Howdy commentariat,

Here's a thought I had this morning. You may know me from writing the Better Know a Buckeye series for the past six-ish years at Eleven Warriors. I've been doing them since 2008, including when I ran my own blog in the infancy of the college football blogosphere as we know it.

With that in mind, I've been wrong... a lot... about prospects we sign. The prospects we sign for whom I'm unconvinced will be that good I usually handle diplomatically. Over time, I've learned to be a bit more cautious in how I handle prospects that come to Ohio State's program. Still, there are times that I gush about a prospect, only to come up looking like I don't know what I'm talking about.

Here are a few instances that come to mind:

• I feel vindicated thinking Carlos Hyde was a better tailback prospect than Jaamal Berry. Ohio State signed both in 2009. But I really thought Berry would have a quality career for Ohio State and they'd form a great backfield in tandem at Ohio State.
• This list would be incomplete without bringing up the Monroeville tandem from 2009. Dorian Bell and Corey Brown had phenomenal film and combine performances and petered out so unceremoniously over the course of their time at Ohio State.
• Two wide receiver prospects come to mind. I thought James Jackson (2009) and Lamaar "Flash" Thomas (2008) were can't miss prospects and nothing came from them for the brief time they were in Columbus. My BKABs at the time, though, were glowing.
• Related, I think I drank the Kool-Aid on that "Brew Clew" class. Mike Brewster was a First-Team All-American (FWAA, 2010), but we signed him to be a tackle and not a center. I thought J.B. Shugarts would be a reliable all-conference lineman; he became a punchline for a lack of preparation on a much maligned unit. I also thought Keith Wells was a steal in that class (NARRATOR: he wasn't).

Mind you, my recollection is really good for the past 10 years of Ohio State recruiting, but there are several other names that come to mind. Someone is going to mention prospects like Marcel Frost and Louis Irizarry. Maurice Wells might get a mention. Some even older fans might bring up names like Sammy Maldonado and Nick Goings from before the Rivals era.

What names come to mind for you?