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February 3, 2012Buckeye Basketball Checkup: Halfway Through Big Ten, Buckeyes In Good Shape
February 3, 2012Though Ohio State’s freshly hired head coach Urban Meyer is getting all of the accolades — and criticism — for his work during the 2012 recuruiting season, former linebacker and current coach Mike Vrabel has been given the nod as Big Ten “Recruiter of the Year” according to ESPN.
Vrabel moved from linebackers coach to defensive line coach with the hire of Urban Meyer. And in the process the two-year assistant helped secure one of the nation’s best defensive line classes. Five-star prospect Noah Spence (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) was the biggest signing in the class, but four-star prospects Adolphus Washington (Cincinnati, Ohio/Taft), Se’Von Pittman (Canton, Ohio/McKinley) and Jamal Marcus (Durham, N.C./Hillside) give the Buckeyes four of the nation’s top 16 players at the defensive end position. Vrabel deserves much of the credit for that.
It’s worth noting that several of these defensive line recruits were flipped from their previous verbal commitments to other Big Ten programs. Spence, a Pennsylvania native, was a strong commit to the Penn State Nittany Lions prior to his decision to join Meyer and Vrabel in Columbus. Upon Meyer’s hiring, there was some concern that Vrabel could be replaced; turns out that his retention could have been a key factor in the strong and surprising recruiting efforts.
[Related: Ohio State AD Gene Smith responds to recruiting allegations]
3 Comments
Spence was a heavy Penn State lean…never committed
As he should be……if you’re a college coach for your alma matter less than a year removed from a successful NFL career with multiple super bowl rings, you better do pretty darn well when sitting in a recruits living room. If I’m a stud high school player trying to pick a school, nothing is going to sway me more than living breathing proof that I can make it to the big time sitting right in front of me.
Love it, go buckeye nation go….