2013 Recruiting

[e0y2e3]

Scout ranks McNeil ahead of Heurman

[furls]

McNeil has higher upside, just a more volatile recruit. Higher variance in the expected return.

[e0y2e3]

Neal decommited today. Well, he visited LSU and Urban told him to go away. Apparently Urbs is legit on this whole "don't visit anyone else if you are commited" thing.

[danwismar]

Wish him well. He said he was probably too hasty in making his decision, and maybe he was. Besides, LSU offered him the same day he de-committed, which I'm guessing might not be a coincidence. I don't think less of Les Miles because he continued to pursue and then offer a verbally committed recruit. BTW, I haven't heard the howls of outrage from Buckeye Nation that we were told here would result when the shoe was on the other foot.

[e0y2e3]

To be fair, the moronic middle of Buckeye Nation has spent most of the last two weeks complaining about another 3 star being brought on board. This is a relief for them.

[danwismar]

To be fair, the moronic middle of Buckeye Nation has spent most of the last two weeks complaining about another 3 star being brought on board. This is a relief for them.

Ha! So true.

[furls]

To be fair, the moronic middle of Buckeye Nation has spent most of the last two weeks complaining about another 3 star being brought on board. This is a relief for them.

Ha! So true.

Fact. That said, I didn't cry when he decommitted. I wasn't sure what his spot on the team was going to be. He is already MLB sized and plays DE in HS. Didn't really seem fast enough to play WDE in college, didn't really look big enough to play SSDE. I am still unsure what position he was being recruited for.

The staff liked him and as stocked as the DL is right now, if they were willing to spend a schollie on him, they must have seen something. Good Luck to him.

[JCoz]

Fact. That said, I didn't cry when he decommitted. I wasn't sure what his spot on the team was going to be. He is already MLB sized and plays DE in HS. Didn't really seem fast enough to play WDE in college, didn't really look big enough to play SSDE. I am still unsure what position he was being recruited for.

The staff liked him and as stocked as the DL is right now, if they were willing to spend a schollie on him, they must have seen something. Good Luck to him.

Definitely true and I agree with your take on it, and he was told Lber, which made it even more confusing.

[furls]

Fact. That said, I didn't cry when he decommitted. I wasn't sure what his spot on the team was going to be. He is already MLB sized and plays DE in HS. Didn't really seem fast enough to play WDE in college, didn't really look big enough to play SSDE. I am still unsure what position he was being recruited for.

The staff liked him and as stocked as the DL is right now, if they were willing to spend a schollie on him, they must have seen something. Good Luck to him.

Definitely true and I agree with your take on it, and he was told Lber, which made it even more confusing.

I saw that (about him being recruited for LB) and found it very surprising. I thought tOSU was trying to get faster/more athletic at the LB position. That would imply taking guys more Shaziers size (Oversized safety) and putting 20lbs on them, not picking up kids that are already 235lbs as HS Juniors. By the time the kid hit campus he was likely to be 250 and with one year in the program he is pushing 260, WDE sized.

When I watched his highlights I really didn't see a DE or a LB. Not sure what he really could be.

[e0y2e3]

They would have played him in a Carpenter type roll, rotating between standing up and having his hand on the ground. They plan was crazy blitz flexibility stuff, because dude is FAST.

[Squints]

WTF???

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recru ... linebacker

[furls]

Kid committed too early and found a reason to decommit. Meyer is very tough on deommits, generally pulls the offer, so coming up with something like that gives him a way to possibly preserve the offer.

That is my opinion.

If the kid thinks that there is only one creep following him on twitter and enjoying the pictures of him brought on by his recruiting celebrity he is very naive.

[Fire Marshall Bill]

[e0y2e3]

Naw Furls, all reports before this came out is that it was his parents and his dad admitted as much in the ESPN article.

Parents flipped because their kid, about to go 1000 miles away, found his way into a picture with a convicted pedo at OSU.

Simple and OSU fans needs to stop rationalizing it. Some parents may react differently, but his reacted in the manor they did.

[e0y2e3]

And here is the story that set his parents off and went viral: http://www.landgrantholyland.com/2012/5 ... triviaguru

[Squints]

So said recruit realizes that he made a mistake in committing early and wanted, at the very least, to open his recruiting back up. Instead of calling Urban and saying just that, he contrives some way to back out in which would take the eyes/blame/criticism of him and cause some embarrassment for OSU. He's out, no matter how he does it. If that scenario is true, just ridiculous. But yes, seems like he needs a life wake-up call.

[e0y2e3]

Geezes christ, stop acting like a fool. Said recruit's parents freaked out because of the article I just linked and he backed out. Many parents would have done the same, kid went on a college visit 1000 miles away and ended up getting close and personal with a convicted pedo.

Said recruit will be recommitted somewhere very soon, as he wanted this over early and has since the start.

Buckeye nation turning this on the kid is really getting disgusting.

And the kid is not IN ANY WAY the person that brought his "embarrassment" to light, OSU compliance was on this earlier this week and the article I linked came out before he decommitted.

People really need to effing stop with this stupid rationalization. Kid went home and started thinking about the creep he was around and then his concern was validated when it came out the creep was a convicted sex offender.

Some parents would have handled it differently, some would have handled it the way his parents did. The article from the PA paper shows a dad that was FURIOUS about what happened, not a dad that was working to get his kids recruitment open. He chilled out a ton before the ESPN interview.

[motherscratcher]

And here is the story that set his parents off and went viral: http://www.landgrantholyland.com/2012/5 ... triviaguru

Jeez. I don't blame that kid or his parents one bit from being creeped out with that. Fuckin' Pedobear taking pictures with their kid on a recruiting visit?

A couple things I wonder. I wonder if the parents ever tried to contact Urban before just pulling the commit. I'd like to hope so.

Should tOSU, or any school, be expected to know something like this? Is it possible to know? Even if it's possible, is it reasonable to expect them to know that a guy like Waugh is on probation for underage smut?

Was this guy a booster? or just a big fan? If he's a booster, how does someone get booster status, and how are they vetted? What did Waugh have to do to get into the spring game in order to take the pictures? Was it just something that anyone can buy a ticket for?

Should schools be expected to run FBI background checks on each and every individual that comes in contact with a student or a recruit?

[e0y2e3]

It could happen anywhere, this is not an OSU only thing, the era of social media makes these kids increasingly open and vulnerable. The era of social media is also why this went viral and the entire country knows about it now. It's a new age, the comes with pluses and minuses.

And he wasn't a booster, just a creep.

At this point OSU just needs to hope Bosa's parents fall in the "handle it differently" camp.

[e0y2e3]

And the answer to things like this, from a school responsibility standpoint is going to ultimately be hiring a compliance person to monitor Twitter and educated kids on the pitfalls of keeping their accounts open. Effin new era.

[motherscratcher]

I agree, they need to hire someone full time who's job is to monitor twitter and facebook and that type of stuff.

But, it seems like the tweets are a more minor part of everything. As was pointed out to the guy, it's creepy for be getting RTs or whatever from kids. But, unless there's more to it that I missed, the guy tweeted some dumb "motivational tweet" at over 100 recruits and athletes. It's not like he was stalking and harassing this particular recruit.

The picture thing is much more weird and a bigger deal IMO. There is now a picture of this kid with his arm around a sex offender who was caught with underage boy porn. That would weird me out too.

However, like you said e0y, that is something that can happen anywhere. It seems a strange thing to pull a commit over if you really like the school/program. I might be misinformed or have drawn a faulty conclusion here, but I just don't understand how anyone from OSU at that Spring Game Event could have been expected to know.

[e0y2e3]

No doubt, the reaction is extreme, but I think you are looking at an example of a dad that is looking at letting his kid "go" for the first time and saw him "allowed" to get himself into a terrible situation. It's extreme parenting, but there are extreme parents out there.

And you are right, the tweets are minor, but anyone doing something like that should at least set off red flags and get kids warned to watch out for a creep. $100 he introduced himself to all of these kids by his twitter handle.

[gnati]

No doubt, the reaction is extreme, but I think you are looking at an example of a dad that is looking at letting his kid "go" for the first time and saw him "allowed" to get himself into a terrible situation. It's extreme parenting, but there are extreme parents out there.

Look, I disagree with you but I understand your point...that being said, I cry bullshit.

I mean, daddy is extreme parent who doesnt want his son around pedophiles...I get that, who would...

Which is why two of the schools on his gnew list are Penn State and Notre Dame.

Nothing says stay away from pedophiles like the catholic church and Happy Valley.

It is what it is, he aint coming to Columbus. I get it, and in the end it doesnt really even bother me...but dont piss on my head and tell me its raining.

[e0y2e3]

Let's be real about PSU, everyone and anyone associated with that debacle is gone and, IMO, PSU's presence probably has a lot to do with keeping the kid close at this point.

As for the Catholic Church and ND, chile please.

[gnati]

Let's be real about PSU, everyone and anyone associated with that debacle is gone and, IMO, PSU's presence probably has a lot to do with keeping the kid close at this point.

As for the Catholic Church and ND, chile please.

well except for coaches who were on the Paterno staff who are holdovers...and members of the athletic department who are still in place. so yeah, except for that, everyone is gone.

Like I said, I cry bullshit.

born and raised with 16 years of catholic schooling...aint hating...just stating the obvious.

Mom and dad probably weren't comfy with Ohio State. I get it, kids sometimes want different things than mom and dad. I dont hate kid for changing or parents for not liking or wanting Ohio State. That's fine, it isnt for everyone. That being said, just say it and do it, dont use this as the excuse.

[e0y2e3]

Those who were part of the Sandusky situation are gone, period.

Again, the quotes from the dad in the local paper show pure emotion and anger, not some conniving attempt to reopen anything.

The guy was furious, Insiders reported it six hours before the local paper got ahold of him and were verified entirely by his quotes. It was brutal.

[motherscratcher]

Link to the quotes in the local paper?

I haven't read too much, but what he was saying later that was quoted on CFT at NBC Sports was all "We don't blame coach or OSU...they didn't do anything wrong..." blah blah blah.

Nice to hear (after everyone now thinks tOSU is PSU Central) but if that's the case why the decommit?

[e0y2e3]

Those interviews were well after this, guy obviously calmed down a bit: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=384313

Fuck, if nothing else, the altering tone of his interview verifies the emotion behind it.

And look gnati, I effing hate ND and Catholicism more than anything in existence. Just sayin' that the pedo tie to ND is about as loose and silly as imaginable.

[gnati]

Those interviews were well after this, guy obviously calmed down a bit: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=384313

Fuck, if nothing else, the altering tone of his interview verifies the emotion behind it.

And look gnati, I effing hate ND and Catholicism more than anything in existence. Just sayin' that the pedo tie to ND is about as loose and silly as imaginable.

not backing down on the catholic church and their track record on pedophiles. Their track record is horrific, and they continue to have a keep quiet slush fund for a reason...sorry, ND (run by the same guys as my alma mater) is complicit in all of this...you dont get a free pass on 50 years of turning the other way and by proxy assuring the shit kept going....at least not in my eyes. guilt by association...agree to disagree.


also disagree when you have members of Joe Pa's coaching staff staying on...

as far as the parents actions, and lets be clear - i dont blame the kid, I dont blame the parents at all...I really dont...if it isnt the place for them, say la fucking V...I object strongly to the execution....you are a fucking doctor so you arent stupid...an asshat went nuclear on twitter and jock sniffed his way to players on a football team...he even with to a BW3 (gasp, the horra) and got his picture taken with your son. It sucks - I get it...but the reaction and the comments (which were toned down significantly later in the day) show he has the maturity of, well, kids his sons age.

Agree to disagree...I dont hate the decision...the execution is chicken shit.

[e0y2e3]

No doubt there and the initial reaction was a bit absurd. I just posted it to show that he was in fact an angry mess. OSU may have dodged a bullet not having daddy sniffing around the program for the next four years.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

If you don't want your kid to be in contact with creeps, don't let him leave the house.

Fuckers are everywhere.

No way to monitor them, no way to monitor Twitter.

Life is tough, get a fucking helmet.

[furls]

I don't know, you can call it rationalizing if you like, but it just doesn't make sense to me. It all doesn't add up.

We are decomitting and we are going to go somewhere else, but we don't blame tOSU or coach Meyer. That is bullshit. Either they blame tOSU and Coach Meyer and that is why they are pushing the kid to decommit or they didn't want to be there in the first place. If tOSU is too far then ND is way too far away, it is not like tOSU is that far away anyways... 422 miles from Wyomissing, PA.

Reeks of buyers remorse to me, but I don't really care. We are putting a lot of pressure on these kids to commit way too early. If you are a kid that has always wanted to play at tOSU like Cam Burrows, then it makes sense to commit early in your Jr. year and lock up the spot and get a scholarship to ensure your spot in case of injury during your senior year, but for the rest of these guys.... it kind of sucks.

I don't blame the kid, but this story reeks of bullshit. I have 2 teenagers, I can sense BS from a mile away.

[e0y2e3]

He blamed OSU in the first interview he did after talking to Meyer and decommiting and that interview is as close to his raw emotions at the time as you are going to find. Not sure how this is so hard to understand.

The not blaming OSU stuff didn't come out until after he realized how much of a lunatic he sounded like in the first interview.

This is really, really easy to connect the dots on.

[gnati]

This is really, really easy to connect the dots on.

yes it is...

dad may or may not be menstrating and has the emotional capabilities of a 14 year old girl.

the end, great strory.

[e0y2e3]

Word.

[furls]

He blamed OSU in the first interview he did after talking to Meyer and decommiting and that interview is as close to his raw emotions at the time as you are going to find. Not sure how this is so hard to understand.

The not blaming OSU stuff didn't come out until after he realized how much of a lunatic he sounded like in the first interview.

This is really, really easy to connect the dots on.

So you are saying the Dad was completely wrong in his initial, over-the-top reaction and that he has now decided that he was wrong and he genuinely feels that tOSU and Meyer are not to blame? If so then why not try to make nice with the staff and recommit?

That is where I call BS. If he genuinely thought the staff was free of blame then the logical thing to do is to revert back to the previous condition.

There would be absolutely NO REASON to go on an unofficial to UF (Dad's Alma Mater) the next day. Like I said, the whole thing smells like shit and I am not buying the BS. Like I said, the kid probably just committed too early. Not a big deal, about 20% of kids do it every year and then decommit. tOSU took 5 LBs last year, if the kid goes elsewhere it is not a world ender. He is a nice looking recruit, but I have to think that tOSU is covered for a while with:

3 years: Shazier,Grant
4 years: Crowell (4 Years)
4-5 years: Perry, Williams, Perkins, Roberts and Marcus.

There is a rumor circulating now that there were lots of brews served the night before at the bar and that may be a big part of issue here. Anzalone was on an unofficial with his Mom, so tOSU is not culpable for ANYTHING the kid did while he was in town short of receiving handouts from Boosters.

[pod2dawg]

I don't hate Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, or Catholicism . I do hate Sandusky, all pedophiles and the fact Anzalone decommitted.

[e0y2e3]

Geezes no, I am saying the dad flipped his shit and that the later articles you are reading is just him trying to not look a fool in the press.

The first article, the one after he spoke to Meyer is how he took the situation. The other shit is trying to not look like a raving lunatic in the press, simple.

And Analzone has been to Florida like four times and they were always the other option. You are literally just missing the point here.

As I said, OSU may be better off not having this dad around the program, but again, go read his reactions and you can easily find his gut reaction to the whole situation. The booze and what is what made Alex's dad uncomfortable and the pedo pushed it over the edge. Simple.

Guy freaked his shit and Analzone went back to visiting his clear #2 (who was his #1).

[furls]

I still don't understand what I am missing here...

-His kid was partying with some tOSU commits/players and found himself in the company of a guy that likes naked young boys (convicted for kiddie porn).
-The guy flipped out for whatever reason, made up a bunch of BS to make himself look like less of an ass post facto.
-The kid decommitted after the dad ran OSU's program through the mud, somehow linking the pedophile to tOSU, an inexplicable logical leap because the kid was on an UNOFFICIAL under the SUPERVISION? of his MOM.
-Like I said, the guy is an asshole and I am reasonably confident that someone (Alex or his Dad) decided that he committed to tOSU too early after getting caught up in the emotions of a visit.
-Kid is back on the Gators and will probably commit to them in the near future.

Whatever... the program is better of not having asshole parents on the sideline regardless of how good (or not good) Anzalone is. I liked Seantrel Henderson a lot until his Dad opened his mouth, then I was glad to see him walk. I like Anzalone a lot less than Henderson, so I will not shed a tear for him either.

[e0y2e3]

The dad did not make the link, the article I posted earlier did. The dad lost his shit over said article. There is ample evidence this is about nothing more than an over-protective and over-emotional man going nuclear.

[pup]

Only explanation is he liked it, so he is going to PennState.

[e0y2e3]

FWIW ICL Peeps: one of the top 2014 running backs in the state (and quickly becoming a national prospect) is this Devine Redding RB from Miserable Ridge.

[YahooFanChicago]

I agree with Furls...this things stinks like a sewer...

I'm also not buying that the dad is just protective and worried about a creepy pedo.

From what I understand, his older kid goes to PSU. If he is so protective of his kids why didn't he pull his older kid out of PSU when that story first broke? Back then the pedo was still rumored to be involved with PSU as were all of the University officials who had been looking the other way for years.

If he is so crazy protective of one kid why is he not equally protective of the other one?

Either the dad wanted the kid to play somewhere else (Florida most likely) or there is something else going on. My guess is that he wants the kid to play for the Gators, went ape shit over the commitment to OSU and found an excuse. If that is what happened the guy is a dickhead for dragging our name through the mud.

[e0y2e3]

I love rationalizing things when there is a clear line of quotes indicating a guy going unstable upon hearing the news on top of realizing his kid was boozing his face off.

Christ, Buckeye fans really are a ridiculous bunch.

And yes, a kid going to PSU means that actions by football coaches, who had no contact with the kid and are now gone, certainly means his kid should have been yanked out of school.

It really is hard to discuss the Buckeyes with 99% of the asshat fans out there.

[YahooFanChicago]

When you think 99% of the population are stupid asshats you might want to reconsider your positions and where the problem may be.

In what way am I rationalizing anything? What am I rationalizing?

Did I say the kid should have been yanked out of PSU - - no. What I asked is why no reaction of an "over protective father" on that issue when there was an overaction with a Pedo this time at OSU? Completely inconsistent reactions if that is what the issue was.

And don't give me that shit that Sandusky, Peterno, etc. are now gone so that's why. Those guys were still around when the story broke.

I'm not even sure what the fuck you're arguing other than just arguing and bitching.

[e0y2e3]

The kid isn't on the fucking football team. The dad, went apeshit about his kid drinking and being around a pedo at OSU, his fucking kid and he BLAMED OSU IN QUOTES WHEN THE STORY BROKE.

You're being a homerific fuckstick, but good for you.

The guy is a nut, no arguments there, but this whole "IT WAS A GIANT CONSPIRACY TO GET HIS KID OUT OF OSU!!!" is the dumbest fucking thing I have ever read. I have provided a timeline of him being overemotional, quotes and everything else. No one is dumb enough to jump at some pedo story to get their kid out of a committment in fucking May, almost a year before signing day. You and most of the OSU fanbase are a bunch of morons.

It's that simple.

Neal decommitted days before, saying simply he made his choice to early. Meyer let him go and the two are currently speaking weekly on the phone to see how his recruitment goes. It's that easy to get out of an early committment. It doesn't require some freaking illuminati style conspiracy involving pedos and booze.

Analzone's dad even came out today and back-peddled all the way to the point where he said he will reconsider OSU.

Fucking OSU Nation, finding any reason they can to paint this as some kid and father being out to get them. I mean, if ESPN is out for blood why wouldn't some family from the middle of PA be too!!!!

I've never once argued the dad didn't act like an ass in the situation, my entire argument is that this OSU Fan-base created conspiracy is the dumbest fucking thing OSU Nation has created since refusing to acknowledge Tressel's clear violations of his self-defined standards (and the NCAA's).

[YahooFanChicago]

Someone needs to invent an eO filter that keeps the analysis on NBA talent and NCAA recruiting talent but filters out most of the rest.

Though rest of it is sometimes humorous it is often Milton Bradley level retarded. Maybe that is what you're going for.

[e0y2e3]

And someone needs to euthanize the average OSU fan.

Ron Paul and Alex Jones would be proud of this invented conspiracy theory.

[motherscratcher]

I think it's pretty clear that Waugh was a plant by the dad to get his kid out of the tOSU commitment when he realized how uncomfortable the phone call to Urban would be if there wasn't a really really good excuse. Obviously.

Deadspin has uncovered an email from the dad to Waugh with "only the tip" in the subject line.

[pod2dawg]

Anzalone get any tatts when in C-bus ?