So this is my first forum topic and hopefully it's a good one.  It is inspired by the recruitment of Rashan Gary and more recently Joshua Kaindoh.  When I go to view news articles and read the comments about a recruit that is particularly interested in the academics of college life I see people bashing Ohio State.  Most of it is probably just people bitter about the success and media attention that Ohio State gets due to its giant alumni base or maybe it's just pure homerism/trolling, etc.  For some reason it bothers me.  I went to Ohio State.  My personal reasons for attending were that at the time it was very reasonably priced for in-state tuition and the Fisher College of Business offered a great value.  I was raised a Buckeye fan but my affection for Ohio State sports was really just an added bonus in the decision making process.  It has only gotten more expensive and more difficult to gain admittance as the years have gone by.  It will never be on the same level academically as an Ivy League school or even some prestigious private schools like Northwestern, etc.

Ohio State is no slouch.  They have the money to spend on top quality professors and facilities and the campus is great. Columbus is also perfect for a college town.  Big enough that there are plenty of things to do and small enough that the town really embraces the school.

I think a lot of young kids that already have an idea what they want to do can and should make their decision based on individual programs within a school.  Ohio State has several excellent programs including the aforementioned business school and others like medicine, engineering, veterinarian, etc. etc.

One comment I see a lot is that the Ohio State degree is not recognized outside of Ohio.  This is also extremely misleading.  I started my career in Big 4 public accounting in Cleveland and have spent some time in NYC and now reside in Denver,  I've had no issues getting interviews and/or jobs and have never felt that those I speak to discount my degree just because I went to a school with good, nationally recognized athletic programs.  I feel like I could live anywhere and find a perfectly suitable job.

Anyway...hopefully the coaches are successful in appealing not only to athletes that will need academic assistance but also those that want to excel and have aspirations outside of football.  My feeling is it is a pretty good mix of both and I am fine with that.

Cheers!