 Ho hum, another day in Buckeye land with another commitment. The latest comes from Cleveland Heights offensive tackle Kyle Dodson (6’6″ 310 lbs). Dodson is the finishing touch on what has turned into a solid group of 2012 offensive linemen for the Buckeyes. He joins Taylor Decker, Joey O’Connor, Patrick Elflein, and Jacoby Boren in the class. At one point not that long ago, this group looked like it could be in serious trouble. Filling the depth at tackle was particularly concerning for the future. Thankfully, Meyer turned that around in a big way- securing commitments from Dodson and Decker at tackle and throwing in O’Connor for good measure. Despite the strong finish from Meyer, Dodson’s decision to be a Buckeye was far from a sure thing throughout his recruitment. After saying that Ohio State was his dream school early on in the process, Kyle committed to Wisconsin over the summer after Coach Tressel left Ohio State. Needless to say, the turmoil surrounding Columbus was a big factor in that decision. This left many Buckeye fans disheartened to watch an Ohio kid at a huge position of need leaving to join the opposition. When news started to swirl that Ohio State was back in play thanks to Urban Meyer, that feeling of loss turned to excitement. An Ohio player had the Buckeye back on top and all was right with the world again. Even after news got out that Dodson was a heavy Buckeye lean again, he took his time and officially re-opened his recruitment. He took several official visits before choosing Ohio State over offers from Auburn, Bama, Nebraska, Notre Dame, MSU, Illinois, Michigan, WVU, Wisconsin, NC State and others. As usual, those offers speak for themselves. Watching Kyle on film, he has ideal size, flexibility, athleticism and length to play left tackle. He has the ability to open and drop into pass protection, but I was also impressed by his quickness off the ball and his leverage to run block. The potential to be great is obviously there, but one potential concern is that Dodson has been sidelined injuries throughout his high school career. He dealt with a back injury his junior year which resulted in him missing half the season. This past year he dealt with a torn labrum that held him out of the USAAB. Hopefully, he comes in over the summer with a clean bill of health and leaves the injuries behind him. Here is a look at what he can do when healthy:
Welcome to the Ohio State family, Kyle! |
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