BearBuck27;2132392; said:
I would not be surprised if there is a new method of madness so to speak for the 2013 class for Urban and co. starting next month. I think they're seeing a lot of "plan b" and some "plan a" guys committing so early, and I think the staff was caught off guard with some of them. I think we may see some more pushing for commitments starting with spring visits and into the summer camps/visits.
Here are my thoughts on Coach Meyer's "method of madness".
First, Coach Meyer will not offer Michigan-level kids just because they are from Ohio and bleed scarlet and grey. Coach Meyer is going to pursue kids who can complete with the SEC heavyweights and win national championships, and who will return Ohio State to truly elite status.
Coach Tressel often did favor Ohio kids, and as a result he ended up with quite a few borderline talents. While Tressel's strategy forced Michigan to offer even lower level Ohio prospects, it did not really maximize Ohio State's potential, because the staff were pursuing less-talented local kids in lieu of more talented national kids.
Second, although a certain Ohio State "insider" seems to think that Brady Hoke is the second coming of Bo Schembechler, in fact Hoke has merely returned Michigan's recruiting to the level that it was under Lloyd Carr ... that is, not good enough to beat Ohio State on a consistent basis. Michigan will recruit well under Hoke, but they will continue to lag in elite talent as compared to Ohio State. Just compare the teams' 2012 recruiting classes - while the overall talent level of the two classes is almost equal, Ohio State has far more players with elite talent, and those players will be the difference between the two programs going forward. And the trend continues in 2013, with Ohio State simply refusing to pursue kids who do not project as elite athletes at the college level.
Third, while filling up your recruiting class in March may give you something to crow about in the off-season, it doesn't necessarily help you in the long run - it's kind of like returning the open kickoff for a touchdown, and we all know how those contests can sometimes turn out. In fact, it can be rather risky filling up your class too soon, as you don't know how your commitments will fare during their senior years, and you don't have as much room for the "sleeper" prospects and "late bloomers" who inevitably emerge. While Michigan has a big recruiting lead over Ohio State now, they have accomplished their lead largely with players who were not offered by the Buckeyes, and there is still more than enough time for the Buckeyes to recover with even better prospects.
Finally, the 2013 recruiting class presents some unique challenges for Ohio State, one being that there are only about fifteen slots currently available for this class, and five of those slots have already been filled. Although there has been some attrition since Coach Meyer took over, there will likely be more attrition after spring practice ... but until that attrition actually takes place, the staff has to be careful with offers due to the low number of slots available. Moreover, Coach Meyer has not yet been able to coach the players currently on the team, so in some sense he doesn't really know what he has to work with. After the end of spring practice, the staff will have a better idea of how many slots they have available, and which positions they need to target.
As an Ohio State fan, just ignore the chatter coming from Michigan Man right now - it never really stops anyway, even when the Wolverines are in the midst of a 3-9 season - because it will at least die down a bit as our class gradually eclipses theirs, just like it did in 2012.
