| 06 December 2009
What a weekend. I will talk about the games if I see enough interest from fans but I want to focus on the talent from this weekend.
The best player I saw this weekend was Dominique Brown. Before the season I said the best athlete in Ohio was Deron Brown from Akron North. He was the freak of freaks in Ohio this year. He is in such a bad situation gradewise that you have not heard much about him. I think we may have another contender. I saw Brown late in the year and was very impressed. Seeing him again showed a player that was even better. What he is can be, the sky is the limit. Big powerful kid with explosive speed and the attitude of a warrior. They were showing shots of him on the sidelines. The intensity of his smile was something that sent chills down my spine. Kinda like those Lawrence Taylor sidelines shots we see every now and then. Makes you wonder if someone should call security. He loves to play football. I see a safety who could possibly grow into a linebacker bodywise, and the player I saw pacing the sidelines would probably dearly love to do the hitting, but he has such a skillset with the ball in his hands. I have to try him on offense. I see one of those big athletic split ends like we are seeing in the NFL these days, Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson would be the best examples. I would try him there before switching him to defense. A coach friend has seen enough tape of him throwing the ball that he thinks he would give him a shot there first. I like this kid so much that if I could pick one kid already committed elsewhere that the Buckeyes could get back in on, it would not be Andrew Donnal. It would be this kid.
I don't know who I would rank where but the next three guys that stood out were Eric Franklin, the Mooney tackle, Braylon Heard, the Mooney running back committed to WVa, and Cardale Jones. The Buckeyes are looking hard at DeSales junior Chris Rock. He already has offers from Michigan, Notre Dame and BC. Franklin handled him all day. If a player you think is the real deal gets handled by a guy it seems a natural to look into that guy. Gary Hosteau says Franklin has grade issues. That has to be it. That could work out in the Buckeyes favor. I don't know if he is close to qualifying or there is no chance. I know that finding a player of this quality who has qualified come late January could fit in nicely with the timeline on this class for the Buckeyes.
Braylon Heard is the best senior back in Ohio. He is a tough runner for his size. He has great balance and his speed is another level. He is going to WVa. I have seen comparisons with Noel Devine. There is no YAC with Devine. Heard is no power back but you have to tackle him. I think he cuts into Devines reps next year. This is the second week in a row Heard has impressed me. If the Buckeyes wanted another back late in the process I would take Heard over Eric Howard.
Cardale Jones got off to a shaky start but righted his ship and looked like he can be a special player. His numbers would have been really impressive, and Glenville would be the Division 1 state champions, with any help from his team. 5 clearly catchable balls were dropped, including back to back perfectly thrown touchdown passes. In addition, a 99 yard touchdown pass was called back on a personal foul penalty. He went 5 for 5 at one point in the second half. Several former skeptics became believers after this showing. Greg Frey was in the booth and seemed very impressed with Jones.
I had not seen Caldwater this year. I was surprised to see how good their quarterback is. Keith Wenning is a big kid with a good arm. Moves around pretty well for such a big kid. Ball State got a good one in Wenning.
Shaq Washington has to get a look. He is so quick and such a smart player.
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