Well, the squeeze is really on. We're at 20 after the Green commit. Let's say the magic number is 27. As big of a class as that appears to be, it seems to mean there will be some big-time talent that we are in good shape with that will be left out. Only 7 spots left under the 27 scenario:
Let's start with the near-sure things:
1) Marcus Hall - OL - Glenville
2) Jonathan Newsome - DE/LEO -Glenville
After that is where things get interesting.
3) Jamaal Berry - RB - Berry is the one feature back in this class that's been offered, and having not taken one last season, it figures that the staff still wants Berry and feels good about its chances. He may be the most important guy left on the board, IMO.
4) Watt/Prior/Longo/Klatt - OL - There have been tidbits here and there lately from the last three suggesting they would know whether they'll receive an offer in the near future, which in turn suggests a couple things. First, Watt is either going to make a decision soon, or the staff is going to move on. I would suspect the former, since Watt has said all along he wants to decide by the end of July (or it could be Watt has already decided for ND, scUM, or Northwester and just hasn't announced as much publicly). Second, it seems to demonstrate that the staff wants 4 OL in this class, with two already in and Hall very likely.
5) Hageman/Sims/Wozniak - TE - If you believe Wozniak's latest statement that the staff views him as their next option if Hageman or Sims don't come through, you believe we'll take two TEs in this class, still wanting that field stretcher that neither Fragel nor DeLillo seem to be.
Here's where it gets interesting. At that point, we're looking at two spots remaining. There is a lot of speculation right now that both McDougald and Brown will be in momentarily. If that is the case, the class is pretty much done. But what about a guy like McGee? Adams? Or, however unlikely, what if one of the big-play WRs still out there surprises everyone, visits OSU, and wants in? Are these players too good to pass on, and if so, how do they fit? Also, there are a lot of D-line names still out there for us to be done there. There have been promising reports about Ezell, and Muldoon still looms large, although his "slow" approach to the recruiting process seems to suggest he's going to be a Domer. Also, what about Vlad? He's a guy that has been considered as close to in as anyone for some time, but what if Brown and McDougald do both go ahead and pull the trigger? Would we really take another DB? And if not, does that affect anything with his Florida compadre Berry? At any rate, it looks like Hunter's spot has been swallowed up (or is about to be). And what do we make of E.J. Banks' recent statement that implied the staff was holding a spot for him? I just don't see how that can be.
I have no inside info, but looking at all this I just cannot believe that both McDougald and Brown will be in this class. I find it hard to believe that Brown would go to Pitt with Bell already in the fold here, but then again there were a couple Gateway kids that ended up there last year, and Pitt "insiders" seem to feel confident he'll end up in Pittsburgh. It will be interesting to see what happens with him. I think we're done along the D-line, which is a bit unfortunate, in my opinion. I know we're looking at a fair amount of turnover in the defensive secondary, but I wonder if one of the 'ships spent there wouldn't have been better spent elsewhere. I also wonder about taking a second tight end in this class. It seems the staff wants a field stretching TE, and that seems to suggest they'd like to incorporate the TE position into the passing game more often (which I'm all for), but we've gone away from that mentality for so long that it may be tough to get a top-notch pass catching TE to commit (sort of a Catch-22 there), and with some of the other guys sitting on the board right now, is it really worth the scholarship in this class? At the end of the day, I still think Vlad will be in this class. Take him along with either Brown or McDougald, and I think that's your class. On the other hand . . . . my head hurts. I'm waiting for your take, 40.
