Shugarts Joins Stellar OSU Class

As rumored, J.B. Shugarts today announced his intention to attend The Ohio State University. The commitment comes one day after Mike Brewster made his verbal public, and gives Ohio State its best offensive line class in many years. Shugarts choose Ohio State over Texas A&M, LSU, Florida and Oklahoma. He also held offers from Notre Dame, Michigan and USC. Along with Mike Adams, he gives the Buckeyes an unbelievable set of bookend tackles.

Shugarts is Ohio State's seventh commitment for 2008. The class will likely finish with 15-18 players. The "Block O", along with Jake Stoneburner, will continue to work on other prized targets such as QB Terrelle Pryor, OG Josh Jenkins and LB Andrew Sweat. It will be interesting to see if Ohio State ends up offering Shugarts friend (and Michigan dream) Sam McGuffie. On the downside, it seems less likely that Virginia OT Kyle Long will be the fourth member of the offensive line class. He seems more interested in his baseball career, and recently tabbed Florida State as his leader due to their excellence in both sports. More on this incredible run by the Buckeyes over the next few days...

Brewster Makes It Official...Shugarts Next?

Michael Brewster, one of the most highly coveted lineman in the 2008 class, offered his verbal commitment to Ohio State on Monday. The Edgewater (FL) star had long been rumored a Buckeye lock, acting as the catalyst for OSU's dream offensive line class "Block O". Brewster was recently named the #1 lineman in the country by Rivals.com, and choose Ohio State over offers from Florida, USC and LSU.

Brewster was in Columbus this past weekend with a all-star cast of recruits for the annual spring game. Over 75,000 Buckeye fans turned out to watch the Gray defeat the Scarlet, 17-9. Also in attendance was J.B. Shugarts, the blue chip offensive tackle from Klein, TX. Shugarts was rumored to have also committed to Ohio State, and has scheduled a press conference for 4pm central on Tuesday to announce his decisison. You may recognize Shugarts name from his lofty #1 spot on the Michigan big board.

One unfortunate effect of Ohio State's amazing recruiting run is that Elliot Mealer was forced to commit to Michigan. The Wauseon native, a lifelong Buckeye fan, apparently decided that he didn't want to wait for a possible OSU offer. Though he plays tight end in high school, Mealer projects as a tackle in college. Buckeye recruiting experts viewed Mealer as an excellent fallback plan if Block O didn't materialize. I blogged that he was my top choice of in state kids two weeks ago...note that he never made it to the Michigan Big Board. It will be interested to see how Michigan fans spin this commitment. Best wishes to Mealer, as Ohio actual hates to see its kids leave for that school up north. In any other year with a normal complement of scholarships, Mealer would be a Buckeye. But Ohio State is assembling an offensive line class for the ages, and Mealer is the collateral damage.

Ohio State: Breaking Down the Offensive Line

Ohio State's offensive line returns three starters and should be a strength for an offense in search of an identity. Despite a solid regular season, the big guys up front were much maligned for their lack of quickness in the BCS National Championship game against Florida. The returning players took this justified criticism to heart, especially bookend tackles Alex Boone and Kirk Barton. Barton's return for his senior season was crucial given the Buckeyes lack of depth up front. Boone, a true junior and 5-star recruit, is frequently mentioned for his dedication and improvement this offseason. Joining Boone on the left side is mammoth junior guard Steve Rehring. The two form one of the biggest tackle-guard combinations in the country. Boone and Barton will be spelled by Jon Skinner and redshirt freshman Josh Kerr.

The center position was vacated by Rimington Award finalist Doug Datish. True sophomore Jim Cordle, a 4-star from the 2005 class, is the favorite to replace him. Junior Tyler Whaley is next in line for snaps, and redshirt freshman Conner Smith could see time here as well.

The battle for right guard will continue through the fall. Junior Ben Person, a 4-star from the 2004 class, has the edge during spring practice. The primary backup at guard is junior Kyle Mitchum, a former Rivals100 player from 2004. He's had a somewhat disappointing career thus far and is running out of opportunities to make an impact. Along with Smith, redshirt freshman Bryant Browning could see time at all three interior positions. Browning is a 3-star recruit from Glenville that had a strong bowl and spring practice.

The only incoming freshman is guard Evan Blankenship from Pennsylvania. Blankenship is a somewhat unheralded 3-star, barey cracking the Pennsylvania top 20 from last season. But he won camp awards at Ohio State the last two years, and has been described as a mauler in the trenches. After a year hitting the weights, he'll at least be a serviceable interior reserve.

With the noted lack of depth, offensive line is the most important piece of the 2008 recruiting class. As I've previously blogged about, OSU is already off and running with a commitment from tackle Mike Adams. Adams is the #1 player in the state and the first piece of "Block O" to verbally commit. "Block O" refers to a group of stud juniors that are mutually interested in becoming Buckeyes. In addition to Adams, that includes Mike Brewster (FL), Kyle Long (VA) and J.B. Shugarts (TX). The four have become fast friends, taking visits together and frequently chatting online.

The prospects of landing all four have Ohio State fans salivating, but let's add some level of reason to the discussion. Brewster seems the most likely to join Adams in Columbus. He was present for Adams commitment, and has been actively recruiting other prospects to become Buckeyes. Only Urban Meyer and Florida seem like they have a shot at changing his mind, though I would never count out Peter Carroll.

Long, who is from the Charlottesville area, has a brother playing at UVA. He's also a highly touted baseball player, so there are plenty of options. Long did attend the Florida game with Brewster on Howie's dime. The two were decked out in OSU gear for that abomination. The Buckeyes have as good a shot as anyone.

Shugarts is the toughest to read. He has a working top 6 of OSU, Michigan, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and USC. He raves about each visit he takes, so it's tough to gauge his true interest from interviews. Of the 4, Shugarts seems the most likely to head elsewhere. Whether or not that's Michigan is up for serious debate.

There are a number of other names to keep in mind throughout this season. Josh Jenkins, a highly rated guard from West Virginia, is also being aggressively pursued by Ohio State. He verballed to West Virginia early on, but it getting worked by offensive line coach Jim Bollman.

If any of the above players choose another school, there is a deep pool of linemen available in Ohio. In any other year, with more scholarship, many of these kids would already have offers. Elliott Mealer, Zebrie Sanders, Marc Stevens, and Jake Current could all be in line for an offer depending on camp performance and scholarship availability. Of the four, I like Mealer the best for his versatility and technique. Sanders has a great frame but is raw at this point; however, he does have an impressive offer list.

The Buckeyes will take at least four in the 2008 class, and that number could be as high as six.

Michigan Football Big Update: The Offense

Many things were announced by Lloyd Carr at his pre-spring practice press conference. Additionally, Carr has held one more press conference during spring practice and the media was allowed to attend one of the practices. Furthermore, many things have leaked out of the winter conditioning program and spring practice. That along with recruiting news constitutes the following update.

QB- Ryan Mallett has looked great, but he has also looked like a true freshman at his first spring practice. He IS the #2 QB already. Jason Forcier, as expected, has transferred to Stanford (actually he is gone at the end of the spring semester). So UM only has 3 scholarship QBs this year and only 2 next year. In '08, Mallett will start and redshirt sophomore David Cone will back him up. The third string will be a true frosh and the recruitment pitch will be to come and redshirt and start 2 to 3 years depending on when Mallett leaves.

RB- Michael Hart is sitting out spring practice for precautionary reasons. Kevin Grady is as thin and quick as ever before. However, Brandon Minor still looks like he will be the 2nd string. True freshman Avery Horn may redshirt. In '08, Minor will start as a junior and then Grady will be the hard running backup. while McGuffie(?) will be the speedy backup. We'll see where, if anywhere, Horn fits in. Possibly 2 RBs will be coming in with this next recruiting class.

FB- Despite his move to TE for spring depth reasons, expect Andre Criswell to be the #1 FB with true freshman Vince Helmuth (Rivals FB All-American) and converted linebacker & redshirt freshman Quinton Patilla also in play. Probably no recuit at this position this year. Look for Justin Boren's younger brother in the 2009 class.

WR- Mario Manningham is being held out of spring practice for precautionary reasons. Adrian Arrington has obtained strike-two and is in jeopardy of being kicked off the team. Sophomore Greg Matthews is being called the next superstar WR based on Rose Bowl practice & winter conditioning & spring practice. It remains to be seen whether he ever be as explosive as Manningham. 3rd year sophomore LaTerryal Savoy looks like a solid #4 who may be capable as a 3 if need be. All signs point to Bass never coming back. 3 freshman join the team in fall - Tony Clemons (PA), Ernest Hemmingway (SC) and Zion Babb (CA). Look for Michigan to sign 2 more in '08, with Darryl Stonum (TX) & Jonathan Baldwin (PA) topping the list.

TE- Carson Butler, the expected '07 starter, was kicked off the team for disciplinary reasons. Junior Mike Massey is the guaranteed starter now but is out for the spring with a minor injury. Converted OLB/DE Chris McCLaurin will be the #2. Criswell is also playing here for the spring (for spring practice reasons). Two freshmen show up in the fall; Webb, who the most potential and Steve Watson who is more prepared to contribute early. 1 or 2 will be recruited for the '08 class. Jeremy Crabtree of Rivals.com is reporting the Ohio standout Brandon Moore may have UM as the team to beat at this point.

OT- Jake Long is being held out of the spring for precautionary reasons. 5-star redshirt-freshman RT Steve Schilling (Mono and Shoulder) has looked great and will likely start. Redshirt sophomore Mark Ortmann is the competition for Schilling at RT and is the '08 successor for Long at LT. 3rd year sophomore Cory Zirbel is the likely backup RT and is being left behind after being beat out by Ortmann at LT and lapped by Schilling at RT. Redshirt freshman Perry Dorrenstein has shockingly received lots of praise from Carr and may be viable backup up RT for Schilling. Mark Huyge is a true freshman who is 300 lbs and athletic and should have a future as at least a backup. Dann O'Neill has already committed for the '08 class and one more recruit (J.B. Shugarts or Zebrie Sanders) would seal the deal on the position for the future.

OG- Adam Krauss (LG) is being held out of spring for precautionary reasons. The coaches are committed to keeping junior Alex Mitchell at RG and they are not considering him at RT. Sophomore Justin Schifano is the backup RG and future starter. Junior Jeremy Ciulla is probably a career backup but a capable one at that. Sophomore Tim McAvoy, who also can play center, is a minor backup this year who will be a key backup next year. Fourth-year junior Grant DeBenedictis just needs to call it a career (injuries). We NEED 2 to 3 G/C for the '08 class. My class expectations are so-so.

OC- Justin Boren looks great and will start as a true sophomore. Redshirt sophomore David Moosman has looked solid and will back him up. Look for him to get a starting spot somewhere on the line in '08. True freshman David Molk will redshirt and ultimately replace Boren or Moosman as starting center.

This is the offensive update. The defensive update will follow. Check back soon for detailed analysis of these player's past performance and future outlook.

The Great White Hype

Coverage of college football recruiting has become a booming industry over the past few years. Fans following the recruiting process with as much, if not more, passion as they do the actual games. One of the strange consequences of this growth is that fans become aware of players well before they leave high school. This means that 16 and 17 year-old kids will actually have followers well before they hit campus. On the flip side, these recruits immediately become part of bitter rivalries.

This leads me to Texas RB Sam McGuffie, who Michigan fans have been swooning over for a year now. Mcguffie became somewhat of an internet phenomenon because of this YouTube highlight reel, which includes a play in which he hurdled an opponent. I'm not going to embed the video because frankly I don't want to watch the thing again. Sure, it's an athletic move. But against what type of competition? It looks like a little defensive back drop his head down (great form son, now you're immortalized) so he's Hobbit-sized. And the 5'10" McGuffie has no problem leaping over Frodo en route to a TD. Awesome. Try those shennanigans in the Big Ten, and you'll get yourself killed.

Naturally, if McGuffie is loved and courted by Michigan fans, he must be reviled by Oho State fans, right? Not necessarily. Ohio State has been in contact with McGuffie, possibly to play the slot. Why? Apparently Sam is great friends with Klein (TX) offensive tackle J.B. Shugarts. Shugarts is one of the most highly coveted linemen in the country, and both Michigan and Ohio State would love to land him. McGuffie and Shugarts have visited a number of schools together, and claim they would like to attend the same school. Should Ohio State get involved to keep in the Shugarts mix? Package deals rarely work out, so I'm thinking no.

Recruiting is an inexact science, as no one really knows how good these kids will be. So fans argue over their prospects, claiming their team will be better in 2010 than your team. As such, I've already built up a healthy dislike of McGuffie for no rational reason. When I see him, I'm already thinking "Wolverine", even though he might not go there. After a quick tour through his photo gallery on Rivals, I'm left thinking that McGuffie is:

(a) more like a tennis player than a football player;

(b) a track star...a girl's track star;

(c) the second lead in the upcoming sequel to "8 Mile", direct to video

Seriously Sam, put your hat on straight. If you can bring J.B. to C-Bus, we'll let you play slot and I'll get over it. But if you're going to put on that winged-helmet, you're in for a disappointing college career. I still think that Oklahoma and Texas A&M will ultimately be big players for McGuffie. LSU and Ohio State haven't offered and Florida is going to get Josh Haden. Notre Dame doesn't seem like a good fit.

Meanwhile, Michigan is alienating some top backs with their exclusive pursuit of McGuffie - Jonas Gray and Devoe Torrence come to mind. Then again, if you ask my fellow blogger Bill, Michigan has plenty of 4 and 5-star backup plans. But I'm still pulling for McGuffie to don the Maize and Blue. There are some OSU linebackers that would like to test that leaping ability.