Here is a quick recap/highlights of the 2013 signing day. To find a much more thorough thread on the day: click here.
Quick Note: Johnny Townsend Signed with Florida and Tavion Jacobs Signed with Maryland. tOSU signed everyone else on their commit list including Ezekiel Elliott along with late pick ups Dontre Wilson, James Clark and Vonn Bell.
ESPN(Free) - Meyer closes class with a flourish
LGHL: NATIONAL SIGNING DAY 2013
OHIO STATE'S RECRUITING CLASS OF THE FUTUR
Great quote from EzE from Ohio State keeps its ESPN 150 RB article:
"I'm a part of a new brotherhood that will forever be special to me," Elliott said. &otquot;I'm ready to do big things."
Alabama's Class ends up with 3 top 10 running backs:
Johnny Townsend's dad has indicated Ohio State DID NOT pull its offer. Johnny had new offers to consider and it looks like the Florida one was too good personally for him to pass up.
Boone punter Johnny Townsend signs with Florida over Ohio State
Johnny Townsend's website: http://johnnytownsendsports.com/
If you want to see most of the action that happened, like "Hotty Toddy" #1 recruit and the mother who wouldn't let her son sign, click here.
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why is the timing of those tweets 5 hours in the future?
I personally would prefer a punter that can punt 45 yards but has 4.5 speed like Frank Epitropolous. Having a speedster gives you options on the fake punt and also a more athletic deep safety for those plays where the coverage breaks down.
I believe Twitter goes off of GMT(Greenwich Mean Time) which would put it at the time the tweets are time stamped at: http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/info/current-time/
I was really hoping we would keep Townsend in this class too. I think Florida has a kicker he may end up sitting behind for two years.
Townsend ran a 4.59 (possibly faster).
I have read when a tweet is embedded the time stamp goes to the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). That's why someone always asks why a tweet is from the future when the tweet is embedded.
(Ironically, I first noticed it when Gee tweeted about being at basketball game a day ahead of the actual game.)
I feel bad for the kid... He wanted to be a Buckeye and now isn't going to be able to.
explain further
vacuuming sucks
He signed with UF... There were a few different stories... One was we ran out of room... Another was they asked him to gray shirt... Another was they asked him to be a preferred walk-on... Another was he just changed his mind...
I don't think anyone knows for sure what happened, but Urban has spoke out against oversigning and if Townsend would've signed he would've been #83...
Your last theory/rumor could be true, which would make your original comment incorrect. We don't know the story at this time.
OK, thanks.
I wouldn't say I feel badly for the kid. He gets to play football at one of the best programs in the country. The reasoning for the change of direction seems to be family related. Glad OSU isn't over the 82 number myself, but I kinda doubt that there wouldn't have been a spot for him come August or maybe even next week.
vacuuming sucks
Obviously we don't have the whole story, but perhaps he would've rather been a Gator all along, but didn't have the offer yet. And with OSU's class full and him needing to wait to sign, like we assume things went down, the Florida offer might've been enough to keep him at home.
Then why commit to OSU for 7 months? and suddenly change course at the last minute? Everyone had him pegged as "all Buckeye," and he was even recruiting kids in December from what I heard at the all-star games.
Article says his brother goes to UF and his parents were alums. I can't blame the kid for wanting to sign there.
Maybe something changed in his family/personal life. Maybe he changed his mind, as teenagers often do. Maybe the rumors you heard about the all-star game weren't true.
+1 he did want to be a Buckeye!
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-19/sports/os-orlando-boone-punter-johnny-townsend-commits-to-ohio-state-20120619_1_urban-meyer-punter-coach-meyer
"Clay Townsend stressed that Ohio State did not pull his son's scholarship offer, but instead his son had more scholarship offers from which to choose, which caused the delay in his decision."
Sounds like he just wanted to be a Gator more. No need to "feel bad" for him not being able to be a Buckeye. He had the chance, and passed. Hello Frank E/Drew Basil/random soccer player!
Goes without saying, but now OSU will need to establish a punter during Spring practice. There's several guys on the roster listed as Kickers, and Drew Basil is listed a Punter/Kicker (not sure you'd want a guy doing both, but whatever works), and then we all know Frank Epitropolous punted in high school. So, we won't have a HS All-American punting for OSU, but I think it'll be okay.
I know avoiding oversigning is a popular theory, but were we not "oversigned" as of NSD last year? And by TWO schollies? So why would Urban and staff now not want to oversign in their 2nd year? And to add to it, Derek, Miles, Alex, etc. have all virtually guaranteed that at least one player will be transferring or leaving the program. Another bizarre point is that Alex had him pegged as "all Buckeye" and that he was pumped to sign as of Monday. Something doesn't add up here. If he really wanted a UF offer, he did a good job of not letting that known as he appeared to be all in. Like I said, I'm not sure about the gray shirt/oversign idea based on where we sat numbers-wise a year ago.
An 18 year old kid has never changed his mind?
Also, what the 11w staff knows/thinks is a lot different than what the coaching staff knows/thinks. The coaching staff could have been sure they knew 2 guys were leaving last year. This year, maybe it is just rumors that the 11w staff has heard, but the staff knows for sure, at this time, no players are leaving the program.
Of course. I was just saying that no one worried he might flip (compare to EZE, Trey Johnson, Donovan, Taivon Jacobs). Heard he was recruiting uncommitted guys to OSU at the US Army All-American Game. My point was that saying it was Urban backing off because of the scholarship limit might not be entirely accurate. But it also might not be entirely because he lost interest in OSU. We just don't really know, although I guess his dad or whoever is quoted as saying he wanted to stay closer to home.
This was my thought that it just didn't add up, something didn't make sense. http://www.landgrantholyland.com/2013/2/7/3966086/why-johnny-townsend-chose-florida-over-ohio-state-alabama In this video it pretty much gets explained, in short he wasn't all buckeye.
No offense to Frank E. , but he should concentrate on getting that starting punter spot locked up as he may not have the best chance of a lot of playing time at receiver this season. There just seems to be too many weapons in front of him now and a few of these freshman WILL see the field this season before he does. I do wish him the best though and think punting will guarantee him more playing time.
Kurelic was on 97.1 the Fan saying earlier that OSU never pulled its scholarship offer for Townsend. The kid had a change of heart, that's all folks. Best of luck to him at Florida.
St. X sucks
Updated with a story about Townsend that seems to explain what may have happened; it was written before he picked Florida (at the bottom of the OP).
All respect to BCast and the "source," but Urban "oversigned" by two last year at NSD (and of course got down to 82) and didn't receive much criticism, if any at all. Not saying that's not how it played out, but why get all strict on being right at 82 on NSD when it wasn't a priority to do so in year 1?
+1 Looks like you are right!
Updated the OP with more "accurate" info about a new/late offer from Florida rather then Urban saying there was no room for him.
Clay Townsend stressed that Ohio State did not pull his son's scholarship offer, but instead his son had more scholarship offers from which to choose, which caused the delay in his decision.
I said this yesterday in the blog but with so much crap on there, no one probably saw it. I have plenty of friends in Orlando, and one that coaches HS football in Orlando, and he said that he took the OSU offer cause let's be honest, what punter wouldn't accept a scholly to one of the best programs in college football 7 months before NSD? But, a recent offer from Florida, which is close to home and he has family ties there, was better for him and his family so he took it. It had nothing to do with oversigning or anything like that.
More power to the kid, hope he has a great career at UF. Better he makes the decision now than down the road and leaves us hanging thinking our punter's coming back.
JT
Updated with former tOSU commit Johnny Townsend's website. Here is a pic from his site:
so a punter from Florida gets a free ride to Ohio State with no other offers at the time, then decides the minute he gets an offer from an in-state school, to leave us at the altar?
this leaves a bad taste in my mouth
Updated with new videos including Meyer's full presser.
Totally understand Townsend. His Father and Mother are Florida grads. His brother goes to Florida. He's born and bread in Florida. Ohio State offers seven months ago. He loves Urban. No one else offers.
Last week Florida and Alabama figure out their scholly counts and he lands both offers.
He doesn't choose Alabama or Ohio State. He chooses his home and his family.
Can't blame a kid for that.
Warning: Ohio buckeye is highly toxic when taken internally.
I trust in Urban's decision to offer a punter... with reduced scholarships he must have really, really been impressed with Townsend's ability. That being said, I can't help but think with the reduced numbers we have, it'll be nice to have another slot for a playmaker. It's a lot easier to find a serviceable punter than it is to find a Vonn Bell/Dontre Wilson/James Clark.
I'm just going to throw this out there with nothing but a gut feeling:
But does anybody else think James Clark could be the steal of the class? He looks like an amazing playmaker and really good kid. The first half of the video is siiiiick.
ESPN Analyst
Updated 02/06/2013
Clark is a fast, explosive player with terrific acceleration properties and smooth, fluid movements. He is slight of build and very lean, but can really stretch and has adequate height. This is a Dexter McCluster-type with more natural ability as a route runner and pure receiver. He drives defenders off the line with excellent initial quickness and does a nice job of getting DBs turned around. He has terrific foot quickness and change-of-direction skills. He can stick his foot in the ground and cut laterally with little-to-no wasted motion, which should make him a dangerous route runner in time. He has nice open field run skills similar to what you would expect out of a running back in terms of vision, patience and explosiveness. He has seen some snaps in the backfield as well. He shows quick, soft hands, excellent body control and can make the tough catch in traffic. At times he jumps well to compete for jump balls even though he has marginal size. He isn't afraid to go over the middle and flashes the ability to hold onto the ball after taking a big hit. He can make multiple defenders miss and will dip his shoulder, stop/start on a dime and use his speed the rest of the way. He has good speed and flashed the ability to be a home run threat. He changes directions smoothly, explodes out of cuts and can run crisp short-to-intermediate routes. He reads defenses well and locates seams working against zone coverage. Size is Clark's biggest limitation. His ball skills and pure speed are huge assets and he is capable of winning one-on-one matchups versus top level defenders. He has natural ability as a return specialist and could be a difference-maker in this area. Clark has been flying under the radar for much of the recruiting process, but his skill-set displays some elite playmaking ability.
Warning: Ohio buckeye is highly toxic when taken internally.
Absolutely agree he could be a steal. Lets hope he has the work ethic of Simon and he'll be an outstanding player
Aesculus if I could upvote you more then once for this I would! He is a huge steal, especially with his teammate going to FSU. I wanted Wilson really bad even before he committed to Oregon and wanted him again after Kelly split but after he committed, Timmons went to Kentucky and it looked like Clark was going to Florida, I got a little sad. After we got Wilson and Clark I was elated! Add in EzE reaffirming and Marshall and JT this class has speed to kill! If you add in arguable just as big of a steal, Baugh, this offense could be unreal! After watching Baugh's highlights again I think he is also a complete steal! That's not even mentioning the other steals in Bell, Bosa and the Texas Trio!
Assuming they all pan out, you have to love the thought of Clark, Wilson, Elliot, Marshall, and Braxton on the field in this offense.
+1 and JT is no slouch once Braxton leaves and with a TE both as big and fast as Baugh, watch out!
And who is going to block?
I have a feeling that these guys will do a pretty good job: Evan Lisle, Taylor Decker, Kyle Dodson, Jacoby Boren, Tim Gardner and Pat Elfien. Another great thing about Meyer is that he knows how important the D-line is and neutralizing them with minimizing the need for blockers. I think he'll be able to do that quite well with this speed and line up.
I'm not sure that if Townsend decommits, say, two months earlier, that we're not still looking for a punter. I think that Urban had him on his radar and offered and probably wouldn't have used a scholly on another punter otherwise. Is it still bad timing? Yeah, but we do have some time to find a replacement and it might just be in-house.
To keep things in perspective, outside of the Orlando Sentinel, this is a non-story in recruiting circles. Not saying it doesn't suck, but we'll be fine.
^^ good point and I agree 100%
I mean.... Seriously DON'T know how this guy got out of the state of Florida. That is SERIOUS SPEED....WOW!!
"You're pissed because we went after a committed guy? Guess what, we got nine guys who better go do it again. Do it a little harder next time." -- Urban Frank Meyer -- I LOVE THIS DUDE!! :)
Seriously those movies he puts on at 1 min 15 sec just blow my mind everytime.
One thing is for sure, WAY WAY WAY too much emotion has been put into a punter here. At the end of the day, whether he did in fact want to stay home or they did run out of room or whatever may have happened, we have 2 days of threads and posts with a ton of comments, all for a punter. Would of been nice to have him, but wow, I think he's gotten more talk than Elliot did prior to his LOI coming in for the good guys.
Didn't you learn from Tressel that the punter is the most important player on the team? :D
Gray Box, you are dangerously close to invading Gene's territory. I'd hate to see a forum throw down. In case you didn't know this is "Quick Bits" block. You have been warned.
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men
o you done screwed up muschamp
Clark's signing was at his school in Florida? The crowd went nuts! That's totally awesome!
"Sherman ran an option play right through the south" - Greatest.Civil.War.Analogy.Ever
+1 I thought the same thing, they went that nuts even with his teammate going to FSU on top of it!
Updated: Flag Planted!