Recruiting Roundup

Football Recruiting
Recruiting Rundown — Taking Stock, Looking Forward
By Tony Gerdeman

Ohio State football had been in the news for the last few weeks because of their stellar recruiting efforts, but last week they were in the news for a much different reason.

The NCAA finally handed down their sanctions for Tatgate Etc., which included a postseason ban for 2012 and recruiting restrictions of three scholarships per season for three years.

Many times with scholarship limits the NCAA will dictate how large a class size can be. With the current NCAA limit of 25, it would not be unusual with a nine scholarship penalty over three years to have each class capped at 22 players.

However, the NCAA has put no such limit on Ohio State in their report. It wouldn't have mattered this season anyway, because the Buckeyes wouldn't likely have approached that number via back-dating of the early-enrollee recruits who will be starting school in the coming weeks.

The bottom line is that Ohio State will have to be down to 82 scholarship players before the season starts.

All along we have projected room for 23 players in this class, and right now that still seems doable. At the moment, there are 64 scholarship players returning, which means there is only room for 18 new additions. However, the current class stands at 19 commitments right now.

Assuming everybody in this class signs a Letter of Intent, and nobody else on the team transfers or quits, the Buckeyes will be one over their NCAA-mandated cap of 82 grants-in-aid.

However, there are transfers every year, and especially in seasons with coaching changes. This would obviously allow for more room in the current class. Also, it's not unusual for a commit to not sign a Letter of Intent for a variety of reasons, be it academic or change of heart.

So while the Buckeyes appear to be out of room, a lot will happen between now and August.

Daily Re-affirmations

With the news of the NCAA sanctions came the worry that Ohio State's recent commitments might back out of their verbal agreements. However, that was not the case for any of the future Buckeyes in the current recruiting class.

In fact, to hear defensive end Noah Spence's father Greg tell it, one year of a postseason ban is a drop in the bucket considering the commitment that his family has made.

"We kind of knew there was a chance something might be coming [from the NCAA] and we knew [a bowl ban] might be a possibility,'' Spence told the Harrisburg Patriot-News.

"But Noah and I have talked about this and I can speak for my son when I say Noah is 100 percent committed. And it's not just a four-year commitment it's more like a 40-year commitment.

"We look at it as a lifetime commitment. We consider Ohio State and Urban Meyer family now.''

Se'Von Pittman, the defensive end out of Canton McKinley who decommitted from Michigan State two weeks ago to commit to Urban Meyer, was disappointed to hear the news, but it didn't change his mind about Ohio State either.

"Honestly, I’m a little disappointed," he told the Canton Repository's Todd Porter. "It will be my first year coming to compete, and we’re not allowed to play in a bowl game. But it’s the end of it all. You’ve got to suck it up.

"Everybody made decisions and did what they had to do. I made my decision to decommit and go to Ohio State as one of the top players in Ohio and play for Urban Meyer. I’m going to be a man about the situation and move forward. I’m 100 percent a Buckeye."

Pittman wasn't the only Canton local to reaffirm his commitment, as running back Bri'onte Dunn did the same.

"It won’t impact me that much," Dunn told Porter. "It’s only one year, my freshman year. It’s not going to affect my entire career. I have to look at the bigger picture."

There has been no wavering from the long-time committed Buckeyes either.

For defensive back Tyvis Powell, there are more important things on the horizon than one simple bowl game.

"It doesn't really matter [to] me," he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I still want to be a Buckeye and we are still going to win the Big Ten. My motivation is to go out and play for the fans.

"We're still going to beat Michigan, which is the biggest bowl. Beating Michigan is like winning the national championship.

"I can't be happy with a bowl ban, but as long as we are winning and I'm getting a great education at the Fisher School of Business at the Ohio State University, it's all right."

Early Enrollees Get the Worms

That's a misleading heading, as nobody would enroll early if they thought getting worms was a realistic possibility.

What early enrollees do get, however, is all of spring practice prior to their freshman season to mature and understand the playbook. It's a definite leg up on the rest of the recruiting class, though players still have to be able to perform.

Here is the list of commits who are planning to enroll early. Keep in mind that this list may actually grow as there will be another chance to enroll prior to Spring Quarter.

Bri'onte Dunn (6-2 215) RB, Canton GlenOak
(ESPN: 4-star; Scout: 5-star; Rivals: 4-star; 247: 4-star)

Se'Von Pittman (6-5 245) DE, Canton McKinley
(ESPN: 4-star; Scout: 4-star; Rivals: 4-star; 247: 4-star)

Joshua Perry (6-4 228) OLB, Olentangy
(ESPN: 4-star; Scout: 4-star; Rivals: 4-star; 247: 4-star)

Tyvis Powell (6-4 185) DB, Bedford
(ESPN: 2-star; Scout: 4-star; Rivals: 3-star; 247: 3-star)

Cardale Jones (6-5 217) QB, Fork Union Military Academy
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 3-star; Rivals: 3-star; 247: 4-star)

Mike Thomas (6-4 203) WR, Fork Union Military Academy
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 4-star; Rivals: 4-star; 247: 3-star)

Jacoby Boren (6-3 273) OL, Pickerington Central
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 3-star; Rivals: 3-star; 247: 3-star)

Luke Roberts (6-2 230) LB, Lancaster
(ESPN: 3-star; Scout: 3-star; Rivals: 3-star; 247: 3-star)

Calling All-Americans

Now that we have reached bowl season, it also signifies "High School All-American Game Season".

There are now four major games of this type, and they begin this week.

There are current commits and possibly future commits playing in all four, so enjoy your chance to see them before they don the Scarlet and Gray.

Here is the rundown of all of the players who are either committed to the Buckeyes, or highly interested in them.

While the "O-D Bowl", as it touts itself, claims to be nationally televised, there is currently no proof that this will actually occur. It has been televised in the past, though I think on more than one occasion it may have been tape-delayed.

It's really too bad that it might not be on television, because it's the game that features more future Buckeyes than any other. It specifically features future tailbacks Bri'onte Dunn and Warren Ball in the same backfield.

*Warren Ball (6-2 200) RB, St. Francis DeSales

*Bri'onte Dunn (6-2 215) RB, Canton GlenOak

*Roger Lewis (6-1 195) WR, Pickerington Central

*Joshua Perry (6-4 228) OLB, Olentangy

*Se'Von Pittman (6-5 245) DE, Canton McKinley

*Committed to Ohio State

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Semper Fidelis All American Bowl, January 3, 2012 Phoenix, AZ CBS Sports Network 6:00 pm

Bam Bradley would seem to be the most likely player in this game to end up in Columbus, though don't yet count out either Jordan Diamond or Camren Williams.

Business seems to be picking up with Diamond after slowing down considerably following his official visit to Auburn a week ago. Keep in mind, Diamond seems to be enjoying the recruiting game, so he might pull a few strings here and there to tweak the masses.

Williams is still in a holding pattern waiting for Penn State's new coach. Right now it would seem that he's looking for a reason to stay with the Nittany Lions, as opposed to a reason to leave.

Demetrious Cox has been on the Ohio State radar for quite a while now, but I've never really considered him a priority, which is why this is the first time he's shown up in the Recruiting Rundown.

Jordan Diamond (6-6 289) OT, Chicago, Illinois

Demetrious Cox (6-1 189) S, Jeannette, PA

**Camren Williams (6-2 215) LB, West Roxbury, MA

Bam Bradley (6-2 200) S, Trotwood-Madison

**Committed to Penn State

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Under Armour All-America Game, January 5, 2012 St. Petersburg, FL ESPN 7:30 pm

Of the four games to watch, this is probably the one to be avoided. Not because of lack of talent, but rather because of the talent that will remain just out of arm's reach for the Buckeyes.

Noah Spence is the only Buckeye commit playing in this game, and it wouldn't be a surprise if it stayed that way. Ohio State fans will watch this game to see quarterback Jameis Winston, who is still talking about visiting Columbus in January, but they will likely come away heart broken like they were when Tajh Boyd snubbed them a few years back.

Nelson Agholor (6-2 180) WR, Tampa ,FL

Ifeadi Odenigbo (6-4 210) LB/DE, Centerville

*Noah Spence (6-4 245) DE, Harrisburg, PA

Davonte Neal (5-10 175) WR, Scottsdale, AZ

Joey O'Connor (6-4 295) OL, Windsor, CO

Cyrus Jones (5-11 183) WR, Baltimore, MD

**Dante Fowler (6-3 232) DE, St. Petersburg, FL

**Jameis Winston (6-4 200) QB, Hueytown, AL

*Committed to Ohio State
**Committed to Florida State

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U.S. Army All-American Bowl, January 7, 2012 San Antonio, TX NBC 1:00 pm

Buckeye fans will get a chance to see Adolphus Washington and Tommy Schutt playing next to eachother for the first time in their respective careers, which should be quite interesting.

Offensive tackle Kyle Dodson should also be watched closely. There hasn't been much movement in his recruiting in the last week, which isn't a bad thing for Ohio State yet.

The only other possibilities for the Buckeyes in this following group are likely Joel Caleb and Stefon Diggs, and Caleb is more likely than Diggs.

*Tommy Schutt (6-3 301) DT, Glen Ellyn, IL

*Adolphus Washington (6-4 230) DE, Cincinnati Taft

Joel Caleb (6'2 201) WR, Midlothian, VA

Stefon Diggs (6-0 180) WR, Olney, MD

**Kyle Dodson (6-6 315) OT, Cleveland Heights

Darius Hamilton (6-4 245) DL, Ramsey, NJ

***Keith Brown (6-1 225) LB, Miami, FL

*Committed to Ohio State
**Committed to Wisconsin
***Committed to Illinois