Per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Trying to confirm. Would be a huge loss, probably Pitt and possibly WVU ahead of us in the pursuit of him, if we actually pursue.
- Confirmed by PTR
- Confirmed by PennLive.
- Tweeted by Chad11W
Edit: safe to assume it's legit. Waiting for Rivals/247/Scout/ESPN (okay, maybe not ESPN lol) to chime in
@Alex,
When this all dropped initially, didn't you say we were going to go after Johnson hard? I know Urban said we wouldn't go after their "players" but I don't think he was talking about Johnson. Can you confirm if we've been in contact since the sanctions?
Hasn't even reached the populous on recruiting sites yet, if true it likely hasn't been verified universally, but will be soon.
Confirmed by Tim Tolley of PennLive and Victory Bell Rings. May be word of mouth though, still looing around
@OSU,
One can safely assume he meant current PSU players, not unsigned prospects. Breneman and Johnson were high up for OSU and could continue to pursue both. Johnson seems to be showing the most interest in Pitt, however.
I hope Meyer is making a phone call as we speak.
I guess Bradshaw and Johnson didn't like the uniform changes
It would appear so, Gene. Two in one day.
Interest in Pitt? I don't understand that. Pitt isn't going to win anything. He could go to OSU prob start in a couple of years and possibly have the shot at a title in a couple of years. If not a title, at least a BCS bowl game. Doesn't make sense to me. I know kids have to do what is best for them, but one would think winning would have to be high on their to do list.
Lol Gene...yep per twitter...he and Bradshaw are outie.
"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
I think I remember Alex/staff saying that they didn't believe we would be attempting to (re?)recruit Breneman anymore, however that they were going to go after Johnson "hard".
I would be more confident in his decommit if we knew the staff was putting the full-court press on. Otherwise, I'd tend to (for whatever reasons he has) think that Pitt is still the team to beat
@Buckeye_In_SEC,
Agreed, but that's who his second place team likely was. Largely due to distance and money, apparently.
Remember that his family doesnt have a car and he wants to stay close enough to home that they can see him play. I may be in the minority but I think we're on the outside looking in on this kid
Lisle, Gardner and Johnson would be a great OL haul !
I don't see the issue, sign this kid up with a free Nissan
He is an animal. I say go after him.
I talked to Dorian last night.
It sounded like he would decommit at that point but wasn't sure about the timing so I didn't say much.
He said that coaches from a bunch of schools had tried to contact him since the sanctions occurred but he didnt return any of their efforts. Didn't think it was right for a commit of a school to do that. This changes that though and I have a message into Dorian now to get further info.
He also told me last night that he had 5 written offers thus far and they were from Penn State, Toledo, Nebraska, Alabama, and Florida State. That doesn't mean much. It's only been a few days since written offers could be mailed out. I'm sure that was a strategic move on the side of Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and Ohio State.
Paul Chryst is going to have a very good recruiting class. Should dominate their mid-major conferemce.
according to my local paper here near Pittsburgh, Johnson says he's interested in 3 schools: Pitt, Ohio State, & Virginia Tech.
Go Bucks! Urban & co. can pull him in
http://triblive.com/sports/2366150-85/state-penn-class-2013-johnson-belle-bradshaw-lineman-offensive-players
"You win with people." - Woody Hayes
Miles confirms.
^ giddy-up, let's reel that big boy in ! He's a very athletic 6'6'' 285 by the way, not the sloppy/pudgy type. He looks pretty chiseled for that size. I'd love to see Pantoni help turn him in to a 1st round pick.
"You win with people." - Woody Hayes
Alex's Dorian Johnson CUW from earlier this summer.
Man, if we can't reel in Johnson, I'm going to start believing we have an OL curse at Ohio State.
@BlockOH,
You'll likely be disappointed. Pitt is the one to beat.
Should he choose tOSU.... Would we have space for him? Who may get left out?
I would guess he would take an OL spot, so Munger/Finley?
@DBIT
I believe it was stated awhile ago by the staff here that Dorian Johnson was a prospect that you just did not say no to. Probably accurate and, I would rather have him than some of the other major names people talk about rounding out the class.
I think he ends up at Osu for one reason, he wanted to stay close to home and visited Pitt many times and had many chances to committ. Visits PSU relatively close to home and committs right away. Something was keeping him from committing to Pitt and I think the fact he loved his first visit to Osu gives us the best chance. Just my opinion though.
Favorite Buckeye: Obviously BJ Mullens
The vact that he replaced WVU with VT should show that he hasn't ruled out leaving PA, so I think we're ina good spot as well
I just don't see it happening. Would be happy to be wrong, though.
ESPN is reporting that Dorian will take an official to tOSU.
His last visit gave him a great feeling about OSU, maybe this one can seal the deal. Hopefully it'll be warm and he can see football in full swing, as well as Oval Beach in full swing.
@RECRUIT BUCK: I saw that, too. I couldn't read the whole article (cancelled my ESPiN Insider last year), but this bodes well. Also, I really don't think he will choose Pitt. BJMULLENS brought up a good point about that. It seems he probably doesn't like the city life campus, (I don't blame him)...Pitt is not a college atmoshere at all. But, that he originally committed to Penn State tells you he likes a more rural setting. Va. Tech has that, but OSU has a great college setting. And, if you want to be in the city --- you just drive 5 minutes down High Street; if you want to be in the suburbs --- you drive 10 minutes one way; and if you want to be in the country --- just drive about 25 minutes the other way. The Columbus area kinda has it all.
Johnson is from Belle Vernon, which is part of Fayette County --- which is very much a rural setting. Belle Vernon is a little borough of about 1,000-1,500 people.
I think it's between tOSU & Va. Tech, with the good guys winning out because of proximity & tradition.
"You win with people." - Woody Hayes
On a different subject, I.8, you mentioned Oval Beach.
It may be a subtle advantage in recruiting that OSU has switched to semesters and the students will be back earlier, so recruits that visit for home games early in the year will actually have the experience of what campus is like, compared to not having students until the latter third of September. It will also give games a better game atmosphere! Just a random thought!
Man, if I visited campus when Oval Beach was on full blast, with the music, and the free stuff, and the scantily clad ladyfolk, I would commit in a second.
Also, for those of us who watched the D-Line video put up by Bucknuts (or ohiostate.247sports, whichever u prefer), Vrable is a beast-mode coach...get Johnson out to Columbus for a visit, a practice, and a game, and I think it would take a lot for him to say No to OSU. But then again, this is just how I would feel about it. It will be interesting to see how PSU's class turns out... I think more decommits are coming... I do think Hackenberg stays because he is all about honor and loyalty and all that but a few more of the others will bail soon... PSU's class is currently somewhere in the 60's (rankings wise) and I think itll be down in the 80's come NSD, and dead last in the Big 10... even 3 stars (i know this doesnt mean much but still) are turning them down and if another big name (i.e. Brenneman) exits, I'd be surprised if PSU lands an average star-rating (once again, I know) that is even remotely respectable. So much for all the excitement PSU fans were preaching when those commits all came out and said they are staying on board.
I think Hackenberg eventually gets lured away by the thought of not forfeiting his entire career basically. There's no reason to think the decision to stay would be the best one.
Just read a tweet that Hackenberg's commitment rests on PSU's performance on the field this season. Sounds like he's gone
Tough situation for Hackenberg, though. Gotta think that O'Brien might have been the perfect guy to tutor him, and his system would've helped him reach his full potential.
There are other QB gurus coaching the NCAA that will give him more tools to work with as far as supporting cast. Get a guy like Hack at Stanford, where you know you have a coach that can produce your level of talent, your presence will draw in recruits, and you're getting a far superior education.
DJ was my favorite OL prospect we were in on before he committed to PSU. I liked his game more than Pocic's. If we can pull him in it will really make this small OL class terrific.
I know that David Shaw has been Harbaugh's O-coordinator and Luck was fantastic last year but I wouldn't quite yet call it a premiere destination for QB development.
I think that only time will tell if it was Luck, Harbaugh, Shaw, or a combination of the three of them that led to Luck's prolific career and development as a top tier qb.
He obviously is going to look for a pro-system to be a part of but I think his reasons for leaving in the end will be more about the opportunities to win championships and play with a compettive team
wonder if Hackenberg ends up at South Carolina then if not PSU... I think that makes sense considering his pro-style and Steve Spurrier
I can see Dorian committing to Pitt over OSU...unless they go after him "hard" as the staff said they would. I could stand corrected about getting him...
"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
(Dorian Johnson interview)
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8252196
"You win with people." - Woody Hayes
As far as Pitt football goes, why don't they get their own stadium. You would think this would help recruiting. Esp now that Penn State will be down for a fe more years, You would think Pitt could start to clean house in state as far as recruiting goes.
Dustin Fox was our leading tackler as a corner.... because his guy always caught the ball.
^^^^That point you just made is why i think PSU had a one up on them over the years. Now I can see Pitt getting Johnson...but that's about it. They need their own stadium to allure more from PSU.
"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
If Johnson does indeed visit OSU again, I see him being apart of this class.