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Oh And By The Way: QBs Hate Ohio State

Jun 11, 2009, 8:00 PM UTC

If Nick Montana’s Washington commitment presages a brightâ†µnew post-Willingham day for the Huskies, it further twists the intestines of Ohio State fans peering pastâ†µTerrelle Pryor into a great wavering unknown.â†µBut don’t take my word for it. Here’s Ohio State blog Elevenâ†µWarriors: â†µâ†µâ‡¥While I try not to think ahead to the time when TP will no longer beâ†µâ‡¥under center, Nick Montana’s spurning of the Bucks for 0-12 Washingtonâ†µâ‡¥is a bit concerning.â†µâ†µâ†µThis might not seem like much, but when you’re 6-1 against Michiganâ†µin the last seven years, “this is a bit concerning” is theâ†µpsychological equivalent of raw, unadulterated, swine-flu-level panic.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe concern is well-founded. Last year the Buckeyes struck out onâ†µVirginia’s Tajh Boyd, who was cut loose by Lane Kiffin and ended up atâ†µClemson. They then proceeded to get shot down by kids who were committed toâ†µMiami (not that Miami, the one in Ohio) and Temple (!) before settling onâ†µTexan Kenny Guiton, Rivals’ #35 dual-threat QB and a guy who had offersâ†µfrom Kansas, Iowa State, Rice, and ... Prairie View. He’s the only guy onâ†µthe roster other than Pryor and fifth-year walk-on Joe Bauserman. â†µ

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â†µThis year, well...â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥According to Scout’sâ†µâ‡¥rankings, 15 of the top 20 QB prospects have already given verbalâ†µâ‡¥commitments and Ohio State doesn’t appear on the radar until Barryâ†µâ‡¥Brunetti’s list at #24.â†µâ†µâ†µOhio State’s one shot at a guy who would not be a Guiton-level reachâ†µis Cincinnati Moeller’s Andrew Hendrix, who’s probably going to chooseâ†µbetween OSU and Notre Dame. (The Irish, by the way, would be in the sameâ†µboat as OSU but for redshirt freshman Dane Crist.) Past that, OSU isâ†µlooking at 2011 in-stater Braxton Miller, who’s got Pryor hype but alsoâ†µwon’t arrive on campus until Pryor is a senior ... or gone. And alsoâ†µisn’t a commitment, at least not yet. That is a veritable ton of eggs in aâ†µsingle basket spread across seven years. Quarterback injuries at Ohioâ†µState threaten to be devastating.â†µ

â†µâ†µAnd a Lane Kiffin tangent, because this is a blogâ†µand therefore must talk about Kiffin at all times: when he swept intoâ†µoffice at Tennessee he booted the Vols’ two quarterback commitments, oneâ†µof whom was the highly-rated but shortish Boyd, and basically told oneâ†µof the enrolled quarterbacks to transferâ†µor eat bench. Next year the quarterback depthâ†µchart looks like this:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥17 â†µâ‡¥Nickâ†µâ‡¥Stephens -- QB -- Jr. -- 6-4/215 --â†µâ‡¥Flower Mound, TX (Flower Mound)â†µâ†µâ†µNo, I didn’t leave anyone out. The idea was to pick off the 2010â†µequivalent of thunderback Bryce Brown, the #1 player in the 2009 class,â†µexcept it’s an extraordinarily poor year for quarterbacks and theyâ†µwhiffed on all the attractive options. Now they’re after theâ†µabove-mentioned Brunetti ... who’s basically Tajh Boyd a year later minusâ†µa half-star and a lot of swanky offers. Whoops.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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