Se'Von Pittman third Northeast Ohio prospect to turn down Ohio State

The Buckeyes still have four in-state players ranked among the top 250 in the nation pledged for 2012.

Canton McKinley defensive end Se'von Pittman

COLUMBUS - Three Northeast Ohio football prospects with Ohio State offers have chosen other Big Ten schools in the last two weeks. In the final years of the Jim Tressel era, that kind of recruiting run didn't usually go against the Buckeyes. 

It can't be a surprise now, not with Luke Fickell less than a month into his tenure as OSU's interim head coach and NCAA sanctions of some kind still ahead. But with all this uncertainly around Ohio State, early oral commitments could mean less than they usually do, because the Ohio State program that high schoolers are considering will vastly change before National Signing Day next February.

The change could be for the worse, if severe sanctions are leveled this fall. But in a major way, the change will have to be for the better. By January, the Buckeyes will have a full-time head coach with a long-term contract and a stable staff, whether that coach is Fickell or someone else. And that will help.

Then prospects, whether they are orally committed to Ohio State or not, will evaluate whether they want to be a Buckeye under those circumstances.

For now, the recruiting news for Ohio State hasn't been great. On June 10, Mentor defensive end Tom Strobel gave an oral commitment to Michigan, on June 13 Cleveland Heights offensive lineman Kyle Dodson picked Wisconsin and Sunday, Canton McKinley defensive end Se'Von Pittman chose Michigan State. Pittman's decision came a week after his private audience with Fickell at an OSU camp.

All three players are ranked among the 250 prospects in the Class of 2012 by Rivals.com, with Strobel at 231, Dodson at 152 and Pittman at 61.

According to Rivals.com, the state of Ohio has 14 players among the best 250 prospects in the country. Eleven of them have OSU offers, with those three saying no and four saying yes - offensive lineman Kyle Kalis (18), running back Bri'onte Dunn (124), linebacker Josh Perry (131) and running back Warren Ball (212). Four others remain uncommitted.

How does that compare? In the Class of 2011, the current incoming freshmen, there were 14 Ohio players in the top 250. Nine had Ohio State offers and seven picked the Buckeyes.

In 2010, 12 Ohio players were in the top 250. Seven had OSU offers and only two picked the Buckeyes, which caused a lot of hand-wringing among OSU fans.

In 2009, 14 Ohio players were in the top 250. Nine had OSU offers and eight picked the Buckeyes.

So at its best, in 2011 and 2009, Ohio State went 15 for 18 among top 250 in-state players. Right now, they are 4 for 7. Ohio State losing three offered players so far isn't catastrophic. But amid this uncertainty, clamping down Ohio like a year ago just isn't going to happen for the Buckeyes.

CLASS OF 2011: Ohio State has enrolled 22 of its 24 players that it signed for the Class of 2011, which was ranked No. 14 in the nation according to the average player rating by Rivals. Pittsburgh-area linebacker Ejuan Price asked for and was granted a release from his scholarship. And Glenville quarterback Cardale Jones will head to prep school, as planned, which means he's not a member of this class right now. But his plan all along has been to enroll at Ohio State in January.
 

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2011/06/sevon_pittman_third_northeast.html

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