Written by Duane Long
| 24 June 2011
I have not spoken about the recent commitment of Najee Murray. I remember when I first saw this kid a couple of months ago. Mark Porter and I saw a big time kid. It was not about whether he would be a Big Five kid. It was a matter of what position. In the end we both thought corner. He lit up the camp and soon after was offered. He did not hesitate to accept the offer. He is a nice sized corner with all the tools to be a good player here. He has played all over the field. Once he settles in and gets the reps at one spot this could be a special player in this class. I love the two DBs the Buckeyes have gotten in this class. Stop chasing national kids who were longshots from the start. With what all is going on they are not coming this way. We come to our senses soon enough that we still get a pair of great instate talents. I could not be happier. It is really unbelievable that we are looking at another great defensive lineman in this class. Deon Dawson from Cincinnati Western Hills is a Big Five kid. 6-1 and right about 300 right now, as I hear. It seemed we saw the ends in this class come out early. Now we are seeing the tackles. He is 290 in his film as a junior in high
school. This kid is 320 lb three-technique or a nose tackle in two years. He will carry that weight so well you will not believe he is that big. I told Mark Porter when I first saw the film a weeks ago that Dawson is the most explosive player in a class full of explosive players. 290 lb kids are not supposed to be that athletic. He has to have a huge frame to be 290 but carry it that well. He will not be a back. Look at the plays of him as a DL. They are even more impressive in a football sense. It is because of the novelty of such a big back, and it is very impressive to see this kid run with the ball like he does, but the plays where he really impresses is as a defensive lineman. He shows the same kind of explosion that we see in Michael Bennett but this kid is bigger. There is some Youtube film out there but the 247 network has the best film of 2013 defensive end/linebacker Jaylon Smith from Indiana. You should get over there and sign-up. Take a look at this kid. Why? He loves Ohio State. He reminds me of a bigger version of Ifeadi Odenigbo. I would give a slight speed edge to Odenigbo, but this kid is plenty fast. He is 6-3 and already around 215. Long arms. Motor. Strong. Uses his hands extremely well. Mississippi State has come up from the SEC to make an offer. Purdue and Indiana have come in with offers on what amounts to a high school sophmore. I thought the Buckeyes might wait until he camped to make an offer but the new staff did not wait. Coach Fickell made an offer to Smith last week. Taco Charlton on the strong side and this kid for the weak side. That is a class I would happily take right now if you offered it to me. Smith is a scholarship worthy running back. That reminds me. I almost forgot the best part. He is Rod Smiths younger brother. Another 2013 player who has caught my eye recently is Springfield Central Catholic athlete Corey Timmons. Most of his film is as a running back. He would be number two on list of top backs in the state behind Dymonte Thomas. He has a perfect body for his age at 6-1 and about 195. He is excellent between the tackles as well as running wide. Good feet. He makes tacklers miss in tight spaces. Runs with power. Uses his pads well and has a good stiff arm. The thing is, I think he might be an even better safety. I would like to see more of him there. Dymonte Thomas is the only better two-way player in the state. Another very important area where he is much like Thomas is the fact that he is a good student. Timmons is a big time kid.
