Jim Tressel has done an
incredible job recruiting this year, not just Terrelle Pryor, but the entire
2008 class. He has made all the visits, made all the calls, said all the right
things, had his players and recruits do all the right things. But Terrelle
still is not sure. It’s been said that Ohio State
has made it to two National Championships in two years without Terrelle Pryor
and they will make it again during the time the 2008 class is on campus with or
without Terrelle Pryor. Maybe it’s time to consider fall camp without the most
wonderful human being to ever put on a football helmet or to shoot baskets in a
high school gymnasium.
Ohio State
recruited two quarterbacks already in the 2008 class. That may be a surprise to
some, but there are two recruits in the 2008 class that are actually
quarterbacks. Now all the recruiting site, including the BrutusReport.com list
them as safeties, but they are very athletic quarterbacks that could be playing
the position at some smaller programs.
Zach
Domicone from Xenia Ohio
passed for 535 yards and ran for 577 yards as a junior at Beavercreek High School.
During his senior year, he passed for 572 yard and ran for 1,111 yards. How
about 15 touchdowns as a junior with no interceptions? As a senior he had 16
total touchdowns with 3 interceptions. Not too bad. And he has the speed and
height that you would like to see in a modern quarterback, he’s 6’3” and can
run a 4.47.
Orhian
Johnson is the second quarterback that is coming into Ohio State
as a safety but played behind center his last two years in high school. Johnson
had offers from a number of big programs including Tennessee,
Kansas, and Indiana. He picked Ohio
State over Indiana
and South Florida which both wanted him as a
quarterback. As a senior he passed for 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also
has the stature and speed of a dual threat quarterback, 6’4” and can run a
4.55.
The Buckeye
staff has begun recruiting quarterbacks for the 2009 class and are looking
closely at Devontae Payne out of Cleveland South. Maybe that’s all they need, a
2009 recruit to compliment their current roster. In 2008 they will have three
quarterbacks at camp including two scholarship players in Todd Boeckman and
Antonio Henton. Joe Bauserman is also on the roster and could become the backup
if there’s an injury to the first string Boeckman or the second string Henton.
My plan for
the 2008 camp without Terrelle Pryor is a little different than the three
quarterback rotation. The Buckeyes could bring both Zach Domicone and Orhian
Johnson into camp as quarterbacks. Let me work out along side the current three
players on the roster. Whichever shows the most promise moves on as a
quarterback. The other switches back to a safety and practices the rest of
their red-shirt freshman year at the position they were recruited to play. In
recruiting no one is for sure how a player will turn out once they get to fall
camp. What if Zach Domicone is the next Troy Smith? What if Orhian Johnson is
the next Troy Smith? And what if Terrelle Pryor never pans out? And just maybe
Joe Daniels can take any one of the three and turn them into a national
championship winning Heisman quarterback.