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Recruiting News and Notes

Written by Duane Long | 17 June 2009

The handwriting is on the wall. Darryl Baldwin is odds-on to be the next Buckeye verbal. I do not recall seeing anything about what he was offered as. DE who could grow into a DT is the general consensus. Most of his film is as a defensive end. He has the prototype body for a defensive end. He looks great as a defensive end in highlight films but disappears for long stretches in full game film. He also plays tight end. That is a major need. When you look at him from the point of view as a tight end, at least in our system, it is a great get. I spoke to someone who saw him just weeks ago in a charity 10K race. He could not have been more impressed with the specimen who stood in front of him. That he was running in a 10K race for charity says something about his character. His biggest problem is he lacks the defensive players mindset. Some of you may recall Thaddeus Gibson having to be restrained in the Big 33. That is a defensive players mindset. I am a firm believer in nasty but you can get super athletes like Baldwin to be highly effective on offense. If he has discipline, something you usually find in high character kids, and work ethic, another highly likely trait in a high character kid, mix in the kind of athleticism Baldwin brings to the table and the prototype body, he could be a very nice get. Maybe the light comes on and he rises to his potential. It could be simply a matter of maturity. Another thing to keep in mind is that he is now up to 265 but Steve Helwagen reports he still ran under 4.8. 6-6 265 with a sub-4.8 forty is a very attractive offensive line prospect.

We are going to see soon just how committed the Buckeyes are to taking a quarterback in this class. I have several sources telling me that Taylor Graham really impressed. If the staff wants to upgrade the quarterback position we will see an offer to Graham shortly after we get a yea or nay from Andrew Hendrix. I still believe it is a too close to call race with Ohio State or Notre Dame.


You may recall I was very excited about a kid from Wynford named Teven Eatmon. He impressed enough that fans need to keep track of him. Grades are likely to play a role in whether he gets an offer. He is Darryl Baldwin with more explosion and a nasty streak. Remember the name. Mark Porter has tape at ScoutingOhio.com. Here is a link : http://scoutingohio.com/index.php/component/comprofiler/?task=quick_search
He is a defensive tackle or an offensive tackle at the next level.

Despite the talk of the Buckeyes offering Jibril Black, we have seen 2 recent offers to tackles who are the complete opposite of Black. I have not see film of Laken Tomlinson from illinois but the staff offered him as a DT, not an OL. So has Tennessee. An SEC school coming into the Big Ten region to offer a DT resonates with me. Can't wait to see film. Jonathan Hankins is another massive kid with an offer from Defensive Tackle U, Oklahoma. So much for a return to the smaller quicker guys like Black that have defined the best recent Buckeye defenses. Early offers to arguably the top 2 DTs in the region is very shrewd recruiting by the staff. DT is not a need but you never have enough big tackles.
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