| 03 May 2010
I think Nick Vannett will be a Buckeye before the week is out. That leaves us with what looks like about ten spots left in the class. I am going to look at the players I would like to finish this class off with. I have some criteria. The players have to be showing enough interest to make them viable candidates to be Buckeyes. The other rule is they have to have an offer which eliminates a personal favorite in Roger Williamson. The Buckeyes are talking to him but I don't see an offer until someone, like Ron Tanner, chooses to go elsewhere. That is something highly unlikely to happen.
Braxton Miller - Seeing his full junior film has me thinking about Miller in an entirely different
way. More on that in a future post.
Cardale Jones - I have limited this list to Buckeye offered players but I have reason to believe Jones will see an offer at some point. Keep in mind his grades are self-reported. I am not aware of an official sitdown for the ACT or SAT, let alone a registered score. Watch the grades. It will tell the tale on Jones and the Buckeyes.
Michael Bennett - Despite his offer list I am not going to be surprised to see him not ranked as high as his film says he should be. He is not ideal sized. I would argue that he dominates everyone he goes against to such a degree that his odds of being one of the exceptions to the rule about size when it comes to defensive tackles is even higher than it was with John Simon. High motor player with impeccable character and work ethic.
Evan Spencer - Lets be clear. This is not a legacy offer. Jim Tressel has a history of offering kids whose Dads played here. He may be a legacy kid but that is not why he is being offered. The results have been mixed with the legacy offers but that is not the case with Spencer. He is the most talented receiver the Buckeyes have a shot at in this class. The only receiver in the region who is better than Spencer is DeAnthony Arnett. Spencer is a sure top 20 national receiver. I think the Buckeyes need to get at least one receiver in this class. Spencer is one of the unique ones who could play split end or flanker.
Trey DePriest - He is not Jordan Hicks. I only hope we see another Jordan Hicks. DePriest is still one of the five best linebackers I have seen in my time watching players in this state. What I love about DePriest is he is getting better. The first time I saw him I saw a kid making alot of tackles but not alot of plays. He has developed into a kid that offensive coordinators have to scheme for or he will shut down an offense. He is not the athlete Hicks is but he is just as football smart. Hicks picked the right spot and timed his blitz to where he was regularly getting through the line untouched. DePriest does the same thing. He is a little bigger. I saw Hicks as an outside guy. DePriest could be an inside guy before he is done growing. The Buckeyes have been so good at linebacker because of a collection of talent that can match-up with anyone in the country. Getting DePriest is important to that continuity.
Doran Grant - After a great combine performance, and a not so great spring by the young Buckeye corners, Grant becomes an even more important recruit. The top three Buckeye corners include two seniors, Devon Torrence and Chimdi Chekwa, and a junior, Donnie Evege, who had a breakout spring. Dominic Clarke and Corey Brown struggled in coverage. Way too early to get too excited but adding a talent like Grant to the mix for next year would be a nice boost.
Kevin McReynolds - Whenever I see a defensive tackle under 6-4 I get nervous. My anxiety was alleviated once I saw a piece of film of McReynolds in T-shirt and shorts. When you get into shorter lineman I always worry that they have maxed out their frames or they are overweight and the staff is going to have to work on the weight issue before they can start getting them ready to play football. McReynolds is as natural a 275-280 as you will ever see. He is going to weigh 300 lbs in two years and it will have no impact on his explosive first step or his athleticism.
Joel Hale - The complete opposite of McReynolds. He has a confirmation of his 6-4 290. I would not believe he was 290 if it was not independently verified. Huge framed kid. So athletic for 290. Ohio State is the perfect system for him as he is going to be like Cam Heyward, a kid big enough to play the three-technique but he can be a base/five-technique end too. This kid is blowing up. Florida has come in with an offer now. When any of the Florida programs leave the state to offer a lineman it speaks volumes.
Ja'Juan Story - You want to see what a big wide out/split end is supposed to look like? Go look at Story's film. Get him one on one down the field and throw it up in the general vicinity. Let him go get it. He is strong and plays very physical. He never shies away from contact but is quite elusive. I have not looked at the national receivers hard yet but I am going to be surprised if Story is not in my national top ten. He reminds me of Dez Bryant.
Ron Tanner - Great player and we need to get the talent level up in the defensive backfield.
I am leaving off some players who could chane this best ten with an offer. I mentioned Williamson. Another super athlete in this class is Walnut Ridges Austin Traylor. Both are players who could project to multiple positions. A couple of other players to keep in mind are elite guard prospect Angelo Mangiro and national top ten defensive end Ishaq Williams. We have filled our guard quota and our end quota but those are players you don't say no to. You find a way to fit either in. If I see where we have a great shot at either of those two, this list changes.
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