| 18 July 2009
With the pending verbal of Darryl Baldwin, I started looking at how I think this class ends up. There is so much chatter about more scholarships coming open but I am not hearing anything yet that tells me there are sure things in that regard. Anything can happen but for now I am going with the number 15. I count 7 verbals, not 8. I think the move Jamel Turner is making in going to a prep school is the beginning of getting that kid straightened around. Gary Hosteau thinks he will eventually end up at Ohio State. I think that this move is where we see that happen. I have little faith that he can get this turned around to be part of this class so I say 7 players in this class right now. I think Baldwin chooses Ohio State on the 19th. That leaves 7 spots.
I see Christian Bryant doing it the Glenville way and committing after the season. I have always said Jordan Hicks ends up at Ohio State. Others are starting to see it that way with his recent positive comments about the Buckeyes. Tyrone Williams offer is conditional but the staff does a great job of projecting these things. I know it went to hell in a handbasket with Carlos Hyde but no system is perfect. He will get his grades and he will be a Buckeye. I think he is one of the huge gets in this class. Down the road when he is being talked about as a top NFL draft choice we will hear about what a great job the staff did in finding an off the radar kid. His knee and his grades are why he is not a national kid. My feelings are Chad Hagan are known. I think he is a sure thing now unless one of the national kids comes on all of a sudden. We can't afford to hold him off. It is a position of need. The staff will have to take his verbal. We are down to 3 spots that are for sure open. I think one of them goes off the board with Will Hagerup. I hate the idea of taking one kicker in such a small class, let alone 2 but it needs to happen. The walk-on program has been good to the Buckeyes in the past with kickers. The worm has finally turned. We are getting nada right now. We had to make this offer. We have to take his verbal.
The final 2 are going to be a letdown for many who are reading this. Not for me. I see Dan Schneider as a tight end in this class and I see Skyler Schofner as the second OL. Schneider is a kid who fits what we do here. He is going to block strong but he can do something with the ball if we throw it to him. I really like Schofner. Physical kid with some serious pop. Great body on him. He needs to play to the whistle on every play. That is something I noticed about him on tape. He is out there walking sometime after he takes his man down. That can be fixed. I think these are a couple of really solid gets.
There are some names that I know you want to see with LaMarcus Joyner and Matt James right at the top of the list. My most recent info says we lose close battles for both. I am more convinced we don't get Joyner than I am James. I think he is more a possible get. I think if he gave his verbal now it would not be Ohio State. I think we still have a chance to change that though. I know some are getting excited about Arie Kouandjio because he has family here. Henderson is saying Ohio State is in his top 8. I don't think that is something to get excited about yet. Not until he says something that trumps his statement that Michigan and USC will surely get visits. I will believe Chaz Green visits when I see it. I will love any of the above to knock any of my list off of it. I just need to see that happen before I believe it. Cherry picking pro-Buckeye info that a recruit says is just setting yourself up for disappointment.
This is a solid class. Doubtful if this is the way it falls that we end up with a top 20 class let alone a top 10 class. For one thing numbers matter. A class of 15 is going to be hard pressed to make the top 10. To make the top 20 that class of 15 is going to need more big names than the above list can provide but it is a class that fills needs other than on the offensive line, and takes the best from Ohio. Unfortunately, that is not good enough this year.
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