Our Honor Defend

In this 18th installment of our Better Know A Buckeye series for the 2008 class, I get around to the three remaining big names and Army All-Americans left to consider. I start with DeVier Posey, a wideout and Parade All-American from Cincinnati’s LaSalle HS. Posey’s story is special in its own way, as he went from ending his junior year without a single offer to committing to the Buckeyes just over 3 months later. Along the way, Posey played a significant role in shaping the course of 2008 recruiting for Ohio State. In this feature, I discuss DeVier’s (relatively brief) recruitment, his decision for a quick commitment and where he contributed for recruiting in 2008. I also incorporate discussion on what he brings to the Buckeyes on the field, where he fits in with the Buckeyes plan for the next couple years, and miscellaneous things of passing importance.

Just as a matter of note, Terrelle Pryor will be the next Better Know A Buckeye feature I do, and given his own story, it might take several weeks in order to do it right.

Height: 6′3
Weight: 190lbs
Forty: 4.5
GPA: 3.34

His Recruitment: DeVier Posey plays football in a state — and more specifically: a part of the state — that’s amenable to early offers for football prep stars. However, for a future Parade All-American, DeVier Posey ended his junior year with zero offers. Usually, the MAC schools in Ohio offer a kid like Posey in his junior year just to get their respective names out there. Further, with Brian Kelly arriving at UC, the Bearcats have been tossing out early offers to Ohio kids (especially Cincinnati kids) at half the clip of Ron Zook. However, Posey was getting no fanfare from any recruiting service after his junior year and had no offers to go along with it. Yes, not even Zook — who I’m convinced subscribes to Bucknuts and gets a preliminary list of rising sophomores (or freshmen) in the state of Ohio and offers every single one of them a scholarship — extended an offer.

However, Posey took the initiative to get his name out to college programs, investing money into getting a highlight film professionally done. Of the 25 copies made and sent, only Ohio State sent a reply saying that they had received it. Darrell Hazell — WR coach and recruiter par excellence for the Buckeyes’ staff — reviewed the film and liked what he saw enough to start recruiting Posey in earnest. At the time, DeVier was unsure, perhaps even skeptical, that an offer would follow from it, but was plenty excited that his endeavors had paid dividends from at least one program. The excitement was enough to take an unofficial visit to Columbus around this time to watch the Buckeyes’ bowl preparations for [ REDACTED ]. While on the visit, Posey met with Troy Smith and remarked about how loose and friendly everyone was, notwithstanding the upcoming game.

Word finally got out about Posey as programs started to show interest and extend offers. Virginia, Cal and Ohio all offered during Christmas break. Virginia was his first offer, and since recruits generally respond kindly to their first “big”¹ offer, Virginia was an early favorite for Posey. Cincinnati also finally got into the mix by inviting Posey to a Cincy/WVU hoops game to meet Oscar Robertson. However, with basketball season in full swing, Posey was against the idea of compromising his Lancers’ hoops endeavors by devoting too much time to his recruitment. Minus unofficials to Cincy and Kentucky (both schools close to Cincinnati), and the December unofficial to Ohio State, December and January were dead months for Posey in terms of his recruitment.

A seven day interval in February 2007 proved to be pivotal in DeVier Posey’s recruitment. To be more precise: Wed February 7 2007 – Wed February 14 2007 is the seven day stretch that changed everything. February 7, 2007 was National Signing Day for the 2007 class, which by itself means nothing to a 2008 prospect like Posey. However, after signing day, it’s a common practice for college football programs to throw out several offers to who they deem to be top priority targets. Hazell, who was still in touch with Posey, was amping up interest. That weekend, DeVier Posey made his second unofficial visit to Columbus, meeting up with Jake Stoneburner² and Mike Adams in Columbus. After enjoying the camaraderie for the weekend, Stoneburner (who by that time was doing recruiting for Ohio State, even without a scholarship offer) and Adams (offered by Ohio State, heavy lean, but not yet committed) were convinced that he would be a valuable asset to the team. Posey felt the same. On Wednesday, February 14, DeVier Posey received his offer from Ohio State, a full two weeks before Stoneburner’s offer. Suffice to say, Darrell Hazell made DeVier Posey priority one at the position, which was not lost on Posey. Generally impressed by Hazell’s genuine interest and everything else from the weekend visit to Columbus, Posey was well aware of how badly Ohio State’s staff wanted him. The feeling was becoming mutual.

However, just as in December and January, Posey was reticent to do too much recruiting work to the detriment of his HS basketball team. During this time, it appears the only thing of note he did before his eventual commitment was another quick trip to UC for their Junior Day. Perhaps, though, it was probably more an opportunity to get Stoneburner and Adams to come down and requite the previous visit to Columbus as both were in attendance as well.

Unfortunately for DeVier, his HS hoops team’s title hopes came crashing down in a 55-48 defeat to Cincinnati Withrow HS in the Dayton 4 District Finals (played at the University of Dayton) on Saturday March 10, 2007. The loss precluded a trip to the Cincinnati Regionals on Xavier’s campus, but did behoove Posey (and mom) into making a trip that same night to Columbus to take another unofficial visit for the weekend of March 10-11. That same night, he hung out with Mike Adams (who was celebrating his 17th birthday) and Jake Stoneburner again, but was also introduced to Michael Brewster (who was also in town) for the first time. By this time, all four had offers and Mike Adams had just used his 17th birthday as a cover to issue his verbal. For the first time, Posey began talking with these guys regarding the possibilities of playing together in college. On Sunday, Posey made it to campus, first having breakfast with Darrell Hazell. Later, he met with Tressel where — as you’ll hear several members of this recruiting class say — he was awed by the fact that Tressel can carry on a conversation with a recruit for several hours and never once mention football. While making the trip back home to Cincitucky, Posey felt he had seen everything he needed to see.

His Commitment: While still en route to their Cincinnati home, DeVier asked his mom to pull over at a sports store so he could buy some Buckeye gear. When asked for clarification, DeVier told his mom that Ohio State is where he wanted to go. DeVier’s mom more than obliged, only asking that DeVier be sure of this decision. He was.

After arriving home, DeVier called Jim Tressel’s office, coincidentally right as Hazell and Tressel were discussing the few hours spent with him, and issued his verbal. Both Tressel and Hazell were ecstatic about the choice. Afterwards, DeVier called the Coffman boys and told them about his decision, and both were understandably pleased. Adams had already secured his spot and Stoneburner was practically a silent verbal by this point. After calling Stoneburner and Adams, Posey called Brewster and informed him, eliciting the most excited reaction of everyone.

However, Posey’s announcement was not necessarily what he wanted. Posey planned to treat himself to the same birthday gift that Mike Adams treated himself to — going public on his birthday. Posey issued his silent verbal on Sunday and planned to go public on Thursday. However, the widespread reporting of the verbal forced Posey to confirm the commitment on Tuesday, March 13th.

The commitment gave the Buckeyes their 3rd verbal of the class (Buchanan, Adams) and their first option at wideout. On DeVier’s end, he committed after only his 3rd visit to Ohio State and before he ever saw an Ohio State game in person.

Where He Excels: DeVier becomes quite a handful after the catch. His combination of size and speed gives him some explosiveness when he is afforded any kind of space to maneuver. His large frame makes him hard to tackle and his top-end speed allows him to blow right by a few people. This potential also has DeVier in the discussion for kick returns for the Buckeyes, where I’m sure his inclusion would be a significant improvement than the combination fielded in 2007. Understandably, this same combination also makes him a deep threat on a vertical route while a nice option in the small and intermediate passing games. His sure hands help him here as well. Scout.com thinks Chad Johnson is a nice comparison for him. I don’t want to fall into the cliche of overhyping everyone, because we know that not everyone lives up to their projected ceilings, but there’s a reason this 2008 class is so hyped: imagine a wideout combo of Stoneburner and Posey in the red zone, combined with Sanzy (I’m convinced he’ll shine at Ohio State, in typical under-the-radar/3-star fashion) and Flash in the slot. Throw in incoming receivers like Chris Fields, James Jackson and Duron Carter. Cooooooool.

I’m also intrigued by DeVier’s frame. Granted, my scientific understanding of the human body is limited to the Vitruvian man³, but Posey is a big wideout now. He apparently has the frame to get bigger and keep his speed. Indeed, I’ve come across the comparison to David Boston, who topped out at that 6′2 215ish area. Posey should be able to get past 200, but again, I’m not an expert on this. If he could develop into what Boston was at Ohio State, then we could only be better for it (imagine what a player like that could be on fade routes in the red zone).

I could do without the positive tests for cocaine and steroids, though.

Must Work On: Posey apparently is not a very crisp route runner… says Scout. I don’t think this is particularly valid criticism from Scout because it’s not clear to me that any HS receiver matriculates to a big time college with this skill. If it’s appropriate to say that Posey lacks this skill (and perhaps he does, I wouldn’t know for sure since wideout highlight films [I think] suffer from the most severe selection bias), he’s not alone. Posey, like most wide receiver prepstars, probably used his size and top-end speed to create separation. This will get significantly harder in college, but judging a HS receiver on his route-running skills is a little futile, I think.

One area of improvement that I’ve encountered that I can more or less agree with is on Posey’s burst. His top-end speed is among the best in the country at the position, but it takes a little while to build up momentum.

One area of concern for me is DeVier Posey’s shoulder injury that he had surgery on awhile back. Posey incurred some wear and tear during his senior season, resulting some mini tears in his labrum. He finished rehabilitation not too long ago, but images of Charles Rogers keep jumping into my head. You don’t need to worry too much, though. I’m more than overreacting since a partial tear isn’t that bad. If nothing else, it’s something to consider.

Redshirt? Doubt it. The wide receiver rotation is going to be crowded in 2008, but Posey apparently has the tools necessary to work his way into the rotation and get some snaps. Sanzy, himself a true freshman last year, opted for this route and got some good minutes in before he got sidelined with an injury⁴. Special teams is also an option. I don’t see Flash, Stoneburner or Posey redshirting, and I think all three have the potential to make an impact in their freshman year. Who actually does step up and sees time as the third wideout (Robo and Hartline will basically be every-down wide receivers) should be an interesting development in 2008.

DeVier Posey and Terrelle Pryor: I have good authority and inside information to know definitively that the Brew Crew was a team effort. Michael Brewster gets a lot of press for his efforts (and deservingly so, especially with his enthusiasm), but basically everyone was involved, making the 2008 recruiting class the fruits of a collective labor. However, DeVier Posey stands out as one of the key social butterflies that was crucial in helping develop the 2008 class.

One of the most important contributions DeVier Posey made to the class regards the crown-jewel-not-named-Mike-Adams: Terrelle Pryor. After Brewster’s commitment (and Shugarts’ corollary commitment), the “recruiting” appeared to have taken off in earnest. The first Buckeye target contacted by Posey was Terrelle Pryor. Posey and Pryor knew each other well through basketball and AAU, playing against each other while still in their middle school years. Posey had actually tracked down Pryor on Myspace before Posey’s March 11 commitment, where an exchange of messages eventually snowballed into a sincere friendship between both DeVier and Terrelle. In Posey’s version of the story, he actually gave Terrelle’s contact information to Brewster who then, in his words, “took control of the situation”. DeVier appears to be the exogenous factor in making Pryor a Brew Crew target.

However, it’s not implausible to suggest that Michael Brewster would have found his number eventually. Where Posey becomes really important in the Terrelle Pryor story is the aforementioned friendship formed between the two. It goes without saying that recruitment was very stressful on Terrelle, and it became increasingly so after his Signing Day nondecision. When Terrelle felt he needed a friend to talk to, he called DeVier. From what I’ve read, Terrelle thinks the world of DeVier and knew he could trust him with anything he told him. DeVier’s mom thinks Terrelle knew he wanted to go to Ohio State all along, and confided that in DeVier and told him that mum’s the word on that tidbit. And when DeVier is sworn to secrecy for a friend’s interest, his lips are sealed. Their friendship led to their pairing as roommates at the Army All-American Game.

Non-falsifiable counterfactual hypotheses are not in my interest, nor yours to read, but absent DeVier Posey from the picture, there’s good reason to suggest the courtship between Ohio State and Terrelle Pryor may have taken a different direction. Pryor’s admiration of Jim Tressel would have no doubt remained, but from what I’ve read, if Pryor committed for any one Brew Crew member, it was Posey. Pryor liked the bond he had developed with a future target, became more interested in Ohio State when he knew Posey was going there and genuinely appreciated the friendship above everything else. Pryor expressed in his last series of interviews with Scout that Posey’s assurances that they could remain friends even if he decided on Michigan meant alot. I look forward to seeing how this kind of chemistry develops on the field.

Julie Posey: I like to bring Mom in wherever it’s appropriate, and I think my biggest criticism with recruiting services (especially Scout and Rivals) is their borderline pedophiliac obsession with height, weight and frame at the expense of more thorough investigations into the recruit’s character. I think a story on Mom can provide significant insight into a recruit’s character, and, at the least, provide necessary fluff for a long and rambling post such as this.

In the case of DeVier, his mom — Julie Posey — appears to be the unofficial team mom for the 2008 class. At the most recent Spring Game, she gave Terrelle Pryor an extra poncho so he could keep dry in the rain. I’m not sure if that means she’ll be preparing orange slices and Capri Sun in little coolers for the boys after the game, but one can only hope.

Julie has her own odyssey that brought her from California, where DeVier was born, to Cincinnati. To be honest, given the gravity of her story, I would feel bad trying to synthesize it here. Basically, I fear any attempt to do so could be construed as a pretentious way of saying that I understand her plight or could relate to it. Simply put: I can’t. You can go here and read the story, if interested.

Highlights: ScoutingOhio will have to suffice. There’s a few things on YouTube, but none of them are particularly useful. I really wish ScoutingOhio would upload their stuff to YouTube. As it is, they’re so badly embedded on their own website that they’re hard to watch.

Miscellany:

• Posey was the State 400m champion in his senior year. He was responsible for 20 of his Lancer team’s 41 points, which was good enough for second at State. Cleveland Heights finished 3 points ahead of LaSalle.
• There’s something of a legend regarding how DeVier Posey got his offer from Ohio State. Remember I mentioned earlier about the nature of Posey and Pryor’s contact and how Posey contacted Pryor before his commitment to Ohio State. Indeed, Posey contacted Pryor before he had any real good offers of note. The nature of Posey’s first MySpace message to Pryor was having him watch his (Posey’s) highlights and asking him if he could see himself throwing to a wideout like him someday. Posey was pleasantly surprised when Pryor not only responded, but said that he could see himself having DeVier as a target. Pryor not only responded kindly but said that he would take the initiative to get Posey some better offers. Lo and behold, Ohio State offered, Michigan State offered and even Oklahoma offered. Part of this suggestion is plausible and part of it isn’t. What’s implausible is that Posey would have remained in the dark forever. Someone was going to find out about him, and Posey took early initiative to get his name out and get Ohio State involved. What is plausible, however, is that recruiting is something of a hocus pocus “science” where hype is absolutely everything. Stars, invites to advanced camps and All-this-and-that honors follow from hype first and talent second. And by golly, if Terrelle Pryor tells Rivals and Scout that you’re good, then Rivals and Scout will respond accordingly. Don’t read too much into it, but it is a pleasant anecdote.
• Will wear no. 8 to start his career. Look to Facebook for confirmation if you’re interested.
• DeVier’s older brother — Julian “Joonie” Posey — is a defensive back for the Ohio Bobcats. This of course leads to the possibility that big brother could guard little brother on September 6, with a very proud mom watching in the stands.
• His uncle, Clint Haslerig, played for the Wolvereenies in the early 1970s. Presently, his uncle appears to be a sports agent. As such, Posey admitted to being a Michigan fan growing up, joining JB Shugarts as the only other Buckeye in the class (that I know of) to admit such a youthful affection blunder. Curiously enough, DeVier also shared that being around such pro-TSUN inclinations and being familiar with several local football prospects who had nothing but bad things to say about Ohio State gave the Buckeyes quite the negative stigma for him as he approached his recruitment. Only with his initial visit to Ohio State and visit with Jim Tressel did he see how profoundly in the wrong those people were, especially the local football players. Methinks there’s a bigger story on the Cincinnati talent pool and why they don’t have the enthusiasm for Buckeye football that other good Ohioans/Americans like the Cleveland area kids have… but that’s a topic for another conversation.
• If you’re worried about DeVier Posey not hating Michigan accordingly, don’t be. A friend of mine snooping around on Facebook let me know that you’re sure to find a “Fuck Michigan” response from him to any reference of that school⁵. Further, apparently Michigan seriously botched his recruitment and unofficial visit to Ann Arbor. His exact words on the Michigan visit:

I visited Michigan after that and they treated me like a rag doll. I tried to talk to Coach [Mike] Debord but he didn’t even know who I was.

• I’m not a medical expert (far from it), and perhaps this isn’t totally bizarre, but I was still shocked after reading it. Apparently, DeVier Posey was born without an immune system. You know, that thing you need to ward off sickness? Well apparently Posey didn’t have one of those until he was three. He was in the throes of death three times before turning a year old. He had to receive some kind of treatments once every three weeks which, in essence, was akin to injecting an immune system into his body. He finally developed his immune system by time he was three. And the rest? Oh it’s just history.
• Parade All-American. US Army All-American. Maxwell Award winner for best HS wide receiver. Suck on that last one Julio Jones. For your information, Terrelle Pryor (QB), Michael Brewster (OL), and Ben Buchanan (punter… should have also won for kicker since Buchanan is light years beyond Blair Walsh in quality) also won similar Maxwell position awards.
• DeVier was a finalist for the Watkins Award. The Watkins Award seeks to honor African-American athletes (not just football players) who excel in the classroom, community and on the field. Posey’s athletic credentials speak for itself, but his 3.4 GPA and coordination of local food drives, volunteer efforts with local youths and senior citizens and spearheading a drive to beautify a forlorn cemetery earned him the nomination. In essence, being nominated for the award is tantamount to saying that DeVier Posey was deemed to be a role model for young African-Americans. Matthew Daniels ended up winning the award and will be playing his college football for the Duke Blue Devils.

Again, absent any real good way to end these: DeVier Posey, consider yourself better known… or something. I should remind the readers that you may not see the next feature for a few weeks because it will be on Terrelle Pryor, it will probably be 50 pages, and it will take forever to write.

1. I’m being generous with calling the Hoos a “big” offer, but alas, it’s a truism in recruiting, and I guess they play in a major conference. [↩]
2. Stoneburner and Posey appear to have known each other previously through basketball. I’m guessing it’s AAU related, which is also how Posey and Pryor knew each other before their respective recruitments. [↩]
3. History of Art FTW [↩]
4. I think… was it a concussion against Washington? I’m too lazy to look it up. [↩]
5. I have seen such an instance, but I’m reticent to post anything from Facebook because I think of it as something akin to stalking. I think I would only post something from Facebook if I knew there was shenanigans going on. Other than that, it’s just kids being kids, so I like to let them have their space. [↩]