Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Tressel's Talent


During the month of February college football comes back to life for a short period of time. For college football fans, this time of month is huge for their favorite team. February is know as “college football recruiting month.” Coaches spend years recruiting athletes to their schools and it all comes down to National Signing Day, February 7th. Signing day is where the nation’s top football high school seniors decided where they will play their next four, sometimes three, years of football. Every February 7th is filled with heartbreaks and shocking decisions.


I personally keep watch on Ohio State’s recruiting classes year round. This gives me an idea of how talented the Buckeyes will be each season, and how they stack up against other recruiting classes and future teams.


Since Jim Tressel took the head coaching job at Ohio State, the Buckeye’s recruiting classes have strongly improved. With Tressel as head coach, excluding this year’s class, the Buck’s recruiting has always been in the top 25, if not, in the top 10. With commits like Tedd Ginn Jr., Troy Smith, Terrelle Pryor, Chris Wells, Anthony Gonzalez, etc. I would say Tressel is a VERY good recruiter.


That brings us to this year’s class of ’10. This year was the first time I can remember Ohio State not having a top 25 recruiting class (according to Rivals.com, Scout.com or ESPN.com). As I read outside blogs about the Buckeye recruiting class of ’10, I find myself reading a lot of negative feedback towards Tressel and his “lack of aggression” in this year’s recruiting.


The Ohio State University and Jim Tressel would never recruit an athlete that wouldn’t benefit the team. Although the Bucks didn’t draw in any five stars (considered best athletes in the country) in this year’s class, Tressel has created more five stars then he has recruited.


In the 2005 class, Tressel used two scholarships on two three-stared athletes. James Laurinaitis, and Malcolm Jenkins. Both of these underrated football players were drafted in the first round and were HUGE influences on the Buckeye defense. A.J. Hawk and Santonio Holmes are more examples of underrated athletes that coach Jim Tressel has turned in to five star prospects.


No matter the ratings or the stars Ohio State recruits receive, I will always trust Tressel’s decision when it comes to recruiting.

6 comments:

  1. Yeah I will go with you on that Jim Tressel has my trust. In the past few years he has recruited some top stars. This year everyone is blaming Tressel for not being aggressive this season. I think he done a good job. Hey they won the Rose Bowl. I think they should lay off of him a little and let him coach because I don’t think there is another coach out there as good as he is. Also I heard that Pryor is doing good after his surgery if you didn’t know. He had surgery from the regular season sprang on his knee.

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  2. According to Rivals.com, the Big Ten didn't do so hot overall. I wonder if we'll ever see a return to the Big Ten's prominence in recruiting, or if the warm-weather schools will forever be a more attractive destination.

    Plus, when was the last time Michigan's recruiting class was ranked higher than OSU's?

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  3. I for one, am gettin' sick pf everyone bashing Tressel back n forth. It's so frustrating. He's an NFL caliber coach!! If they don't like his methods, than oh well. Those same methods are what got us a national championship, and a second chance at it twice!

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  4. Yeah, but out of all those "big time" recruiting classes that Ohio State has had how many championships have they had in recent memory. Last time I checked the last time they won a National Championship was all the way back when Krenzel was starting QB- and he definately wasnt a top line recruit. And since he has gotten "better" players since then- what has happened to the team? They have floundered, being beaten soundly by warm weather schools. Maybe it's time to get rid of Tressel all together and get a coach that can win. One that isn't afraid to be aggressive. One that isn't afraid to knock a team out while they have the chance. A coach that can win.

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  5. I would have to agree with your last statement about Jim Tressel, he really knows what he’s doing. Just because someone may not be ranked the best doesn’t mean anything with Tressel as the head coach. He really knows how to bring out the best in any recruit that he picks. He knows that there are talents behind these people that no one else can see just yet. So I will always trust Tressel in his picks for the season. I’m looking forward to what this next season bring for our college football, and the only words that can describe how I feel are GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!

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