| 20 January 2011
Fans and coaches alike want to know about players as early as possible. More and more we are seeing players earlier and earlier. It was just a few short years ago that we sometimes would not see players until after their senior year. Ten years ago most players did not have film until they were seniors. Five years ago you heard about sophmores. Now we are seeing players as freshmen. Of the Buckeyes twelve Ohio commitments I saw four, Steve Miller, Braxton Miller, Doran Grant and Kenny Hayes as freshman. Mark Porter and I could come up with a top twenty list of 2013 players relatively easily.
What gets lost in the glare of the spotlight is the development process. Some players peak early. Others get better. Some get alot better. A player who was at the top of the list as a sophmore might not be on the list at all by the time he is a senior. Development is everything. Recruiting is not about the best high school players. It is about the best prospects, those that will be better in three years.
We are seeing a great example of that right now with the offensive linemen in this class of 2011. I have seen senior film of three of the four instate offensive linemen the Buckeyes have offered, Antonio Underwood, Tommy Brown, Chris Carter and Aundray Walker. Underwood, Brown and Walker are the ones I have seen. Of the three Walker is the one I would offer. He has done several things the others have not. First, he got better. Second, he controlled his weight. The truth is I am not a fan of any of them but I think guard is a need, especially now with the announcement that Sam Longo is leaving the program. Right now the best of them is Walker, and by a clear margin. Underwood seems to have peaked. I cannot say the player I saw on film as a senior is any better than the player I saw as a junior. Neither is Brown. I would say he has taken a step back. Throughout the season I was told Brown was picking up weight and not in a good way. The one thing I liked about his game was he had some pop. When he made contact he jolted his man. His punch sent a shockwave through his opponent. That has disappeared as he has added weight. He shoves people around instead of knocking them around. It is obvious that I am not the only one who has this opinion. Their rankings have not improved. The biggest sign of lack of development is no other offers coming in with offers. Look at Kyle Kalis. Despite an early verbal to the Buckeyes he has gotten more offers since the verbal than he had before the verbal.
I don't remember needing to get in and offer early on Carter or Brown or Underwood. Walker is the only one the Buckeyes needed to get into the battle early with. That is the bigger question than whether they are good offers or not. If we had waited would we have offered or not? Based on what I am seeing I would say no. With no pressure to make an offer why not let the development process play out as long as possible on players that anyone would put in the project category?
The last few classes I have questioned numbers, players who have been left out. It has been awhile since I have questioned who we have offered. I hope I am proven wrong about these players but I don't think I will be, and I really hope Big Dray did not enjoy himself out in L.A. too much. He is very much needed in Columbus.
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