I know there has been a lot of smoke out there about him, but I had heard nothing so I stayed quiet and let those that nailed it get the credit.
Tonight, I did have a little birdie that told me Blanding should be visiting Ohio State soon, and if all goes well, good things would be on the horizon.
Whoa, I had him written off as potentially interested but not serious. This is amazing news!
Landing a top 5 player like Blanding this early would be huge for the rest of the class. He said himself he wants to lead a class, hope he chooses the good guys
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
I wish I had a bird that talked to me.... :(
Anyway, hopefully all does go well because I think he is the best safety to come out in the 2013 and 2014 classes. Film is incredible
I agree Quin's film is ridiculous but let's not forget about a guy named Vonn Bell. His film is also pretty good!
Thank you Alex I read he was looking to visit in the next 2-3 weeks that about the time frame youve been hearing? Also thanks for the good news to offset the new worlds record for tOSU verbal (could be wrong on that but no one else comes to mind that was faster).
Hate to point it out but ^ that's Derek...
Yeah didnt catch that till I posted it sorry Derek been going back and forth between twitter and saw an Alex tweet at the time (Kramer voice) I guess I got confused! Sorry but that episode was on today :)
What do you mean by "offset the new worlds record for tOSU verbal"?
Lawrence Marshall
Marshall
I'm sorry. I confused myself with that one.
I believe he wants to enroll early too, so I'm not worried about him committing early. He could be a good asset to work on Pepper, McMillan, Booker, Garrett, Kelly,etc. He could help recruit the 2014 defensive class.
This is awesome!
The news about him is making me all excited. Not only is he a top 10 player but I great person too. Just watch his interviews.
Landing him early to go with Webb will do wonders.
I'm just imagining him, Webb, Peppers and Nicholson as a DB class. Goosebumps.
I know right now Mr. Hand doesn't have us really high on his list now, but if we can snag Peppers (regarded as the top corner), Blanding (top safety and also hails from Virginia), and McMillan (regarded as one of the top linebackers), along with the other talent we have, he should really reconsider. I was pretty stoked seeing the 2012 class, even more so when I saw the 2013 class. Now with all this potential defensive talent in the 2014 class? Urban just keeps outdoing himself, and I am sure im not the only one when I say I am loving every minute of it!
great news. Thanks for the input, Derek. Definitely made my day better
Buckeye secondary has often been strong, but this could get rediculous!
~Naples Buckeye - "May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't." - General George S. Patton, Jr.
Let's not forget about Erick Smith from Glenville too. How many DBs can they take in this class? I was thinking 3 max, so Webb, Blanding and Peppers would be awesome. But Smith or Nicholson would be a nice substitute.
We hear about guys like burrows, blanding, peppers, etc that could be cb's or safeties (maybe off players??) and i love the versatility, esp from a team that plays so much nickel. And if we could land a few of those studs, why play anything but? We're building a team where 3 yrs and gone is the rule, add an injury or 2 and you have to be stocked. We're likely looking at replacing 3 db starters in '14 anyway so....take as many as you can!
sfgoods
Gonna make those Corners become Safeties, Safeties become OLB's, OLB's become DE's, and DE's become DT's! That's how you make a ridiculously fast Defense!
And you get run all over by Wisconsin and Michigan.
Whatever! Just remember what FSU did to us in the Suger Bowl! Or were you alive then!
And undersized defense isn't going to beat Bama. You want speed, but it's not the end all.
who plays corner then? haha
SFGoody: I completely understand your point and I'm not doubting going after all these guys and trying to get as many as they can. But my point is there has to be a cut off somewhere. With the limited scholarships and this class being smaller at around 20, the focus has to be less on certain positions and more so on others. They loaded up with 5-6 DBs in the 2013 class, so I wouldn't think that position would be a primary focus in 2014. Urban has already said that the primary focus is OL (obviously) as well as getting more playmakers and growing the Dline.
Everyone has been debating about how many at each position will be taken. You would have to think 5 OL, 3-4 DL, 3-4 LB, 4 WR/ATH. So where does that leave the DB position?
Like I said I completely understand your comments and logic. But there are less numbers they are working with for this class.
It could def go that way, but since there is so much top level talent at the db position this year I think it changes perspective. We agree, Oline is #1. Everything else is, well, everything else. When trout committed he said the staff is taking 4 OL. Maybe, maybe not, but I think that's accurate. And I would take the 3 in each of your 3-4 scenarios, making room for dbs. The big difference in how Urb recruits is the ATH mindset. He takes the best players and fits them at need, worrying about position later. See Lee, Worley, Wilson, Lewis, Burrows...all flexible guys. Who knows where they end up? We all think Lewis will be a DE/Viper but he says Fickell brought him in as an LB?!? So we can take a guy like Dante Booker as an LB, but won't be shocked if he grows into a DE. So the numbers, though limited, get blurry. Peppers is explosive enough to play Off or Def. We are just loading up on those guys and I like it. And as I mentioned, if they perform, guys like Spence, Washington, Bosa, Bell....3 and gone. Space will open up at a faster rate than ever before.
sfgoods
Greed is good... most of the time
~Naples Buckeye - "May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't." - General George S. Patton, Jr.
Are there any 2013 quin blanding highlights that have been posted on here?
So does Blanding project as a FS or SS? I remember reading Vonn Bell is a classic free safety, so hopefully Blanding would be a classic SS.
Definite SS in my opinion. Will be 6-2 210 by the time he enrolls. Very physical.
I think Eric Smith is the odd man out of Kelly wants in.
Every time I see this thread, every time, I first read it as Dr Quin.