Buckeye Banter: Tressel Quietly Assembles Yet Another Monster Recruiting Class

by Kristofer Green
BlockONation Columnist



The recruiting talk in the Big Ten has centered primarily around Joe Paterno and the impressive group of 13 verbal commitments he and his staff have assembled.

The talk then usually turns to Rich Rodriguez who also has one of the top recruiting classes in the Big Ten.

But don't forget about Jim Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The past two seasons Tressel has signed the top recruiting class in the Big Ten and those classes have ranked in the top five nationally.

This season the man with the sweater vest is quietly on his way toward signing another very talented class.

First came commitments from ESPNU 150 Watch List offensive tackle Andrew Norwell (Cincinnati) and ESPNU 150 Watch List linebacker Jamel Turner (Youngstown, Ohio).

Then in recent weeks, Tressel and Ohio State have landed oral commitments from one of the Midwest's top running backs—Roderick Smith (Ft. Wayne, Ind.), the top kicker in the state of Ohio—Drew Basil (Chillicothe), and a talented quarterback in Taylor Graham (Wheaton, Ill.).

Last week, Tressel added a commitment from ESPNU 150 Watch List defensive end Darryl Baldwin (Solon, Ohio). Penn State, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Michigan, and many others were also in the mix for Baldwin.

Tressel now has nine verbal commitments, including five ESPNU 150 Watch List prospects and four of the top six prospects in the state of Ohio.

The Buckeyes are still in the mix and could still land several outstanding uncommitted prospects from the state of Ohio, including Under Armour All-American linebacker Jordan Hicks (West Chester) and ESPNU 150 Watch List offensive lineman Matt James (Cincinnati).

The Buckeyes are also locked in on the nation's top prospect—offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson (St. Paul, Minn.) as well as a number of other top uncommitted prospects from outside the state of Ohio.

Tressel is assembling another outstanding class for Ohio State—one that could potentially be another top 10 class nationally.

7/29/09 UPDATE:

Florida WR James Louis has decommited from the University of Florida and has made a verbal commitment to play for Ohio State.

Louis (5-11, 178) is the No. 31-ranked receiver in the country according to Rivals.com and is the 12th-ranked player in the Orlando Sentinel's Florida Top 100.

This brings Ohio State's 2010 commit list to ten players thus far.

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