If you’ve been paying much attention, you would know that Jim Harbaugh, head coach for UM, is attempting to change the game in terms of recruiting. He’s made cakes, he’s made prom/commitment proposals, he’s done new recruiting camps, he’s requested to have some of his team’s spring camp played in Florida at IMG Academy, he’s played shirtless football with recruits, and now he has taken things to a new level of strangeness.

In a recent interview with Scout.com, the nations #1 ranked kicker, and Penn State commit, Quinn Nordin spoke of a recent request Jim Harbaugh had for him. Jim wanted to spend the night with him and spend the whole next day with him the minute the recruiting dead period expired.

“Under the exact rules, he’s going to be at my house at 12:01 he said. That’s when it’s legal for him to be at my house. He said we can watch a movie, see how well we gel and he said he would sleep over after that.” said Nordin. “He told me if I had a 6-foot-3 inch piece of carpet for him to sleep on, that would be enough. I said we have guest rooms, and he said ‘Tell you what, I’ll just sleep on the floor in your room.’ I said ‘Coach, I have Penn State stuff all over my walls.’ He said, ‘Tell you what, I can help you take it down.'”

For a man in his 50’s coming over to hang out, watch a movie with, and sleeping in the same bedroom with a high school senior seems pretty strange. But, then again, it’s not out of character for him.

So, what does this mean for the state of recruiting? Will coaches have to begin to reach to these levels to compete for the blue-chips? Well, since this just recently came out, and the “sleepover” is happening right now, that remains to be seen. Will more coaches do strange things like this? Most likely, yes. Coaches will do anything within the rules to try and get an advantage anywhere on the recruiting trail, and things like this are certainly unique. They’re weird, yes, but if they sign big time recruits, then we’ll have to deal with it.

Do I foresee any Ohio State coaches trying to stay the night at a kid’s house? Heck no. Especially since Urban signed the “Pink Contract” that his daughter, Nicki, made, Urban is a family man. He works extremely hard, but he makes sure to be able to spend time with family. These type of “recruiting pitches” totally take away from that. The limited time you would have with your family; gone. If things like this happen to become the norm, I think some of the CFB coaches would move on, because that consistent level of recruiting would simply be too much.

Again, I don’t think there is any way these type of things could become normal in college football recruiting, but I do expect to continue to see our rivals do weird things. That is their trademark. They do bizarre things that snatch the attention of the media, and more importantly, the recruits.

Overall, though, success on the field will still be at the top of what recruits want when picking schools. That won’t change, so as long as football is still played on the field, Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes will be just fine winning, and letting Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines continue being weird.

Enjoy in my honest opinion the greatest player in Ohio State history one last time….

It is that annual time we are three weeks away from National Signing Day and the Numbers Crunch is in full effect. So lets breakdown where OSU sits right now and where they can end up.

2016 Sophomores and RS Freshman

6 Hubbard, Sam DE 6-5 265 FR
58 Alabi, Joshua DT 6-5 295 FR
3 Arnette, Damon CB 6-0 191 FR
17 Baker, Jerome LB 6-1 215 FR
20 Weber, Mike RB 5-10 215 FR
12 Ward, Denzel CB 5-11 180 FR
71 Trout, Kyle OL 6-6 310 FR
94 Thompson, Dylan DL 6-5 275 FR
79 Taylor, Brady OL 6-5 300 FR
39 Berger, Kyle LB 6-2 230 FR
24 Berry, Rashod TE 6-4 245 FR
87 Stump, Alex WR 6-3 202 FR
42 Slade, Darius DL 6-4 255 FR
67 Schmidt, Grant OL 6-6 300 FR
76 Bowen, Branden OL 6-7 320 FR
59 Prince, Isaiah OL 6-7 305 FR
56 Burrell, MatthewOL 6-4 300 FR
10 Burrow, Joe QB 6-3 208 FR
21 Campbell, ParrisWR 6-1 205 FR
14 Norwood, Joshua CB 5-10 175 FR
83 McLaurin, Terry WR 6-1 200 FR
13 Collier, StephenQB 6-4 225 FR
49 McCullough, LiamLS 6-2 210 FR
34 Conner, Nick LB 6-3 230 FR
2 Lattimore, MarshonCB 6-0 195 FR
9 Cornell, Jashon DL 6-3 265 FR
57 Landers, Robert DT 6-1 290 FR
5 Dixon, Johnnie WR 5-11 194 FR
78 Knox, Demetrius OL 6-4 305 FR
86 Jones, Dre’Mont DL 6-3 280 FR
88 Alexander, A.J. TE 6-2 235 FR
24 Hooker, Malik SAF 6-2 205 FR
47 Hilliard, JustinLB 6-1 230 FR
14 Hill, K.J. WR 6-0 195 FR
77 Feder, Kevin OL 6-9 305 FR
53 Hamilton, Davon DT 6-4 300 FR
19 Glover-Williams, EricCB 5-9 175 FR
6 Gibson, TorranceQB/WR 6-4 205 FR

Total = 38

2016 Juniors

35 Worley, Chris LB 6-2 225 SO
3 Webb, Damon CB 5-11 193 SO
77 Hill, Michael DL 6-3 295 SO
10 Holmes, Jalyn DL 6-5 265 SO
74 Jones, Jamarco OL 6-5 310 SO
16 Barrett, J.T. QB 6-2 225 SO
59 Lewis, Tyquan DL 6-4 260 SO
75 Lisle, Evan OL 6-7 305 SO
8 Conley, Gareon CB 6-0 195 SO
82 Clark, James WR 5-10 185 SO
5 McMillan, RaekwonLB 6-2 240 SO
85 Baugh, Marcus TE 6-5 255 SO
52 Munger, Donovan DL 6-4 300 SO
96 Nuernberger, SeanK 6-1 220 SO
54 Price, Billy OL 6-4 315 SO
80 Brown, Noah WR 6-2 222 SO
4 Samuel, Curtis RB 5-11 200 SO
33 Booker, Dante LB 6-3 233 SO
93 Sprinkle, Tracy DL 6-3 290 SO
1 Smith, Erick SAF 6-0 202 SO

Total= 20

2016 Seniors

2 Wilson, Dontre HB 5-10 195 JR
65 Elflein, Pat OL 6-3 300 JR
95 Johnston, CameronP 5-11 195 JR
16 Burrows, Cam DB 6-0 208 JR
25 Dunn, Bri’onte RB 6-0 215 JR

Total= 5

Possible 6th year SR

84 Smith, Corey WR 6-1 195 SR

Total = 1

Currently OSU has a total of 64 players on scholarship. Corey Smith has an uphill battle in getting his 6th year approved by the NCAA. So based on these numbers OSU has room for 21-22 players depending on Smith’s outcome but there will be some attrition I am sure. The good news is OSU is not already oversigned with just 18 commits right now they can take 3-4 more without counting on attrition to get to 85 by August 1st, 2016. Michigan can not say the same thing that is for sure.

If you are a regular “MOTSAG” reader, then you would know that several weeks ago I gave my predictions on which underclassmen would declare for the draft, and then a prediction on which seniors would get drafted. Obviously, I underestimated the amount of underclassmen that would declare for the draft. Of the 10 players seriously pondering leaving, only one stayed, and that was Pat Elflein. Also, since the draft obviously hasn’t happened yet, my original predictions haven’t been proven correct or incorrect, so as far as the seniors, my prediction for their draft stock will likely stay similar.

Whether you are a crazed Ohio State fan, or just like to watch, or read about them every once in a while, these underclassmen’s names should be very familiar. Some of them were highly recruited players coming out of high school, and others have developed into stars while under Urban Meyer and the Ohio State staff. Let’s start with Michael Thomas.

Mike, or as many of you know him, “CantGuardMike” wasn’t very highly recruited coming out of high school. He went to a prep school, with Cardale, and then came to Columbus. He had a slow freshman season, and then he even redshirted his true sophomore year. It was a tough year for him since he wasn’t used to being “benched”. The next year, his RS Sophomore year, he ended up being the most complete WR Ohio State had on it’s roster. This past year, even though the team didn’t have a great passing year as a whole, Mike showed that he was/is an elite receiver. Mike is as tough, skilled, and competitive guy as you’ll find. It also doesn’t hurt that his uncle is Keyshawn Johnson. I think Mike will be drafted in the late parts of the first round.

Tyvis Powell and Vonn Bell have been the starting safeties for the Buckeyes these past two years. They helped take the defense from bad, to arguably best in the country. While these two were partners in the defensive backfield, they have contrasting styles. Vonn is a shorter, quicker guy with good coverage skills, and isn’t afraid to come down and stop the run. Tyvis is a taller, stronger defender who isn’t quite as solid in coverage as Vonn. I say this, but many NFL scouts say they prefer Tyvis over Vonn. Still, Vonn is the top ranked safety in this draft class, so I think he will be a first round selection. Tyvis, on the other hand, wasn’t expected to leave Ohio State. Many thought he needed another year of development. So, despite what some scouts say, I believe Tyvis Powell will be about a 5th round pick.

Another defensive back from Ohio State that declared for the draft was Eli Apple. Eli is the prototype for the type of corners that Urban wants at Ohio State; long body with speed to run with receivers. That’s exactly what Eli brings to the table. Some people questioned his ability to stay with speedy receivers, but against Notre Dame he showed he can play with anybody. With the unteachable characteristics that Eli has, I believe he will be a first round pick.

Two more defenders from the 2013 class that declared was Joey Bosa and Darron Lee. One was very much expected to leave, and the other one was questionable. I’m sure you can figure out the ones I’m speaking of. Since after his freshman season, everybody knew Joey was going to be a star. After his sophomore season, everybody knew he was going to leave and be a very high draft pick. So, it’s no surprise Joey left. I, along with may others, believe Joey is the best player in college football, so inevitably I think he should be the 1st overall pick in the draft. Ultimately though, I think he will be selected 2nd to the Cleveland Browns (bless his soul). Like I was pointing towards earlier, Darron wasn’t necessarily expected to leave after 3 years. He came in to Ohio State as a skinny 3 star QB, and after his RS freshman season, he was looked at as one of the best linebackers in the nation. So, it’s possible Darron gets picked in the 1st round, but I believe he will be a second round selection.

These next few underclassmen that declared all played on the offensive side of the ball. They came in the form of Ezekiel Elliott, Cardale Jones, and Jalin Marshall. As for Zeke, a few years ago, many people thought that the RB was a dying position in football. This arose from the fact that very few, if any RBs were being selected in the 1st round of the draft, coupled with the evolution of the game, and the shorter “life-span” for the RBs. This year, though, Todd Gurley proved that selecting a RB in the 1st round can pay dividends. Personally, I think Zeke is better than what Todd Gurley was, so I expect Zeke to go mid-1st round. As for Cardale, he could’ve been selected in the top 3 rounds last year had he decided to leave. After a poor season this year, it doesn’t seem as if Dale’s draft stock is nearly as high. I still think he will get drafted, mostly just because of the size and arm strength he has that all NFL teams crave. He will get drafted near the same time as Tyvis, so I think he will be selected around the 5th round as well. Finally, I was honestly surprised when Jalin Marshall announced that he was leaving for the NFL. After all, this is just his 3rd year every playing wide receiver, and his 1st year playing on the outside. I think he could’ve gained the most by coming back for another year, but with his athleticism, once the 4th round comes along, teams won’t be able to pass on him. I think he ends up being a 3rd or 4th round selection.

And for the seniors, I don’t think there are as many of them that will get drafted. The only guys who will get drafted are Braxton Miller, Taylor Decker, Adolphus Washington, Josh Perry, and Nick Vannett. As a first year WR, Braxton will probably get drafted in the 5th or 6th simply because of how great an athlete is. Had he been an unproven athlete doing the same thing, he would not get drafted. Taylor Decker is an elite offensive tackle. He has ideal size at 6’8″, and has anchored the Ohio State line for 2 years (3 if you count when he played RT). Taylor has potential to go first round, but I would say he gets picked very early in the 2nd round. Adolphus Washington had an outstanding year, and his future was looking very bright until he got in trouble with the law. If he and NFL teams can move beyond that situation, I believe Adolphus should be a 1st round pick. Josh Perry has been a rock for the “Silver Bullets.” He has been a silent tackling machine. He’s got great size and strength, with above average speed for his size. Josh has the makings to be a 2nd round pick. Finally, Nick Vannett has been an outstanding TE for Ohio State. He often gets overlooked because in our offense, the TE isn’t utilized much in the passing game. NFL teams will thoroughly watch his film and see that he does great will called upon to run a route, and is fantastic at staying in the backfield to protect the QB. He’s a very unselfish player. I think he is a 5th round talent, which is solid for a tight end.

Overall, we should expect 13 Buckeyes to get drafted in this upcoming draft. It’s going to be an exciting time as the guys we’ve all come to know and love move on to live out their dreams and play at the next level. Don’t be worried about this hurting the team next season, though. Will the team be inexperienced next year? Yes. But will they have talent? Absolutely, and some of, if not the best in the nation at that. The future is bright at Ohio State, and like with getting good assistant coaches, you have to deal with them leaving after a few years. But, you know what that means? A new star coach will come in because he wants that same opportunity. Enjoy this time as an Ohio State fan, because we are lucky. Go Bucks!