2014 OSU Recruiting: Few Ohio Losses, But Sparty & Domers Grab A Few

Ever since the 2002 college football recruiting class, Ohio State football has been largely successful in persuading the top Ohio talent to remain home and play for the Buckeyes. Under former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel, it could be argued that Ohio State’s recruiting philosophy seemed to zero in on the top fifteen or twenty players in the state of Ohio, then the class would be complimented with players from other states to push the class over twenty members. A classic example of this is the 2002 recruiting class, which was Tressel’s first full recruiting class at Ohio State. Among the players who helped lead Ohio State to the national championship were Ohioans Maurice Clarett, A.J. Hawk, and Bobby Carpenter; a Floridian who redshirted that season but was a prominent member of Ohio State’s teams from 2003-2005 was Santonio Holmes.

Even with the transition to Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer, Ohio has been the focal point of Ohio State’s recruiting efforts. A significant difference lies in Meyer’s approach – while focusing upon Ohio, Meyer will identify the top Ohio talent, but will not necessarily offer scholarships to all of the top players in the state.

Of the top twenty players in the state of Ohio for 2014, Ohio State was able to land six players. While that number seems low, scrutiny must come into play to determine the answer to the following question – did Ohio State recruit these players who went elsewhere?

The rationale for this question is simple – did Ohio State let a player go to a rival school, thus elevating the possibility that Ohio State will have to face that player, and thus, their mistake, for the next four or five years?

Fortunately for Ohio State, the number is low. Below are the players who were offered scholarships by Ohio State, were considered a top twenty Ohio player, yet chose to go elsewhere…

OL Noah Listermann – offered by Ohio State, yet never visited. Signed by Michigan State. Considering the six offensive linemen signed by Ohio State in this recruiting class, hopefully Listermann’s decision will not be a factor over the next few seasons.

OL James Daniels – offered by Ohio State, yet signed with Iowa. While Ohio State does not play Iowa until the 2017 season, this one could hurt for two reasons. First, Daniels is the son of former Ohio State player LeShun Daniels, so the fact that a legacy player selected Iowa stings the pride a little bit. Secondly, and more importantly, Daniels was recruited to play center for Iowa. With Jacoby Boren leaving after the 2015 season, Daniels could have been an ideal candidate to move into that spot after Boren’s eligibility expired.

DB Shaun Crawford – Crawford was originally committed to Michigan, visited Ohio State, and wound up signing with Notre Dame. Fortunately for Ohio State, the only way Ohio State will run into Crawford will be in a bowl game, so the chances of Crawford hurting Ohio State is lessened over the next four or five years.

L.J. Scott – A powerful running back from Hubbard, Ohio State offered Scott, yet Scott stayed firm in his commitment to Michigan State. Considering how Ohio State and Michigan State are both in the B1G East, and how Michigan State Mark Dantonio has long favored a power running game, Ohio State fans need to get used to the possibility of facing Scott in a Spartan uniform for the next few seasons.

Anyone who has ever been a fisherman laments “the one that got away”. Hopefully, Ohio State fans will not be lamenting the loss of these Ohio players on the gridiron when the next few college football seasons begin.

3 Things I’m Looking For With Ohio State/Kent State, From The Mind Of Minnich

A surefire way to make a one game losing streak into a two game losing streak is to keep looking back at the game your team lost. While disappointed with Ohio State’s loss to Virginia Tech last weekend, the Buckeyes need to regroup and refocus with the Kent State Golden Flashes coming into Ohio Stadium on September 13th.

Kent State will be the easiest opponent remaining on Ohio State’s 2014 schedule. With a bye week approaching the weekend of September 20th, here are three critical areas I will be looking for from the Buckeyes as they head into their first bye weekend ~

1. Establish The Running Game: So far this season, Ohio State has not been able to consistently run its favorite running play, the inside dive play. A big part of that is because Carlos Hyde is now playing for the San Francisco 49ers and not the Ohio State Buckeyes. Almost equally important is Ohio State has four new starters along its offensive line. No matter which Ohio State running back is playing, I will be hoping the Ohio State coaching staff will be dedicated to developing a consistently productive inside running game. With a strong inside running threat, the entire offense will become that much more difficult to defend. The way Ohio State can develop and establish a strong running game is by…

2. Play The Starters For At Least Three Quarters: Developing chemistry and cohesiveness with the offensive line, the linebackers, the secondary, etc., can only happen through repetition. By keeping the starters in through at least three quarters, Ohio State will be able to work through a lot of the kinks that have been visible through the first two games of the 2014 season. Once the third quarter concludes, I would hope Ohio State would liberally play as many backups as possible, especially with backup quarterback Cardale Jones only one snap away from taking over the starting quarterback position.

3. Fix The Special Teams Units: For the first two games of the 2014 season, Ohio State’s special teams have been consistently inconsistent. Senior PK Kyle Clinton has twice failed to keep the ball inbounds on kickoffs. Freshman PK Sean Nuernberger missed two field goals versus Virginia Tech. Sophomore P Cameron Johnston had a 24 yard punt versus Virginia Tech. And the kickoff coverage team made costly coverage and tackling errors.

While Coach Meyer would always prefer to score touchdowns versus field goals, focusing upon Nuernberger’s psyche would not be a bad thing – I can recall how Ohio State legendary PK Mike Nugent struggled as a true freshman in 2001, and it took Nugent some time to work his way out of his issues. Fortunately for Ohio State fans, Nugent was a clutch performer for Ohio State’s 2002 national championship team.

While I would prefer for Ohio State to pin its opponents deep in their own territory, I would gladly sacrifice this option if it meant opponents were not starting on their own 35 yard line. I would hope the coaching staff has worked with Clinton on his kickoffs, as this has impacted Ohio State twice this season already.

As for the kickoff units, I recall how Coach Tressel used his 2002 linebacker recruits (Bobby Carpenter, A.J. Hawk, Mike D’Andrea) on kickoff coverage. Could Coach Meyer do the same with freshmen such as Raekwon McMillan, Dante Booker, or Sam Hubbard?

It is important for Ohio State coaches, players, and fans to get over the loss to Virginia Tech, and focus upon the remainder of the season. The game versus Kent State is the first opportunity to refocus and concentrate upon the message in the image below. Go Bucks!

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