| 03 May 2011
My most recent entry seemed to be mostly about the lack of an offer to Benny McGowan. That is true but there is more to it than that. I failed to mention the fact that the Buckeyes are focused on national recruits that are not currently favoring the Buckeyes. I could not be happier that Evan Goodman ( http://rivals.yahoo.com/video/highschool-football/Evan-Goodman-621516 ) , the five-star offensive lineman from Florida, has decided to come up for a second visit. That is huge that a kid from Florida wants to come back again before the season starts. He still has not named a leader. Neither have Jordan Diamond nor Jonah Pirsig. The buzz is Diamond is a Michigan lean. When push comes to shove most insiders believe Pirsig is likely to stay home in Minnesota with new head coach Jerry Kill. Even if he doesn't there will be a dogfight between Ohio State and Wisconsin. If I felt the Buckeyes were leading for any of those players I would not have felt the need to comment on the loss of McGowan because as impressed as I am with McGowan, I would take Diamond or Evans or Pirsig over him.
Another thing. The national offensive linemen the Buckeyes are recruiting are likely to go down to the wire on decisions. I don't like the staffs history of finishing. Last year was an exception. Most years we do not see the staff pull off any late recruiting season coups. That is not really a knock on the staffs ability to close. To pull the undecided your way means saying and doing things that make a decent man want to take a shower, and still not feel clean. I understand and support the decision by Jim Tressel and staff not to get down in that mud pit. However, it does mean I do not like the Buckeyes chances with players who are undecided in mid-January. One last thing. I believe out of state recruiting is so much about success at putting players in the NFL at that players position. The track record is not impressive at all.
That brings us full circle on what got me so upset about the McGowan commitment. I am in better spirits today. You can thank Mark Porter for that. He sent me a film that pulled me out of the doldrums.
Akron Manchester offensive lineman Tony Matteo ( http://scoutingohio.com/index.php/view-profile.html?task=userProfile&user=6924 ) is a big time kid who looks to me to only be lacking the publicity, and the level of competition, to be in the discussion with Kyle Kalis, Kyle Dodson and Benny McGowan. He is a great run blocker. I would give McGowan a slight edge but this kid is adept at knocking people down. He is longer at 6-5 and has longer arms. We get to see him pass block on his full film. He shows really good feet. He does a good job of locating and staying in front of rushers. He is quite agile, a very fluid athlete. Gets out quickly on second level blocks and executes them well. One thing that appeals to me more about Matteo is the fact that while I think McGowan could play tackle I am more sure Matteo could because I can actually see him pass blocking. The pass blocking film is as a center so we are not talking about blocking some explosive elite athlete on the edge, but I like what I see. Speaking of center, well, he is a center. That is a big plus. This is a kid who could be the more versatile player. He could play any of the guard spots as well as center and might be able to kick out and be a tackle. The timing is another issue that plays well in Matteos favor. He has no offers that I am aware of. He is a small school kid who is going to have to camp to get the big boys involved. The staff could have a better idea of where the Buckeyes stand with the national kids and the picture with Kyle Dodson could be should be, clearer at that time.
Keep Tony Matteo in mind. He could be a gem of a fallback player.
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