| 14 July 2011
The Buckeyes received two new verbals for the class of 2012, taking the number of future Buckeyes to 11. Lineman Patrick Elflein from Pickerington North committed soon after receiving his offer. Lancaster linebacker Luke Roberts committed to the Buckeyes after taking a few days to consider an offer from his Dads alma mater Arizona.
That leaves about 8 spots available for this class. I want to take a look at who I like for those last 8 spots.
1 - Jordan Diamond, LT, Illinois. The Buckeyes may reap the benefits of Kyle Kalis decision to change his mind and go to Michigan. I have Jordan a higher rated player over but the big thing is he is a sure left tackle.The Buckeyes only have two scholarship tackles on the roster for 2012, Andrew Norwell and Marcus Hall, both right tackles. Kalis is a right tackle who might be able to play left tackle. Diamond has been thought to be a Michigan lean but has no interest in committing soon. He is talking about January at the earliest. Michigan already has 5 committed offensive linemen and are in good shape with another offensive tackle who is as highly rated as Diamond should they decided to take 6. The way I understand it Michigan is down to 7 or scholarships left and have other needs. They may not be able to wait on Diamond. He is talking Ohio State a good bit recently. As much as I like Kalis, I like Diamond better.
2 - Ifeadi Odenigbo, DE, Centerville. Pass rushers change games. That is why they go at the top of the NFL draft. If you ask me to put together a list of the best pass rushers I have seen in my time evaluating players in Ohio the first two names out of my mouth would be Jamel Turner and Ifeadi Odenigbo. For awhile I thought he might get it over with and commit before the season. I have come to believe he is in no hurry. That bodes well for the Buckeyes as I suspect Odenigbo is going to like the way the Buckeyes will play defense this fall. With all the off the
field problems high character kids like Odenigbo are going to be even more valuable going forward.
3 - Adolphus Washington, DE/DT, Taft. A month ago it seemed like this one was over. Now I am not so sure about that. Recent comments lead me to believe Washington is still very much considering Ohio State and will wait to see what happens with the sanctions and the head coach search.
4 - Dion Dawson, DT/NG, Cincinnati Western Hills. This is one to sit back and wait on. Dawson is going to need to show some improvement in his grades. I think he has the support system around him to make that happen. He has coach Paul Jenne looking out for him now. You may recall coach Jenne got Hilliard Darby lineman Antonio Jeremiah eligible a few years back despite all indications that Jeremiah would be a JUCO player. He is now at Michigan State. Dawson is my top true DT in the class now. I rate him over Colerain's Trae Clark. Dawson is big and powerful enough to play the nose but explosive enough and quick enough to play the three-technique. He showed up at a camp recently and weighed 308. Nobody could believe the body they were looking at would weigh 308 lbs. Dion Dawson was born to weigh 320-330 lbs. Watch his stock go through the roof when his grades come in. That won't happen until after the season.
5 - Alex Kozan, OL, Colorado. One of the most baffling cases of the recruiting season is that Kozan does not have an offer. He has offers from schools like LSU, Arkansas, Iowa, Wisconsin and about a dozen others. He camped here and looked so good that the staff awarded him the MVP but no offer yet. I would love to have that one explained to me.
6 - Dwayne Stanford, WR, Taft. I have never wavered in my belief that Dwayne Stanford is the best receiver in the class. He does not have elite speed. First, I have a question about that. I like a good forty time but I am far more interested in game speed. Second, how many receivers are making big bank in the NFL without elite speed? Not just a few. Larry Fitzgerald is the one most know but there are quite a number. Speed is about creating separation. Receivers can create separation with size and athleticism. Nobody would argue that Stanford is a 5-star in both those categories. There is a bonus to taking Stanford. An offer to Stanford makes the likelihood of getting Adolphus Washington go up. The buzz is the Buckeyes are back talking to Stanford.
7 - Nick Davidson, OL, Minnesota. The need for offensive linemen is huge. The Buckeyes have a small group of linemen and three are graduating. We are looking at 9 offensive linemen for 2012 as the roster stands right now and that number includes Jacoby Boren. The need is especially acute at tackle where there are two tackles, both right tackles, returning. Davidson a left tackle. Maybe his Dad, Jeff Davidson, would be interested in returning home to be OL coach and offensive coordinator. There are unconfirmed reports that Davidson has been now been offered.
8 - Michael Thomas, WR, JUCO. I know this is a new name for most of you. All of this is just now surfacing so the facts are sorting themselves out. He was a quality receiver coming out of high school in 2011 but did not sign supposedly due to age not grades. I don't know how those rules work. We will see. He lit up the Under Armor combine. He will visit Ohio State in August. He reminds me some of Dwayne Stanford but more of Duron Carter. USC, Auburn, LSU and several other elite programs are looking at him this time around.
This is a very doable class and one that you would have to be awfully happy about even without the problems plaguing the program.
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