I have grown to trust Mark Porter when it comes to player evaluation. He has become very good at this. Imagine my surprise when he said he was impressed with this receiver class. We agree so much that when I saw that it was a real surprise.

I see Devin Smith and Shaq Washington as the players who should get Big Four offers in the state. Shane Wynn is not a pure receiver. His offer is as much about kick returns as it is being a receiver. I need to see a kid that size be effective as an every down receiver in a major college offense. I hope he can as the kid is electric with the ball in his hands.

I am not sure this is a really good class but taking the time to look around the state tells me the truth of the matter is somewhere between my thinking and Marks. Outside of Smith there

The Buckeyes did not offer Springfield Local product Kevin Williams. When I was first asked about him I said I would not consider an offer to him or Kris Harley without seeing the bodies up close. I don't think we can assume that he will not see an offer but we can assume he did not leap out at the staff when he stood in front of them.
A couple of days ago I said many the staff was going to look at these undersized guys because that was all that was out there. I said you can't not take DTs. Maybe the staff does not see it that way. I got ahead of myself. There is a nice number of DL offers out there but there are only two true DT who has been offered, Michael Bennett from Centerville and

This was always going to be a short blog post. It borders on embarrassing how bad this class of backs is for 2011 in Ohio. I see Trayion Durham as the best back in the class and I don't see a Big Four offer from him. The Buckeyes are too deep to add a back unless is the kind of player you don't say no to. Durham does not fit the Michigan or Notre Dame offenses. Penn State is the only one of the Big Four who might come in with an offer and I am not aware of any interest from the Nittany Lions at this early stage.

Beyond Durham I like Rico Butler at Hilliard Davidson. Nice looking sattellite guy. He is about the only other guy I have seen that looks like at least a MAC level RB. I just don't see backs that I can say for sure will even be MAC level kids.That is incredible. Even those

There is enough buzz about a Jeremy Cash verbal that you have to believe it has happened or will happen in the very near future. Will that be more than just getting a top safety prospect?

It remains to be seen. Will Cash be that vocal leader who will step up and be here as many weekends as he can to talk to every recruit looking at Ohio State? Will he be the guy asking for phone numbers to keep in touch with the other possible future Buckeyes? We think about a quarterback being that player but the most recent example was a center, Michael Brewster.Why not a safety?

As far as quarterback goes, that is the holy grail of early verbals. Players know the importance of a quarterback to winning a national championship. Getting an early verbal from

I have been talking about the quarterback class for so long it is not going to be a surprise about how I have the class ranked. Cardale Jones is still my number one. He has things going for him that you can't coach. Something has changed though.

After seeing an extensive film of Braxton Miller as a junior that was extremely impressive, I am all the more certain that taking two should be a priority. I think we are seeing that the staff will take two. Until recently we were not aware that there is another quarterback offer out there. Florida dual-threat quarterback Jerrard Randall has an offer. He camped here last

I am going to start rolling out my top players in the class of 2011. I will put out the best by position then put together a top 100. I wanted to comment on the class overall first, as well as talk about the process a little.

Evaluation is about what players are going to be,

The way things were going for awhile I was not sure when I would be able to do this blog. I want to wrap-up the 2010 class before we go full speed into 2011.

The subject of which freshmen will play early is always a topic fans are interested in. There are not alot of players who can expect to play next year. It has nothing to do with the class not being what some hoped it would be. I maintain it was a fine skill position class. It has to do with youth. This is a young roster.

The basis for projections about freshmen playing is one of two things, need or a player who is so good that he is going to force his way into the depth chart.One player who fits the former

We are seeing new offers every day. The Buckeyes have made two more offers in the last 48 hours.

Center Brian Bobek was offered after visiting this past weekend. He is a rising star after leading the national junior combine in bench press reps and in vertical jump. That shows a strong explosive player. His family has connections to Iowa, both parents being grads, but I have some real insight into this one. I have reason to believe the Buckeyes are going to be hard to beat on this one. I think we see a verbal sooner rather than later. He is an impressive