Initial Rivals100 Released

Rivals.com released its first top 100 list after the spring evaluation period. As usual there were some pleasant surprises and disappointing slights. Some random thoughts on the list...

Good News: Terrelle Pryor is the #1 rated player in the country. While his recruitment will likely stretch out until February 2008, Ohio State is in good shape. Some even consider them the "leader", though it's obviously early. A Pryor commitment would cement this smallish as one of the best in OSU history.

Bad News: Mike Adams, the mammoth tackle from Dublin Coffman, just snuck on the list at #98. Adams wasn't even on the pre-evaluation list, with a dubious explanation about bad film from the Rivals folks. The guess here is that Adams got tossed on to placate the angry, subscription paying masses from Ohio.

Good News: The state of Ohio has 8 prospects in the top 100, fourth most behind Texas, California and Florida.

Bad News: According to this list, Ohio's top player is TE Kyle Rudolph, who has already verbally committed to Notre Dame. Brandon Moore, ranked #53, is likewise headed to rival Michigan.

Baffling News: Brandon Beachum from Cardinal Mooney is the #50 player overall, making him #4 from the state of Ohio. Beachum is a great kid with skill to play both linebacker and running back. But he's a bit undersized and has not been offered by Ohio State, Michigan or Notre Dame. Apparently he had an impressive NIKE camp in State College, but this seems a little ridiculous. The Buckeyes would love to have him, but Beachum is likely to get squeezed out unless he rules the OSU camp and OSU misses on players like Sweat, Hale and Zordich.

Good News: Devoe Torrence is currently ranked at #31 and with a big senior campaign will push himself into the five-star territory. Along with DeVier Posey, he gives the Bucks three top 40 players already. The other is Mike Brewster, Rivals' top offensive lineman in the country at #8 overall.

Bad News: With 8 commits already, there isn't a lot of room for more players, despite the interest. I think 9 is the max, though it could be ten if there's a mass exodus of juniors to the NFL.

Unacceptable News: Michigan OL commit Dan O'Neill is rated ahead of both Mike Adams and J.B. Shugarts. Guess we'll have to see how that plays out :)

Who's left from this list? The following are uncommitted players that list OSU in their top five or have expressed serious interest.

#1 Terrelle Pryor (QB)
#12 Shayne Hale (LB/DE)
#26 Lucas Nix (OL/DT)
#34 Steven Filer (LB)
#38 Brandan Beal (LB)
#40 Blake Ayles (TE)
#50 Brandon Beachum (RB/LB)
#52 Michael Floyd (WR)
#65 Brandon Smith (ATH)
#71 Kenny Tate (WR)
#77 Greg Shaw (OL)
#90 E.J. Woods (S)
#94 Cordale Scott (WR)

Pryor is the big fish and Buckeye fans are increasingly optimistic about their chances. But Pryor will take all of his visits so much can change over the next 6+ months.

Hale is tough to get a read on, but my gut (read: no tangible evidence) says that he doesn't choose OSU. Nix is likely headed to Pitt and Beal has Florida and USC as his top 2. OSU has expressed interest in Filer, but if Andrew Sweat commits that interest could fade away.

As noted before, Beachum would like an OSU offer and it still could happen. It would require some misses and an epic camp performance. Cordale Scott is a Glenville kid, which makes him pretty close to a lock for the last WR spot. So cross off Floyd and Kenny Tate, as there just isn't room.

I haven't read one single article that makes me think Brandon Smith is coming to Ohio State, so let's dismiss that possibility. E.J. Woods is a UCLA commit that grew up in Ohio, so a camp offer might give him something to think about. I wouldn't bet on it though - I think he eventually stays with UCLA. Greg Shaw is another matter. He's tackle that could move inside and would be an ideal fourth lineman for Block O. If he impresses in camp, OSU will be a strong contender.

If you're keeping track at home, I just eliminated most of the remaining players. So who will fill those last spots? Most of them will be on the Rivals250 list released next week. Andrew Sweat, Mike Zordich, Danny Mccarthy, Joshua Jarboe, Kevin Koger, and Willie Mobley are some of the top names on the board at this point. We'll update our recruiting big board later this week.