Lose a Marylander, Gain a Marylander
The difference for Clarke was the coaching staff. Clarke took a recent visit and got the red carpet treatment from the staff. He had kind words to say about Eric Lichter and the general youth trend on the coaching staff. Indeed, many important players on the coaching staff are in their mid-30s to early-40s and can effectively relate to incoming recruits. Further, he even remarked that Jim Tressel was the ultimate “player’s coach” and has the same energy as the younger guys on the staff. The visit informed Clarke that Ohio State just felt right. In his words, he knew he would be in good hands.
The commitment caught me by surprise since I didn’t expect anything to come of the May 14 offer to Clarke. He did go out of his way to attend the spring game, which should be as much of an indicator of interest as anything else. Further, he even put them as a preliminary leader based off the Spring Game experience. Still, I was expecting the Buckeyes to continue looking to Florida for its secondary, specifically Emilien and McGee (though there is still room for them).
That said, additions to the family are always welcome. I hope he feels he’s seen everything he needs to see.
:beer:
Junior year highlights:
A lot of the clips here are of him playing tailback, but I think you’ll like what you do see of him as a cornerback. He has good speed and he hits well. He wangs a tackle at the 4:47 mark, but recovers very nicely. He saves a touchdown with a great tackle at the 5:40 mark.
Bucknuts.com: Maryland’s Clarke Becomes OSU’s 16th Verbal
They draw attention to his words on tradition, though.
So how many players do you think we are going to get in the secondary?
Vlad seems very, very likely. McGee it seems wants to wait till NEXT YEAR to make a decision, but rumor has it there will be a scholarship waiting when he makes his decision.
So I’m kind of surprised by the number of secondary/defensive line/TE offers.
To be honest, I’ve lost track of the secondary (and DL) offers. I didn’t anticipate half of the offers they’ve tended since Givens decommitted. That said, the desired minimum for the secondary appears to be 5 (we graduate 10 DBs/safeties in the next two years and 6 in this class is a real possibility). We’re in about as good of a position as you could ask for with most of our secondary offers as well. McGee is the only one that’s cooled off the post-Spring Game excitement.
To be honest, I don’t know for certain all of the recruits who we would hold a scholarship for. I’m confident that Hall and Newsome (don’t want to piss off TG Sr) are in that list, and I’m certain Corey Adams is as well. In the (unlikely) event that Duron Carter (precious legacy), Jaamal Berry and Carlos Hyde (tailback needs) string out their recruitments, I would put them in that list as well.
Ok so let’s lock this up in the next 3 months and we’ll be done with it.