Our Honor Defend

I’ve decided to take a different approach as I wind down the second edition of this now 25-part series titled Better Know A Buckeye.  I’ve been proceeding chronologically since Jordan Whiting’s feature in March, after already going over the early enrollees (and Dominic Clarke).  Instead of continuing to go through the class chronologically, I thought I’d skip ahead to Marcus Hall in this 24th installment, the last commit in the class.  I’ll save Kenny Guiton, who may otherwise be the “forgotten man” in this recruiting class, for last.

Hall, an offensive lineman from the fabled Tarblooder program, followed the usual Tarblooder process, something that teammate Jonathan Newsome did not do.  Considered to be a Buckeye lean throughout his recruitment, Hall opted to wait it out until the very end.  As National Letter of Intent Day (NLOID) loomed, Hall’s preferred schools fluctuated considerably.  In this feature, I mostly fast forward to the wild conclusion to Hall’s story.  I then review strengths and weaknesses in usual fashion, ultimately mentioning some miscellaneous things about Hall before I conclude that he is better known.  He is then put on the board accordingly.

Height: 6’6
Weight: 300
40: 5.1
High School: Glenville HS; Cleveland, Ohio

His Recruitment: As is the case with most Tarblooders, Marcus Hall’s recruitment went until the very end.  His February 2nd commitment is the last in the class.  It seems that this is something Ted Ginn Sr. counsels in his players, to make sure they see everything they need to see, get the maximum exposure they can before making what he hopes is a more thorough evaluation of options.  This, logically, results in a better reasoned decision, and one that Ginn (I think) hopes does not interfere with a student’s school and HS football obligations.  Unlike teammate Jonathan Newsome, Hall was no deviation from the norm.  Further, unlike Newsome and his other teammates, Hall was offered a scholarship by just about everyone in the country outside of USC.  He was even receiving interest as a freshman, and started putting together his offer sheet early into his junior year.  Rather than follow the twists and turns of the ensuing two years, it’d be easier to discuss who was in the running.

Illinois seemed to be an early compettitor for his services.  The Illini had just come off a successful 2007 season, complete with yanking Cordale Scott away from the Buckeyes’ grasp.  For those unaware, Cordale Scott is a 2008 graduate of Glenville HS and was the first Tarblooder to eschew a scholarship offer from Ohio State in the Tressel era.  Further, the Illini also had a verbal commitment from Melvin Fellows’ Safari Planet at the time; Hall and Fellows have been close friends for awhile.  Minus some early unofficial visits to Champaign as part of the Ginn bus tour, no substantive interest in the Illini materialized during Hall’s 2008 season nor the few months after it.  If pressed to identify why, it seems that Hall had seen everything he needed to see as part of the Ginn bus tour and didn’t feel returning for an official visit would ultimately accomplish anything.  He actually had an official set up for early January, but canceled it (in lieu of Michigan, if my memory does not deceive me).  That, and I don’t think Melvin Fellows’ Safari Planet’s decommitment from Illinois in the Spring, and losing their offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, helped the Illini any.

Tennessee became a factor late into the game.  Initially, Tennessee was just an offer to frame on a wall.  When teammate Mike Edwards committed to the Volunteers in late January, Kiffin and staff thought it saw an opportunity to swoop in and get one of the nation’s best linemen prospects as well.  Tennessee appeared on Hall’s radar not long after Kiffin was introduced as Tennessee’s new coach, but it was Edwards who seemed to be the impetus behind Hall considering Tennessee.  After all, Hall actually canceled his official visit to Tennessee after coming back from Miami.  After making the visit to Tennessee, Hall came back with positive reviews.  But, it was Edwards who inadvertently seemed to give away that Hall wasn’t really considering Tennessee.  Consider his first statement on the possibility of Hall becoming a Volunteer:

“I’m going to try to get him to be a Volunteer,” Edwards said.

Many believe Ohio State to be the team to beat for Hall’s services. Edwards doesn’t see it that way.

“A lot of people think that but I think Marcus is going to shock a lot of people,” Edwards said.

Contrast that with:

Edwards, who said he won’t try to push Hall to UT, would still love to have Hall join him in Knoxville.

“Marcus heading to Tennessee would be so much of a plus,” Edwards said. “I’m not going to talk about that because that’d be a dream come true for me and my boy to come down there.”

Optimism was tempered in Knoxville.

Michigan threw the most interesting wrinkle into Hall’s recruiting process.  Not only do Tarblooders (with Ohio State offers) almost always end up at Ohio State, they rarely seem to consider attending Michigan.  Hall, though, actually seriously considered it.  Michigan was the recipient of one of his 5 official visits and he caught the attention of Michigan fans (and terrified Ohio State fans) when he came back with very positive reviews about the visit.  He cited being hosted by former Columbus DeSales product Patrick Omameh and talked about the opportunity for early playing time at Michigan.  Getting early playing time is something Hall mentioned in almost of all of his recruiting updates.  However, it didn’t take long for Hall to squash the prospects of playing for Michigan.  All it took was some time to reflect on what he saw.

But now with the benefit of having had some time to reflect upon his trip and weigh the schools he is considering, that no longer is the case.

“It was right after I got off the plane and I’m still fresh off the official visit stuff and the high they put you on while you’re there,” he told BuckeyeSports.com. “Once you sit down and weigh things, it’s a lot clearer. I’m still looking at Michigan but most likely I won’t be there.”

As it turned out, Miami emerged to be the serious competitor to Ohio State for Hall’s services.  Hall cited several things about Tha U that he found appealing.  He again echoed his desire for early playing time, something he said he found when looking over Miami’s depth chart.  He also liked that Miami’s new offensive coordinator, Mark Whipple, had just jumped ship from the NFL to take over playcalling duties for the Hurricanes.  It doesn’t hurt that he also used the opportunity to take a stroll on the beach in Miami.  This is something you can do in his hometown in Cleveland in late January — and it’s something that I can say I’ve actually done and loved¹ — but I think most people find walking on Miami’s beaches to be more inviting that time of year.  When his visit wrapped up, he proclaimed Miami his leader (per the Rivals article).

Cordale Scott set an unfortunate precedent (if you worry about it too much) for the Glenville-Ohio State pipeline.  He was the first to tell Jim Tressel no and, if you looked at Hall’s comments at face value, Hall seemed like he buck precedent as well.  Was it conceivable that, for the second straight year, Ted Ginn Sr’s best player would say no to Ohio State? There was some cliffjumping on the issue, but it didn’t seem likely Hall was going to end up anywhere in Columbus.  Yes, he was reported as having said Miami is his leader after his Miami visit.  However, he was reported as having said something like that after every visit.  He “loved” his official visit to Michigan.  Miami was in his top two after his visit to Coral Gables.  Tennessee was in his top two after his official visit to Knoxville.  The progression? Something akin to: Ohio State and Illinois initially, then Ohio State and Michigan, then Ohio State and Miami and then Ohio State and Tennessee.  The one constant: Ohio State.  Whatever the case, Marcus said he would host an in-house visit from Jim Tressel and Randy Shannon before quietly making his decision and then going public with it.

This was likely going to end in usual Tarblooder fashion.

His Commitment: On the morning of February 2nd, there were some early rumblings on Scout’s board from a reliable Glenville insider that Marcus made his decision in favor of the Buckeyes.  By time the presser came around, it was official.  Marcus Hall committed to Ohio State.

“It’s been a long recruiting process … I enjoyed it. I want to thank all the schools that recruited me. I have decided to go to Ohio State. I really like Ohio State a lot. I’m looking forward to helping coach (Jim) Tressel not just win a Big Ten title, but also win a national championship.”

He said repeatedly the he wants to play as early as possible, wherever it was that he ended up.  Since he happened to be in attendance for that woeful Penn State game, he saw plenty of opportunities to do so at Ohio State.  Well, he’s right.  The offensive line has 3 likely starters (Cordle, Brewster, Boren) for two set spots (Brewster at center, Boren at LG).  Hall, a tackle or a guard at the college level, has plenty of opportunity to make his move.

Further, it’s not all a utility-maximizing choice for Marcus Hall.  He genuinely admires Jim Tressel.

Marcus Hall’s February 2nd commitment was the last in the 2009 class.  Marlon Brown made a signing day decision to go to Georgia and Tajh Boyd opted for Clemson late in the game.  He joins teammate Jonathan Newsome as combo deals in the 2009 recruiting class, joining Zach Boren-Jamie Wood and Dorian Bell-Corey Brown.

Where He Excels: Marcus Hall is enormous.  He was enormous when he was receiving attention as a freshman and is still enormous now.  At 6’6, 300lbs as a true freshman, he’s certainly an imposing tackle prototype.  He may slide over to guard, but I won’t pretend to know who of the two right tackle prospects we’ve brought in the past two years (Hall and Shugarts) makes the switch to the interior.  One of them will.

He has great bulk for an offensive lineman, with plenty “to work with” in both his upper body and lower body.  But it’s not all just size for Hall.  He’s more nimble than you would expect for a guy that big, and fires off the line with a very good first step.  As such, he should thrive in goal line situations, as well as down-blocking and he should be serviceable in double teams.

As you can imagine, he’s definitely more of a road-grader at the moment, but that does mean you should expect him to help create running lanes for the Buckeyes.

Must Work On: Marcus has the dilemma that I think most high school offensive lineman have.  It’s just too easy for them, so they develop bad habits.  Hall’s problem is that he plays too high.  You can afford to do that when the power you can exert with a “punch” from your upper body is greater than the power a defensive lineman can muster with his whole body.  He won’t have that luxury at the college level.  Therefore, Hall is going to need to demonstrate greater flexibility and show that he can be a natural knee-bender for the Buckeyes.  Otherwise, the more technical defensive lineman will blow past him regardless of Hall’s natural height and weight advantages.

You can only imagine what this would mean for Hall trying to pass-protect on the perimeter.  In pass-protection settings, playing too high basically makes you a turnstile for the pass rusher.  I think Buckeye fans know all too well what that’s like.

Redshirt? The Buckeyes signed 4 offensive lineman in the 2009 class and I think I’ve guessed elsewhere that two of them will redshirt.  I expect Hall and Mewhort will play.  Mewhort has the advantage of winter conditioning and spring drills whereas Hall has the advantage of being further along than Longo and Linsley.

Further, if what I’ve been told is correct, then it seems that Hall has already started his ascent on the depth chart.  I don’t know where he presently is, but I’ve been told (and have read) that Hall is making good on his desire to earn early playing time.

Highlights: Scouting Ohio… is there anything it can’t do?

Miscellany:

• He had to cancel an unofficial visit to Ohio State early into his recruitment because of a church commitment.
• Like Jonathan Newsome, he took part in the Elite Training Camp in May 2008 in Cleveland Browns Stadium.  There, he worked on a lot of drills with then-Buckeye verbal Jack Mewhort.  They became pretty good friends there, with Mewhort even trying to grease the wheels a little bit on getting Hall to Columbus.
• I can copy-paste this from Newsome’s BKAB feature because I can.  I wrote this and Newsome and Hall were in the same class: His senior season ended on a weird note, dropping an 8-7 decision to St. Ignatius.  Before you go thinking that it was just a two touchdown game total, Ignatius actually had a 5-0 lead at halftime.  Coincidentally, Glenville beat Ignatius in the first game of the season, but the Wildcats had the last laugh in round 2 of the state playoffs.  It was Glenville’s only loss of the season.
• Early into his recruitment, it seemed like he was begging for an offer from USC.  He routinely listed the Trojans as one of his top schools, but they never offered him.  If they did? Well, I wonder if his recruitment would’ve gotten a lot more interesting.
• On his official visit, a few Buckeyes also in attendance playfully told him to stop messing around and commit already.
• Marcus was a Parade All-American and the only Ohio prepster on the list.
• He represented well in the US Army All-American Bowl, along with fellow Buckeyes Corey Brown, Dorian Bell, John Simon, and Jamie Wood.  A few analysts on hand thought he was one of the most imposing offensive linemen there, and that’s with Morgan Moses and Eric Shrive being on the same East squad.
• His Scouting Ohio profile has links to his commitment presser.  You can also watch his NLOID footage here.
• Pre-compiled stats, courtesy of Bucknuts:

* Vital Statistics: Hall was considered one of the top offensive line prospects in the country. He was a three-year starter at Glenville. As a senior, he helped the Tarblooders post a 12-1 record. He earned first-team All-Ohio honors in Division I from The Associated Press. He was also a first-team pick on the ONN/Ohio High All-Ohio team. He was also a second-team selection on the USA Today All-USA team. He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January. He and fellow OSU signee Jonathan Newsome will give Glenville seven players on the 2009 OSU roster. Since 2002, OSU has now signed 15 Glenville players (see below).

* Rankings: He is rated as the No. 3 overall senior prospect in Ohio, according to Ohio High magazine. Also rated as the No. 2 overall prospect in the state, according to The Ohio Football Recruiting News. Hall is rated as the nation’s 13th-best offensive tackle by ESPN.com. SuperPrep considers Adams as an All-American, ranking him as the ninth-best prospect in the Midwest and the nation’s No. 18 offensive lineman. Hall was also listed in the Detroit Free Press Best of the Midwest team, ranking at No. 16 in the Midwest.

With that said, I think Marcus Hall is now better known.

I think it’s time to put him on 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	08.19
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

Yikes, one more left.

1. Edgewater FTW [↩]