I am sure a good number of you have seen the latest installment of Tattoogate. For those of you who have not seen it you can find it on Yahoo. No, I will not provide a link to that piece of garbage.

In a nutshell what it says is coach Tressel "was informed" about the players selling their memorabilia back in April, "A source" tells the writer of this accusatory piece. Supposedly "a concerned party reached out" last April.

Who? "A source" says "a concerned party reached out" and Jim Tressel is supposed to take their word for it? He is supposed to go down and confront his players because somebody said they were doing something wrong? Let me ask you something. If some anonymous somebody just walked up to you and told you your wife had a boyfriend  or your oldest friend and business partner was cheating you out of money, would you believe them? Take it for gospel? It is the nature of relationships to give that person the benefit of the doubt. Jim Tressel knew these players for quite some time. I think he gave them the benefit of the doubt.

The "concerned party" says Jim Tressel was troubled by the information and would investigate. How could he go about gathering evidence? Despite what some may think, there is some limits to Jim Tressels power. He could ask some questions of the players. If you think they were going to tell the truth then you have neither been a 21-year old who has been in a jam or been around 21-year olds in a jam. My Dad was the first Director of the J. Ashburn Jr. Youth Center on the Hilltop. When there was a dispute, and there were going to be disputes when you are talking about youths from the Hilltop area, my Dad said he knew one thing before he went into the office to deal with it. One of them was going to lie to him.

Recall Terrelle Pryors tweet when this first went down. I don't remember the exact wording but it came down to him saying he paid for all his tattoos. We know how he paid for them now. If Jim Tressel bothered to confront the players when this "concerned party reached out", what do you think these players response was?

The article goes on to say that Federal investigators informed coach Tressel of what their investigation turned uo on December 7th. On December 8th the athletic department launched an investigation. Are you serious? The athletic department had the audacity to wait until they had some evidence before acting on it?

Jim Tressel has no enforcement powers. He cannot order search warrants. He cannot subpoena anyone. He cannot order transcripts of phone records or tax returns. He is the football coach. Until there is more evidence that the "concerned party" is someone who had the gravitas to be believed, this has no substance. Even then with only the limited powers bestow upon a football coach, all Jim Tressel could do was ask the players in question about the issue and hope they tell him the truth. We know that they didn't. When he had the evidence he did something about it. If that does not end this for you, if it does not make sense to you, then you have an axe to grind.

It has been a whirlwind off-season. There is so much going on. From recruiting to all the talk about possible NCAA infractions on a major program to the number one ranked Buckeye basketball team. It seems like I have just now had time to take a deep breath and look forward to next year.
I was more optimistic at first blush. That was before Tattoogate. I knew the defense had some holes but I thought this would be the most explosive offense in the Tressel era. It was close to the most explosive we have seen last year but next year, with a four year senior starter returning at quarterback, three offensive linemen returning as multiple year starters, including two with a real shot at coming out of next season as first round draft picks plus the deepest most talented stable of young backs since the Cooper era, you had to like this team to be one that any opponent was going to have to score alot of points to beat.

Things have changed. We are losing that quarterback for at least a quarter of the season. The offensive line returns one of those linemen for the first quarter of the season. Yes, just one. We don't know what we have with Shugarts. Hopefully the time off will return him to his form when he was healthy. We don't know how rusty any of the suspended players are going to be as the staff still has to prepare the team for games, whether it be four or five games, before those key starters can come back. They have to have a back-up ready too just in case. There are not going to be alot of reps for those former/future starters. Make no mistake. They are future starters. The man we know Jim Tressel to be, he is not going to get those players to promise to come back then not let them play.

Those are some holes on offense. Defense is where the holes really are. Between strong side end, three-tech tackle and nose tackle the defensive line has five returning players, Hankins, Goebel, Simon, Bellamy and Fellows. I am not counting Evan Blankenship. He will never play while the game is still in question. Fellows cannot find his way to any semblance of  a stretch of good health. That leaves four healthy players who have had a practice at this level. Good to see Chase Farris looking so impressive in his senior film. He might be playing. Kenny Hayes, Michael Bennett and Joel Hale too. Playing freshman linemen because they are that good is a good thing. Playing freshmen linemen because you have to is not.

We have no depth at the Star or strong safety. Our backup Star IS our strong safety. We have no clue who is going to be Christian Bryant's back-up at strong safety. Our best safety, C.J. Barnett, is coming off season ending knee surgery. At corner we have Bryant stepping in at one corner. He has quality game experience and got better every time I saw him on the field. Some seem to be content with Dionte Allen transferring in and taking the other corner job. Ohio State has been so much better a program than Florida State the past decade but a kid who was going to lose his starting job, comes here and sits out a year but steps right into the starting lineup after that year off and that is a good thing. What?

We got holes, Buckeye Nation. We are going to be better of because of it. There are reps to be had out there and the talent level with the youngsters is off the charts. We need to let them have their growing pains. I am looking at a two-year plan.

As far as next season is concerned, I think that if the Buckeyes make a BCS bowl game it will be Jim Tressels best coaching job yet.

I think we take three safeties. One of the slots will be reserved for Florida superstar Travis Blanks, a no-brainer wait for him until you are no longer on his list caliber of player. One of the best safety prospects to come out in recent years. There is enough evidence to believe the Buckeyes have a shot for me to keep him on the list. He seemed very excited to hear Stan Drayton was now a Buckeye coach. He had the Buckeyes high on his list before learning that. Deon Bush is another Florida safety and he is almost as good and early reports have him high on the Buckeyes. As good as the Ohio safeties are they are not as good as Blanks and Bush. Other than an offer to Glenvilles Devon Bogard the Buckeyes have not offered an Ohio safety. If I could have any safeties I would take Blanks and Bush. One would be a coup. Both would be one of the all-time great recruiting efforts by Jim Tressel and staff so lets look at the backup plan.
You have to assume the Buckeyes are in good shape with Bogard. I have to believe he is going to be a Star. He is an excellent tackler and a big hitter. His read-react-run is elite caliber but I have not seen a single clip of him in coverage. I think Colerain's Andre Jones is the best all-around safety in the class. He is an impact player at free safety, strong safety or the Star. He would be my pick because of that versatility. I would take Troy's Marcus Foster. I want Bam Bradley but the fear he is going to outgrow safety makes me shy away. We need to get safeties in here. If you want a pure free safety I would look at Buchtel's Jarrod Wilson and Upper Arlington's Frank Epitropoulos, both very hot commodities with Wilson picking up recent offers from Notre Dame, Penn State and Michigan since I broke down the safeties, and Epitropoulos getting Wisconsin and West Virginia.

That takes me to 17. It would be easy to say take the two elite linebackers that the Buckeyes are in good shape with Pennsylvania's Deaysean Rippy and Michigan's James Ross and California gunslinger Shane Dillon. All are players you don't say no to but we don't need linebackers and we don't need a quarterback especially considering the class of 2013 is looking like a quarterback class like this years defensive line class. I think a couple of corners would be a great addition. I see seven corners on the roster with two seniors. Howard made great strides but he is going to be a junior.  I see one elite kid in Doran Grant. I recently watched Derjuan Gambrels senior film. I am still not convinced he is a corner. I think he can be a great help at safety and it is not going to hurt to have him prep for a year as a corner.

Detroit Cass Tech corner Terry Richardson reminds me a great deal of Doran Grant. He said he was blown away on his visit to Ohio State but the smart money says he stays home. The perfect compliment to Richardson is Georgia's Geno Smith. Smith is a long-limbed hard hitting bench corner to Richardson's field corner. Both have tremendous ball skills. Smith is thin but has the frame to fill out to 190. Pulling out of state players is much more difficult than fans want to believe it is so this is the ideal scenario. The player to watch in Ohio is Glenville's V'angelo Bentley. He was mostly a running back last year but he has the feet and hips to be a good corner. We will get a better look next season as he will be primarily a corner. He is a strong and sturdily built 5-9 180 with long arms who reads the game very well. As an offensive player he shows the ability to change direction on a dime something that will serve him well as a corner in college and great balance. He never shies away from contact. Any two of these three would fill my corner wish list.

That leaves me with one spot. What I want to do is go back and get another defensive lineman or wait on Dillon, Rippy or Ross but we may have to commit this last scholarship to the kicking game. I think it is too early to give up on Ben Buchanan. He is making a transition. He was a solid high school punter but what made him a Buckeye offer kid was his strong leg as a place kicker. You will notice you never see players who are both kickers and punters. Jim Tressel has been known to say the punt is the most important play in football. It stands to reason he is going to want his best leg to be punting the ball for him. At the end of the year we may be in position to push hard for one of the elite national kids on the Buckeye want list or we might see a punter sending in his LOI on signing day. What Buchanan does this season will tell that tale.

I do not see another back in the class even Rushel Shell, a back many consider the top back in the country. First, there is no real need for a back at Ohio State. The depth chart is young and deep. Warren Ball and Brionte Dunn are players you don't say no to. That is why they have offers. I have seen Shell. He is as good as any back in the country but so are Ball and Dunn. The only back I have seen this year who might be better is Barry Sanders jr. Maybe. Ball and Dunn are great backs.

There is my 20. It is not a definite list but it is awful early in the process to narrow things down to a solid 20. I will give it another go after camp where we could see some players show they belong on this list and others give us a clearly idea as to where they might spend the next four to five years, or where they definitely will not be spending the next four to five years.

A fan sent me this and I thought it would make a good blog. I started it out as one day thing. It is looking like a two-blog post now.

<<<If there are really only 20 spots available Duane, would you please pick the 20 you'd like to see OSU get.<<<


Actually it is 15. We have the 5 verbals. I am going to take a liberty here. With some players I am going to list who I would love to have and who I would be very happy to have as the elite guy is not leaning this way. I will not list any long shots.

Dorial Green-Beckham is the Jadeveon Clowney for skill position players. He is at least the best to come out of high school scince A.J. Green and Julio Jones and is arguably the best since Randy Moss. He has Ohio State in his top five. I think he is likely to pick between Missouri and Oklahoma but until he drops the Buckeyes he will stay at the top of my list.

Any other year Jaquay Williams is the top receiver in the country. The Buckeyes have come in with an early offer and he lists the Buckeyes in his top five. He is another that will stay on my list until I see him drop the Buckeyes.

Both of the above are players you don't even consider saying no to. I don't see receiver as a need, not with the class of 2013 receivers on the horizon. The only receiver I think we have a great shot at that I would not say no to is Dwayne Stanford. I want to see him run later in the year when he has had some rest, a negative of the football and basketball athlete, and has time to prep. His football speed looks impressive.

I think we have great talent and depth on the defensive line but I believe you win championships at quarterback and on the defensive line. There is no such thing as too many of them. I would love to say yes to all the instate defensive linemen with offers. The recent offer to Mentor's Tom Strobel just confirms what I believe and that is that there is going to be a cutoff when the Buckeyes believe they have their target number. I believe that number will be four more. I get to pick so I am taking Greg McMullen, the Akron Hoban SSDE/Three-technique who is my top player in the class for 2012. He is the one defensive lineman in class who combines measurables, film and motor, the trifecta as far as I'm concerned. I keep watching Ifeadi Odenigbo, the fastest rising prospect in the state and I would say in the midwest. Maybe he is a linebacker but I see a rush end. He is not ideal sized but he leaps out at you on film and his 109+ SPARQ is an athletic performance that is off the charts. He is another high motor kid. My third kid is Canton McKinleys Sevon Pittman. He should not be this good for how little football he has played. Love the body. He comes in as a rush end but could grow all the way to a three-technique.

The fourth spot is where this gets difficult. Illinois Tommy Schutt fits best. He is at least a three-technique tackle but I think he is going to be a great nose tackle. Making the hard decision I say Schutt. That I am leaving off the two most talented kids in the class, the two most physically gifted players in the class leaves me shaking my head. If you asked me who were the most gifted players in the class with no hesitation  I would say Adolphus Washington and Chris Wormley. Motor is the key to everything. Motor is about getting as much as possible out of what you have. When giving it everything from the moment the ball is snapped until the whistle, Washington and Wormley are unstoppable. I have not seen it from them down after down yet. I would not hesitate to take either or both because if either finds the every down fire they are three and out players but I have to take the players who are about as good but have better motors first.

I want to take five offensive linemen. I don't think that can happen in a 20 man class. I think we see four in this class. I think that is why there is no offer to Benny McGowan yet. I believe that Kyle Dodson is a qualifying score from an offer. I believe he will be a Buckeye. With Kyle Kalis and Jacoby Boren already verballed I think that leaves one more slot which I believe the staff holds for Jordan Diamond or Jonah Pirsig. I am a believer in that strategy but I would stay in touch with McGowan and try to stall him until I had a good feel for how things were with Diamond and Pirsig. I would wait until signing day for Diamond or Pirsig but I would have to know I had a genuine shot before I made that commitment though. McGowan is too good to let walk away for a pipe dream.

We don't know how many scholarships we are going to have available for the class of 2012. We do know it is going to take a small miracle to get to 25. What a terrible time to have a limited number. Somehow JT always comes up with 20 so that is the number I think we are working with. I want to look at the strategy, the thinking behind the numbers.

ON the offensive line I think the number is four. I hope it is five but with a class that I have to believe is looking at a cap of 20 I can't hope to think there will be five. With verbals Kyle Kalis and Jacoby Boren in place I think we see an offer to Kyle Dodson and then wait on one of the national kids, Jordan Diamond ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GPhF3WMpVU ) Jonah Pirsig
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL9Xws9dkSU ). I would love for that number to be five. I think an offer to Centerville's Benny McGowan says that the Buckeyes are taking five since Dodson is known to be a clear Buckeye lean and I will believe a Centerville kid with a Buckeye offer chooses to go elsewhere when I see it.

Defensive line. I have returned to earth. After seeing the Buckeyes offer Ifeadi Odenigbo, which means Ohio State has offers out to five of my top six defensive line candidates, I was sky high thinking that the staff was going to go out of the way to get as many of this defensive line class for the ages in scarlet and gray. With Josh Perry already committed plus the lack of scholarships I think we start seeing calls to others wishing them luck wherever they go as out slots are filled after we get three more verbals. Maybe we see one more but I think the staff waits on Tommy Shutt, the outstanding DT from Illiinois.

Fans are salty about the lack of offers to this outstanding safety class in Ohio. First, Travis Blanks is the best safety in the country. As good as the safeties are in Ohio Blanks is better. He is one of the best safeties to come out of high school in recent years, if not the best. I don't know about the other out of state offers. With so many top safeties bunched together maybe the staff wants to see them in camp to sort them. I know that is what I was waiting on. Someone running better than someone else could be the difference. If someone doesn't want to wait or doesn't want to come to camp, well, that is the plus side of having so many talented players that some will be leaving the state anyway.

At wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham and Juquay Williams are superstars. Players you don't say no to. I am not convinced that receiver is a need and I would not be surprised if Stanford is the only receiver we see an instate offer to. Someone is going to have to bust off a speed number that the staff cannot overlook. Otherwise I see it as a class of only taking kids that it is a no-brainer that you take them.

I cannot believe I nearly forgot to look at the running backs. Back when we first started talking about the class of 2012 the first position to give us an idea of how loaded this class is it was the running backs leading the way. We knew about Brionte Dunn as a freshman. Warren Ball and the others followed soon after. They have been around for so long that we have stopped talking about them.

Warren Ball is the test subject. Some are not as impressed with him, surprised when he was the first back offered. If that was you it is time to go back to recruiting 101. Ball is a special back. He has excellent size, ideal as far as I'm concerned, He has such quick feet. He is explosive. He has great vision. Watch how he looks for the hole and picks his way. Patience is something that NFL backs talk about as a thing that takes backs to the next level. Ball already has it. He is very elusive, not giving a clean shot to tacklers even in tight spaces and he runs with power. He has excellent hands. My only concern is with injuries. He seems to have been dinged a bit. With less depth Ball would be an impact freshman at Ohio State. He is so good that he still might be.

Brionte Dunn was the first back on my radar. He was so impressive as a freshman. As a sophmore his film did not leap out at me. I thought that maybe he was getting too big. He would have to consider playing linebacker. Things started to change for the better when he ran so well at a combine, then ran well as a sprinter on the track team last spring. He lit up Ohio when football season started with some massive rushing numbers. I have always loved big backs so it was easy for me to fall in love with him again. He is a power back but he is more than that. He possesses good change of direction and body control. Big backs don't need shake and bake. They just need to get a defender off balance and they blow right through him. Dunn has elite vision and he is a very smart runner. The icing on the cake is Dunn is very fast. Once past the line of scrimmage you might as well get ready for the kickoff. He also possesses excellent hands. Like Ball, if not for the depth at Ohio State Dunn could play as a freshman and he still might.

Everyone is aware of the pair of national backs the Buckeyes have brought in. There are several others that are going to be Big Ten backs and could be Big Five backs.

We are talking about this great class of 2012 in Ohio coming back to haunt Ohio State. William Mahone, 6-0, 200, from Austintown Fitch is one of those players. He has offers from Michigan State and Indiana, amongst others, so the odds the Buckeyes run into him are already going up. He is a great back. Big Five worthy. Such a smart football player whether he has the ball in his hands as a back or strong safety/hybrid. He is an explosive and elusive back but he is a hard hitting defender who is outstanding in coverage on defense. I would offer him as a running back but it is hard to ignore how often Mahone gets his hands on the ball on defense.

My number four back is actually the hardest decision I have to make. In the end I ask myself who would I offer. The answer is Jamire Westbrook. He is so smooth he looks like he is not running hard. He is so elusive that just getting a clean shot on him is a victory, even in tight spaces. That ability is what puts him in my number four spot. Despite being the smallest of the elite runners in the class, 5-10 190, he is so good between the tackles because he makes tacklers miss even in phone booth sized areas. He has excellent balance and is quite strong. He is the best receiver of the top backs.

Darren McGinnis is a new name. He is a 6-0 200 lb RB/LB from Akron Firestone. I went back and forth about putting him on the running back list because he is such a well put together kid with such good growth potential that I think he might outgrow running back. He is a fine linebacker but he is an even better running back. He is a north-south runner who runs with power and has great balance. He has offers from Illinois and Indiana. I doubt they are worried about which side of the ball he plays on.

Mansfield Senior's Terrell Dorsey is the best back that nobody is talking about, or making an offer to. He is a north-south runner with excellent balance and a hard running style. He rarely goes down on first contact and always falls forward. One tackler does not get Dorsey on the ground very often. A very underrated back. I understand no Big Five offers. What I don't get is no offers that I am aware of. He reminds me of Penn States Evan Royster.

Alden Hill is the scariest back out there for me. He is a pure big back who would have more offers if he was a step faster. He is a little more athletic than most big backs and that's what scares me. I have been talking about it ever since this class started to take shape that so many of the class of 2012 will come back to haunt the Buckeyes. Hill is the kind of back who goes to Wisconsin and thrives in that old school power offense. I don't need to tell anybody reading this about Wisconsin and how they are the Kryptonite to the Buckeyes Superman.

I have been going through the state of Ohio position by position but there are some players who do not fit a position or are hard to project. They get lumped into the athlete category. I want to get you up to speed about the top athletes in the state of Ohio.

The first name that just jumps out at me is Bedford safety Tyvis Powell. I am sure those that know about this outstanding player were surprised to see him left off my safety list. I see a 6-4 kid with long limbs. He looks like he is going to fill out into a linebacker or even a defensive end. That is why I could not list him with the safeties. He belonged. He is a rangy player who tackles very well. Very athletic. Reads the game well. I just don't know about a kid that tall and that long staying at safety. I could not list him at linebacker either because he is only 180 lbs. Some school is going to decide that Powell is a talent upgrade to their defense and not worry about where his body eventually takes him.

http://www.scoutingohio.com/index.php/view-profile.html?task=userProfile&user=6057&name=Typ216


Talk about jumping out at you. Cleveland Rhodes LaKeith Walls does just that. He is a linebacker on defense and a running back on offense. He returns kicks. He has such a great looking body. 6-4 and 200 lbs, I don't know where he is going to end up. He is good at the line of scrimmage and in coverage but I suspect he gets alot bigger. I think he is headed at least a 3-4 stand-up linebacker and could grow into a full blown 4-3 defensive end.


Nobody wants to play fullback anymore. It is the least glamorous position on a football field. Fullbacks take a pounding and don't drafted. If they do find a place on an NFL roster they do not get paid well for it. It takes a different kind of person to play the position. Clayton Nothmont's Jeremy Campbell is that kind of person. He is out of position in high school moreso than any player out there. Well, he is not so much out of position, he is an excellent defensive tackle, but he will not be a nose guard in college. This is the best fullback prospect I have seen in Ohio since Zach Boren and Adam Homan came out the same year. He explodes off the snap. The shock Campbell delivers is just what you want in a fullback. He is putting up weightroom numbers that I have not seen since John Simon. Something I want you to notice in his film is how fast he is. That is something that gets overlooked with fullbacks. You can't put some big strong guy back there. A fullback has to have some speed and he has to come off the snap quickly because he has to get out in front of that back. Anybody that needs a fullback needs to get down to see Campbell at Northmont. No coach is going to have to talk this kid into playing fullback. He expects it and is looking forward to it.

http://www.scoutingohio.com/index.php/view-profile.html?task=userProfile&user=2804&name=jeremycampbell

We were having a discussion on Bucknuts after it was learned that the Buckeyes have offered Michigan wide receiver Aaron Burbridge. The discussion evolved into one of how many receivers we could see in this class. Several posters thought of as many as three.

I just don't see three. Not in a class when you need offensive linemen and they are right here in state, low hanging fruit, and you want to take as many of this class for the ages on the defensive line as you can get. This is a deep defensive line class by Florida and Texas standards. You have to break off as much of that as you can and it appears based on the number of offers out there that the staff intends to do just that.

Then there is 2013 superstar Jalin Marshall who is every bit as good as he has been made out to be. He is an immediate impact player. Kevin Gladney is in that 2013 class. He is a special talent too. He is a big strong kid who has the speed and quickness to turn a quick hitch into a touchdown. He is a perfect compliment to Marshall at 6-4 and about 175 right now. He is Dez Bryant to Marshalls DeSean Jackson. As much as I like Stanford if I were ranking the receivers regardless of class I would rank Marshall ahead of him and maybe Gladney too.

Another thing that is bothering me. I think we should see what we have. We should be in a position at receiver where we only take a kid like Stanford, one that you don't say no too. We should be able to wait on Marshall and Gladney. We have a bunch of young receivers. I saw talent in Chris Fields as a high school player. I don't know where he has been so far. I thought he would be an impact player by now. T.Y. Williams is just scratching the surface of what he can be. Reports out of off-season drills suggest he is showing signs of becoming the kind of player he has the potential to be. I think Joel Hale and Devin Smith are the most underrated players in this 2011 class. Smith is a tall kid and very athletic and he can run. That is the part that keeps getting overlooked. Smith is one of those if he is even he is leaving receivers. He is going to run by some people. Lets tell these kids we brought you here because you were special. Lets go. Step up. There are reps to be had here. You need to take your share. Come on.

I would go into the recruiting season looking at a receiver board that has a big question mark on it, not one with a number.

I am 51 years old. I have a full head of hair and you need to look hard to find any gray.

If that changes it is going to the fault of this 2012 defensive line class. Just when I thought I had it all figured out a piece of film pops up that changes things. Once was bad enough. Twice? Well, I am mumbling to myself and my dogs are looking at me strange.

First, a question from TJMMBertke last week about Centerville defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo prompted me to go back and review his film. After watching the film I decided to start over. Re-watch every defensive lineman on my list. Just this latest film. Throw the previous rankings out. Forget about previous film.This was just after seeing Brush's Pharaoh Brown a player that had me looking for his position in my rankings anyway. I was zeroing in on the class again. That is when the other shoe dropped. I just watched a new film of Chris Worley.


My problem with Worley, my only problem with Worley, was he disappeared for stretches. I saw an early season game. He had a couple of sacks but was not involved much in between. His newest highlight reel shows quite a few more plays.

My top defensive line prospect remains Greg McMullen but Wormley has moved into that must-have group with McMullen and Adolphus Washington. McMullen is as close to a complete package as you will see. His consistency at a high level puts him at the top of the list. Washington and Wormley are the unstoppable ones. They are the ones that can dominate games. It is a matter of them letting it go on every play. That is what I see missing. If they are coachable kids, and there is every reason to believe they are, a coach can get them to bring it on every play, they will not be around college football for very long. Wormley is a manchild. His best plays look cartoonish with bodies flying all over the place in his wake. Such a great frame. He can get so much bigger. I don't think he has been in the weightroom much. He doesn't look like it. The word upside is everything in recruiting. Wormley is the epitome of upside. Washington is a physical freak. He does things a 6-4 or 6-5 245 lb kid should not be able to do. Leaping spinning one handed catches and explosive turns of speed that leave quarterbacks who thought they had time to throw the ball learning the hard way that they were wrong.

The new names on the list are Centerville DE/LB Ifeadi Odenigbo and Pharaoh Brown from Brush.

When I took the time to look at Odenigbo with no consideration of who was ranked where, just looked at his film on its own merit, I moved him ahead of a number of other players whose names you are well familiar with. I am a believer in edge speed. If you have to get smaller or by blitzing, whatever needs to be done do it. Odenigbo is 6-4 and 215. He is very long. He has the reach of a full blown weak side 4-3 defensive end. I don't know if he is going to get that big. He will at least be big enough to play the Leo in an odd man front, a scheme Buckeye defensive coordinator Jim Heacock has turned into a key part of the Buckeye defense and you could call it the base front. Odenigbo recently ran a 4.62 laser timed forty at the Massillon Nike Combine. That is blazing fast. The rule of thumb is shave .2 off a laser time to get a hand held time. That is plenty fast enough to play linebacker is he does not get any bigger. I think he does get bigger because of his frame and he can carry that speed with him. Ask Braxton Miller about Odenigbo's speed and non-stop motor. He ran Miller down from behind twice in the Centerville - Wayne game, and otherwise made Miller's evening a nightmare. Odenigbo left that Nike combine with a 109.02 SPARQ rating. Buckeye offer Adolphus Washington had a 76.83 SPARQ rating. That gives you an idea of how impressive Odenigbo was. He now has an offer from the Buckeyes. I like the Buckeyes chances with any kid from Centerville.

Pharaoh Brown is 6-7 and 215. He runs so well and is so long. Right now he prefers tight end which is very odd as he plays quarterback on offense. The way he plays end I don't know who would waste him at tight end. Yes, I said waste him. I like a good receiving tight end as well as anybody but defensive linemen are what win championships.  

That is why I love what I am seeing from the staff with these defensive line offers. There has been another added to the offer list that I am very excited about. We learned that Canton McKinley defensive end Sevon Pittman has now received a Buckeye offer. As high as I was on Steve Miller I see Pittman as the better prospect. He has only been playing football for a couple of years. He did not start playing football until high school, whether it was his freshman or sophmore year is something I need to clear up. That inexperience plus his massive frame puts Pittman into my top six defensive linemen in the state. The Buckeyes have offered five of those six with Brown being the only one without an offer. Right now that does not bother me as much with his stated preference for tight end.

In this class that is going to have a hard time getting to 20 scholarships you might think that with what is already here that five defensive linemen is over the top. It is not. As I mentioned above you win championships in the trenches on both sides of the ball. You see the top defensive linemen coming out of the SEC. Who has won the last five national championships? Need I remind Buckeye Nation about the Florida national championship game? The Buckeyes got whipped up front badly in that game. We all watched possible number one overall pick in this years draft, Auburns Nick Fairley, single-handedly beat Oregon this year. I think commit Josh Perry grows into at least a Leo. There is an offer out there to McMullen's Hoban teammate LaTroy Lewis too. Yes, I say take them all. There is no need for linebackers in this class. For 2012 Ohio State will have ten scholarship linebackers. That is plenty in a 4-3 but the Buckeyes are in a 4-2-5 the majority of the time. There is no need of a quarterback. Backs are already taken care of. I like the tight ends in this class but there is no senior and two freshmen coming in for 2011. Slots can be poached from all those positions.

Offensive line, a safety or two and take advantage of this defensive line class for the ages. The best thing about it is the staff seems to be going in that direction with offers so far.

A friend of my Dads was a huge Reds fan. He used to get very irritated when the Reds won by large margins. I can still hear his voice, "Why couldn't we save a few of those runs for another time???!!!" I used to get as irritated at him for that ridiculous thinking as he was that the Reds could not manage to spread out their run production.

As I look at the offensive line class for 2012 I catch myself asking why some of them could not have been born a year earlier, which is even more ridiculous than the old family friends frustration with the Reds.

It is not just the fact that there are four elite tackles in this class. There are some fine guards. I am no fan of guards but the guards in this class are much better than the ones the Buckeyes took in the class of 2011. I want to start with the tackles.

1 - Kyle Kalis, 6-5, 300, Lakewood St. Edward.
One of the finest tackle prospects I have seen in my time covering players in Ohio. I have yet to see Orlando Pace's equal but other than him I see Kalis in the same argument as Korey Stringer, Alex Boone, Marcus Hall and Andrew Norwell. He is very mobile, doing a great job of getting downfield and blocking on the second level. At the point of attack he is a dominating run blocker. We have not seen him pass block alot but what little I have seen shows a player who will get a look at left tackle. He is surely a great right tackle prospect. Has the mean streak that is so common with outstanding lineman.

2 - Kyle Dodson, 6-6, 300, Cleveland Heights.
Dodson may be the reason we don't see Kalis at left tackle. Dodson plays left tackle in high school. He is another level in athleticism. Even more athletic that Kalis. He has the feet and the length to play left tackle. He moves even better than Kalis. I see the same nasty in his game that I see with Kalis. A qualifying test score is all that stands between Dodson and an offer from Ohio State. He was scheduled to take the test last Saturday. Some say he will take his time with a commitment. The smart money says it will not be long after an offer that Dodson will commit to the Buckeyes.


3 - Benny McGowan, 6-4, 290, Centerville
This is the offensive lineman I cannot stop watching. I have said that McGowan is the first guard I have given a five-star rating to in five years. Recently on Bucknuts I hinted that I no longer had a five-star rating on a guard. I have been talking to a couple of current high school coaches that were D-1 college offensive linemen. Those conversations, and one with Mark Porter, are why I no longer rate McGowan a five-star guard. I think he can be a great right tackle. He is a guard for Centerville because that is where he is needed in their offensive scheme. He is a long kid and long arms and a great looking body. Watch some of the plays on his film where he gets out in the open field. He runs so well. On the fourth play of this film look how gets out to the third level and lays out a safety:
http://www.scoutingohio.com/index.php/view-profile.html?task=userProfile&user=6047

4 - Taylor Decker, 6-8, 280, Butler
Decker is the fourth five-star tackle in this class. The sooner he becomes a football player first, the sooner he will become the football player that he can be. I have him as a five-star but that has everything to do with his physical tools. He still has some work to do to catch up with Kalis, Dodson and McGowan as football players.


5 - Jacoby Boren, 6-1, 260, Pickerington Central
I thought more of Boren as a sophmore as a defensive tackle but his junior film shows a fine looking center prospect. He is an explosive powerful kid. Nobody on the field is moving faster on their first five steps than Boren. There is a chance he could still be a defensive player. He has a build and a game very much like John Simon but I see an ideal center. Look around the NFL. The top centers in the Show are in the 6-2, 280-300 lb range. It seems tackles and guards are getting larger every year. Centers seem to be about the same size as they were ten years ago. I have always spoke my mind. My mailbox had a number of e-mails when Boren committed about whether his was a legacy offer. I always speak my mind so when I say that Boren's is no legacy offer you can believe I am not telling you what you want to hear.

6 - Caleb Stacey, 6-4, 275, Cincinnati Oak Hills
The fastest rising offensive line prospect on my board. He is a natural wide body with great feet. He is technically very sound for a high school player. You don't see Stacey reaching. He moves his feet. He plays with intensity. Comes off the ball with some pop. Outstanding balance. He plays tackle in high school which will serve him well when he reaches college. Stacey has a nice offer list with Boston College, Illinois and North Carolina State, along with several MAC schools already coming in on him.

7 - Zach Higgins, 6-5, 300, Marlington
I  have to say I am surprised that we have not heard more about Higgins. All Chris Carter does is catch touchdowns. All Zach Higgins does is knock people down. He is another high school tackle who will slide down to guard in college. We are hearing about all these Marlington backs. The reason there are so many highlights of them is because of Zach Higgins. He dominates the line of scrimmage. Coach Miley does a great job of getting film and info out on his players. That this kid's only offer is Ball State is one of the early mysteries for the class of 2012. Mark Porter is even higher on him that I am.


8 - Ryan Anderson, 6-4, 310, Kent Roosevelt
One of the kids who was at the top of everyones list when we first starting seeing film of the class of 2012. Other players have jumped ahead of him but this is still one fine guard prospect. He is one of the more athletic guards you will see. Does a good job of pulling. I like his tenacity. Offers from Pitt, Boston College, Indiana and Miami of Ohio. Anderson is one of those players who started me thinking I wish some of these 2012 lineman had been born a year earlier.

9 - Joseph Spencer, 6-4, 265, Mason
I like this kids agility and his length. He shows some fire and intensity out there. Runs very well. Plays with good balance. I think he can be a fine left tackle. Spencer is starting to see the MAC schools coming in with offers. That is always a sign with Ohio players that their stock is about to take off. I think once he gets out to camps and combines and the big schools get to see his frame and decide whether he can handle the weight it will take to play at the Big Ten level we will see some offers come his way.