It’s time to look at the early offers in 2012 that can be jointly descried as a “wish list”.
All of these prospects are some of the best in the country, but due to various reasons (mostly location and competition), the chances of them heading to Columbus aren’t particularly high.
Many of these players are defensive backs from Florida. The good news is that it seems like the the staff feels confident in landing at least a few of them.
My theory is that the Florida DBs are why almost all of the best Ohio DBs are currently lacking offers.
So we have that little bit of hope to hang on to.
If the Buckeyes receive a commitment from any one of these players it would be fantastic; more than one would really push the 2012 class into the stratosphere.
So without further ado, here are some of the best players in the country that might wear scarlet and gray in the future.
(Note: I’ve tried to only list players that have expressed interest in visiting Ohio State, have visited Ohio State, or have listed the Buckeyes as one of their favorites at some point.)
10. Noor Davis (LB)
Highlights: Video #1, Video #2
Offers: Ohio State, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami (FL), Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC, Stanford, Tennessee, Nebraska, UCLA, Boston College, Louisville, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Purdue, South Carolina, South Florida, Syracuse, UCF, Virginia, West Virginia
Noor Davis is one of the top LB prospects in the country (he is also an oustanding student and holds a 4.3 GPA as his highlight video points out). His size and athletic ability remind me of Etienne Sabino in high school.
Davis’ dad played at Purdue and he has visited many northern schools, including Ohio State. He plans on naming a top five over the summer and has already decided that Notre Dame and Florida will be among his top schools. While he has clearly shown interest in the Buckeyes, Davis fits the bill of a long shot to the T.
Highlights: Video #1
Offers: Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Georgia, USC, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Louisville, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Miss, Stanford, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, West Virginia
Travis Blanks is one of the top players in the country, and certainly one of the best defensive backs. He sometimes lists Ohio State amongst his top schools, and as Lloyd Christmas once said, “so you’re tellin’ me there’s a chance?!” Unfortunately, it will be next to impossible to pull him out of the south.
I hate to be a downer, but Blanks changes his list regularly with the only constant being plenty of southern schools. On top of that, he considers his choice a “business decision” which isn’t exactly one of Jim Tressel’s main pitches to a player.
Don’t hold your breath on this one, but you can keep playing the dumb and dumber video if you’d like.
Highlights: Video #1
Offers: Ohio State, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami (FL), North Carolina, Oregon, South Florida, Tennessee, UCF
Ricardo Louis is a tremendous athlete that could contribute in numerous ways at whatever college he chooses. He is listed as a QB/S for his high school, but his highlights are almost exclusively on offense and he projects best as a WR at the next level.
His offer sheet is impressive and he is enjoying the recruiting process, which usually doesn’t bode well for Ohio State’s chances. Still, he is the kind of talent that you would love to see in Columbus and the staff will continue to pursue him, no matter how slim the possibility of success may be (right now I’d say he’s going to be a Hurricane).
Highlights: Video #1, Video #2
Offers: Ohio State, Alabama, Miami (FL), Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Iowa, Maryland, NC State, Purdue, Rutgers, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, West Virginia
An off the charts offensive weapon in the mold of Reggie Bush, Cyrus Jones is being recruited by schools across the country.
He says he would like to visit Ohio State, but until that happens, you have to consider him the longest of long shots. Even after a visit, it will still be a difficult recruitment.
Highlights: Video #1 (first player in video)
Offers: Ohio State, Wake Forrest, West Virginia, Florida International, UCF, Western Michigan
Amari Cooper is a more recent Ohio State target, but his highlights really jump out at you. He has a great first step and gets excellent separation with his speed and crisp routes. He was looking for an offer from Ohio State and hopes to visit Columbus in the future which are both good signs.
Confession time, I didn’t look at his offers (only his highlights, I assumed everyone was after him) before putting him on the long shot list.
Ohio State is clearly his top offer right now which improves their chances. However, he missed the entire 2010 season to injury, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see his offers blow up over the summer at camps upon proving he has recovered.
Either way, the Buckeyes got in early on an outstanding WR. If he makes it to Columbus for a visit, Amari Cooper may quickly become a serious contender for one of the WR spots in the 2012 class.
Highlights: Video #1
Offers: Ohio State, South Carolina, Auburn, Nebraska, Tennessee, Boston College, Michigan State, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Mississippi, Purdue, South Florida, UCF, Vanderbilt, West Virginia
Jordan Diggs is another great Florida DB. Out of all of the early Ohio State offers in the secondary, he has the most impressive highlight video in terms of putting hits on people. He is physical and great in run support and likely projects as a strong safety or star for the Buckeyes.
Diggs grew up a fan of South Carolina due to heavy family connections (his father played there) but says he is open to going anywhere. He was in Columbus for Ohio State’s spring game and is friends with 2011 commit Jeff Heuerman. While these are obviously positive signs for the Buckeyes, it is always difficult to close the deal on players with so many offers from the south.
Highlights: Video #1
Offers: Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan State, Auburn, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State
Without a doubt one of the top offensive tackle prospects in the midwest this year, Jonah Pirsig would be a huge pick up for the Buckeyes at a serious position of need. He seems to be favoring schools that are closer to home (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa) at the moment, but he has visited Ohio State and enjoyed it (of course).
Pirsig has said in the past that he would like to camp in Columbus this summer. If that happens, it would be a huge step in the right direction for the good guys. However, if he only camps locally (which he has also expressed interest in), he would remain a long shot for the Buckeyes.
Highlights: Video #1
Offers: Ohio State, Michigan, Auburn, Arkansas, Florida State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan State, Northwestern, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, West Virginia
The Buckeyes haven’t been shy about targeting some long shot offensive tackles in 2012 (because they really need them). Jordan Diamond seems to be one that the Buckeyes have a better chance at landing than the rest.
Ohio State and Michigan look like his top two schools right now (with Michigan being the favorite due to his former teammate Chris Bryant going there), but some southern schools are making a strong push, along with plenty of schools in the Midwest (Wisconsin and Notre Dame, mostly).
Diamond is explosive off the line of scrimmage and is clearly one of the top tackles in the midwest. Ohio State’s depth chart and early playing time have to be a real draw for tackles in 2012 and a great selling point for the staff, so fingers crossed.
Highlights: Video #1
Offers: Ohio State, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Miami (FL), Florida, Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Louisville, Mississippi, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Miss, Texas Tech
T.J. Davis was one of Ohio State’s first offers in the 2012 class, and based on the rest of his offer list, it’s pretty easy to see why. He says he wants to camp at Ohio State this summer and also wants to set up a visit.
If either of those things happen, Ohio State’s chances of landing one of the top DBs in the country will go up significantly. Until then, we can only wait and speculate.
Highlights: Video #1, Video #2 (starts at :57), Video #3
Offers: Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami (FL), Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Mississippi, West Virginia, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Purdue, Rutgers
Deon Bush is yet another elite defensive back from Florida. He looks great at safety in game film and can also play corner.
In one-on-one drills (Video #2) he is extremely aggressive in press coverage and looks like the type of physical cornerback that you would love to see in Columbus (Malcolm Jenkins v 2.0).
Deon basically has his choice of colleges across the country, but says he is very interested in the Buckeyes and is familiar with 2011 commits Ryan Shazier and Jeremy Cash. His brother plays for Purdue, so Deon’s family is not afraid to head north of the Mason-Dixon.
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