Ask A Question

Have a question? Send it in! It may be featured on one of our posts.

Click Here to Ask

Latest Forum Posts

tOSU Mens Basketball
by Kasino Royale 2009/12/24 16:10
JT Should stay until he has a losing season
by JTFANGoVols 2009/11/29 16:19
Re:2011 Glenville Prospects
by Duane Long 2009/11/10 21:17
Re:My plan/thoughts for the offense moving forward
by Kasino Royale 2009/10/26 20:06
Re:2011 Glenville Prospects
by Cassidy28 2009/10/26 13:49

Blog Roll

Syndication
Nervous about OL recruiting
Written by Duane Long   
Monday, 06 July 2009 12:13
I could not be more nervous about what is going on with offensive line recruiting. I was salty. Now I am just nervous. We are doing a high wire act right now. That is not a bad thing but I would like to have a net. I don't see the net.

Recent news says the Buckeyes are in the mix with both Seantrell Henderson and with Chaz Green. First, Green. I finally got to see some tape that is focused on Green. I see a great body and great feet. I am a firm believer in the feet and frame principle for recruiting offensive linemen but we have a kid with great feet and a great frame right here in the state who would likely put us top of his list with an offer in Andrew Donnal. He is not the only one. Michael Dennis was brought back for another outing at camp. Still no offer. I think those 2 have separated themselves from the rest of the Ohio crop but it is not doing them any good right now. Green is talking about his 5 visits but he is also saying he may not take them and get this over with before the summer is out. That is likely to make Urban Meyer very happy as Florida has always been the team to beat. We have worked our way into the mix but the chances of landing the prize are so slim as to border on futile. Henderson is sounding like we may get a visit out of him now. He says the Buckeyes are recruiting him hard. He also says the schools that will for sure get visits out of him at USC and Michigan. That is not what a Buckeye fan wants to hear.

Why I am so nervous about this is I see hope finally. We had a great class 2 years ago with Brewster, Adams and Shugarts. Last year we get a much underrated class with Hall, Mewhort, Linsley and Longo. I would like to see better numbers, especially at tackle, but I see the an upgrade in talent. Another year of adding talent that is a cut above is something I think would do wonders for this program. 3 straight years of a superior line class, even if they are not taking the number of players I think we should, is going to do wonders for improving an area that has been a weakness for far too long. I don't see Donnal available come football season. He is saying before summer is out. So is Dennis. That is why I say we are not working with a safety net. Green is just as likely to go before the season starts and Henderson is likely going to wait until late January. With what the next best on our list are saying, they are not going to be there to fall back on. Even guys like Matt Rotheram and Taylor Miller are off the board with recent verbals. You would assume that the Buckeyes would be able to convince them to change their minds but talking guys out of verbals to Pitt and Toledo is not the way to build a line that you can win a national championship with. I am very nervous that we are about to blow a chance to increase the talent base at place where it is very much needed.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
Digg! Reddit! Facebook! Technorati! StumbleUpon! BallHype: hype it up!
Comments (18)Add Comment
no James?
written by drew, July 06, 2009
Is Matt James officially out of the mix for OSU then? Sorry if I've missed this info in the past.
...
written by JoeBetz, July 06, 2009
I say offer Donnal. If Donnal verbals, leave a slot for either James, Henderson, or Green. That will give us 10 OL in the last 3 years. We need ast least 3 OL every recruiting class.
not sure what to think
written by johnpibm, July 06, 2009
I know waiting on guys is risky and I know if I were Donnal or one of the other kids I would not necessarily be happy they are expecting me to wait. The only question I might have is what are the changes 1 of these Ohio boys decides to accept a preferred walk-on?
re: not sure what to think
written by johnpibm, July 06, 2009
I know waiting on guys is risky and I know if I were Donnal or one of the other kids I would not necessarily be happy they are expecting me to wait. The only question I might have is what are the chances 1 of these Ohio boys decides to accept a preferred walk-on?
re: not sure what to think
written by Duane Long, July 06, 2009
I know waiting on guys is risky and I know if I were Donnal or one of the other kids I would not necessarily be happy they are expecting me to wait. The only question I might have is what are the changes 1 of these Ohio boys decides to accept a preferred walk-on?


Zero. Why would they walk-on and have to play their own way when they have offers?
OL Concern for 2010...
written by dbuckeye44, July 06, 2009
We are not going to get Green and our chances with Henderson are slim. I figure that James decision will have a domino effect if he decides on Notre Lame. I don't read much about the lad from Maryland but figure our chances to be 25-30% with him. Therefore I say go ahead and offer Donnal now and hope he goes ahead and commits to give us at least 2 OL. If James picks us we have 3 OL and should Henderson pick us in January we have 4 OL. Not a problem at all. I was really hoping we would get after Rotheram as he appeared to have good size and nastiness and could have become possibly another Boren. I will give our staff this however. In the back of their minds they know we need to get a Center in 2010 or 2011 and perhaps hold hope for Linder. Although I don't see us getting him either.
...
written by Bobby Haines, July 06, 2009
:0 I am not worried at all about Dennis and Donnal, whom that is what I expect to round out this class anyway. And what if they give up and commit early and find out the Buckeyes end up with room. They can decommit and come back to the Buckeyes. Guiys decommit everyday dont they?
These are two guys who really want to be Buckeyes and they know what going on even more than we do. They know what the chances of us landing Green, James, and Henderson are. They are sticking in there like warriors. Thats why I want them that much more. They bleed S&G.
We will be fine. If Henderson commits late and makes 4. Thats even better.
slow to draw
written by mike, July 06, 2009
Whispers going around that Donnal doe's not have package they are looking for. Camp performances + running the 40 at a sun dial time of 5.5 did not help.

I'll take quality over quantity in any class. Players making decisions not to wait on Bucks will not harm us. Sooner than later prospects we are aiming at will
be penciling in there official visit dates. Let's look at that first. I like our chances anytime we can get a prospect on campus.
re:
written by Duane Long, July 06, 2009
:0 I am not worried at all about Dennis and Donnal, whom that is what I expect to round out this class anyway. And what if they give up and commit early and find out the Buckeyes end up with room. They can decommit and come back to the Buckeyes. Guiys decommit everyday dont they?
These are two guys who really want to be Buckeyes and they know what going on even more than we do. They know what the chances of us landing Green, James, and Henderson are. They are sticking in there like warriors. Thats why I want them that much more. They bleed S&G.
We will be fine. If Henderson commits late and makes 4. Thats even better.


That would be a mistake. On Donnal anyway. I don't know about Dennis. Donnal has said he wants to make a decision by the end of summer. I think once he decides he is not going to wait any longer that coming back on him later will be a waste of time.
re: slow to draw
written by a guest, July 06, 2009
Whispers going around that Donnal doe's

I'll take quality over quantity in any class. Players making decisions not to wait on Bucks will not harm us. Sooner than later prospects we are aiming at will
be penciling in there official visit dates. Let's look at that first. I like our chances anytime we can get a prospect on campus.


That is what has gotten the staff into trouble over the years. And to tell you the truth, I really don't think they have gotten quality either.
re: re: slow to draw
written by Mike, July 06, 2009
Whispers going around that Donnal doe's

I'll take quality over quantity in any class. Players making decisions not to wait on Bucks will not harm us. Sooner than later prospects we are aiming at will
be penciling in there official visit dates. Let's look at that first. I like our chances anytime we can get a prospect on campus.


That is what has gotten the staff into trouble over the years. And to tell you the truth, I really don't think they have gotten quality either.


Trouble with staff might be they take too long to make up there mind. I do not have a problem with them being overly selective. They have gotten the short end of the stick more so by mis-evaluating a player.
...
written by dumbme, July 06, 2009
Big Man, I have asked this question before and did not get a response. Tressel is not retarded, so what is the thought process from his perspective?
...
written by a guest, July 06, 2009
This staff has made some mistakes and Duane would have 10 LT on the roster if he was the recruiting Coordinator.But we need to make sure Donnal or Dennis can play .OL is the toughest spot to figure out,Who would have thought Smith would be the Bust he has turned into and I hate to say it Smith is a giant Bust.But no one would have guessed that.At first it was his pass pro was weak now you here he just does not enjoy playing so who knows.My guess is we do not get James,Green,or Henderson but we offer Dennis and wait and see whos left in December .
...
written by Adam, July 07, 2009
In a vacuum, anyone would take "quality over quantity." The problem is that OL is notoriously difficult to project to the college level (for a variety of reasons). Does that mean the staff should take a bunch of guys they're convinced aren't good enough? No, of course not. But it does mean that the staff should recruit with that reality in mind. That means two things: (1) take more OL, as Duane suggests, and (2) be a bit more receptive to the marginal kid with great upside, knowing that they'll hit a few and miss a few almost no matter how they recruit.
OL
written by John Evans, July 07, 2009
I was looking at some NFL rosters recently and noticed there are a lot of Ohio born/raised kids playing professionaly that the Bucks never recruited...maybe we should take a look in our own backyard to insure were not skipping on good OHIO linemen (i.e. joe thomas, donnal, dennis, plus carrigen (sp)) before we head out-of-state!
re: no James?
written by Duane Long, July 08, 2009
Is Matt James officially out of the mix for OSU then? Sorry if I've missed this info in the past.



He is not but he doesn't play into this scenario. We have a real shot at him.
Dennis
written by JP, July 11, 2009
Dennis committed to Michigan State today, as did Travis Jackson from DeSales.

I think it's highly unlikely that he gets an OSU offer now that he's committed to MSU. UM yes, but Tress trying to get commitments away from Dantonio seems unlikely.
And now...
written by tophand, July 14, 2009
Donnal to Iowa & Kurelic is saying Schofner may get an offer. I never heard anything about Schofner even going to camp. I kind of doubt he gets an offer if he didn't camp.

Write comment

busy
< Prev   Next >
 

DLR Newsletter

Sign up for The Duane Long Report Newsletter and you'll receive an email alert of all our new posts.

About Bloguin

Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics.

Advertisers

The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.

Bloggers Wanted

The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.

The Bloguin Login

The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!