'08 PA ATH Cameron Saddler (Pitt signee)

[Taosman]

Firstly; Offering him is a slippery slope because it will open the whole
"package" deal Pandora's Box to other kids who want to bring a (borderline D1) friend to the school they want to attend. Bad idea.

Secondly; He is just a borderline D1 player. he's small and doesn't look to grow bigger. He has fine speed. But, that isn't enough. There are plenty of larger speed guys.

Offer?
Not gonna happen.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

Firstly; Offering him is a slippery slope because it will open the whole
"package" deal Pandora's Box

Agreed about "package deals". However, when two kids form the same school get offers from Ohio State, it is not necessarily a "package deal" - see Adams and Stoneburner, each of whom merited a Buckeye offer in his own right.

Secondly; He is just a borderline D1 player.

No, he's not. We can debate the solidity of his Michigan offer, but "borderline D-1 players" don't have offers from schools like Virginia, West Virginia, and Syracuse. And with regard to Michigan, he does have an official visit scheduled to Ann Arbor, so the Wolverines must be pretty interersted.

he's small and doesn't look to grow bigger. He has fine speed. But, that isn't enough. There are plenty of larger speed guys.

I don't like small players, either. But, sometimes, if the kid is good enough, you make an exception. Is Saddler an exception to the rule? I don't know, but I do trust JT & Co. to make the right call with respect to him.

Offer?
Not gonna happen.

Probably correct, but the staff is still evaluating Cameron....

 

[WaitingforKickoff]

Everybody has made a lot of good points, but I think the decisive factor will be how much we really want Shane Hale. If we think Hale can be the next big time Carp, chances are better for an offer to Saddler.

 

[osugrad21]

Coaches get as much out of camps, combines, and unofficial visits as the prospects do.

However, the coaches aren't as much concerned with actual stats/times...

They are "eyeballing" kids.

Legit height assessment. Narrow shoulders? Arm length? Growth potential? Etc...

Cameron was eyeballed in Columbus...and contact ceased.

Im not saying it cannot or will not be re-established, but I am saying I will personally be surprised if a 7-on-7 performance changes anything.

 

[journeyman]

Bottom line for me is he's a special teams player only. And on offense, he's a shorter Bam Childress. On defense, he's a shorter (if it's possible), and not-as-good Boubacar Cissko. And the vids on Youtube are nothing special imo. If Hale is indeed a package deal, then I tend to wonder if he has the desire to do his own thing.

But getting back to Saddler, if we're going to offer a ST guy, why not make it Johnny Adams who can also play an actual position if needed.

 

[buckeyeinfla]

i think if ginn called tressel and said this kid was impressive against several future buckeyes..then you would think tressel would have to reconsider...i dont like his size..but i do like his 4.28 grade point average..shows the kid is very bright and has to be a hard worker..which to me is a jim tressel kind of guy

 

[OregonBuckeye]

I think some people may be exaggerating the size issue a little. He's small but it's not like he's a midget(excuse me, "small person"). Two players similar to his size that come to mind are Darren Sproles and Garrett Wolfe. He may not be big enough to play in the Big-10 but I could see him as more than a returnman.

 

[OSUBuckeye4Life]

I think some people may be exaggerating the size issue a little. He's small but it's not like he's a midget(excuse me, "small person"). Two players similar to his size that come to mind are Darren Sproles and Garrett Wolfe. He may not be big enough to play in the Big-10 but I could see him as more than a returnman.

Exaggerating in what sense? I think most are stating he very well could be legit but the size is a major redflag for a university such as Ohio State.

Anyway, Grad hit the nail on the head with this one. He came and wasn't offered. Not only was he not offered but contact stopped. One 7-7 performance isn't going to be enough, IMO, to sway the staff. Could it open the blinds and get him looked at again, sure, but unless something has changed (other than a few verbals going elsewhere) I doubt it changes anything major.

From what I've heard here, and from other fanbases Saddler isn't a "waste" of a schollie by any means and could very well fit into a certain teams scheme.

 

[osugrad21]

I think some people may be exaggerating the size issue a little. He's small but it's not like he's a midget(excuse me, "small person"). Two players similar to his size that come to mind are Darren Sproles and Garrett Wolfe. He may not be big enough to play in the Big-10 but I could see him as more than a returnman.

Which is exactly what most people have been saying...return man in the Big Ten...contributor at a WVU/UVA.

 

[schwab]

I think some people may be exaggerating the size issue a little. He's small but it's not like he's a midget(excuse me, "small person"). Two players similar to his size that come to mind are Darren Sproles and Garrett Wolfe. He may not be big enough to play in the Big-10 but I could see him as more than a returnman.

On the subject of Garrett Wolfe, here's something to think about:


Wolfe vs. scUM - 9/3/05

rushing: 17 attempts, 148 yards, 1 TD
receiving: 3 rec, 31 yards, 0 TD

Wolfe vs. Northwestern - 9/10/05

rushing: 34 attempts, 245 yards, 3 TD
receiving: 4 rec, 16 yards, 0 TD

Wolfe vs. tOSU - 9/2/06

rushing: 26 attempts, 171 yards, 0 TD
receiving: 5 rec, 114 yards, 1 TD


Just a sampling of what a guy of Saddler's stature has done while performing against Big 10 defenses. Not too shabby for 5'7" 170 lbs.

 

[osugrad21]

Just a sampling

Key part of your post to me...

See if he would do that over a Big Ten season as opposed to getting up for the NIU Superbowl....

Ask Javon Ringer and Tyrell Sutton about that beating week after week....

 

[schwab]

Key part of your post to me...

See if he would do that over a Big Ten season as opposed to getting up for the NIU Superbowl....

Ask Javon Ringer and Tyrell Sutton about that beating week after week....

I definitely agree, it's not indicative of how someone will perform over the course of a full schedule. And if someone were to put those numbers up, game after game, they would be making arrangements to ship home a certain bronze trophy.

You can make 2 arguments here, IMO. The first, which has been done, is to monitor someone's (Wolfe's) performance over the course of an entire season, to see whether or not these games can be consistently duplicated. Wolfe perhaps proved that they cannot, or at least were not, even in a non-BCS conference such as the MAC. Playing the Big 10 brought out the best in the entire NIU team, in each case.

The other argument would be that had Garrett Wolfe played in the Big 10, at a school such as tOSU, he would have many other weapons around him. Thus, his stats would be much less impressive, but his impact could be felt nearly as much if used correctly. Which brings to mind Maurice Wells, for some reason....:tongue2:

 

[Taosman]

Yet, Garrett Wolfe didn't remain healthy his final season.
As special as Wolfe was.

 

[BuckeyeFire]

I remember Pittman saying he got run down in his first year playing in the big ten and he was around 5'11" 198. Which is bigger than Saddler or Wolfe. So it leads me to believe it would be hard for a man of their size to compete week after week in a major conference as the feature back instead of just a return man. Then again I've been wrong before.

 

[schwab]

I remember Pittman saying he got run down in his first year playing in the big ten and he was around 5'11" 198. Which is bigger than Saddler or Wolfe. So it leads me to believe it would be hard for a man of their size to compete week after week in a major conference as the feature back instead of just a return man. Then again I've been wrong before.

If Saddler were to earn an offer from tOSU, I imagine his ultimate role would fall somewhere in between "the feature back" and a return man. Those are the two most extreme circumstances a coach could think of.