Christian Bryant, Glenville Recruit Heading to Ohio State?

Another great recruit from Cleveland Glenville could be heading to Ohio State for 2010 in cornerback Christian Bryant. Bryant is a top 250 national recruit according to Rivals.com and the top 12 recruit at his position. The Ted Ginn Sr. product would be following over a dozen Tarblodders down to Columbus to be a Buckeye since Jim Tressel took over the program.

By Steve Patterson

Many Offers

The 4 star recruit has offers from many of the top programs in the country including Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, and West Virginia to name a few. We asked Bryant about his ability on the field that has received so much attention. “My vision on the field, how I read plays before they develop, how I pursue to the ball, an how I attack the ball when its in the air.” he explained to us.

Impressive Junior Year

Like most Tarblodders, Bryant is a team player above all. ”Traveling and bounding with my team for four years would be the highlight of my high school career so far.” he feels. But his individual statistics as a junior stand out. ”I just know my defense and special teams stats. Defense- 54 tackles, 3 interceptions, 1 Forced Fumble, an 1 TD from an interception. Special teams- 2 Kick Returns, 94 Yards, and a blocked field goal for a TD.” he reported when we inquired.

Taking His Time

Bryant is taking his time with the recruiting process as he has yet to setup a visit. But he knows one school he will take a look at when he begins the process. “When I schedule my visits, Ohio State will be one I’ll attend.” But he does know what he wants in a college for when he does focus on his selection. ”I am looking at the academics, how the coaches interact with the players, how I fit in the defensive schemes, nice facilities, a winning mentality, and the overall chemistry of the football program as a whole.”

He feels that all schools that have offered him a scholarship are pursuing his services vigorously. ”All schools that have offered are showing interest at this point.” He doesn’t have a leader at this time but does give a slight hint as to his leaning. ”I really don’t have a leading school at this time. But what I am looking for in a school might help this question..”

Taylor Graham and Roderick Smith Commit to Ohio State

Graham and Smith Commit

Ohio State made a nice splash in recruiting while filling some future holes in the offense this past week by getting early commitments for the 2010 football class.

By Pete Quint

Roderick Smith

Running back Roderick Smith of Fort Wayne, Indiana has both power and speed and is considered “a potential early impact player” by recruiting analyst Bill Kurelic but I have a hard time seeing early playing time. Smith will have a tough time cracking the starting line-up in 2010 with Junior Boom Herron and Senior Brandon Saine at the top of the depth chart while Jaamal Berry (for now), Jordan Hall and Carlos Hyde will be sophomores in 2010 barring any redshirting. Smith’s large frame (6-2, 220) will definitely afford him touches in a Jim Tressel lead offensive attack but Hyde (6-0, 225) sports a similar size while Berry has been compared to Reggie Bush. With the depth at running back, the Bucks would be wise to redshirt Smith in 2010.

Film: RB Roderick Smith Is Explosive – Highlights (Warning: Slight Profanity)

Taylor Graham

Quarterback Taylor Graham is the son of former Ohio State quarterback Kent Graham (88-91) and committed to OSU without an official visit. While Graham might not be the blue chip quarterback Buckeye fans have gotten used to in recent years, he has the size (6-4, 214) and lineage to make a name for himself as a Buckeye.

I love legacy players and to see another Graham on the field will be a special treat, however, I’m wondering why Ohio State went for a pro-style quarterback? The Buckeyes had great success with Craig Krenzel but since then all the successful Ohio State quarterbacks have been mobile and athletic. Reverting to a particular type of quarterback that doesn’t seem to work under the Tressel regime seems like a step back.

Keep on keepin’ on

It’s a long way to 2010 and recruiting hasn’t even begun to warm up so it’s not time to panic. The Bucks will get the horses they need, we just have to give them time.

RB Jaamal Berry Arrives on Campus Despite Charges

Star high school running back Jaamal Berry reported to Ohio State last week for summer school despite a felony charge of marijuana possession in his home town of Miami. All the remaining 2009 recruits that were not a part of the spring camp arrived on Sunday the 21st to begin class on Tuesday the 23rd. Many had speculated that he would not be a part of the class due to the arrest on June 11th for possessing 28 grams of the drug.

By Steve Patterson

Running Back Depth

The Buckeyes are in need of depth at the running back position after losing Chris Wells to the NFL draft and the injury plagued year of Brandon Saine last season. Daniel ‘Boom’ Herron returns to be the first string starter but depth after Herron is limited. Berry and Naples Florida back Carlos Hyde are both looked to as needed depth and possible freshman stars out of the backfield this coming fall.

High School All Star

Berry is an All American running back coming out of Miami Palmetto High School in Florida. He was rated the 5th best running back in the country by Rivals.com for the 2009 class and a member of their Rivals 100. As a junior he ran for over 1,000 yards and scored 14 times. He selected Ohio State over offers from South Carolina, West Virginia, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Michigan and Minnesota.

Night Arrest

When Berry was pulled over by police on the night of the incident for running a red light, he stated that he had purchased the drugs an hour earlier and was planning on sharing it with his friends later that night. This was his first offense and he will likely receive probation and a possible reduction in charges.

Nick Montana Picks the Washington Huskies

After taking a little bit longer to decide than expected, California quarterback and national prospect Nick Montana selected to play his college career with the Washington Huskies. The 6’3” 180 lbs son of an NFL legend, Montana had offers from over 12 schools with Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Stanford believed to be his favorites. But a good connection with Washington Head Coach Steve Sarkisian put them over the top.

By Steve Patterson

Montana made a visit this past weekend to Washington and liked the program and the atmosphere so much that he made the selection. The new Husky coach was looking for a high profile prospect to jump start his recruiting efforts and has a very good one in Montana. The Huskies now turn to their offensive line which needs a number of good players to come in and start early.

Ohio State had been holding a spot in their recruiting class for Montana until he made a decision but the situation began to look bleak for the Buckeyes as they offered local Ohio product Andrew Hendrix at the end of May. Hendrix also received an offer from Notre Dame the same week and could be the 2nd offered quarterback that bypasses OSU to take a scholarship at a lesser opponent. Having Terrelle Pryor on campus has led Oho State to recruit B type recruits at the quarterback position as A caliber passers do not want to sit until Pryor leaves.

The eScoutRoom Features A Number of Ohio State Prospects

Our parent company site, eScoutRoom.com, has had a number of 2010 Ohio State prospect stories over the past months since the 2009 class signed with the Buckeyes. Below are links to stories on Brandon Linder, Matt James, Seantrel Henderson, Corey Brown, Nick Montana, Roderick Smith, David Durham, and Jamel Turner.

By Steve Patterson

Brandon Linder

Ohio State Very Active at St Thomas Aquinas – Brandon Linder

An offensive Tackle prospect from Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas. This is the same high school that Duron Carter came from last year where Duron’s father Chris is a coach. Linder is a Rivals 250 member with offers from Alabama, Boston College, Florida, Georgia, Miami and many more. He doesn’t have his favorite schools rated at this time.

Film: Brandon Linder – A Highly Recruited 2010 Offensive Lineman

Matt James

Matt James 2010 Offensive Lineman from St Xavier

Matt James is a Cincinnati Ohio prospect from St Xavier who is favoring Cincinnati, Ohio State, and Notre Dame over offers from Penn State, Tennessee, Florida, and Boston College to name a few. He is also a member of the Rivals 250 and projects as a tackle at 6’8″ and 280 lbs.

Film: Matt James Cincinnati St Xavier Junior Film

Seantrel Henderson

Seantrel Henderson, Rivals Early #1 2010 Recruit

Seantrel Henderson is the #1 recruit in the country and another big offensive tackle at 6’8″ 300 lbs. The St. Paul Minnesota native attends Cretin-Derham High School and has offers from the kind of schools the top recruit in the country would garner. No leaders at this time with offers from Florida, Florida State, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, USC, UCLA, and Wisconsin.

Film: Seantrel Henderson Manhandles High School Lines

Corey Brown

Corey Brown Early Rivals Top 100 2010 Running Back

Can Ohio State continue to steal great recruits out of Pennsylvania If the Buckeyes can pull the #7 running back in the country out of Springfield Cardinal O’Hara, this will be three years in a row the top recruit leaves Pennsylvania for Ohio. The 6’0″ 170 lbs 4.47 speed back has over 14 offers with in-state Penn State and Pittsburgh on the list. He doesn’t claim any favorites at this time.

Highlight Film: Corey Brown Highlights from Cardinal O’Hara 2010

Nick Montana

Nick Montana Following Father Joe to Notre Dame?

Ohio State has promised to only recruit Nick Montana for their quarterback position this year. They feel they have found the best prospect to replace Terrelle Pryor when he leaves for the NFL. Montana plans to make a decision this spring among his current favorites Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Stanford, and Washington.

ESPN Outside the Lines: Oaks Christian Fans Looking for Joe, not Nick Montana

Roderick Smith

Roderick Smith, 2010 Running Back Looking Hard at the Buckeyes

A big back out of Fort Wayne Indiana Harding, Roderick Smith could be the next Chris Wells for the Buckeyes. At 6’3″ 220lbs with 4.5 speed, he has the size to be an every-down back in the Big Ten. He favors Ohio State over offers from Purdue, Tennessee, Iowa, Michigan, and Michigan State.

David Durham

David Durham Selects Ohio State Over Stanford, West Virginia, and Virginia

David Durham is an interesting story out of Austin Texas who came to Columbus Ohio for a wrestling tournament and walked away wanting to be a Buckeye. He is one of the five commits for Ohio State for 2010. He could play either linebacker or defensive end at 6’3″ 228 lbs with 4.7 speed.

Jamel Turner

Jamel Turner, Ohio State Weakside DE/LB Commit

Jamel Turner is another commitment for Ohio State like Durham. He committed early in December of 2008 and is the best recruit in the state of Ohio this year. A weak-side Defensive End, Turner won the state title with Youngstown Ursuline this past season. He also had offers from Stanford, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, and Nebraska.

Editorial: A few more random thoughts at 3 AM

Editorial: A few more random thoughts at 3 AM

By Bill Smith

Please notice that BrutusReport.com is almost all powerful! Virtually a day after we chided ESPN for taking Chris Spielman out of the booth, he was back. And by the way, Spiels continues to improve in the color analyst roll. Now I only wish we could have used some of that influence to help OSU get a win last Saturday.

Brutus Report Analysis: Why did Ted Ginn Jr. get benched? Because he couldn’t get off press coverage. The New York Jets in game 1 had a book on Ted Ginn. He can’t get open against press coverage. Time and time again, he got pushed off his intended route by a cornerback playing tight to the line of scrimmage. When he gets off the press, he is not using his speed to get open. A slower DB is able to keep up with him. Without decent separation, a weak armed QB like Chad Pennington will go elsewhere. And in the Jet game that is exactly what he did.

Ginn needs to get into the weight room and strengthen his arms and upper body if he wants to start let alone justify his 9^th pick overall, he needs to get stronger and most of all get open often. The crowd at the draft party was not happy with the selection of Ginn. They wanted the previous Dolphin administration to pick Brady Quinn.

Brutus Report Analysis: Why is USC the biggest fan of OSU? Because a down year for OSU may keep an undefeated USC out of the national championship. The PAC10 is down this year. The only game that USC will have on its resume at the end of the season is the win over OSU. California is down because it lost so much to the draft. Arizona State is going to get shown to be a paper tiger by Georgia this Saturday. UCLA had a nice win over Tennessee week 1. But we can put that in the trashcan because of their 59-0 loss last week to BYU.

So how can they get bypassed for a Championship game? The Big 12 currently has 4 team in the top 11 and the Southeast Conference has 5 in the top 10. If an undefeated team comes out of each of those conferences, they will have beaten 5 or 6 top 25 teams to get there. I doubt that USC will see a single game against a top 25 team the rest of the season. Right now only Oregon is currently ranked by the AP and there is a good chance they will lose more than just to USC by the end of the year.

So OSU may be the one and only top 25 team by the end of the regular season that USC has won against. IF OSU wins out and rises to the top 6, then USC has a shot. But if the Bucks fall to 2^nd or 3^rd in the Big 10, USC could be in trouble.

Kreskin says that the SEC will not produce an undefeated team so USC should be OK. But even Kreskin can be wrong.

Coach Tressel said that the fumble by Todd Boekman was caused by him not reading blitz and throwing to the hot receiver. In my analysis I wrote the following: One of the key plays of the game was the fumble by Todd Boeckman when he was blindsided by an unblocked linebacker coming off the edge. Again, just like in so many games before, the tackle and guard blocked down ignoring the outside rusher. The running back passed the blitzer not even trying to chip him. Fumble lost and game over.

Let me say a couple of things about our blocking scheme. First, having created more than a half dozen play books for semi-pro teams, I would never even consider a pass blocking protection that allowed a DE to be blocked by a running back. As we saw in both the LSU and Florida losses, the OSU slant pass blocking schemes leave a DE to be handled by a running back or TE. I never used that approach because it does not work. If the scheme had BOTH a TE AND RB double teaming a DE, I think that would be workable. However, as Coach said, that was not the case in this play.

In the case of the fumble, it is my belief that Boeckman is not capable of accounting for the unblocked blitzer. He is not mobile; he is not especially accurate passing on the run. It is a bad design. Mike Martz has a similar system that sends all the receivers out on almost every pass. That approach burns QB’s like gallons of gas in 12 cylinder Jaguar. Even given the high cost of gas, good QB’s are much less plentiful. Rather than leave the QB to “account for” an untouched blitzer, let the OT and OG not double team the DE unless there is no blitz from that side. If the G struggles and there is not another outside blitzer, the OT can help out.

One thing that particularly bothered me was the fact that the tackle who was part of the biggest problem in the loss was one of the most vocal in the media. He could have been a high 1^st round choice in the 2008 draft well before tackles that were considered 2^nd and 3^rd round quality. That was in the last draft. Unless he becomes the dominant blocker that he is supposed to be, he will find a 3^rd round grade in 09. After a loss like that it is time to let the play on the field do you’re talking for you. And talking a great game after playing a poor one is not helping his standing.

That’s what I think. What do you think? Let us know by posting a comment.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://BrutusReport.com. He has also published several novels on http://ebooks-library.com/index.cfm and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com

Kosta Koufos goes 23rd to Utah and Othello Hunter went undrafted

In the 2008 draft, Kosta Koufos fell a few picks below where he was expected to go. He went 23^rd to Utah.

By Bill Smith

Koufos and Utah Jazz:
Koufos is going to a very good team with enough youth to get better soon. By looking at the Utha roster, you might assume that Koufos will be the 3^rd Center but he will likely be 2^nd soon. Utah has gotten very little scoring out the bigs on their bench. The starting center, Mehmet Okur, has been forced to play 33-35 minutes a game over the last three years. There is no scoring from the bigs on the bench and Koufos can solve that problem. There has been some talk of using Koufos as the prime backup for both C and power forward because of his ability to score facing the basket. Utah doesn’t really have a backup for former Cav Carlos Boozer. Paul Millsap the backup PF is a potential free agent.

Bottom line:
Koufos should get 10-12 minutes a game and become a regular in the rotation.

Othello Hunter
Hunter going undrafted is not necessarily a bad thing. It is probably better than get picked very late. He and his advisors have a chance to contact teams that have a need for a solid rebounder in the power forward position. The teams that would be most interested include Utah, New Orleans, or Atlanta. The latter two are particularly good choices because they did not have any draft choices in the 2008 draft.

BuckeyeTalkBack moved to eScoutRoom.com

I have moved the BuckeyeTalkBack Blog to eScoutRoom.com to be a part of their ongoing blogging contest.
Steve

Why College Players give Up a Million Dollars

Wide-receiver James Johnson left the Georgia Tech team before Spring Ball began this year. This is the second time in his career that he has quit the Yellow Jackets. The last time this occurred, Head Coach Paul Johnson talked him into returning to the team.

Johnson has been injured and that could be a reason that he is not returning for his senior year. Johnson struggled with a knee injury during his junior season last year. A spokesman for the team stated tendonitis in the knee as a reason for his departure.

Johnson is one of the leading pass catchers in Georgia Tech history with 78 catches, 1240 yards and 9 touchdowns over three years. His sophomore year was his most productive with 608 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Why do kids quit football before their eligibility is up? Sometimes it is stated that it is time to move on with their lives. This is the second possibility with Johnson. Do these players not understand how lucky they are to be able to play college football and have the chance to play in the NFL? For anyone over the age of 26, it becomes obvious quickly that earning a million dollars a year isn’t a cakewalk and playing a game for a living is the closest thing.

Maybe Johnson wasn’t going to be a top pick with his current stats but with a senior year like his sophomore year, he would have been drafted and paid well.

In Columbus Ohio a defensive end by the name of Alex Barrow did the same thing this past season. He didn’t transfer. He didn’t declare for the NFL, he just left. Now Borrow doesn’t have NFL stats and he would have to dominate his senior year to get drafted. But Buckeye Head Coach Jim Tressel favors seniors and Barrow would get into the rotation in addition to having two camps to prove that he belonged on the field.

The next player that leaves a college program without a very good reason should ask someone 10 years older if they would do the same thing. I am sure that the answer would be “Stay on the team!”

Can Ohio State continue to pull out of Krop?

Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel, Michael Brewster, and Company did a great job in 2008 of pulling two highly recruited players out of Miami Krop High School. The BrutusReport.com 2008 Football Recruiting Chart has Krop Cornerback Travis Howard and Middle Linebacker Etienne Sabino both rated as 4 star prospects. But does that necessarily mean that they will continue to get recruits from one of the hottest high schools in South Florida with the University of Miami (FL) staking their claim once again on the area?

The Buckeyes grabbed up cornerback Travis Howard first out of Krop High School. They then followed up that steal of the class of 2008 by signing his classmate Etienne Sabino the second best middle linebacker in the country according to Scout.com. This was done on the way to getting the fourth best class overall in the country, which included four Florida prospects; Sabino, Howard, Brewster and quarterback/safety Orhian Johnson out of Boca Ciega.

Miami (FL) has had some down years but now they seem to be regaining ground and pulling in the type of classes that led them to two National Championship games early in the decade. The Hurricane resurgence is being led by Head Coach Randy Shannon, a Miami player from the 1987 National Championship team, who wants to rebuild the great tradition that has slipped since Ohio State defeated Miami in the 2001 BCS title game. In 2008, Shannon signed almost every Miami Northwestern High School player that qualified for a D1 scholarship, but missed out on Krop.

In 2009, look for Shannon to try to sign a couple of Krop players. Defensive Tackle Brandon Taylor has early interest in Miami, Ohio State, and several other southern schools. Middle Linebacker Quan Fletcher has pretty much the same list of schools as Taylor. Both of these prospects are rated in the top 20 at their positions nationally. If Ohio State is able to have two more highly rated players follow Howard and Sabino to Ohio State, the Buckeyes will have done something that is almost impossible to do in recruiting, create a pipeline from a high school to a college that is 1200 miles long.