| 30 August 2011
11. Dwayne Stanford, WR, 6-4, 190, Cincinnati Taft
I saw Dwayne Stanfords film last winter. I knew I was looking at a special player. He is a big receiver and plays a big receivers game. Get him one on one and throw it up for him. He will go up and get it. He has great hands. Catches the ball away from his body. He is fearless going over the middle. After the catch I love the attitude he runs with. He is not going down easy, fights for every year. Uses a nasty stiff-arm on tacklers. He ran a suspect time at a combine this year which shook up some evaluators. I like to see a player run a great 40 but I put more stock in game speed. Look at the film. Keep in mind that there was never a question about his speed from the film.
12. Tom Strobel, DE, 6-6, 235, Mentor
I remember the buzz after Strobel took a visit to Ohio State. I spoke to several people who saw him. the consensus was he looked like an NFL player right now. When I look at his film I shake my head that a player can be that much of a force and be so disruptive while barely being
average using his hands. Explosive, powerful and relentless. I could see Strobel playing as a strong side end in either a 4-3 or a 3-4. Ohio State was recruiting him as a defensive tackle. I am not sure he is going to get that big but he could. This is a complete player. He plays the run as well as the pass. Chases plays to the whistle.
13. Dion Dawson, DT/NG, 6-1, 308, Cincinnati Western Hills
I know the plays of Dion Dawson as a running back are fun to watch. Fast forward past those to the ones where he is playing defensive tackle. That is where you see a great football player. He is explosive and powerful. He plays with great balance. Now go back and look at the running back plays. That is where you see the athlete, the 290 lb athlete who much smaller players can't catch. This kid can really run. Put the entire package together and you have the best interior defensive lineman in Ohio. He is athletic enough and explosive enough to play the three-technique but big enough and strong enough to play the nose. Once he gets his grades up Dion Dawsons offer list will include Big Five schools. including Ohio State.
14. Benny McGowan, OL, 6-4, 300, Centerville
I have probably watched Benny McGowan more than any lineman in the class. If I could choose who to go behind on third and two I would not automatically choose Kyle Kalis. I would call a time out and think about whether to go with Kalis or McGowan. McGowan is a wrecking machine. You hear the term pad level used in football. Look at McGowans film to see a player who plays with good pad level. The thing about McGowan is I think everyone has him locked in at guard because he plays guard in high school. I think you can see on his film that he shows the athleticism to possibly play tackle.
15. Bam Bradley, FS, 6-2, 200, Trotwood-Madison
The quintessential strong safety prospect. If I was building a strong safety he would come out looking like Bam Bradley. He has size. Since a strong safety is going to be playing closer to the line of scrimmage I want a bigger player. He has the speed to run down any skill player on the field. He is a great tackler and he is the hardest hitting player in the state. The knock seems to be that he might grow into a linebacker. My counter to that is, so what? I would want Bam Bradley anyway. Another thing I think separates Bradley from any other safety in the class is how long he has been playing at a high level. He has been a player I have known about since he was a freshman. He was a man amongst boys in the state championship game. He likely picks between Ohio State and Pitt.
16. Devan Bogard, SS/Hybrid, 5-11, 180, Glenville
I know you are looking at the stat line and wondering why I have Bogard listed as a SS/Star. That is because I will believe he is a corner when I see it. He plays for all intents and purposes as a linebacker. I cannot see him learning to play corner against the caliber of players he would face at this level. I see no reason to. Bogard was born to play the Star. He is such an instinctive player. He is a great tackler, and hits like a linebacker. Non-stop motor. Playmaker. Great get for the Buckeyes no matter whether he is a Star, safety or a corner.
17. Pharaoh Brown, Ath, 6-6, 215, Lyndhurst Brush
Brown prefers tight end but he is a great looking defense end. I doubt we ever see him as a tight end. We have no idea about his skills as a tight end because he plays quarterback on offense. I don't believe that Michigan can afford to give up potential immediate impact end to school a maybe tight end. Brown has exceptional pass rush skills. He is long and uses his hands well. He runs great. He will need to fill out. If he is as athletic 40 lbs from now as he is right now, and he definitely could be, Big Ten coaches are going to be looking forward to the day he heads off to the NFL.
18. Jarrod Wilson, Safety, 6-3, 200, Akron Buchtel
The best free safety in the state. Wilson could be the best safety in the state period. If there was no question about him as a tackler I would definitely rank him the best safety in Ohio. His ball skills are even better than Frank Epotropulous, and that is saying something. Super athletic player with great speed. A real threat to take it to the house after he makes an interception.
19. Frank Epitropoulos, Ath, 6-3, 190, Upper Arlington
I list the kid who has earned the nickname "Frank E" as an athlete because I will never give up on the idea of having him in the sitting in the middle of the back third playing centerfield for the Buckeye defense. I had just about given up hope after the recent verbal of Roger Lewis but the Buckeyes are still pursuing both prep school star Michael Thomas and seem to have ramped up the pursuit of Dwayne Stanford. Frank E is already playing the position in high school. Look at the defensive plays on his ScoutingOhio.com film: http://scoutingohio.com/index.php/view-profile.html?task=userProfile&user=5418 He is tall and long. He can leap out of the stadium. He has great ball skills. I believe he could be a great receiver here. I just don't see another player on the roster who can do what Frank E does on defense. You may want to look at those punting clips at the end while you are at it. Getting at least a back-up punter out of this is nothing but a coup.
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