Recruiting Discussion #3 - The Tressel Effect

2012 Recruiting Prospect Spreadsheet- Database of players Ohio State has offered in the 2012 class.

With the football season underway, many fans will start to focus on the product on the field rather than what is taking place off the field.  With a few exceptions, football recruiting is a year-round business, be it off-season or in-season.  I have often wondered what things would have been like had Jim Tressel still been the head coach at Ohio State, no sanctions were pending, and we were just looking at a regular 2011 season.  I feel like things would be a lot different with our recruiting class, and I will break down position-by-position where we stand and where I feel like we might have been had JT still been at the helm. 

Quarterback - This might be the one position on the team that, regardless of who was running the show, we would probably not be recruiting a quarterback this season.  There was some early interest in Jameis Winston, but all bets were off when Tressel resigned as that was his only interest point.  With the stable of quarterbacks that we have and 3-4 years of Braxton Miller to look forward to, it will probably be a zero in the get column for OSU at QB this season.  I feel next year we will go after a solid kid who can watch Miller for 1-2 seasons and then take the reins.

With Tressel: 0

Without Tressel: 0

Running Back - A position on the team that is as deep as the ocean grows even deeper with the two prospects who have committed this season in Warren Ball and Brionte Dunn.  You add those two next year and only lose Daniel "Boom" Herron and the rich get richer.  I believe Warren Ball is as solid as they come with his verbal, however, there are some doubters as to if Brionte Dunn sticks to his pledge to become a Buckeye in February.  I think he signs with the Buckeyes in February and joins Jordan Hall, Jaamal Berry, Carlos Hyde and Rod Smith in a stable of great running backs.

With Tressel - 2 (Warren Ball, Brionte Dunn)

Without Tressel - 2 (Warren Ball, Brionte Dunn)

Wide Receiver - After the Akron game, I felt much better about the wide receivers.  Devin Smith and Evan Spencer showed that they can play the position well, and converted safety Verlon Reed showed why he was the talk of camp with early season flashes.  With all three having years of eligibility remaining, and adding Corey "Philly" Brown and Chris Fields to the fold,  the position depth does not look that bad after the departure of DeVier Posey this season.

 Currently the Buckeyes stand at two commitments for the wide receiver position in Frank Epitropoulos and Roger Lewis, and I feel we could use 1 more for the 2011 class.  There are some real players out there that have not committed, but I do not see any of them with the Buckeyes next season.  I think we get a good look at Dwayne Stanford, whose teammate Adolphus Washington seems to be a strong Buckeye lean.  With Tressel, we might have been able to snag a big name earlier, but I am pretty certain that Roger Lewis probably would not have received an offer had he still been coach.

With Tressel 3 - (Frank Epitropoulos, Dwayne Stanford, ???)

Without Tressel 3 - (Frank Epitropoulos,  Dwayne Stanford)

Tight End - Blake Thomas, the only tight end commit for 2011, pledged his commitment two weeks before Tressel resigned and has stayed a part of the class since then.  I believe that, with or without Tressel, we were sticking with only one tight end this year, primarily because we recruited two great ones last year in Nick Vannett and Jeff Heuerman, and we get the privilege of watching Jake Stoneburner for one more season.

With Tressel - 1 (Blake Thomas)

Without Tressel - 1 (Blake Thomas)

Offensive Line - This is the one position that I believe has suffered the most due to the departure of Tressel.  We saw some major defections that we probably wouldn't normally see.  Kyle Kalis was all Buckeye when JT was the coach, and as soon as he was let go his commitment wavered, and a few weeks later he was a Wolverine.  Kyle Dodson, an early Buckeye lean, got his offer from Luke Fickell and the same day issued a commitment to Wisconsin. 

There was an outside shot with Tressel that we could have landed a Jonah Pirsig, Jordan Diamond, Jordan Simmons, or one of many talented lineman in the country.  The resignation sent shockwaves through not only Ohio, but through the chances of landing a top flight offensive line class for 2011. 

Patrick Elflein, who Fickell offered following summer camp, could have received an offer under Tressel, but I did not see him receiving an offer unless all of the other guys listed above passed on the Buckeyes.

With Tressel 4 - (Kyle Kalis, Kyle Dodson, Jacoby Boren, ???)

Without Tressel 4 - (Jacoby Boren, Patrick Elflein, ???, ???)

Defensive Line - The defensive line has continued to stockpile talent over the past few years, as we have seen the absences of Cam Heyward, Thad Gibson and various other star players filled the next year by the likes of John Simon and Jonathan Hankins.  While we lose Nathan Williams at the end of this season, and the suspended Soloman Thomas, we still retain a great core of players like Simon, Hankins, and newcomer Michael Bennett. 

Without Tressel at the helm of the recruiting this season, we have seen quite a few star defensive players shy away from Ohio State and pledge their allegiances elsewhere.  Normally, we would have seen more of a look from players like Greg McMullen (Nebraska), LaTroy Lewis (Tennessee), and Tom Strobel (Michigan), but with the departure of JT, they committed elsewhere.

 Right now, we have no current defensive line recruits for the 2012 class.  There are rumblings that Adolphus Washington is a silent commit, and could pull the trigger any day.  There are also various sources saying that Se'Von Pittman, the Michigan State commit, is looking around and has reopened dialogue with the Buckeyes.

With Tressel 4 (Greg McMullen, Se'Von Pittman, Adolphus Washington, LaTroy Lewis)

Without Tressel 4 (Adolphus Washington, ???, ???, ???)

Linebackers - Linebacker has always been a strong position at Ohio State, and it looks to continue that way with Joshua Perry and Luke Roberts joining the fold as Buckeyes next Fall.  Perry was the first commitment in the class and has not waivered since issuing that pledge last June. 

Luke Roberts is an interesting case. I think he may have been a plan B Tressel recruit, as there were others ahead of him that had offers that chose other schools after the fallout.  James Ross and Kaleb Ringer both headed north to Ann Arbor, and I think we may have been a player for one of the two had Tressel been around. 

However, Ifeadi Odenigbo, from Centerville High School, remains uncommitted and could still be a Buckeye.  Right now, I have the peg the Bucks to take 2 LB's in this class, but you would make room for a player of Odenigbo's caliber. I also feel that Odenigbo would have already issued a Buckeye pledge had Tressel been the head coach.

With Tressel 3 (Joshua Perry, Ifeadi Odenigbo, Kaleb Ringer)

Without Tressel 2 (Joshua Perry, Luke Roberts, Ifeadi Odenigbo)

Defensive Backs - The Buckeyes are young in the Secondary, and need to land some top flight talent this year to help the depth for the coming years.  They added the biggest boost when they got De'Van Bogard to jump on board back in June.  He joins Tyvis Powell and Najee Murray in the 2012 defensive back class so far.  Najee Murray was the first recruit offered by Luke Fickell, and he accepted on the spot.

I feel like he was a prospect that JT probably would have offered, but it might have come later had some other players not gone elsewhere.  I still think that we add one more to this class late, and it could be a surprise player late in the game.

With Tressel 4 (De'Van Bogard, Tyvis Powell, Demetrious Cox, Jordan Diggs)

Without Tressel 4-5 (De'Van Bogard, Tyvis Powell, Najee Murray, Bam Bradley, Surprise Recruit)