2010 tOSU Recruiting Discussion

[Oneshot]

I think it's the desire for perfection that a lot of us fans have. We want our classes to be the best every year (like they are in NCAA 2010).

The truth is that this class is "good." What is so frustrating to the fans is that we were 3 players away from "amazing."

IMO the three are: Floyd, Henderson, and Joyner. That's because these three kids were so highly rated and we were so close. That leaves a very bitter aftertaste to fans, and forces us to think about "what could have been" instead of "what it is."

To clarify, my belief is that had Ohio State fans never known about Floyd, Henderson, or Joyner, the fans would have been very very happy with this class. But because the fruit was so tempting and so close, that's all people will remember.

 

[BuckNut65]

Sure it is disappointing to lose recruits at the end of the process every year but it is what it is. If you respect the way JT handles this program and the recruiting process then if you step back for a moment you can understand why this happens late in the process with kids that aren't sure where they want to go. Call it old school or whatever you want, the man sells a philosophy that is not entirely based on the football field that will help these kids succeed far after their careers are over. He wants kids that WANT to be here, not just because of the depth chart or NFL opportunities but what the experience of playing here and going to school here provides. For some of these kids (and their parents) that is just not enough, especially in an era where the attention and speculation around recruits has become absolutely ridiculous.

Maybe we lose these kids at the end because we don't negatively recruit or we don't offer up promises of playing time and so forth. Who knows for sure? What I do know is that I believe in the philosophy of the coaching staff and I believe in what they are doing in trying to bring the right kids into this program. The record of this coaching staff speaks for itself and substantiates that this approach works. I, for one, appreciate a recruiting approach based on integrity and values in an era of college football where there is a fine line between head coaches and used car salesmen.

So next year when this insanity starts all over again, maybe everyone can step back and think about this again and realize that our program will continue to thrive and succeed regardless of whether a 5* LB or OT decides to commit here on signing day.

 

[kolOhioState88]

at least everybody signed. biggest get of the day

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

USC had the #1 recruiting class (Rivals) for the 2003, 2004, and 2006 classes (their 2005 class was #6). They finished 11-2 and ranked #4 in both major polls for the 2006 season with those four classes. You'd figure that with three #1 recuiting classes and a #6 class a team should win the national title with little trouble.

We went 11-2 and finished #5 in both major polls this past season with the #13, #16, #4, and #1 recruiting classes (again, Rivals). The results are pretty comensurate for the rankings of the classes we had on board.

There are two main ways of looking at this: 1.) We developed talent significantly better than did USC, or 2.) Recruiting rankings are not very accurate in racking-and-stacking individual talent. Regardless, this class should help us out over the next four years better than many "experts" expect.

 

[OhioSt88]

We never really had a shot at Hicks and Joyner. It is a testament to JT and our program that we were still considered as the second choice. I am excited by anyone joinijng the Buckeye family, even those not playing a sport. So it is disappointing to not get Floyd and Henderson. However, they made choices on par with Ohio State and I wish them luck in their careers.

Can we really be saying that not getting two lineman is the difference between the continued success of our program and certain failure? Our coaches work hard recruiting and have been very succesful turning those recruits into champions. I for one am as excited about our future as I am about our recent past.

What is even more telling is that signing those two lineman would have significantly changed our recruiting ranking. What does that say about the value of these ranking?

Go Bucks!

 

[MaxBuck]

Does a down year equate to a "pattern"? I mean, the last two classes were loaded. And again, I go back to the results on the field. To each his own I guess.

By "pattern" I don't mean to imply that "recruiting performance is getting progressively worse," which seems to be what you thought I was saying. Pattern in this case was - failure to secure top recruits in Ohio; failure to secure recruits who early had Ohio State as favorite (allegedly). No time-scale meant here.

And I have to disagree with those who say "our program will thrive even without the 5-star recruits." For Ohio State to remain in the national elite, we need to get our share of those recruits. No one recruit will make or break us for the most part, but we need our share of the very best.

 

[MaxBuck]

Well, as long as the status quo includes beating the snot out of Michigan every year . . . .

GPA!
:osu:

 

[HotMic]

We never really had a shot at Hicks and Joyner. It is a testament to JT and our program that we were still considered as the second choice. I am excited by anyone joinijng the Buckeye family, even those not playing a sport. So it is disappointing to not get Floyd and Henderson. However, they made choices on par with Ohio State and I wish them luck in their careers.

Can we really be saying that not getting two lineman is the difference between the continued success of our program and certain failure? Our coaches work hard recruiting and have been very succesful turning those recruits into champions. I for one am as excited about our future as I am about our recent past.

What is even more telling is that signing those two lineman would have significantly changed our recruiting ranking. What does that say about the value of these ranking?

Go Bucks!

PLEASE post more. Good stuff.

 

[Buckeyefrankmp]

To all those who are dismayed that OSU got only any one late recruiting "win" this year, you must not have been paying much attention to tOSU recruiting over the past 5 years. High profile recruits who decide to sign late in the process (after January 15 for my purposes) rarely, if ever, sign with Ohio State. Every year people get all worked up on signing day and every year people become despondent, lament that the future of the program is on shaky ground, admonish JT and his staff to get after it harder, and of course - "why can't Tressel close?"

What you are saying is Tressel can't close on those guys.

The answer is that Jim Tressel is a closer. As in, when he closes on a kid, they sign sooner rather than later.

The point would be is he a "Good" closer. Yes he closed on the kids he signed. Are these kids that were leaning towards Ohio State before the whole recruiting process started? Did they have a history of liking Ohio State before they got offers from other schools? Did he have to sell them on the Ohio State program? I think the ones that were leaning towards Ohio State and did not sign, he could not sell them on the Ohio State program or their place in the program. That means he could not "close the deal". I am not expecting him to sign every recruit he goes after. I would think that the ones that are leaning towards OSU he would be able to close the deal.

When we are discussing the whole "Tressel can't close" we need to look at the whole recruiting process. Before Tressel goes in to close, these kids are talking to position coaches and offense/defense coordinators. Are they doing a good job setting the kids up for Tressel to close the deal? Are they doing a good job selling these kids on the Ohio State program?

 

[BayBuck]

This current recruiting class is a very solid recruiting class so it is not a knock on the staff or the recruits. But we as fans like to consider OSU as one of the elite programs of college football, but how come we arent recruiting as well as the other elite programs i.e. Florida, USC, Texas, Alabama? This is all just my opinion but I think this is why so many people are frustrated with the way recruting classes end up finishing.

We are coming off back-to-back top-5 recruiting classes (including maybe the #1 overall class last year) and this one, though smallish, is right up there with those you mention in terms of star-averages (on Scout). When next signing day rolls around and we've got another top-5 class, I hope you can revisit this post and put it in its appropriate context. This is not the top-rated class in the nation, and it's always disappointing to miss on a couple big names, but it's a very good group of recruits and OSU is recruiting as well as anyone these days.

 

[BayBuck]

Tressel can't close !!!!1!!

FIFY

 

[Basebuck]

Pondering the future for Carter given the exciting news at WR. Sounds like we may have the deep threat we've been missing since Teddy went pro.

What exciting news? Haven't had my coffee yet.

 

[RB07OSU]

We are coming off back-to-back top-5 recruiting classes (including maybe the #1 overall class last year) and this one, though smallish, is right up there with those you mention in terms of star-averages (on Scout). When next signing day rolls around and we've got another top-5 class, I hope you can revisit this post and put it in its appropriate context. This is not the top-rated class in the nation, and it's always disappointing to miss on a couple big names, but it's a very good group of recruits and OSU is recruiting as well as anyone these days.

That's the only problem, we didn't miss on a "couple"...I listed 18 good ones that we had a shot at, which oddly enough is the same number we actually have in this class. There are even more offers that didn't pan out to legitimate interest as well. The big misses weren't confined to last week only. I tend to agree with you overall analysis but it never seems to effect USC, Florida, Alabama, etc. that they pull in two or three consecutive top 5 classes. We just had a down year, I'm over it and 2011 will be huge.

 

[matcar]

I imagine he's talking about the pattern of missing out on a significant percentage of kids who decide late in the process.

Yes, that IS what's being bantered about, but as HotMic and others have VERY CLEARLY described, that is more than just a pattern, it's the way it's always going to be with JT. It's part of the process and is part of what makes the staff successful with the program in a larger sense.

The kids that decide late, frequently aren't a good fit for the program. If they are sold by the lights of LA, or by Godly messages delivered to coaches, well, they aren't a good fit. Meanwhile the program rocks on with annual performances that only the worst of fans wouldn't be proud of.

So, if a fan gets his hopes up each year for the late decisions and is let down, then that's the fan's pattern and problem. With JT, the lack of landing the late decision makers isn't so much pattern as process. It's part of the overall design of who he is and what he's selling.

 

[GrizzlyBuck]

I also am disappointed that the Buckeyes lost out on some late "5*" talent.

However, I am excited about this class, there are some game changing skill position players, RSmith, CBrown, JLouis, CHyde, and TWilliams could be the biggest get with his size and speed combination. There are a couple of QB's with good potential (if Graham had not been hurt, his "*" rating would have been higher, and we did pretty well with a guy who came in as an Athlete/QB some years back) Norwell might have been a "5*" if he hadn't been hurt, and he could really be special.

On D, Bryant, Turner and McVey are studs. Roby has all the potential in the world, and we did real well with the last kid who came from that HS coaching staff Hankins could be a huge (pun intended) get. There are also many other with great upside who could be the Hawk and Jenkins of this class.

If you look at the Super Bowl rosters, you see a lot of kids from small schools and you'll even see some who walked on at their college destinations, so maybe these "all knowing gurus" are not all they're cracked up to be.

Another thing that gets missed on letter of intent day, and the days following is what has caused the "parity" in college football. It used to be, before the 85 scholly limit, that tOSU and the other big boy schools would sign the 3 star "projects" and tweeners and then put weight on them, or work on technique, so they could be stars their Junior or Senior campaign, or just to keep other schools from developing them. Now these "lesser" recruits go to Iowa or Boise St or TCU and get that 2-3 years it takes to develop and some turn into college stars and Pro-Bowl players. Tressel, at least since Conley left, has targeted some of these "sleepers" and turned quite a few into first round choices.

Again, while I would have liked to see what some of these five star recruits could have done in the S&G, I am perfectly content in the knowledge that our HC and his Staff will develop this group and mold these young men into a Team that we'll be proud of, in the community, in the class room and on the field of the Pig House in Novembers to come.