OSU recruits aren’t rushing

By Ken Gordon

The Columbus Dispatch

COLUMBUS

Has the NCAA investigation into the Ohio State football program affected recruiting?

The numbers suggest so, but everyone says no.

It’s logical to assume that high-school prospects would avoid committing to OSU right now. The Buckeyes are preparing for an Aug. 12 date before the NCAA committee on infractions that will decide their fate.

OSU could be given an increase of Coach Jim Tressel’s five-game suspension, as well as a postseason ban or scholarship reductions. Nothing is clear, but nothing is off the table, either.

The news that Tressel committed a major NCAA violation came down March 8, which in recent years has been in the heart of a period when OSU usually lands about a half-dozen commitments.

For the recruiting classes of 2007 through 2011, OSU averaged six players committing in the months of February through May.

But this spring, it has been very quiet on the recruiting front. The Buckeyes went from early December to late April without any commitments, and have just two since then.

One of those, receiver Frank Epitropoulos from Upper Arlington, is the son of a former OSU player who lives almost within the shadow of Ohio Stadium. The other is Blake Thomas, a tight end from Cleveland St. Ignatius.

But several Ohio high school coaches who have players being recruited by OSU say they detect no concern about Ohio State’s future among their kids.

“Not with the kids around here,” said Ron Johnson, the Canton McKinley coach who has a heavily pursued defensive lineman, Se’Von Pittman. “What happens is the guys are always going to judge the value and integrity of a coach and a program as you know it right now. There’s such a respect factor for that program and Coach Tressel that’s so well-established; that’s not going to waver.”

In addition to the low numbers of recent commitments, the other eye-opening recruiting development recently was the news that running back Brionte Dunn of Canton GlenOak, who committed to OSU last year, decided to visit Michigan.

Could the Buckeyes be taking a step back in their class of 2012?

“No, he’s 100 percent committed to Ohio State,” GlenOak coach Scott Garcia said. “He just wanted to go out and see some other places, kind of compare different places and different facilities.”

Garcia said the NCAA investigation, “hasn’t been an issue at all,” with Dunn.

The fact OSU has only seven members in its class so far is not a big deal. The Buckeyes have only enough scholarships to sign 18 to 20 players this year.

In 2008, OSU signed 20 players and had a class ranked No. 4 nationally by both Rivals.com and Scout.com.

Allen Trieu, Midwest recruiting manager for Scout.com, agrees with the coaches that OSU is not being hurt much by recent events. But he does see one effect.

“I think some kids may be holding off [committing],” Trieu said. “Some of them may have taken a wait-and-see approach. I do think normally, a couple other kids would have committed already.”

Trieu mentioned Pittman and defensive lineman Adolphus Washington of Cincinnati Taft as players in that waiting category.

Mike Martin, Washington’s coach at Taft, repeated what other coaches said about OSU’s reputation.

“I think the tradition of Ohio State stands out more than anything,” Martin said.

But Johnson points out that the wait-and-see approach is irrelevant, because even committed players can change their minds up until February when they sign a letter of intent.

“Some of these guys are just doing their due diligence, doing the camp circuits in the spring and summer,” Johnson said. “Everybody believes everything [at OSU] is going to work out.”