| 19 April 2011
After Sundays blog I received a box full of mail that came back to the same thing. Shane Dillon is a long shot. I don't know about a long shot but anyone who thinks the Buckeyes chances of landing him are good is not dealing with reality. There is no bigtime national kid who is an Ohio State lean.
One fan who was paying close attention brought an important point up. A couple of years ago the same scenario evolved. The Buckeyes did set their sites on national guys. For a time it seemed like Nick Montana was going to be a Buckeye. The it looked like Taj Boyd was going to be a Buckeye. In fact, it was more than looking like he was going to be a Buckeye. He committed. Obviously he went home and changed his mind since he is not a Buckeye but I am confident he committed. It was a bad year for quarterbacks. There was nothing in state and not much nationally. The Buckeyes offered and received a commitment from an unknown, Kenny Guiton.
That same scenario could play out again. I believe that going for a national kid, one who could compete with Taylor Graham, Braxton Miller and any quarterback the Buckeyes may get in 2013, is the way to go just like it was a three years ago. I don't know about falling back on a quarterback who may not be able to compete for the job and is only going to tie up a scholarship for up to five years. Guiton has gotten better, better than I thought he could, but he is falling down the depth chart as the talent level goes up.
If the staff decides to go that route again, I like several guys in the state of Ohio quite a bit better than Guiton.
First, we have to think about Cardale Jones, who I have always been a big fan of. He has been trying for the better part of a year to get qualified. I am such a fan that the recruitment of a quarterback becomes a moot point in my mind if he gets in to Ohio State but I do not have alot of faith that he is going to get a qualifying score. I would not have brought up the part of the last blog post about recruiting if I had more faith that Jones is going to make it in.
With the idea in mind that Jones is not going to make it in, I look at the top guys in the state of Ohio. A couple of names have jumped into the discussion since more film has come in. Fans like a countdown so I will start with my number four quarterback. I did not decide on a number beforehand. I picked the guys I would look at if I was going to consider taking a quarterback in the state of Ohio.
4 - Mason Schreck, 6-5, 210, Medina. I know most of you are saying, who? His film appeared out of the blue. I had never heard of him. All you need to do is see the first play on his film at ScoutingOhio.com. That deep out is a big time throw. The next play shows what kind of athlete he is. Schreck would have appeared on the radar earlier if he was in a passing offense. He is in a run first offense. One thing that the offense does for him is shows him under center and having to drop back to throw. That gives him a leg up on some of the other quarterbacks. He needs a good summer to bring recruiters to Medina.
3 - Tyler Eden, 6-4, 215, Cleveland University School. Eden was my top kid for the longest time. I still like what I see. He has a quick release and is such a good athlete I would not be surprised to find him on some boards as an athlete. When you first watch film you see the things you like. When you keep watching you notice the things that are wrong. With Eden I watched a film that was over 10 minutes in length. I don't know if he threw ten balls that travelled more than ten yards. There is also the question of level of competition. A great summer where he shows arm strength and the ability to deliver the ball against superior competition will put him back in the hunt for number one in the class.
2 - Tyler O'Connor, 6-3, 210, Lima Central Catholic. His film came in right about the same time as Schreck's. I see the most polished quarterback in the state. If you were putting together a film on the proper way to throw the football you could save yourself alot of time by just using O'Connor's film. He has a beautiful motion. He has great footwork. He is so technically sound that a coaching staff can get right to teaching him the playbook and getting him prepared to play. He plays in a pro-set offense and takes the snap from center instead of sitting back there in shotgun. He even carries the ball high on his dropback. I did not see one play in a 10 minute film where he dropped the ball down low where it can be more easily stripped. Not one play. He is a very accurate passer. He is an underrated athlete. He is no Braxton Miller but he can make a play with his feet. O'Connor is the one with the offer list with 8 offers that I am aware of including Michigan State and Northwestern.
1 - Austin Appleby, 6-5, 225, North Canton Hoover. I know. Appleby does not move very well. I know. He has that long baseball throwing motion. I got so caught up in the negatives that I forgot the positives until I started looking at films again for this list. A quarterback is back there to throw the ball. Austin Appleby can throw the football. Look at the second throw on his film. No quarterback in the class can come close to that throw. All of the other quarterbacks in this list combined did not make me say, wow, look at that throw, like Appleby did. I like his level of competition better than any quarterback on this list. He lines up under center as much as he is in shotgun. Late in his ScoutingOhio.com film he shows that he is not a great athlete but he moves around better than you think. In the end it comes down to one thing. If I am behind in a game and need to get down the field to win the game, I want the ball in Applebys right hand.
Geovonnie McKnight from Middletown could make this list a full five but he is not a starter and might not be.
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