Scott Busts Pipeline, Chooses Illini

Ohio State fans received a bit of a shock Wednesday when Glenville WR Cordale Scott pledged his verbal commitment to the University of Illinois. Scott is considered one of the top ten players in the state and a four-star player by major recruiting services. While the loss of a top in-state talent is always a cause for concern, Scott's surprising decision involves a number of rather interesting factors:

*In the Jim Tressel era, Glenville has been a major source of talent for the Buckeyes. Donte Whitner, Ted Ginn, and Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith matriculated from Glenville. Current Buckeyes that played for the Tarblooders include Ray Small, Bryant Browning, Jermale Hines, Robert Rose, Curtis Terry, and Jamario O'Neal. The Buckeyes also recently added 2008 prospect Shawntel Rowell from Glenville. So this is not an insignificant event, losing an offered prospect from this school. But is it cause for concern?

*One thing for certain is that OSU fans will not be taking Glenville kids for "granted" anymore. Coached by friend of the program Ted Ginn Sr., there has certainly been a presumption that the best talent would end up in Columbus. Ginn has usually encouraged his seniors to drag the recruiting process out rather than committing early. The logic is that the exposure for the uncommitted top players trickles down to help their teammates. This is especially true during the Ginn Bus Tour each summer. With the players usually keeping quiet, Buckeye fans have watched numerous Glenville kids eventually commit. You can be sure that the intensity level and paranoia will be ratcheted up next season for top Gleville kids like Marcus Hall.

*Illinois, which gave Ohio State fits in the 90's, has officially elevated itself to nuisance status. Though their 26 person class is pretty weak in the bottom half, they've still managed to collect 7 four-star kids from a wide range of states. They're also got a commitment from a top '09 player, DE Melvin Fellows, and are making runs at others like Darrell Mason. Plus, there was this little incident in the 'Shoe on November 10th that we don't talk about. One of Sportsline.com's goofy writers recently claimed that Illinois would soon become the class of the conference. That's preposterous, but Illinois could make a run at being the best of the rest. I mean, this is still Ron Zook, right?

*One of my least favorite things about recruiting is when fans start downplaying or bashing a kid when he chooses another school. Scott seemed like an incredibly talented player, so I consider this a disappointment. The only possible silver lining is that Scott was probably the most expendable player of the remaining targets. OSU could bring back both starters at WR, Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline. Ray Small is just a sophomore, and at this point he doesn't look a candidate to go pro after next season. Dane Sanzenbacher and Taurian Washington both saw action as true freshmen and are highly regarded by the staff. And the '08 class contains a monster haul of five-star DeVier Posey, four-star athlete Lamaar Thomas and hybrid WR/TE Jake Stoneburner. In other words, the cupboard is not just full, it's overflowing. Should Scott consider a switch the defensive side, the linebacker depth chart is even worse. So while Scott may go on to star at Illinois, the Buckeyes could not feel like a huge need was lost. Whether this factored into Scott's decision is unclear.

*Finally, how about the bizarro world of recruiting in-state kids. For a school that usually lives and dies on the great talent in Ohio, 8 of the Buckeyes 16 commits are from out-of-state. The overwhelming majority of the remaining players on the board are from places other than Ohio, primarily Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania. There have also been an usual number of high-profile in-state misses, including Kyle Rudolph, Mike Zordich, Kevin Koger and Dan McCarthy. Again, is this something to worry about? Not yet. In the case of players like Zordich and McCarthy, family ties were the reason for the defection. And it's really hard to complain when the offers are being accepted by elite prospects like Mike Brewster and J.B. Shugarts.