Where B1G Players Come From

By 11W Staff - 15 January 2013
23 Comments
- OSU
- Football

Ohio = Michigan + Pennsylvania. (imgur.com)

Comments

kalabuckzoo on 15 Jan 2013 - 10:46am #

How can the state of florida manage to supply 100+ to the B1G while supplying all the in-state schools and the rest of the SEC? On the other hand someone needs to figure out how to get city kids to learn to play football, then the entire state of New York could provide more than 10!

acBuckeye on 15 Jan 2013 - 12:29pm #

I think there's several factors in regards to Florida. 1) large population pool. 2) warm weather allows for play/practice year-round. 3) many young men from poor neighborhoods see a football scholarship as their only ticket out of town, and the only opportunity to give themselves a better future.

Now, for that last point, the same could be said for other regions of the country for other sports as well, ie. NYC and a basketball scholly.

This brings me to my next point: areas like NYC, Baltimore, Philly, Chicago, etc. don't have the funds to sponsor and create ultra-competitive football leagues b/c the cost of equipment and the number of players required, not to mention the space needed for a field, stadium, etc. On the other hand, an inner-city kid can find a pair of sneakers, a basketball and any number of hoops within the city and learn how to play.

It basically comes down to where you're from, and the culture around you and what that culture views as important. Quite often, you are a product of your environment.

kalabuckzoo on 15 Jan 2013 - 1:10pm #

Totally agree and understand the difficulties resulting in a focus on basketball from our urban areas. New York State has 19m people minus NYC 14m = approx 5m left which places the rest of the state on par with minnesota and wisconsin in terms of population. 52 and 79 B1G athletes repectively while NY is only at 10. Seems to be a shockingly low number to me even without an in state B1G team (not yet counting rutgers).

buckeyedude on 16 Jan 2013 - 10:57am #

I thought Rutgers was in Joisy?

"Political correctness is tyranny with manners." Charlton Heston(1924-2008)

acBuckeye on 16 Jan 2013 - 11:41am #

Yeah I agree it's odd, but I think you also have to consider that NY State probably sends a lot of football players to the Big East and ACC as well.

Also, football (especially college) just doesn't seem to be as popular in NY b/c they have the Knicks, Yankees and Mets, and now the Nets too. I realize the Giants and Jets are popular, but in terms of college teams, I just don't think there are many kids from that region that grow up striving to get a D-1 football scholly. That opportunity to go down that road isn't as emphasized there like it is in Ohio or the deep south, for i'm sure, a variety of reasons, whatever they may be.

If someone from NY would chime in and help us out on this, that would be sweet. I'd be curious to see what they might have to say on the subject.

OurHonorDefend09 on 15 Jan 2013 - 4:28pm #

doesn't every state (or most of them) have a decent population that would fit into your #3? Obviously, Florida is a bigger state than most and the other factors you listed would add to that as well, but I'm curious as to why a lot of poor neighborhoods in Ohio produce lousy football.

Don't give up... Don't ever give up.

acBuckeye on 16 Jan 2013 - 11:49am #

That's why I put what I put just below that 3rd point. Different areas of the country emphasize different sports (or cultures in general). Like the Great Lakes region up near Canada produces hockey players, the southern region produces golfers, etc.

I wish i knew the answer to your question about some of Ohio's urban areas, but I don't think you can ignore the simple fact that families that used to live in those Ohio neighborhoods that produced those great athletes have simply moved elsewhere in search of jobs. It's not the only answer, but certainly one that must be considered.

cinserious on 15 Jan 2013 - 11:29am #

Damn! What happened to pa? I thought they were top 6 in the country for d-1 recruits. Now they look about as weak as Indiana.

"Get him a body bag, Yeah!"

rdubs on 15 Jan 2013 - 12:45pm #

Remember this is only B1G players, so I would imagine that many PA guys go to the Big East or ACC as well and other of their top guys may go to SEC teams. I would imagine the Indiana guys are mostly being scooped up by Indiana and Purdue and maybe Illinois or Northwestern as well, but are not going out of conference much at all.

cinserious on 15 Jan 2013 - 2:03pm #

and ND.

"Get him a body bag, Yeah!"

rdubs on 15 Jan 2013 - 8:22pm #

ND has 1 Indiana guy this year. They had 3 last year. Not a lot, especially compared to Indiana who had 11 last year and 5 this year (not counting JUCOs because I can't tell where they are from).

AndyVance on 15 Jan 2013 - 11:44am #

Combined with this morning's Skull Session-shared infographic about where big-time players come from, you can draw a couple of conclusions and questions:

Conclusion: Ohio remains a recruiting hotbed, but nationally Florida is the new Ohio.
Question: Is this another manifestation of the "shifting populations" theory of college football, or rather a product of an increasingly competitive high school football culture as discussed here, or some other confluence of factors entirely?
Conclusion: Texas schools (or the Big XII in general, perhaps) have done a better job of keeping their recruits out of the B1G than has Florida.
Question: Will this change in the Meyer era, as his recruiting roadmap has become what politicos refer to as a 50-state strategy?

acBuckeye on 15 Jan 2013 - 12:50pm #

So if spring football was allowed in Ohio, it would only constitute 10 extra practices? If that's the case, what's the point? I'd figure it would have been several weeks of extra organized practices/drills.

Also, I think Ohio needs to be more involved in the 7-on-7 scene, although I know that this can lead to some shady individuals being around recruits, much like AAU basketball.

I don't think you can ignore the population shifts that have occurred as being at least one factor in the result of this information. I hardly think it's the only reason, however, just one part of it.

I think part of the reason why Texas is able to keep so many kids in-state, is b/c first, the state is so damn big that it's hard NOT to keep a kid "in-state" just based on sheer geographic area. And second, look at Texas' border states. Texas OWNS the entire southwest region, whereas Florida competes with Georgia and Alabama, Ohio competes with Pennsylvania and Illinois, etc. The same thing could be said about California and its sheer size and isolation. These are just my observations, not saying I'm right.

OSUStu on 15 Jan 2013 - 12:12pm #

Step up your game Iowa! You are only providing 13x the players that Canada is.

BTwrestle04 on 15 Jan 2013 - 12:43pm #

I'm a little surprised that there are actually 3 from Canada.

AndyVance on 15 Jan 2013 - 12:59pm #

Credit solid Canuk recruiting from B1G COYFL (Coach of the Year For Life) Kirk Ferentz:

DL Faith Ekakitie was a freshman from Brampton, Ontario
OL Nolan MacMillan was a junior from Toronto, Ontario
WR Tevaun Smith was a fresman from Toronto, Ontario

AndyVance on 15 Jan 2013 - 5:43pm #

As I go back and look at the rosters further, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue each have a player on their 2012 rosters from Ontario, so there should be more like six players in the league that hail from North of the border... AND, I found TWO from Australia!

buckeyedude on 16 Jan 2013 - 11:01am #

Well, if they don't pan out on the gridiron for Ferentz, they can always play on the Hawkeye hockey team, ay?

Wait. Does Iowa have a hockey team?

"Political correctness is tyranny with manners." Charlton Heston(1924-2008)

PharmBuck on 15 Jan 2013 - 3:16pm #

only 1 player from WV in the entire big 10? I find that surprising

"You're pissed because we went after a committed guy? Guess what, we got 9 guys who better go do it again," said Meyer. "Do it a little harder next time."

AndyVance on 15 Jan 2013 - 3:35pm #

Iowa Punter Connor Kornbrath is from Bridgeport, W.V.

Other than that, not a single soul from the Mountain State is listed on a current B1G roster.

KINGOFDAMIDDIE on 15 Jan 2013 - 6:26pm #

Love being from the great state of OHIO

Middletown Middies State Champs.
http://www.scoutingohio.com/in...

buckeyedude on 16 Jan 2013 - 10:54am #

Was surprise the the State of Michelin had more players in the B1G than the State of Pennsylvania(127-90, respectively). I thought Pa. was supposed to be a top state for H.S. talent? Evidently not.

"Political correctness is tyranny with manners." Charlton Heston(1924-2008)