Ohio State 2012 Recruiting: Defensive Back Big Board

After Jim Tressel's resignation, Ohio State's recruiting world became more difficult and its recruiting pitch more tenuous. With an NCAA investigation ongoing and an interim head coach, Ohio State has little but instability to offer prospective players and their families.  We've seen two defensive linemen, Se'Von Pittman and Tom Strobel, commit to other Big Ten schools after being viewed as Buckeye locks, and one former Buckeye lean, Kyle Dodson, commit to Wisconsin days after receiving his Ohio State offer.

Our recruiting Big Board project, which we began before Tressel's resignation, has been adjusted to reflect the new developments. Now, we've added two sections, "With Tressel" and "After Tressel," to reflect the change in each prospect's situation, at least as far as we can tell.

We continue this new format with the defensive backs, the one position that has actually seen an uptick in activity following Tressel's resignation.

Committed

De'Van Bogard; Glenville High School; 5''11, 172 lbs.

Glenville has a long history of impressive defensive back prospects, and De'Van Bogard is only the latest Tarblooder to receive national attention as one of the best recruits in the country. Holding offers from USC, Michigan, and Ohio State, Bogard decided to end the suspense early and commit to the Buckeyes on June 25th.

As a player, Bogard is physical. He engages, drives, and then powers ball-carriers into the ground, leaving his imprint upon their spine as he gets up. While I don't believe Bogard can play corner, he would make an excellent star or strong safety in Jim Heacock's scheme.

With Tressel: Uncommitted but offered.

After Tressel: Committed to Luke Fickell.

Najee Murray; Steubenville High School; 5''11, 172 lbs.

Murray was the first player Luke Fickell offered after becoming head coach. He impressed Fickell and staff enough at Ohio State's Senior Advanced Camp on June 12th to earn an offer later that day, despite only holding offers from MAC schools beforehand.

He's far from an elite prospect, but there's enough talent there to be intriguing. Our evaluation of Murray at the time of his commitment highlighted his versatility as the biggest reason Ohio State offered.

There's a versatility factor with Murray because of his quickness and physicality. He's an easy projection as a free safety, but he just might be able to play cornerback. At times-- when facing the Wing-T, for instance- Murray is used (at Steubenville) as a safety with primary run support responsibility, but his natural position is at corner. In a Cover 2 scheme, I think, Murray can play corner easily; in a man scheme, I think he's best at safety.

With Tressel: On radar but not offered.

After Tressel: Offered after camp, committed within a day.

Tyvis Powell; Bedford High School; 6''4, 185 lbs.

While Najee Murray was the first player offered by Luke Fickell, Fickell's first commitment came from Tyvis Powell, a big defensive back from Northeast Ohio. Powell was set to commit to Ohio State before Tressel's resignation, but the sudden change endangered those plans. Some believed Powell would reevaluate his options, but instead he continued with them and committed to Ohio State two days after Tressel's decision.

In addition to Ohio State, Powell holds offers from Michigan State, West Virginia, and Cincinnati, and he's generally viewed as a more impressive prospect than Murray. At 6''4, Powell is one of the biggest defensive backs in the 2012 class, impressive size that will be worth even more if he can play cornerback.

Adam Jardy of Scout.com profiled Powell's work ethic in this free article, which provides some insight into the path Powell traveled to a BCS school. Well worth the read.

With Tressel: Powell would have committed.

After Tressel: Powell committed.

Offered

Jordan Diggs; Fort Myers, Florida; 6''0, 191 lbs.

Jordan Diggs holds offers from the Buckeyes, West Virginia, South Carolina, and a host of other low-to-middle tier BCS schools, but he is on the verge of major offers from the three in-state powers, Florida, Florida State, and Miami. Whether those offers ever come to fruition can only be a guess, but the interest in Diggs from those power schools is indicative of his talent level. He is the son of former NFL player Shed Diggs, who played at South Carolina in the '80s.

There may never be an easier comparison to make than Diggs to recently graduated Jermale Hines. He has the same frame, stride-length, and abilities as the former Buckeye safety, and his film is reminiscent of Hines'. The coaches have let Diggs know he'd be perfect for the star position, a position Hines played before establishing himself as a starting safety his senior season.

Diggs has been very receptive to Ohio State's attention, although South Carolina holds some emotional pull for the family. Diggs visited Columbus for the spring game and reportedly loved the visit, and he will be making an official visit to Ohio State in the fall.

With Tressel: The Buckeyes led, and by a substantial margin.

After Tressel: Fickell and staff have continued recruiting Diggs, but he has been shaken by recent events. South Carolina, Ohio State, and Tennessee are roughly equivalent right now.

Demetrious Cox; Jeannette, Pennsylvania; 6''1, 190 lbs.

The Buckeyes are returning to the Jeannette treasure trove. Former Buckeye Terrelle Pryor and current Buckeye Jordan Hall both hail from Jeannette, a fact not lost upon senior Jeannette athlete Demetrious Cox. He was offered the weekend of the spring game and immediately put the Buckeyes into his top group of schools. Penn State, Michigan State, and West Virginia, along with many other schools, are recruiting Cox, but the connection to Jeannette should give the Bucks an advantage.

On film, Cox looks like a fluid athlete with the frame that Ohio State likes safeties to possess. He plays quarterback and safety for Jeannette, but would surely play free safety in Columbus. A pairing of Cox and Diggs, in my estimation, would give Ohio State the safety versatility it needs on the roster. Cox is better further away from the line of scrimmage, while Diggs excels in run support.

With Tressel: Ohio State led, and a commitment was probably not far away.

After Tressel: Cox has legitimate BCS options other than Ohio State, and the turmoil has frightened him off the Buckeyes a bit. He will still take an official visit, however.

Offered But Won't Be Buckeyes

T.J. Davis: Tallahassee, Florida; 6'1" 175 lbs.

Deon Bush: Miami, Florida; 6'1" 175 lbs.

Geno Smith: Atlanta, Georgia; 6'0" 165 lbs.

Travis Blanks; Tallahassee, Florida; 6'1" 180 lbs.

Terry Richardson; Detroit, Michigan; 5'9" 162 lbs.

All are talented, athletic, coveted prospects, but they will not be signing with Ohio State. Davis was always a long-shot and has shown little real interest in the Buckeyes; Bush was initially interested but will stay in Florida (probably Miami); Smith is a battle between Alabama and Florida State; Blanks is a Clemson commit; and Richardson is a Michigan commit.

Three Names to Watch

V'Angelo Bentley; Glenville High School; 5''9, 170 lbs.

Bentley is a true corner prospect, but he may be too small for Ohio State to offer. He doesn't show quite the ball skills of similarly size Terry Richardson, but he is good and will be playing BCS ball somewhere.

D.J. Singleton; St. Peter's Prep, New Jersey; 6''3, 200 lbs.

Singleton would commit to Ohio State if offered. He's loudly professed his love for the Buckeyes in multiple interviews and admitted he's always followed the team. He holds offers from Miami, Connecticut, and Nebraska, but I don't see him receiving a Buckeye offer. He's too rigid to be a defensive back in the Buckeye scheme and not quite big enough to be a linebacker.

Sebastian Smith; Pickerington Central; 6''2, 184 lbs.

Smith sole offer is from Indiana, but Ohio State has been in contact with the lanky safety. I think it's doubtful Ohio State reaches for Smith, even if other options fall apart.