Our Honor Defend

With fall camp under way and the 2009 season rapidly approaching,  the second edition of this now 25-part series titled Better Know A Buckeye should be spiraling towards a conclusion.  In this 23rd installment of this series, I look at Jaamal Berry.  Berry, a tailback from Miami, FL, is arguably the crown jewel of the 2009 class.  Berry is an interesting case.  Typically, recruits who have scholarship offers from the who’s who of southeastern powers (Florida, Florida State, LSU, Ole Miss and others) don’t wind up in Columbus.  Getting Berry to Ohio State involved an eye-opening experience at the 2008 Spring Game and some constant contact with the Palmetto HS star.  In doing so, the Buckeyes were able to capture the interest of Berry and, eventually, a commitment.  I recap that story below, privileging brevity in the process.  Afterwards, I do the usual stuff: highlight superlatives, areas for improvement, miscellaneous things of minor importance, and conclude that he is better known.  He is then put on “the board”.

Height: 5’11
Weight: 195lbs
40: 4.31
High School: Miami Palmetto SHS; Miami, FL

His Recruitment: Ohio State enters the picture around early March.  By that time, Florida, Florida State, Ole Miss and LSU had offered.  It’s not all of the local heavyweights, but it’s clearly enough to suggest a few things.  First, all else equal, we could predict that Jaamal Berry’s chance of coming to Ohio State was really low.  Southern kids that get offers from the who’s who of southeastern schools tend to stay in the southeast.  Generally, a guy like Michael Brewster is the exception and not the rule.  Second, and more importantly, it suggested Jaamal Berry was big time.  The offers from those schools coincide with the tail-end of a wave of post signing day scholarship offers, which typically go out to the promising stars of next year’s recruiting class.  Jaamal Berry’s prowess had not eluded the SEC schools and Florida State, which perhaps would be a deterrent to Ohio State.  But, should the Buckeyes be able to get Jaamal’s attention, they would have one hell of a player to add to their roster.

Ohio State started contact with Jaamal in early March, as previously mentioned.  By the end of the month, they had convinced him to visit Ohio State for the Spring Game.  Paul Haynes was the one that contacted him, telling him that they loved his film and thought he fit into their running back plans for 2009.  Berry was interested for a variety of reasons.  He’s aware that there’s talk among the Florida kids about Ohio State, and a lot of it is positive.  Ohio State has a presence in the state in general, allowing prepsters in general to know about the tradition of the Buckeyes, the facilities and the local fanfare around the program.  He also talked with Etienne Sabino, another Miami kid, about what he liked about Ohio State.  It was all enough to convince Jaamal Berry and his folks to pay their own way to Columbus to see things for themselves.  To sweeten the deal, Ohio State finally extended a scholarship offer on April 11th.  Jim Tressel told him he was looking forward to meeting him and Berry was looking forward to seeing what things were like at Ohio State.

Judging from Jaamal’s reaction to the Spring Game visit, it was well worth the Skybus Airlines bankruptcy chaos he endured in even getting to Columbus.  He was impressed with just how much more important football is in Columbus than he would have expected.  Fans showed up in droves in spite of the pouring rain.  He was also impressed with the facilities and what he noted was Ohio State’s emphasis on keeping players on track to graduate.  While kids going through the recruiting process are no dopes, and know their audience quite well, there was plenty of reason to believe Jaamal was serious when he said Ohio State would be in his top two (as he said in Bucknuts).  The surest way to tell how genuinely interested a recruit is to see if he’s saying the same things to a neutral, or even rival, beat reporter.  Sure enough, he echoed his feelings towards Ohio State to NoleDigest (Florida State’s Scout.com affiliate) and Palmetto Sports (covers Clemson and the “Cocks”¹).

“It was amazing, I loved it up there.” … After Saturday, Berry has a feel for a favorite. “Ohio State was like a big thing for me,” he said. “They are up at the top.”

It seems Ohio State would be in it to the end for his services.

When Jaamal Berry said Ohio State would be in his top two, it took a little guessing to discover who the other school of choice was: Florida.  It was really the only other school he had seen by mid May.  He also liked how honest and blunt the coaching staff is, though I think James Louis would disagree.  While those were the top two, Jaamal had taken only a handful of visits and wanted to see more schools, including Auburn and Ole Miss.

By summer, though, it seemed like it became a one-horse race for Berry, with Ohio State running away with it.  He again gave glowing remarks about Ohio State to a non-Buckeye affiliate, telling Ole Miss Spirit (Ole Miss’ Scout.com affiliate) that there was nothing even the slightest big wrong with his visit and that he talks to the coaching staff often.  Craig Haubert, at ESPN.com, thought Berry would eventually be Columbus-bound.  The Miami Herald said he was a strong lean in favor of Ohio State.  Gator Country reported that one school stood out… and it was Ohio State.  Even more good news was coming on the way, as Jaamal planned to take a visit for early August to Ohio State to see things one more time.  He planned a visit to Columbus again, but told Florida that he would not attend Friday Night Lights.  As it panned out, Berry could not make that trip to Columbus in early August, citing the cost of the trip.  This is understandable, since this coincides with those huge spikes in oil prices that you may remember.  Fortunately for Buckeye fans, Jaamal Berry was spotted on campus for the Youngstown State game, a game that was not his official visit to Columbus.  Could good news be on the way? After all, he was already “90 percent sold” on Ohio State.

His Commitment: Paying his own way to Ohio State for the first game of the season against a Division Formerly Known As 1-AA opponent was probably a real indication that Jaamal was wanting to commit.  It was.  While Buckeye fans were fretting the injury status of Beanie from that game, they could momentarily celebrate Jaamal Berry’s weekend verbal commitment to Ohio State.

Simply put, Jaamal was so blown away from his Spring Game visit that he soon felt that Ohio State is where he wanted to be.  Scheduling an unofficial visit for the Youngstown State game was something done to get his mom to see what he saw months earlier, since Berry’s mother did not make the trip to Columbus for the Spring Game.  While there, the Berrys discussed academics with the staff and found enough to their liking for Jaamal to issue a commitment.  Mom was always in mind during this process, and the visit and commitment happened to coincide with Mom’s birthday.  Since Mom liked what she saw, and he already liked what he saw, he committed as a bit of a birthday gift to his mom: selecting where he would attend college.

Where He Excels: Jaamal Berry is an exciting back for a variety of reasons.  It’s no hyperbole to say he’s arguably the best in the country.  There’s a lot that you’ll see that you’ll like.

I’m really impressed how Jaamal can change direction and not lose top speed.  He has elite-level acceleration through the hole and from the snap.  He has an uncanny ability to appear as if he’s moving 3 directions (forward, left, right) simultaneously, resulting in swings and misses from defenders and more than a few broken ankles.  Get a lead blocker in front of him downfield and he’ll have 20 yards.  Get two lead blockers in front of him and he’ll have a touchdown.  Another Buckeye had those abilities: Archie Griffin.  Whether or not Jaamal develops into that caliber of back is up to him and other circumstances beyond his control (offensive line, naturally), but the tools are there.  He really is the best home run threat of any tailback in the 2009 class.

I think Buckeye fans are a little weary about Jaamal, thinking about the last highly-touted Florida running back we had.  I certainly appreciate Mo Wells sticking with Ohio State even as other backs surpassed him on the depth chart (it says a lot about Mo Wells), but I don’t think comparing Mo Wells to Jaamal Berry is fair to Berry.  Jaamal demonstrates more patience and vision at the line of scrimmage than Mo Wells did as a Buckeye (I really can’t speak to Mo Wells’ days at Sandalwood).  Further, I think Berry is the more powerful runner.  While a little on the small side coming in, he has the mass and bulk in his hips and lower body to give him a great leg drive through the point of attack.  Berry should get over 200lbs as an upperclassmen; Mo Wells never did.  I think Steve Slaton is a more appropriate comparison (which, of course, is dependent on Jaamal to make good on).  Remember Antonio Pittman?  Berry has a similar build, weight and height coming from high school as Pittman did.  Berry carries the more absurd 40 time, though.

It’s fortuitous this BKAB feature is coming during fall camp, since now Tressel is able to speak about some of his own observations of how Jaamal Berry has lived up to his billing.

“Ooh man, he looks quick to me just the few times I saw him out here (Tuesday),” Tressel said. “And that’s what the kids were telling me from the summer. They said, ‘Hey wait until you see No. 4; he’s got some burst.’ But we all know the key to being a running back is how tough are you and can you do it (consistently) and can you pass pro and can you take those whacks that you take? So, based on shorts, I’d give him a ‘thumbs up’ that’s for sure.”

So far, so good.

Must Work On: A few things come to mind here.  First, the offense Jaamal played under at Miami Palmetto made him so much more lethal by strategic use of zone read option plays and misdirection to get opposing defenses spread out, guessing only to ultimately be blindsided by Jaamal Berry.  With Terrelle Pryor on the roster, Jaamal should be perfect for the Buckeye Pistol package (what happened to that?) and 3-4 WR sets out of the gun.  However, the I-formation was, is, and always will be, an important staple of the Buckeye offense.  So, how powerful and how tough will Jaamal Berry be in goal-line situations and 3rd and short situations with a simple dive play?  How will he adjust to having a fullback lead-blocking for him?  I think this is something Tressel hinted at in the quote above.

Second, Jaamal Berry needs to pick up the ankles through the line of scrimmage.  This one immediately jumped out to me in his film.  I still think Berry-Mo Wells comparisons are premature, but not picking up the feet at the line will lead him to be ankle-tackled often.  I feel Doc Tressel can correct this.

Highlights: Remember kids, I am not responsible for the choice of music.

There’s also a clip floating out there (somewhere) of him chasing down a defender after a turnover, where the defender had no one ahead of him and 15 yards between he and Berry and Berry was still able to run him down short of the end zone.  We can question the veracity of the 4.31 40 time, but the dude’s fast… even if his 40 time is probably more around the low-to-mid 4.4s.

Miscellany:

• Jaamal’s recruitment story didn’t necessarily end with his late August commitment to the Buckeyes.  Florida and Ole Miss didn’t take “no” for an answer.  Fans were worried he may jump ship when, in the same articles where he announced his commitment to Ohio State, he also pledged to honor his official visits to LSU and Ole Miss.  Florida, an early leader for Berry, was thought to be back in the running for his services, resulting in fears that he was going to attend the Florida-Miami game in Gainesville.  To the delight of Buckeye fans, he did not.
• Ole Miss seems to have been the one mentioned the most as a potential usurper.  Billy Tucker, citing… whoever, said that Berry is more sold on Ole Miss than people think, since he would be “the MAN” in Oxford.  Having been to Oxford, this is equivalent of being the MAN of a wilted tomato patch, but ooooookay.  As far as I know, nothing came of these planned visits (to Ole Miss and LSU).  If he honored them, he treated them as basically courtesy visits.  Jaamal eventually signed with Ohio State, as he said he’d do, and hence: this feature.
• It’s fair for fans to worry a little bit about Jaamal’s transition to the added workload that goes in to being a college football player.  After all, Jaamal had legit qualification concerns and did not start off taking high school seriously.  You can read about some of it here.  The fact that he put in the extra effort to erase all qualification concerns should assure Buckeye fans that he’ll be up to the task, but…
• …he also had that weed thing.  You may remember that.  Jaamal has since said that he’s not here to make any problems, that he’s learned from his mistakes and that it won’t happen again.  I believe him.  I believed him then too.  It’s still legit to want the staff to make sure that Jaamal is on top of things professionally.
• Before committing to Ohio State, Jaamal was repeatedly discussed as the best tailback in the state.  Then he committed to Ohio State, and then that honor went to Trent Richardson, who signed with the Crimson Tide.  I swear this dumb town is conspiring against me.
• Jaamal was an Under-Armour All-American, joining Jack Mewhort, CJ Barnett, Duron Carter and Melvin Fellows’ Safari Planet.
• A wrist injury and an ankle injury compromised a bit of his senior season.  He only played in 5 games because of it.  In fairness to Trent Richardson and the mouthbreathing charlatans down here, I guess it’s fair to push Berry down on the rankings because of it.  It’s all good.
• Jaamal Berry was a big Miami Hurricane fan growing up, and was surprised at what he perceived to be a slight that the ‘Canes did not offer him.
• WVU and Michigan were also thought to be in the running for him, though nothing really materialized out of these preliminary flirtations.
• He took a visit to Jamaica in the summer before coming back and trying to set up a second trip to Columbus.  I’m not sure if he has family members there, but the nature of what little I’ve read about the trip suggests that he does.
• He got rave reviews from an anonymous local football coach who posted at BuckeyePlanet.
• He went to the same HS as Kimbo Slice.  Remember him?
• Pre-compiled stats, courtesy of Bucknuts:

* Vital Statistics: Berry battled through an injury-plagued senior year with wrist and ankle problems. He only played in five of Palmetto’s 12 games. He had over 600 yards with four touchdowns. He played in the Under Armour All-American Game in January. As a sophomore in 2006, Berry carried for 522 yards and scored five touchdowns. As a junior, he tallied 1,033 yards and had 14 touchdowns in 10 games.

* Rankings: Berry is rated as the nation’s No. 3 running back prospect by ESPN.com. He is also a member of the ESPN 150, ranking as the nation’s No. 22 overall prospect. SuperPrep ranked Berry as the No. 25 prospect overall in Florida and as an All-American as the nation’s 26th-best running back prospect.

I think Jaamal Berry is now better known.

And, of course, “the board”:

Class of 2009
Name	Position	Hometown	Better Known?	Name	Position	Hometown	Better Known?
CJ Barnett	DB	Clayton, OH	02.20	Marcus Hall	OL	Glenville, OH
Dorian Bell	LB	Monroeville, PA	04.10	Adam Homan	FB	Coldwater, OH	01.29
Adam Bellamy	DT	Aurora, OH	05.26	Carlos Hyde	RB	Naples, FL	06.29
Jaamal Berry	RB	Miami, FL	08.12	James Jackson	WR	Grand Ledge, TSUN	03.05
Zach Boren	FB	Pickerington, OH	01.22	Storm Klein	LB	Nerk, Ahia	02.02
Corey Brown	WR/DB	Monroeville, PA	07.13	Corey Linsley	OL	Youngstown, OH	05.11
Duron Carter	WR	Ft. Lauderdale, FL	06.03	Sam Longo	OL	Bellbrook, OH	08.03
Dominic Clarke	DB	Frederick MD	02.11	Jack Mewhort	OL	Toledo, OH	02.05
Melvin Fellows’ Safari Planet	DE	Garfield Heights, OH	04.24	Jonathan Newsome	LB/DE	Glenville, OH	07.22
Chris Fields	WR	Painesville, OH	04.02	John Simon	DE	Youngstown, OH	03.26
Reid Fragel	TE	Grosse Pointe, TSUN	05.18	Jordan Whiting	LB	Louisville, KY	03.12
Kenny Guiton	QB	Aldine, TX		Jamie Wood	DB	Pickerington, OH	02.26
Jordan Hall	ATH	Jeannette, PA	04.20

1. …and sucks at it.  It’s in the running for my least favorite news service that covers recruiting. [↩]