Our Honor Defend

Kyle Dodson chose Ohio State over USC, Miami, Michigan State.

Ohio State fans accustomed to mostly uneventful signing days were in for a bit of a treat this year.  The previous regime under Jim Tressel largely pursued prospects they believe could commit before the signing day hoopla, making signing day rather standard fare for Ohio State football fans.  The current regime under Urban Meyer made today far more exciting, getting two commitments on top of the 23 the Buckeyes already had entering today.  Jamal Marcus — a linebacker from Durham, North Carolina — and Kyle Dodson — an offensive tackle from Cleveland, Ohio — announced their decisions to enroll at Ohio State today, totaling 25 commitments for Ohio State in 2012 and securing the school’s position within the top 5 nationally for all recruiting classes.

Marcus was not a name I had anticipated to select Ohio State.  A late addition into Ohio State recruiting circles, I expected Marcus to stay closer to home and sign with East Carolina.  That Marcus was ostensibly choosing between East Carolina and Ohio State suggests a lower end talent, though that is not quite the case.  He is a 3 star talent, but with an intriguing offer sheet from the likes of Southern California, South Carolina, Florida and Auburn, among many others.  Further, Urban Meyer was apparently enamored with his film, putting Marcus on the list of high end prospects like Perkins and Williams.  This is mostly measurables.  At 6’2, 230lbs, Marcus is reported to be a sub 4.6 40, giving him a nice combination of size and speed.  He is certainly a player that will help bolster Ohio State’s outside linebacker rotation, a position that had become fairly thin recently.

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In the Hive

As national signing day approaches, all of the experts are busy ranking the recruiting classes that have already been put together.  While the individual rankings vary a bit, what is obvious is that Ohio State and TTUN have put together classes that are among the best in the nation and are ranked much higher than everyone else in the Big Ten; Rivals has Ohio State ranked 3rd, Michigan ranked 8th and Nebraska as the next best conference team at 30th.  This, along with Michigan’s success in Brady Hoke’s first season and Ohio State’s hiring of Urban Meyer, have lead numerous people in the media to ask whether we are about to see the Big Ten return to being the ‘Big 2 – Little 10′ like it was back when Woody and Bo roamed the sidelines; though to be correct back then it was the ‘Big 2 – Little 8.’

This seems like a preposterous question to ask at this point for several reasons, the biggest being that things have changed drastically since the days of Woody.  The introduction of the 85 person scholarship limit and the revenue sharing and increased revenue from BTN and ESPN contracts have fundamentally changed and leveled the playing field.  The scholarship limits prevent teams at the top from stockpiling talent like they used to while the increased money from tv contracts have allowed the rest of the conference to do a great job of improving their facilities so that the teams at the top no longer enjoy such a big advantage in those areas.  The end result of this is that the gap we see in the recruiting rankings now is still a much smaller talent disparity than what existed back in the late 60s and the 70s.

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In the Hive

Good morning Hivers and welcome to Tuesday morning! I hope everyone enjoyed the cheese Danishes I brought in. Coffee is brewing and as you settle in for the long day in your cube, guard shack, or lifeguard tower, let the smooth stylings of Our Honor Defend ring in the day. As I write this, The Best Damn Band In The Land is playing Carmen Ohio to an audience of one. The song makes me think of all the great men and women that have graced the halls of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and have left their mark on the school that they loved so dearly.

From Archie Griffin and Eddie George on the gridiron, to Jim Jackson and Jerry Lucas on the hardwood, from Jesse Owens to Paul Pooley, countless legends have donned the Scarlet and Gray and worn it with honor, prestige, and class. Perhaps none have done it more with less recognition from the University itself than Dennis Hopson, all time leading scorer in men’s basketball history.

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Jalin Marshall

Cam Burrows has some company in Ohio State’s 2013 recruiting class.  Two weeks after Ohio State secured a verbal commitment from Cam Burrows, the Bucks get another blue chipper who wants in.  Jalin Marshall, an athlete from Middletown, Ohio, committed to Ohio State over regional offers from the likes of Notre Dame, Indiana, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and Tennessee.¹ The 2013 class of prospects promises to be deep in the Buckeye State and, to that end, Ohio State is already off to a great start.  Burrows and Marshall are 1-2 in preliminary rankings for 2013.

Marshall is listed as an athlete and will certainly finish top 10 nationally — maybe top 5 — in that “catch all” category among the recruiting services.  With that in mind, it is unclear what position for which he projects for Ohio State.  He is the quarterback for his Middies program and, apparently, will get his first look there.  Failing that, or if Meyer and company want a way to get him on the field sooner, he could project as a slot receiver (or “A receiver/back” in that language).  With Marshall as just one of a handful of 5-stars this early into 2013, it is clear that Marshall projects as a player that should have his hands on the ball routinely.  That type of “all-purpose back” in a Percy Harvin-type role, however unhelpful it is to make those comparisons, is what we hope to get from Jalin Marshall in a Buckeye uniform.

Marshall’s commitment is a bit premature, in that he wanted to hold off this announcement until tomorrow morning.  January 31st is his father’s birthday.  Marshall wanted the announcement of his son going to college to be a birthday present of sorts for his dad, though local media outlets and the ubiquitous tweets and message boards spoiled the fun.  Still, we’re happy.

Junior year film comes after the jump.

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1. Yes, Tennessee is a bit “regional” these days given their northern push for talent. [↩]

Armani Reeves

Under Jim Tressel, Ohio State was rather notorious among Buckeye recruitniks for having very uneventful buildups to signing day.  The approach by Ohio State was mostly satisfied with recruiting players (and good players) they felt could credibly commit early in the process.  Further, many of us just assumed that those that would hold out until the 11th hour perhaps wanted to hear something in particular that Tressel and company just couldn’t tell them.  So, Buckeye fans are not terribly accustomed to getting good recruiting news so late into the process.  The verbal commitment of Armani Reeves — via Twitter, no less — is peculiar for Ohio State fans, but certainly welcome.

Reeves is yet another former Penn Shtate verbal that Ohio State has snatched from the Nitts, joining Joey O’Connor, Tommy Schutt and high school teammate Camren Williams.  That said, the recruiting battle that emerged late was between Ohio State and That State Up North.  Reeves had already formally decommitted from Penn Shtate, though well after we knew he was going to be shopping for a new college.  Though Camren Williams, whose father is Reeves’ godfather, had firmly committed to Ohio State in advance, there was a real threat of the Wolveereenies getting him.  That Team Up North even sent Greg Mattison to his West Roxbury home, no small gesture considering Mattison might be the Wolvereenies’ best recruiter (in addition to being far and away their best assistant coach).  Still, Reeves to Ohio State seemed like the safe pick to make and it was the one that Reeves ended up making.

Though a bit undersized, Reeves is well-regarded as a cornerback prospect.  Scout.com is more keen on him (#6 overall CB) than Rivals (#17 overall CB), but the Buckeyes get a quality cornerback to factor into a rotation that lost Dominic Clarke and Pee Wee Gambrell to team rules violation and will lose Travis Howard to graduation.  With Camren Williams also in the fold, it appears Ohio State will have more players on scholarship next year from Massachusetts than it probably had in the past 40+ years.

Film is below.

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