Breaking Down the '08 Class: Defense

We finish up our first look at the newest Buckeyes with a quick analysis of the defensive players...

DE: The Buckeyes picked up three defensive ends, adding much-needed depth. In typical Jim Tressel fashion, the players are diverse in their skill sets. Keith Wells, once a Florida State commit, is a speed rusher off the edge. Willie Mobley, the #2 player in Minnesota, will start outside but has the frame to possibly move inside like Darrion Scott. And Nathan Williams is a hybrid DE/OLB, recruited to play a position similar to Bobby Carpenter.

GRADE: A. With Vernon Gholston heading to the NFL, Lawrence Wilson going to be a senior, and Alex Barrow leaving the team, the Buckeyes needed quality and quantity. They got both – the addition of Wells just before signing day was another coup from the state of Georgia.

DT: Garrett Goebel, the #1 player from Illinois, selected OSU over Michigan last fall. This was a huge get for the Buckeyes, and not only because they beat Michigan head-to-head. The interior of the defensive line is young and has talent, but Buckeyes had a series of high-profile misses last year in Joseph Barksdale and Josh Brent. Goebel is a wrestler that immediately will compete for time in the rotation, and beating out incumbent starters Dexter Larimore or Todd Denlinger in ’09 is a possibility.

The Buckeyes also added Glenville prospect Shawntel Rowell in January. There was a great deal of debate about whether he would get an offer, due to both academic and weight issues. But a slimmer “Baby Shaq” was able to get everything in order and join the class. He seems like a bit of a project; I wouldn’t expect a serious contribution until the ’10 season.

GRADE: A-. Goebel himself was as important a prospect as the Buckeyes had, save for perhaps Adams and Brewster. If Mobley eventually moves to the interior, they could be a monster tandem. Rowell is hard to call at this point, as he has the talent but will need to work hard.

LB: After taking two linebackers last year, the Buckeyes added another pair in ’08. The headliner is Etienne Sabino, a south Florida native ranked at the top of the middle linebacker class. It’s hard to imagine he won’t be a stalwart on the defense for the next few years. A redshirt is doubtful next season, and he’ll battle Austin Spitler for the starting job in ’09.The other commit is Andrew Sweat from Pennsylvania. Sweat has two things going for him – speed to the ball and versatility to play any of the linebacker positions. I think he’s going to need to bulk up, so he might not see the field next year. But he’s a sure tackler and natural leader, and will be an asset for 4-5 years.

GRADE: A-. Much like Goebel, Sabino is worthy of an A all by himself. Sweat stock fell a tad bit during the season, but the coaches really value his skill set. The Buckeyes may look back with regret at some misses, especially Mooney backer Mike Zordich.

CB: After adding six defensive backs last year, the Buckeyes have just one cornerback for this class. Travis Howard, a 3-star and Sabino’s teammate, is a solid prospect in his own right. Boasting offers from Miami, Florida and Tennessee, he’s a physical corner with good speed. He’ll bide his time, but has the look of a very good #2 corner in the future.

GRADE: B. It’s hard to penalize OSU after the haul from last year. Howard looks like a gamer, but doesn’t come in with the same lockdown potential like James Scott. Buckeye fans were teased at the possibility of players like Patrick Johnson and Brandon Harris, which would have been unbelievable gets. But Howard is a Tressel-type player with Chris Gamble-esque upside.

S: Once the Buckeyes missed on in-state Dan McCarthy, it appeared they might not take a safety at all. But they ended up with two, including out-of-nowhere Zach Domicone and signing day surprise Orhian Johnson. Domicone literally emerged on the scene and had accepted an offer in a matter of days. Johnson seemed likely to take a quarterbacking opportunity at a lesser school, but opted to join the Buckeyes as an athlete. He’ll focus on defense, but be given the opportunity to work in some WR sets.

GRADE: C+. There is big-time potential here – Domicone didn’t get an offer from Oklahoma and Ohio State for nothing, and Johnson is top 50 player in talent-rich Florida. Originally pursued by the big boys in the south, I just don’t know whether Johnson will settle on a position or successfully transition to defense. And Domicone may have a hard time cracking a very deep crop of safeties. But I’ve learned my lesson doubting Jim Tressel’s ability to find diamond in the rough, so I’m prepared to be wrong on this one. At worst, both might be steady role players providing quality depth.

Breaking Down the '08 Class: Offense

With 19 LOI's faxed, and one very large outstanding question, it's time to take a look at how Ohio State did. We'll tackle the offense tonight and the defense tomorrow.

QB: Obviously, there’s a gaping hole in this discussion with the unsettled Terrelle Pryor situation. After a flurry of activity and rumors yesterday, Pryor decided not to sign today. Of course, he didn’t cancel his press conference – don’t be silly. Pryor will at least visit Penn State, and possibly trek out to Eugene to see if he wants to be a Duck.

In truth, the status quo has not significantly changed. I still believe that Ohio State is the overwhelming leader, though Pryor could obviously have his mind changed during his other visits. The Buckeyes haven’t yet experienced a high-profile recruit go into overtime, so we’ll have to see how this plays out. There’s not much 2009 impact, as Todd Boeckman was going to be the starter and Antonio Henton is more than capable of filling the dual-threat and back-up role.

GRADE: Incomplete. We’ll let you know in a few weeks at Parent-Teacher conferences.

RB: As we noted last week, the Buckeyes did not send a Letter of Intent to Massillon running back DeVoe Torrence. With no true back in the class, OSU will want to add at least one blue chip RB in next year’s class. However, it is worth noting that Maryland athlete Lamaar Thomas played RB at the Army All-American game and looked very good doing it. Should Pryor end up in Columbus, the two could be a deadly combination in the backfield in the “Troy Smith” spread offense. Don’t want to offense The Rod and his “read option”…

GRADE: B+. In a class full of potential stars, I expect Thomas to be a huge success in Columbus. He deserves an A all by himself, but since he’s not a full-time running back, I try to be reasonable. Also, the staff gets knocked down a peg for the entire DeVoe situation, which was no good from the beginning.

FB: With three graduating players at the position, OSU was happy to add 3-star FB Jermil Martin. Hailing from Glenville, Martin will immediately be given an opportunity to compete for playing time. Whether or not he will see the field is dependent on his ability to pick up the scheme and get strong enough for pass protection. Additional tidbit - Martin apparently has requested Keith Byars' #41, so he gets extra points but has a lot to live up to.

GRADE: C. There’s nothing wrong with Martin, though it is unclear how much action he’ll get over the next few years. Aram Olson was a higher rated recruit, though he’s been unable to stay healthy. With Ross Homan joining the fray in ’09 and a possible option look from the offense, Martin looks more like depth at this point than a key cog.

WR: Technically there’s only one WR in this class, 5-star DeVier Posey. The La Salle product burst onto the scene last spring with amazing camp performances and never slowed down. He will compete for time immediately, but will not likely make a huge impact until the 2009 season. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t a starter as a true sophomore. Of course, both Lamaar Thomas and Jake Stoneburner have to be mentioned here, since they will both see time.

GRADE: A. Three different types of receivers, all exceptionally talented. There are no holes here, which is why Ohio State fans barely missed a beat when Cordale Scott went to Illinois.

TE: The Buckeyes have two tight ends in the class - the aforementioned Stoneburner, who will likely migrate to wide receiver, and Nic DiLillo, a more traditional tight end. Buckeye fans have big hopes for Stoneburner, who has great speed and can create mismatches with his size.

DiLillo traveled an odd route, committing to both Clemson and Pittsburgh before getting an Ohio State offer. So remember to send a valentine to Kevin Koger, whose defection to Michigan opened up a ‘ship. Koger bet get used to defensive end, as it would DiLillo is a nasty blocker but definitely does not fall into the third tackle category. He runs good routes and has surprising soft hands.

GRADE: B. The tight end is not a feature position in the OSU offense, and DiLillo is probably a perfect fit for what they need. Still, you have to consider what might have been, missing on Blake Ayles, and a host of in-state players like Kyle Rudolph and Kevin Koger.

OL: It is difficult to understate what Ohio State did with the amazing trio in this class. After a series of misses over the past few years, Buckeyes fans were in a near panic over the depth of the line. The coaches brought in three of best linemen in the country, all of whom were on board by April. Mike Adams, the subject of massive debate by Rivals.com, got the last laugh. He moved all the way up to #3 overall in the country, and has the look of a franchise left tackle. Mike Brewster, a top 15 player in his own regard, is now legendary for his relentless efforts in putting this class together. He should be an anchor in the middle for the next 3-4 seasons. And J.B. Shugarts, once at the top of the Michigan big board, almost gets overlooked. But he will certainly complete for a spot in the two-deep right away, and could be a starter by 2009.

GRADE: A+. No, the Buckeyes didn’t get Kyle Long (baseball at Florida State) or Josh Jenkins (West Virginia re-commit). But they have shored up a glaring need with some of the best prospects available. This will certainly go down as one of the best line classes ever assembled.

K: Ben Buchanan was actually the first commit of the class. At that time, the Buckeyes were still reeling from the Florida title game loss, misses on key ’07 recruits, and looking at maybe just 13 available scholarships. So some fans weren’t actually giddy when he verballed. But he’s one of the top kickers in the country – most certainly in the top 5. And the staff did well to get a player that can both kick and punt, hopefully saving a scholarship in the process.

GRADE: B+. You can’t really ask for more, but you also can’t give A’s to kickers. If he turns out to be Mike Nugent the second, I’ll revise the grade.

(photo of Lamaar Thomas courtesy of WashingtonPost.com)

Signing Day! (unless you don't actually sign...)

National Letter of Intent Day is here, and we'll breakdown all of the Ohio State commits later today. I'll also respond to the bitter Beaver talking points as voiced by Michigan Nation (pictured above) in the earlier blog post.

For now, Orhian Johnson - IN

Josh Jenkins - OUT

Terrelle Pryor - To be continued, stay tuned...

All 19 Buckeyes already have their letters in and I can safely say this already the most exciting class I've seen, inlcuding the highly-decorated 2002 class of Hawk, Carpenter, Smith, Zwick, D'Andrea, etc.

TP and Some Pre-Signing Day Bantor

Is Terrelle Pryor Anikan or Luke Skywalker?

Both were originally thought to be a savior but only one brought balance to the force. Ohio State has been forming a death star. Motivated by their recent conquests over UM they are irrationally optimistic about everything. I don’t know how else to put it. They (OSU nation) are drunk with their successes (2002 national championship) and they ignore their failures (multiple national championship game embarrassments). Their offensive line is “block O”. Their linebacker corps is the “deepest in college football history”. The vest is a god. The basketball team is…(I don’t know what they are but all of a sudden a bunch of OSU fans that never cared about the sport suddenly do- like they were awarded an expansion franchise or something). They brag about not being U$C but are blind to the fact that they are O$U (don’t deny this; it’s partially, in a big way, responsible for your national championship and Heisman trophy). Every recruit is a guaranteed Buckeye and then when they are wrong (see Cordale Scott for example) they still act like they still have credibility.

I don’t place this blog’s primary post maker in the above category per say (although the above and below taints some of his info). Still, I, who have been admittingly and embarrassingly been a member of a couple of OSU sites this last month, am just shocked at what seems to be an overwhelming need to make exclamatory statements that will mask a deep down insecurity that appears to occupy their very core.

I mean why can’t OSU fan just say that they have had a great run against UM and appear to be in good shape for the future under the tenure of Jim Tressell. Why can’t they say that they have had national success but they are looking to improve on that aspect of their program? Why can’t they say that the basketball team’s “success” is a nice add-on but not anywhere near the equivalent of football gold?

I guess what drives me the craziest is that everything they speak or write is in pure hyperbole and subject to change. OSU’s 2/3-star DT is William Freakin Perry. Block O = 5 guys!, no 4 guys!, no 3 guys guys!, no 4 guys! Ohio is filled with an incredible amount of players that will be stars in college unless they go to Michigan in which case the ’08 Ohio class was really only 6-8 guys deep. AND most of all they say that Terrelle Pryor is 80/90% a Buckeye GUARANTEED. I think that OSU fan is right about where he will ultimately end up but if Buckeye fan is wrong I will NEVER let them hear the end of it.

As for TP, be a wolverine baby or we’ll see you on the field in Ann Arbor in ’09 and we’ll have our combo Steven Threet/’09 5-star recruit to oppose you. May the best team win…(which must be the Buckeyes of course *insert drunkin Buckeye screams here*).