| 22 July 2010
Aaron Gant, Zac Damicone, Brandon Mitchell, Nadar Abdullah, Curtis Terry, Donald Washington, Brian Robiskie, James Laurinaitis, Jermil Martin, Adam Bellamy, Kenny Guiton, Verlon Reed. All names known to Buckeye fans. What do they have in common? They all got offers later in the process. Most did not get interest from the Buckeyes until December or January of their senior years. None were household names. The reaction by Buckeye fans to most when their offers came was "Who?"
As I look at the current recruiting effort, which is looking like a top five class no matter who the Buckeyes pick up from now until signing day, I can't see any players high on my board other than Doran Grant who is a sure Buckeye lean, and I think the Buckeyes land the much underrated Ejuan Price. That leaves a few spots to fill. Even if Aundray Walker and Shane Wynn do as everyone espects and commit to the Buckeyes, there are still some spots to fill. By the time the staff knows that we are not going to get Ishaq Williams, Angelo Mangiro, Kevin McReynolds or Jabari Gorman, it will be too late to get in on the kind of elite talent that you want to have a shot at. It comes down to taking players that are not expecting a Buckeye offer. Players that make fans say, "Who?"
One of those players could be Darius Patton. He is a receiver from Poland Seminary. He is a name some of you may be aware of. He had a fine junior year and was being compared to Shane Wynn by some. He came to camp and really lit it up. He is an excellent route runner with good hands. Here is the intriguing part. The observers I have spoken to say he outplayed Wynn and not by a little bit. He is much bigger at 5-10 170, pretty standard for a flanker. He has a pretty respectable offer list with schools like Wisconsin, Michigan State and West Virginia coming in early on him.
Donovan Clark is out there waiting. I believe he is next up. Should Mangiro commit to Penn State I think the odds of an offer to Clark jump from possibly to odds on.
Andre Sturdivant is a football player. I don't know what we do with him. He is at 260 right now. With his grades in order I think he too sees his odds go from possibly to odds on.
The name Cardale Jones will not go away. I don't want it to go away. I still believe he has such a tremendous upside that you have to take him. Late in the process with him eligible and a spot open I think it would be a no-brainer to take such a talent at the most important position on the field. First, he has to be a qualifier. We are still waiting on that. In the meantime the Buckeyes get a chance to see this very raw talent on the field. The big difference between Jones and Braxton Miller is Miller has already shown he is ready to take the reins of a top 10 program. Jones has not. He could hasten that offer by showing he has taken another step toward being the player he can be with some good games early on. He has not taken that step based on the combine reports I have seen.
Roger Williamson is still out there uncommitted. I think the staff will have to decide if they are full at his best positions before making a decision about him. I would like to see another corner in this class but I think the staff sees him as a safety or a receiver. I believe we see another safety in this class only if it is a Jabari Gorman or another player you just don't say no to. I only see one more receiver in this class and an offer is already out there to Wynn. I think Patton, with his legacy connection as his Dad played for Tressel at Youngstown State, and great camp showing has put himself in position to be the next receiver offer should the staff decide to take another receiver. I would take Williamson over both Wynn and Patton as a receiver.
I want to keep you focused on Jamare Mills. He is another player who needs to qualify. If he does you could see a flood of offers come his way and I would not be surprised if the Buckeyes were one of them. The Buckeyes took a project in Sam Longo a couple of years ago. I think we could see another in Mills.
Lets not forget another favorite of mine. Austin Traylor is as athletic as any big in this class. He could project to DE, Leo, LB, TE. JT likes those versatile athletes and the Buckeyes have been in touch. Keep in mind that Rivals has him as a national top ten weakside end.
A player there has not been a lot of buzz about is Sean Duggan, a 6-4 215 lb LB/DE from St. Xavier. He is one of those under the radar talents because the Buckeyes were not in on him that has put together an impressive offer list. Michigan, Wisconsin, Boston College, Michigan State, Oregon and Arizona are some of the schools that have offered him.
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