New #Scout300 Released: How Buckeye Commits/Targets Fared

June 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment

It is that time again to see how OSU commits and targets fared in the latest recruiting website top rankings….

OSU COMMITS

Kareen Walker- #21
Jonathon Cooper- #31
Demario McCall- #68
George Hill- #72
Austin Mack- #85
Jake Hausmann- #89
Tristen Wallace- #98
Michael Jordan- #145
Tyler Gerald- #161
Terrelle Hall- #259
Kierre Hawkins- #271
Tuf Borland- #278

OSU TARGETS

Rashan Gary- #1
Nick Bosa- #2
Greg Little- #6
Nate Craig- #7
Caleb Kelly- #8
Binjimen Victor- #34
Jared Mayden- #55
Ahmir Mitchell- #58
Nigel Warrior- #75
Antwuan Jackson- #93
Jordan Fuller- #112
Prince Sammons- #113
Jean Delance- #128
Donnie Corley- #131
Andrew Pryts- #146
Luke Farrell- #154
Damar Hamlin- #218
Wayne Davis- #265

OTHER B1G COMMITS

Michal Menet- #20 PSU
John Raridon- #35 NEB
Miles Sanders- #49 PSU
Lavert Hill- #60 PSU
Auston Robertson- #81 MSU
Carter Coughlin- #99 Minn
Josh King- #111 MSU
Erik Swenson- #124 UM
Shane Simmons- #126 PSU
Matt Falcon- #147 UM
Chris Evans- #164 UM
Mike Onwenu- #168 UM
Naquan Jones- #177 MSU
Demetric Vance- #188 MSU
Justin Layne- #189 MSU
Sean Foster- #211 Minn
Conner McGovern- #213 PSU
Antonio Williams- #217 WIS
Dwayne Haskins- #220 MD
Bryan Brokop- #231 NEB
Keandre Jones- #235 MD
Thiyo Lukusa- #264 MSU
Brandon Peters- #283 UM

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

2016 Four-Star Wide Receiver Austin Mack Commits to Ohio State

June 7, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Photo: 247Sports

Photo: 247Sports

The 2016 recruiting class continues to grow in size and talent for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Wide receiver Austin Mack, a four-star wide receiver in the 2016 class, committed to the Buckeyes this morning. The Fort Wayne, Indiana product committed to Ohio State after unofficially visiting Columbus on April 11. Mack is the 24th highest rated wide receiver in the country in the 2016 class according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. He is now the 16th player in the 2016 class for the Buckeyes and the second wide receiver added in the class.

Here’s Mack’s comments on officially joining Buckeye Nation:

Mack stands at 6’2″ and weighs 205 pounds. He was recruited by Kerry Coombs and Zach Smith. Mack had offers from multiple schools. Among the schools vying for him and offering him were Michigan, Alabama, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Wisconsin and many more. Of course, as always, here’s the official “boom” from Director of Player Personnel, Mark Pantoni:

Check out the highlights of newest Buckeye Austin Mack below, courtesy of Hudl:

To see even more highlights, click here.

Filed Under: College Football Recruiting, High School Football, Ohio State Football Tagged With:

At Indiana Is Often Like “Home Away From Home” For Buckeyes

June 5, 2015 by Leave a Comment

“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.” ~ Ulysses S. Grant

Leave it to a native Ohioan to spell it out what needs to be done in order to win. West Point graduate, Civil War general, and former United State President, I am willing to bet Ulysses S. Grant would have given football coaching a shot if it had been around in his day.

While counting down the days until the 2015 college football season begins, I thought I would pass the time by ranking and reviewing the upcoming 2015 Ohio State opponents, from least difficult to most difficult. This ranking system of mine will be highly subjective, prone to possibilities of injuries, transfers, or other unforeseen events that could dramatically impact its accuracy. As always, I encourage comments and critique about what I have projected.

**

Indiana Hoosiers (Game 5)

2015 OSU Opponent Ranking: 10 out of 12

Players Recruited By Ohio State: OL Tim Gardner. Gardner was signed as part of Ohio State’s 2013 recruiting class, but left the program after a disciplinary incident in the summer of 2013. Tyler Green could technically be considered recruited by Ohio State, yet did not sign with Ohio State in 2015.

Game Date: October 3, 2015

Kickoff Time: TBD

Location: Memorial Stadium

Rationale For The Ranking: Yes, I recall how Indiana stayed with Ohio State late into the fourth quarter in 2014, until Ohio State pulled away with a 42-27 victory. Yes, I recall how Ohio State barely hung on the last time the Buckeyes visited Bloomington in 2012, with a 52-49 win. And I can vividly recall Matt Finkes coming up with the key fumble recovery against Indiana, back in 1996, to clinch The Rose Bowl for Ohio State. It would be fair to say that Indiana has often played Ohio State tough, especially when the odds are strongly in Ohio State’s favor.

Here is why I believe Ohio State will win handily over Indiana, in nine words ~ Tevin Coleman Is Now Playing For The Atlanta Falcons.

Want some more? Shane Wynn, the leading receiver for Indiana and a one-time Ohio State recruiting target out of Cleveland Glenville, is now also with Coleman, trying to earn a spot on the Falcons as an undrafted NFL free agent. While Wynn did not score any touchdowns versus Ohio State in 2014, Wynn did have seven receptions for 93 yards against the Buckeyes in 2014. Losing players like Coleman and Wynn to the NFL will not make Indiana’s chance for an upset any easier.

Prediction: Indiana opens up its season with the following opponents – Southern Indiana, Florida International, Western Kentucky, and at Wake Forest. It is possible Indiana may be undefeated when Ohio State comes to town in October. Remember, Indiana did win on the road at Missouri last season, which was a shockwave to the mighty SEC. Indiana’s path to bowl eligibility will be heavily dependent upon getting off to a strong start at the beginning of the season.

While Indiana has been fairly decent on the offensive side of the ball, Indiana has struggled to stop teams defensively. In last year’s eight losses, Indiana gave up over forty points six times. While Indiana will make every effort to improve upon the defensive side of the ball, does anyone truly believe the Hoosiers will be able to stop, or even slow down, what looks to be an offensive juggernaut by the Buckeyes?

The late Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner was frustrated in 2005 when Ohio State fans began chanting the “O-H-I-O” cheer in Memorial Stadium. Considering the relatively easy drive and distance from Columbus to Bloomington, it will not surprise me if many Ohio State fans make the trip as they have in the past, as Indiana has so often been quite the hospitable hosts for Buckeye fans. If Ohio State fans do take over Memorial Stadium, it will also not surprise me if current Indiana head football coach Kevin Wilson experiences some equal frustration comparable to Coach Hoeppner in the 2005 contest.

Filed Under: Ohio State Football Tagged With:

New #Rivals250 Released: How Buckeye Commits/Targets Fared

June 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Yesterday we posted the New Rivals Top 100 recruits for 2016 and now we have the completed New Rivals Top 250 players….

OSU COMMITS

Kareem Walker- #22
Jake Hausmann- #54
Demario McCall- #66
Malik Barrow- #103
Jonathon Cooper- #148
George Hill- #177
Terrell Hall- #202

OSU TARGETS

Nate Craig-Myers- #5
Rashaun Gary- #6
Greg Little- #9
Nick Bosa- #17
Tommy Kraemer- #31
Ben Bredeson- #49
Ahmir Mitchell- #51
Antwaun Jackson- #59
Trayvon Mullen- #75
Donnie Corley- #79
Binjimen Victor- #101
Damar Hamlin- #126
Jean Delance- #146
Jared Mayden- #147
Landon Young- #149
Michael Onwenu- #191
Luke Farrell- #195
Tre Nixon- #205
Austin Mack- #208
Marlon Character- #214
Patrice Rene- #237

OTHER B1G COMMITS

Keandre Jones- #39 Maryland
Miles Sanders- #55 PSU
Shane Simmons- #64 PSU
Dwayne Haskins- #83 Maryland
Michael Menet- #85 PSU
Erik Swenson- #93 Michigan
Cam Chambers- #136 MSU
Lavert Hill- #167 PSU
Justin Layne- #181 MSU
Conner McGovern- #186 PSU
John Raridon- #190 Nebraska
Messiah DeWeaver- #198 MSU
Sean Foster- #212 Minnesota
Antonio Williams- #219 Wisky
Brandon Peters- #229 Michigan
Jake Zembiec- #231 PSU
Demetric Vance- #238 MSU
Roderick Campbell- #239 Northwestern

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

New #Rivals100 Released: How Buckeye Commits/Targets Fared

June 1, 2015 by 2 Comments

It is always fun to see how OSU commits and targets fare at each new recruiting site updates its rankings. I also enjoy comparing how the rest of the B1G commits fared so lets break it down….

OSU COMMITS

Kareem Walker- #22
Jake Hausmann- #54
Demario McCall- #66

OSU TARGETS

Nate Craig-Myers- #5
Rashaun Gary- #6
Greg Little- #9
Nick Bosa- #17
Tommy Kraemer- #31
Ben Bredeson- #49
Ahmir Mitchell- #51
Antwaun Jackson- #59
Trayvon Mullen- #75
Donnie Corley- #79

OTHER B1G COMMITS

Keandre Jones- #39 Maryland
Miles Sanders- #55 PSU
Shane Simmons- #64 PSU
Dwayne Haskins- #83 Maryland
Michael Menet- #85 PSU
Erik Swenson- #93 Michigan

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

Do Not Expect A Happy Homecoming For WMU’s P.J. Fleck Against Ohio State

May 29, 2015 by 2 Comments

“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.” ~ Ulysses S. Grant

Leave it to a native Ohioan to spell it out what needs to be done in order to win. West Point graduate, Civil War general, and former United State President, I am willing to bet Ulysses S. Grant would have given football coaching a shot if it had been around in his day.

While counting down the days until the 2015 college football season begins, I thought I would pass the time by ranking and reviewing the upcoming 2015 Ohio State opponents, from least difficult to most difficult. This ranking system of mine will be highly subjective, prone to possibilities of injuries, transfers, or other unforeseen events that could dramatically impact its accuracy. As always, I encourage comments and critique about what I have projected.

**

Western Michigan Broncos (Game 4)

2015 OSU Opponent Ranking: 11 out of 12

Players Recruited By Ohio State: N/A.

Game Date: September 26, 2015

Kickoff Time: TBD

Location: Ohio Stadium

Rationale For The Ranking: Western Michigan had a solid 2014 season, with an 8-5 season that concluded with a loss to Air Force in The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (38-24). Western Michigan did not have a game against a ranked opponent in 2014, and one could argue that Western Michigan played well in several losses (at Purdue; at Virginia Tech; versus Toledo in overtime, and versus Northern Illinois). In many instances, Western Michigan has been able to land recruits that other B1G institutions such as Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue, and Wisconsin.

Prediction: P.J. Fleck is widely considered one of the up and coming head coaches in college football, and it will not surprise me if Fleck ascends to a head coaching position within a Power 5 conference very soon. After a challenging start in 2013 (1-11) in his head coaching career, Fleck has been able to make Western Michigan a highly competitive team within the MAC. For those Ohio State fans who may not be aware, Fleck served as a graduate assistant on former Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel’s staff, back in the 2006 season, helping to coach the tight ends and special teams units.

Among the highly-touted players on Western Michigan’s team this year are QB Zach Terrell, RB Jarvion Franklin, WR Daniel Braverman, OL James Kristof, DB Ronald Zamort, and KR Darius Phillips.

Why, then, am I ranking Western Michigan eleventh out of Ohio State’s twelve opponents?

As stated up above, my rankings and rationale are highly subjective. While Western Michigan has been able to secure talent that other B1G teams recruited, it is worth noting that none of these players held offers from Ohio State. I believe the talent differential will become noticeable as the game progresses. Ohio State fans will have an opportunity to gauge Western Michigan’s talent, as the Broncos open up the 2015 season on September 4th in East Lansing, Michigan, versus the Michigan State Spartans.

How do I believe it will wind up? Below are some Twitter exchanges between Mark Cerimele (@RealMarkCerimel) and myself that will give you an idea as to what I believe will transpire on September 26th in Ohio Stadium…

Filed Under: Ohio State Football Tagged With: ,

Starting the Heisman Hype Train for Ezekiel Elliot

May 26, 2015 by Leave a Comment

osuHelmetIf you’ve been on social media in the past past twelve hours, you’ve undoubtedly already seen this, but in case you haven’t, this is ZEKE by Friend of the Blog (and former Buckeye) Mekka Don, starting up the Hype Train for Ezekiel Elliot’s 2015 Heisman Campaign.

The video was done by our very own Kade Jetland, MotSaG Video Extraordinaire:

Filed Under: Ohio State Football Tagged With:

Chirico’s Corner With ’18 DT Taron Vincent

May 26, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Vincent wears #56

6’3 285 lbs. Taron Vincent has experienced a quick jump to his recruiting process, already obtaining offers from top programs such as Ohio State, Maryland, Wisconsin, and N.C. State. Vincent has already caught the attention from programs across the country and will have a large amount of offers to choose from in the near future. The Baltimore, M.D. native has been busy, especially last month taking visits, particularly to Ohio State for the spring game.

After just one season of playing high school football, Vincent has already had a good experience with his recruiting process. “It’s been good. My parents have been telling me to keep focused on high school for now and then focus more on the process later on.” Vincent said. “I would say N.C. State is showing the most interest right now because my brother plays there. I get down there the most often.”

“They were my first offer so they would always be in my top schools.”

Most recently, Vincent made it out to UCLA for a visit. In the past, Vincent went out to watch a couple spring games, including UCLA’s, Ohio State’s and N.C. State’s. Vincent explained his experience at Ohio State as “It was great. I got to spend some one on one time with Coach Johnson. I was able to tour the facilities, see the stadium. The atmosphere was crazy with all the people there, I never saw that many people at a spring game before.”

Vincent received his offer a couple months ago when he was notified from one of his coaches. “I was excited to get an offer from the national champions” Vincent said. On top of that, the Vincent family has had a connection with Coach Johnson for a while now. “When my brother was getting recruited for college, Coach Johnson was one of his primary recruiters, so he has been around for a while now.”

For the summer, Vincent plans to partake in camps at Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Michigan, and Michigan State. As far as a commitment date, he would like to commit either before or at the very end of his junior year. But, before this, Vincent has some plans on improving his game. “I want to improve getting lower out of my stance along with using my hands more.” Vincent said.

Look for the Ohio State to stay close to Vincent throughout these next few years in his recruiting process. He is a big defensive tackle who can get to the ball quickly. It will be exciting to see his development and what the future holds.

Watch some highlights here.

 

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

Hawaii Will Want To Say ‘Aloha’ Quickly To OSU In 2015

May 22, 2015 by 2 Comments

“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.” ~ Ulysses S. Grant

Leave it to a native Ohioan to spell it out what needs to be done in order to win. West Point graduate, Civil War general, and former United State President, I am willing to bet Ulysses S. Grant would have given football coaching a shot if it had been around in his day.

While counting down the days until the 2015 college football season begins, I thought I would pass the time by ranking and reviewing the upcoming 2015 Ohio State opponents, from least difficult to most difficult. This ranking system of mine will be highly subjective, prone to possibilities of injuries, transfers, or other unforeseen events that could dramatically impact its accuracy. As always, I encourage comments and critique about what I have projected.

**

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (Game 2)

2015 OSU Opponent Ranking: 12 out of 12

Players Recruited By Ohio State: N/A. Former Buckeye QB Taylor Graham, who transferred to Hawaii in 2012, has used up his eligibility.

Game Date: September 12, 2015

Kickoff Time: TBD

Location: Ohio Stadium

Rationale For The Ranking: Hawaii went 4-9 in 2014 under Norm Chow, with wins over Northern Iowa, Wyoming, at San Jose State, and UNLV. All of those teams except Northern Iowa had losing records; Northern Iowa is a FCS school. Even the Northern Iowa victory was close, with Hawaii winning 27-24. The best team Hawaii played in 2014 was Colorado State; Colorado State defeated Hawaii 49-22.

Prediction: Norm Chow is one of the most respected offensive minds in college football, with legendary accomplishments as an assistant at Brigham Young and USC. While an accomplished offensive coordinator, the results as a head coach have not been favorable, lending credence to the old football adage that sometimes the best assistants do not necessarily make the best head coaches. Chow is on the hot seat at Hawaii, entering the 2015 season with a 8-29 record after three seasons. Considering this is Ohio State’s home opener, the significant travel distance Hawaii has to make, and the simple talent discrepancy between the two teams, let me just state that this will probably get out of hand very quickly.

Hawaii opens up the 2015 season with a home game versus Colorado, while Ohio State opens up on the road at Virginia Tech. As I stated up above, this is Ohio State’s home opener. It is difficult to see Ohio State coming out flat in Ohio Stadium, in front of its home crowd, in the first home game of the season.

How bad do I think it might be? I am going to allow Travis Scarangello (@ElChibo), a Hawaii native, to give you an idea as to what he believes may happen…

Look for Coach Meyer to begin substituting liberally before the half. This is the kind of game where Ohio State can and should rest its starters once the sizable lead has been gained, and give the backups considerable playing time experience that will be of benefit for the future. This is also the kind of game that Ohio State critics will point to as the 2015 season progresses, with accusations that Ohio State does not play enough quality opponents.

In Hawaiian culture, ‘aloha’ means both hello and goodbye. My prediction is Hawaii will be wanting to say ‘aloha’ to Ohio State very quickly on September 12, 2015.

Filed Under: Ohio State Football Tagged With:

Recruiting Rankings Are Great, But Give Me The NFL Draft For Results

May 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Before getting too deep into the main subject of my post, I want to express some public support and sympathy for former Buckeye and current Denver Broncos tight end Jeff Heuerman. You may recall in last week’s article that I mentioned how I had hoped that my favorite NFL team, the Cleveland Browns, would have possibly drafted Heuerman in the 2015 NFL Draft. Only one day after I published my article, news spread quickly about Heuerman sustaining a torn ACL during his first practice that will sideline him throughout the 2015 NFL season.

Good luck to Jeff as he prepares for his surgery and subsequent rehabilitation. In case you have not sent a tweet already, Jeff Heuerman is on Twitter at @JHeuerman86.

**
What I am going to write about is not new news, for anyone who truly knows me. As a matter of fact, I have written articles like this before, but as the NFL Draft is so relatively fresh in everyone’s mind, I thought I would just reiterate some points that seem to get overlooked or lost in the shuffle.

Yes, I follow recruiting, especially as it relates to Ohio State. After all, I did assist back in 1995 with recruiting for Ohio State’s 1996 recruiting class, long before social media was the dominant force it is today. Yes, I want Ohio State to secure the top talent in the country, knowing that having top talent is a necessary component in order to contend for the national championship.

But do I really care if one player is ranked as a five-star versus a four-star, or if Ohio State is ranked first in one recruiting service but second in another? Not really.

And the reason why is very simple – Nobody, including the coaches, truly knows what they have until the players arrive on campus, and compete against the other players on the roster.

Here is where the NFL Draft comes into play. Three, four, five years after a recruiting class has been signed, and the NFL Draft rolls around…now you see what you truly had, in terms of players being valued and coveted, when they are picked in the NFL Draft. No matter where Rivals, Scout, 247Sports, ESPN, etc, had these players ranked, you get to see how good a job the coaches not only evaluated, but developed, the talent that they had on hand, and what the NFL thinks of them.

Let me give you some quick examples. Below are some names who were in the top twenty recruits for 2011, based on Rivals.com ~

Curtis Grant of Ohio State. George Farmer of USC. Ray Drew of Georgia. James Wilder Jr of Florida State. Trey Metoyer of Oklahoma.

All were five star recruits. None were selected in the NFL Draft; all were signed as free agents by NFL teams.

Now does that mean that recruiting rankings are useless? Not at all. Jadeveon Clowney of South Carolina was ranked the number one recruit in the nation in 2011, and wound up as the first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. Other top recruits in that top ten list are names such as Cyrus Kouandjio of Alabama, De’Anthony Thomas of Oregon, and Hasean Clinton-Dix of Alabama. All were picked in the 2014 NFL Draft.

My point is that when it comes time for NFL teams to make their best educated decisions on investing a draft choice and considerable money into a player, do you think the team is truly considering where the player was ranked by a recruiting service, or by what the player did on the field in games? That is where player development is so crucial.

The players Ohio State had selected in the 2015 NFL Draft are a testament to the development and coaching of Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer and his staff, not by any recruiting rankings. It does not matter to me that the players who signed in February 2011 (or in Darryl Baldwin’s case, 2010) have now been evaluated years after the fact – the fact that NFL teams have made their evaluations have given me a solid idea as to how talented these players are in the eyes of NFL evaluators.

Maybe I am the only person at menofthescarletandgray.com who feels this way, and that is fine. Put it this way – the 2016 NFL Draft is about a year away, and I am already anxious to see how the NFL evaluates the tremendous talent that Ohio State will be sure to offer the professional ranks.

Filed Under: Ohio State Football Tagged With: , ,
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