The fax machines started early Wednesday morning to signal one of the most anticipated dates on the college football offseason calendar.
Once the equipment ran out of toner, and both fans and the media alike stopped refreshing Rivals.com and social media sites, 22 recruits had signed their National Letter of Intent to play for Ohio next year.
Regardless of which recruiting website you might peruse, the reviews for Ohio’s recruiting class are not glowing. Top recruiting websites have the Bobcats ranked as high as fifth-best in the Mid-American Conference; others, as low as 10th in the conference.
“As far as being able to base your recruiting class on what they think, I have a lot of respect for those guys, but it doesn’t affect what we at Ohio University do as far as our recruitment and our student-athletes,” said Brian Haines, recruiting and special teams coordinator.
Bowl victories in consecutive years and a program turnaround are aspects that have made the Bobcats more marketable when it comes to competing for recruits in Ohio.
“When we first got here eight years ago, that was difficult to do,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “We were not winning at that point in time, we were not getting much of any national TV coverage, and things have changed greatly.”
Solich said some of the players the Bobcats have attracted have the potential to contribute right away.
For example, Justin Wyatt, a two-star wide receiver from Lawrenceville, Ga., finished his high school football career with 132 catches for 1,848 yards and 17 receiving touchdowns. Ohio’s lone three-star recruit offensive lineman Zach Murdock helped lead Dublin Coffman to a 9-1 record.
Murdock is part of a bigger trend in the recruiting class, as Haines and Solich wanted to ensure they have depth on both sides of the trenches. Solich added that he has more depth among last year’s recruits than he has ever had on the defensive and offensive lines, but it was still tested because of injury.
“It keeps reminding me that you cannot have enough depth,” Solich said.
Of the 22 recruits, nine are from high schools in Ohio.
“I played defense when I was younger, but they moved me to tight end; it goes along with making my own legacy,” said tight end Troy Mangen, who is from Union, Ohio and whose father and uncle are first and eighth, respectively, in career tackles at Ohio University.
Even though the Bobcats are not hauling in players to be considered blue-chip prospects, Solich remains steadfast in assertions about his recent lot.
“Sometimes you are never quite sure until a guy comes in and performs for you, but I feel pretty good,” he said. “With my experience over the years, I have a feeling that this group will excel, and it will be a very good group.”
nr225008@ohiou.edu
