Chad Hagan Commits; Verbal Count at 11
Still, Hagan’s arrival in this class is a cause for a hearty welcome. Hagan is mentioned as possibly a running back or defensive back at the next level, but he has to be strictly in the safety picture for the Buckeyes at the next level. The Canonsburg, PA local follows the same spirit as other recent Keystone Buckeyes, such as Andrew Sweat, Dorian Bell and Corey Brown. All 3 found it impossible to say no to Ohio State. Chad is no different. Chad was high on the Buckeyes as soon as they offered him a few months ago. He gave glowing reviews regarding the assistant coaches, Jim Tressel, the facilities and the tradition of the Buckeyes. Other suitors included Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, though Chad’s interest in the Buckeyes never waivered. Chad always had a timetable for a summer decision, and when he was finally able to make the visit to Columbus to see things for himself, he left giving Tressel a verbal commitment.
I try not to give away too much information that’s otherwise left to premium readers (because I don’t want to get yelled at), but this exchange between Tressel and Hagan is worth broadcasting.
“That was the first time I’ve been in his (Tressel’s) office,” Hagan said. “It’s ridiculous. Coach Tressel was showing me their Big Ten and National Championship rings. He said he needed me to help get some more of those.
“I told him I was ready to do that. He was ecstatic. He was really excited.”
The fact that Michigan, ‘Sconsin and Illinois would offer him, but Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia did not is cause for both some skepticism, but also mostly optimism. Remember: the coaching staff has a track record of offering scholarships to talents with an otherwise unimpressive offer sheet. The secondary alone has plenty of examples: Malcolm Jenkins, Anderson Russell, and Donald Washington. When questions about how a guy like Chad could be Ohio State material if he isn’t being courted by everyone else in the region naturally come up, it’s rewarding to know that the coaching staff often times just sees things that others don’t.
I’ve seen very little of Chad on film, and most of it is on offense. Still, Chad had one of the more impressive Pittsburgh combines, running a likely unreliable 4.29 while afflicted with a stress fracture in his shin. The fact that he can carry a solid speed like that while lugging around 210 lbs in a 6’1 frame leads to a Monty Burns-esque tenting of fingers, complete with an affirmation of “excellent”.
I have to wonder about the future of this recruiting class. It will almost certainly be full by time signing day comes around, but this isn’t going to be a big class. The Buckeyes have two spare scholarships and will graduate 14 seniors at years end, leaving available scholarships at 16. This will grow if there are early departures1, but this class could not possibly be any bigger than 17 or 18. So, with the Buckeyes still actively pursuing the likes of Jordan Hicks, Will Hagerup, Lamarcus Joyner, Seantrel Henderson, Jonathan Hankins, Christian Bryant and the like, who gets left out? As of writing, Hankins seems to really be favoring the Buckeyes and Christian Bryant, a Tarblooder, will hold out for the last minute as Tarblooders typically do. Still, he’s likely going to be a Buckeye. Factor in those two, and it looks like there’s going to be a few players not in this class that I think all Buckeye fans would desperately love to see sign for the Buckeyes.
This will be an interesting to consider down the road, still, I’ll lift my glass to Chad Hagan’s enthusiasm for the Buckeyes. It’s a passion he shares with all of us.
:beer:
- I forbid Thad Gibson from being one of them. [↩]
So that’s one Michigan commit that wears an Ohio State-clone uni in HS, and one Ohio State commit that wears a Michigan-clone (sorta) uni. Weird.
On the subject of more kids that we really, really want than there are schollys available (and how does Carlos Hyde affect the situation? Does he count against the ’09 class or the ’10?), what are the odds of a little bit of strategic oversigning? Is this something we’ve ever done?
As long as it’s not way overboard and transparently unethical a la Saban, I’m agnostic on the subject. I think the odds are that Thad Gibson bolts if he has any kind of a decent season (I’m not coming up w/ any Juniors other than Chekwa for whom this might even be a possibility), and there is always bound to be a transfer/fuckup or two. Further – and anyone is free of course to disagree w/ me on this, I don’t know if I’m “right” but it’s my general sense of the issue – if it comes to it, I’m not opposed to the odd 5th year being withdrawn from players who haven’t contributed on the field, whether it’s due to injuries or just plain not panning out, just as long as – and this is important – every effort is made to help those who haven’t finished their academic work do so.
Boren could be another possibility for early-entry if his talent translates onto the field, but I think he’ll prefer to stay around with his brother for the 2010 season, where I’d be shocked if the Buckeye weren’t the preseason #1 in the nation with the Brew Crew hitting its junior stride (assuming Pryor is healthy).
El Caballo, I would guess that Carlos Hyde will not count against ’09 class because he was found out to be ineligible well before the start of fall classes. I believe that is when programs have to have their recruiting classes whittled down to meet the 85 and 25 limits. I do not know whether Tressel and company ever oversign, but I think Big Ten rules prevent Saban-level oversigning by not letting a program oversign by more than 3 players.
By the way, I know the SEC recently made a rule that caps recruiting classes at 28. As I understand it, that is still not nearly as strict as the Big Ten rule since a program usually will have fewer than 25 available scholarships. I hope I am wrong about that. Either way, I am glad the SEC has at least started to address it.
How do you do it. Once again an excellent article. Your article on Bollman…I guess time will tell this year. I am torn because JT has a lot of faith in the guy yet the line under performs. I still some of the problem is recruiting related. They don’t take enough linemen year in and year out to create depth or competition. Esp. the tackles. It’s like there is no plan. They should take 3-4 linemen per year. Some years they took only one. Look at 2008. Our two guards get injured for extentended periods of time, 4 key backups miss most if not all of the season, and then Bolls has to scramble. Injuries killed last years line, that’s why recruiting depth is key.
Vico…still offers from UM. Wisky…Illini…is nothing to sneeze at. Sometimes in state schools back off if they figure a player is a lock to a certain school and put their energies elsewhere
I live in Florida and I see all of the players that they get from here but what you do not see is the arrest reports and all of the bullshit that is hidden by the GATOR machine. I dont give a damn what people think about Urban being such a sophisticate. He is a snake and he lets his players act like thugs and punk-ass gangstas. There was alot more to him stepping aside for a short while that meets the eye. He is a master manipulator. About less than half of the gator draft picks become failures because of the lack of guiance while attending Muck-Hole(swamp.
Say what you want, I dont have a love fest with Tress but i would rather have my kid in his hands for 3 or 4 years than that Frickin snake.