The Urban Effect (recruiting)

[furls]

Ummm...

Holy shit. Kids are falling down trying to get a hold of Urban. By the time he gets off the phone he has made an impact. Ridiculous stuff is going on.

-Southward flips his commitment the night before Meyer is announced (surely some effect).
-Jordan Diamond, a top OT prospect, was practically pleading for Meyer to call him via interviews. Meyer did, and tOSU will get an official visit from Diamond and I think they get him.
-Noah Spence, the #2 DE prospect in the country who didn't even have tOSU listed in his schools now lists tOSU as his leader following a Meyer phone call.
-Dante Fowler, the #1 DE prospect in the country and FSU commit, has said that he would be very interested in tOSU if Meyer called. Meyer was recruiting him hard while at UF, and he was apparently going to commit to UF until Meyer retired. Then he switched to FSU. Based on the story I read, I think the Bucks have a reasonable shot at him.
-Joel Caleb, 4* WR, is now very interested in tOSU.

The team needs OL, particularly OTs, it will be interesting to see if Meyer can swing over one of the national big boys. If the Bucks can land a superstar LT he will start there next year. The only returning OT on the team is Norwell and he could and probably should be moved to RT.

[danwismar]

Film of Spence....ESPN's #4 overall player in the country...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoLFccxHStA

[furls]

Spence is ranked #4 by ESPN, #9 by Rivals, #15 by 247
-all services list him as the #1 or #2 DE in the country.

Dante Fowler's rankings are similar.

[Sea Foam Green]

The only returning OT on the team is Norwell and he could and probably should be moved to RT.

Out of curiosity, why do you have Norwell pegged at RT? Not arguing, just wondering as I thought he played pretty well this year, and assumed they would slide him over to LT, as Tackle seems more of a natural fit for him.

[e0y2e3]

Frankly, with how insane the reaction is to Urban we need some of the "slow" guys in this class to drop off and head elsewhere and we need more than a few transfers.

Urban is going to close this class like nothing we have ever seen, being able to work with 8-10 ships instead of 5-6 would be a huge help.

[dmiles]

Does Urban rescind any offers ey0? I didn't sense massive excitement over the crop, but I am guessing you could burn a few bridges by doing that. Most will see it, as SOP for a new HMFIC but if you cut a kid from a pipeline school you run the risk of souring that relationship.

[e0y2e3]

Urban isn't about to burn those bridges. 14 of the 16 committs are in state guys. Urban's not about to start his tenure off by making high school coaches in Ohio hate him.

[e0y2e3]

From Bill Greene today:

"We might start to see first-come-first serve. We've never seen that at Ohio State before."

[FUDU]

Just finished this discussion with someone else, but what I think will be most interesting is the next 3 years in regards to hindsight judgment of the JT era. We should get a pretty good idea of the state of football at OSU on the field in the past decade. Whether it was pure talent carrying the coaching (or most of the coaches), just how much one man's decisions impacted the end results each year, or some combo of both to ultimately lead us to a conclusion we really didn't want to face up to all this time. We'll know sooner than later just how good things could have been is my gut feeling (not complaining about our run mind you).

Our first glimpse of this "truth" should obviously be recruiting.

[furls]

I don't think Norwell is athletic enough, or has the feet to be the LT. I think he can be a good/great tackle, but I don't think he is an elite LT. I think he would be serviceable as an LT, but he is not Mike Adams and Mike Adams is not Orlando Pace.

I think Norwell is better on the strong side against elite pass rushers.

[e0y2e3]

To clarify, I think JT was a very good recruiter.

I also think he missed out on "closing" a ton of huge recruits that came down to signing day because of his passivity.

Urban is not going to miss out on kids like that.

But the upgrade from very very good under JT to elite under Urban doesn't mean JT couldn't recruit.

[FUDU]

Agreed, just think we'll see a noticeable difference right off the bat as so many have stated.

[e0y2e3]

The more scary thing is that had Fickel been retained we would have had a poor man's JT leading this team.

SDFkasdklkjlFkla

Now, the X's and O's thing, well...... we're going to see a huge upgrade there over JT.

Heacock, elite facilities and being more talented than the rest of the B1G gave JT a nice and easy ride.

[furls]

Meyer will not rescind an offer in Ohio that would be suicide. The OHSAA coaches talk, so if you burn bridges at Pickerington you better believe coaches at Dublin, Davidson etc. will hear about it. Granted Dublin and Davidson don't have tOSU kids this year, but who knows who they will have three years from now.

This is why I hated the Pat Eflin and Luke Roberts offers. They were bad choices. There is a reason their offer lists displayed only MAC Teams and B1G bottom feeders.

As for the offers, Meyer is going to bring in some guys that we never even thought we could get. It is official that Dante Fowler is coming for an official now, FSU recruitniks are nervous. There is smoke.

If I was Meyer I would pull every offer to every non committed kid and then reevaluate and reoffer. I am not sure if he has done that, but it would ethical.

[motherscratcher]

How many more scholies does he have to work with?

And, can we send out guys incognito to hand Eflin and Roberts et al large envelopes with Pitt or IU on them?

[e0y2e3]

Everyone seems to think 5-6 spots left.

The Berry legal mess and potential transfers could change this (as could a ridiculous NCAA ruling in the next two weeks).

[gnati]

From Bill Greene today:

"We might start to see first-come-first serve. We've never seen that at Ohio State before."

Austin Moherman and David Priestly would disagree.

[noles1]

To clarify, I think JT was a very good recruiter.

I also think he missed out on "closing" a ton of huge recruits that came down to signing day because of his passivity.

Urban is not going to miss out on kids like that.

But the upgrade from very very good under JT to elite under Urban doesn't mean JT couldn't recruit.

One could claim though that passivity was more honesty. And that Urban's agressiveness was more intrepretive as deceitful. One could claim that. (visit any UF rival message boards for the 6 yrs. he was on the prowl)

Still I agree with your point. I think part of being a great recruiter is being willing to push whatever buttons necessary to just "get a player in" and then letting competition sort things out. That's what Saban and Miles do. Just bring them in and let "survival of the fittest" run its course. Tressel was more apt to believing in one kid over getting multiples of the same player. Again, completely different style and philosophy of recruiting.

Personally, I prefer to fall somewhere in between because Urban's style can wear thin rather quickly but there is no question he pulls in more fish.

[danwismar]

To clarify, I think JT was a very good recruiter.

I also think he missed out on "closing" a ton of huge recruits that came down to signing day because of his passivity.

Urban is not going to miss out on kids like that.

But the upgrade from very very good under JT to elite under Urban doesn't mean JT couldn't recruit.

People who have been around here a while have heard my theory before...that Tressel finished second a lot with the national recruits in part because he was easier to say "no" to than some of the other guys. They knew he wasn't going to go crazy and push and push and promise and tell them what they wanted to hear. He was more willing to take "no" for an answer. Passivity is a good way of putting it.

[JCoz]

Meyer will not rescind an offer in Ohio that would be suicide. The OHSAA coaches talk, so if you burn bridges at Pickerington you better believe coaches at Dublin, Davidson etc. will hear about it. Granted Dublin and Davidson don't have tOSU kids this year, but who knows who they will have three years from now.

This is why I hated the Pat Eflin and Luke Roberts offers. They were bad choices. There is a reason their offer lists displayed only MAC Teams and B1G bottom feeders.

As for the offers, Meyer is going to bring in some guys that we never even thought we could get. It is official that Dante Fowler is coming for an official now, FSU recruitniks are nervous. There is smoke.

If I was Meyer I would pull every offer to every non committed kid and then reevaluate and reoffer. I am not sure if he has done that, but it would ethical.

Agreed, pulling offers from committed kids is suicide. I think Charlie Strong did it to an ohio kid at Louiville REAL REAL late....I think from Colerain I read.

Louisville is no longer allowed to recruit kids from their school.

I agree that there is absolutely nothing wrong with telling uncommitted kids thier offer is no longer valid, or is being reevaluated. This is December basically, if you didnt commit thats your problem, no one to blame at this point but yourself.

Those bad offers are partially a result of the situation OSU has been in. Brutal to recruit this year. Fickell did an exceptional job holding onto the good players he had.

Holding on to Fickell is not only good for OSU but genius from Meyers standpoint. Allows him to immediately know status of recruits and retains the best recruiter at Ohio State.

Urban is relentless.

[JCoz]

Everyone seems to think 5-6 spots left.

The Berry legal mess and potential transfers could change this (as could a ridiculous NCAA ruling in the next two weeks).

Right, and I believe that includes all known attrition previous to Meyer getting here.

Next years class will be even smaller unless some kids don't like the new competition and leave.

[furls]

How many more scholies does he have to work with?

And, can we send out guys incognito to hand Eflin and Roberts et al large envelopes with Pitt or IU on them?

I thought those were terrible offers at the time and now we are going to pay the price for them. No way we send them away, closest Meyer can do is sit them both down, face-to-face, and tell them that he doesnt think they will fit his system and that if they really want PT to look elsewhere, but he will honor the scholarship.

[danwismar]

Agree that Efflin looks like he could be a wasted scholly.

However, there are some people who think Roberts could see the field at OSU, and maybe even be a solid contributor. (One of them is not me, because I have seen nothing of the kid, even on film). I won't start throwing around comparisons to Hawk or anyone else, just will say that some observers I trust like his intangibles and instincts, his solid tackling technique, and think the body can put on weight and muscle and fill out nicely. Right now, what stud MLB on this roster will keep him on the bench for four years, no questions asked?

One freshman to watch for next year (the Bradley Roby of 2012?) is CB Najee Murray. They had to stop the Stuebenville playoff game last week three times to attend to opposing players that had been hit by Murray. He's been shooting up the scouts' charts this season. Another "camp offer" by JT.

[furls]

I tend to think that maybe Curtis Grant will keep him on the bench for a while. Then I hope Grant's replacement from the 2013 class keeps him there. I have seen some film on him, he is stiff and slow. He is Storm Klein redux. I hope I eat crow on Roberts, but I don't think I will.

Now, Najee Murray!!!! Holy shit. If you watch the first 5 plays of this youtube you will see all you need to about him. He is Mike Doss.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN0LMZ74ISM

[furls]

Stafon Diggs (#2 WR in country, #8 player overall) interested in tOSU after phone call from Meyer. Not sure if they are going to get him in for an official. Previously had no interest.

[JCoz]

Actually I think Tressel was on him early with an offer and there was initial interest. Still it was dead after everything this year. It would be amazing to land spence, diggs and Caleb.

[cozmeesah]

Article in the Canton Repository today about Meyer getting Canton McKinley DE Se'Von Pittman (#8 DE in country) to take a visit at tOSU as well. He is verbally committed to Michigan State, his coach says still solidly, but since Meyer was announced he decided to take a visit.

Article also states that Meyer is still definitely interested in GlenOak RB Bri'onte Dunn (#10 nationally) who'd already committed to the Bucks in April. So sounds like he'll definitely keep him.

[e0y2e3]

Meyer is going after (agressively) so many pass-rushing DEs Furls may curl up an die.

Pittman is an OSU guy if he visits per what I have been reading.

Remember those Florida DEs?

Happening again.

We may fucking end up putting Washington at DT.

[JCoz]

I think from an article today I'd say Spence is a done deal, meaning we probably will bring in the very best two pass rushing end in the country. I don't even know if Meyer wants Pittman, they have not been in contact yet, and frankly, I'd pass on him if we lock up spence. We have needs at LBer and some good interest from a few who may fit the bill.

Pittman may have missed the boat.

I'm looking at 6 spots absolute maximum for the year, maye 7 if Dunn deflects to UM.

Spence and Diamond are IMO taking two of those. Meyer wants Bam Bradley bad and I think he gets him. From there Caleb, Jones, Diggs, Fowler, Marcus, Pittman, Kozan, Davidson.... and everyone else with interest or an offer will be vying for those last 3-4 spots.

[e0y2e3]

Uhm, I've seen the same indications we may have Spence, but everything I have seen has shown continued contact with Pittman and a fully anticipated commitment once he visits.

[JCoz]

Uhm, I've seen the same indications we may have Spence, but everything I have seen has shown continued contact with Pittman and a fully anticipated commitment once he visits.

I have not read anywhere that has said Meyer has contacted Pittman. From what I gathered, communication has ceased.

He isn't scheduled to visit OSU, so unless that happens I will continue to think that is dead.

I agree that if he visits he'll flip. Also agree that this was being worked on. But as far as I know that has sputtered with Meyer so far, as has the recruitment of Kozan and Davidson. Doesn't mean that its dead for good or they dont have offers neccessarily, but given Meyers torid pace with recruiting, it's notable that certain prospects have not been contacted.

[JCoz]

Of course as soon as I post that I read the BN BH for today and it says they've heard Fickel visited Pittman Sunday, and that MAYBE he could be visiting this weekend which would be done deal.

I guess Pittman hasn't been speaking to the media so that is why we haven't heard anything about Meyer talking to him.

[e0y2e3]

Meyer and Fickel have been targeting him for a visit and flip since the day Urban came on. Just sayin'

Bill Greene has been all over this.

[furls]

I haven't seen anything about Pittman coming to tOSU. I have read that if he officials to tOSU we will likely land him, but I have not heard about Meyer or his staff contacting Pittman. If the Buckeyes land Spence, I don't want Pittman.

I think Pittman is a hell of a prospect, but how many DEs do we need? Last year we took a lot of DL last year: Miller, Hayes, Bennett, Farris and Hale. This year we have Washington and Spence, and it is likely that Josh Perry outgrows (or already has outgrown) his LB position. Perry is now pushing 6'5" 240lbs with the frame for another 20-30 lbs easy. Throw in the fact that Meyer is in hot pursuit of Dante Fowler, and well, all of a sudden depth at DE seems to actually be inhibiting depth elsewhere.

[e0y2e3]

And the Diamond visit is the biggest deal to come about this week with the horrible shape of O-Line depth.

[furls]

Of course as soon as I post that I read the BN BH for today and it says they've heard Fickel visited Pittman Sunday, and that MAYBE he could be visiting this weekend which would be done deal.

I guess Pittman hasn't been speaking to the media so that is why we haven't heard anything about Meyer talking to him.

Hmmm.... interesting. I still don't want him because I am not sure what we would do with him. I don't think he plays LB at tOSU and I am not sure he sees the field unless Hayes, Miller, Washington, Spence, (possibly Fowler) all bust. That doesn't even account for any DEs that tOSU brings in next year.

[furls]

Here is the depth chart for the DL as I see it by position with years of eligibility remaining as of this fall:

DEs:
Williams (1)
Bellamy (2, could end up at DT?)
Fellows (2, but likely medical drop)
Moore (3)
Hayes (3)
Miller (3)
Perry (4)
Spence (4)
Washington (4)
Pittman (4?)
Fowler (4?)

DTs:
Goebel (1)
Simon (1)
Hankins (2)
Baldwin (2)
Hale (3)
Bennett (3)
Farris (3)

So even by moving all the big bodies inward (Farris and Bennett) tOSU would still have 8 DEs with at least 3 years of eligibility at the beginning of next season if they were able to land Pittman and Fowler. Don't get me wrong, I love depth, but that is a bit much. Pittman is a good player and would be a great addition to this team in most years, but this year he would just be taking up a scholarship that is desperately needed on the OL or LB positions. If it was my show, I would pull Pittman's offer, continue to recruit Fowler (special player that you take no matter what), and be perfectly content with "just" getting Washington, Perry and Spence if that is all we get.

[JCoz]

Meyer and Fickel have been targeting him for a visit and flip since the day Urban came on. Just sayin'

Bill Greene has been all over this.

He's been targeted to flip LONG before Meyer was hired. As soon as the news broke that we weren't looking at major sanctions he was considered a guy who would most likely flip by the end of the year. Thats been the going sentiment for months now. Nothing to do with Meyer being hired.

Now Greene may have been able to nail down Pittman to confirm he's been talking to Meyer and Fickel in the last 10 days, so that was news to me.

[e0y2e3]

IMO, a few (at lesat) DEs are going to either move inside or leave town.

Meyer's pure speed rush mold is too unique and different than our previous recruiting.

Green has pretty much said he is certain Pittman is visiting and that once he visits he's flipping.

I don't see Urban turning down a Rivals top 100 speed rushing end at this point. I just don't.

And the strong side ends are most probably not going to be as "strong side" anymore.

[e0y2e3]

And all this said, I'm still more than hyped about the Diamond situation. Cannot believe we went from a no way to an official this quickly.

Scout guys also are saying Dodson has entered "if you get him here he'll flip" status.

[JCoz]

I haven't seen anything about Pittman coming to tOSU. I have read that if he officials to tOSU we will likely land him, but I have not heard about Meyer or his staff contacting Pittman. If the Buckeyes land Spence, I don't want Pittman.

I think Pittman is a hell of a prospect, but how many DEs do we need? Last year we took a lot of DL last year: Miller, Hayes, Bennett, Farris and Hale. This year we have Washington and Spence, and it is likely that Josh Perry outgrows (or already has outgrown) his LB position. Perry is now pushing 6'5" 240lbs with the frame for another 20-30 lbs easy. Throw in the fact that Meyer is in hot pursuit of Dante Fowler, and well, all of a sudden depth at DE seems to actually be inhibiting depth elsewhere.

All those DE's and none could help us rush the Passer this year. Thats a big list with how many weakside DE's? Just a couple. Williams and Miller.

Agree for the most part though, with Spence it seems superfluous, but Pittman is still a top tier get at WDE, and though there is next year, a bird in the hand.... Can't say I'd turn him down, I just wouldn't have pushed for the visit so quickly with Spence committing a month before signing day.

[JCoz]

And all this said, I'm still more than hyped about the Diamond situation. Cannot believe we went from a no way to an official this quickly.

Scout guys also are saying Dodson has entered "if you get him here he'll flip" status.

I agree Diamond is a huge visit. And Meyer has made all the difference.

But in terms of a 180, Diamond is way down the list of guys who have completely flipped positions on OSU. Guys like Spence, Caleb, Diggs, Fowler....these guys were seriously 0% chance kids pre-meyer.

Diamond was a longshot but he's at least been on the board the whole season.

Could be Meyers first commit though. Couldn't need him more either, he might start in 12

[e0y2e3]

Caleb was scheduled for his visit before Meyer.

I'll believe Diggs when I see it, same with Fowler.

But yeah.

Urban is killing it right now but it does seem like a lot of these recruits that mentioned OSU post Meyer were ultimately just mentioning them.

Spence is the biggest change, although Diamond was not coming here and yeah... could have to start in 2012.

[JCoz]

I never heard that Caleb was visiting before Meyer was hired, I know Drayton was recruiting him before hand though. Either way doesn't matter much to me, getting him here is huge.

[JCoz]

Oh, and I dont think Fowler or Diggs are coming, but I hope we can at least get one on campus.

Outside of Spence and Diamond, there is no one I'd rather have over Diggs.

[furls]

Diggs is a great big fat chance!

Fowler is a 10% guy.

As for Pittman, I get that he is a rivals 100 and that all these other guys couldn't get to the QB, but tOSU only has about 7 (max) scholarships left and only one (maybe 2) OL in the class. Both of those OLs are pretty big reaches at their current positions. Boren is just too small and Elflein was a big time reach for a program like tOSU.

The Buckeyes NEED to get some OL in this class, at least 3 more (Diamond, Davidson and Kozan?). They also need at least one LB, name I keep seeing is Jamal Marcus. His highlight film is ridiculous.

Right now I think it is likely that we end up with a class that ends up like this:

Caleb
Spence
Diamond
Davidson
Kozan

Leaving 2 more spots, one of those has to be a LB. Is Pittman worth the last spot? I don't know, there are lots of other options out there at positions of greater need. Again, he is a great prospect and if we could do this "SEC Style" and cut people.... I would cut Fellows and Moore to make the space for him.

[e0y2e3]

Cyrus Jones tennatively coming up on the 17 per Scout.

Getting this kids on campus with Meyer makes anyhting possible, once you get em there.

[e0y2e3]

And I keep reading getting Dodson as the second O-linemen is most likely Furls. He's apparently over Wisk.

[e0y2e3]

Marcus' highlight reel is unbelievable.

[furls]

According to BN, Meyer has not contacted Dodson. Now that said, I think if Meyer reaches out to Dodson he may get him, but I am not sure that he will. It is kind of telling that in all the work Meyer has put in, that none of it has gone towards Dodson (or Kozan for that matter). I would love to see tOSU finish with Dodson, Diamond and Davidson, throwing in Kozan might actually undue last year's putrid OL class.