson and Bell round out the class.
I wouldn't cheer for Michigan if they were playing the Taliban.
Welcome to the family!
I'm glad to hear its official.
I can't wait to see what he looks like after an offseason with Coach Mick.
This is exactly what I was commenting on the other day. We are taking chances on all of these 3 star players hoping they develop. This kid is slow, horrible technique and seems to be a much better fit for our offense in the past. He has a lot of work to do and I'm surprised his offer is committable this early in the recruiting season. I'm not just trying to complain here...but he stands straight up most of the time and he is causing the RB to slow up when he pulls.
This guy knows better than Urban.
Trust the coaches.
That is what I thought too, sloppy. But, I have to assume that some of the finest minds in the game know what they are doing. We get to see about that over the next couple years, hurray. That and the fact that I probably know least about offensive line than any other positions. Could be the next Orlando Pace for all I know.
Stars are great - they speak to where these guys are at currently in their HS careers against HS competition. They also give you an idea of what sort of potential evaluators think they have. Laurenitis, Hawk, Jenkins, Shazier & Smith would like you to know stars are not the be all & end all measurement of what a player can become. For every 5 star that doesn't make it, there is a 3 star that does.
It's Ok to express doubt about things - but if your measurement of what a team can/will be is about nothing but star rankings - that's a bit shallow. Please don't take offense to that. We got a really good coach who has shown an ability to win. Being the highest ranked recruiting class is nice & I imagine we'll have that at some point.. Assembling a driven team with with the right chemistry that can win a NC is better.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
I hear you, but I can't imagine Fickell, Vrabel, and Withers would take the guy if they didn't see massive upside. They know we have scholly limits. Dude is a beast; just needs some tuning.
"You have to slay the selfish beast inside of you and be your brother's keeper" - Chris Spielman, on being a great teammate
He has a mean streak which every lineman should have. But I think he has good qucikness for his size. And after hearing that he has slimmed down can only mean good things. I think if he works on his footwork he can be a solid starter/rotation player. I think overall this looks to be a solid pickup.
Maybe they want to play him inside and don't see him doing all of the outside blocking that we see in the tape. All built-up and technique improved he could be hard to move or avoid straight ahead, even if he never becomes a speedster. I like to think that maybe they took him soley based on his mean streak, that would be cool too.
are there any recruits out there without a notre dame offer??
~Because we couldn't go for three~
Cracks me up dudes sitting at a computer, watching YouTube highlights of a high school Junior feel like they are more qualified than the coaching staff. Look at Meyer's recruiting classes at Florida, I've got a newsflash here, they had some 3 star players in them. Quit looking at the star rating, and realize you aren't a talent scout/recruiter for the school, and let the staff do their jobs. The kid is big, strong, and mean. He's obviously worked his ass off to get this offer. He's going to continue to work his ass off to get there. The 20lbs he lost is going to help him play better his senior season. Can't we be happy we the staff picked up someone they wanted and the kid is busting his ass to be a Buckeye. We should be happy a kid like this is committing, not bitching about the staff failing. Hope the kid doesn't read 11W. If you do you, congratulations man, some of us are happy you are joining the family!
^THIS
Right on, Albert.
But now there's nothing left for me to say other than congrats, young man, welcome to the Buckeye family!
Re read my comment...my complaint isn't about stars it's about sloppy technique and agility. You're right, I am not a college scout or college coach. I am also not a dude sitting at a computer looking at star ratings. I have coached DI Varsity High School football for 8 years and the first thing I see is how in most of his highlights he stands straight up and his pads are too high and his footwork is just awful. Now, I know that all of that can be fixed and this kid could be a monster. My point was although a 20lb weight loss is great isn't it early to take a committment from a "work in progress" when we are limited in available scholly's? I'm not bitching, I'm just looking for everyone else's thoughts or opinions on this subject. Unlike others on this site, I'm not here to feed to the ego's of these young recruits...this is Ohio State Football and quite frankly they should be proud they have earned a scholarship but some of the ridiculous comments on here just feed into young men's sense of "entitlement" in today's society. Getting a scholarship to The OSU is step 1, step 2 is showing you deserved it by your performance on and off the field until you arrive on campus and you better be in amazing physical and mental condition and earn your spot. Again I say...this is DI big time football and I trust in Urban and the staff but that doesn't mean I don't understand or want clarification from my peers as to what their thoughts might be on taking a kid like this early? On the flip side...this young man is a monster and could kick the crap out me. LOL
I'm not bashing just your post, it just made me react. For the kid to get an offer this early and be able to commit, OBVIOUSLY the staff wants him. If this was a last minute pickup in February because we had a schollie left and needed an O-lineman, I get what you are saying. The fact that this offer was made in July the summer before he's played a snap of his senior year, tells me the staff wants the kid.
Technique can be taught and improved. Size, the relative quickness for his size, the hard work he's shown to get in shape, none of that can be taught. Will he be a star? Who knows, it's always kind of a crap shoot, but clearly they see that this kid has the tools to be a good player and was very much worth taking a shot at.
Makes a lot more sense. Original comment didn't explain as well. You make a fair point but I would still trust these guys (staff) until they give a reason not to. We needed an OL & got a big one who tends to put the competition on their backs.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
Can't teach size. He has good feet for a kid his size. Definitely a guard or maybe even a NT in the future.
vacuuming sucks
meh.
The 2012 National Champions.
Welcome to the family big man!
I like to believe that my best hits border on felonious assault.
JACK TATUM
haven't posted in prob 3 years but I love seeing us pick up size like this. I believe we have all been accustomed to the perpetual lack of coaching/development from our O-line coach for the past decade. I believe the new coaching our O-lineman will receive might be the most important part of the UFM regime.
Losing 20 lbs. Shows the kids drive and response to coaching (coachable) give me lineman with meanstreaks and work ethic to become better and ill take my chances..its ok to point out concerns in recruit this isnt brain surgery, we all can Have a opinon, however not looking at the full picture on a recurit and paying attention to only star rating can lead to uneven views (by fans) of a kids ablity imo..anyway, welcome to the fam. Young man and keep improving!
i thought he looked really good @ friday night lights !!! i seen Pace keeping a close eye on him and was working with him alot !!! We need PACE on the staff !!!!
Like a boss
Yes, twenty lbs. loss is impressive, even at that age.
OL is by FAR the hardest position to appropriately scout. Often times HS lineman who dominate end up just falling apart in college and vice versa. In the end you want a player with the right measurables, tenacity, smarts, and a drive to be better. Gardner has the first. Seemed to show he has the second two to Bently and Pace (both had glowing reviews along with Warinner apparently). And we witnessed the last one with his wieght los and return to camp and earning the commitable offer.
Warriner wanted this guy and set up a step-by-step process with Herman and Meyer for Gardner. He did everyhting asked and more and recieved the offer. Happy to have the young man aboard, just have no make sure you don't rest on your laurels
Cause I couldn't go for three
Meyer and staff wouldn't "reach" in July.
THANK YOU for this. This isn't filling a roster spot because time is up and no one is left!
Not a "reach" but not a top target either. Solid pickup that hopefully can grow into a good player.
Welcome aboard the Buckeye Nation Tim!!! It is going to be a great ride! Prepare to win a few championships during your carerrer
The best thing about Pastafarianism? It is not only acceptable, but advisable, to be heavily sauced