Commits: 17 | ESPNU 150: 4
The Buckeyes currently trail Penn State in the class rankings, but still remain a force on the recruiting trail within the conference. This class is currently not as strong as their previous two, but is still a good haul. They have four ESPNU 150 prospects on board, including two Under Armour All-Americans in wide receiver James Louis (Delray Beach, Fla./Atlantic Community) and the versatile Corey Brown (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara). The Buckeyes are also bringing in a quartet of defensive linemen led by the physically impressive Darryl Baldwin (Solon, Ohio/Solon) and David Durham (Charlotte, N.C./Christian). Durham is a versatile and physical defender who could develop into a Thaddeus Gibson-like player for the Buckeyes.
Top prospect: Despite landing one of the top running backs in last year's class, the Buckeyes' 2010 class is once again headed by a running back. Roderick Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind./Harding) is a big back with an impressive size-to-speed ratio. While he is a physically impressive back he is athletic and can hit the cutback lane, make defenders miss and create big plays.
Don't be surprised if: The Buckeyes' class makes a run at the top spot within the conference. Linebacker Jordan Hicks (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) may be a bit of a long shot, but top offensive line prospect Seantrel Henderson (Saint Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall), offensive tackle Matt James (Cincinnati/Saint Xavier) and safety Christian Bryant (Cleveland/Glenville) remain strong possibilities.
2010 Buckeye Football RecruitsFB PG Carlos Hyde
OT 2 Andrew Norwell
MLB 3 Scott McVey
OLB 6 Jamel Turner
K 6 Drew Basil
RB 8 Roderick Smith
CB 8 Christian Bryant
WR 25 Corey Brown
WR 29 James Louis
WR 32 Tyrone Williams
Cleveland (OH) Glenville senior Christian Bryant committed to Ohio State Tuesday afternoon. Bryant, long rumored to be a Buckeye lean, pledged to Ohio State, after naming North Carolina as his second choice. The four-star defensive back is commitment number 18 for Ohio State in the class of 2010. Bill Greene attended the ceremony at the school, and filed this report.
Turner, Buckeyes Looking to Put WVU Loss Behind Them
By Brandon Castel www.theozone.net
The 9th-ranked Mountaineers rallied from a 40-28 deficit to knock off the Buckeyes in their last non-conference test of the season, and Turner said Tuesday he is looking to put the loss and his second-half performance in the rearview mirror.
“It’s hard to get over giving up a lead like that, but it happened and it’s in the past and you’ve got to get over it and get ready for the next game,” said Turner, who missed all five of his shots in the second half and went just 5-of-9 from the free throw line down the stretch.
Despite the loss, the Buckeyes 14-6 (4-3 Big Ten) moved up one spot in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings to No. 20 this week based primarily on the fact they outplayed one of the top 10 teams in the country on their own floor for more than 20 minutes.
“There were stretches at West Virginia where we played as well as we have in a long time,” said Ohio State Head Coach Thad Matta, who watched his team shoot 55 percent from the floor and the three-point line in the first half.
“That was one of the best teams we’ve played this year. They are going to make plays. We weren’t able to get the stops we needed. We got split on our traps a couple of times and they made us pay for it. We didn’t switch a couple times when we were supposed to switch. We were just slow to rotate a couple of times.
“You can get away with that against a lot of teams, but not against them.”
Not against Iowa either.
After starting the season 5-11, the Hawkeyes 8-12 (2-5) have won three of their last four games, including a 58-43 win at Indiana Sunday. They gave Michigan State all they could handle in a 70-63 loss in East Lansing and Matta believes coach Todd Lickliter has his team peaking as the Buckeyes head to Iowa City for Big Ten matchup with the Hawkeyes Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network).
“I think so. They’ve won three of their last four games. They played Michigan State in a tight battle. They have some young guys on the team. It appears they are definitely playing their best basketball,” said Matta, who was quick to point out that Iowa played Ohio State tough in both games last season, with the Buckeyes coming out on top 68-65 in Columbus and 60-58 at Iowa.
“I have always viewed Iowa as dangerous. … Every Big Ten opponent is going to be dangerous. The fact is once you get to a point in the season, every game – regardless of who you’re playing and the name on the jersey – you’re going to be in a dogfight.”
The Buckeyes weren’t so fortunate during Turner’s rookie season at Ohio State, as they were upset 53-48 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena as the Hawkeyes knocked down 11 threes, including 6-of-10 in the second half while the Buckeyes went just 3-of-21 from behind the arc.
“We have to do what we do. The game two years ago, we didn’t do what we do. We didn’t go in there with the right mentality,” Turner said Tuesday.
“We looked at it as a non-serious game and we got killed for that. One kid hit eight threes. As long as we come in and play our defense and run our offense and execute, we will be fine.”
That one kid was Justin Johnson, and while he is no longer around, the Hawkeyes are taking nearly 48 percent of their shots from behind the arc this season. Sophomore Matt Gatens is the team’s leading scorer at 12.8 points per game this season and he has launched 109 of his 212 shots from long range.
Fellow guard Anthony Tucker is second on the team at 11.9 points a night, and 96 of his 124 shots have come from three-point land.
“You have to keep your hands up and come out aggressive. At this level, if you have your hands down at any point it’s going up,” Turner said.
The Buckeyes have allowed at least nine threes in each of the past four games, including 10 to West Virginia and 10 to Purdue – eight of which came off the hands of Robbie Hummel in the first half – so they know they will need to tighten up the defense for the stretch run.
“You’ve got to have a great sense of energy when you cross that half court line to play defense,” said Matta, who drilled his team on getting low on defense and closing out on shooters during practice Monday.
They will get a chance to put Matta’s lessons to the test against Iowa on the road, where they are just 1-5 this season.
Iowa Projects Starting Lineup:
F 50 Jarryd Cole (6-7, Jr.)
F 24 Aaron Fuller (6-6, So.)
F 25 Eric May (6-5, Fr.)
G Matt Gatens (6-5, So.)
G Cully Payne (6-1, Fr.)
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