'10 IL OL Greg McKee (UConn Verbal)

[LordJeffBuck]

Greg McKee

Offensive tackle
Chicago King College Prep

Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 295 lbs
Academics: 3.76 GPA, 22 ACT

Scout - Allen Trieu - 12/21/09

Offered by Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, and UConn. Supposedly, Ohio State is starting to show some interest.

The article includes Trieu's analysis.

 

[mendensa]

Late bloomer? Not a very impressive list of offers. Is this year another case of where offering a select few and missing out on a lot of the top targets is going to back fire on the staff. It seems like it's happened quite a bit the last few years and we end up settling for a few plan B guys to fill the class.

I don't question Tressel's recruiting much, but why not give out a few more earlier in the process to the top talent around the country and if the class starts filling too quickly, back off on a few. I know the staff prefer to go after a small number so they can use that as a recruiting tool, telling kids they are only recruiting 2 guys @ their position for example.

They also only invite a small number of official visits per year relative to some of the other schools across the country. Why not open the doors to more top-ranked recruits and show what OSU has to offer? Better than trying to get in on guys late and scrambling to fill positions of need w/ lesser talent. Seems to work for other coaches that hand out scholarships like water, jmo.

 

[buckeyeintn]

I agree offering these plan B guys is becoming a real problem. I mean, how are we supposed to win the Big Ten every year, beat Michigan and play in a BCS Bowl just about every year if we don't sign every big name we go after? I think the coaching staff has some real explaining to do.

What? We've won the Big Ten 5 years in a row? We haven't lost to Michigan in 2,221 days? We've played in a BCS game almost every year since Tressel has been here? Oh. Never mind.

 

[Loganbuck]

He has a very basic website. It was made on a Mac! So it doesn't play well with my computer. (personal pet peeve: I get sick of downloading a new plugin every time I open some doofus' Mac based video.)

Gregory J. McKee

Last year he was listed at 6'4 265. He now seems to be listed at 6'7"-6'8" and 295+lbs. Could be a late mover.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

Late bloomer? Not a very impressive list of offers. Is this year another case of where offering a select few and missing out on a lot of the top targets is going to back fire on the staff. It seems like it's happened quite a bit the last few years and we end up settling for a few plan B guys to fill the class.

Seriously, do spend your entire life in panic mode? Or is this just an Ohio State recruiting thing?

The kid said that he thinks that the Ohio State staff might come through with an offer - that's it, nothing more - no verbal offer, nothing in writing, no visit scheduled.

Every school "settles" for a few "plan B guys" ... sometimes a school will get really lucky with a "plan B guy" and he'll win a Heisman Trophy. Other times, you just have to settle for a three-time All American.

I don't question Tressel's recruiting much

Seems to me like you question Tressel's recruiting quite a bit.

but why not give out a few more earlier in the process to the top talent around the country and if the class starts filling too quickly, back off on a few.

Because sometimes kids don't show what they have to offer until their senior seasons. You always have to leave room open for late developers.

They also only invite a small number of official visits per year relative to some of the other schools across the country. Why not open the doors to more top-ranked recruits and show what OSU has to offer?

Why waste time on kids who have zero interest in Ohio State? Why deal with the distractions that those kids inevitably present on official visits?

Better than trying to get in on guys late and scrambling to fill positions of need w/ lesser talent.

So, if a kid is a late bloomer, you're going to hold that against him? The NFL is full of players whom Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, Mack Brown, Nick Saban, and yes even Jim Tressel "missed" on. Lots of players fall through the cracks for lots of different reasons, one of the main reasons being lack of perceived talent/ability when such players were sixteen years old. Some of those players end up the MAC, the Sun Belt, FCS, even Division III schools ... if you could turn back the clock, would you take Josh Cribbs now? But back when he signed with Kent State, he was just another "lesser talent" who didn't have any business playing with the big boys.

Seems to work for other coaches that hand out scholarships like water, jmo.

Like who?

 

[OSUfootball284]

Greg McKee can BLOCK!!

I live in Chicago and analyze recruits for the Chicago Sun-Times. I have seen this guy in action. He didnt start off that well when I saw him in his Junior year but man idk what happen but the senior year came along he was one of the most dominant offensive lineman I have recruited. He was the forefront of that Offensive Line. That was why he was names to the Chicago Suntimes All-Conference and All-City First Team and was an All-State Mention this year. That growth probably came from in the weight room, benching 315lbs and squatting nearly 500 lbs.

Late Bloomer is definitly what I called him. And now many big schools are starting to take intrest like Northwestern, Wisconsin, Michigan and now Ohio State, that it says on his Rivals.com page. But i expect big things out of this kid, because the thing that separates him from most is his speed and quickness as you can see in his Highlight video.

Greg McKee #71 Highlight

And man I think he will probably be better then most of the incoming :osu: Lineman.

 

[sepia5]

And man I think he will probably be better then most of the incoming :osu: Lineman.

I appreciate the insight and excitement, but we only have one incoming offensive lineman right now, Andrew Norwell, and he's widely regarded as one of the top five offensive tackles in the country, and one of the best out of the state of Ohio in some time.

 

[OSUfootball284]

I appreciate the insight and excitement, but we only have one incoming offensive lineman right now, Andrew Norwell, and he's widely regarded as one of the top five offensive tackles in the country, and one of the best out of the state of Ohio in some time.

Yea I am glad that we have Andrew Norwell, and I think he is a great lineman, one of the best in the nation. He has alot upsides that are better than McKee's but on the flipside as well McKee has upsides that Norwell doesnt match up on either. And some of these recruits that are not rated as high like McKee because he is Late bloomer and wasnt on the radar because he didnt attend these large camps. And im not saying he is better then all it just if he was to be analyzed at this stage like a junior he would be one of the top in the country, and i been anaylzing recruits and players for nearly 10 years.

 

[DSelwyn]

That growth probably came from in the weight room, benching 315lbs and squatting nearly 500 lbs.

A 295 lbs. lineman who can only bench 20 lbs. more than his body weight sounds like he is still pretty late in blooming.

 

[Mike80]

A 295 lbs. lineman who can only bench 20 lbs. more than his body weight sounds like he is still pretty late in blooming.

Maybe but it could be other factors as well....

Sometimes, guys with extremely long arms have issues benching humongous numbers.

He does seem to be a bit of a late bloomer, maybe some time in an elite level weight program will jump that bench press up to "acceptable" levels. Honestly though, strength is not only about the bench max or the squat max, body weight and leverage matter quite a bit too, especially if the player uses both correctly.

Give him a shot. If JT and Ohio State are looking at him, obviously the guy has something to give at least in their minds. Given his prototypical size I'll trust the coaches on it.

 

[Taosman]

We tend to invest to much in total in the whole recruiting thing. Just sit back, have a tall cool one and enjoy the ride till Feb.

 

[OSUfootball284]

Yea, I agree with you. But i think some coaches in general should be able to see talent that might be sprouted later in their highschool carreer. Also these guys have alot of coaching intake, which means they are more susceptible to learning things that they dont know, rather then those who are at the top who may have already reached their peak.

:osu:

 

[Joe6809]

He looks pretty dominating in the highlight film, but I really question the talent level in the league he's playing in. Three things make me ask this:
1) He's playing in Chicago, but the stands are either completely empty or close to it in every shot.
2) In some of the views you can see the team on the sideline, and they look to total maybe 25 tops (excluding those on the field obviously).
3) The play where the running back breaks free (a minute or so in maybe) and has like 15 yards of separation by the time anyone starts pursuing him... how does that happen?

While he manhandles everyone who goes up against him in the highlight reel, I'm not sure how much weight that carries when you factor in the probable talent level of the opposition.

 

[stkoran]

Like who?

Certainly you are familiar with Ron Zook! You know, the guy who led Illinois to a 21-39 record during his tenure.

Anyway, very interested to see if Greg gets an offer. It would be great to start making some inroads in Chicago, and the time to do that is now, with Illinois and ND in the dumps.

 

[mendensa]

I agree offering these plan B guys is becoming a real problem. I mean, how are we supposed to win the Big Ten every year, beat Michigan and play in a BCS Bowl just about every year if we don't sign every big name we go after? I think the coaching staff has some real explaining to do.

What? We've won the Big Ten 5 years in a row? We haven't lost to Michigan in 2,221 days? We've played in a BCS game almost every year since Tressel has been here? Oh. Never mind.

I personally think dominating the Big 10 is an awesome accomplishment. But unfortunately to everyone else around the world of college football, winning the Big 10 5 straight years and beating michigan (who let me remind you has won a total of 8 games the past 2 years) doesn't mean as much as it use to. The Buckeyes continue to under perform in big games and we need to continue bringing in top talent to compete w/ the UF's, UT's, Bama's and LSU's of college football.