Height: 5’7
Weight: 178lbs
40: 4.5
High School: St. Francis DeSales HS; Columbus, Ohio

I should not have gone there, but oh well.

The service academies carry a level of prestige in other facets, but they are unlikely to generate much enthusiasm in terms of college football.  Further, the academies need “commitments” from recruits in more ways than one.  It is not a bad thing to be reticent about committing in that particular way.  Griffin’s only other offer was from I-AA Eastern Illinois.  Absent any other Division I offers, Griffin did not commit to anyone on signing day.

His Commitment: A few days later, Griffin called Jim Tressel asking if it would be okay to come to the program as a walk-on and if the staff would be willing to give him the opportunity.  Tressel told him he would get back to him on it.  Unsure of where it might lead, Griffin resumed life as normal as a basketball player at DeSales.  A week later, Tressel called back and said that he could bypass the walk-on route altogether if he would accept a scholarship offer being extended to him.  With Thaddeus Gibson going pro and the Buckeyes striking out on some of their late options (Seantrel Henderson, Matt James), the coaching staff felt that Griffin was worth it.  He accepted immediately.  The final commitment of the 2010 class, it made the day of a lifelong fan who had just called a week earlier to ask about walking on.

Where He Excels: Adam came to Ohio State with no clear idea of what position he would be given the task of learning.  Some programs interested in him looked at him on both offense and defense.  He is a cornerback if he is on defense.  He is working with the cornerbacks as of right now and I have not been able to discern how well he is adjusting.  He is either a receiver or a tailback on offense.  He brings something to either position, but I definitely looked at him as if he would be playing on offense somewhere.

I really think he is special with the ball in his hands and I would like to see him as a slot receiver.  Buckeye fans who came of age actually watching his father, some dude named Archie, play for Ohio State will see his dad’s “wiggle”.  I remember my dad telling me that Archie didn’t run so much as he vibrated down the field.  It seemed Archie could move in three directions simultaneously, breaking ankles while using a developed upper body to elude the arm tackles he would get by juking defenders out of their feet.  Adam has some of his dad’s “wiggle”.  He has good vision with the ball in his hand and is fairly nimble-footed.  He knows how to follow blockers.  Dad was a better power-runner than Adam is, but you’ll see in his highlights just how well the flexbone triple-option offense suited him at DeSales.

Must Work On: Adam did not get a lot of interest from Division I programs because he lacks ideal everything at any position he will play.  It is a rough way of saying it, but he lacks the ideal height for a receiver or defensive back.  He lacks the hip drive and lower body strength to get through the line of scrimmage at tailback.  His top-end speed is decent, but he does not have the proverbial “jets” that you would want.  I know, it sounds rough on him.

I really think he could carve out a niche as a slot receiver.  I think he is better with the ball in his hands than he is trying to defend it.  He has good vision and knows how to maneuver his blocks.  I am not saying he will be a star at Ohio State and that would be totally unfair to him to expect him to match his dad’s legacy.  Nevertheless, if he commits to learning the tricks of the trade (especially creating separation w/ precise route running), he could be fairly annoying to opposing defenders on short yardage situations.

Failing that, I think defensive backs have the lowest “height requirement”.  It is where he is now.  Whatever the case, developing upper body strength is imperative.

Redshirt? Yep.  This one is a no-brainer.  He will benefit from the additional year in figuring out how to make the most of his talents.

Highlights: Senior season, 15 minutes of it.

Miscellany:

• Kevin Griffin, his cousin, was the last Griffin to come to Ohio State on scholarship.  Kevin is Ray’s son and was the first commitment in the 1994 class.  He became a special teams standout by the end of his career.
• His older brother, Andre Griffin, came to Ohio State as a walk-on tailback in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  He is currently an assistant coach at Saginaw Valley State.
• You want a little factoid about the Griffins that will make you cringe?  Only one of them, Keith (the youngest one, I think), has a national championship.  Keith Griffin was part of Schnellenberger’s fabled 1983 Miami Hurricanes team.  It certainly was not for lack of opportunities for Archie, Duncan and Ray at Ohio State.  Hopefully Adam will be the breakthrough.
• Adam has been good friends with Clark Kellogg’s son, Nick.  Both played on the DeSales basketball team.  Nick Kellogg is at Ohio University now on scholarship for basketball.
• Eleven Warriors caught up with Adam Griffin shortly after news of his commitment went public.  He said he would likely have taken up the offer from Air Force if Ohio State did not come through.
• He wears #9 for Ohio State.  Archie gave the okay to un-retire #45 for Adam if he wanted it, but Adam did not accept.  4+5=9 anyways.
• Cardinal Mooney beat Griffin’s DeSales team in the Division III state title game, ending Griffin’s high school football career.
• Vital statistics, courtesy of Scout.com.

He rushed for 940 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior, totaling 1,736 all-purpose yards; on defense, he accounted for 47 tackles and a pair of interceptions.

I think Adam Griffin is now better known…

The More You Know

…as is the entire 2010 recruiting class.  Football season, y’all.

This 17th installment of this now 19-part series in its third edition titled Better Know A Buckeye covers Christian Bryant.  Bryant is a defensive back coming out of the storied Glenville program out of Cleveland.  The Tarblooders have sent one of their own to Ohio State on scholarship every year since 2002.  Sometimes Ted Ginn Sr’s program sends more than one to Columbus.  Last year gave us Marcus Hall and Jonathan Newsome.  This year, Bryant alone fortifies the I-71 pipeline.  He is better known in usual fashion in this feature.

Height: 5’9
Weight: 178lbs
40: 4.46
Bench Max: 225
Bench Reps: 7
Shuttle: 4.18
Vertical: 34 inches
GPA: 3.25
High School: Glenville HS; Cleveland, OH

His Recruitment:  I have written several BKAB features by now on Tarblooders.  Their stories are similar.  Ted Ginn Sr has developed a very good program in Cleveland since taking over the job there.  They annually graduate some of the area’s best athletes.  They draw attention early because of their prowess and because of how well Ginn markets them and gets them exposure with colleges in the region.  They also tend to sit on offers for awhile in order to get the maximum exposure for the school, program and future recruits.  As such, recruitment starts early and ends late.  Bryant is no different.  He already had the attention of Ohio State in July 2008, a staff that always likes to know who Ted Ginn Sr has on deck.  Ohio State was not the only one interested.  He was hearing from programs like Illinois, Wisconsin, WVU, Michigan State, Tennessee and Cincinnati through his junior season.  Offers soon accumulated.  However, Ohio State was a little slower in ultimately extending an offer.  This eventually came in May 2009 and itwas the offer that Bryant had been waiting for.

“It’s a big relief. I don’t have to worry about it anymore,” Bryant told Bucknuts.com’s Gary Housteau. “Right now they’re probably my number one. I’m really excited about it.”

Like most Tarblooders the Buckeyes pursue, it certainly does not end here.  Bryant took unofficial visits to Ohio State and other places through the fall.  He was at Ohio State for the USC game on an unofficial visit, commenting how the fans there were well aware of who he was and were screaming his name.  Further, he and high school teammate and Buckeye target Latwan Anderson arrived at Michigan State for an official visit near the end of October.  Dantonio and company came after the Glenville teammates hard, with both sharing different thoughts about their experiences in East Lansing. Ultimately, Bryant’s commitment to high school football took priority.  He was a senior leader on a Tarblooder team with strong state title aspirations.  While the Tarblooders continued their march to Canton, Bryant’s recruitment was kept on the back burner for the most part.

After the season concluded, Bryant took his official visit to Ohio State.  He was no stranger to Columbus, so ultimately nothing was new.  He also intended to exhaust a few more of his official visits before ultimately announcing.  In particular, he swung by North Carolina.  It was a trip that put the Tar Heels into his top two shortly after wrapping up at the US Army All-American Bowl.  He identified January 25th as the date he was going to commit.  When that day eventually came, there was ultimately not a lot of suspense over who he was going to pick.

His Commitment: Buckeye fans are blessed that Christian Bryant ultimately chose to stay home, etching his name into the pipeline that has given Ohio State such recent greats like Donte Whitner, Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr while also providing newer blood like Bryant Browning, Marcus Hall and Jonathan Newsome.

Bryant went with the hat gimmick that most kids do these days.  I don’t particularly care for it, but Bryant set up the routine by speaking first from the heart.

“First I just want to thank my mom and my dad for being there for me through the entire recruiting process,” Bryant said. “They’ve been great parents and they’ve just been here with me through the tough roads and the great roads.”

After thanking his coaches, teammates and support at Glenville, Bryant then spoke about the recruiting process in general.

“The recruiting process has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but it has also been exhausting,” Bryant said. “Also I’ve visited several colleges, there were pros and cons about each college, but in the final decision I had to think about not only myself, but I had to think about my family and my community. This city and state has been good to me and in my future I just want to do great things and give back to the children that came before and that’s coming after me.”

With the necessary preliminaries out of the way, Bryant concluded the matter appropriately.

“Therefore today,” he continued, “I’ll be making my commitment, not only for the next four years but for the rest of my life, and I’ll be choosing The Ohio State University.”

He donned the Block O hat accordingly, forgoing the UNC Tar Heel blue ballcap also on the table.

Bryant’s commitment was the last one before signing day and, as fate would have it, the only Tarblooder in the class.  Matt James ended up committing to Notre Dame.  Seantrel Henderson and Latwan Anderson, the other two players of interest for the Buckeyes by this time, ended up committing to USC and West Virginia respectively before both wound up at Miami several months later.  Bryant was the cherry on top for this recruiting class, giving the Buckeyes another true defensive back alongside Bradley Roby.

Where He Excels: Again, I like cheating and doing these after they have already enrolled.  I get to update my prior expectations about how they will perform at the college level with actual information about how they are already performing at the college level.  Christian Bryant has been one of the success stories among the incoming freshmen.  He is also one of the few that are already on the depth chart for Marshall.

Bryant compared himself to fellow Tarblooder alumnus Donte Whitner.  Buckeye recruitniks were quietly throwing around an allusion that is not to be used liberally: Antoine Winfield.  I obviously do not have to stress how serious of a reference that is, but observers are already seeing just how ferociously he hits in that tiny frame of his.  To be sure, we saw this from his time at Glenville.  That it has already come up at Ohio State has people very excited that he could be an immediate contributor on defense for his true freshman season.  Whether he reaches that level remains to be seen.

Elsewhere, Bryant is very quick (not necessarily “fast”, more on that later) and shows a very good burst out of a cut or pivot.  He moves his hips very well.

Must Work On: One of the nascent curiosities about Bryant is just how fast he is.  He has a good burst out of the gates, but there is curiosity if he has the necessary foot speed to be a cornerback.  The cornerback/safety question came up throughout his recruitment.  Most expected he would end up a safety (and a good one), but that this issue might take awhile to resolve.  The sooner he moves into either/or, the better.

You may have noticed that Bryant is a little on the tiny side.  At 5’9 178lbs, that Antoine Winfield comparison just seems so right¹.  It is not debilitating to be that small and playing as a defensive back, but the weaknesses are obvious.  I’m not sure how you can “must work on” this.  What am I going to do, ask that he get taller?

Redshirt? Nope. He factors in the “star” rotation at Ohio State.

Highlights: Senior film.

Miscellany:

• Bryant has a younger brother about 8 years his junior named Coby.  Yes: Coby Bryant.
• With all the talent that Ted Ginn Sr has graduated through the years, it’s any wonder how Glenville doesn’t have an entire wing at the school to house trophies.  The state title eluded them once more in Bryant’s final game.  The Tarblooders lost the state final to Hilliard Davidson out of the Ohio Capital Conference.
• Bryant played in the US Army All-American Bowl, the Big 33 game and the Ohio North-South Classic.  The following write-ups are available for his participating in Big 33 (first) and the Ohio North-South Classic (second).

Christian Bryant, CB/WR Glenville (Ohio State)

Bryant was probably the best player on the field Saturday night. He was only challenged once on defense in the first half, which came on a deep throw late in the second quarter, and he stayed with his man step for step as the ball fell incomplete. Most of the night, the quarterbacks never even looked his way.

He did have an interception late in the game that was waved off because he was called for pass interference while he and the receiver were battling for a jump ball. He was also strong against the run, and showed a nice open-field tackle on a scrambling quarterback.

But it wasn’t just defense where he excelled, because he caught quite a few balls (6 receptions for 47 yards) in the game as well—including the game-winning touchdown. He was very elusive as a slot receiver and became one of quarterback Mark Myers’ go-to receivers as the game wore on. Exhausted towards the latter stages of the game, Bryant had to dig down in order to come through for his teammates at the end.

“I was beat, but I knew I had to suck it up for the team,” he said. “They were all telling me that they needed me, and I just wanted to go out there and contribute to the team so that we could tie the series up at 9-9, and that’s what we did.”

Even though he caught the game-winning touchdown, the week’s events off the field seemed to excite Bryant even more.

“This experience was mind blowing,” he admitted. “Just having our buddies—the special needs children, it was a really good experience for me. I loved it. It was a humbling experience. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

“I will remember this for the rest of my life.”

ON CHRISTIAN BRYANT…

One of the biggest names in the game, Bryant had an up and down night for the North. He didn’t get burned for any of the South’s big plays, but also didn’t make many big plays. His biggest play did come in the end zone when he broke up a pass intended for tight end Alex Welch (Notre Dame) on third down.

He wasn’t very impressive as a return man, not because he lacks the speed and athleticism but more because of the way he approaches the whole process. He comes across as a maverick back there. On the first punt of the game, Bryant scooped a ball that bounced inside the 15 yard line despite the fact there were players from both teams all around. He did it again later, scooping up a ball that he had no business trying to field and then there’s the matter of the way he carries it. Talk about a loaf of bread, Bryant holds that thing out almost like he’s enticing defenders to go for the ball so he can pull it back and take off the other way. That’s not going to be tolerated at the college level.

Lastly Bryant did make some nice tackles, showing good pursuit and effort, but he was ejected late in the game for throwing the ball back to the ref with what was deemed too much velocity.

• Buckeye fans may be a little curious about Bryant in light of Hall’s “academic redshirt”.  In fact, Bryant carries a 3.2, was never in any position of concern on academics, and was also offered by Stanford.  His mom talked here about how he does the extra little things in the classroom.
• Alex of Eleven Warriors scored this interview with Bryant after the Ohio North-South game.
• Signing day Q&A with him and Darryl Baldwin, who actually beat out Bryant to win the area’s player of the year honor by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
• Played Wayne, high school of Braxton Miller, in the third game of his senior season.  The Tarblooders crushed Wayne, 53-28.  Photos are here.
• Vital statistics, courtesy of Bucknuts:

* Vital Statistics: Bryant earned first-team All-Ohio honors in Division I while leading Glenville to a 13-2 record and a berth in the state championship game. He played defensive back, wide receiver, some at quarterback and also handled kicking and punting duties for the Tarblooders. As a senior, he had 82 tackles and five interceptions (two for touchdowns). On offense, he had 17 catches for over 200 yards and also had 17 carries for over 300 yards. In all, he had 13 touchdowns for the year. He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 9. He has been selected for the Ohio All-Star Classic April 23 at Ohio Stadium as well as the Big 33 Football Classic in June. He becomes the 16^th Glenville played in nine years to sign with the Buckeyes.

* Rankings: He is rated as the No. 11 overall senior prospect in Ohio, according to Ohio High magazine/JJHuddle.com. Also rated as the No. 9 overall prospect in the state, according to The Ohio Football Recruiting News. ESPN Scouts Inc. rates Bryant as the nation’s 35th-best safety. SuperPrep considers Bryant as an All-American, ranking him as the 27th-best prospect in the Midwest and the nation’s No. 35 defensive back.

I think I can say Bryant is now better known.

The More You Know

I’ll put him on the board too.

1. Winfield is listed at 5’9 180lbs for the Vikings

This 16th installment covers Bradley Roby, who came to Ohio State with cornerback in mind.  Roby had an interesting road to Columbus.  A high school teammate and family friend of Cameron Heyward, the Suwanee, Georgia native entertained interest from Ohio State before quickly committing to Vanderbilt to play wide receiver.  Though committed to the Commodores, Roby began to look around.  Ohio State extended an offer at the end of 2009 and Roby committed thereafter.  He is better known in this feature in the usual manner.

Height: 5’11
Weight: 176lbs
40: 4.4
Bench Max: 245lbs
Vertical: 40 inches
GPA: 3.86
High School: Peachtree Ridge High School; Suwanee, Georgia

His Recruitment: Roby started receiving attention from Ohio State in June 2009.  An aforementioned family friend of Cam Heyward, Heyward’s mother had painted Ohio State in such a positive light that he too became interested in Ohio State.  He came to Columbus for camp, leaving Jim Tressel impressed.  Tressel wanted to see him in person before extending an offer, promising to send a scholarship offer shortly.  It did not come and, before the end of July, he was committed to Vanderbilt.  And thus it ends.  Que sera sera.  Ohio State has lost stranger recruiting battles.

Ohio State fans are fortunate that it did not end there.  Roby remained committed to Vanderbilt, but was considering his other options in the months following his verbal commitment.  He visited Auburn in early November, another school that had been after Roby.  Auburn’s coaching staff requited that by making a visit to Roby a month later.  More importantly, Ohio State made their move in the middle of December, finally extending a written scholarship offer.  The offer put Ohio State really high on Roby’s list, making it apparent he was rethinking his commitment to Vanderbilt.  The Buckeyes’ interest came in the wake of Joshua Shaw‘s mid-November commitment to Florida and Lamarcus Joyner‘s early December commitment to Florida State.  Ohio State’s recruiting class had no cornerback commitments at the time.  Meanwhile, Vanderbilt’s recruiting class had three additional wide receivers.  I think Roby preferred to play wide receiver, but was ultimately ambivalent on the position.  He wants to see the field as soon as possible.  Ohio State started looking like the place to do it.  A January 8th visit to Ohio State seemed to do the trick.

His Commitment: Word broke that Roby had changed his commitment from Vanderbilt to Ohio State on January 13th.  Roby’s high school coach confirmed this.  However, Roby himself felt the need to expand on why he made the switch after news of the commitment became public.  He explained that he thought Ohio State is everything he wanted in a college.  He likes Jim Tressel, even going so far to say he’s a funny guy¹.  Further, an uncertain coaching landscape that saw Urban Meyer retire and unretire, Kelly leave Cincinnati midstream to take the job at Notre Dame and Bobby Bowden unceremoniously dumped at Florida State, Roby liked that Jim Tressel wasn’t going anywhere in the foreseeable future.  As such, Bobby Johnson’s inexplicably timed retirement from Vanderbilt a month ago makes the switch to Ohio State fortuitous.

There was more that Roby shared.  As it turns out, Roby had been committed to Ohio State for awhile.  He kept quiet on the matter because he did not want his decision to potentially sway other recruits on the fence about Vanderbilt.  While he made the decision that he ultimately did not want to play for Bobby Johnson and his staff, he still genuinely liked them and did not want to sabotage their recruiting class because of his individual decision.  Bill Kurelic called such a move the first he has witnessed in all his years covering college football recruiting.

Where He Excels: Roby exemplifies how a class light on big names like the 2008 class can still have such intriguing potential.  Roby did not have a particularly strong offer sheet when he switched from Vanderbilt to Ohio State, though offers from places like Auburn, Boston College, WVU and Ole Miss are nothing to sneeze at.  Even more interesting, Georgia and Alabama extended offers shortly after he committed to Ohio State.  Roby appreciated the offers, but was not going to waver from his commitment to the Buckeyes.

Roby is a very good athlete.  Most recruiting evaluations, assuming that wide receiver is what he wanted to be and what he was going to do, grade him as a very good athlete who uses quickness to his advantage.  He is only 5’11-6’0, but he has a basketball player’s wingspan and the corollary vertical to boot.  Good wide receivers make even better defensive backs in my opinion.  Knowing he will make the transition to cornerback, I really like what he can do with that wingspan.  Further, his wide receiver skills make him really good with the ball in the air.  You never know what becomes of recruits that come to the secondary in droves, just to see only two or three of them play any meaningful snaps.  Still, I am curious and I like what I see.

Must Work On: Roby could be either wide receiver or cornerback at this level.  I think he has the higher ceiling at defensive back, but is definitely more polished as a wide receiver at the moment.  Roby played both positions in high school.  Indeed, he was the quintessential ringer of his team.  His coach capitalized on any opportunity to have him on the field making plays.  Regardless, this is where some of the learning curve will set in for Roby.

Redshirt? Roby is fast enough and a good enough athlete that he could contribute to special teams as a freshman if he absolutely wants to play.  Ultimately, I think he redshirts and starts contributing next year.  The Buckeyes already have their fair share of defensive backs who redshirted last year and Christian Bryant is ahead of him right now.  A redshirt will do him well.

Highlights: There are some midseason highlights from his senior season.  These are embedded below.

Miscellany:

• Cameron Heyward’s mother gets a bit of an assist with this.  Again, kids have free will and the school and program can sell themselves, but Charlotte Heyward-Blackwell appears to be responsible for putting in a good word for the Buckeyes to start the process.  She and Roby’s mother are very close friends and Heyward-Blackwell has been effusive in her praise of how the Buckeye program is run.  Further, Roby’s mother joined Heyward-Blackwell in Pasadena to watch the Buckeyes Duck hunt.  She came back impressed with the experience and the fan support for the team.
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution write-up of Roby’s commitment to Ohio State: here.
• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution named Roby as first team all-state at wide receiver.  It disagreed with the AP’s confining him to first team all-state at athlete, saying that his contributions as a wide receiver on a predominantly running team were invaluable.  He had only 29 catches in this rush-heavy offense, but could score touchdowns five different ways and, according to the AJC, was “perhaps the state’s most versatile player”.
• Won the Atlanta Touchdown Club‘s Iron Man Award
• Roby carries a 3.8 GPA and is serious about the off-the-field stuff.  He participated in Ideals Leadership and DECA Club.  I have not heard of the former, but the latter is an organization for people interested in marketing.
• He also played basketball and ran track.
• Vital statistics, courtesy of Bucknuts:

* Vital Statistics: As a senior, Roby recorded 40 tackles and six interceptions including two returned for touchdowns. He also caught 26 passes for 570 yards (21.9 average) and five touchdowns. As a junior in 2008, Roby caught 29 passes for 500 yards and five touchdowns. He projects as a cornerback with the Buckeyes. He comes from the same high school as current Buckeye defensive end Cameron Heyward.

* Rankings: Roby is rated as the nation’s No. 41 athlete prospect by ESPN Scouts Inc. SuperPrep ranks Roby as the 65th-best prospect in Georgia.

Since all Buckeyes must be better known, I’ll consider Roby to be, well, better known.

The More You Know

1. This underscores sentiment among many players that Jim Tressel is the biggest jokester on the team.

Johnathan Hankins, a defensive tackle from Detroit’s Southeastern HS, will be the 15th installment of this now 19-part series titled Better Know A Buckeye, currently in its third edition.  Hankins was a curious case through the recruiting process.  Uncertainty about who exactly offered was omnipresent through the recruiting process.  He acquired offers from Ohio State, Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida, but was the sixth or seventh option for the in-state (and apparently childhood favorite) Michigan Wolverines.  Michigan State passed on him outright.  He is better known in this feature, in usual fashion.

Height: 6’3
Weight: 336lbs
40: 5.1
Bench: 365lbs
Squat: 550lbs
High School: Southeastern HS; Detroit, TSUN

His Recruitment: Hankins was not first on Ohio State’s list at his position, nor even from the high school.  The Buckeyes had a long interest in his Southeastern teammate William Gholston (Vernon’s cousin), a Michigan State commit and eventual Michigan State enrollee.  Hankins appeared on Ohio State’s radar as well, culminating in some serious interest from the Buckeyes in June 2009.  He mentioned Ohio State as a favorite and claimed an offer early in the month.  Two weeks later, there was serious rumblings among Buckeye recruitniks that he was going to commit.  He did not.  The problem was not that those rumors were red herrings, per se.  He apparently did not have the offer that he thought he did.  It is tricky to succinctly parlay the real confusion among Buckeye fans that follow recruiting regarding the status of “Big Hank”.  It is definitely one of those rare times you wish coaches could talk about recruits publicly to clear the air, but Hankins’ offer (assuming there was one) was conditional.  Ohio State, perhaps like a few other programs, had some concerns about his weight and if he was going to qualify.  They were definitely interested, but may have wanted to see more before they themselves committed to Hankins.  All bets off regarding Ohio State, the only school to step forward and give an unconditional offer was Virginia.  Al Groh needed the talent approaching a make-or-break 2009 season (he was fired anyways), even if it meant hiding non-qualifiers at Fork Union (Morgan Moses).

Buckeye fans got a better understanding of what Hankins’ status was as the summer gave way to fall.  Laken Tomlinson‘s commitment to, of all places, Duke put a new emphasis on getting Hankins into the fold.  He came to Columbus on an unofficial visit to get a tour.  Therein, the point was driven home.  Hankins knew he had to get his academic house in order, with Subtle Tressel showing Hankins around the academic facilities and some academic advisors.  Subtle Tressel, being subtle, used his EA Sports’ NCAA Football ’10 academics recruiting pitch that Hankins recapped as follows.

“He said education is first there,” Hankins said.  “He said if I come to Ohio State I will get my degree.”

In the meantime, Hankins had already made preparations for an unofficial visit to Ohio State for the ill-fated USC game.  He made good on that vow to come to Columbus for that game (as did almost everyone).  By this time, it was very clear to everyone involved that Hankins was very fond of the Buckeyes.  He really liked Tressel and everyone else on the coaching staff that he was able to meet.   The atmosphere for the USC game, clearly the MVP of the game, wowed Big Hank.  After the fact, he told Bill Kurelic that he wanted to suit up for the Buckeyes by the end of that game.  Hankins did not delve into recruiting too much for the remainder of the fall.  He focused on his academics and his senior season, which ultimately culminated in a playoffs loss to Sterling Heights’ Adlai E. Stevenson (seriously) High School in the quarterfinals.

The end of his senior season of football freed Hankins to commit more time to finding a college.  This roughly monthlong stretch culminating with his commitment in the first week of January, also coincides with some very interesting developments in his recruitment.  By the end, it was beginning to resemble the Joseph Barksdale saga, albeit with a different set of antagonists.  The Florida Gators, a trump card nowadays in most recruiting situations, flew him to Gainesville for an official visit.  He left with a scholarship offer.  Hankins was pretty clear through the fall that Ohio State was on top of the leaderboard.  The Gators supplanted the Buckeyes after his visit to Gainesville.  It did not end there.  He was notified while coming back from Gainesville that Michigan was going to send the offer he always wanted¹.   According to the Detroit Free Press, the offer comes after Rodriguez was able to see his stamina demonstrated through the course of a season.  He took a visit to Ann Arbor shortly thereafter, a quick trip approximately 40 minutes west.  He already had a good feeling for Michigan.  He enjoyed the visit, but nothing was ultimately new.  Late into the process, Hankins wanted to take his official visit to Ohio State before making a decision.

Then Alabama came calling.  Nick Saban and Bobby Williams spent many years at East Lansing, developing a network of contacts throughout Michigan that they have exploited, with much success, in the form of Mark Ingram.  Being the undefeated SEC champions playing for a national title probably carries some sway too.  The visit and offer to Hankins came with a new interest in William Gholston as well, coinciding with some uncertainty in his recruitment.  A hopeful visit to Tuscaloosa never materialized, leaving Ohio State with his last official visit on December 11th.  The visit catapulted Ohio State back on top of Florida, confining Michigan to a clear, distant third place.  Rodriguez made an in-house visit with Hankins immediately after he finished his official visit at Ohio State.  It should have been clear to Rodriguez, though.  If he did not commit to Michigan when he made his official visit there, he was not going to commit now.

Most people following the new explosion of interest in Hankins felt more comfortable saying he would end up at Ohio State.  This became public in early January.

His Commitment: The Buckeyes’ victory in the Rose Bowl was followed with the first recruiting dividend, Johnathan Hankins’ commitment.

Hankins commitment gave the Buckeyes a nice rebound from losing Shariff Floyd to Florida a few days earlier.  It also gives the Buckeyes a nice recruiting victory over Rich Rodriguez, who had gone all out through December in trying to get his commitment.  Hankins’ decision to receive sanctuary in The Great State of Ohio from That State Up North comes as a result of several factors making Ohio State the most appropriate choice.  Ohio State had academic facilities to Hankins’ liking and had developed a good rapport with Jim Heacock and Jim Tressel.  Further, Ohio State for a Michigander can be a change of scenery that is still ultimately close to home.  I think Hankins was always going to remain close to home if he could.  Columbus is just down the road.  He also mentioned the following:

“Seeing them in the Rose Bowl, I wanted to be part of that,” Hankins said.  “I want to help them win a National Championship.

Nothing to it but to do it.

Where He Excels: I like when I do these features after they already enrolled.  I get to update my prior expectations about how they will perform at the college level with new information about how they are actually performing at the college level.

Big Hank, demonstrating that there is no point faxing an LOI unless you look damn good doing it.

Hankins is the defensive tackle most Buckeye fans have wanted for some time.  He is also the type of defensive tackle that has Buckeye fans smelling blood after seeing what their version of the 3-4 can do to opposing offensive lines.  He is not the Adam Bellamy-type of defensive tackle prospect, but rather a two-gapping big ol’ boy that can plug spaces and allow linebackers to blitz and ultimately raise ungodly hell in the backfield.  Far from just a simple space eater, Hankins is fairly quick for being a big ol’ boy.  Hustle is always something you want more and more of for a lineman of his size, but I already see things here to my liking.

Must Work On: Hankins will have to be ever vigilant regarding his frame while playing for Ohio State.  It is too easy to pack on pounds and he will want to add only “good weight”.  If he is too big, he is too slow and struggling too much to move his weight around the line of scrimmage.  Everyone is happy with how he showed up, but he has been openly fatigued through some stretches in the heat, humidity and the grind of practice.

Big Hank is the life of parties he does not attend

I think he is a bit raw, though he had impressed enough to be getting serious praise.  He is a big kid that will need to be mindful that they come bigger on the other side of the ball at the college level.  His pad level can rise during plays, and when he is tired (naturally).  Remember: low man wins in football.  Stand up and be escorted by an offensive lineman into the secondary.

Redshirt? If I had penned this feature three months earlier, I would say he very likely redshirts.  Now, he is on the two deep at the defensive tackle/nose tackle position currently occupied by Dex Larimore.  Good job, young man.  I like being wrong under these circumstances.

Highlights: This is junior year film and is the best I could find.

Miscellany:

• His high school’s team nickname is the Jungaleers.  The origin of the nickname, as best as I can tell, comes from the fact that the Great Lakes are bordered by fairly swampy lands.  The high school was placed on a part of Detroit that was largely underdeveloped and resembled a “jungle”.  Saying you were going to the high school was akin to saying you were “going to the jungle”.  The nickname for the school’s athletics apparently comes from that.
• Their league, Detroit Public 1, includes Cass Tech.  Cass Tech, home of the “Technicians”, is Vernon Gholston’s alma mater.
• Video interview from signing day: here.
• I wrote his recruitment piece from an Ohio State perspective.  He also acquired offers from Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Toledo and Bowling Green, according to Rivals.
• I was confused for the longest time just exactly how you spell his first name.  Scout and Rivals spelled it differently, with Scout going with Johnathan and Rivals going with Johnathon.  The former is apparently correct and listed on Ohio State’s website.
• Official bio says he was also in drama club.  Very cool.
• Vital statistics, courtesy of Bucknuts.

* Vital Statistics: Hankins was a four-year starter at nose guard for Southeastern. As a senior, he had 85 tackles and 12 sacks. As a junior, he registered 85 tackles (55 solo) and nine sacks.

* Rankings: Hankins is rated as the nation’s 49th-best defensive tackle by ESPN Scouts Inc. SuperPrep ranks him as the 33rd-best prospect in the Midwest and the ninth-best prospect in Michigan. The Detroit News ranks Hankins as the No. 5 prospect in Michigan.

I think Big Hank is now better known.

The More You Know

1. The intensity of the interest in the Wolverines is probably a function of which Michigan scout/fan you interview, but everything I read suggested that Michigan was the team he followed growing up.

Height: 6’2
Weight: 185lbs
40: 4.5
High School: Marion-Franklin HS; Columbus, OH

His Recruitment: Verlon’s first offers came from MAC schools, namely Toledo and Bowling Green.  Kent State eventually followed.  Ohio State, always aware of the talent in their own backyard, sent out feelers as well to let Verlon know that they were aware of him and were indeed evaluating him.  In this regard, Verlon’s recruitment resembled almost anyone else’s recruitment.  Even the four and five stars in-state often start off small in their junior year before acquiring some big BCS offers at the end of their junior year or in the late summer and fall of their senior year.  However, Verlon never quite got to this stage in his recruitment.  He expressed interest in a variety of BCS schools, namely West Virginia, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Illinois, Iowa and, of course, Ohio State.  However, as a dual-threat quarterback without the desirable attributes for a BCS offer, most of these programs would have to have high evaluations of him at other positions in order to extend offers.  Remember: recruiting quarterbacks is precarious.  As a general rule, you would like to have one in a class.  You typically do not take more than two.  Even BCS programs sympathetic with Verlon’s overall style at quarterback did not grade him highly enough to merit an offer.  His lone BCS offer came from Syracuse. A quality academic institution with a not uninteresting history in college football, their current status did not elicit too much excitement.  Verlon kept looking for offers through the fall (namely from Ohio State) and eyed the end of his senior season as a time to make a decision.

Fortunately, Verlon’s time with Ohio State eventually came.  He got the coveted scholarship offer in early December.  While Verlon still wanted to evaluate his options, his options essentially became Toledo or Ohio State.  There was no containing his excitement while being interviewed and pressed about the topic with Ohio State’s recruiting affiliates.  An official visit was scheduled for the next week, one that resulted in the usual glowing reviews.  A commitment came three days later.

His Commitment: Verlon Reed eventually committed to the Buckeyes, ending a recruitment with Ohio State where more patience was shown by Verlon in getting the offer than in Ohio State waiting on Verlon’s decision.

“(Ohio State) is everything I expected, it’s a home inside a home,” Reed said. “It’s a dream come true, something I wanted to do my whole life.

“Ohio State has always been a dream for me and now I have the opportunity.  It just feels likes the best thing for me and my family.”

Reed and his mother Scharr Roseboro were very impressed with their visit to OSU.

“It was great,” Roseboro said. “It really was. I know I had a lot of fun.”

The commitment was Ohio State’s 14th of the 2010 class, not counting Carlos Hyde.  It is also Ohio State’s second quarterback in the 2010 class, after Taylor Graham.  At least, it is nominally.  Few expect Verlon to be a quarterback, which will be discussed below.

Another Day, Another MVP Award

Simply put, I like Verlon Reed.  I really do.  Anyone who follows through with a vow to give it his all and perform admirably in the summer has my respect.  Further, anyone who responds to suggestions of being dead to rights at the quarterback position by earning the MVP of the two biggest post-season exhibition games in the state automatically becomes a winner in my book.  I don’t know what will become of his career at Ohio State at a position that Ohio State will annually stock with as much blue chippers as they can (wide receiver, defensive back).  I do know, though, that Buckeye fans will appreciate the effort, the enthusiasm he has for the hometown school, and that he is — as his high school coach said — a winner.

Must Work On: I must resist the temptation to pick up the low-hanging fruit, but it is obvious to everyone that transitioning to an entirely new position will require Verlon to not only grasp the big picture, but master all the little things.  If he becomes a wide receiver, he will have to learn how to read the defensive back in front of you, how/when to cut off routes, how to catch away from the body and so on.  Further, all wideouts are expected to block.  Those that block well, play (we obviously want a little more from Sanzy in this regard).  At 6’2, 185lbs and a 4.5-ish 40, Verlon has the tools to become an effective receiver for Ohio State.  He could also thrive at safety should he make it back to defense.

Redshirt? The transition for Verlon to positions where there is already good depth ahead of him (either at wide receiver or safety, but wide receiver at the moment) makes him a pretty safe choice for a redshirt.  The reports I read of him are very positive, but not enough to get him on to the field in 2010.

Highlights: These are all of him at quarterback, but you can discern his obvious athletic abilities below.

Miscellany:

• Verlon played in both the Big 33 game and the Ohio North-South Classic.  He picked up MVP in honors in both games.  He was on the South’s squad in the Ohio North-South Classic, playing against a North team that included fellow Buckeyes JT Moore, Christian Bryant, Tyrone Williams and Darryl Baldwin.  All but Williams joined him in the Big 33 game.
• The O-Zone had the following write-ups regarding Verlon after both games.  The write-up from the Ohio North-South Classic is first, followed by the observations from the Big 33 game.

ON VERLON REED…

As for Reed, I did not think he played all that great outside of the one run, and even he was surprised to get the MVP award. He did not look good as a passer, missing his first five attempts and not completing his first pass until the third quarter. He was intercepted in the first half on a ball that was thrown behind his receiver, and after the game he said he felt he had an off night throwing the ball.

The run itself was a thing of beauty, however. He should have been tackled two or three times but run through one tackle and made a couple guys miss with nice jukes. The main thing that impressed me on the run was the speed. With kids like that you wonder how they would look against better competition, and on that play he looked like the fastest player in the game.

Verlon Reed, QB/Ath Marion-Franklin (Ohio State)

Reed again showed himself to be a terrific athlete, spinning out of many a grasp at quarterback, but is still lacking enough awareness and accuracy to show that he can be a quarterback at Ohio State. He ducked and dodged about three pursuers on one play, but ended up fumbling the ball when he got hit as he was spinning away from another would-be tackler. He finished the game 7-11 passing for 55 yards, and rushed for 60 yards.

His biggest play came on a 74-yard touchdown run on a simple zone read. His speed was clearly evident as he raced the entire Pennsylvania defense into the endzone—and stretched his lead.

“I couldn’t do it without the other ten guys and everybody blocking,” said Reed, talking about his touchdown run. “I cut outside and saw my receiver had his man on skates going to the inside, so I just cut out and off to the races. It was great.”

Fortunately for Reed, his versatility will allow him ample opportunity to find the field in other ways if he never makes it at quarterback. He started the game at wide receiver for Ohio, and didn’t look out of place. He also played some cornerback but did get beat badly on an overthrown out and up. He did everything his team asked of him, and he did it because he knew that’s what it would take to secure the victory.

“You don’t want to lose, but at the same time it’s an all-star game, so you want to have fun while you’re doing it,” he explained. “But at the end of the day, we know how storied this rivalry is, so we wanted the victory very badly.”

Reed’s future may ultimately be on the defensive side of the ball, but he has enough skill that you would like to see what he could do on offense before shipping him off. Perhaps most importantly, he is going to work for every opportunity that he is given.

• Alex, of Eleven Warriors, was on hand to watch the Ohio North-South Classic.  He interviewed Verlon Reed after the game.
• Verlon is the first city league kid to come to Ohio State on scholarship since 2004.  That class happened to include three city league alums, only one of whom Buckeye fans will probably remember (Dionte Johnson [Eastmoor], Sirjo Welch [Beechcroft], Erik Haw [Independence]).
• He took his official visit with his mother, both of whom clearly enjoyed their visit.  Mom came back particularly impressed with how she schooled Paul Haynes in a game of billiards.

“It was great,” Roseboro said.  “It really was.  I know I had a lot of fun.

“I kicked one of the coaches butts in pool.  I kicked Coach (Paul) Haynes butt.”

• He gave an interview with the ABC affiliate in Columbus, which you can see here.
• His Marion-Franklin Red Devils team advanced to the Division II semifinals in his senior season before losing to Cincinnati’s Winton Woods by a score of 69-35.  You may remember Winton Woods as the school of Dominique Brown, a very late Buckeye offer that eventually committed to Louisville to play quarterback.
• Verlon was a freshman when his high school coach, Brian Haffele, came to Columbus’ Marion-Franklin.  As you’ll hear in the video, a freshman Verlon introduced himself to his new coach by saying he was the future and would be his next Ohio State offer.  Haffele responded with “alright freshman, get back in line”, not knowing how prophetic Verlon’s words really were.
• He wears #14 for Ohio State, but wore #10 for Marion-Franklin because he was coming of age when Troy Smith was quarterbacking the Buckeyes.  Verlon is a very big Troy Smith fan.
• Big time college football offers are rare for city league kids and I do not know who the last high profile athlete was to come out of Columbus’ Marion-Franklin.  Verlon signing with the hometown Buckeyes was obviously a huge deal, which is why you see the novelty-sized LOI and the Ohio State sash in the picture on top of the post.  It was a big celebration and send-off for Verlon. You can watch his interview below

• The Plain Dealer has a better focus of Verlon Reed’s Ohio State sash.  I want an Ohio State sash.

• A lot of the excitement for Verlon from his school stems from how positively they rate him as a young man.  Ken Gordon penned an article where Verlon expressed his awareness of the gravity of the offer from Ohio State and how he wants to make the most of it: on the field, and off of it.  You should read the whole article here.  I reproduce some of it below.

Reed loves it. He has a heart for community service. In addition to Stand and Deliver, he serves as a mentor for younger students in his South Side neighborhood.

Red Devils coach Brian Haffele said he recently saw Reed help an elderly woman cross a snowy street. Is this young man for real?

Community involvement is one of the reasons Reed said he chose Ohio State. He was impressed with the football team’s extensive outreach program, and he loved the fact that he could have an impact on his hometown.

“It’s just like normal to me,” Reed said. “I’ve always been brought up to do the right thing, so being able to have the opportunity to do all that, I’ll take advantage of that.”

I think Verlon Reed is now better known.

The More You Know

Both, however, were highly recruited prizes from the Keystone State.  In this feature, I outline how Philly emerged as the top prospect in his class in the talent rich state of Pennsylvania, earning offers from every college football power east of the Mississippi.  High on Ohio State along with Miami, Rutgers, Florida and others, Philly committed to the Buckeyes shortly after the USC game that we would all rather forget.  His recruitment, commitment, strengths and weaknesses and other usual details are given below.  Thereafter, he is classified as “better known” and is put on the board.

Height: 6’0
Weight: 175lbs
40: 4.4
Academics: 3.0 GPA, 17 ACT
High School: Cardinal O’Hara HS; Springfield, PA

I like this image, so I'm including it.

Brown had a stellar sophomore season and was starting an equally impressive junior campaign.  However, an MCL tear (that did not require surgery) derailed his junior season.  Rather than focus on recruiting, Brown opted to invest more in trying to get back on the field to help his O’Hara football program.  Big offers came in that resulted in no material change of position for any one of them in the Corey Brown 2010 sweepstakes.  However, it is important to note who had extended scholarships before the end of his junior year of high school.  The offer list featured basically everyone of consequence east of the Mississippi, including Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt, Michigan, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Georgia, Florida, Miami and Alabama.  Without exaggeration, that is just about everyone that’s anyone in college football, without having to delve into USC and Oklahoma/Texas’ super-regional scope for recruiting.

Given the injury and the focus on trying to finish his junior season of football and also fulfill his track and field obligations, most updates that you will read through the spring and summer of 2009 feature Brown talking about the process, what he likes and what he thinks about specific programs.  You can follow some of those links to read the particulars, if you are interested.  Fortunately for Buckeye fans, Ohio State was always mentioned.  Even if Ohio State did not have “most favoured college” status for a particular update, they were always a name that came up in conversation.  Philadelphia definitely represents the eastern axis of the Keystone State, but the Buckeye offer represents the best in the Midwest.  The Buckeye offense through 2008 was probably not something that would catch the interest of Brown when offers from Florida and Alabama were on the table.  Nevertheless, it did.  When Brown whittled his list of schools to five at the end of August, Ohio State made the cut and was going to get his first official visit.  Miami was named the leader in that particular update, but the interest in Ohio State remained.

The first official visit for Brown happened to be the highly anticipated Ohio State-USC matchup.  This particular matchup need not be recounted in great detail here.  The atmosphere was electric for something that Smart Football author Chris Brown dubbed the “grizzly demise of Tressel Ball“.  An unfortunate loss at the time made all the more unfortunate given the trajectories of both teams as the seasons progressed, one could not fathom any instant recruiting gains to emerge for the Buckeyes.  Certainly not on offense.

Fortunately, it did.

His Commitment: Buckeye fans still licking their wounds after the loss to USC were licking their chops when Corey Brown committed to the Buckeyes in the aftermath.  Asked why he committed, Brown pointed to the atmosphere.  He had never been to Ohio State before, though he tried in earnest to arrange an unofficial visit in the summer.  In love with everything he saw, Brown pulled the trigger.

“I loved it,” Brown said after seeing the atmosphere in Ohio Stadium for the big prime-time OSU-USC showdown.  “Everything was great.  It was my first time out there and I thought it was the place for me.”

Brown became the thirteenth commitment in the 2010 recruiting class, complementing the commitments from James Louis and Tyrone Williams.  An important recruiting get by itself, it has to have made the Buckeyes the first program in college football history to get two different Corey Browns in two consecutive recruiting classes.  This is an all too important historical footnote that Ohio State will share with no one.  So suck on that one, USC.

Where He Excels:  There is a lot to like with Corey “Philly” Brown.  The benefit of doing these features after the kids enroll for summer school is that I can update my hunches, initial observations about them with updates from their performances early in the summer.  I am pleased to read that Philly is one of three members of the 2010 recruiting class who continually come up in the “pleasant surprise” and “turning heads” categories¹.

Brown will draw a lot of comparisons, for better or for worse, to Lamaar “Flash” Thomas, the 2008 signee who recently transferred to the University of New Mexico.  Both are incredible athletes with speed to bare, hoping to make the transition from running back to wide receiver for the Buckeyes all the while contributing in the return game.  Thomas never quite made the transition, but this similar skill set has Buckeye fans hoping that the story does not repeat itself.

Speed-wise, Brown is as good as it gets.  There is a reason that Urban Meyer wanted him as a Percy Harvin type of player.  Certainly not the biggest guy, Brown demonstrates a really intriguing ability to make lateral movements at top speed.  His burst is special too.  Brown is an either/or at both wide receiver and cornerback positions, though the idea is to establish him in the wide receiver rotation and hope that he sticks².  If so, Brown would be a tough guy to defend when operating in the slot.  Should he learn the position and adjust to the increase in “traffic” he will see as a wide receiver on short yardage situation, he becomes a guy that can turn three yards into 30… in a hurry.

Must Work On: Like Thomas, Brown will have to learn the intricacies of a position he played very little at the high school level.  As the case of Lamaar Thomas demonstrated, this is indeed a transition.  Transitions tend to entail challenges.  Route running, catching away from the body, awareness of down, distance and location and countless other details are things we hope he picks up in the years to come.

Importantly, the 6’0 175-ish Brown will need to find a balance between maintaining his speed, lateral agility and footwork and increasing his frame.  In particular, Brown will need to develop a stronger upper body to compensate for the fact that future defensive backs will try to jam and harass him off the line.  I highly doubt Brown plays split end for the Buckeyes, but he will get entangled.  He has a fairly developed lower body to help, but strength in the upper body becomes imperative.

Redshirt? In another one of my dumb posts, I suggested that Brown was one that could benefit from a redshirt, but likely will not sit out his freshman year.  I initially did not think he has the immediate impact ability of James Louis and he is learning a new position.  If he is just not getting it early into the season and he is not adding anything tangible to special teams, I think he benefits more from getting an additional year than he does consuming a year of eligibility playing sparsely.  This is surely a result of the cautionary tale of Lamaar Thomas, and I freely admit that is problematic way to approach the issue.  Every kid is different.

All told, I still think Brown 2010 sees the field in a season where all hands will be on deck to try to return Ohio State to the promised land.  If the positive updates we read are accurate, he could be an immediate contributor.

Highlights: It gets difficult sorting out which highlight reel corresponds to which high school year. The first one is definitely his sophomore year, and I am inclined to believe the second features more of his (limited) junior year exploits.  ESPN has film too, but I believe this is mostly sophomore year.  Various highlights have emerged on YouTube, featuring the senior Corey Brown in specific games (example).

Miscellany:

• Philly rebounded from his partial MCL tear quitely nicely.  He lit up the track scene in Philadelphia upon his return.
• Not to be outdone in post MCL-tear form, Philly went out with a bang as a senior.  Details include:

Slowing down Corey Brown was the one thing the Explorers couldn’t do.

The O’Hara senior turned in arguably the most impressive performance in meet history.

Brown set meet records in the 100 and 200 meters in winning three gold medals and a silver.

The Ohio State football signee opened with an impressive 100. Firing out of the blocks, Brown had the lead at 40 meters before winning in 10.65 seconds. The previous mark of 10.68 was set by Roman Catholic’s Dasahn Hare in 1997.

Brown also dominated the 200, crossing the finish line in 21.18. Cardinal O’Hara’s Chris Day had set the previous record of 21.58 in 1992.

Brown’s third gold medal came on O’Hara’s winning 4×400. He also ran a leg on the Lions’ second-place 4×100, and was named the meet’s boys’ track MVP. Teammate Chazz Wilks was the boys’ field MVP, winning the shot put (50 feet, 6 inches) and discus (156-10).

• He also led this comeback on a relay.
• Rutgers had early position on him as a result of the early offer and the commitment from star quarterback Tom Savage.  Savage, who emerged as a true freshman quarterback from the Scarlet Knights, is from the same high school.
• He was named the county’s male athlete of the year as a senior.  This was an honor he was not on hand to accept, since he enrolled at Ohio State in the summer.
• I think most would agree that Sharrif Floyd was the best prospect in the state in that class, but Brown was holding down that honor entering his senior season.  The Buckeyes almost got both, but were foiled when God told Urban Meyer to make Floyd come to Gainesville.
• Brown, alongside James Louis, represented the Buckeyes at the Under Armour All-American Game.  Better yet, he won the “hands” competition during weekend festivities, beating out Alabama’s DeMarcus Miliner.  So yeah.  Roll that, Bama.
• Philly will further differentiate himself from Monroeville Corey Brown by wearing #10 for the Buckeyes.  This is disappointing for those of us who wanted him to wear #3 (Monroeville Corey’s number), with no additions to the last name on the back of the jersey³.  Basically, I knew this would make Mike Patrick’s head explode and that’s why I wanted it to happen.  The football program whiffed on this and everyone involved should feel bad.

I think Corey Brown is now better known, in that we can probably distinguish from the two Corey Browns from Pennsylvania on our roster.

The More You Know

Let’s go ahead and put him on the board.

1. The others are Christian Bryant and Johnathan Hankins.  Hankins mention here makes me really happy.
2. Brown, for what it’s worth, is comfortable playing whatever will get him on the field quickly.
3. I am also in favor of renaming the jerseys so that one reads “Feldman” and the other reads “Haim”.

Height: 6’7
Weight: 215lbs
40: 4.5
High School: Shaw HS; East Cleveland, Ohio

His Recruitment: That Tyrone Williams should appear on Ohio State’s recruiting radar is not surprising.  He is from Cleveland, an important recruiting base for the Buckeyes and one where a loyalty to Ohio State, albeit imperfect, is stronger than another hotbed of talent in the state, Cincinnati.  He also plays for Shaw High School, in the Lake Erie League that has produced players like David Patterson (Warrensville Heights), Dan Herron (Harding), and Thaddeus Gibson (Euclid).  He is also a 6’7-ish wide receiver, something that I have no doubt stood out on film.  Sure enough, there was strong interest (or nascent curiosity) about him midway through his junior year.  No offer immediately came, which is attributable to a confluence of factors.  Chiefly, he hyperextended his knee four games into the season, ultimately leading to ACL surgery.  The stats he compiled before then certainly intrigued: 11 catches, 372 yards, 8 touchdowns.  While he recovered from surgery, Tyrone paid a visit to Ohio State for a junior day event.  He was impressed with his first visit to Columbus, remarking specifically about the weight room.  Not much changed for the next few months.  Tyrone bounced back from surgery, picked up a written scholarship offer from Akron, and swung by Columbus again after a visit to Cincinnati.

The spring and summer did not have many developments in Tyrone’s recruitment, other than the suggestion that academic concerns were precluding future scholarship offers.  It was an uncertainty about Tyrone that ended only when he enrolled for summer quarter at Ohio State, though it did not prevent the Buckeyes from sending a written scholarship offer.  These concerns notwithstanding, Ohio State was his clear #1 choice.  He had long thought of them as his favorite and the best possible choice for him.  It was important for Tyrone to get his house in order and remove all doubt on the status of his scholarship offer.

His Commitment: The final decision was not terribly surprising, but Tyrone Williams nevertheless made his decision fairly quietly.  His recruitment abruptly ended with an August 29th, 2009 commitment to Ohio State.

Williams called OSU coach Jim Tressel early Saturday afternoon.

“The coaching staff is very embracing,” Brown said. “T.Y. is a home-state boy and it’s the best choice for him. He could have visited other schools. He wants to a Buckeye.”

Williams, who is reserved and polite, said he struck up a good rapport with Tressel and assistant coaches Taver Johnson and Darrell Hazel. He said once he set foot in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, it was a done deal.

The 12th commitment in the 2010 class, Tyrone Williams was the second receiver after James Louis.  He is also a real split end option in this class, an addition that seems more fortuitous with the transfer of Duron Carter to community college (the only real split end option in the 2009 class).

Where He Excels: The jury is still out on what James Louis and Corey Brown 2010 may become for the Buckeyes.  Louis has the potential to become the X receiver for the Buckeyes, but I imagine he would be best as a slot receiver.  If Tyrone starts for the Buckeyes, he starts as the split end.  He is a huge, tree of a receiver that you put on the line of scrimmage.

I think college football fans have a healthy skepticism of measurables given for a recruit on a recruiting service.  I am sure someone will measure Tyrone Williams and determine that 6’7 is clearly rounding up.  Whatever the case, Tyrone Williams is a tall receiver, and, at only 18, may grow another inch or two in college.  If we assume 6’7 is essentially accurate, we may be looking at receiver that may get even taller and would be perfect pitch and catch for Terrelle Pryor and/or his successor.  He more than compensates for losing Josh Chichester, who found his way from Ohio State’s grasp to Louisville for a variety of reasons.

You can imagine what having a receiver like that does for Ohio State’s red zone offense.  Buckeye fans bemoan that our red zone production could be better.  Having a 6’7 wide receiver, to join the huge tight end targets we have (6’5 Stoneburner, 6’8 Reid Fragel Rock), helps.  Best attribute that I was able to determine is Tyrone’s upper body control.  Terrelle Pryor, or his successor, may have someone akin to Tacopants, the imaginary receiver made of dreams that helped Chad Henne through his early years.  Should he crack the starting eleven, Ohio State QBs will have an easier receiving target, given Tyrone’s ability to pluck a ball out of the air, beyond the reach of most defensive backs.

Must Work On: Absurd height comes with tradeoffs.  At that height and weight, Tyrone is not a breakaway threat.  He is not slow, but he simply will not provide much after the catch.  This is fine.  This is why we have James Louis and Corey Brown 2010.

Taller athletes of almost all sports will not have the most desirable footwork.  Already, I see that Tyrone Williams will need to work on his get-off at the line of scrimmage.  I think opposing defenses in the Lake Erie League gave him cushion, definitely out of respect and fear.  You don’t want Williams roaming the secondary, but would gladly make him catch the 1yd outs.  Future opposing defenses will not respect Tyrone so much.  Unless Tyrone can master the footwork necessary to shake people loose at the line of scrimmage, or better develop his upper body to outmuscle people, he is going to be jammed into irrelevance.  Tyrone will always be 6’7, and most cornerbacks will always be from 5’10 to 6’1.  Still, the better athletes at the college level will ride him, give him no room to breathe, and safety help will make trying to squeeze a pass high a very bad idea.

Overall, I think there is plenty of reason to be intrigued about Tyrone.  He, perhaps more than anyone else in this class (maybe Verlon Reed as the exception), defines a 2010 class that is relatively low on total hype, but high on overall potential.  Tyrone played only four games of his junior season before his injury and, if my memory is not failing me, he did not camp anywhere in that following summer.  It is exactly this time when a prospective college football player earns his “stars” on Rivals.com.  It is also this time where a prospective athlete advances more towards the “polished” side of the raw-polished continuum.  All told, there is plenty of reason to be interested in Tyrone moving forward.

Redshirt? These are always difficult predictions to make and much remains to be seen in this summer.  I think Tyrone ultimately redshirts for a variety of reasons.  First, Duron Carter’s transfer to Coffeyville Community College necessarily opens up the receiver picture for the 2010 Buckeyes, but it does not do so for Tyrone.  Do not misunderstand me.  If Tyrone can somehow impress his way into the receiver rotation in 2010, it will move DeVier Posey into a slot position in 3 WR sets.  This would make DeVier Posey basically unstoppable.  Still, I see more opportunity for Louis and Brown 2010 under this situation (as well as the 2009 kids), and not Tyrone.

Further, an additional year will help Tyrone grow into being a full time wide receiver.  He was a three sport athlete for the Shaw Cardinals, moving from football to basketball to track.  I think he has some important physical development to do, mostly developing a stronger upper body.  An additional year will help.  Ultimately, I think he serves on the scout team and watches the 2010 season from the sideline.

Highlights: Scouting Ohio disappoints here.  Senior season footage is scarce, but you can see some here.  I include some junior year footage below.

Miscellany:

• Tyrone Williams was thought to be on the verge of not qualifying for summer quarter at Ohio State, though he managed to enroll.  Bucknuts’ signing day feature on Tyrone mentioned that his situation was similar to Chris Fields; he just needed to play catch-up.

On the academic front, both Fields and Williams were on a similar journey during the recruiting process. But just like Fields did last year, Culliver thinks that Williams will make the requisite grades and the test score he needs in the end.

“Right now he’s probably about in the same place that Chris Fields was at this time last year,” Culliver said. “He was in that 2.3 or 2.4 area with the core about this time last year and that’s sort of the same situation that Tyrone is in. By the time June comes around, he’ll probably have about a 2.7 core and then he’s got to get that ACT up. But if he gets over that 2.6 or 2.7 core he should be fine with a 17 or 18 to get in. He’s going to keep taking the test until he makes it in. Chris took the test every time he had to until the Clearinghouse said he was clear.”

So it’s definitely a good thing for Williams that Culliver was just through this process with Fields last year.

“Every week I get a text from Coach Johnson to make sure that T-Y is doing what he’s doing from my end,” Culliver said. “And they’re always in contact with Coach Brown to make sure Coach Brown stays on T-Y in the school. So we’re double-teaming and triple-teaming him from every angle.

“Ohio State is going to do whatever they need to do to wait on the kid and make sure he gets the grades he needs to get. He just has to hunker down like Chris did and get it done. It was an everyday process that I went through with Chris and it’s an everyday process that Coach Brown is going through with Tyrone.”

• Referred to here as Tyrone, T-Y is a common nickname for him.
• Interesting track times to note: 22.6 in the 200m dash; a 4×400 relay split in 48.1.  He was the 2nd leg of the relay, a unit that finished seventh in state (D-1) in his junior year.
• An assistant coach on his Shaw Cardinals team, Devlin Culliver, was Chris Fields’ head coach at Painesville Harvey.
• Bucknuts interview: here
• Darrell Hazell, speaking about Tyrone on signing day:

“It’s a beautiful thing,” OSU receivers coach Darrell Hazell said. “A 6-7 guy who can lower his hips, who has quickness to get off the ball, has a burst, plays outside his body – he’s a rare guy. He’s special.”

• He joined Verlon Reed, Christian Bryant, JT Moore and Darryl Baldwin as future Buckeyes that took part in the Ohio North-South Classic.  He appeared to look better in practice than he did in the game itself, something maybe attributable to playcalling in the game.  The O-Zone explains:

I’m a little disappointed we didn’t see Williams dominate the game the way I had expected after watching him in practice during the week. At 6-foot-7, he literally could have had his way with any of the South defensive backs, but they simply didn’t look for him. He caught a pair of 9-yard slants where he did an excellent job of catching the ball traffic with his hands away from his body, but they hardly ever used what I consider to be their most dangerous weapon.

He did draw a pass interference call late in the game and they finally went to him in the red zone on a successful two-point conversion, but I would have loved to see them target him more often throughout the game.

• He was supposed to take part in the Big 33 game, but pulled out.
• Pre-compiled stats, courtesy of Bucknuts:

* Vital Statistics: Williams rebounded from a knee injury as a junior to have a good senior season at Shaw. He had 29 catches for 600 yards and 11 touchdowns, earning Special Mention All-Ohio honors in Division I. He suffered a torn ACL in the fifth game of his junior year and was lost for the rest of the year. In those five games, though, he had 11 receptions for 372 yards (33.8 average) with eight touchdown catches. He was also a second-team All-Ohio pick as a sophomore. He has been selected for the Ohio All-Star Classic April 23 at Ohio Stadium.

* Rankings: He is rated as the No. 7 overall senior prospect in Ohio, according to Ohio High magazine/JJHuddle.com. Also rated as the No. 11 overall prospect in the state, according to The Ohio Football Recruiting News. ESPN Scouts Inc. is picked as the nation’s No. 34 wide receiver prospect. SuperPrep ranks him as the 35th-best prospect in the Midwest.

I think he is now better known.

The More You Know

Height: 6’2
Weight: 225lbs
40: 4.35 (more on this later)
High School: Canon McMillan HS; Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

His Recruitment: Playing on an eye-popping high school football team is a sure way to get some attention from prospective college football programs.  In Hagan’s case, he was one part of a rushing tandem comprised of himself and Penn State-bound Mike Hull, shown here with bleached blonde hair.  Hull was the bigger attraction of that team, but Hagan’s contributions made it every bit the league’s backfield of terror.  The team struggled overall, but the duo performed well.  At season’s end, Hagan was receiving consideration from programs across the Midwest.  He helped his case at the 2009 Scout Combine at Pittsburgh in early March.  Therein, he ran a timed 4.29 40 (more on this later), the fastest of any performer there.  The list of attendees included names like Cullen Christian, Steve Miller, Jamel Turner, Kenny Wilkins, Courtney Avery and more.  Further, at that height and weight, the intrigue was definitely there.

It nevertheless took awhile before that interest culminated in a scholarship offer.  Illinois was probably the first big name offer (given its BCS status), but even this did not leave a lasting impression.  While the offer sheet was basically empty, Hagan was free to construct his preference orderings.  His preferences were strictly regional; he privileged Pitt, Penn State and Ohio State.  One school in particular, Ohio State, seemed to be the most interested.  Hagan, as a result, reciprocated that interest.  He had been on campus to observe practices and attend a few functions, enough to be familiar with them.  Further, Luke Fickell gave a real assurance to Hagan.  His scholarship offer would come in May, upon reception of his SAT score.

Ohio State received his test score, one that was right where the coaching staff wanted it to be.  However, the coveted Ohio State offer that Hagan wanted came only after the Buckeyes may have been one-upped by Michigan.  The Wolverines offered while the Buckeyes were still looking things over, joined by offers from North Carolina State and Buffalo¹.  While an offer from a storied program may have been enough to get Hagan to re-evaluate his preferences, it actually gave Hagan a pretext to joke with Fickell about the status of his offer.  Rather than harass Fickell about when his offer would come, Hagan joked about what the hold-up could possibly be if the hated rivals beat them to the punch.  The timing of the call was coincidental.  Fickell was going to call the next day and inform Hagan that his offer was in the mail.  He almost committed on the spot.

It was clear Hagan would commit well before signing day, thinking of a summer or early fall decision.  Ohio State was the clear favorite, but Hagan held off on a decision for awhile.  Part of it was courtesy, the other component of the delay attributable to wanting to be sure of his decision.  Part of making sure was returning to Ohio State on another unofficial visit, where Hagan said he’d assess the situation further and pray on it.

His Commitment: Further post-visit reflection the weekend he returned to Ohio State in early August wasn’t necessary; he committed there in front of Jim Tressel.  The visit went perfectly, prompting Hagan to see no reason to extend the process any further.  The commitment to Ohio State was the logical conclusion of everything developing previously.  It was no surprise, but the write-ups on the situation nevertheless give interesting insight to the recruiting process.

“I’ve been to Ohio State a few times,” Hagan said.  “I love the school.  It’s just awesome.  I like their tradition, and I like how the coaches react with the players.”

Hagan spoke with Buckeye assistants Luke Fickell and Paul Haynes today, and met with Jim Tressel in Tressel’s office.

“That was the first time I’ve been in his 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.”

Hagan was the eleventh commitment of the 2010 class.  A recruiting effort that saw the Buckeyes try to lure the nation’s best secondary prospects, Hagan was the first defensive back to join the class.

Where He Excels: Chad Hagan is an interesting case to try to break down.  He is that tweener type of prospect.  Big, fast, but not as fast (or too stiff, wooden) and perhaps too big.  Ohio State loves the beefy tailbacks, but offered him as SS/LB-type player.  Meanwhile, Wisconsin, who also loves the beefy tailbacks, offered Hagan thinking that he fit into their running back stable.  He played much more tailback than defense for his Canon-Mac team.

It gets even more interesting when one considers that Hagan did not play football his sophomore year of high school.  No, he wasn’t injured and, no, it is not like he just picked up the sport.  He played his freshman year and opted to skip his sophomore year of football to focus on basketball.  The sophomore year is an important one for player development², and Hagan did not have it.  I don’t even think he camped anywhere, which may underscore the overall lack of offers and low rankings.  All told, we’re left breaking down Hagan more on potential than the average college football recruit.

Therein, Chad Hagan definitely intrigues on speed.  He’s been clocked by Scout running an absurd 4.29 40, a measure that’s hard to take too seriously given the little reliability those measures have with 40 times taken elsewhere.  Rivals.com has him running a 4.4.  Bucknuts’ data splits the difference, putting him at a 4.35.  Whatever the case, Hagan is fast for his frame.  It’s a top-end speed, not one that shows in short bursts.  Whatever one thinks of that 4.29 40 time given at the Scout Pittsburgh combine, it seems more interesting considering that he was running on an undiagnosed shin stress fracture.

I really want him to stick in the safety rotation.  Kurt Coleman performed well for Ohio State, especially as a senior.  I think we’ve been lacking at the position otherwise in recent years (compared to cornerbacks), leaving Buckeye fans longing for a regulator in centerfield like we had with Michael Doss or Donte Whitner.  A big safety with NFL size, who can fly to the point of attack in run support, would be a fan favorite in Columbus.  The potential is there on size and speed alone.

Must Work On: Three years of high school football, most of it playing running back, means Hagan will have a higher learning curve than most.  The necessary nuance and complexity that one must comprehend moving from the high school level to the college level increases exponentially.  Everyone has that learning curve, some more than others.  I think Hagan will be in that boat.

Further, I have some nascent curiosity just how fluid of an athlete he is.  This becomes less problematic for safeties than cornerbacks (and even less so for linebackers than safeties), but it is something to consider.

Beyond that, Hagan’s challenge is to make the transition to defense full-time and to try to thrive at safety.

Redshirt? Hagan could conceivably be a special teams performer his freshman year, but I find this unlikely.  I think it is even more important that he spends a year redshirting, using the additional work that comes with a redshirt to better mature into his role in the secondary.

Highlights: Below.

Miscellany:

• Pitt Post-Gazette does the awesome features on high school standouts for its football-made readership (see previous BKABs on Western PA signees).  Part of their feature on Chad Hagan is reproduced below.  Some of these answers are fantastic.

Why didn’t you play football as a sophomore? There were a lot of mixed feelings. I felt I just wanted to be a basketball player. I thought I’d grow a lot more, and plus I didn’t really get along with the football seniors that year. At the time, I thought basketball was my thing.

Why did you come back to football? Mike Hull [Canon-McMillan running back-linebacker] and I are best friends. I felt like I was letting him down as well as the coaches here — and myself.

How does one put on 25 pounds since last season? A lot of dedication and hard work. I was killing myself in the weight room, and as soon as I’d get done there I’d eat three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Favorite food? Steak, for sure. As for a restaurant, I like Red Lobster, just because of their biscuits.

Do you use Twitter? Not at all. I’m like Joe Paterno. I don’t even know what it is.

Plaxico Burress is … Stupid. How do you shoot yourself in the leg? That’s ridiculous. [OHD Ed.: Plaxico Burress just got told. *snap*]

People might be surprised to know that … I like to sing and dance. I’m like a Michael Jackson impersonator.

• His high school team name is the Big Macs.  Yes, they are the Canon McMillan (Canon-Mac) Big Macs.  Awesome, and that is definitely one of the better high school team names I’ve come across in these features.
• One of the bigger stories to emerge after his commitment was his heart condition.  Doctors discovered that Chad Hagan had a heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (see fluff stories: here, here).  Basically, his heart had an additional electrical connection that, if left undiagnosed, can result in rapid heartbeat, cardiac arrest and the (very remote) possibility of sudden death by cardiac arrest.  If diagnosed and properly, however, it becomes a non-issue.  The list of people who have this heart condition range from musical performers to professional wrestlers and athletes.  His words after he got the clearance to resume athletic activities after complications reappeared in February? “Tell Ohio State I’m coming.”
• Will start his career with #23.  He wanted #21, his high school number.
• His high school played Washington Trinity yearly, the same high school as Andrew Sweat and Andy Miller.
• Pre-compiled stats, courtesy of Bucknuts:

* Vital Statistics: As a senior in 2009, Hagan rushed for 630 yards (7.5 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns, and added over 50 tackles defensively. That was despite missing two games at the beginning of the year while waiting for doctors to clear him because of his heart condition. He played safety and running back during his junior season.  Hagan made 63 tackles and rushed for 800 yards and 12 touchdowns. He projects as a safety at OSU.

* Rankings: Hagan is rated as the nation’s 90th-best safety by ESPN Scouts Inc. SuperPrep ranks Hagan as the 32nd-best prospect in Pennsylvania.

I think Chad Hagan is now better known.

The More You Know

I’ll put him on the board as well.

1. …good company for Michigan, given the quality of their football of late.  Yes, I had to…
2. All years are, really, in a four year timeframe before college football.

Height: 5’11
Weight: 178lbs
40: 4.4
High School: Atlantic HS; Delray Beach, Florida

His Recruitment: Early into the recruiting process, it became apparent that James Louis was going to be a hot commodity in southeastern recruiting.  Just about everyone extended offers from the fall of 2008 and into early 2009, including Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida State, Florida, LSU, Alabama, Georgia and so on.  Ohio State’s offer was one in a crowded field and, minus a few references within a “top five”, it did not appear to be the one that stood out.  The offer that did came from the Florida Gators.  Louis was thought to be a lock for the Gators, and was supposed to commit shortly after their spring game.  He passed on that, but called Urban Meyer with the good news in the second week of July 2009.

His Commitment: News of a commitment to Florida surfaced on July 15th and were eventually confirmed by his high school coach.  Louis, long thought to be a Florida lock, had made it official.  He was going to be a Florida Gator.  Delaying the commitment until after the spring game was rumored to be a reaction to Florida’s recruiting situation.  The Gators’ staff had offered both Louis and Chris Dunkley thinking of them in the same position.  It was reported that the delayed commitment came because Louis was reticent to be in the same recruiting class with Dunkley, though Louis denied this.  The delay actually came so Louis could consider other schools, like Georgia, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio State.  Seeing no reason to proceed further, Louis informed Urban Meyer of his choice.

His Commitment, Take Two: As far as anyone knew, Louis was going to Gainesville for college.  His head coach had said as much.  It was therefore just a little surprising when word broke on July 29th, 2009 that James Louis had committed to the Buckeyes.

So, wait.  What happened?

Well, as far as James Louis knew, the issue was settled.  He was going to Florida and had let Urban Meyer know that he was going to accept the scholarship offer tendered to him.  Though various media outlets in South Florida reported the commitment, Urban Meyer advised him to not go public with the commitment.  Louis did not think too much of the comment until he started reading reports that said Florida was not going to accept his commitment.  Recall the aforementioned recruiting situation for Florida regarding Louis and Dunkley.  The coaching staff may have wanted both for the same position, but felt that a commitment from one would cost them the other.  It seems the one that Urban wanted the most was Dunkley, but it was Louis that committed first.  By advising Louis to keep quiet, Urban tried to put the full court press on Dunkley knowing that he already had Louis.  This became more pronounced when Dunkley arrived for Florida’s “Friday Night Lights” camp while Louis had to skip it on account of a transportation problem.

However, Louis did not quite understand this strategic element.  While this was strategy for Urban and company, it was the matter of not knowing whether or not the Gators’ coaching staff was going to honor his scholarship offer and commitment.  It stands to reason that refusing to acknowledge his commitment was equivalent to Florida refusing to acknowledge his written scholarship offer.  Louis called and asked for clarification and if Urban meant what was inferred by Gator recruitniks when he was told to keep his commitment quiet.  An astonishing five days had passed without an answer from Urban Meyer.  At that point, Louis said “to hell with it” and committed to Ohio State.

This answers why he “decommitted” from Florida, though the topic of “why Ohio State” has been mostly underexplored.  It appears that Ohio State was a school he was fascinated with, likely second on his list after the Gators and a school of high interest since day one.  He liked the coaching staff.  Wide receiver recruits tend to speak very positively of position coach Darrell Hazell.  There also appears to be a Cris Carter factor here.  Alumni are not allowed to serve as recruiters, but Louis got some very good vibes about Ohio State from Carter.  The exact reason why he committed to Ohio State remain a little unspecified for me, but Louis said he was sold on the Buckeyes and would not be attending college anywhere else.  Buckeye fans rejoiced for the meantime, but remained a little skeptical about how a solid a commitment it could was.

“A Popular Target”:  A South Florida kid committing to Ohio State, site unseen and with no substantive family connection to Ohio, essentially meant that other programs did not take his commitment to Ohio State seriously.  After all, was he not supposed to be a Gator just two weeks before?  Louis remained a popular target for other programs, particularly the Gators.  His commitment to Ohio State had served the desired result of getting the Florida staff to call him and explain themselves.  It effectively repaired the relationship as well, resulting in a visit to Gainesville for the Tennessee game.  Louis expressed an affinity for the program and staff, at least putting forward the possibility that his commitment could be reconsidered.  With Dunkley still on the fence and Demar Dorsey decommitting from the Gators, a scholarship seemed to still be available.

The Gators were just one of a group of schools now after Louis.  Minnesota expressed an interest.  Louis’ head coach at Atlantic HS was a former Golden Gopher twenty years ago and his teammate, Donnell Kirkwood, had committed there.  This got particularly hilarious when obsessive Minnesota fans scoured the Facebook profile of James Louis, who by that time recognized he could play obsessive fans for chumps and decided to string them along.  This Star-Tribune article shows how some fans could not read between the lines.

Things got hectic at the end of the year.  Consider the following reports from the Under Armour practice that said Louis was “100% committed for now”, versus an update that he was “100% committed” and would not take other visits. This was followed by a Rivals update that said he was waiting until after the Under Armour game to take other visits, which was followed by a Bucknuts piece where he said the opposite was true and yet another piece where he said his mom wanted him to take other visits.  He took a surprise visit to Florida and was rumored to express an interest in Virginia Tech, the school of previous teammate Jayron Hosley and teammate and quarterback Mark Leal.  Fortunately, Louis ruled out the Gators shortly after his visit.  Louis’ commitment to Ohio State seemed more and more solid as signing day approached, eventually resulting in a faxed LOI to the WHAC and, thus, this feature.

Where He Excels: James Louis thinks that his style of play is similar to former Buckeye receiver Santonio Holmes.  He is that mold of wide receiver prospect where he would be an obscenely good cornerback, which makes Urban’s preference for Dunkley over him a little more curious.  Athletically, he absolutely compensates for missing out on Andre Debose in the previous class.  He is that explosive.

His real strength is not that he’s just a garden variety fast.  He is fast, but there is more to it.  He has great quickness and acceleration.  He gets off the line of scrimmage immediately and can create separation between he and his defender efficiently.  Like Santonio Holmes, he can be equally effective inside or out, behind the line of scrimmage or on it.  The real intrigue is watching him make his cuts and double-moves.  The speed demonstrated there is what makes him truly explosive and where an inch to make the catch soon becomes a mile separating him from the defense.  He, and Corey Brown 2010, constitute home run threats in this recruiting class.

Must Work On: Two things to come to mind, though they are not to be interpreted as significant criticisms.  At 5’11, 180lbs, James Louis will want to develop his upper body a little more.  College kids are much bigger than high school kids and press coverage will frustrate Louis if his body is not developed to endure the contact.  Second, most people agree that Louis can work on his route running.  However, every wide receiver needs to work on his route running.  The passing game is mostly underdeveloped in high school football.  Elite athletes like Louis tend to rely on their speed to beat vastly inferior competition.  At the college level, efficient route running becomes a luxury to create separation.

Redshirt? After he committed to Ohio State, several reports on Louis had Louis saying that Tressel told him he would not redshirt.  If so, I’m inclined to give coach the benefit of the doubt and say he will not redshirt in 2010.  I am not sure he will factor into an otherwise open return game in 2010, though it has been discussed.  However, the recent problems with Duron Carter have made the Ohio State receiver corp very top-heavy.  The third wide receiver spot is open to anyone who can fill it, be it old-timers like Taurian Washington and Grant Schwartz, young’ns like Chris Fields and James Jackson, or one of the incoming kids: Tyrone Williams, Corey Brown 2010 or James Louis.

Highlights: Below.

Miscellany:

• The Bellisaris were from nearby Boca Raton, but the last Buckeye to call Delray Beach home was Central McClellion.  I think.  Someone may correct me on that.  James and Central went to different high schools.
• His high school head coach, Andre Thaddies, has found himself in a bit of trouble (see: here, and here) recently.  The allegations in the first link are serious and he is no longer employed at the high school as a result.  This is the first time in any of these features where I’ve come across something like this.
• He and Corey Brown 2010 were the lone Buckeyes represented at the 2010 Under Armour All-American Game.  He generally impressed during practice.
• December 2009 interview: here.
• August 2009 interview with Alex of 11w: here.
• You don’t care, but Urban ended up getting Chris Dunkley in the class.  Again, you don’t care, but that’s why it’s in this section as opposed to the other ones.
• In another interesting story that’s a first of its kind for these features, a game between James Louis’ Atlantic HS and rival Boynton Beach erupted into violence at the conclusion of the game.  The police/coaches said the incident was related to local gangs.
• He will room with Christian Bryant.
• Pre-compiled stats, courtesy of Bucknuts:

* Vital Statistics: As a senior, Louis caught 39 passes for 661 yards and nine touchdowns. Louis caught 58 passes for 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns during his junior season. He also intercepted two passes on defense. As a sophomore, he caught 32 passes for 420 yards and five touchdowns. He played in the Under Armour All-American Game on Jan. 2.

* Rankings: Louis is rated as a national top-150 prospect by ESPN Scouts Inc. That site ranks him as the nation’s No. 80 prospect overall and also as the nation’s 12th-best wide receiver. SuperPrep considers Louis as an All-American, ranking him as the 23rd-best prospect in Florida and the nation’s No. 34 wide receiver.

I think James Louis may now be better known.

The More You Know

I’ll put him on the board too.

Baldwin is an interesting case at first glance.  A recruit without much fanfare, Baldwin was nevertheless one of the earliest offers by the Buckeyes in this class and acquired offers from every regional power of consequence (Michigan, Penn State, Notre Dame).  Several tried to challenge Ohio State’s position with Baldwin, but the draw of the hometown offer was too much to pass up.  I review Baldwin in this feature in the regular fashion hereafter.

Height: 6’7
Weight: 265lbs
40: 4.7
High School: Solon HS; Solon, Ohio

His Recruitment: Baldwin got attention from the Buckeyes early in the process.  I do not doubt that the coaching staff has their collective eyes and ears peeled for upcoming, potential recruits, but it nevertheless is unusual for the coaches to act on Baldwin as early as they did.  He was essentially a camp offer.  The Buckeyes held their advanced camp for rising juniors and seniors early in June 2008.  Baldwin attended and impressed the coaches.  With already a year as a starter under his belt at Solon, Baldwin checked in at 6’6, 245lbs and running a 4.7 40.  That is not too shabby for a junior to be.  He performed well enough in camp that the coaches started keeping tabs on him two weeks later.  It helps that Baldwin, from the Buckeye recruiting safe spot that is NE Ohio, was an Ohio State fan through his youth.

The Buckeyes opened their 2008 season with a shutout victory over Youngstown State, where absolutely nothing bad or unfortunate happened whatsoever.  Baldwin was also notified that he had an offer.  It was exciting for Baldwin, the lifelong Buckeye fan in attendance for that game.  It added to an offer sheet that already included West Virginia and Illinois and it helped that it came while he was watching the Buckeyes play in the venerable Horseshoe for the very first time.  Baldwin decided that he did not have his fill of the recruiting process for the moment, but Ohio State was clearly in the lead.  He returned for other occasions, including the Penn State game later that same season and a junior day event in December.  Baldwin was impressed and enjoyed himself so much at both visits that it seemed a commitment may be in the foreseeable future.  It was not, but the Buckeyes were in the pole position for Baldwin even as his offer sheet grew.

Baldwin also played the shooty hoops for his high school, a season that begins in earnest right as the football season ends.  As such, nothing really changed in terms of his recruitment through his junior year of high school.  Several tried to make inroads with Baldwin, who made it quite clear through his recruitment that Duke (in Durham, North Carolina) would be the farthest he would be willing to go for college.  He made a trip to Penn State to see Beaver Stadium and meet with their coaching staff before enrolling in his second consecutive advanced camp at Ohio State.  He also tripped to East Lansing for Sparty’s junior day festivities and expressed an affinity for Charlie Weis (seriously) and Notre Dame.  However, it seemed Ohio State would be impossible to beat at this point.  The closer his recruitment seemed to a conclusion, the better it seemed for Ohio State.  Shortly after his school year ended, Baldwin identified July 20th as the day for his decision.

Further, there was not much to dislike about Ohio State if you were in Baldwin’s situation.  Already predisposed to like Ohio State, and fond of their coaching staff, the future depth at the defensive line position was very inviting.  Every high school player with D-1 potential is very aware of the depth at their projected position and just about all crave immediate playing time.  Ohio State is certainly not hurting at the defensive line, but the strongest, deepest position on the team in 2009 would weaken in 2010 as most expected that either (or both) Cam Heyward and Thaddeus Gibson would matriculate to the NFL a year early, coinciding with graduations elsewhere at that unit.  Again, we are not hurting at the position, but it gradually looks more and more inviting for a prospect.

Lastly, Mom was stumping for the Buckeyes as well.

“She would really like me to go to Ohio State,” he said. “And that’s gonna be big. She’s gonna be helping me with my decision for sure. She’s the one that’s been helping me with all this, so I’ll be listening to what she has to say.”

As July 20th approached, it appeared Baldwin was destined to end up at The Ohio State University for football and his studies.

His Commitment: Sho’nuff, July 20th came and went and Baldwin committed to Ohio State.  I intimated the reasons why in the previous section, so I will not belabor them here.  At the time, I thought he would be the last defensive linemen of the class, unsure of where we really stood with Sharrif Floyd and Johnathan Hankins.

Baldwin, the ninth commitment of the 2010 class, had acquired offers from just about every Midwestern school of consequence, including Notre Dame.  He also acquired offers from far flung places like Stanford and Duke before choosing the Buckeyes.

Where He Excels: Baldwin is a gifted athlete.  He has grown a lot since he got his offer and still managed to keep his speed.  Further, he also played tight end for his Solon Comets football team and was on the basketball and track teams, underscoring that — athletically — he can hang with anyone in this class.

Baldwin is a big boy and is not afraid to throw his weight around the line of scrimmage.  At 6’7, 265-ish pounds at the moment, he gives the coaching staff plenty to work with in the future.  He will continue to grow and, we expect, not lose a step athletically.  This should result in someone who is quite a handful for future offensive linemen.  A fairly nimble-footed defensive linemen of his stature will have to be accounted for in game preparations.

I have not read anything definitive about his future position on the defensive line, but I expect the ideal outcome is him fitting into the strongside defensive end position for the Buckeyes in the future, the position currently held by Cam Heyward.

Must Work On: Baldwin’s dilemma is that he is a gifted athlete, but still looking to, figuratively speaking, put the pieces together in order to become truly effective at the next level.  The truly great defensive ends are gifted athletes, but go beyond mere athletic prowess in order to further their craft.  Baldwin is not quite there yet.

There are a lot of mechanical things he will want to work on at Ohio State.  Hand placement and general use of hands stick out.  A lot of what you will see from Baldwin is him simply running into blockers in hopes that his massive frame will quickly overwhelm the opposition and allow him to get to the ballcarrier.  Ideally, he should be shooting his hands from his very generous wingspan in order to create separation between he and his blockers, allowing him quicker disengagement and more time to hurt the quarterback or other ballcarrier.  What will end up happening at the next level is that Baldwin will start creating situations where he effectively blocks himself.

Baldwin does not lack effort on the field, nor does he take plays off or let his “motor” idle.  He is just very raw and sometimes plays like he does not have full awareness of what he is doing and should be doing.  This can obviously be corrected with some diligence by Baldwin and the coaching staff.  Putting forward the necessary effort in practice to become a technician of his craft will be the difference of moving away from the Rob Rose end of the SSDE continuum toward the Cameron Heyward end.

Redshirt? Unless he turns heads this summer in what should be a (fairly) crowded defensive line depth chart that includes Melvin Fellows’ Safari Planet coming off his redshirt year at the same position, I do not see Baldwin playing in 2010.  Frankly, I think he stands the most to benefit from a year of scout team duties done to preserve future eligibility.

Highlights: ScoutingOhio rocks the body that rocks the party. Senior season footage is up first, followed by what I believe is all junior year (as opposed to junior/sophomore year).

He was also interviewed by Bucknuts as part of their signing day festivities.

Miscellany:

• I did not have time or appropriate space to fit it into his recruiting story, but the Wolvereenies were high on Baldwin’s list through his junior year of high school (particularly through the end of 2008).  He took a visit to Ann Arbor, as you will see in my commitment post in July of last year.
• Unless there is a piece of his story no one has told me, it seems that he was enrolled at Solon at the same time as current Buckeye center Dallas Lauderdale.  Lauderdale would have been a senior when Baldwin was a freshman.  I am not sure if Baldwin was on varsity as a freshman, or even playing basketball altogether, but it remains a possibility.
• Darryl Baldwin is good to his mother and let it be known he wanted to stay close to home.  As such, Michigan State — who Baldwin suggested recruited him the hardest — kept in constant e-mail contact with his mom to try to win her over.  I am not passing judgment on that recruiting tactic as it will be hard to approximate Urban Meyer’s channeling of the Almighty in recruiting Sharrif Floyd.  Nevertheless, observing how cutthroat recruiting can be makes this anecdote, at the most, whimsical.
• Baldwin played in the Ohio North-South Classic, along with future Buckeyes Tyrone Williams, JT Moore, Christian Bryant and game MVP, Verlon Reed.  The reviews were mixed, praising his stature among the participants but noting that he did little to report.
• An undefeated senior season of football got its first blemish in the playoffs, against the Glenville Tarblooders.
• The Northeast Ohio Conference, in which Solon is placed, is the same conference of Brush (Roy Hall), Garfield Heights (Melvin Fellows’ Safari Planet), Lakewood (Pete Cusick), Twinsburg (that punter dude that was the best offensive player for the Wolverines for the past two seasons), and Elyria (Buckeye great Vic Janowicz and future Buckeye Chase Farris).
• In a profession where minimally qualifying test scores and GPAs are becoming more frequent, it is refreshing to see that Baldwin carries a 3.4 GPA, a 25 on his ACT and is thinking about enrolling in the College of Enginerding.
• Pre-compiled stats, courtesy of Bucknuts.  There is also plenty of rich, creamy fluff in that article, but I think Bucknuts would yell at me if I block copy-pasted it here:

* Vital Statistics: As a senior, Baldwin was a third-team All-Ohio selection in Division I. He had 63 tackles with 25 tackles-for-loss on defense and had seven catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns on offense. Baldwin played both defensive end and tight end during his junior season. He had seven sacks, caught eight passes and scored three times. He has been selected for the Ohio All-Star Classic April 23 at Ohio Stadium.

* Rankings: He is rated as the No. 5 overall senior prospect in Ohio, according to Ohio High magazine/JJHuddle.com. Also rated as the No. 5 overall prospect in the state, according to The Ohio Football Recruiting News. Baldwin is rated as a national top-150 prospect by ESPN Scouts Inc. That site ranks him as the nation’s No. 131 prospect overall and also as the nation’s 13th-best defensive end. SuperPrep considers Baldwin as an All-American, ranking him as the 19th-best prospect in the Midwest and the nation’s No. 46 defensive end.

I am concluding that Darryl Baldwin is now better known.

The More You Know

I should put him on the board too.