Yesterday, Ohio State officially bagged 27 future Buckeyes. It's a deep class of versatile thoroughbreds, so it's of no surprise the #Elite15 is Urban Meyer's fourth straight consensus Top 10 recruiting class.
The Lord of Whispers, Jeremy Birmingham, published a tome of information; read it all — for free — over at our National Signing Day portal.
LET'S TALK OVERSIGNING. *puts on oven mitts* So, here's a hot #take I dropped the other day:
Looking over these numbers (http://t.co/Lb9aUonkpJ) would require deft mental jujitsu to say Urban isn't oversigning.
— DJ Byrnes (@marion_ohio) February 3, 2015
(Oh yeah, scorching take there, dipshit.)
Let's put that #take simmer on the backburner for a second and dig in a little deeper to this nebulous issue that, at this point, would only offend a minority of self-righteous fans like myself if it were true.
As originally mentioned by Cleveland.com's Doug Lesmerises, Ohio State added 27 recruits to a current roster of 64 players. That's 91 total, which is a bad number to be at considering OSU must be at 85 when it opens at Virginia Tech on September 7th.
Yesterday, however, Urban dropped three other shoes: Armani Reeves, Ron Turner, and Devan Bogard are likely done at Ohio State after career-ending injuries. I assume the term "medical hardship waiver" means they're allowed to stay on scholarship to finish their degree, but they don't count against OSU's scholarship cap. (If it means they're just thrown to the street, then that's fucked up.)
So, counting those three, Ohio State is back at 88, meaning there's three men toiling at the WHAC right now that won't be there come September. If this were a professional team, that wouldn't be noteworthy. But, you know, it's not (technically).
Urban stressed yesterday these "next couple weeks" are going to reveal some other things — another injury diagnosis or the handing in of a transfer request, maybe? — and it's not like three players is a sizable portion of an 88-man roster.
Now, some would say, "Well, what about that 2012 class? Half of them aren't here anymore." Sure, let's take a look at Urban Meyer's first class, which finished as a consensus No. 5 class with Urban only on the job for roughly two months.
Let's just say Urbz and company got some talent in their 2012 early enrollees (all stats via 24/7):
| NAME | POSITION | STaRS |
|---|---|---|
| JACOBY BOREN | C | ★★★★ |
| BRI'ONTE DUNN | RB | ★★★★ |
| CARDALE JONES | KING/QB | ★★★ |
| JOSHUA PERRY | LB | ★★★★ |
| TYVIS POWELL | ATH | ★★★ |
| MIKE THOMAS | WR | ★★★ |
Sure, Bri'onte Dunn hasn't left his mark yet... but the rest of that class? Production monsters.
All of those guys, however, are still with the team. What about the rest of the class, and just why did all of those 2012 guys washout?
| NAME | POSITION | STARS | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| WARREN BALL | RB | ★★★★ | BACKUP |
| DE'VAN BOGARD | DB | ★★★★ | RETIRED DUE TO INJURIES *NOT OFFICIAL* |
| JOEY O'CONNOR | OG | ★★★★ | TRANSFERRED TO CSU, RETIRED DUE TO INJURY |
| TAYLOR DECKER | OL | ★★★★ | SLOB STARTER |
| KYLE DODSON | OL | ★★★★ | RETIRED DUE TO INJURY |
| PAT ELFLEIN | OG | ★★★ | SLOB STARTER |
| FRANK EPITROPOULOS | WR | ★★★ | RETIRED TO PURSUE MEDICAL SCHOOL |
| JAMAL MARCUS | DE | ★★★★ | TRANSFERRED TO AKRON |
| NAJEE MURRAY | DB | ★★★★ | VIOLATION OF TEAM RULES, TRANSFERRED TO KENT ST |
| DAVID PERKINS | LB | ★★★★ | TRANSFERRED TO ILLINOIS STATE |
| SE'VON PITTMAN | DE | ★★★★ | TRANSFERRED TO AKRON |
| ARMANI REEVES | DB | ★★★★ | RETIRED DUE TO CONCUSSIONS *NOT OFFCIAL* |
| LUKE ROBERTS | LB | ★★★ | TRANSFERRED TO HARVARD |
| TOMMY SCHUTT | DT | ★★★★ | BACKUP DT |
| RICQUAN SOUTHWARD | WR | ★★★★ | TRANSFERRED TO WESTERN ARIZONA |
| NOAH SPENCE | DE | ★★★★★ | SUSPENDED BY BIG TEN, TRANSFERRED TO E. KENTUCKY |
| BLAKE THOMAS | TE | ★★★ | RETIRED DUE TO INJURIES |
| ADOLPHUS WASHINGTON | DT | ★★★★★ | STARTER |
| CAMREN WILLIAMS | DB | ★★★★ | BACKUP |
Some of these guys, like Frank Epitropoulos, were committed before Urban Meyer arrived. (Meyer showed his roster aggressiveness by honoring all of Fickell's commitments, I guess?) Others, like Spence, were their own worst enemies.
Here's the total breakdown:
| TOTAL | STILL AFFILIATED | NON-AFILLIATED |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 12 (48%) | 13 (52%) |
And here's how the castaways breakdown:
| INJURIES | NON-INJURIES |
|---|---|
| 4 (31%) | 9 (69%) |
And while the numbers might seem high at first glance... consider any of those cases one-by-one. It's not like a doctor is going to sign off on a fake injury to force a player into retirement. And while Urban isn't allowed to cut outright for lack of talent, it doesn't mean some of these transfers aren't player initiated or due to disciplinary reasons off-the-record.
There's never been, to my knowledge, anyway, an Ohio State player complain about Urban Meyer forcing him out the door. Hell, even infamous malcontent Ricquan Southward still features some sort of Ohio State certificate in his Twitter header.
I also don't think it's a crazy outlier for a first-year coach's class. There's always going to be adjustments and odd men out, especially when you're dealing with another fella's commits fit for radically different schemes. (Those exoduses didn't keep pace throughout the 2013 class, for example.)
TL;DR: Urban, like all elite coaches, is being aggressive in his roster management. If Ohio State was jettisoning three players two weeks before the Virginia Tech game or signing 32 players every year... that's another beast entirely. Furthermore, the Big Ten has four-year scholarships, and the university reviews all these things case-by-case. I'm contrarian almost to a fault, but I'm not ready to label Meyer an oversigner. *bangs gavel*
DID MICHIGAN COST ITSELF MIKE WEBER? Michigan rallied to the nation's consensus 38th best class yesterday, and while Michigan's somewhat pedestrian finish can be explained by Jim Harbaugh's short calendar, you also wonder what could've been.
Let Urban Meyer tell it though, and Mike Weber was one of — if not the — least secure commits heading into NSD. Urban said yesterday on 97.1 he and Stan Drayton were on the phone with Weber well after midnight. (Weber reportedly expressed concerns about getting a job in Michigan with an Ohio State degree.)
Early on NSD — when Weber was seen as a 50/50 decision by most people not nicknamed the Lord of Whispers — Michigan received a surprise flip in the form of three-star RB Karan Higdon, who until then was an Iowa commit.
Obviously, Michigan would still take Weber still wanted to flip. But, how did Weber take the news?
Weber said he last talked to Harbaugh for five minutes on the way here to inform him on his decision.
— Josh Newkirk (@JoshNewkirk7) February 4, 2015
Mike Weber on Karan Higdon commitment to U-M affecting his decision: "It kind of got an edge on it. ...
— Josh Newkirk (@JoshNewkirk7) February 4, 2015
Weber continued: "I thought I was the only back getting recruited in that class. ...
— Josh Newkirk (@JoshNewkirk7) February 4, 2015
Weber continued: "When I heard he committed, I was like 'there you go.' That was the answer.That's what it was."
— Josh Newkirk (@JoshNewkirk7) February 4, 2015
I guess that's why they say actions speak louder than words.
Oh, and it looks like we can give up the dream of Ezekiel Elliott tying Archie Griffin's Heisman record:
Mike Weber on choosing Ohio St.: "I have a really good relationship with Zeke Elliott. "He told me he's leaving after this year." #GoBucks
— George Sipple (@GeorgeSipple) February 4, 2015
Well, I guess that's not exactly shocking.
OH, SAM HUBBARD IS GOING TO PROM. Continuing on the #teentrain we have rolling this morning: Sam Hubbard better get one of those awful tuxedo things ready:
Alright so here's the deal I need 15k to take this ohio state hunk @Sam_Hubbard_ to prom so retweet this pic.twitter.com/Arsm3ZBLaX
— sariah yackee (@sariahyackee) February 5, 2015
This appears to be Stephen Collier's orchestration, and you won't be surprised to learn the long con is definitely afoot:
@jramstetter15 @sariahyackee @Sam_Hubbard_ I'm just trying to hit up the after party
— Stephen Collier (@S13Collier) February 5, 2015
To which I say: Prom is bad, actually.
All the proms in America should be cancelled, as in, like, tomorrow. Does anybody look back on their prom experience and say, "Wow, that was cool and good?" (Only me and Kyle Rowland, because we got drunk [on our platonic love] before our junior prom and rolled up to school in a red cab wearing street clothes.) The answer is no, because people do things like wear braces rented limo that's going to Olive Garden.
Ban. the. prom.
THE FLAGS ARE PLANTED. This is Urban's third straight class with more out-of-state signees than Ohioans. (That would definitely be a gripe by a lot of fans if Meyer was the kind of coach that lost three games a season.)
I, however, don't mind the expansion of Ohio State's brand from sea to sea:
FLAGS PLANTED! S/O to the #ELITE15 class! @markpantoni @CoachZachSmith #NSD15 #SammySilvDesigns pic.twitter.com/dGAW4D6P3i
— Samuel Silverman (@SammySilv) February 4, 2015
Next year they need to get Ed Warinner a few hundred pounds of some Tongan beef.
MARK PANTONI, TAKE A BOW. Urban Meyer called Ohio State's Director of Player Personnel a "diamond" yesterday. He gets his props from any Ohio State fan worth a damn, but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve more props today for another sterling recruiting class:
We out (drops the )
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) February 4, 2015
Hopefully Pantoni allows himself to hit the snooze button once or twice this morning; I think he's earned that. (Although, I wouldn't even be surprised if he doesn't even need an alarm clock.)
THOSE WMDs. Greg Oden picked a good day to settle battery charges... Detroit/Marion drug dealers hit with 74 years for selling dope in the City of Kings... This is why I would be leery of any #teen neighbor... Oh, don't do it... Jim Harbaugh talks squirting pickles...
