Hendersen said yesterday tOSU is getting a visit for sure. But I agree something is not right. With the kind of offenses we run our o-line should be priority one!

Duane, I agree with your comments, but to me, it goes beyond just the offensive line. Quarteback, wide receiver, running back, defensive line, all seem to be confusing this year. I don't live in Ohio any more, so I don't know alot of these kids. but the coaches don't seem to know which way to go this year. It may be that they have limited scholarships, and put more priority on certain kids and then had no plan B. Or it may be that the coaches don't feel that a lot of these kids are not OSU type players. Now if the OOS players come through, this will all be forgotten, but this could be a very bad class of recruits this year.

Duane, while I have not known you (on line) for long I have not seen you so paniced. You point about having a good OL cannot be debated as it has been documented by past performances. I do however believe that this changed with the 2008 Class and that we will see a big difference this year. The 2009 Class was also a good one for OL. In regards to 2010 the jury is still out but to we fans it is easy to become paniced as we do not have the benefit of the Staff's knowledge or perspective. Obviously they are more optimistic regarding landing two OL out of Green, Henderson, James, Kouandjio and Linder than we. However, for some gut reason I am inclined to agree with them. Our chances with Green are slim to none, chances with James are slipping but I think there is definite reason for hope with the remaining three. Yes, we could have offered Donnal, Dennis and Rotheram as Plan B options but championships are seldom won with Plan B guys (Donnal possibly being an exception to this). Optimially we would like to sign 3 OL this year but if we only get 2 (and they are out of this list) we can survive. It will just put a more premium on recruiting OL next year and if Kouandjio is one of the two most likely we have another good OL in the 2010 Class in his brother. I say don't panic and let this all play out.

I think odds are good Donnal would've received an offer if we had 25 scholarships instead of 16 this year. The staff must thing we're sitting pretty well with one or two of these guys, because they decided to play without a safety net. I really don't know what to think, other than to say that after two years of good OL classes it feels like we're returning to old habits. And that stinks.

i wish there was more evaluations of the youngers prospects and stuff like that instead of the sky always falling and the osu coaches needing do provide you with an explanation for their every move, lol. sorry but its the same old shit everyday over here. (paging the old duane....please come back!!!)

All of our coaches saw Donnal and Dennis up close and decided they were not worthy of an OSU scholly. What is so confusing? Elite teams do not offer kids just cause they happen to be among the best in their state. They offer THE BEST in the country. That is how you build talent!! Enough with crying about OL recruiting!

Duane, how does 2011 OL class look in Ohio?

I saw the warning flags of an offensive line class of One a few months ago, and nothing has made me more optimistic. The scary part is that I almost feel that the coaches are OK with an offensive like class of One. They've shown repeatedly that they don't mind so much coming up short at OL... 2006, 2007, and 2008 all stand out in this regard.

I read this the other day on CFN and it really bummed me out.

There’s a battle taking place at right tackle, which is currently being won by 6-5, 288-pound sophomore Zebrie Sanders. An 11-game starter in his rookie season, he proved to be one of the line’s top run blockers, recording 31 knockdowns. He also has uncommon agility and composure for such a young player, allowing just one sack and committing only one penalty.

Anyone still think Sanders is "too soft" and that we have enough tackles?

Thank God on this board I do not have to hear the sycophants praising all of Tressel's decisions with "Tressel is playing chess while others play checkers"

Maybe he has is eye on another kicker.

Duane,

You stated that We are not a school that top OLs see as a path to the NFL. That is so much a part of out of state recruiting. It takes love of the Buckeyes to want to come here.

Explain how we got the top OL in Florida and Texas then?

Anyway you slice it OSU fans are unhappy about the OL. Person, Rehring and Cordle were considered projects along with Blankenship and Kerr.

Donnal came to camp and was passed on...as was Dennis after two different camp visits. Schofner sealed the deal by NOT coming to camp.

Maybe just maybe the staff recognizes their limitations with a certain TYPE of player.

If we strike out with Linder, Henderson (who is giving us a visit for sure), the kid from Maryland and ANYONE else that blows up between now and February then we can argue that OSU didn't take enough OL in this class. Blowups like this in July can look foolish if we sign better players between now and February.

I think Kouandjio is a strong strong possibility with family in Columbus and legit interest. That's one positive.

I also think we have a legit shot at both Henderson and Linder. If we get either, we're not too badly off.

Don't forget we only graduate one senior scholarship lineman this year in Jimmy Cordle, so a class of 3 isn't the end of the world.

I think odds are good Donnal would've received an offer if we had 25 scholarships instead of 16 this year. The staff must thing we're sitting pretty well with one or two of these guys, because they decided to play without a safety net. I really don't know what to think, other than to say that after two years of good OL classes it feels like we're returning to old habits. And that stinks.

Agree - Many I believe thought highly of Donnal by just going off his mis-reported 40 and 45 seconds of highlights. He is heavy footed and has done nothing to date this year to receive an offer. Staff wants the right 2 or 3. He is not it.This means we do not offer the entire landscape with a huge net.

Debating the numbers is one thing - actually evaluating what we have not offered is another.
Those that did not get an offer - are for a reason.

Debating the numbers is one thing - actually evaluating what we have not offered is another. Those that did not get an offer - are for a reason.

I dunno... it's a healthy debate I think. Someone else brought up Zebrie Sanders. I recall him being interested in OSU, but OSU was holding out for Josh Jenkins. In the end, Jenkins went with the in-state school (WVU), and we let Sanders leave for FSU. We're here holding our breath that Shugarts can stay healthy and take the RT slot, and we passed on a kid who's gone on to start 11 games his freshman year.

Granted we still got three excellent prospects, all of whom might turn into NFL players, but we could've had 4 or even 5 when we desperately needed quality depth for five positions on the field. I think the OL, more than any other position, is open to questions regarding recruiting. The staff doesn't "owe" me an explanation, per se, but that doesn't mean I can't want one.

The coaches saw Donnal up close and personal at camp, and they passed; they didn't even contact him after. I'm as frustrated as anyone about offensive line recruiting, but you shouldn't offer a kid just to fill a quota. They apparently didn't like him enough to offer, so whatever.

Dennis was invited back for a second camp and is/was CLEARLY ahead of Donnal on the coaches board. Once James commits to UC, maybe they come back to him?

while i do agree it can be frustrating to see players go elsewhere, i doubt that they are going to let players go that they have seen in camp that are actually worthy. I remember so many people grumbling why we didn't offer devontae payne or clay belton, all these "superprospects." I think everyone is way too impatient and wants to jump the gun with offering everyone that could be remotely decent. I would like to see a team compiled of players that people whined about not offering and my guess is the team would be less than mediocre

Thank God on this board I do not have to hear the sycophants praising all of Tressel's decisions with "Tressel is playing chess while others play checkers"

Maybe he has is eye on another kicker.

yea i dont need the constant praise of tress either. on the flip side all you hear about over here is "don't like that" or "need an explanation" EVERY day, every post blah blah blah. i am just saying Duane is the man at evaluations and player performance and development stuff,he didn't rush to post every silly little "tid-bit" of second hand info and in the process i think people really appreciated and valued his opinion. now its a steady diet of "this staff has no clue" which probably explains the low participation in these threads. keep beatin the dead horse though i guess maybe all the doomdayers will just hang out here and wait to be named head coach.

I don't post or read the posts here because the web software cuts off all of the posts doesn't let me read any of them. Is there an obvious setting I'm missing somewhere to do something crazy, like actually show the full text of the posts? I'd tried two different browsers and neither of them work on this site.

I don't post or read the posts here because the web software cuts off all of the posts doesn't let me read any of them. Is there an obvious setting I'm missing somewhere to do something crazy, like actually show the full text of the posts? I'd tried two different browsers and neither of them work on this site.

Yeah its not as bad as its used to be but longer post still are cut off.

Let me see what I can do about that posts cutting off. I thought that was fixed.

Thank God on this board I do not have to hear the sycophants praising all of Tressel's decisions with "Tressel is playing chess while others play checkers"

Maybe he has is eye on another kicker.

yea i dont need the constant praise of tress either. on the flip side all you hear about over here is "don't like that" or "need an explanation" EVERY day, every post blah blah blah. i am just saying Duane is the man at evaluations and player performance and development stuff,he didn't rush to post every silly little "tid-bit" of second hand info and in the process i think people really appreciated and valued his opinion. now its a steady diet of "this staff has no clue" which probably explains the low participation in these threads. keep beatin the dead horse though i guess maybe all the doomdayers will just hang out here and wait to be named head coach.

You want some evaluations? You are about to get some.

I'm not nearly as frustrated with our O-line as I am with our QB recruiting. How is it that Penn State has no problem landing top ten Qb's and we are struggling to land anyone since TP. I don't understand why we can't recruit nationally at the Qb position.

I'm not nearly as frustrated with our O-line as I am with our QB recruiting. How is it that Penn State has no problem landing top ten Qb's and we are struggling to land anyone since TP. I don't understand why we can't recruit nationally at the Qb position.

I think we are putting that one to rest. Pryor was an out of state kid. We were in it late for some major kids last year. This is the worst year for quarterbacks that I can remember and it is the worst by a clear margin. We got a really hot kid. We are going to be hard to beat for Braxton Miller next year. We got the boost we needed from Troy Smith and have taken advantage of it.

The coaches saw Donnal up close and personal at camp, and they passed; they didn't even contact him after. I'm as frustrated as anyone about offensive line recruiting, but you shouldn't offer a kid just to fill a quota. They apparently didn't like him enough to offer, so whatever.

Dennis was invited back for a second camp and is/was CLEARLY ahead of Donnal on the coaches board. Once James commits to UC, maybe they come back to him?

I am 100% positive Donnal was contacted after camp.

Maybe they come back to them all. The fact is, maybe they don't care if they are verballed. As uncomfortable as I am with what I am seeing right now, it is hard to ignore, no, I would say impossible to ignore the staffs history of going back to instate players who have committed elsewhere and getting them to change their minds. The numbers are hard to argue with. Focus their attention on the elites until they commit. Come back to the 4-stars after nothing comes from it.

Duane, how does 2011 OL class look in Ohio?

The OL is not jumping out at me. Great DL class.

Just want to say thanks for posting this. I know some people say they are tired of people second-guessing the coaches, etc. but personally I think Bollman and the offensive line in particular need questioning. Often. The day Bollman retires will be a very happy day for me.

i wish all the text was viewable....grr

You all want to bit** about our OHIO boys: Boone/Person/Rehring/Mitchum/Skinner/Smith/Browning
So now the Staff does not want to disappoint you any more with overweight corn fed line men from Ohio, and you are still giving them s***.
My man JT cannot win for trying.

Of course this is Tongue in Cheek. But lets relax.
1)We have Norwell in the bag.
2)We know Fragel is moving down.
3)We now know we have a really good shot at Kouandjio with his family connections here, and his little brother right behind him.
4)The longer it takes James to commit to ND is in our favor.
5)We have a committed visit from Henderson which is big in and of itself. OSU is the closest one to home, and OSU has more of what his target goals are. Hopefully TP and the Brew Crew can close the deal. And YES, TOSU does put LTs into the NFL.
6)Linder playing in the Shoe, and then making an official visit here, puts him in the same category with Joyner.
I am different than everyone else. I now think we are in the lead with Joyner with everything happening with FSU.
7)Even though Chaz Green says he is going to make a visit here, I doubt his seriousness. But he is the one that initiated the call to JT.

I would be very impressed if we ended up with Norwell, Kou, James, and Henderson.

Duane, it's baffling. We have tremendous depth in certain areas (LB, WR) and a scary lack of depth in others (QB, OL). We have long said that JT's philosophy was when you come to play at OSU, you have to earn your PT. But we are not seeing that at certain positions.

Are promises being made to get ceratin kids to come here? Graham is probably a nice get but considering we took no QB last year, that's a very safe offer - not aggressive at all. I don't think Pryor is the type to look over his shoulder, but what if he goes down? More importantly - how would the offense now change if Bauserman goes down in practice? With no backup, do you pull the reins in on TP and not risk injury? That would completely change the complexion of the offense.

The same goes with OL. We grabbed a monster class last year but only three guys and some have struggled to stay healthy. Followed that up with a nice class this year, but none of those guys are a lock. Were promises made to Adams? Brewster? Shugarts? I would think now is the time to bring in some players that want to see the field as Freshmen. We don't need a one deep - we've seen that the last seven years. We need to fill the pipleine at a position where most guys aren't really ready to play at a high level until 21 or 22. we're seeing that with our studs, yet we have few other options. I would think that alone would drive us to go get depth for every class.