Why Recruiting Is Creepy

ESPN has proven that it is not only the world leader in sports, but the world leader in being downright creepy about high school kids. Talking about Ohio running back Bud Golden:


"He is a tall, well-built kid with the body structure to hold an additional 15-20 pounds of lean bulk to complement his downhill, north-south running style. His frame really impresses you without pads on. While lean, you can see his naturally strong, well-defined upper-body with the broad shoulders to eventually carry more weight and the load as a college running back."

Well, if that ESPN gig doesn't work out, I heard Fabio is looking for a writer for his next romance novel.

I have to go shower now...

Head Shots from 5/20/08

Big Ten Coaches Want a Break: Coaches are proposing a 2 week quiet period in the summer where recruits would be off limits from the dirty old men stalking them, also known as coaches and recruiters. The story was posted on ESPN and within minutes, comments popped up with suck gems as "This is why the Big Ten sucks" and "Sure, give Carroll, Meyer and Stoops 2 weeks alone with the Midwest’s blue chip recruits".

Mark May busy at work again, I see. His cohorts in comments were ‘McSheezyThaDraftMan’ and ‘MelKiperMustDie’. No idea who THAT could be, Todd.

Perrilloux Finds a Home: Ryan Perrilloux has signed his scholarship papers in AL-A-BA-MA! No, not the Crimson Tide, but Jacksonville State. RP can now play next season without riding the pine as he would transferring to a D1A school, which was important since he had already burned his redshirt season (along with the bridges behind him). Was that the season he was in a FBI counterfeiting investigation or and incident with a fake ID and a riverboat casino?

Sports Illustrated has commentary on the situation, with nothing but praise towards Perrilloux, explaining how well he played against Middle Tennessee State and Tennessee. In that case, he’s already shown he can be successful against D1-AA caliber defenses.

JSU currently has no quarterback on the team, which was also a positive in Perrilloux’s eyes. Was Jacksonville State without a QB because of graduation or injury? No, and we can’t make this up, he was kicked off the team. Funny how the world works.

Julio Jones for President: You know your school loves football when a football player gets third place in the Student Council President race. You know your school REALLY loves football when that player is a write in candidate who has yet to step on campus. Really tall Bama recruit and one member of Nick Saban’s 110 man recruiting class, Julio Jones is already a fan favorite.

Look out, we might have Terrelle Pryor elected as Governor of Ohio if this keeps up.

"I’m Terrelle Pryor, and I approve this message."

Jim Tressel Invades Florida: Open spots on the 2009 Ohio State football team are disappearing faster than small children at an elementary school when Charlie Weis got wrong directions to the all-you-can-eat buffet. (Note: Poe is implying Charlie Weis eats small children and house pets. Everyone is dogging on Charlie. 3-9, 3-9). JT has been quite the jet-setter, keeping tabs on recruits in Florida, Maryland, Tennessee (third time I had to type that word) and California.

Ohio State is currently on the short list for so many Florida kids, you’d think we replaced Florida State in the Big Three (we have). Two running backs, several defensive backs, and several wide receivers are getting the JT love, to the point where they might not have enough spots for everyone.

Two of the kids are amongst the fastest in the Speed State (hey, it was Microsoft that had me capitalize it). It’s just a shame that they might move north and play in the Big Ten and steal all the speed from the ACC. Yes, the ACC. Not surprisingly, many of the kids are also on Urban Meyer’s radar. No, he really has a radar. Unless you have the speed of a twin engine Cessna, he will not recruit you. Thus the call into Michigan’s tight end (non-existent in any Ohio State-Michigan game), who blew past the entire Florida defense on a screen.

All Aboard!

Another Monday, another Ohio State recruit commitment. Corey Lindsey, big Ohio offensive lineman, decided to pull the trigger on OSU because that’s who he grew up rooting for and that’s where his mama wanted him to go (good lady). Lindsey was also considering Notre Dame and, gasp, Stanford. It means that Jim Tressel and his staff feel like you can never have enough offensive lineman, and Poe agrees.

So that makes 13 commitments.

Of course, if Ohio State was a member of the SEC or ACC, they would still have 18-20 more recruits to sign (here’s lookin’ at you Miami (Fl) and Alabama). But, alas, they are not and it looks like the 2009 class could top out with 8ish more kids. Me thinks a Glenville kid or two, a running back or two, and a WR or two (especially a 6’5" Randy Moss-Calvin Johnson-freak), and then the staff can call it a recruiting season.

UPDATE: Make it 14, as Zach Boren did what we all thought he would and picked the Buckeyes. These boys sure are ‘Ohio State Men’.

Which offer is the most prestigious?

It’s the age-old question. What school do players consider is the most prestigious offer? It’s the offer that puts a kid on the map and makes people stop and talk about it. No matter where you are in this country, you get the offer from this school and people just assume it’s where you are going…

#1) USC: Hate to say it, fellow Buckeyes, but it’s hard to beat the USC offer. Players from Ohio and Michigan get the USC offer and even the obsessed recruiting followers just assume it will be hard to beat. It’s more than just Pete Carroll and the school. Sure I bet Petey makes it fun and you can all laugh together, but I think the biggest draw is the fact it’s Southern California and the rest are just perks. Columbus, Norman, South Bend, and Gainesville just aren’t LA. There’s no other explanation for the stockpile of running backs than that.

#2) Ohio State: Who Ohio State offers, Ohio State gets (usually). While OSU has predominantly stuck with Ohio boys, more and more athletes from around the country are flocking to Columbus. Example A) Etienne Sabino was a FLA boys and had is USC offer. Sabino, the #1 rated inside linebacker, picks the Buckeyes. Tressel and his staff don’t waste your time or theirs, signing 20 of the 24 kids that officially visited for 2008 (that’s like 80% conversion rate). More and more Florida kids are visiting along with PA kids, Maryland kids, but call me when Tressel starts invading California.

#3) Florida: Urban Meyer must have some positives (though Poe sees none of them, as the Southern boys stay Southern boys and play for Florida. Who else would they play for? Florida State? Miami? Meyer is as lucky as he is good. A lot of kids want to play in Florida, but would rather not play in the ACC. Around 60% of kids in the Rivals100 have Florida listed as a school they are interested in, and I’m sure Urban calls everyone.

Which offer is the least prestigious?

Know what it takes to rebuild? Offers to everybody and their brothers and their brothers’ friends. The next 3 teams are not necessary bad teams, but face an uphill battle in terms of being all that relevant again.

#1) Alabama: Roll Tide. Roll Nick Saban. Roll 50 recruits a season. Saban needs them and he doesn’t want you to worry about the numbers. There’s something I’ve never liked about Saban.

#2) Miami (Fl): Going from having teams stacked with NFL players to QBs who complete 1 of 15 passes, The U might have to change its name to The O for offer after the size of the class they brought in. Bad News is that you now have to put the (Fl) so people know who you are talking about. Good news for Miami is that all those years in the beginning of the millennium help in recruiting.

#3) Illinois: I sent in video of myself sitting at my desk. A week later, I got an in home visit from his staff telling me about how I could get a lot of playing time for the Illini. Oh Zooker. He can sell Rose Bowl appearances, beating Ohio State at home, and playing time, but we still know that 200 kids have been offered for the 25 slots.