'03: The class that disappeared

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

'03: The class that disappeared
The Buckeyes brought in 14 football recruits in 2003, but only one remains with the program
Sunday, August 5, 2007 3:56 AM
By Ken Gordon


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

JEFF HINCKLEY | DISPATCH
Kirk Barton is the only player remaining from OSU's 2003 recruiting class.

Kirk Barton

Anthony Gonzalez left for the NFL.

Louis Irazarry was convicted of a felony.

David Patterson played out his eligibility

They had big plans, and with the eagerness of youth, the 14 incoming freshmen in the Ohio State football recruiting class mostly talked about the mark they could make on the program.


"The guys were sticking together, saying, 'We're going to do this before we leave,' " offensive tackle Kirk Barton said, "and, 'You're going to be like Shane Olivea, and I'm going to be like Will Smith.'
"That's what guys would say: 'We're going to have long careers, and we're going to do it.' "

Continued.....

 

[daddyphatsacs]

I read this article earlier. It just goes to show you that recruiting is a crap shoot. Some years you'll strike gold, other years you'll be left scratching your head.

 

[TheStoicPaisano]

I have the program from the SDSU game which features an article and picture of the recruiting class and there is simply nobody left besides Barton. Trever Robinson and Tyler Whaley were walk-ons who survived, but they weren't on the opening day 105-man roster. The preferred walk-ons left as well: a LB from Desales as well as St. Ed's kicker Brian Pierce.

 

[OSUBuckeye4Life]

What's even more amazing then the fact there is only one left to me is the fact Tressel has found a way to keep this team as competetive as he has given what happened with that class.

 

[ant80]

From the article, Barton says the following...

"It was kind of like watching an empire crumble."

Leave it to Barton to come up with a colorful phrase like that...

 

[CleveBucks]

Lack of leadership could be a big issue this season. The Juniors need to act like Seniors out there. When the going gets tough on the field, someone on each side of the ball better take charge.

 

[ScriptOhio]

1) Another player Todd Boechman could have been could have been with the 2003 class. Fortunately, he opted to hold off entering school to have elgibility in 2007 & 2008.

2) Oh8ch had some real good insight and comments on the 2003 class which he posted on 17 July 04 in the thread titled: 2003 - The recruiting season from Hell:

(Caution - there is nothing positive about this thread.)

As we sit here anticipating yet another potential candidate in what is turning into a very, very nice class, I can't help but think back to what was easily the worst recruiting season we have had in some time - and one which just keeps getting worse.

First we lost two of the very best recruits in the state - and two I really wanted - Burgess and Crable. But we not only lost them, we lost them to Michigan.

In addition, several other highly rated Ohio recruits also left the state (Quinn, Edwards, Valentine and Wheelwright - albeit apparently for grade issues in the case of the last two). I believe we ended up with 6 of the top 10 Ohio kids. And darn near missed out on two more in Irizarry and Frost. Not good.

Then, one by one, almost every highly rated player from OOS went elsewhere.

Michael Bush was going to be a perfect fit - somewhere - and he just couldn't choose a Kentucky school over us.

Moe Dampeer, Jesse Holley, Jamesley Jean and Wesley Jefferson all made visits as in January - but passed.

Worst of all was the OL. We needed help desperately and were in on so many great kids we just knew we would land a couple. But one by one Andrew Bain, Joel Holler, Tripp Carroll, Aaron Sears, Cyrim Wimbs and James Lee all went elsewhere. Nobody wanted to play for Bollman and nobody ever would.

Other than the unheralded Kirk Barton the only OL who commited to OSU was Kenyon Buford. All he lacked was an offer.

And let's not forget Louis Holmes. Still not sure what was happening with him then - or now.

Finally we had that incredibly disappointing 0 for however many on signing day. As I recall we went down to the wire on Turk McBride and Devin Stearns, plus another name or two I can't remember. And of course there was the horrendous Stanley McClover double cross.

Despite all that we ended up with a 15 man class that - once we had some distance from signing day - seemed pretty darn good.

No running back - or at least not one who was recruited to play the position - but that was OK because we seemed pretty stacked and who could expect a quality kid to come to OSU and sit behind Clarret for two years. The biggest problem was the lack of OL and the consensus was OSU would never recover from the hole they had dug at that position.

So here we are a year and a half later. Irizarry - one of the gems of the class and a personal favorite of mine for a while at least - is gone for good and Guillford is gone for now and quite likely for good as well. And they embarrased the school in the process.

Rumors seem to have proven correct that Dareus Hiley is an academic casualty and those same rumors are swirling around Reggie Smith. (Don't JT and Geiger have some agreement about taking no more than two 'at risk' kids per class?)

Two of those players were rated in the top 10 nationally at their positon and all four were in the top 25. (Interestingly, those four were among the last seven to commit.)

So what's the point? JT can't recruit? The OSU program is in trouble? We can't manage the program?

No, I think it is simply this - shit happens.

See: http://www.buckeyeplanet.com/forum/...64-2003-recruiting-season-hell.html#post36474

 

[lvbuckeye]

From the article, Barton says the following...Leave it to Barton to come up with a colorful phrase like that...

 

[808 Buck]

Burgess and Crable, Quinn, Edwards, Valentine and Wheelwright, Moe Dampeer, Jesse Holley, Jamesley Jean and Wesley Jefferson, Andrew Bain, Joel Holler, Tripp Carroll, Aaron Sears, Cyrim Wimbs and James Lee all went elsewhere.

And, in the meantime, the Bucks have won a Big 10 championship, shared another, played in 3 BCS games, and have been a national power every year. Despite missing out on the above names, plus the attrition of those who did sign, the program survived. The future doesn't look too bad, either.

 

[Wells4Heisman]

Yeah Your right.. we've still had success and theirs still more in the future. :)

 

[Oh8ch]

And, in the meantime, the Bucks have won a Big 10 championship, shared another, played in 3 BCS games, and have been a national power every year. Despite missing out on the above names, plus the attrition of those who did sign, the program survived. The future doesn't look too bad, either.

Which is a tribute to Tressel and his approach to the game.

Still, last year we were loaded with 5th year seniors from '02 - enough to offset the missing '03 class. This is the season where the '03 class will be missed most sorely.

Yet with all the talent we have my expectations remain high.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Scout.com$ (Adam Jardy)

The Class That Ceased To Be........

 

[AKAK]

Which is a tribute to Tressel and his approach to the game.

Still, last year we were loaded with 5th year seniors from '02 - enough to offset the missing '03 class. This is the season where the '03 class will be missed most sorely.

Yet with all the talent we have my expectations remain high.

And apparently 24 4th year Juniors (Is that right?) I think we'll be fine.

 

[wadc45]

Last time I swear, but here is my take on the '03 class again:

I know I have copied and pasted this before but I go back to (my) explanation of how we got in this predicament in the first place...take my explanation of the class of 2003 and couple it with LJB's explanation for the class of 2004 and you can see how we ended up with so few offers last year and this year. Certainly not the way JT planned it...

Look at the class of 2003...you have several players who either left school or were dismissed (Guilford, Frost, Irizarry, Cotton, Hiley, Maupin), you have a couple who left early for the NFL (Youboty and Whitner last year, Gonzo this year) and you have one who was unable to continue his career (Jordan). Those spots get filled as those players leave...so you always have 85 on scholarship (which includes the couple of walk-ons that are awarded schollies each year). Now when you get to when those kids should be graduating (barring redshirts like Barton, Smith, Boeckman, Lukens) you have very few seniors graduating (or juniors leaving early). Very few seniors graduating means very few shollies to begin with. It is the staff's job to get the classes back in more balance, which they are trying to do by not taking as many as they could this year...but when you have an especially bad class like that one, it is tough. The class of 2004 had similar problems (Hoobler, Haw, Skeete and Welch leaving, Pettrey grayshirting, Kennedy not getting in, Bauserman going to play baseball). That leaves us with 6 seniors leaving after next season.

And here is LJB's post that started it all:

http://www.buckeyeplanet.com/forum/...-recruiting-conspiracy-theory.html#post827049

 

[stxbuck]

Interesting thread-disappearing recruiting classes-through attrition or lack of production are a common theme in college football-and a large reason for the sudden decline of fortunes/bad seasons for elite teams. One of the key reasons, IMO, for USC's success the past few years is the fact that they have had an extraordinary hit rate on their recruiting classes-the impact players play like impact players and stick around for 3 or 4 years. I don't really feel like looking up the #'s right now, but they are certainly better than average for college football.