Eleven Warriors

I'm not sure how to embed the Google Doc, but here's the link to the document I've created to analyze OSU vs. UM Recruiting over the last 2 recruiting cycles:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Ar-cr5O-nW0xdDJ6Z25pOF8yU2x...

A couple of salient points:

1. The numbers are taken directly from the 24/7 composite ranking.

2. The numbers in red are the best at a given position OR the best overall average at a position. If one team has multiple players with a higher rating than the other team then all those players' numbers are in red.

3. I have NOT included the Long-Snapper that UM recruited this year OR the two players who have left OSU from the 2012 class (Riquan Southward & Joey O'Connor).

Overall Impressions:

1. Offense: OSU has a small (0.3 points) advantage w/r/t average rating among offensive players. However, this covers up a huge discrepancy in talent at certain positions. UM has absolutely destroyed OSU on the offensive line (10 players at an average of 93.112 vs. 6 players at an average of 89.445) while OSU has pulled in far more talented running backs and playmakers (Wilson, Marshall, Baugh, Elliott, Dunn), with Derrick Green being the lone exception.

2. Defense: OSU has a meaningful (1.52 points) advantage w/r/t average ranking among defensive players. This advantage is spread out across the positions as OSU has 7 defensive recruits (Spence, Bosa, Washington, Mitchell, Bell, Apple, Burrows) with a higher rating than UM's top-rated defensive recruit (Ondre Pipkins - 97.07). Surprisingly, UM has a higher average rating at Linebacker and has clearly amassed some talented LBs over the past 2 cycles. However, OSU has a decisive advantage at DE, with THREE DEs  (Spence, Bosa, Pittman) more highly rated than UM's best two (Wormley, Charlton) AND at Corner, where OSU has Apple and Burrows far outpacing UM's top player.

3. Both teams have significant holes to fill in their next classes. OSU has a GLARING weakness along the Offensive Line, made all the worse in comparison to UM's riches. UM has a complete lack of playmakers not named Derrick Green and, in particular, a lack of fast/quick/athletic guys who can make someone miss - UM is also missing elite defensive ends and they will likely struggle to get to the QB without an injection of talent there. Neither team has an elite WR (depending on how you classify OSU's Marshall & Wilson, I classify them as Hybrid All-Purpose guys).

4. Based on this breakdown, I would argue that UM's roster suggests a Stanford-type offense moving forward - big, dominating OL/TE with a stable of big, mean RBs churning out yards and a QB who use the play-action to go deep and keep the defense honest. OSU's offense suggests what we've seen from Chip Kelly at Oregon - Dual-threat QB with multiple fast edge weapons and a bruising straight-ahead running game offset by multiple recieving threats spaced out across the field. Defensively, UM will have a solid interior line but struggle to get to the QB, have solid, sure-tackling LBs and a talented secondary. OSU, on the other hand, looks to be creating a monster on the defensive side of the ball with elite edge rushers, a hard-hitting, ball-hawking secondary and a bunch of LBs to fill in the gaps.