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Success alone won't sell Ohio State to recruits
Ohio State still has to work hard to convince some players to commit.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
COLUMBUS — Ohio State's banner success over the last five football seasons has gotten the attention of high school prospects around the nation, but that hasn't brought any relief to coach Jim Tressel or his staff on the recruiting trail.
Getting commitments from highly touted players is still grueling.
Extras
"You know how it is with young people," Tressel said. "Some guys turn on a TV, and a certain team excites them. And sometimes it's Ohio State. I don't know if there's been a bump (in interest) per se. But because of the way our kids have played — and they've been in some big venues and have been noticed far and wide — people are interested. Now, it's a matter of having them decide that this is the one place they want to be."
While Ohio is still the Buckeyes' primary recruiting ground, Tressel knows he has to cross state borders to collect enough talent to compete for national titles. But it takes a special breed of player to come to OSU from Florida or elsewhere.
"Kids that choose to go some distance from home are very confident kids, very motivated kids, kids that want to have another experience," he said. "Then there are other kids who just as soon would not and are very comfortable with their experiences. But I think there's a certain confidence level it takes to step outside your comfort zone."
Winning the recruiting game
Former Ohio State safety Nate Salley, a captain on the 2005 Big Ten title team, had such a positive experience in his four years at the school that he persuaded his parents to paint their Fort Lauderdale, Fla., home scarlet and gray, plastering a giant "O" on the garage door.
The Ohio State theme may be priceless advertising in that recruiting hotbed — Salley's high school alma mater, St. Thomas Aquinas, sent 11 players to Division I-A colleges on scholarship last year — but the truth is the football program doesn't need much more promotion.
The success under coach Jim Tressel in the last five seasons has raised the profile of the Buckeyes nationally and has galvanized their recruiting efforts beyond the state's borders.
"Ohio State is one of those programs where, if a kid has the Buckeyes on his tail, you know he's going to seriously consider them before he says no," said Allen Wallace, national recruiting editor for Scout.com and publisher of SuperPrep Magazine. "Since Tressel has been the head coach, there's more of a feeling that Ohio State is going to contend for a national championship every year.
"When it comes to a big game, you know he's going to have his guys ready. That's really attractive to recruits because they want to be led. They want direction from somebody who they think has an edge. When you look at Tressel's record and the kids he's bringing in, there are some things he's figured out that maybe some other coaches haven't."
The Buckeyes have won three BCS bowls in the last four years — a feat matched only by Southern Cal — and will be shooting for their second national title in five years when they face Florida on Jan. 8.
They also have a 55-8 record in that span and have won or shared three Big Ten crowns.
"Exposure is the name of the game," said Bill Conley, who was OSU's recruiting coordinator for 13 years before going into private business in 2004. "When you're a team that's on national TV as much as the Buckeyes have been, and when you're playing for the national championship, that press is really crucial — especially out of state.
"Ohio State should get the majority of the players in-state. But on a national scale, that's huge. It gives you a chance. You still have to do your work. It's a lot of hard work, a lot of grinding, a lot of phone calls. But it really helps you at least get your foot in the door and maybe get a visit out of a kid."
The Buckeyes have managed over the last decade to pluck a prospect or two out of talent-rich Florida each year, but they're winning head-to-head battles — perhaps for the first time — against Miami, Florida State and Florida for the state's premier players this year.
James Scott of Daytona Beach, Fla., rated the 12th-best cornerback nationally by Scout.com, had committed to the Gators, but he surprised folks at his Seabreeze High School team banquet by reneging and choosing OSU.
Brian Rolle of Immokalee, Fla., rated the seventh-best weak-side linebacker by Scout, also chose the Buckeyes over the Gators and others.
Floridafb.com's Larry Bluestein, considered perhaps the leading authority on recruiting in Florida, believes the Buckeyes' surge this season is supplying them with even more clout.
"When you look at a BCS team that's going to be on TV like Ohio State is, that's going to be in the spotlight every day after the Jan. 1 games are done, a kid will go, 'At this time next year, Ohio State is going to be pretty good, and I think I can fit in that situation,' " he said.
The Buckeyes' reputation for being a springboard to the NFL hasn't hurt, either. They had a record 14 players drafted in 2004, and they had five first-round picks last year — one short of the all-time mark.
They've had 41 players drafted since 2002, 21 more than rival Michigan.
Duane Long, publisher of Ohio High magazine and recruiting analyst for Bucknuts.com, said OSU's history of being a pipeline to the pros has become a chief factor in luring prospects from outside Ohio.
"You can talk about bowl games, but that thing in late April that the NFL does — the draft — has a great deal to do with how well the school is going to recruit the following year," he said. "When kids see players come off the board consistently from a position they play, that's going to matter."
The Buckeyes have 13 verbal commitments in the 2007 class (signing day is Feb. 7) with several more prospects in their crosshairs, including one from Salley's old school.
St. Thomas Aquinas safety Major Wright — considered a surefire pro by Bluestein — made an official visit to OSU during the Michigan weekend. And none of his peers is questioning why he would consider a school so far from home.
"It's a great program," he said. "Knowing that it's up and running, and it's just going to be on a great run for a long time, I guess kids are starting to realize that."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125
or at dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
